I try to avoid serious political and religious posts on this blog. I have another blog for that. However, since more of my family and friends read this blog than the other one I thought I’d share these thoughts here as I believe them important. So to all my loved-ones, this more serious post is for you.
In personal letters to friends and family I have commented that I wouldn’t mind to go to Greece or Portugal as a future career stationing. We all know what happened to Greece. Portugal and Spain will probably be next and from there move all over Europe, especially the East Bloc countries. The United Kingdom has also started to show symptoms. As I mentioned to friends and family before, the global economic breakdown is far from over. The worse is yet to come. The stimulus money merely helped with some of the symptoms; it did not cure the problem. It is like prescribing a pain pill for a rotten tooth. Europe will probably see much more protests and rioting than we saw in the United States thus far. Most Americans believed that bailing out the Too-Big-To-Fails will solve the problem. Unlike the Americans, the Europeans now have a case study and we are likely to see more people actively voicing and demonstrating their disagreement with bailouts and similar strategies. The protests we’ve already seen in Greece, Ireland, Romania and elsewhere are likely to be repeated in other European countries once their economies weaken. (By the way, when market prices come down in Europe, do not buy into them. The media will probably hype it as a great time to buy into the European markets. Do not believe them.)
My dream of going to work in Europe will have to wait. (The same goes for my plans to visit Europe during the coming Summer Break.) I am therefore happy to announce that I will probably continue to work at my current job. Two weeks after my department chair was supposed to let me know if they intend to renew my contract or not, I could not wait any longer. So one morning I just got up the nerve and went to his office to ask him directly what the department’s intention is. I was happy to hear that their intent is to renew my contract. As I told my brother the other day, while Korea is not where I want to settle, it is still good to me. I’m still gaining valuable teaching experience, and it does allow me to pursue some of my other passions, like the martial arts.
I’m not saying that South Korea will stay unaffected—far from it. The global economic depression means less export for Asia. As more and more Western countries become affected, they will import less from abroad. China will be severely affected. I don’t know exactly how China and South Korea are related economically, but I’m sure it will have a negative effect. What is disconcerting is that any weakening in China may cause their baby brother, North Korea, to become more restless, which will undoubtedly influence the Far East, South Korea in particular, negatively. Furthermore, the United States continual economic insecurity and global political unrest is sure to affect South Korea, which is, in my opinion, for many practical purposes, an American colony. Japan is already experiencing serious economic concerns. In short, it is very feasible that South Korea will not escape an economic crisis and we are feeling some of it already. Young graduates are finding it increasingly difficult to find jobs. The competition is fiercer than before. There also seems to be an increase in violent crimes in Korea. While these are still exponentially fewer than in South Africa, this upward turn in violence does seem to be a symptom of underlying stress. South Korea is also one of the many countries that dumped stimulus money into their economy. Like with America, stimulus money does not solve the problem, it merely hides it for a while.
The really disconcerting thing is America’s Pakistani War. This is something that is neglected by the mainstream media, but is probably one of the most volatile things happening on the planet as it can easily spread to India, which is ranked the fourth largest military in the world. The bi-weekly drone attacks on Pakistan by the United States are alarming. America’s drone attacks started a year ago. Since then the number of innocent civilians to have perished have been nonsensical. It is not farfetched to image some of the surviving family members of these “collateral damage” to want revenge. Do not be surprised by terrorist attacks on America and its allies this year. And then we ought not to forget about Israel. While hard headed Israel continues to aggravate those around it (Gaza / Iran?) the United States is continuously affirming its intimate ties with it. In practical terms this means that Israel’s enemies are also America’s enemies. All of these just contribute to possible terrorist attacks and in so doing America will merely do what it did the previous time—retaliate with war. Add to this the trend for many countries that go into serious economic decline; they turn to war. War is a way for getting a country focused on an external “enemy.” If things continue like this, more wars around the world are inevitable. A possible third world war is not farfetched? All we can do is pray that that is not our immediate future.
So what are we to do? Well, wealth preservation is an important consideration. Don’t gamble with your money (avoid the crazy stock market) and invest instead in things with intrinsic value like gold. Save by buying products in bulk like at Costco or Metro. By perishables at your local community, rather than at the big supermarkets like Wallmart and Spar. By supporting the small stores, the Portuguese Fruit & Veg on the corner, for instance, you are strengthening your own community and in the difficult times it would be your small community working together that will help you through the tight times. Build a network of service trading in your community. Entrepreneurs should consider quality and the personal touch paramount. These are the qualities that will make the difference between successful and failing small businesses. Lastly, in the past I have advised my friends and family to change their jobs if they are not feeling fulfilled, as I strongly believe that job satisfaction is absolutely crucial to ones wellbeing. For the time being, however, I would advise people to stick it out in their dreary jobs. Now is not the time to gamble with a secure income. Rather, save money and try to get your fulfilment on the sideline. Maybe, with time and planning, you can build your hobby into an income. But until then, do not quit your day job.
Finally, get informed by staying abreast with the real news, not mainstream news. Look at alternative news options like Democracy Now. Look at my suggestions in the sidebar under “Now in the (Alternative) Media” for some suggestions. Be careful, however, as focussing on the negatives can easily sabotage you. It does me. I often get disheartened at the state of the world. The only way to survive is to augment your information intake with the advice of Paul to the Philippians: “. . . whatsoever things are honest, just, pure, lovely, good, of good report, has virtue and praise, think on these . . .” In these times of uncertainty we need to strive for higher things. Focus on the arts and literature that will enrich your life, rather than pollute and clutter it. Nurture your spirituality. Faith, Hope, Trust have been the sources of power that helped people overcome the difficulties of the past. And Love. Real Love, not Hollywood inspired infatuations.God's Love.
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