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LINKS TO OTHER ENTRIES IN MY HOMEPAGE

THE MAKING OF A MINISTER

THREE SMILING CORPSES

WAHOO INSPIRATIONAL SITE

The son was expected from abroad after a five-year jaunt. The father invited his best friend to his house on the day of his arrival and took him to a room where the son was to be shown in. He pointed to the four things he had placed on the table. "If he picks the money," he said "he will be a businessman. If he takes the bible, he will be a pious, religious man. If the bottle of liquor, he will be a drunkard and a waster. And if he picks up the gun, he is going to be a gangster." Both of them waited behind the curtain and watched. As the son walked in, he noticed the four items on the table. He opened the bottle of whisky and took a long swig; he pocketed the wad of money notes; put the gun in his hip pocket and the bible under his arm and quietly walked away. "Dammit!" said the father, "he is going to be a minister!" Source: Khushwant Singh, Big Fat Joke Book

THE OLD MAN AT THE FORT

THE BUTTERFLY SYMBOL

My Info:

Tsinoy in Seoul

Name:

tsinoy999@hotmail.com

Email:

Background music Bad Leroy Brown by Jim Croce from JR Music Section Animations borrowed from Harry and Dorret Goodwin's Homepage

Quotations on Politics Political success is the ability, whenever the inevitable occurs, to get credit for it. ~Lawrence Peter~ Man`s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but his inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. ~Reinhold Niebuhr~ A politician thinks of the next election, a statesman of the next generation. ~James Clarke~ Bad officials are the ones elected by good citizens who do not vote. ~George Nathan~ Columnist Anne Landers was once approached at a social function by a pompous senator who said, "So you`re Ann Landers. Say something funny." Without hesitating, she replied, "So, you`re a politician. Tell me a lie". ~Ann Landers~ He knows nothing; he thinks he knows everything, that clearly points to a political career. ~George Barnard Shaw~ Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other. ~Oscar Ameringer~ Political ability is the ability to foretell what will happen tomorrow, next week, next month and next year. And to have the ability afterward to explain why it didn`t happen. ~Winston Churchill~ Timid and disinterested politicians think much more about the security of their seats than about the security of their country. ~Thomas Jefferson~ One person with a belief is a social power equal to 99 who have only interests. ~John Stuart Mill~ All of us in the Senate live in an iron lung, the iron lung of politics, and it is no easy task to emerge from that rarefied atmosphere in order to breathe the same fresh air our constituents breathe. ~John F. Kennedy~ It is possible to dazzle a crowd if you really work at it. But that is no qualification for leadership. Hitler was a master of crowds. ~George McGovern~ FIGHT CORRUPTION! SUPPORT:

Tsinoy says: . . . and a prime minister at that! Or maybe just a cabinet secretary; and why not a president! If I may ask, are politicians a different breed from you and me? Hmm, I wonder. Maybe they are. They build our roads and bridges. They tell our teachers what to teach our children. They tell us what is good for our health. They tell us how many children we should have, or should not have. They build walls to keep our neighbors from stealing our jobs and resources. Sometimes, they tell us what to read and should not read . . . what to say and should not say . . . what to do and should not do, who is the terrorist and who is the freedom fighter, and what to believe in. They do all these... and more. In short, they have power over us.

The worse part is, once they have tasted power, they find it difficult to give it up. Why? Because it is addictive. Addiction to power feeds their ego. It makes them feel important, wanted, needed. Then, they begin to think that they can do no wrong. . . that they know better that the rest . . . that they have the formula for eliminating poverty and ignorance . . . for raising labor productivity . . . and for attaining the highest good for everyone.

But sometimes, noble intentions get waylaid in favor of self interest, or self gratification, or simple greed. And if they don`t get their way, they begin to abuse public trust and misuse their office. They dip into public funds for private gains. They manipulate the news to make them look good and benevolent. They invent lies to hide their misdeeds. They silence their critics to avoid being caught. As you can see, power tripping is no less different from other addictions. Like taking drugs, or drinking alcohol. You crave for it. You want it to make you less inhibited. It makes you forget your shortcomings. It gives your body and spirit a high. But for how long?

Not very long, I guess, because addiction makes us dysfunctional. Anne Wilson Schaef, author of the book "Living in Process," tells us that addictions can shut us off from awareness and split us off from our feelings. When this happens, certain ways of behaving begin to emerge. "We become dishonest, self-centered, ego-driven, materialistic, amoral, controlling, and dualistic, which gradually destroys our spiritual base."

Thankfully, there is a cure to all this. Robert and Jane Alter, in their book "The Transformative Power of Crisis," suggest nine tools to break out of an addictive habit. These are, 1) understanding as much as you can about your addiction; 2) being honest with yourself; 3) getting help, especially from loved ones; 4) getting the resolve to stop hurting and injuring people by saying and doing things that harm them; 5) knowing our limits and staying within them (understanding the order of the universe); 6) getting the

ability to watch your thoughts through meditation; 7) exercising patience and self-discipline; 8) being humble; and 9) self-knowledge. My favorite is tool # 8. The Alters say that "you need humility to break an addiction because addiction, at its core, is ARROGANCE. Humility is the end of addiction because humility is the willing acceptance of a will other than your own."

The Alters suggest that in order to overcome your addiction, you must surrender your personal power to a HIGHER POWER, who has that "will other than your own". In the case of power trippers, that higher power could be their sense of responsibility to themselves, or to their loved ones, or the people who have put them in office. It could even be a voice within. Some call it the deepest truth, others say it is conscience, but I say it is God`s will. The formula is simple. Acknowledge this higher power. Surrender to it. Receive its loving acceptance that you have long denied. It is also called blessing, or grace. Continue with this relationship over time. In the long term, you gain enough power to overcome your addiction. Isn't that what real power is all about? A glass of whiskey, anyone? Cheers to our freedom from addiction! Tsinoy