People Or Things?

One great thinker said : ‘Most human problems stem from the fact that we treat people as things and things as people.’ History is littered with various examples of this but the most recent incident is the credit crunch. Bad mortgages in the subprime housing market in America has affected the whole world, leading to closure of establishments which stood for over a 100 years, people losing their livelihood and the once invisible banks being brought to their knees. The banks who learnt the money to people who could not afford it treated people as things, all they where concerned with was making as much money as possible. They did not veto customer credit reports or follow protocol and now everyone is paying for it. Banks and large business paid out multimillion dollar bonus payments to board members, spent lavish amount on trips, parties and entertainment, now a lot of those same business’s are either bust or nationalised. The credit crunch has highlighted the fact that we need to go back to basics and think about our actions. Everything we do has an impact on someone else.

In a christmas speech Barack Obama said "As we count the higher blessings of faith and family, we know that millions of Americans don't have a job. Many more are struggling to pay the bills or stay in their homes. From students to seniors, the future seems uncertain,This season of giving should also be a time to renew a sense of common purpose and shared citizenship. Now, more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans - that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper."

Love

Love used to be a word which had so much power, back in the old days up till the 80's, when those words were expressed it conjured an emotion inside a woman, which was indescribable. See those days there was nothing like metrosuxual men, even though the traditional roles for men and women had started slowly changing with the evolution of woman's rights etc something's were still the same and emotion was one of them. Men did not cry or express emotion as it was perceived as a sign of weakness, so when a man said I love you to his woman she knew it took a lot and she appreciated it.

Then the 80's came along and everything evolved. As always with evolution the good always had the bad not far behind. For example the internet and other technological advancements made things quicker and better but it also made it easier for crime's likes 419 to occur.

With emotion's something similar also happened, the metro sexual man image came on the scene. The man who exfoliates, get a wax and its not afraid to share his emotion was the theme of the 90's with adverts' constantly bombarding consumers. David Beckman became the poster boy. With that the bad also came with men using words like love to get some sex, the word became synonymous with easy access therefore became abused which now brings us back to now the present.

With so many conflicting definitions of love, it's easy for someone to get confused. Speaking to different people its been described as a business relationship, a nice link or even a myth. One thing which was agreed was our parents and grandparents have shown us that when there really is love in a relationship there is peace but then is this something which is lost to our generation or is it just we don't know what we are looking for?

Wrong Conclusion

Why do people tend to jump to conclusions about things and situations? Most of the time people don’t know the full story about a situation yet they tend to be judgmental. A primary example is when black people see a black man and white woman together they tend to judge the female and the male. They immediately assume the girl is either a sket, easy to manipulate or some other theory along those lines, they don’t know the girl or guy yet they know the reason when the guy is going out with her. Then they look at the guy and start asking why is he going out with a white woman what’s wrong with us black woman and shit like that. This is something that happens a lot in a day and age where it is claimed racism is slowly being eradicated. Could it be that the guy is with the girl he likes her and he is mature enough to see past the color. Actions speak louder than words, a person doesn’t have to tell you what they are thinking you can tell by their facial expressions and normally is a screw face where mixed relationships are concerned.

Another example is the notion that guys can’t be friends with girls. Guys who have close female friends are immediately assumed of either previously being involved with the female, about to be in involved with the female or about to be involved with the female. Why is it not plausible for a guy to enjoy the female’s company without being involved in a sexual nature? I have in the past jumped to conclusions but when I realized what I was doing and how I would feel is that was me being judged I stopped. In one way or other peoples opinions play a part in our lives. The worst thing is when someone you call a friend jumps to conclusions about a situation. A person who you trust and are close to you conclude their own opinion without facts leaves a person feeling a sense of betrayal. This is life and there is nothing we can do about it would be most people’s response however remember a tree grows tall and strong over the years from a tiny little seed the same principle applies to change it must first start inside and then slowly we can spread it to those around.

True Friend

What is a friend? The dictionary defines a friend as A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance or A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade. But is that really the role of a friend?

How many of us have people in our lives who we call friend,comrade,brother yet in reality these are just words. How can we claim to like and trust someone when we sometimes hide the truth from them. How can you claim to be a person who is allied in a struggle when rather than rebuke you extol, when you friend does wrong you tread on eggshells rather than stand up and say you are wrong.

Why is it in a society of technology which is supposed to draw people together more and more people are suffering from depression? A friend adds to your character, a friend is there to build you up yet so many people keep company with people who destroy them yet they still call them friends. So many people do not realise sometimes you have to cut the deadweight and let the past go however we rather cling on cuz we have been boys from day therefore you cant let go.

Yet when things go wrong we blame society not realising it was out own doing. Not realising the company you keep, the conversations you have which instilled bad thoughts into you head was the reason and where did that all come from your friend,brother,comrade.

A friend is not defined by physical wealth, a friend is defined by the metal strength. Someone who can show you things without saying a word. Someone whose word is bond and you can rely on. Someone who will tell you the truth when you don't want to hear it but you need to. Someone who loves you regardless and wants to see you succeed and do well in your own right. If there was a truth test to see how your friends really thought about you how many would take it? How many would be scared as they will be exposed that they only hang around you for what they can get, or they see you are going places and want to jump on the bandwagon. How many will reveal they are jealous of you? How many will show they talk behind your back and are hypocrites in their ways.

I think we need to take a closer look at the company we keep, we are not a product of our environment we are a product of company. As you rise through life and gain new experiences do not close your eyes to those around you, this ain't saying do not be there for those not doing well or do not keep in contact No. This is saying be careful who you let to get close, keep your friends close but your enemies closer is the saying but you friend might just be your enemy and even they don't realise it.