A Few Thoughts on Current Events

Our world grows more and more complicated, with many events and trends competing for our attention and our time.

Regarding the bird flu, a possible pandemic is of great concern. From what I have heard, a vaccine cannot even be started until enough victims of human-to-human transmission exist to provide the virus form needed to prepare the vaccine. Then it would take months/years to make enough vaccine to begin vaccinating the public. One suggestion I have heard is that if every family had a minimum of 2 weeks of food/water/other necessities stored--and preferrably 4-6 weeks' worth--then if there was an outbreak, people could stay home, out of the way of infection, until it had blown over. That would be something each of us could do that would have a realistic chance of lessening the impact of the spread of bird flu. Naturally, it also reminds me that there are more uses for storing food and other necessities than just some end-of-the-world scenario and that our prophets, President Hinckley and his predecessors, are very much worth listening to.

Iraq. Views are all over the place on this topic. It is not an easy war, not a simple war. But I feel that we are doing a good thing in rescuing the Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein and his sons and their ilk. There are insurgents and they are doing damage, but they are the minority. I also feel we have at least partially disrupted terrorist activity.

Education. I am not affiliated with any school or college. I am not a student. I have no husband or children to be students. One might say I am a spectator. I am greatly concerned, though, when I read that most teachers/professors are liberal/leftist/Marxist in their views and that conservative views are shut out, denounced, ignored. I thought education was meant to be a true mix of a wide variety of viewpoints. I thought education meant learning to think things through and reach our own conclusions. Are students truly being taught those things or are they being indoctrinated in leftist ideals with no acknowledgment given that there are other views, other ideals? Are students limited in what they can study and write about if they want to succeed in academia? If so, how does that foster truth? How does that open the field to all sorts of ideas in the search for solutions to problems that society faces?

Science. One likes to think that science is objective, realistic, truthful. But is the competition for grants and other funding from the government and other sources causing certain theories to be emphasized, regardless of the truth, regardless of the evidence? Is there too much outside influence dictating what science "should" find?

Politics. On both sides of the aisle, it seems there is too much political rhetoric and not enough real debate of real issues. Whenever one or the other party is involved in a scandal of some sort, the other party is often all over it, pointing fingers and saying, "See? We're better than they are!" Only the next time, the positions are reversed. I long for simple discussion of real issues, don't you? What can we do to improve society? What about economics? Education? Public health? Foreign policy? What solutions have the best chance of succeeding, never minding their political source?

What can we, as individual citizens, do? It's almost impossible to be active in all the various issues, but we could at least choose one that is near and dear to our hearts and minds and become active in that issue. Join a responsible group that fits your ideals. Write letters/emails. Blog. Discuss with friends and neighbors. Write articles or a book for publication. You may not succeed in everything, but you could very well make a difference. Whatever sincere views we hold, if we will get them out there and support them, others could get a real feel for the issue from all sides and begin to find solutions.

My two cents. Respectful comments supporting any and all viewpoints are welcomed.