User:Patwinkle

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Life Guard on Duty
Here at Denial Beach, the most frequent drowning victims are the ones that are rendered silent. Once they leave the sands of thought, information, and discourse, some ideas or information become cold, quiet, and gently slip away into the subconscious depths of the blue.

But how can we let it? In the inimitable Democracy that the US strives to be, with her arms of influence reaching into every political and economic nook and cranny around the globe(and aren't we living the benefits of such things?), how can we claim not to be complicit in anything that goes on in the world? Aren't we in essence partly responsible for everything? With this realization comes pain, the kind that cannot be easily tamed with Prozac or a mere short glass of Jim Beam. However, Hollywood and the Bible has shown us an effective but troubling alternative to a drink or a pill; if the truth is boring or painful, embellish it with fantasy! We as a nation have become hooked on this idea, extending the process to drown whole portions of reality that may be unpleasant, painful, or offensive, to replace them with an adorned or diminished version of the truth.

I reject this method! I would sooner die in a pool of my own vomit than take the Hollywood or religious approach. I have nothing against religion itself, and boy do i love watching movies, but I equally believe such medium should NEVER replace analytical, critical, and creative thinking. So instead, I have decided to study topics I otherwise have no vested interested in, to learn about who I am, who we are as a nation, and as a species on Earth, and to contribute in any small way to the collective process of the growth of our species. By doing this I pursue no increase in my earning power, academic degree (although this is generally a worthwhile pursuit), or personal recognition. Spiritual growth is the only direct reward that I can feel, and it is good enough. My journey initially filled me with intrigue, then horror, about how we can be so collectively ignorant.

It matters not if few shining examples of thoughtful individuals fill our political ranks. It matters not how a few educated and talented people toil to create a silver bullet designed for whatever purpose. Such things are a pie-in-the-sky approach to solutions and usually only measured in monetary value. The average knowledge and awareness of the collective needs to be improved; the lowest common denominator needs to be exponentially raised! Everyone from the Ivy League graduates to the "lowly" street sweeper need to have a better awareness and understanding of our world.

My passion and pass time is to rescue such victims of drowning and keep them "on the beach".....standing safely atop the sands of discourse.

Lotion, umbrella, sunglasses, and a good book provided.

Current Projects
Not referring to a specific Wikipedia topic or page. A broad outline of subjects that I am cross referencing and checking on Wikipedia content and elsewhere.

Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide(How are they different? Genocide has become a target, its little brother, Ethnic Cleansing, is still too often overlooked or ignored. Both are equally crimes against humanity...)

Nakba ("Palestinians are a made-up people!" They are in fact the first casualties of ethnic cleansing since the foundation of the U.N. That's what ethnic cleansing aims to do...make a people forgotten.)

Iraq War (Remember the casualty count? US casualties only.....)

Elizabeth Saunders Home (This is personal...)

Japan (Any related topic that begs my interest. Japan is my spiritual home.)

Peace