Thanksgiving in a Non-Stop World

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."
~ Albert Schweitzer

 "Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy."

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Time is such a precious commodity, the very silent currency in which we exchange for every endeavour we undertake.   Once a year, the people of the United States celebrate the holiday Thanksgiving, but it is a lost meaning for many people.  Not many people are gifted with the patience to stand still in our non-stop world and reflect on their time over the year, and even rarer, people that reflect on their daily work.

Thanksgiving is not just another holiday, nor just another day off work.  It is a day of true reflection of your time so far over the past year.  There many frustrations in this world, but our strength is in identifying the good things that happened for us.  And the question we should pose to ourselves is what are truly thankful for... not just the good things that happened to us, but to celebrate the success of our families, friends, co-workers, employer and whatever else we take stock in.

Happiness begets happiness, it is a truly infectious emotion.  I was never always an optimist, far from it at several points throughout life.  Life is not meant to be lived like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh, as depression is as infectious as happiness to spread to other people.  I never admit that my high-charging optimism comes with a high price of energy expended to keep people pressing forward with a hope of a better future.  The reality of the situation in life is that life does throw curve balls, but it is not without giving out blessings. 

But we may be temporarily knocked down; but we must come back in swinging, and swinging hard.  Getting up though is never without difficulty, although the key I've found in life so far is entrusting your full confidence in close friends you have extensively invested your time in, to have each other's back through the hours when all lights seem to be out.

Sometimes it is good to detach from the world, to reflect upon oneself, to think about what happened over the past year.  Think about you and other you care about through these lens:

• the good times, 
• the bad times, 
• the storms of life weathered, 
• the people gotten to know, 
• the people gotten to know better,
• the pains endured,
• the triumphs achieved,
• the suffering experienced,
• the accomplishments attained

Whether the good or bad in life, full reflection is required for the deepest gratitude in our self-assessment through another year in life.  Life is fleeting, like dust in the wind... it is finite, but our past actions define how we act in the future.  We have just one shot at life, we must expend our energy to build up people

This is the week of Thanksgiving... not everyone is in positive territory.  Our tongues are a two-edged sword, slow to build up and quick to destroy others.  The sun should never set without setting things straight between two or more quarreling parties.  Actions are much louder than words, we must always strive to be the better man or woman to uphold character and reputation.  We must be the light to others when all other lights have gone out.

You never really know a person until you hear about their life story.  Their life story is everything laid bared to see.  It is the best way to understand how they act, how they feel, what drives them, what detaches them from motivation, etc.  It is the ultimate treasure chest of knowledge about another person that it.  With this knowledge, you empower yourself to make them better in such a powerful way that you'll never ever seen before.  It is in this way you gain their true confidence, in turn drives a trust that is hard to break.

We must find something to rejoice in this world, a world in which many negative things happen.  Reading the news shows the universal pain and suffering that this world experiences everyday.  You may not like your job, but you're alive still... you still have friends backing you up... you have a family that you maybe able to lean on... etc.  Find those kernels of good everyday, not just for the year.

Time is a blessing and a curse.  Not everything good turns up immediately, unfortunately, it takes quite awhile for the blessing to come.  Good things fall into place, given time.  That is the hope I and others should cling to.  The worries of today are just sufficient to deal with, that tomorrow's and future worries, I just let go since I cannot control them.

I implore you to find whatever you're thankful for, not just for Thanksgiving Day, but in everyday.  Finding that positivity strives to make each day to be just a little bit more bearable than it was.  Positivity feeds more positivity and will energize others!

I know I show a strong face of positivity, but everyday I am fighting the same battle everyone else is, but I'm out there fighting back against the negativity of life.  Yes, I am alone in a foreign country with  people that I know expressly, nor given my full confidence in but I make do with what I have.  I have fought with sleepless nights and an isolation that has disturbed me at times, but I am still here.  You ask why.  It is because I see a magnitude of opportunities that far outweighs whatever negativity I feel. 

Being in Turkey has expressly fulfilled a long-standing desire to see the world and damnit, I'm going to see it.  Yes, I miss being home, my stateside friends, mentors, and family, but I've been given a once in a lifetime opportunity that I shall not waste.   I miss the convenience of being in the United States, but a life would not be well-spent staying home. I believe in my success and drive for success.  I want to empower power with that same belief as well.  I have reached and surpassed my near-time goals, life has been the best in the 23 years of my life, and it's only getting brighter.

Was getting to this point without hardship?  It is with a resounding no.  There is still a past I must deal with, and I know I'm playing against time to catch up where I stumbled behind on.  I know I must drive ever onward to the vision laid out before me.  People believed in my potential when I did give up in myself several times in the past, others relit the vision I believe was dead, and now push forward towards that vision for me.
      
My hope is to continue to give others hope and drive to move forward to meeting what they want out of life.  I know full well I've been given quite the unique set of skills that are still be developing and still seeking the people that help me mature those skills to unleash their full potential.  It is in this latest stage of life, being in the USAF that it seems where it will happen, preparing for the unknown post-USAF life stage yet to come.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  And remember, take the time during the day to reflect on your life and what you're thankful for.

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
Albert Schweitzer
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gratitude.html#z2AMq1uC8A4MR2DZ.99

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
Albert Schweitzer
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gratitude.html#z2AMq1uC8A4MR2DZ.99

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
Albert Schweitzer
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gratitude.html#z2AMq1uC8A4MR2DZ.99

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
Albert Schweitzer
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/gratitude.html#z2AMq1uC8A4MR2DZ.99

The Misunderstanding in Congress

There is much to be said about the political divisiveness in Washington D.C.; however, I am sadden to see that the traditional use politics at the appropriate level with the appropriate weaponry to counter opposing opinion has gotten out of hand.  Both elected representatives Republicans and Democrats and their constituents are misguided in their attempt to impose their view of the world upon everyone else, that the causalities in the massive verbal violence is the idea of compromise.  Unfortunately, the zealous defenders of the Party line on either side are killing America while an apathetic public watches hopelessly, questioning why we've gotten here.

Actually there is a good reason why we all arrived here like this, and it does mainly in the American public's misunderstanding of the American political structure and how to properly address issues in the proper chain of escalation.  Many Americans try to keep propelling many issues into the Federal spotlight when clearly it is not ready for such a debate at such a scale.

Not to say that healthcare reform shouldn't be a national issue, it's that people are looking for solutions at all the wrong places.  Humanity is benevolently ignorant of several concepts of itself sometimes to think everyone on the same page of certain things that are "right" or "wrong".  History has proven over and over that this is simply false and to think otherwise is outright silly.   Simple conversation with over a dozen people can easily show you rather quickly that we maybe close on agreeing that things are an issue, but that's where it all ends.

Yes, of course of the bulk of the money and political backbone to enforce law lies in Federal endorsement and enforcement; however, we're a nation that is separate, yet equal.  Universal anything is a more of a scientific discovery of arriving to eventual consensus, rather than dragged into a verbal fistfight of your position being morally right and/or theirs being wrong.

I've spoken quite vocally in sometime that the American public under-utilize the powers vested in the individual States to experiment for viable solutions for very polarized issues that clearly cannot be universally accepted by the entire population of the United States.  Not to say that this is a perfect system, but one cannot deny that each region has different needs and perspective to their issues.

It would be best that Congress not get dragged into such divisive issues directly, instead by limiting it's exposure in whatever way we can until we can discover that consensus that will drive us together to form a national policy.  But that's the problem with AHCA is that we know it's imperfect, yet we continue with it anyway.  We're so quick skip the innovative process to discover what works or not, that really, we need to discover it through small groups of people, i.e. The States.

Our political mentality goes against everything we believe in maintaining people's ability to choose and not infringe on others.   I know it's a two-way street that issues cannot be outright dismissed like the House Republicans are currently are doing right now, but let's not forget that the AHCA is a flawed system built onto another flawed system, something Democrats would like to forget about.

Elections and majorities do not mandate anything for any agenda regardless of political party or affiliation.  If people really want the infighting to stop, they need to start pave the way solve the big issues at the local level first.  You're maybe right in your cause; however, imposing big changes when clearly no one is happy about it is quite illogical.  You have to take a step back and think to yourself, "Why do I do this when obviously it's not perfect and other solutions do exist?  What makes my solution better than others? etc"  Small steps lead to big victories.  Striving for big victories can be self-inflecting and backfire if you fail to convince a resounding majority. 

I would love to see both sides working together to fund various testbed ideas on hot button topics, but alas, all I see is people too focused to impose their ultimate solution to such big problems to the audience of 300+ million people.  When you think of every hot button subject facing America, only a few could truly be ready to face the prime time test of national resolution.

Many of the social issues facing America can begun to be solved on lower levels of governance.  It made prove a patchwork of ideas and counter-intuitive to what certain people want, but that's the beauty of America, we discover what works for us, instead of formulating something that maybe on the right track.

There is power in the local and state politics, but people are too blind to realize it.  American history is filled with the idea of experimenting with discovering law to what best suited the local populace.  While it made have sparked a Civil War and other negative events like Jim Crow laws, those were the only notable negative effects to untold positive outcomes.  We have in the past, passed gun-control laws in the West through many town to control gun use.  States and local laws have in the past paved the way to national inclusion.  I have to admit, time is sometimes the only best remedy to soften hard hearts on certain issues and let subtle changes in public opinion slowly slide to the right way.

America is a trial-and-error experiment that finds it's eventual consensus to an eventual solution at the national level at some point.  Nowadays, we don't even try to figure out what could work, we just formulate something that might work right at the national level when various experiments, if allowed to have formed at the local/state level, could pave the way to a national level law.

But until people realize that bringing all sorts of issues to Congress is actually counter-productive to the day-to-day business of Congress, we'll continue on this polarized road that leads to nothing good in the end.  It leads to moments like these where each side will be tempted greatly to cripple one another agendas by crippling the very structure we've hopelessly placed the majority of our avenues to solve issues.  But this should not, nor never be the case.  We have the structure in place to escape a paralyzed federal government from time-to-time, we just have to utilize it, and utilize it correctly.

Overview of Invovlement in Syria

The Obvious First Strike: Tomahawk Cruise Missiles

With Secretary of State John Kerry putting up strong emotional statement of the latest accusation of the Syrian government using chemical weapons on their people, the United States and her allies are ramping up the military options for an eventual strike of some sort, which is a done deal in my opinion.

Everything in the region in the past few months has slowly put the pieces into place for a limited involvement against the Syrian government, but the question has been where and what equipment would be involved.  Looking at what has been placed into the region in the past year and more importantly over the summer gives a glaring look at what places would be doing the most work.

Assets in the region:
United States 

•  Four US destroyers - USS Gravely, USS Ramage, USS Barry and USS Mahan - are in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with approximately 360 cruise missiles.
• Airbases at Incirlik and Izmir in Turkey, and in Jordan.  Official US fighter squadrons are only in Jordan at the moment.
• Two aircraft carriers - USS Nimitz and USS Harry S Truman are in the wider region. 

Britain

• The Royal Navy's response force task group- which includes helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious and frigates HMS Montrose and HMS Westminster - is in the region on a previously-scheduled deployment.
• RAF Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus. 
• A British Trafalgar class submarine equipped with cruise missiles.

France

• French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is currently in Toulon in the western Mediterranean.
• French Raffale and Mirage aircraft can also operate from Al-Dhahra airbase in the UAE.

US-British-French Assets in the Region

While this week has pretty much spelt out the writing on the wall for a strike, the news of having the US Navy destroyer floatilla increase their number by one due to extended deployment signals an imminent military action by the Western powers.  The use of Tomahawk cruise missiles on Arleigh Burke destroyers is the usual classic option used in the past as the desired choice for limited involvement, such as pre-Gulf War 2 on Iraq by the Clinton Administration.

People have said that we may do a no-fly zone; however, this option realistically is not plausible at the moment due to the lack of assets close by to begin sustained SEAD (supression of enemy air defenses) operations as readily.  If this was possible, the USS Harry S Truman Carrier Strike Group would likely be in the Mediterranean Sea at the moment instead of lurking in the Gulf of Aden. However, dropping down to one carrier in the Persian Gulf is against US naval strategy just in case any conflict in the Middle East expands to involve more players.  It would behoove to think then that a possible SEAD role would fall to NATO partners instead of a predominant US role in establishing a no-fly zone similar to what happened in Libya back in 2011.

It is interesting to see the various third-parties and regional nations, such as Turkey, place their response as the US heats up the call for action.  The last 24 hours has seen the United Kingdom to be the official pusher for a UN resolution to start limited military action in Syria.  At least how the resolution to the Security Council is worded to blunt the Russian and Chinese vetoes.  This is the beginning of the 'coalition of the willing' from the West, which will begin heavy NATO involvement no less.

Meanwhile, "I think international law is clear on this. International law says that military action must be taken after a decision by the Security Council," Lakhdar Brahimi, UN-Arab League special envoy for Syria, told reporters in Geneva.  This may paint the Arab League into a corner from not intervening.

While in Turkey, which has been one of the most vocal critics on the Syrian conflict, maybe forced not to intervene.  Last year, Turkey’s Parliament passed a government motion for a one-year mandate authorizing the military to use ground troops for cross-border military operations into Syria that began in October 2012. However, opposition parties are lining up against the AKP to kill renewing that measure.  “Their taking the Parliament’s will for granted is disrespect of the AKP [the Justice and Development Party] to the high Parliament and the AKP deputies,” Loğoğlu said in a written statement, warning that the AKP should not forget “the March 1, 2003, motion” experience.

Now, this is important because Turkey back in 2003 denied an expanded US ground presence for the Iraq War which strained US-Turkey relations for many years afterwards.  There is no support from the Turkish government at large to see a US ground force in Turkey, which already limits what would be coming to Incirlik Air Base.  Too much in Turkey hinges on working with NATO to open up Incirlik AB which in the foreseeable future just maintaining the Patriot missiles batteries and intelligence surveillance operations from this strategic air base in the region.

Now, what is more interesting is the deployment of US forces in Jordan over the summer.  Back in June, 5000 US personnel were involved in an annual, Jordanian-led military exercise called Eager Lion.  Involving 19 countries and some 8000 troops, Eager Lion as Maj. Gen. Awni al Adwan of the Jordanian army and chairman of the joint task force described, "Issues such as integrated air and missile defense and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to address current and future conflicts’ security issues."  Afterwards, the US left behind a squadron of F-16s and a Patriot missile battery.

It's interesting to see that the forces in Jordan are in a more convenient strike position than any possible deployment of forces in Turkey, dealing with a more cooperative Jordanian government to keep options open and not be caught by surprise by Turkey not willing to expand the scope of Syrian intervention if the limited strikes failed.  In the past year, it is interesting to note how the Israelis have been making occasional strikes into Syria which probably was with some sort of air-to-surface

F-16 launching a AGM-158 JSSM

standoff weapon. While tomahawk cruise missiles, the F-16 compliment in Jordan probably have something like the AGM-158 JSSM, or AGM-154 JSOW.  Without the carrier strike groups within operational range for strike missions, the only readily available aircraft in the region are those F-16s in Jordan. 

However, Jordan has said that their nation would not be used a platform for any operation against Syria, as stated by information minister Mohammad Moman has said today that the country will "not be a launching pad for any military action against Syria."
He said Jordan preferred a "diplomatic solution to the Syrian crisis" and called on the international community to "consolidate efforts in that regard."

Regional politics and sensitivities of having another ground way have forced a limited hand back in Washington.  If the UN resolution fails, it does indeed falls back to having a NATO backing to see an advancement of the limited strike option.  The world's public is rightly skeptical on getting the evidence right on proving the Syrian government used chemical weapons.  I for one should note that they should have pulled the 'humanitarian' card awhile go if they were going to play that move.  The United States and the Obama Administration does not need another Iraq, which is why toppling Assad isn't possible and arming the Syrian rebels is difficult.  This is a face saving measure and to send a message to everyone else that possesses chemical weapons, "Don't even think about using them, period... or get fucked."

As the UN Security Meets, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said, "We see no avenue forward, given continued Russian opposition, to any meaningful council action on Syria."  Even adding further insult to injury towards Russia, she continued, "Today we've heard nothing different from the Russians in the meeting than we've heard for months and even years."

Meanwhile, the White House is spilling quite a few details of what the military strike option as White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney fielded questions amongst a frenzied White House press.

"Having said that, we’re primarily considering two sets of Tomahawk missile strikes (between 8 and 11) launched by the USS Mahan and the USS Gravely against a set of military bases in the Syrian desert, including but not limited to… [ruffles some papers]… and let me see if I can get these names right: the Marj Ruhayyil Military Airbase, Al-Nayrab Military Airbase, the Suwayda Army Base, the Marj al-Sultan Military Heliport… Wait, no scratch that. My bad. The heliport is not under consideration. I mean, it may or may not be under consideration. Let’s see, where were we? Oh, also the Shayrat Military Airbase and the Khalkh… you know what, I’m not even going to try to pronounce that one.  We’ve put together a list of the potential targets that you can pick up on your way out, along with geographical coordinates and correct spelling, and so on, just to facilitate things."

As the reporters grabbed for details, Carney gave more details... I'm not sure how this is a productive military planning, but it reveals the huge measure to the Syrian government the heads ups...

"Again, we’re not in the business of revealing sensitive information, Judy. All I can tell you is that we may or may not strike the potential targets during the hours of 21:00 and 23:00 on Friday August 30th, and again between 15:00 and 17:00 on Saturday the 31st. Please note that we’re talking about the Damascus time zone, which is GMT +2. I know that can be confusing.  Anyway, after the strikes which may or may not take place between those hours, we may or may not launch a surprise follow-up attack again the following week on Monday morning between 10:30-11:00 am, depending on the situation on the ground."

In return, John McCain on "Fox and Friends" commented the leaks, "But all of these leaks, when strikes are going to take place, where, what’s going to be used, if I were Bashar Assad, I think I would declare tomorrow a snow day and keep everybody from work. This is crazy. These leaks are just crazy.”

In Syria, the public took to heart of the leaks as a Reuters reported stated in Damascus, "At grocery stores, shoppers loaded up on bread, dried goods and canned foods, fearing they may face shortages if a strike hits the city. The items most in demand were batteries and water.  Nearby, a nurse idled in a clinic - empty as nearly no one showed up for their appointments on Wednesday - and raised the question on the mind of so many locals."


At the end of the day, the United Nations will just sit and watch the firework show erupt in the Middle East once again as the United States does what it wants to do in a conflict that it is showing up to a quite a bit late.  For being diplomatic... the Obama Administration has politely told Russia to "Fuck off." as seen what is coming from the State Department.  It will definitely be an interesting next week for sure.   The details are plain to see on what is going to happen, and even when it is happening.  This is a message sending missile strike and nothing more, land-based aircraft strikes are hampered by various regional politics in neighboring countries where there is a US presence, thus the sea-based Tomahawk cruise missile system strikes happening in the coming days.

 



Related news links:
BBC - Syria crisis: Where key countries stand.
BBC - Gauging Russia's reaction to a Syrian Strike
The Guardian - Israeli Intelligence Intercepts Syrian regime talk about chemical attack
Reuters - Obama's Politcal Cost on Syrian Action
Reuters - US Prepares to Strike, Syria prepares.
Hurriyet Daily News - Turkish Government Alone in Intervention Motion
Hurriyet Daily News - Turkey Plans Concrete Goals on Syria
Politico - John McCain Appalled by Syrian Operation Leaks
 

Why Politics is a Petty Thing

I've always questioned why someone or groups of people should be politically active.  I know I'm politically active, but like everything in life, it's really meaningless.  There is only a very few things in the political realm that has survived a decent period of time.  People's interpretation is always askew in their priorities, thinking that a group of representatives can be benevolent enough to represent everyone else.  By far this is a farce, for too many people have individualistic natures, even though common ground can be made for many things; however, people are horrible flip-floppers like Mitt Romney. 

Life is too short to be overly concerned with politics, and the more radical viewpoints shove out the moderate voices which is the majority.  I'm baffled daily that people trust that what happens in various capital's around the world is really ground-breaking work, but it's really not.  Government is by extension a reflection of humanity's indecisiveness, assertiveness in it's own knowledge and in-admittance to the deep imperfections in every individual on this blue planet.  We try to fix things in which are impossible due to our inherent unsavory natures.  We are bringing about an objectively fair world in a world that by it's nature is and forever will be unfair. 

It is admirably to fight the good fight to right the wrongs of the world, but it's a fruitless battle of the ages in which man has yet to win, and probably never win.  The sun rises and sets on history everyday and mankind keeps moving on with the latest evolution of politically correct politics in which is rooted in shallow opinion. 

Good people stay out of politics for good reasons, mainly because it's petty and you can live your life to one's content for the most part if you choose to do so.  Sure, there are those 'white knights' out there seeking appropriate justice and equality for all, but so few are remembered... yet being remembered is not important.  It is just politics is petty since it is, generally speaking, is laying out an opinion of what is perceived to be right or wrong.  It changes with the tides of history, but I suppose I have better things to say what is right or wrong to make it a constant line in the sand and forcefully shouting it out to the rest of the world that this is the way it is and it won't change.  It may not change for me, but I feel I'm wasting my time swaying people to my opinion anyhow.  So instead, I just go out living, doing what I need to do to live life to the fullest, because time can be better spent on other things then arguing endlessly on opinion.

Knowing me: Objective Judging

Sometime ago when I got to Incirlik Air Base, I took one of those personality tests that shows whatever traits I predominantly show.  Over the years, the top traits have rarely shifted; however, each attribute exhibits various rates of growth.  From this test, my top ten traits were

• Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness
• Perspective (wisdom)
• Gratitude
• Curiosity and interest in the world
• Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness
• Love of learning
• Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness
• Appreciation of beauty and excellence
• Humor and playfulness
• Kindness and generosity 

Some folks are taken aback from the first trait exhibiting judgement and in retrospect,  I'm fairly straight-forward with assessing people, because I'm always analyzing them.  Unfortunately, I can only judge base on what I see and know, and with my open-mindedness, I'm a person that desires to know people's life story, desires, goals and put people forward towards them.

I am truly dismayed by the people who dismiss me at first glance because they know I'm actively judging them, but my judgement is for assessment of your character and principles.  Every new thing that you display to me molds my judgement of you to help me understand you better.  It's those people that get my cold stare because they were already closed-minded in the first place, casting the first stone before I could even begin.

I would argue that I display more of my second trait of perspective more, because I understand myself and when I judge, I'm just critical of myself as the people I'm assessing. I know that in the end, the judging, critical thinking, etc trait is the predominant trait, because I think all the time.  However, with wisdom, I can dis spell the terrible effects of negative judgment and come out knowing that I use all ten traits to frame judgement end game.

This is how I exhibit judgement, as objectively as a I can everyday.  I know I come off as a cold-hearted analysis, but those that stick around that can accept the initial foray of an analysis of yourself then can then see the 'whole me'.  I know plenty of people who gotten the same vibe and came out thinking I had the greatest sense of humor ever.

The worse thing is initial judgement, and I've seen people rush faster than I do nearly everyday.  I know people tell me about other people and how they are and what I should watch for, but in the end, I reserve judgment with an open mind.  That is the difference between objective judges like myself and those that lack the fortitude of making judgement on knowing people.


 

Acknowledging Lifelong Learning

Whenever someone I'm getting acquainted with talks with me, one of the subjects of 'getting know this new guy Roger' breaches the subject of future life planning and/or career planning.  These folks quickly realize that I exhibit both specific short-term goals and general road map of long-term goals.  After more discussion, they find that some of the goals, mainly the longer term ones can shift in time frame, but they never leave my focus.  I explain that I see all these possible paths that I could take, but which one takes it's time to reveal itself, sometimes purposely and others accidentally.

I suppose the biggest question now getting to the operational side of the Air Force has been arguably, "Are you making this a career?"  I consider this time period still too early to call really, it really depends after getting to Japan when one logically thinks about it if they were in my situation.  Until then I've explained that CDCs and upgrade training is the most important focal point in life at the moment, followed by enjoying Turkey and the region I'm in at the fullest.

I expound upon this thought to people that life has shown me quite a few lessons that I've heeded before the military and I always keep them in hindsight while I'm here.
1)  The Air Force is just another phase of my finite life.
2) Whenever you're placed in limbo between where you are and where you want to be, be proactive in everything you do.
3) Every event whether good or bad is something to learn from, just don't let bad decisions ruin you're life.
4) History tends to repeat itself, it's best to self-evaluate your past actions constantly to avoid future pitfalls.
5) Five.. no, six constants in life: God, change, choice, principles, learning, and character.
6) The 'drive' of great expectations of doing great things.  Although 'great things' are vague, many small things tend to snowball either positively or negatively, and it may not accumulate into what we call big things.

I've found out that life is a constant lesson in learning about everything.  This definitely excludes the traditional sense of learning, but those 'life lessons' can be found about everyday and it's important to acknowledge them when they occur.  I think many people reach an 'apex' in learning and stop, thinking they mastered everything.

Unfortunately, those people are so woefully wrong and are missing important things in life.  Without risk and an open mind, many people are resigned to a fate of boredom.  This is a tragic consequence that life does not let one forget lightly.  Every new interaction with someone and/or something else is a start of a new lesson in life's education, it's just how you tend to approach it.

In conclusion, don't stop learning, not because you think you've passed college or reached your 'dream' career, because life does not let you stop learning and the faster you get that lesson, the better your life can be.

Humanity's Thought Process is Primitive

You know what word I greatly dislike due to it's abuse, 'progressive'.  The thought or mindset of 'being progressive' is a sham to me, it's like the greatest logic trap made by mankind.  I enter this trap a lot and so do a lot of other people from day to day.

People would reply to my mocking of progressivism as "Why Roger, humanity has benefited from progressive thought."  I would reply that yes, a great deal of advancement in humanity has been done by progressive thinkers, but think about the context of thought.  A lot of humanity's advancement comes from the worst side of humanity in the realm of war and destruction.

I'm a skeptic of humanity's progression.  We're so prone to greed, envy, power, etc. that some generous byproduct is that sometimes benefit to humanity in the long run.  We're really not a very progressive species when it comes to serious barriers on race, sex, religion, law, politics, nationalities.  Think about the global state of progressivism, it's really sad really.

In reality, we fool ourselves by our 'technological, economic, and medical advancement', patting our back saying, "We're doing good."  No, that's tomfoolery that begets that smug feeling of self-satisfaction.  We're so focused on the our own troubles to really lose focus that humanity's crawl to 'self-improvement' is really silly.  I mean, in the 100+ years since the American Civil War, race is really still an issue.  Our moment of self-smugness was with the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

People of different races seem to need that "Woe is me" attitude that inhibits the improvement from the past with silly things like 'Black History Month' or 'Women's History Month'.  Burying the hatchet on such issues requires both sides to stop the "I'm different, and you hurt my feelings, so I need this to feel better, so know about now."

No offense to blacks or women, it's just some very obvious examples in society today.   I know the injustices, but I don't need everyone to read about Thai history to respect my differences.  All I ask for is that unspoken code of respect from one fellow man to another.  I really feel that's a 'tit-for-tat' tactic to 'understand me' that doesn't really need to be used.

Nearly everyone craves to have a decent life with enough material wealth to enjoy it, although there are some serious exceptions to that generalization, but for the most part, most of humanity can be entered into that thought school.

A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues.

- Theodore Roosevelt  

Over 100 years ago, that man made that statement.  It's not just American politics, but one can say about politics in general.  What has changed here?  Nothing really, except we have more possibility to be misinformed than ever before.  The last decade has really shown progressive thought in politics is a great farce.  We're entering full-blown class warfare on the rich and on the bastions of capitalism.

Talking about capitalism, people always talk about socialism vs capitalism and what is better.  I usually reply that neither is that great really, since the flaws in the system is rooted by the inherent nature of humanity's flaws to envy thy neighbor and be greedy.  People can't realize that any system cannot defeat the very basic constructs of humanity's flaws, but we sure try to inhibit the worst offenders.

In conclusion, I'm stating that 'progressivism' in society should be taken with serious grains of salt and people need to heed the right perspective when trying to improve the well-being of humanity.  Hopefully, somebody could stop the seemingly inherent nature of self-destruction in societies.