Credit or Blame?

It does not matter who is to blame for anything. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit for something, either. It just matters that the outcome is wanted and valued. If it isn’t, we should not be wasting time and resources on it.

Making something good come about takes concentration on the desired results. The outcome. It is needed for what reason? World peace? Cooperation and collaboration within the global community? Civil discussion within our own community, region, state and nation? A solution to water quality for public consumption? What is the desired outcome we are working for?

Ask that question in a crowded room and several answers will be offered. Many answers will be in opposition to each other. So the outcome desired by any one person, or a group, or a larger mass of people, is the first item of business to manage.

What is the objective desired?

I’ve stated this many times before in many guises. I happen to be a fan of global peace. I think that requires a mentality of global community. We all live on this planet together; best we do so amicably and collaboratively. Living our lives in tandem and in cooperation makes life easier. Sharing information and solutions to common problems is helpful, caring, and the right thing to do. After all, we share cultures with each other. We share cuisines and fashion, technology, education, understanding and humor. All of these things are needed for humankind to progress into the future and beyond.

Finding fault with one another doesn’t help us in this pursuit of global community. Fault lines cause other problems to solve like peace, boundaries, military might, and whatnot. Imagine a world without militaristic thinking and you save tons of money and other resources. Those become available for the pursuit of mankind’s progress towards the future. In America’s case, $800 billion per year would be freed up for finding a cure for cancer, providing proper education tailored to each person’s needs and interests, as well as a host of other needs. $800 billion. Think of it.

North Korea has nuclear capabilities. It’s testing site is damage beyond repair, but that can be replaced. Why waste the money? Why not spend those funds on improving the living standards of the North Korean people? Why not unify the Korean Peninsula and spread the wealth among the two poles of the country? They are one people with a common history. They are families split by an old war quieted by an armistice that still requires military protections. Such a waste.

So now Russia and China are collaborating? Good. They need to. They have been at odds for a century. It is time they become good neighbors and work towards solutions to problems they hold in common. Different cultures. Different histories. But still humans all. The ideal is distant because we have imagined it to be so.

Turn that experience around and focus on the ideal.

I’m not seeking utopia or Eden. Just common sense and people-to-people living lives of purpose and happiness. Why is this so hard?

Openness, caring and fresh views will help. Extending the hand of friendship is a start in the right direction for many areas of conflict.

Deep breath. Now do it!

May 1, 2018