Footnotes

THE MOST VALUABLE: Time cannot be borrowed or replaced; no one is able to buy it at any price, nor can a short amount be given away to someone who needs it so badly. It is a limited asset and the most valuable thing in the world. In spite of this fact, so many people are using their time unwisely; they are so unhappily wasting it without realizing its true value. Those who suffer from genuine pain will do anything to escape from it, and the last thing they need is a lecture. May 15, 1986 ♦ SOMETHING IS JUST NOT RIGHT: Historians now say one of the reasons the Germans were defeated in the war was there were too many rules, too many papers, too many reports, and it interfered with their fighting capabilities. Today in our society, industries, companies, even hospitals have too much paperwork. It is becoming more important to fill out papers than it is to do the actual work of the company. Especially in our government, paperwork is becoming not only a nuisance; it greatly affects our country’s productivity. Usually someone’s unfortunate occurrence means someone else’s profit, as in the stock market, or the recent Russian nuclear disaster. Right or wrong is not the issue, it’s just the facts. May 22, 1986 ♦ THE IMPORTANCE OF AN INDIVIDUAL: Everyone is important in every organization, just as a big machine cannot operate without a small part. When the small part does not hold up to do the proper function, the product becomes defective, and soon it is returned for repair. Products are usually guaranteed for quality, thus an employee who is not good creates a loss for the company and becomes society’s liability. If you have an employee who doesn’t say good morning and smile at the customers, you may be better off without them. May 29, 1986 ♦ ON THE OTHER HAND: It seems that famous actors, actresses, and athletes make too much money, as well as some executives of large corporations who reward themselves with too many bonuses. However, we must understand that there are many unsuccessful actors, actresses, athletes, and corporate executives who do not even make their own salary. So successful people well-deserve what they make or demand. TRUE KNOWLEDGE: Any education is not true knowledge unless it goes through the mill of experience. For this reason, older people who have more experience possess the true meaning of knowledge and deserve respect for their opinion, regardless of their educational background. June 5, 1986 ♦ SAME ACTION, DIFFERENT RESULT: Once a young lawyer opened a practice in a peaceful, small town, but he could not make it; there was no work, so he planned to move out of town. Then another lawyer decided to open practice. In a short period of time, both lawyers were doing a brisk business. About the same time, in the small town, there was a restaurant doing a decent amount of business. Another restaurant moved in, and then neither restaurant could make it. On outward appearances, it was the same action, but with quite a different result. June 12, 1986 ♦ BEST SYSTEM: The greatest asset and strength of Democracy is freedom of choice, profit motivated by struggle with free enterprise. But there are overzealous fortune seekers who make use of our system purely for their own benefit without consideration of others. Their greed weakens our system and we all suffer for it. For many people it may be much easier to make money rather than spend money wisely and properly. If you have someone who cares enough to give you advice, you are rather lucky, because it is not really pleasant or wise or a smart thing to give advice to anyone for any reason. June 19, 1986 ♦ Someone’s Sorrow They say life is like a short summer dream. But my dreams are long and black. Why do other people sleep so soundly? In the deep, dark hours sleep eludes me. Dream demons, they taunt with their terrors, Or simply cavort in meaningless circles. Long days yield to eternal nights. Fatigue stretches my sanity. At last the dawn finally arrives! The torture of the night is over. ♦ NATIONAL CRISES: We have two grave national crises in our country—one is Drug Infestation, and the other is a gradual but steady spread of AIDS. Just because the blood does not show in the streets or deaths occurring like flies, it seems our government is not doing enough. Drug education and prevention is like treating malaria only with medication instead of eradicating the mosquito’s breeding source. Sooner or later, these drug-related affairs will destroy our society financially as well as morally. Our government must mobilize all its resources to eliminate the source of all the drugs at any cost. This is a war forced upon us with an invisible enemy, landing every day by sea and by air from East to West and especially in the South. This is war, and we are losing while the population does not know it. SELF-RESPECT: Once you lose self-respect, you lose everything, even though you may have material abundance or may be socially prominent. Self-respect can’t be given or taken away by force; it is a self-generated power. June 26, 1986