The biggest problem facing us all is apathy and a sense of hopelessness and powerlessness.

In looking through these pages and other sites I see we are in danger of aggravating this problem for as long as we only identify the problems rather than promote solutions and so I wrote something that I hope you will enjoy - something that won't make you angry but impart a spark of hope.

I'm an Australian and I'm proud of my Country or at least I was until Howard became Bush's deputy Sheriff - what a joke. But for all that, I love American films and the feeling I got in 'Independence Day' when the President gave that speech about how the 4th of July will no longer be just an American holiday and how jet pilots in the middle-east and from all over the world co-ordinated their attacks against the aliens.

So, I wrote a short essay and put it on blogger and it was written with the aim of being enjoyable to read and to suggest an alternative means to achieving what we all on these pages wish to achieve. You don't need to convert others to your views, you don't need to win anything or beat anyone. It is simple and anyone can do it. It is the determinant of everything.

http://onmyhonour.blogspot.com/

I hope you enjoy it.

I agree totally with your thesis. Great piece!

I don't think Washington gets it though--is there some way we can advance your truth?

Well Dori,

Try sending the link out or if you have the time cut and paste it removing my name and sign it anonymously. Then send it to everyone you know. The fight that unites us all is the fight against corporate thinking – 'that greed is good, it makes things work'. This is a lie. 'That all that matters is getting ahead. That it’s okay to lie, just don’t get caught because that’s the mark of a fool'. This is what we are teaching our children.

Greed encourages corruption and rewards the most ruthless and the worst aspects of human nature. It serves profits at the expense of craftsmanship, innovation and cultural growth. Seeing lying as an acceptable tool of social interaction removes all trust and without the ability to trust we build our reality in a chaotic swamp. We know the difference between right and wrong but it is the financial, the growth, the popularity, and the respect advantages of being honourable and trustworthy along with new advantages brought about through growth and innovation that will make choosing right the winning formula.

This is something individuals can do for themselves and even by promoting it to others it is contagious. Make honour important. Make honour valued. We did this when we crawled out of the caves, we can do it again. It is a prerequisite for every fight that requires a fair and balanced hearing. It unites the fair minded.

EXCELLENT PIECE!

Honor was something that used to be taught along with the 3 Rs in America. It used to be something a youngster actually brought to school with him and something he or she worked hard to maintain.

I can remember during my teaching career how students who were caught cheating on tests or homework were ostrasized by their peers for awhile. They either quickly changed their ways or had to go about without a lot of approval by teachers and fellow students alike. They weren't invited to parties or to sleepovers. They became members of the "wrong crowd." It took a long time to lose the "taint" of being a person without honor.

Our country used to be an honorable nation. Those leading it used to understand and revere honor. Not any more. HONOR ROLL, HONOR GUARD, MAID OF HONOR, HONORABLE MENTION, IN HONOR OF, ON MY HONOR....phrases that don't seem to have the same stellar meaning now.

Thank you, DJ. I will pass on your message.