Mainly Void Thoughts

What makes someone a hero? Going to a foreign land, gun in hand, fighting a cause determined by his superiors? What cause is worth fighting for? Who’s cause? Why should you  fight for someone else? What is so important you have to go to a foreign land?

Media is filled these days with news about “terrorists”. Someone trying to make a living is a terrorist? Someone fighting for food and their own survival is a terrorist? What truly makes a terrorist a terrorist? Because someone labels them as such or because of the actions they take? What makes a soldier different to a terrorist?

On this time of the year, I am always thinking of those less fortunate than myself. Those without a big ham on their table. Those without heating. Those without a roof over their heads or even shelter. Those are the people to fight for. The rights of those people as well as the rights of myself. My rights as a human being are worth no more than a home less person. Worth no less.

So, what really makes a hero? Is a hero someone that stands guard over the vast opium fields in Afghanistan, because some government told them to? Is a hero someone that hands out food to the homeless? Which do you think is the bigger hero of the two?

Is a hero someone that convinces this lonely, tired, desperate person not to take their own life this Christmas? Is it someone that helps an elderly person across the street? Is a hero someone that aims a weapon at a religious gathering and fires rockets across borders, killing indiscriminately?

Typing this out, it seems obvious who are the real heroes. Watching the news bites however, I do not see heroes. I see soldiers carrying out orders from people who do not care who dies, as long as their objectives are carried out.

Where is your battle field? Who and what are you fighting for?

Personally, I find that guarding an opium field is just wrong. Burn the thing down instead!

A 5 year old, fighting cancer is much more heroic. Pick your battles in life and pick them well, they are what defines you and what you stand for. Let’s make a better world. Help your neighbour dig their car from under the snow. Spend an hour handing out food in a shelter. This is Christmas! Opium fields have never helped anyone but those making money out of them. Look after your family instead and your much more the hero. Help someone get home to see their family.

Being a hero starts every day you wake up. Every time you can make someones day better, you’re a hero. Every time you can help someone pack their grocery bags, you’re a hero.

To me, a fire fighter is a hero. An ambulance driver. A nurse. Those are heroes.

People guarding opium fields are just guards. People fighting over the opium fields are just thieves and thugs. People firing rockets into weddings, over borders, into civilian population, these are not heroes.

The police and rescue services who tried saving lives at a disaster are heroes. If you’ve ever helped anyone to get to a hospital or get medical attention, you’re a hero.

In other words, looking after your fellow man makes you a hero. Standing up for what is right makes you a hero. Disobeying an order to fire at innocents while you are wearing a uniform makes you a hero.

Be a hero this Christmas. It is not that hard. You just have to do something with love towards someone you love, or someone you have just met. You don’t even need to know their name. You just have to show compassion, and isn’t that what Christmas really is about?

Christmas isn’t really about getting lots of presents. It’s about becoming a hero to someone. Someone who needs you.

Wow, media are really rocking with the state of the Republic right now. National and International media are all over this country. No such thing as bad press they say, but I do think at least one person disagree right now about that statement. Brian Cowen.

Let’s face some facts here shall we. He inherited a country that was on the verge of being flushed down the toilet. He was part of the ensemble that got us there too. But I’ve yet to hear a single word about our previous head of state, Bertie Ahern. I’m sure he’s getting a tan somewhere nice and warm, just not warm enough for my liking.

Let’s also not forget, the whole nation was more than happy to getting the tax reductions when the country was “going well”. Just because there was an abundance of money flowing through here doesn’t mean we did well. All it really means is, the populace was happy to spend, spend and then spend some more. Now that the global markets have caused a ruckus and the builders have managed to build more houses than there is people to occupy them, the whole nations is left to foot the bill.

Why? Well, when we had an influx of money flowing through, did the government and the people consider that there would be a time when we’d not be able to fart gold bars any more? Nope, not a single thought spent on such silly notions. Why worry about bad things, like the country going bankrupt, when we can spend, spend, spend and lend, lend, lend.

Has this nation been here before? Sure has. Did the nation learn anything? Not a damn thing it seems.

Are people pissed off? Yup.

Are people considering their own responsibility? Nope.

Are the Dail and Seanad taking responsibility? Nope.

Did they wait too long to sort out the banks? Sure did, that is quite self-explanatory, isn’t it?

Consider that over the previous 14 years €12.78 billion was spent, every year, only public service salaries and pensions alone. That is the single biggest post in the books our dear government jots down all the ins and outs. €12.78 billion, every year.

At this juncture, the Republic of Ireland really only has one choice. Bite the bullet, grit through it. Seriously. It is even past the point where a revolution would actually accomplish anything at all.

So, why am I bothering even writing down any of this, as it’s all really obvious isn’t it? Well, there’s another problem nobody has bothered highlighting or even consider. Something which is even worse than having to put your kids in debt for their first 30 years of their working lives. Yes, there is actually something worse.

Everyone at this point agrees about the fact that Brian Cowen should resign. I think he himself is resigned to the idea of his resignation.

But, who should take over the reins? Who can continue to steer the country out of these problems and make it thrive again? Is there a single political party that can accomplish this? Is there even a coalition that can handle this, confidently and with the peoples support, and which at the same time can actually be honest to the people of the nation?

I can’t see a single party, coalition or individual that has the guts, never mind the ability, to actually accomplish this. Which means we’re more than likely in for another shower of monkeys to rule the nation for the foreseeable future. Because there is no alternative present!

So, instead of sitting at home moaning and whining, instead of demonstrating screaming murder, instead of stuffing your mattress full with the bits of paper you just took out from the bank, what are you going to do to help the nation? What can you do to help the nation regain its fallen glory? Are you going to help those less fortunate than yourself? Because these days they can surely need it. Will you help at the homeless shelters? Will you help ensuring our ambulance services stay? Exactly what are you going to do? Instead of just talking or screaming?

I know this, I will be there, helping those in my area who can need a hand. I’ll help friends with whatever I can as much as I can. Because that is something I can do.  What makes me so frustrated is, I see all these Irish people, who I have come to love, sitting on their thumbs screaming “it hurts, this sitting on me thumbs!!”. Of course it does, nitwit!

Now, get off yer arse and do something about things!

EDIT: This is something the Dail got up to on Sunday, right before they applied to the IMF and the EU for a loan of shed loads of money : http://www.independent.ie/national-news/divided-dail-unites-to-give-itself-a-pay-rise-2410792.html

I’ve been reading a lot recently. More specifically, what I’ve been reading is advice written up a few thousand years ago. It’s quite interesting advice too, as one can very easily see how society today is blatantly ignoring the most basic things human kind has discovered, a very long time ago. The authors I’ve read of so far are Sun Wu, Zhuge Lange, Liu Ji and Sun Bin. Most people will ask “Who are these guys? Never heard of them.” Well, all of those authors have a common denominator. They were all ancient martialists, Generals of armies. Sun Wu is more commonly known here in the West as Sun Tzu and Sun Bin is actually a direct descendant, sometimes referred to as Sun Tzu II.

An American Martial Arts Sensei has recently made a post as well on this topic : Etchical Leadership Returns to Fashion

How come leaders of the world have abandoned these teachings? There’s a lot of valuable lessons and advice from these Generals, which actually still do apply as readily today as they did over 2000 years ago. All I can surmise is, they have done so, because it is so much easier to get back handers when there is no real sense of loyalty to the people one is ruling. In other words, greed. Looking at how the Irish government has behaved over the last 10 years, this is blatantly obvious. However, no ruler here has been convicted of such things. Nor will they. Back handers and pats on the shoulder, a secret handshake, and you’re off the hook.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t just in Ireland I’m talking about. Have a look at just about any other country in the world, and you’ll see similar patterns. Do you really believe you’ll see President Bush or Prime Minister Blair on a war tribunal for what has been done to Afghanistan and Iraq? Hardly. Most notable pattern you’ll see is, make the rich richer and screw the people who are having a hard time. There’s so many people on this globe, the rulers don’t have to care about them, because if some die of decease new work force will have grown up soon enough. There is absolutely no shortage of work force on this planet. Just look at all the unemployment figures. Yes, even before the economic down turn.

So, leadership to me, when I do step into such roles, is about giving direction and then helping the ones I direct to actually perform their task. It’s about trust and loyalty. It’s about listening at least as much as talking. It’s about compassion as much as it is about control.

Leaders today, on all levels, have this belief that they should command and the ones below them should blindly follow. Try that with an army under fire. If you don’t have their loyalty and their trust, you simply do not have an army. Problem is, a lot of people think “well, at the workplace, I’m not a soldier, I’m a worker”. Sure, what is the real difference? There’s a common goal. There’s specific tasks needing to be done in specific order or at specific times. There’s stress. There’s times of relaxation (read: peace). There’s supply issues. There’s in short a heck of a lot that is in common. Principles for an army works just as well in the workplace.

So, this ancient set of books. These may well set the rules and governing controls for whatever may come along after the current way of ruling teams, companies, armies and countries collapse. Because collapse it surely must. This is inevitable.