I worked under Zafer Diab's direction when he was the software manager at Conexant in Cupertino in 2004. Zafer Diab and I share a lot such as our Christian faith, a love of California, the French language, a knowledge of high definition TV technology, having lived in Canada, a love for soccer but most of all a respect for peoples and the complexities of human traditions.
Here is what he posted for Christmas 2015.
"Let's not be so focused on whatever God we worship, rather lets believe deeply in the human being inside each person and live every moment in mutual respect. In this day of Christmas when Muslims also celebrate the birth of their prophet, lets share peace and love and also share joys and pains. To live thus is the best and the only way to fight terrorism."
Somehow it seems that we have forgotten the most basic of things, such as how we related to others that are different, and how we share this planet. Here is another example, from my friend Vincent Gerace and his wife Juliana from St. John Neumann's church in Irvine. For some context, it is currently 43 degrees Fahrenheit in Southern California so it is cold, it is 68 degrees in Boson.
"What an amazing Christmas. Juliana and I came out of Mass on Christmas Day and encountered Maryanna (Megan) and Joseph, two homeless kids. Their mother died and they had been on the streets for 4 days. Juliana got us all to pray together, thence gave them some money and told them to call us in the evening if they didn't have a place to stay. All day we called friends and homeless shelters only to learn that undocumented minors would be turned over to INS for processing. To them that meant they'd be deported to Tijuana with no relatives to go home to. They called us on Christmas evening and said they had no placed to stay, so we picked them up and got them a room in a hotel. This morning when we met them again, we learned that their uncle called them in the middle of the night and agreed tot are them to his home in San Francisco. We dropped them off at the Amtrak station in the morning."
I certainly won't deny that some fantastic progress has been made today in California. For example, the city of San Francisco recycles 90 percent of its waste today and has set itself a goal of recycling all of its waste by 2020 but the way we treat people, including the terminally ill, the homeless, and the unborn could use some change.
When we suggest that private initiatives such as Uber, self driving cars, and others will reduce global warming we are fooling ourselves. Wouldn't be better to start by improving our public transportation system.
Powerful people such as Mary Nichols, David Boies, Ted Olson, Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris and Senator Harry Reid have certainly contributed to the public debate about what the future should bring. In the spirit of democracy it is time for them to accept that they are only one out of 40 million people in California and to take a haircut to their ego.
People need access to electricity and that is simply common sense. I talked to a Hispanic student, Brendan, at Harvard University he came from a poor community. That is fantastic but we also need better access to education such as is being done by President Michelle Bachelet in the Chile University System
In the Lord of the Rings, Galadriel says "even the smallest of persons can change the future." It is time for the powerful people I have named to accept that hope and change does not only come from them. As the saying goes, one is either part of the problem or part of the solution.
It's certainly true that this raises some very difficult issues such as regarding reproductive freedoms, how we deal with nuclear power or with relations with the Muslim world, economics, and reform in our health care system. Still this is the only road that lies ahead and there is no point burying our head in the sand.
As Vincent Gerace goes on to write : "This reminds me of another story of two people, Mary and Joseph, who also were homeless. They took shelter in a cave."
Ain't it the truth. What is wrong with us?
Like Frodo in the Lord of the Rings, I wish it would not have happened in my time. Still all we can do in life is to make the best of the times and opportunities that we have been given and that is what I am doing.
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