An interesting video by TheModernNomad

Scratch Beginnings

"Scratch Beginnings" by Adam Shepard is a young man's account of ditching everything and seeing how well he can make out with only $25, the clothes on his back, and his highschool degree in a strange town. Concealing all his personal contacts, his credit history, and his college degree, his goal was to "possess an operable automobile, live in a furnished appartment (alone or with a roommate), have $2,500 cash, and ...be in a position in which [he could] continue to improve [his] circumstances by either going to school or starting [his] own business." Could an average homeless Joe pursue the American dream?

I highly reccomend this book for anyone pursuing the American Dream, provided they can put up with some pretty strong street language (he told it as he heard it). I would also like to share some of his closing thoughts on what he learned through the ups and downs of his venture.

"The ever-present war between liberals and conservatives on the causes, effects, and solutions to poverty will be debated forever. Good. Let 'em fight it out. But what about us, the rest of us . . . Is there anything we can do?
"Um, yeah, there is.
"Imagine if we could reach out to the underprivileged. One out of four, two out of five, one out of ten - whatever. I say it's more of a success than sitting back and saying, 'Welp, poverty isn't goin' anywhere' or 'Um, I'm doing my part: I pay taxes.' Give me a break. You can do more than that. You! You can do something. Forget the government for a moment. YOU have the opportunity to make a small contribution and becomes part of something big. Pick up a phone and volunteer, caution a parent on his or her questionable behavior, make a forgivable loan. Better yet, go down to your local elementary or middle school and volunteer for two, three hous a week after school. Read to a child, help him or her with fractions. . . To take a child to the zoo or the aquarium - places he or she has never been; to make a difference in these young people's lives; to give them the assistance they are not getting at home ... You can't buy happiness like that, and the government surely can't afford to fund it."
- from "Scratch Beginnings" by Adam Shepard.







The Collegiate Capitalist http://collegiatecapitalist.blogspot.com/

Thoughts On Piracy

Downloading pirated music is stealing – I’ve heard that since before I knew what pirated music was. And I’ve always understood that the reason it’s stealing is because you are depriving the company that publishes the music from your sales. But an interesting question was recently brought to my attention that puzzled me.

Suppose a music group produces an independent album. Their music gets wide recognition, and they are signed up with a major label, and start hitting the tops of the charts with their music. Many people become fans, and pride themselves on having the group’s complete collection of music – until they find out about the independent album, which is no longer being published. After doing a thorough search of the group’s website and also checking Amazon and every bookstore in the country, they begin to lose hope. But then finally, one google search brings them to a website where they can download the album for free. At this point, is there anything wrong with downloading it?

My first instinct is to say yes, it’s pirated music. But if the only problem with pirated music is that it stiffs the publishing company, what’s the issue when the album isn’t even being published?

Here is my opinion. First, the company may decide to start re-publishing the album at a later date, for one reason for another, and you are depriving them of future sales. Second, even if the album is never produced again, physical copies of the album almost definitely exist somewhere. With the album out of publication, they become collector’s items, and may someday be worth a fortune. But if people have access to the music without buying the few surviving copies, the collector’s item’s depreciate, and you are depriving the owner’s of the collector’s items of a percentage of their sales in the future. Thirdly, the simple fact is that it’s illegal.

In our modern society we have lost sight of the importance of submitting ourselves to the governing authorities. We see laws as general advice, and assert that the only true crime is getting caught, not actually committing crimes. This disregard for authority breaks down the moral fiber of our society (if one law is irrelevant, who’s to say that another isn’t?), encourages the government to pass trivial laws (since it’s just viewed as advice anyway), and can lead to stricter penalties (to scare the people into obedience). Laws were meant to be obeyed.

Even if you can’t see any other way to get the music you want, don’t download pirated music. You will survive without it.

-The Collegiate Capitalist

http://www.collegiatecapitalist.blogspot.com

You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?

-Romans 2:21

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

-Romans 13:1

Street Bums Part III: Closing thoughts

In our Capitalist society, the most basic, fundemental way to generate wealth is to sell goods or services. It seems natural to me, then that the first instinctive response to poverty should be to sell whatever goods you don't really need while waiting for an employement oportunity. It's honest, clean, and sensible. Unfortunately, one of the easiest dishonest means of generating wealth is the sale of stolen goods. If you meet a man on the street who is trying to sell you something, how can you tell which situation you're dealing with? I would love to help, commend, and encourage anyone who is looking for a more honest means of income than begging, but do not want to support a theif in his theivery.

Or how about this scenario? I've been approached by someone asking for spare change to help fill out his wife's perscription for medicine that she badly needed (it was a long time ago and I can't remember what details he gave me). While I figure there's a 97% he's lying and is looking to support some additiction (not an actual statistic, just a guess), how do I know that my money couldn't save a life? How do a ballance the likelyhood of feeding his unhealthy addiction and supporting a life-distroying industry with the vague possibility of offering a life-saving blessing to someone in need?

I believe in trying to give people the benefit of the doubt so long as I am able to supply for their need precicely (giving them food, helping them across the street, or directing them to an outreach ministry) but at the same time I try to be very cautious about simply forking over cash that can end up hurting more than helping.

I haven't been able to cover everything that I wanted to in this short little saga, but I hope that I've given you some food for thought. The next time you see someone by the side of the street, remember that they, like you, are a human being created in the image of God, with worries, joys, failures, and triumphs - not merely "another street bum."

"And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' "
-Matthew 25:40

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
-James 1:27

Street Bums Part II: Curb-Side Beggar

So, we’ve all seen “the man with the cardboard sign.” He is very likely unemployed or underemployed, and possibly even homeless – but shouldn’t he be looking for a job, not standing on a street corner? Also, there is the slight chance he’s just a weird smart-alleck with no need at all, who’s just trying to see how gullible people are. Regardless of who he really is or what his true needs are, here are some ideas on how you might help him:

1. DON’T say anything degrading to him. You do not what his story is, how he got where he is, or why he’s standing there. You should never assume the worst of someone.

2. DON’T give him money. A vast amount homeless people become homeless through drug addictions, and you don’t want to feed the addiction that has put this man where he is. Plus, begging reduces one’s self respect, and while it is humiliating at first, if they continue to receive easy money to use as they wish, they can become numb to their shame, and be content to live a life of idle begging.

3. DO try to meet their stated short-term need. Offer them some of the groceries you just purchased. Offer them a McDonald’s gift card. Buy them a meal. A thoughtful, meaningful, and useful gift can humble the hardened beggar, shame the one taking advantage of the gullible, and help a man work away from an addiction.

4. ALSO: It would be a good idea to learn the location of some of the local services and shelters for the homeless – John 3:16, Salvation Army, or even a church involved in local outreach and care – so that you can direct them to a place where there long-term needs can be better met.

Street Bums Part I: Should You Help?

He stands on the corner of the street with a cardboard sign as you drive up to the light. He passes you on the sidewalk and asks for spare change. He approaches you at a bus stop and offers to sell you a random item. Should you help him?

That’s one of the first questions that flashes through our minds – should I help this guy? Is he really in need or just trying to make easy money off of hurried drivers? Is he trying to keep from starving, or just trying to get high? Is he making ends meet off of stuff he no longer needs, or hawking stolen goods? Does he really need my help?

Unfortunately, we start with the wrong question. We should not ask ourselves “Should I help this guy,” but “How can I help this guy.” We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to do to others as we would have them do to ourselves. And we are to let our light shine before others that they may see our good works and give glory to God. When John questioned whether Jesus was the Christ, Jesus gave him six signs of his authenticity in order of significance, climaxing with "the poor have good news preached to them.” According to James, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction , and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” We have an unquestionable calling to assist our fellow man in his time of need.

So, going back to our man. How can we help him? There is still numerous and overwhelming doubts looming in your minds: “He may just be too lazy to work.” “He may just be supporting an addiction.” “He may be a thief and a swindler.” Granted. All of those may be true. I will do my best to address each of the hypothetical (yet very real) situations one at a time in future blog posts.

You Lie, I Lie. Deal?

I got out of class about 7:20 on Wednesday the 4th of November, 2009. On my way to the downtown bus station I met a man walking the opposite way. He said he was trying to catch a bus to Broken Arrow and asked if I could give him "some dollars." As it so happens, I was headed to the Broken Arrow area myself, and knew:
1) The best bus you could get after 7:00 from downtown only goes as far as the Woodland Hills Mall (several miles north-east of BA).
2) Bus fare is only $1.50, not several dollars.
3) He was headed away from the bus station.

Nevertheless, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, and told him I was going to the bus station myself, and offered to pay for his fare at the bus. However, he refused to go with me, but just asked for the change. I finally agreed to give him $1.50 for bus fare (once I've offered someone money I'm hesitant to take it back - I'm not a big fan of finding out who is carrying what kinds of weapons and attitudes).

Then when I pulled out my coin purse and started counting out the quarters, he asked if he could have $3 because he wanted to by groceries as well. I told him I only had $3 with me and needed to pay for my own bus fare.

This was not actually true - I had about $3 in change, and a $5 bill in my wallet, but I was not planning to break the five which was supposed to be extra in case of an emergency (or someone with an honest need).

He asked if he could have $2 then, and I pointed out that once I gave him $1.50 out of my $3 I needed all the rest for my own bus fare. He persisted, and I simply said I couldn't give him something I didn't have. He gave up, and we each went our seperate ways -me to the bus station and him to his booze or crack or meth or whatever I had just given him $1.50 for.

As it turned out, I didn't have quite as much change as I thought, and ended up having to break my five anyway.