Where's the good news, America?

Since graduating college, I've spent the majority of my post-undergraduate time overseas. I mainly view America through the news – both the American publications and the publications of the countries I've lived in or visited – and through my friends and family.

To quote Sam Harris, "Our country now appears, as at no other time in her history, like a lumbering, bellicose, dim-witted giant." Looking at different parts of life: politics, education, fiscal responsibility, recreation, health-care, religion/spirituality, energy, military, consumption (food & merchandise)...there is very little good news coming from America.

Let me make a disclaimer, I realize, similar to most other lands, the crazies make the headlines. Every land have Sarah Palins and Glenn Becks that makes the population appear to be crazed zombies that feed off of misinformation, hate and fear while making firm opinions combined with ignorance appear to be a virtue. Looking beyond the headlines of the most popular news sources that are entertainment with the façade of being news...I still don't see much good news. It scares me.

Immigrants account for 50% of science researchers in America...in 2006, 40% of doctorate graduates in science/engineering and 65% of computer scientists were immigrants. In Asia, many western companies hire locals, train them and educate them, to later see them quit and return to local companies. Those well-trained workers then take those practices that have been built through trial and error over the past 50 to 100 years and implement them in their native lands. As immigrants native lands become more appealing and the US gets tougher laws around who stays, America loses.

Some think the answer is to keep immigrants out...failing to realize we can't get enough of our own people to work hard to make a difference. They'd rather placate themselves in front of the television. Then, some of our smartest and most ambitious people get lured into craptastic industries that don't solve society's problems. Think of all those things that make your life better...healthy bodies and healthy food, technology, good friends, family, stable room temperatures, etc. Bankers, politicians, lawyers – they don't add value – they create just as many problems as they try to solve.

My basic point is that there isn't much good news coming out of the States...and I don't see it trending well. The silver lining to the tea party is that it is injecting something different and different is good. However, the injection is more dim-witted people that are trying to hold onto yesterday. But they'll soon learn, to quote a political journalist, "In public, the [political] parties stage a show of bitter bipartisan stalemate. But when the cameras are off, they fuck like crazed weasels in heat."

Some good news from my end, those Americans that are working hard and making efforts to educate themselves throughout their life are still the best problem-solvers I've come across in my short time. If I had to pick people who are going to solve problems, or in corporate lingo, 'put out fires', I would still pick people educated in America (and parts of Europe). Teaching people to think is difficult – and even though it is a waning population in the States, they are still some of the best I've come across.

Weekend in Vietnam

A buddy was visiting me in Singapore (early August) - so we took an excursion to Vietnam. One of my old roommates from Washington DC happens to be living in Ho Chi Minh City, which the locals still refer to as Saigon.

Other than being the most unpleasant language to overhear, it was a good city, albeit dirty and chaotic. It's trying to prosper, there is a sense of work ethic in the air.

The most fun was cut between going to a local bar, rocking out to an amazing cover band from the Philippines (all the best cover bands in this region come out of the Philippines), or eating 'pho' (a rice-noodle, spicy soup with chicken or beef) on a busy street corner while drinking Vietnamese coffee.

The most disturbing aspect was visiting the Vietnam War Museum.

Over a million Vietnamese are said to have been killed, who knows how many people from Laos and Cambodia were killed from bombs dropped by the US military as the war spilled over into their lands. Around 60,000 US soldiers were killed, 300,000 wounded. Countless amounts of biological weapons were used by the US military and their destruction lingers still as babies continue to be born with birth defects in the northern regions.

The War Museum is the perspective from the Vietnamese of the war...a superpower invades your land, kills your family and burns your village, and burns your village with chemical weapons to make that land uninhabitable for years to come. Against what appears to be an insurmountable and unscrupulous foe, you persist and overcome (with the help of other countries feeding you weapons to fight back).

The museum felt much like the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, except my government was the one that invaded and killed over a million people. I left the museum with many strong and negative emotions...one being despair as I thought about the current wars elsewhere on the globe...tears welled up.

Surprisingly, the Vietnamese that I briefly met during my time were very welcoming to Americans. They smiled at me and welcomed me to their country. They didn't seem to harbor negative sentiments. Perhaps they've moved on.

I didn't do a good job taking pictures - but here are three - the electrical wires there were very amusing to me.
Much love,
Jake

Few pics of Singapore (and one of Shanghai)

This past month has been a blur...with 4 visitors and trips to Vietnam, Thailand, and Hong Kong. Tomorrow I fly off to China for a week - going to Beijing and Shanghai...then a week in Singapore...then a week in India. I begin writing stuff but never finish...but I have some good and controversial thoughts/observations I'll get on here sooner or later. First picture is Shanghai. The rest are Singapore and the picture of the city street is the street I live on.