Real Generosity

In the world of blogging, everyone is trying to get the all mighty dollar, but how many are trying to give it back? Free Money Finance can tell you. In the past three years, the blog has made and donated over $100,000 to charitable causes. Not only does Free Money Finance give away money, it helps you make money. The blog has over 5,000 posts on investing and money management. There’s something here for everyone. They're showing us that it's not always about making money. To see someone in there position do something like that, is like a breathe of fresh air. I donate on a regular basis, but someone in my position can only do so much, so I can appreciate what they're doing. Keep it up, you make the world a better place to live in.

The Exception

When I decided to start writing blogs, I said to everyone that I would cover what's hot on the streets. I said I'd blog about what's new in music and entertainment, fashion and polotics; what's relevant and popular in our society today. Then I realized, that most of us are already aware that the music today lacks substance. Most of us know that most movies aren't worth the price of admission, and if it's in fashion, we probably can't afford it, (don't get me started on polotics).Now I've decided to write about things that we should be thinking about, or at least make me think too hard. So here it goes. I've noticed, that when someone uses the word "exception", there always seems to be a high probability that the exception is not only positive, but it's never a large amount. For example, a female might say; all men are dogs, with the exception of one or two. Or a teacher might say that they were disappointed in the classes test scores, with the exception of a few students. I know it's just rambling, but can't help but think about this when I go out. I'm always doing percentages in my head about peoples habits and morals. From what I've witnessed, the majority of people out there today aren't willing to do the right thing. Most women would say that men don't act like gentlemen any more, maybe one or two, three tops. Now, I'm a twenty-four year old male with two older sisters, who was raised by a single mother, so the least I can do is hold a door open for a lady. So I guess you could say that I'm the exception. Now at the same time I could hold the door open for twelve women, but (based on experience) I would expect the majority to ignore the act of decency, with the exception of two. Now this isn't a "gender thing". It's a "why can't the exception be the negative portion of the pie graph, instead of it being the other way around thing". Wouldn't it be nice to hear someone say, "All the food was well prepared with the exception of the dessert", rather then, "All of the food was terrible, but the pie was great". I know it sounds stupid, but we live in a society where the bad outweighs the good, so any positive experiences we may go through will probably be the exception(lol) (I know, that's not entirely true). Being realistic, we're not always going to have sunny days, but if the exception turned into the majority, maybe things would be a little more pleasant when people went out. I like to think that someone might be nice enough to let you in go ahead of them at the grocery store, hold a door open for you if your within distance, or just tell you what time it is if you ask them, but I can't, because the truth is that with the exception of a handful, the majority aren't as decent as we should be. So if you are the exception, we really appreciate it.

The Exception Continued

Consideration is the key.

When I see people today, I wonder sometimes, do the majority of them even think before they act? This is the impression that I get whenever I go out, because people today seem to be so inconsiderate. The word considerate can be defined as careful thought, and after giving it some careful thought, I dont think that our society practices this enough. I've seen people do things that were unnecessary, just because they failed to take there situation into consideration, and basically inconvenienced themselves. For example, I had a car driving directly behind me, change to the right lane, speed up, get directly in front of me, only to switch lanes one last time to the left turning lane. The driver made three moves ( while causing me to break ), when only one move was necessary. Not only inconsiderate, but rude and stupid. I got a good laugh out of it anyways. But it still made me think, whats the reason for this behavior, is it lack of consideration, ignorance, or just plain disrespect. Possibly all three. You would'nt walk across a busy street without considering the circumstances and looking both ways, (although some of you might, cause we just don't give a damn) so why not apply that type of thinking to every aspect of our life. I'll tell you why, because everyone's looking out for number one, and it's hard to be nice to someone who isn't kind to you. I can't say that I blame them. Society has shown us that there are very few people who are going to do anything for anyone else that isn't in their best interest. We live in a new era, where it really is all for one and one for all. On a better note, being considerate doesn't just pertain to manners or other people, it can be a tool used to make your life and others a little more convenient.

To Protect And Serve.

When I hear the phrase " To Protect And Serve", I think of how the law is being enforced in my city, and if they really are living up to this motto. If they are, then why does it feel like our law enforcers primary objective is our wallet and not our well being. Maybe because we can find most police officers positioned in a location that's just out of a motorist view, but they're nowhere in sight when there presence is really needed. You might be thinking, there just keeping the streets safe from reckless drivers. There were nearly 6,420,000 auto accidents in the United States in 2005, 2.9 million people were injured and 42,636 people killed, About 115 people die every day in vehicle crashes in the United States, one death every 13 minutes, so I'm aware of the fact. I just don't think that law officials have this in mind when they hit the streets. we've all heard of quotas having to be met, but I thought that we would have to wait til the end of the month to be subject to that type thing. I see it everyday during my morning and evening commute. I feel a little conflicted, because we need these traffic laws to be enforced, but while a officer is waiting in the shadows to catch a violator, he or she might be needed in a more serious situation.I don't know, you be the judge, but on the plus side at least we will know where to find them when or if we need them.

Just to give you an idea of where he is positioned, I took these pictures while I was in the middle of the intersection. You can't see it, but he is positioned out of view of any body driving east or west, making it easy to catch potential traffic violators. On top of that, the zone goes from 40 miles an hour, to 25 , and then to 45, so you can imagine what the traffic is like. Long story short, by the time you see him, he's already clocked you for going over the speed limit. Again it's a little underhanded, but I've seen people doing 55 in my residential district, and there are a lot of unsupervised children, So in the interest of safety, I can" complain, but I can't say that I fully agree, It is kind of funny to see the looks on drivers faces when they pull up to that blind intersection and see the police officer with that radar gun

Just A Thought

What ever happened to credibility or paying your dues in today's society. I remember a time when you had to break a record, give a award winning performance, or at least be able to carry a note. Now all you have to do is get a DUI or put out a sex tape to get recognition. Is immoral behavior what defines a persons celebrity status, and if it is, when was this established. I personally think that we should only give credit where it's due. Why acknowledge a celebrity for walking on the streets, when we should be acknowledging whether his or her last project was worth our time. I don't mean to bash, but I think it's time that we commended good quality entertainment, and not bad examples set by celebrities.