THE STREAM (pay no attention to the screaming man behind the screen)

How hard is it to stand for peace, honour and justice? As a child living in New York in the 70’s the fact that my country at least seemed to value these ideas gave me strength and sustained me through times when my fellow Americans found it hard to deal with the things that make me different. The very simple ideas contained in the constitution and the bills of rights stood in my life then, and still stand, as ideals, but more than political ideals more as a map to a better life, to a better existence. Not just for myself, but for all people. I think of the ideas in the American constitution, bill of rights and many other documents that mankind has created to make sense of and in some way contain the evil that men do as more than politically relevant, they are ideas that have given me strength when that evil has come knocking, and it comes knocking often The following words have always made me think about the gravity of my actions as they relate to the world at large, and don’t be foole

Living in Australia is much like living in almost any western country, there are cities and towns bent upon achieving their goals, good people and bad making their way through their lives seeking meaning and love. There are tree lined streets like the one here and places that seem to be on a downward slide. We all share the same disappointment and frustration with our elected representatives. Really ... the differences are very subtle matters of politics & lifestyle. At this time in history when both of the countries seem to be reading from the same political "playbook" I wonder how compatible the goals of these two countries really are? From the moment I arrived in Australia the main grievance many Australians had with the country of my birth was what was then called "Cultural Imperialism" which to my mind did not exist 15 years ago or even 5 years ago, but now that we have all been drawn into this insane and counterproductive conflict I fear Australia h

I have just been watching and listening to an essay by Jeff Rosenblatt on the Newshour. His subject today was Rosa Parks and the effects of her actions upon all of us, Mr. Rosenblatt brought an idea to the front of my mind that is not considered enough in these times, the actions we all take does truly effect us all. They may not be world-changing actions but they all ripple through the world the same way. It makes me wonder…do we really appreciate the effect we have on this world and if we don’t… then really what are we doing? It is not impportant that we remember Mrs parks as a pioneering African American, but as simply a fredom fighter, fightiing to free herself and the man taking her fingerprints in the picture above. She was not a saint or sent by any diety she was simply one of us, and we should remember we are ALL that.

Why does is so much time on TV and in Film devoted to human suffering? Don't get me wrong We need to know when our fellow humans are in distress... But to just observe these horrors and not help is just wrong. To actually help should be the goal behind showing these things... Not charity, or sympathy but involvement. How can it be justified by news agencies to spend millions upon millions to "cover" a horrible event and nothing to help? Let's just put away that notion of "journalistic integrity" if it ever existed at all it is surely long dead now. News bringer have long ago crossed the line and become news makers, so why not do some good? Not theoretical good but real good... I mean they are there at the scene, with little to do but rehash a story over and over. As for film... We all know that the budget for one "blockbuster" film could solve a lot of the world's problems. You say they are helping ... Through their story telling? Well that w