Helping Out

=politics=

power to the people?
a friend of mine asked me if i had ever written a congressman a letter. i told him i had, and he asked if my experience was positive.

it wasn’t. but i don’t know what i expected, i did not put much effort into it, myself. i didn’t pay attention to anything else regarding the issue, just that it was up for a vote, and i should make my voice heard.

all i got was a form letter explaining that my senator understood my concerns and blah. i believe the bill in question passed, but frankly, i don’t remember.

what if you watch how politicians vote on bills that are important to you?

what if you write them about legislation that concerns you and give them an ultimatum?

tell them to vote how you want and why, as a member of their district.

tell them you expect an explanation when they do not vote as you would like.

tell them that you will share their feedback with your friends, good or bad.

let them know if you are dissatisfied you will not vote for them again.

then pay attention to how they vote. if they don’t vote with you or give you a reasonable explanation, don’t vote for them again. hold your ground and stand firm.

don’t vote for them next time.

even if they try to suck up to you. you told them how you felt, stick to it. sure, we might lose some good politicians in the process. but this will serve as a wake up call; they can hang up their spurs or improve their game.

tell your friends and strangers and whoever will listen. speak up about how you feel mis-represented by your government. show others that there is hope, lead yourself and show others the way. if you use your voice to raise questions and hold your representatives accountable for their actions, we have a much better chance of affecting change.

change is inevitable, but we need to ensure we have some say in it. we need to make sure the changes are positive.

it’s just a thought, i’m personally running very low on energy for these issues. i desperately need to see that others care about these issues. all of these issues that i discuss in my blog.

so pretty please, with a mother-fucking cherry on-top, if you have any energy to follow through with some of this, or want to help and lend me some of your energy, please, take it and run with it.

give me the energy to care again by showing me that you care, too.

=Broken Window Theory=

restoring order
or; “how to combat the broken window theory.”

a simple example of the broken window theory states that if you don’t keep up a property, as the windows get broken by accidents and vandals, the property will quickly become broken down and vandalized.

i want people to know that.

it is in our nature to care for things that others care for; if one person stops caring others will as well.

it is our tendency to go with the flow and exhibit the status quo.

if you are out with your friends and you encounter an abandoned run down factory, there’s a few things going on. first, you want to be ‘cool’ with your friends, secondly, there’s a few windows left to be broken.

seems like fun, noone cares about the place anyhow, so what does it matter if you and your friends have some fun throwing rocks at the remaining windows, and cheering and hooting wildly when the glass smashes.

if the factory’s windows are intact and there are lights on, and the place seems respected and well kept, you and your friends will likely pass it by, without vandalizing it, and if you do break some windows, if the property is well kept, they will be replaced quickly.

it is easier to respect something that others obviously care for.

so fix a window, and show that you care.

what if vagrants have made it their meager and smelly home?

fix a window anyhow.

sure, it might get broken.

but maybe someone else will see you fix that window, and see your respect.

and maybe someone will see that person fix a window.

and respect them, and the property they are caring for.

maybe eventually all of the windows get replaced.

it takes one person.

it takes you.

if, for example, you smoke; throw your butts in the garbage, even if the ground is littered.

if, for example, you see a problem with how things are done, speak up, even if your voice is quiet.

demonstrate your respect for the people and the world around you.

show others that it isn’t too late to care or to fix things.

give everyone hope and change yourself.

start at the beginning and end at the end.

my friend who says i’ve become Dr. Fabbri is going to have a fucking field day with me...

broken windows in production
i wondered why i identified so much with the Broken Windows Theory when i first heard about it, years ago. when i first heard about it, it was eye opening, even though it was already buried inside me.

it caused me to open my eyes and feel bad about throwing my cigarette butts out on the street. instead i throw them in the bin or pocket them until i find a bin. this means i will hike for miles with lots of cigarette butts in a plastic baggy.

but it also directly applies to the sense of chaos i see in most ‘young’ companies, and is exactly why i am looking for a more in-depth job with a larger, more established company. if something is already broken within production, it is easy to let other things go, instead of fixing the leaky faucet immediately.

“Under the broken windows theory, an ordered and clean Production environment – one which is maintained – alludes that the area is monitored and that criminal behavior will not be tolerated. Conversely, a disordered production environment – one which is not maintained (broken dependancies, libraries, lax security) – alludes that the area is not monitored/cared about and that one can engage in any behavior with little risk of breaking anything further.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_windows_theory#Theoretical_explanation

dream big, start small
who are you waiting for to stand up and champion that cause you really believe in?

why don’t you try standing up, yourself.

but you can’t change the world by yourself, so why bother, just go back to watching american gladiators.

change yourself, change your peers, change the world.

just because ‘it’s the way things are done’ doesn’t mean they are done correctly.

not everything you know is true, so why not ask questions when things seem to be wrong?

how can you change the world, if you can not change yourself?