Another contribution that can outlive you is your role in politics and social activism. Leadership is needed in our world now as never before.
Gandhi became immortal through guiding India to freedom from British rule.
Churchill became immortal for inspiring the British people to courage during World War II. Martin Luther King made his name in the non-violent fight for civil rights.
What causes will you champion? It is no longer enough for us to leave the mantel of leadership in our societies to others.
People like Al Gore have shown that we can sometimes have great influence by merely calling people's attention to a problem in need of solution.
Nelson Mandela showed us moral courage in the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Whether your leadership role is formal or informal, we are all called to politics in one form or another, for politics determines the policies by which our nations and our world will be led. And our participation or apathy will outlive us in determining what kind of a world we leave behind for our children.
Living a life that will outlive you means that you must leave something behind that will have some form of societal impact.
It means doing something, creating something, and sharing something that inspires, enables, liberates, and stimulates other people to move to a better place.
This can be done on a small or large scale. It can impact the lives of a few people or the lives of millions, if not billions, of people. It may influence a family, a community, a company, a country, or the world.
You can choose to do it through sharing profound knowledge and philosophy, through generating works of art, through creating organizations of enduring value, or through political activity and the championing of worthy causes.
Each will outlive you. Each can change history, whether for a few people or for many.
About the Author
Mark Victor Hansen, best known as the co-creator of the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' empire (which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling non-fiction book series ever), is a walking success magnet! Between his books and speeches, Mark has helped countless millions of people become their very best. Visit Mark's 101 E-Book Library at http://www.IdeasThatCanChangeYourLife.com.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
The Right To Repair Act And What It Means For You by David Maillie
As cars become more advanced and complex with each passing year, it has now reached a point where car owners must seek or get repair work done at a new car dealership. They do not have the choice of many repairs at regular repair shops or similar as they do not have access to the technology that can read the newer computers and service information. Without this an effective repair and diagnosis cannot be done. This has become a great money making opportunity for the car dealers and their manufacturers to effectively monopolize the repair market and jack up prices on parts and services. This is why there is a new bill that, if congress passes it, will change this and make car repairs and service a more affordable option.
Since congress instituted the anti trust legislation which encourages fair trade and business practices (some companies like Microsoft still try to ride the extreme edge of these laws) most businesses have complied. Some companies, though, when afforded an opportunity to make extra cash (and lots of it) by stifling the competition and artificially raising prices and entrapping customers (can we say illegal monopoly) run at the opportunity. Companies like the auto manufacturers of today have currently done with the with holding of crucial technology and information systems to regular or non name repair shops. This effectively makes it so that you the consumer immediately have a greatly reduced choice of where you can go for repairs and service.
That is not fair, causes unfair competition and business hurdles, drives up prices and, most importantly, is highly illegal. Yes, the big auto manufacturers are currently spending millions on high paid lobbying firms in Washington to get the bill and subsequent legislation squashed or at least greatly reduced. This is how business is done in Washington and on the federal level. Its called pork barrel politics and it is not about what is fair and good for the consumer. Many times a well intentioned bill, funding or similar gets squashed or minimized to the point where it either does not have any effect or, in some places, the complete opposite results.
Case in point, the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) was brought about to tax the rich more and in the end it actually does not touch the rich and entraps many members of the middle class. The rich can afford big lawyers and lobbyists and literally get away with murder (for a great example just look at O.J. Simpson and his dream team with Cochran and others). They can get a presidential pardon for donating $500,000 or so to a presidents memorial library fund or similar (just look at the list of people that Bill Clinton pardoned on his way out of the presidency (one was an automotive and NASCAR magnate with over 50 felony charges and all were pardoned away)!
Why I am telling you this is because the Right To Repair Act is another very well intentioned bill that will lower automotive repair costs as it encourages healthy competition. It will make the auto manufacturers release codes, technical data and equipment to the entire repair industry. It will allow you to get your car or truck serviced wherever you like. You should be able to get your car serviced wherever you like and, if you feel adept enough or properly trained, to work on it yourself.
The automotive industry wants it squashed as they are now literally allowed to have a monopoly on where their car owners go for service. A monopoly on service and related auto repairs means a financial windfall for all involved except the consumer. Just go to your local car dealership and have something simple and what you would think cheap to repair diagnosed. See what the service advisor tells you. You will almost pass out. On average new car dealer service departments charge twice what your local service shop does. And they routinely recommend things that are not necessary or needed.
The car manufacturers argument is that they have the best training and can best work on your car so it helps the consumer. This is simply not true. I actually worked at numerous car dealerships for many years and have seen many gaffs, mistakes, and acts of stupidity done by the service departments. The same mechanics that work at your local car dealership actually are no better qualified then your local mechanics with the same training (ASE and similar).
Why can I say this? Because they are the exact SAME mechanics. Where do you think the car dealership mechanics go when they finally get tired of being lied to and having their pay cut or a performance bonus missed while the car dealer and general managers are just banking it. They leave and go to regular service shops and some go out on their own and launch their own repair shop or service station. Many of these service shops have stringent training requirements that exceed your state requirements and even that of the new car dealerships.
So, basically it is up to you. This is a bill that will help you and save you money.
About the Author
For the rest of this and many more great articles on similar, helpful topics, please be sure to visit - Headlight Cleaner, Polish, Repair and Restoration - http://www.mdwholesale.com
Since congress instituted the anti trust legislation which encourages fair trade and business practices (some companies like Microsoft still try to ride the extreme edge of these laws) most businesses have complied. Some companies, though, when afforded an opportunity to make extra cash (and lots of it) by stifling the competition and artificially raising prices and entrapping customers (can we say illegal monopoly) run at the opportunity. Companies like the auto manufacturers of today have currently done with the with holding of crucial technology and information systems to regular or non name repair shops. This effectively makes it so that you the consumer immediately have a greatly reduced choice of where you can go for repairs and service.
That is not fair, causes unfair competition and business hurdles, drives up prices and, most importantly, is highly illegal. Yes, the big auto manufacturers are currently spending millions on high paid lobbying firms in Washington to get the bill and subsequent legislation squashed or at least greatly reduced. This is how business is done in Washington and on the federal level. Its called pork barrel politics and it is not about what is fair and good for the consumer. Many times a well intentioned bill, funding or similar gets squashed or minimized to the point where it either does not have any effect or, in some places, the complete opposite results.
Case in point, the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) was brought about to tax the rich more and in the end it actually does not touch the rich and entraps many members of the middle class. The rich can afford big lawyers and lobbyists and literally get away with murder (for a great example just look at O.J. Simpson and his dream team with Cochran and others). They can get a presidential pardon for donating $500,000 or so to a presidents memorial library fund or similar (just look at the list of people that Bill Clinton pardoned on his way out of the presidency (one was an automotive and NASCAR magnate with over 50 felony charges and all were pardoned away)!
Why I am telling you this is because the Right To Repair Act is another very well intentioned bill that will lower automotive repair costs as it encourages healthy competition. It will make the auto manufacturers release codes, technical data and equipment to the entire repair industry. It will allow you to get your car or truck serviced wherever you like. You should be able to get your car serviced wherever you like and, if you feel adept enough or properly trained, to work on it yourself.
The automotive industry wants it squashed as they are now literally allowed to have a monopoly on where their car owners go for service. A monopoly on service and related auto repairs means a financial windfall for all involved except the consumer. Just go to your local car dealership and have something simple and what you would think cheap to repair diagnosed. See what the service advisor tells you. You will almost pass out. On average new car dealer service departments charge twice what your local service shop does. And they routinely recommend things that are not necessary or needed.
The car manufacturers argument is that they have the best training and can best work on your car so it helps the consumer. This is simply not true. I actually worked at numerous car dealerships for many years and have seen many gaffs, mistakes, and acts of stupidity done by the service departments. The same mechanics that work at your local car dealership actually are no better qualified then your local mechanics with the same training (ASE and similar).
Why can I say this? Because they are the exact SAME mechanics. Where do you think the car dealership mechanics go when they finally get tired of being lied to and having their pay cut or a performance bonus missed while the car dealer and general managers are just banking it. They leave and go to regular service shops and some go out on their own and launch their own repair shop or service station. Many of these service shops have stringent training requirements that exceed your state requirements and even that of the new car dealerships.
So, basically it is up to you. This is a bill that will help you and save you money.
About the Author
For the rest of this and many more great articles on similar, helpful topics, please be sure to visit - Headlight Cleaner, Polish, Repair and Restoration - http://www.mdwholesale.com
Monotheism and Polytheism: A Choice between Dictatorship and Democracy by Awdhesh K Singh
The relationship between religion and politics has always been a controversial issue. All secular countries denounce the use of religion for political purposes. Yet in reality, most of the politicians use religion in politics successfully. Religion was quite important in the politics of Gandhi that he was popularly known as Mahatma (Great Soul). He used to start every day with prayer. Religion played very important role in the politics of Mohammad Ali Jinnah that finally lead to the creation of Pakistan on the religious basis. In the recent times, George Bush attacked Afghanistan as God asked him to do so.
Does the politics of a country really depend on the religion of the citizens? The answer seems to be in affirmative. Use of religion in politics may be decried, called immoral or illegal yet it continues to play very important in most of the countries. The emergence of science in the fifteenth century gave the hope that religion would perhaps be weakened if not eradicated from the world once people develop scientific temper. Yet even after five centuries, religion continues to rule the world. Even in America more than 90 percent people believe in God. In Middle East the percentage may be close to 100 percent.
Faith is synonymous with religion and both are synonymous to belief. Interestingly, the people who claim to be unbeliever or atheist are actually not without faith or belief. They have unconsciously developed faith in science in place of religion and scientists have become their gods. So the people, who are atheist, are actually those who believe in Science instead of God. Science is like a monotheistic religion as a true believer of science can't have faith in (any other) God.
Monotheism and Polytheism
Faith is an essential requirement of any society. No society can exist, if its members do not share a common belief and culture. Religion is the oldest form of faith in the world. From ancient times, people used the concept for God to explain many things and follow discipline in the society. God provided them explanation to all the questions that could not be explained by logic or the limited knowledge of the ancient people. For them God was behind every thing. Yet God and the concept of God are different in every religion.
There are numerous religions in this world and each religion has its own Gods and deities. However, some religions believe that God is only one. These are called the monotheistic religions. The principle religions in this category are Christianity, Islam and Judaism. These religion believes that there is no other God except the God described in their religion.
Some religions like Hinduism believe in the concept of many gods. Though, some Hindu scholars may argue that all these gods are reflections of the same God, yet in popular perception, people worship many gods. Philosophically, Hindus believe that all gods are the refection of one God only.
There are still some religions like Buddhism and Sikhism, which do not believe in the concept of deities or God. Yet these religions believe in the spirit that pervades the world. These faiths are quite similar to other religions as these have guidelines, rituals and code of conduct for their followers which are quite similar to any other theistic religions.
Atheism and Science
The emergence of science or material knowledge in fifteenth century challenged many "truths" of religion. The first truth that was revealed by science was the heliocentric concept of solar system (Sun being in the center of the solar system) given by Galileo, which contradicted the truth of the established religion that earth is in the center of the universe. It proved that it is not sun that revolves around earth but it is earth that revolves around sun. Subsequently, science challenged many findings of religions successfully. However, science could not explain some basic concepts of universe like the creation of universe or life. It also fails to control the behavior of the people. Yet the jolt of science was strong enough to challenge many concepts of holy books. Many people lost faith on religions as they could negate many established facts of these books. They called themselves atheists as they do not believe in the concept of personal God.
Yet, the atheists are not necessarily as non-believer or the persons without faith. They often believe in all pervading spirit but do not take the words of the scriptures as the gospel truth. The believe system of an atheists hinges over science, which they found the best source of truth and knowledge. They seek answer of all their question from science and try to solve all their problems by application of scientific principles Thus science has gradually become a faith in itself, which have only one Truth at any given point of time viz. the one that is found by the latest scientific investigation.
God and Polity
It is wisely said that "You are what you think you are". What is true on individual is also true for the society. A society too has a common thought or belief. Belief is an organic entity that can not have two facets, one for the religion and one for the polity. Therefore, each country's government is often the reflection of the type of religion of the society or the type of God the people believe in.
Dictatorships
The single party government includes the states which are ruled by one party, one King or one dictator. A close scrutiny of the countries, which have such government, may reveal that such countries are either theocratic states based on the monotheistic religions (Christian, Islam or Judaism) or the countries, where states do not recognize any religion i.e. they are governed by a single ideology like communism. A state without religion needs a belief system that can keep the society together. Such gaps are often filled by an ideology like communism. These countries are suited only for dictatorships. The reason is also simple. If you believe that there is only one Truth and all other statements are false, and you punish the people for giving an alternative idea, the country can have only dictatorships. This is precisely the reason why multiparty democracies can't be successful in these countries.
Bi-Party Government
In many states, particularly in the western world, most of the states have two-party system. There are also those states where most of the people believe in two religions. One is the religion, in which they are born and other is science. People are always balancing these two faiths in their life. The people who are only theist or atheists are in minority in such countries. Hence, most of the people are used to the concept of two types of Truth. One that is present in religion and the other that is discovered by science. Thus in those countries, we have two Gods hence two-party system of polity.
Multi-party System
In some religions like Hinduism, there are a numerous Gods. There are other societies where people are predominantly agnostics, philosophical or artist who does not believe in any man-made truths. People choose their own God without facing the ire of state or society. If the society is not dominated by a particular religion but consists of fair representation of many religions, it is again likely to have multi-party system. Typical example could be India, Italy
Conclusion
Faith and religion are very important aspect of polity. Every country gets the government they want and deserve. Belief is very similar to an organism that many have multiple organs but have a single soul. Thus religion and faith affects the most fundamental thoughts of the person. The DNA of the ruler and the ruled has to be same for stable society. Therefore, it is no surprise that the countries dominated by monotheistic religions are the one who find it very difficult to implement democracy. Unless the faith or believe of these people are changed, it would be futile to implement democracies there.
About the Author
Mr. Awdhesh K Singh is an technologists and philosopher. He has published several papers in International Journals and Conferences on the application of Artificial Intelligence for E-government. He has appliedIndian Philosophies for solving the real-life problems of the modern world. My website is www.awdhesh.com
Does the politics of a country really depend on the religion of the citizens? The answer seems to be in affirmative. Use of religion in politics may be decried, called immoral or illegal yet it continues to play very important in most of the countries. The emergence of science in the fifteenth century gave the hope that religion would perhaps be weakened if not eradicated from the world once people develop scientific temper. Yet even after five centuries, religion continues to rule the world. Even in America more than 90 percent people believe in God. In Middle East the percentage may be close to 100 percent.
Faith is synonymous with religion and both are synonymous to belief. Interestingly, the people who claim to be unbeliever or atheist are actually not without faith or belief. They have unconsciously developed faith in science in place of religion and scientists have become their gods. So the people, who are atheist, are actually those who believe in Science instead of God. Science is like a monotheistic religion as a true believer of science can't have faith in (any other) God.
Monotheism and Polytheism
Faith is an essential requirement of any society. No society can exist, if its members do not share a common belief and culture. Religion is the oldest form of faith in the world. From ancient times, people used the concept for God to explain many things and follow discipline in the society. God provided them explanation to all the questions that could not be explained by logic or the limited knowledge of the ancient people. For them God was behind every thing. Yet God and the concept of God are different in every religion.
There are numerous religions in this world and each religion has its own Gods and deities. However, some religions believe that God is only one. These are called the monotheistic religions. The principle religions in this category are Christianity, Islam and Judaism. These religion believes that there is no other God except the God described in their religion.
Some religions like Hinduism believe in the concept of many gods. Though, some Hindu scholars may argue that all these gods are reflections of the same God, yet in popular perception, people worship many gods. Philosophically, Hindus believe that all gods are the refection of one God only.
There are still some religions like Buddhism and Sikhism, which do not believe in the concept of deities or God. Yet these religions believe in the spirit that pervades the world. These faiths are quite similar to other religions as these have guidelines, rituals and code of conduct for their followers which are quite similar to any other theistic religions.
Atheism and Science
The emergence of science or material knowledge in fifteenth century challenged many "truths" of religion. The first truth that was revealed by science was the heliocentric concept of solar system (Sun being in the center of the solar system) given by Galileo, which contradicted the truth of the established religion that earth is in the center of the universe. It proved that it is not sun that revolves around earth but it is earth that revolves around sun. Subsequently, science challenged many findings of religions successfully. However, science could not explain some basic concepts of universe like the creation of universe or life. It also fails to control the behavior of the people. Yet the jolt of science was strong enough to challenge many concepts of holy books. Many people lost faith on religions as they could negate many established facts of these books. They called themselves atheists as they do not believe in the concept of personal God.
Yet, the atheists are not necessarily as non-believer or the persons without faith. They often believe in all pervading spirit but do not take the words of the scriptures as the gospel truth. The believe system of an atheists hinges over science, which they found the best source of truth and knowledge. They seek answer of all their question from science and try to solve all their problems by application of scientific principles Thus science has gradually become a faith in itself, which have only one Truth at any given point of time viz. the one that is found by the latest scientific investigation.
God and Polity
It is wisely said that "You are what you think you are". What is true on individual is also true for the society. A society too has a common thought or belief. Belief is an organic entity that can not have two facets, one for the religion and one for the polity. Therefore, each country's government is often the reflection of the type of religion of the society or the type of God the people believe in.
Dictatorships
The single party government includes the states which are ruled by one party, one King or one dictator. A close scrutiny of the countries, which have such government, may reveal that such countries are either theocratic states based on the monotheistic religions (Christian, Islam or Judaism) or the countries, where states do not recognize any religion i.e. they are governed by a single ideology like communism. A state without religion needs a belief system that can keep the society together. Such gaps are often filled by an ideology like communism. These countries are suited only for dictatorships. The reason is also simple. If you believe that there is only one Truth and all other statements are false, and you punish the people for giving an alternative idea, the country can have only dictatorships. This is precisely the reason why multiparty democracies can't be successful in these countries.
Bi-Party Government
In many states, particularly in the western world, most of the states have two-party system. There are also those states where most of the people believe in two religions. One is the religion, in which they are born and other is science. People are always balancing these two faiths in their life. The people who are only theist or atheists are in minority in such countries. Hence, most of the people are used to the concept of two types of Truth. One that is present in religion and the other that is discovered by science. Thus in those countries, we have two Gods hence two-party system of polity.
Multi-party System
In some religions like Hinduism, there are a numerous Gods. There are other societies where people are predominantly agnostics, philosophical or artist who does not believe in any man-made truths. People choose their own God without facing the ire of state or society. If the society is not dominated by a particular religion but consists of fair representation of many religions, it is again likely to have multi-party system. Typical example could be India, Italy
Conclusion
Faith and religion are very important aspect of polity. Every country gets the government they want and deserve. Belief is very similar to an organism that many have multiple organs but have a single soul. Thus religion and faith affects the most fundamental thoughts of the person. The DNA of the ruler and the ruled has to be same for stable society. Therefore, it is no surprise that the countries dominated by monotheistic religions are the one who find it very difficult to implement democracy. Unless the faith or believe of these people are changed, it would be futile to implement democracies there.
About the Author
Mr. Awdhesh K Singh is an technologists and philosopher. He has published several papers in International Journals and Conferences on the application of Artificial Intelligence for E-government. He has appliedIndian Philosophies for solving the real-life problems of the modern world. My website is www.awdhesh.com
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