This is not for younger viewers...

<center>
http://members.theglobe.com/odd6world/finger.jpg
</center>

I have spent a very large portion of my life believing that
God was watching over me, protecting me as well as others from
danger. After seeing my friends die one by one, my family crumble
one day at a time, and the world in its infinite horror; I gazed
into the sky during a storm and asked why, why wasn't I or anyone
else being protected. There was no response, even a week later I
was no closer to an answer, until I asked a friend. Their
response was that God does this to make others stronger. I
gathered what self confidence I had left and asked, &quot;What
happens when the people do not become stronger? Was their faith
not good enough? Are they guilty of some horrible crime?&quot;
The answer is no. No one is listening to the cries of help of the
man in his death bed, except the hospital intern down the hall,
feeling sorry that your faith was not strong enough to deserve a
miracle. When the man is dead, he will finally contact his God,
and he can ask him why he was not there. The problem is that God
does not come to us, we can only go to him.</p>

&nbsp;</p>

I am not saying that there is not a God, or a Lord Jesus
Christ. I believe that they are just not active in our lives. God
basically made the universe, and gave earth a set of instructions
(the bible), and an example (Jesus), and left us on our own. I am
sure that God is aware of Earth's problems, but he probably isn't
planning on doing anything about it until the apocalypse. Some of
us are growing impatient, the solution just isn't as simple as
blamming the problem on someone else, or casting aside the people
in society that are different from the majority. We need to just
accept people the way that they are if they do not want to
change. If I don't want to be a Baptist, or Lutheran, stop
bothering me. If I kill people, throw me in jail and never let me
out, or just save the tax payer's money and kill me. If I want to
be a lesbain or homosexual, let me live my life in peace. If I
want to wed someone of a different race, let me love someone for
who they are, and not hate them for what they are.</p>

&nbsp;</p>

Until God comes back to this planet we call home, we are on
our own and need to think for ourselves. The bible is a very good
example for how to live, but it is not pefect. I am sure that man
made a mistake or two in its transcription. Death is a punishment
that should be used, if you do not beleive so, you personally can
pay the 30 to 40 thousand dollars a year to keep that mass
murderer alive in their prison. That money can be used elsewhere
to help lives, instead of to sustain the life of one who takes
life. This is a purely financial reasoning. If you think that
money is evil, than why do we tithe (give money to the church)?
Money is what sustains modern life. Without God we would not
exist on any level, but without money we would still be cavemen,
barttering for food to barely keep alive. God created us, so in
return we created him in the form of a dollar bill. We pray to
that God every day. The God in the bible will save your soul, but
it is the money in your bank that will save you while you are
alive.</p>

&nbsp;</p>

Regardless of your faith, your belief, or your financial
status, you are the puppet of universe. While you are here, you
are subject to its laws as well as Gods. You can either destroy
your neighbor, or accept them. You will have to balance this
world and the next on the same platform, and give or take from
each one according to what you believe.</p>


[This message has been edited by odd6 (edited August 14, 1999).]

No. Too many americans.

Thankyou odd6,

You are a very intelligent individual and I hope that your message can be read and understood by many people. You are not just talking about the problem in America but that of one that covers the whole of the world that we so ungratefully live in. We as humans should accept each other for who we are and not what many of us think we should be. There are no rule books that everyone should follow to live a happy life. It is what each individual one of us thinks that will make that person happy in life no matter what religion, sex or sexuality( to name a few). Respect one another for who we are and the beliefs that each one of us lives by. Think of this everyday and surely the more people that can do this the better a life can be.

Richard

I do not believe in god. I do not believe Jesus existed. What I see as "wrong with America" is that too many of us are sitting back on our asses waiting for someone else to clean up the mess. My favorite target for blame, when I want to be superficial, is the hippies, the so-called "love generation". But at the root of it all, the people to blame are the ones who sit back and stare at their TVs all night long, gasp in shock at the atrocities of the world, then have a beer and go to bed. I was guilty myself of apathy. One day I decided to make a difference. I started with taggers, quite peacefully. They would paint, I would cover it up with a matching color to the building, usually while their graffitti was still wet. One threatened to shoot me. I slapped his face with paint, which blinded him enough to get the picture that there would be no tagging on buildings I was taking care of.

My neighbor's grandson had just hit the age where gangs looked glamorous. I showed him some of my history books with gangsters in them. He thought it was neat, until he saw the homicide photos of what happened to these guys. I unloaded my gun and let him hold it, minus the bolt. It took the mystique of the gun out of his mind. He told me yesterday that he no longer really wants one. I have prevented the creation of one more potential gang member.

I practice another bizarre theory, that if I can take one person a day and make their day go a little more smoothly, they may get to work in a good mood and spread it. It's not important to me get ahead of the next guy on the freeway. I don't rush to get to the intersection just to be first. When someone is ready to fight me for it, I smile and wave them through. It's just not that important.

For what good it does, I blow the whistle on drug dealers in my neighborhood. Of course, I'm no goody-goody. I don't stand on the porch with a phone and call the cops when a deal is going down. I make note of their habits and tip off the police to the hot spots when a high volume starts moving.

I try to help people when I can, but I'm not afraid to drive the stake into people who are deserving. I won't sit by and watch animals or children get hurt. I have stopped shoplifters and made myself a visible presence in small stores where an armed robbery is most likely (the Misrak Mart, South 1st Street, San Jose, California). When my 58 Chevy battlewagon was running, I had the opportunity to rear-end an indivdual who was trying to lure a child into his car. It felt good...

These are extreme cases, and they are not for everyone. I just find myself with a lot of time in the evening and a lot of gumption. If you aren't in my position, there are still things you can do.

1) Practice a little courtesy in public, even if the other person still acts like a moron. He can't help it.

2) Try to make at least one person smile each day. Crack a joke or just draw a happy face somewhere.

3) Don't be too sensitive. Many people get offended too easily these days. There are racial and religious and sexist jokes about everybody, so don't feel singled out. I know my views on religion are highly offensive. As well, I find religion itself offensive. I realize, however, that everybody has their own beliefs and it's not my place to try and change them. They've found something that works for them. More power to 'em.

3) People make mistakes. Live with it. Forgive the minor ones, like repeating the number 3 in a list. Correct the major ones with a minimum of PMS tactics.

5) Get over it. If somebody pissed you off, let the matter drop. If he or she keeps pissing you off, ask them directly what their problem is. This has been proven to shut them up and shut them down in most cases.

I really didn't want to preach. I'm just sick of everybody walking around complaining about what's wrong with America. If you don't like your environment, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

[This message has been edited by Oxygen (edited August 23, 1999).]