Comments on: Speaking Up For Sandi (by Andy McGee) http://www.thirstyquill.com/2009/02/06/speaking-up-for-sandi-by-andy-mcgee Sun, 20 May 2012 03:00:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Andy McGee http://www.thirstyquill.com/2009/02/06/speaking-up-for-sandi-by-andy-mcgee#comment-216 Andy McGee Sun, 08 Feb 2009 04:03:16 +0000 http://www.thirstyquill.com/?p=818#comment-216 By all means Jungle Bunny: Rant on. Rant on. I appreciate you sharing your perspective to this story. Your response reminds me of what a gentleman from the Congo, who was fortunate enough to be in America, told me once, “It is better to be a dog in America than a man in the Congo. A dog can be granted sympathy and receive handouts, it can sniff through scraps and not get stopped." In his country water was poisoned, food was very scarce, and violence and war were all he knew. Yet here he was hundreds of thousands of miles away from all that death and emptiness, through major sacrifices and a little luck, living in the "Greatest Nation in the World". This country is great, its people are generous, and its belief in hard work, charity, and betterment are still very much alive. This is not to say we do not have major deficiencies, I have often said that this country's moral bankruptcy is in far worse shape than our economy. It seems like the value of a human life is at all time low both home and abroad. Combine that with the debauchery and excess in which this corporate system works and "Wha-Lah" The crumbling of even the most nostalgic, ideologically sound nations. So where do we find these answers to ending greed, stopping hunger, returning our nations moral footing to lead the world in humanity and quality of life? Perhaps we can continue this dialogue and find these answers together. Thanks again for bringing your world to us. By all means Jungle Bunny:

Rant on.
Rant on.
I appreciate you sharing your perspective to this story. Your response reminds me of what a gentleman from the Congo, who was fortunate enough to be in America, told me once, “It is better to be a dog in America than a man in the Congo. A dog can be granted sympathy and receive handouts, it can sniff through scraps and not get stopped.” In his country water was poisoned, food was very scarce, and violence and war were all he knew. Yet here he was hundreds of thousands of miles away from all that death and emptiness, through major sacrifices and a little luck, living in the “Greatest Nation in the World”.

This country is great, its people are generous, and its belief in hard work, charity, and betterment are still very much alive. This is not to say we do not have major deficiencies, I have often said that this country’s moral bankruptcy is in far worse shape than our economy. It seems like the value of a human life is at all time low both home and abroad. Combine that with the debauchery and excess in which this corporate system works and “Wha-Lah” The crumbling of even the most nostalgic, ideologically sound nations.

So where do we find these answers to ending greed, stopping hunger, returning our nations moral footing to lead the world in humanity and quality of life? Perhaps we can continue this dialogue and find these answers together. Thanks again for bringing your world to us.

]]> By: Jungle Bunny http://www.thirstyquill.com/2009/02/06/speaking-up-for-sandi-by-andy-mcgee#comment-215 Jungle Bunny Sat, 07 Feb 2009 12:16:28 +0000 http://www.thirstyquill.com/?p=818#comment-215 'Speaking up for Sandi". I read your article w/ interest. Poignant and reproduced the world over in our "New and Improved Global Economy". As you might guess I live in one of the jungles of Africa, where our host country has discovered TWO large deposits of oil. This is a country with sewers in the street, no consistent supply of drinkable water since the British left, unstable electricity and an incredibly high infant mortality rate. Where more people die of malaria than HIV. Where living to age 57 is a reasonable goal. And yet they have OIL. This week my husband conversed w/ an American sent over to explore the ocean oil deposits w/ his company's robotics. "Is it as great a deposit as they hoped?" my husband queried. "Oh, yes," the man from Louisiana replied. "It just depends on whether Obama will let them drill. President Clinton made a special trip over here last time to stop them." Especially difficult for me as I reflect on the death of a healthy 21 year old mother who died in childbirth two weeks ago, because they didn't have the knowledge or facilities to save her. How many more years in America until this is the same story? Where is the middle class going in America? Why aren't we stopping this drift to the feudal system we left so many years ago? Oh, I've been to college. I know there are no simple answers. But I can't help but think that America's decision to rid ourselves of the 'oppression' of the 10 COMMANDMENTS has only resulted in a society with no rules at all. Corporate, hi-stakes robbery is common, often emptying the retirement funds of many more people like Sandi. (What does an $87,000 rug look like?) All the while outsourcing to third world countries to ostensibly spread the wealth to the lower classes who hunger the world over. And yet, who really benefits financially, but the uppper classes in those countries also. AMERICA. A land where everyone could own their own land. Where a poor boy could be President. Isn't that what made America great in the first place? A country where you worshipped the Creator and treated each other as if they also were created by God. Where you worked hard and shared VOLUNTARILY with those who needed help, knowing that they would do the same for you in hard times. Where having more money wasn't the universal ethical basis for all decisions. Poor boys cannot become President anymore. How much did Obama spend on the inauguration? My two guards live on $2400/ year. If I weren't here, how would they live? The government here doesn't even pay their teachers. Literally. Yet the newly elected leaders hold the keys to enough money to build a house for everyone in this country. OK, this is my first RANT. It's too great a problem to stay silent and I am powerless to fix it. So, I'll rant. ‘Speaking up for Sandi”. I read your article w/ interest. Poignant and reproduced the world over in our “New and Improved Global Economy”.
As you might guess I live in one of the jungles of Africa, where our host country has discovered TWO large deposits of oil. This is a country with sewers in the street, no consistent supply of drinkable water since the British left, unstable electricity and an incredibly high infant mortality rate. Where more people die of malaria than HIV. Where living to age 57 is a reasonable goal.
And yet they have OIL. This week my husband conversed w/ an American sent over to explore the ocean oil deposits w/ his company’s robotics. “Is it as great a deposit as they hoped?” my husband queried.
“Oh, yes,” the man from Louisiana replied. “It just depends on whether Obama will let them drill. President Clinton made a special trip over here last time to stop them.”
Especially difficult for me as I reflect on the death of a healthy 21 year old mother who died in childbirth two weeks ago, because they didn’t have the knowledge or facilities to save her.
How many more years in America until this is the same story? Where is the middle class going in America? Why aren’t we stopping this drift to the feudal system we left so many years ago?
Oh, I’ve been to college. I know there are no simple answers. But I can’t help but think that America’s decision to rid ourselves of the ‘oppression’ of the 10 COMMANDMENTS has only resulted in a society with no rules at all. Corporate, hi-stakes robbery is common, often emptying the retirement funds of many more people like Sandi. (What does an $87,000 rug look like?) All the while outsourcing to third world countries to ostensibly spread the wealth to the lower classes who hunger the world over. And yet, who really benefits financially, but the uppper classes in those countries also.
AMERICA. A land where everyone could own their own land. Where a poor boy could be President. Isn’t that what made America great in the first place? A country where you worshipped the Creator and treated each other as if they also were created by God. Where you worked hard and shared VOLUNTARILY with those who needed help, knowing that they would do the same for you in hard times. Where having more money wasn’t the universal ethical basis for all decisions.
Poor boys cannot become President anymore. How much did Obama spend on the inauguration? My two guards live on $2400/ year. If I weren’t here, how would they live? The government here doesn’t even pay their teachers. Literally. Yet the newly elected leaders hold the keys to enough money to build a house for everyone in this country.
OK, this is my first RANT. It’s too great a problem to stay silent and I am powerless to fix it. So, I’ll rant.

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