Just a reminder

I consider myself very lucky. For starters, I was born in a developed country with access to water, food and a free education. I was also born healthy and was blessed with a good head on my shoulders. Granted, sometimes my head was too far up my ass to realize that I was about to do something stupid but this is where learning from my mistakes came in.

In fact, so far, this is the first and only time, I have actually won the lottery. I could have been born in a third world country, with very limited access to food and water, where not having a job when you are 6 years old is considered unacceptable and where things such as welfare are not only unheard of but unbelievable. I grew up in Canada, one of the most developed countries in the world, with a virtually unlimited access to things I will never need and where having a job is not required to survive regardless of your age.

Welcome to the land of the Freedom of Choice. The land where we have the freedom to truly do whatever we want, within the extent of the law of course (although some definitely push that boundary). The land where we have the power to make whatever we want of ourselves. Where what we do will determine what we achieve.  Where we have the right to know although it is a right with limitations and just as well the right to raise, or lower, our voice.  We have too many rights to name yet not enough to have. Since a lot of us are forgetful and might not remember what we have.

This, is a reminder.

Are We Being Controlled or Do We Control Ourselves?

I spent an unbelievable amount of time, educating myself. I chose not to attend University, a step I do not necessarily consider a bad one as I never let my schooling get in the way of my education (I believe Mark Twain and Albert Einstein are both listed as sources of the expression). Whether it was through books,   internet, television, other people or YouTube videos I took every single opportunity I had to learn. Except maybe official education.

On a trip back in time our current education system, was strongly based off the Prussian system which traces it's origins back to the 18th century. Seeking to replace the controlling functions of the local aristocracy the King came up with an ingenious plan. Collect taxes to fund schools. The goal was most definitely not altruistic although the collateral fallout came with some positive results. The goal of the school system was an indoctrination of three priorities: Obedience to the monarch as well as military and bureaucratic training. Kids were obligated to complete the full 8 years of compulsory education. The richest children had access to an additional 4 years and were taught slightly different skills. This effectively shaped the society into the working, the rich and the ruling classes.  Sounds familiar? If it does, it's because that's the system that was adopted in North America.

The poorest kids go to public schools and cheap universities. Cheap universities, offer cheap salaries and get bad or inexperienced teachers. In turn most financially troubled children get the worst educations. Effectively creating the working class. Children whose parents have money get to go to private schools and attend expensive universities with the best resources, effectively creating the upper class. The ruling class is already ruling and they get to call which of the richest children are going to be effective at ruling when they grow up into adults.  In the meantime the things we see daily on television from a very young age, teach us that people who have money or that appear there are important effectively teaching us compliance.

I am never amazed at how a politician can talk for half an hour, never admitting a mess up and actually making it sound wonderful.  This is his job and he's been trained for it. In fact his entire staff is trained to help him spoon feed bull shit to the general public. What I am amazed with, is our relentlessness to come back for a second spoon.

Do I think we are being controlled? Absolutely. Our entire system is designed to put us in check and accomplish the roles we were assigned. Yet the problem is not the system, as we also have a choice, the choice to think for ourselves, regardless of our class. So choice is also not a problem. Thinking for ourselves is much harder than letting others do the thinking for us as the latter effectively allows us to always have somebody to blame. The problem is, as a society we desire accountability from everybody except ourselves.

Why Should We Care?

Charlie Sheen is a Winner, Lindsay Lohan isn't, Chris Brown is about to present a new saga in his novel and for some reason millions of people give a shit! It would be hypocritical to say I don't care at all, I do as I consider this a form of entertainment in itself. Not what those artists do on a daily basis but rather how people actually care.

Why do people feel the need to connect with celebrities? Just because I always buy beer at the corner store, doesn't mean I want to be friends with the cashier. Just because I listened to three of your albums, doesn't mean we are friends. I like Two and A Half Men, I think it's a great show and Charlie Sheen 's character is amazing. I think Lindsay Lohan, actually I don't think about Lindsay Lohan and Chris Brown, let's just say I am not his target audience and they're pretty on target. This is what I know and with at least Charlie Sheen, this is where I stop giving a shit.

I don't care to know in which village Jet Li was born, how many times Jude Law was married, how many kids Angelina Jolie had, what kind of drugs Steven Tyler took and really, what gives me the right to find out? I definitely wouldn't want someone to scrutinize my past with a fine comb, trying to interview people I grew up with, following me and my kids in the car and sending pictures of my children worldwide. Judging by the amount of "US Weekly" and "National Enquirers" circulating, I know millions of people will disagree. As per http://www.nationwideadvertising.com/naten.html the Enquirer has a a readership of roughly three million people a week. That's just the people who still buy a copy instead of exploiting the FREE, online news sources. I will let you do your own math.

So why do people want to know? To feel closer and relate or maybe even feel superior? To act as a judge? To have something to discuss during coffee break? To simply gossip? 

Actors, Musicians and Politicians should be allowed their own privacy. And if they happen to get fired from a popular show, nobody has the given right to find out why. First of because it's nobody's business except the concerned. If we have to, there are other shows we can start to like but mostly because we all got our own responsibilities to attend to, and as long as anybody has ever lived, I don't think there ever was anyone who successfully attended to them all.

What do you think? Do you think it's important for us to know about celebrities private lives and why?

So what now?

For some reason, the moment I asked myself this question, I immediately thought of my mom.

Among many other things, this remarkable woman was full of wisdom and great advice. Both of which I took for a long time for granted, until I understood many years later what she had meant. 

My favorite of mom's quotes roughly translated from Russian was : "What would you rather Be? The smartest among the average, or the average among the smartest?". Once in a blue moon, I remember this sentence just as well as my answer. And I am happy to say; I know I answered correctly.

Surrounding and competing with people better than you, might not make you feel accomplished as often. But it will make you feel more accomplished. Not to mention everything you will learn. In business as well as in friendship, people who are better than you at certain things, will give you a different perspective. A crucial piece of information, especially when you have your head so far up your ass that it's coming out of your neck full of shit. I know, I know, I definitely wouldn't have said this in front of my mother. Although maybe a bit raw, it definitely helped me make my point. But she definitely would have liked the first part.

I'm at a period when i realized that if you spend your time with people who are wasting it, you will be wasting it as well.I will finish with a Warren Buffet quote. I remember him answering a question on how he is able to dedicate his time to his family with the job that he has and I remember him saying something along the lines of : "I hire people who are better than me so they can be there while I don't have to."

I think both my mom and Warren Buffet were onto something.