to be, or not to be... a state

I have been thinking a lot lately about the issue of state (country) verses world and nationalism versus transnationalism. Which is better? I keep going back and forth... the pros and cons are strong on both sides. When it is good, it seems that it is quite good, and when it is bad, it seems to be very bad... on both sides of the issue.

There exits in the world today, and well I suppose that it has probably existed for centuries, a huge gap between the rich and poor of the world. The average age of death here in the states was just lowered because of obesity and obesity related diseases, while in other parts of the world (much of Africa) people are starving, and dying of malnourishment and related issues because they don't have the money to get the necessities to live a healthy life. (The number one killer of children under the age of 5... diarrhea and the dehydration that follows from unclean drinking water). Many believe that if there existed a global government than the divide between the rich and poor could become smaller, or at least millions of people would stop dying because they have no money. On the other hand, one could argue that on the state level there is also a divide between rich and poor, and if this continues to persist on a small scale, then creating a world government is not going to solve the problem on a larger scale.

Genocide has been a much discussed problem in the news as of late. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in Darfur, and the international community has done little to stop it. In the 1990's 1 million people were killed (in a 3 month window) in Rwanda, the rest of the world was very much in the know when the killings were taking place, but nothing was done to stop it. Why is this the case? Sovereignty. The state is a sovereign entity, therefore the international community has no control or say in the actions of the state. If a global government were created, genocide may become a thing of history. Further, abuses of corrupt governments the world over may come to an end if there were a higher power that were ruling over the state. Many believe however that politics and in turn government is corrupt, regardless of the level, so creating a world government would do no one any good in the long run because it too will be corrupt.

Some say that the opinions, cultures, and issues of the states are so different and diverse that a world government could never effectively serve the interests of the international community. Further, there is concern that the interests of the little guy (LDCs) will be overlooked to fulfill the concerns of the stronger states.

What are your thoughts? Really, I could use some insight. What do you have to say on the matter?

house things.

Building a house takes a long time. I spent the morning working on my casa. Every time I go in there, I sigh, shrug my shoulders, and become exasperated by the amount of work that remains. Just when the list seems to be getting shorter, Dad adds something new. These negative feelings are not so good, especially because it makes me feel like I never want to go there again. Then, as I am working on something or finishing up a little project, I smile and think that years from now, when I am sitting on the couch or walking down the stairs, I am going to be able to smile and think, "Hey, I made that." It is the prospect of this happening that encourages me and makes me feel like all of my efforts aren't a waste. So, I will continue my work and maybe someday, I will get to move into the house that I helped build.

Today, I have decided that oil-based paint is of the devil. It is particularly unfriendly when it seems to have found its way to your ear. I suspect that for days I will go about my business with this little bolb for 'leather brown' paint on my left lobe. Who knows, today I hate it, but tomorrow I might have become quite fond of the little guy.

Who knew that you had to shake/stir wood stain? I mean, I knew that it was necessary and all (I learned that in junior high wood shop) but I had no idea how vigorously it needed to be done. I might never have known, except I am pretty sure that when you get to the bottom of the can there is not supposed to be a big pile of stain. It was also rather curious that the further I got into the can the darker the finished looked. So, for your further reference, make sure to shake the can excessively vigorously.

It is amazing how satisfying it is to finish a can of wood stain. Generally, stain is the type of thing that you use a bit of here and there and then the can sits around for ten years before you finally throw it away because it has started to rust into the stain, thus making it unusable. Well, this time, I used the whole thing, and I felt great when I got to the bottom (though stupified by the clump of stain). Really, it was so much better than the feeling one gets from finishing a can of paint. Sadly, the can ended just before the wood that needs stained did, so I am going to have to buy a new can, and it is more than likely that I am not going to finish it. Drat.

instead of studying.

I have had the stomach flu since Sunday. First, when I woke up vomiting, I thought I was hungover. This was a bit unusual because never in my years of getting drunk have I ever thrown up the morning after. I was frightened and I didn't know what to do, so I called Talya. See told me not to eat anything (because I was throwing it all up) but to keep drinking water so that I didn't get dehydrated. Well, I kept drinking water, but it didn't keep me from getting dehydrated because I just kept yacking it up. Around midday Monday, the ralphing subsided, which was good because I had to take a midterm. My mom drove me to school, I took the midterm, then I went home and didn't get out of bed until Wednesday morning.

It is now Thursday. You all seemed to have called, and I assure you I will get to you eventually, but I am still quite a bit under the weather and thus investing all of my energy to preform the necessary tasks like going to class and writing blogs. I appoligize.

This whole lent thing has gotten me to thinking. I am not so much the believer in God anymore (well I sort of do, but it far different than it once was). Let's call me the anti-organized religion. That said, lent isn't really my thing anymore, but for some bizarre reason that I have not quite nailed down, I am feeling like I should give something up. First, I was thinking coffee. But since I haven't had coffee since Saturday anyhow (not so good for the sickness), this no longer seemed like a good option. Then, I thought I would give up sugary objects. Things like chocolate, candy, etc. This is still a possibility. Then I thought I should give up beeer. This makes me gasp, which is why I am thinking that I should go with it. What are your thoughts? Maybe I should just forget the whole thing.

moving the house.

How does one move a big house? Good question. Well, according to my recent observations, one simply cuts the thing in half, loads it onto two trucks, and drives it down the highway. I have seen this happen repeatedly throughout my life and have never questioned the process until now. The house was too big.

The other day, I was driving down the highway, going to school, and in the distance, I saw a big house, traveling down the highway. Thankfully, it was going westbound to my eastbound, so it didn't pose any real problems to me. It was huge... huge, acutally quite frightening. As I passed it, I noticed that it was taking up the entirity of two lanes. While it was slowing things down, it didn't seem to be creating big problems given that this section of the road was 3 lanes. I wondered, and am still curious to know how things would go just a couple of miles down the road when it entered the construction zone that had only two skinny lanes with no wiggle room whatsoever. This got me to thinking that there must be a better way to move a house. Then, the other giant half of the house passed, and I just chuckled.

The next day, they were driving a yacht down the highway.

chasing buses...

I chased a bus today. It is cold, very cold, and apparently when it is cold, I loose my ability to make decisions that prevent me from looking like an idiot, or it prevents me from thinking at all. It went something like this...

I was walking, the bus was sitting approx. 50 yards away. I noticed that it was my bus, so I put some spring in my step. Then, the bus started moving. Without thaught, I began to jog after it. Then, I realized that it was moving faster than I was, so I started to sprint. As I ran along side, I began to slam my fist on the side of the bus, still running, until it stopped. I hopped on, thanked the bus driver, and took my seat.

As I sat and took a sigh of relief, I realized that I must have looked like a complete idiot. Then it occurred to me that I would only have looked like an idiot if the bus hadn't stopped, but since it did stop, I looked like the type of person that everyone else wishes they were (you know, the one that has the self-confidence to run after a bus).

Or, I might just be trying to convince myself of that because I am to insecure with myself to be okay with looking like an idiot. Either way, I prevented myself from further cold, so it is okay.