Children — What Are We Doing Wrong?

I have watched my nephew over the past week, and although he is loved and disciplined well...there is something with American teachings and desires fulfilled that need to be looked at. All children put up a fight with homework and doing things they don't want to do, but without respect for elders they develop a kind of lazy way of responding. This lazy way can range from total frustration/anger to a flip response. Either way I have watched children in Thailand and here in the USA and there is distinctly different kind of respect that we are not teaching children here. Buddhism addresses desires as not a method to find happiness. Wisdom addresses the attachment to things and people. Give any child in the US a toy, and soon they want one they don't have that is bigger or another friend has. Let a child grow up like this, and they continue on this path as adult. On a path of continual disappointment. There will always be someone who is smarter, prettier, and has a bigger house with a better car. So we have to go back to the drawing board to teaching how to be happy with what you have.
I give to MERCY CORPS kids, because I know that we are very fortunate to born in USA. How long this will last, who knows?

Ouch!

Oh, what a crushing feeling! They had better get it right with Iraq. We are producing more enemies than we had when we started. There is, contrary to Bush’s latest promotion, less than 10% Al Qaeda are fighting the troops in Iraq and they just started there in 2003-2004. Most, if not all, Iraqies dislike them because they would tell them what to do and how to live. Not understanding history and the culture will be our downfall in Iraq.
Now, take this down to our home turf. We are more and more divided in he USA based on our differences…and our love of money. We will sell our soul for money, and we will kill everything beautiful to make a buck. If we take time and think about our children and what they will have left in the world, we might support our dwindling natural resources, parks, and our heritage. If we try to leave a more beautiful world than we have right now, our children will be proud and our soul will rest easy in the future.