It’s the Little Things that Lead to Big Change

The news ain’t all bad here. Some stories highlight the good deed of a few that are bringing attention to the important issues of this generation and maybe thr next. As the world’s leader continue to struggle to find the answers and some sort of conclusion to the ever growing problems of peace, population, climate change and a plethora of other issues, these individuals have found a way to make their voice heard whether to help others or bring the issues to light. So here we go, some good news to help keep your faith in humanity.

According to AOL.com and Agence France-Presse, ‘Super bananas’ may save millions of lives in Africa, Australian researchers are pioneering a new project to enrich bananas with alpha and beta carotene which the body converts to Vitamin A in order to provide poor and subsistence farming populations with nutritionally rewarding food. The project, if successful in its mission to grow the special variety in Uganda by 2020, will save million of lives. The Researchers as of June 16 have announced the bananas are being sent to the United States to start the six week trial to measure how well the bananas will raise vitamin A levels in humans.

In Mexico City, as the world watches with bated breath to see who will win the World Cup, for the past 18 years another kind of soccer championship has been going on. AOL.com reported on the 17 of June about the men of the Ignacio Trigueros Soccer League for the Blind and Visually Impaired who spend their Sundays traveling from their homes to Mexico City to play the country’s most popular sport. Each team has one sighted player or two visually impaired players who use their eyes on the court, while others wear blindfolds to make sure the match is fair. Without their sight, they rely on sounds the ball makes when it hits the boards or rolls at their feet. The six team league allows a rare chance for the blind and visually impaired community to come together and play their favorite sports while family watches, according to the league president Javier Mosqueda Lomeli.

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HuffPost’s Eleanor Goldberg’s on June 18 reported the story of a Chinese multimillionaire has decided to come to New York city to tackle the issue of poverty.  In the article, Chinese Mogul To Throw $1 Million Lunch In Central Park For The Poor, Goldberg explains that Chen, a recycling tycoon, wants people to see how generous people are in his country by “taking out a half page ad in the Wall Street Journal and a full-page ad in The New York Times on Monday June 16, inviting people who are struggling in New York City to lunch at Central Park’s Boathouse on June 25, the South China Morning Post reported.” The idea? To spread the message that not all well to do Chinese millionaires are crazy spenders and are good philanthropists, according to the South China Morning Post. The guest list will allow 1,000 people to attend the free meal and will cost $1 million. In addition, diners will get $300 to be used toward occupational training. This is not the first time Chen has created a spectacle to get people talking about important issues. Last January, Chen handed out free cans of fresh air in Beijing to draw attention to the increasing pollution problem reported the Guardian.

Another article posted by Eleanor Goldberg of HuffPost, entitled Homeless Artist To Run Half Marathon For Charity That Helps People On The Streets, posted on June 17, tells the story of Ronnie Goodman, as homeless man himself, who has decided to run a 13.1 mile half marathon for charity next month. The 53 year old man has been living under the freeway in San Francisco, according to San Francisco Chronicle, and trains every day to fulfill his dream of running in the event. His fans have stepped up and donated $120 to cover the entry fee for the July race. Instead of using the race to raise money for himself, Goodman has decided to give the money to Hospitality House who has helped him get back on his feet. The organization empowers the homeless and low income people through a number of initiatives including the art program Goodman takes part in. Goodman hopes to raise $25,000 and donors will be entered to win one of his original works. If you would like to help click here.

In an Associate Press story covered on AOL.com entitled Obama Expands Government Benefits For Gay Couples, the article covers the plethora of newly approved benefits allocated to same sex couples granted on June 20 by the Obama administration including those who live in states where gay marriage is against the law. The new measures range from Social Security and veterans benefits to work leave for caring for sick spouses. The effort to expand protections to states that don’t recognize gay marriage have been confounded by laws stating that benefits are conferred only to couples whose marriages are recognized by the state they live in rather than the states where they were married. In order to get around this, the Veterans Affairs Department and Social Security Administration are letting gay people who tell the government they are married to apply for those benefits only allocated to married couples i.e. veterans can now be buried alongside their same sex spouse in the national cemetery and apply for survivor and death benefits regardless of the state they live in. In additions, the Labor Department will start drafting rules that make it possible for gay and lesbian workers to receive unpaid leave to care for a sick spouse under the Family and Medical Leave Act. On top of everything else. last week, the Obama administration with support of gay rights advocated has announced he will sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth (INFOGRAPHIC)

For you pocket protecting, tapped glasses and bow tie wearing fun loving video game nerds out there here is some advice on how to propose to your lady and for those who do not care for the nerdy variety here are some things to consider. For that matter, all men out there here is a guide to the proposal from Neomam Infographic Studios breaking down the essentials of your big day before you reach the big day. Even if you are married or not quite there, this infographic will make your day.

Where has all the hope gone?

History seems doomed to repeat itself as is evident in the news everyday with stories of suicide bombers, protests, and government failing to do right by its people. Reading these stories everyday makes a person wonder if hope has ever existed due to history’s lack of viable reasons to say otherwise. Every war and protest seems to follow the same patterns of behaviors and missteps taken by those in authority who believe they are doing right by their people without consulting their people. Even as a kid we are all told when we get older we will understand but as an adult I understand less now than I did as a child. What purpose does war serve and violence for that matter? Reading through the new and deciding what to write today was a challenge as I grow tired of the hopeless and sad stories I read about North Korea, South Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and so many more. Today, I look to history to guide me and the music to inspire me.

One of my favorite songs, “Where have all the flowers gone?” by Pete Seeger came to mind while reading the news today. One particular line struck me over and over…when will they ever learn? That is a question I am afraid will never be answered as humanity is already on the path to calamity as tensions rise around the world and through violence more has been accomplished than through peace or so it seems. Even looking at everyday occurrences, it doesn’t take much to see that the world has headed down a dark path not just with war and protests on a large scale, but look at everyday life with children killing children, the increase in suicides, violence against women, and the threat to a happy life for all. How as humans do we process and accept such a bleak reality?…by looking at the past of course.

When will the pattern of behavior change or when did it become okay to threaten violence in order to get the point across? It seems largely ignored when something good comes out of something so horrible because the story is not in the good but in a bad. Do we reinforce bad behavior as good? Maybe. How do we as a society end the cycle that history has found so hard to break? Do we unilaterally lay down arms or do we find peace through strength? I think I have more questions now than I did as a child.

Peace anthems seem to be a thing of the past but to me will ring true as long as people walk the earth and long after the song writers dies. It is there message to the world. I read something interesting on YouTube about Pete Seeger from a user called Thespadecaller:

On July 26, 1956, the House of Representatives voted 373 to 9 to cite Pete Seeger and seven others (including playwright Arthur Miller) for contempt, as they failed to cooperate with House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in their attempts to investigate alleged subversives and communists. Pete Seeger testified before the HUAC in 1955.
In one of Pete’s darkest moments, when his personal freedom, his career, and his safety were in jeopardy, a flash of inspiration ignited this song. The song was stirred by a passage from Mikhail Sholokhov’s novel “And Quie Flows the Don”. Around the world the song traveled and in 1962 at a UNICEF concert in Germany, Marlene Dietrich, Academy Award-nominated German-born American actress, first performed the song in French, as “Qui peut dire ou vont les fleurs?” Shortly after she sang it in German. The song’s impact in Germany just after WWII was shattering. It’s universal message, “let there be peace in the world” did not get lost in its translation. To the contrary, the combination of the language, the setting, and the great lyrics has had a profound effect on people all around the world. May it have the same effect today and bring renewed awareness to all that hear it.

Headlines full of accusations, disapproval, propaganda, violence, fear seem to outweigh human rights, human survival, and hope. Why does it take human tragedy to inspire a small change and why can’t we look to the past to inspire us to be a better version of the past? Pete Seeger a single man sparked a change in his time and his government saw him as a threat…a single man not a million. The song with a melancholy melody and repetitious lyrics lends to the haunting reality of the words that history continues to repeat itself, but with everyday that passes I hope that people begin to understand how to change not only themselves but the world.