Can you imagine how the world could change if every pastor, priest and religious leader would say, "we are all wrong" and leave organized religion and get actual jobs... where strength, fitness and continuous sweating are involved? Insightful to think about this. Would they finally become men (or strong women)? Would they begin to learn to relate to actual pain and suffering? Would they better appreciate sport? Would they stop their talks of nonsense and do stuff like watch excellent hockey "live" on Sunday? Would they appreciate their fellow countrymen and women? Would they better understand rock music? There are so many things... Or would they break down and admit they had no business being ministers? Perhaps them becoming absolutely exposed is not so far away.

Poverty is often misunderstood. I say this: people can become weak when they're not allowed to be strong. They might be courageous, but if they are not allowed to be themselves - if they aren't given permission to express themselves, as indeed they should, their courage might be nothing but a joke in the eyes of many. Interestingly, a lot of bad stuff can happen because of fear. Also interestingly, a lot of good stuff can happen because of fear. The United Nations, for example, possibly (I say "possibly") gave the Pope a slight scare in exposing the pertaining matter of child abuse. The Pope should be scared. As an organization, the Catholic church should be held to account worldwide (leaders of the Church should be married men as the Bible teaches). Unfortunately, affixation to riches, abuse of power and love of control, are prevalent at the Vatican and in a number of nations who allow abuse of religion. The negative fear is an unhealthy type of fear: not having courage, being negligent, focus on materialism, loving riches and money, omitting virtues. But positive fear is healthy - it's about appreciation, examination, speaking appropriately, reflection, being careful as well as courageous, unassuming, but considerate. It involves virtue.

People not being allowed to be themselves (not being carefully supported where their strengths are, not being allowed to freely express themselves in the abilities that would be most positive for them) is a primary cause of ills, rather than "untreated mental illness."

Health ministry leaders should more deeply ask why people are anxious, dysfunctional, and depressed, rather than simply put blame on their God-made brains. Although it might be convenient to misdiagnose and put blame on something so intricate as the human brain, this approach is assuming, expedient, inconsiderate and a cause of great harms (poor health leads to people unable to work).

How about administering physical exercise, rather than numerous drugs?

Rather than put lots of money into pharmaceutical agenda, allowing a non-religious, neutral, facility, where physical activity, athleticism, nutrition and friendships are properly supported, could help enable persons who are neglected to live to their greater potential. 

Everybody needs some kind of exercise, even if their work is office work (in fact, these people probably need even more physical exercise than other kinds of workers).

Drug addicts especially, should be carefully encouraged to do demanding physical exercise.

The human brain and human body should not be insulted. Impoverished people should not be stripped from their mental dignity and active ability because of control-driven, profiteering, science or even government-supported (and also control-driven) religion. 

Leaders are celebrating Nelson Mandela and his undeniable contribution to ending apartheid in South Africa, but nobody seems to be talking much about a disturbing aspect of racism (besides misguided fear) and an underlying force behind slavery. Greed.

This untamed, inconsiderate, unsympathetic want for riches contributes to people having no empathy - or disingenuous empathy for the poor.

Let's face the troubling economic, logistical, reasons for slavery, past and present.

The slave conditions, the unsafe environments, the toppling of unsafe buildings and deaths of hundreds of workers in Bangladesh happened this year. Yet are those responsible sorry?

It takes incredible courage to oppose the rich. Just ask Snowden. The rich want information. Governments make strange exceptions for them.

Are the rich concerned about national debt? Do they have a conscience about the societal impact of immorality and mainstream thinking?

Why is it that the media seems to keep saying that taxing the rich is not a good idea?

The media, in general, bows to money. Such media is clearly afraid of people empowerment.

Those who have excessive wealth cling to their controlling ways, obstruction of truth and immoderate lives.

Like organized religion, in which systems and image often take higher importance than people and reality (notice the corruption and misbehavior of priests now being brushed aside for a newly spun image of "a poor church"), organized powers and governments of the excessively wealthy abuse their control.

Is the desire for temporary foreign laborers in Canada because there is a real shortage of workers or is cheap labor the actual goal? Hmmm. Vulnerable immigrants... with poor English skills... coming from afar, to The West. Are the rich concerned for these people's long-term well-being and future?

Taxing the rich heavily, rather than just enacting small, incremental, percentage increases should be an easy solution. If the rich, in a huff, leave on account of such enactment, good.

In demotivating the rich from making large profits, in decreasing foreign mass production, in abolishing cheaply made, poor quality, products and increasing the skill and salaries of workers, morale among laborers would get a much needed boost. Consumers would be able to make purchases in good conscience, happy that workers aren't being abusively treated. 

The greed of those who are immoderately wealthy and privileged continues to do damage. They are ignorant and don't know real happiness. They are arrogant and don't know real gratitude.

Humility and courage are two key qualities that Mandela had. These virtues are rare, if at all existent, in supposedly democratic rulers, who kneel down to the uncaring rich.

Look at the kindness and humanity shown on Mandela's face. What kind of unsympathetic leaders and influential system would imprison this guy for twenty-seven years?

"...I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way..." Edgar Guest.

OBSERVATION

I see that wealth and riches can make people complacent in their faith.

WORKING VALUES (values that work)

I would like to live victoriously. I hope Canadian culture does not become one that places little value on merit and performance. I try to write about the uniqueness and dignity of all people, who are able to perform great feats, by the Creator's help, when they are meek, and through the considerate, humane, encouragement and help that mercifully comes from others. Never underestimate the power of a bit of kindness. That's something I want to prove in my life. Be down to earth. Work hard. Appreciate what's good. More and more, I hope to see values in action.