The joy of meeting people

[caption id="attachment_6836" align="alignleft" width="300" caption=""Dad" with traffic guard, Ground Zero"][/caption]






A Dad’s Point-of-View, by Bruce Sallan - Meeting people in real life, in person, is cool.  I write and speak a great deal about technology and social interaction.  It’s my belief that modern technology offers wondrous things but, as with just about everything, there is a down side.  That “down side” is that you can be lulled to believe that you can do everything you need to do from the comfort of your computer.  Yes, you can do much more than at any time in human history, but the value of direct people contact cannot be replaced by any new tech device, app, software, or web site.

This was dramatically demonstrated on a recent trip to New York, where I combined business and pleasure and found the pleasure of meeting people to be not only joyful but also informative and invaluable in ways I’d almost forgotten about, considering my attachment to technology.

I’m not bashful, to say the least, so I talk to everyone.  Literally.  I struck up conversations with every taxi driver whose cab I entered.  In the crowded subway, I met a young Danish girl of Vietnamese heritage and in the space of one stop I learned her incredible story.  Being “social” got my son and me into the airline lounge for free, when our plane was delayed, whereas sitting back would’ve stuck us in the main, loud, uncomfortable airport waiting areas for several hours.

We parents model the behavior we want from our children.  My son got a great lesson in assertiveness, through observing my regular interactions with various people we encountered. To him, however, it was also sprinkled with an equal amount of me embarrassing him (24, 25 times?) by just being “Me!.”

In the space of four and a half days, some of the things we experienced from this direct interaction with people and places were:

~~ We met a young girl, while smashed together on the subway, who was doing a world tour before beginning medical school in Holland. In the space of ONE stop, I learned that her parents were boat people after the fall of Saigon, that her father was rescued by a Norwegian ship while in his early teens, and that he attended high school in Holland, where he met his wife who was also a survivor of the horrid post-war times in Vietnam.  He became an engineer and they had five children, the youngest of which was next to me, telling me her wonderful, engaging story.  As you can see, this is who I am -- talking to everybody, loving it, learning, interacting -- and as you can also understand, it’s why I probably under-estimated the number of times I embarrassed my son.

~~ We hung out with my virtual friend Adam Cohen (@dadarocks) who took us to the most incredible restaurant for dessert, Max Brenners. Adam is one of those people I “knew” from Twitterl, but now got the pleasure of not only meeting but getting to really “know.” There is no doubt that 140 characters have their limits!  Adam was beyond gracious to me and David, and David got a taste of how a New Yorker handles things, since Adam was born and raised there, and has his own unique style of “getting it done.”  His style is persistent, direct, and explains his 76 Klout (a Twitter measure of influence) and other top-of-the-list statistics as a dad blogger/influencer.

~~ Ground Zero where I was moved and impacted in ways I hadn’t imagined.



~~ I met a taxi driver from a small town in Ghana, who knew Pastor Frank Bennin, who runs the girl’s school that I’ve been supporting through my writing and radio show. Pastor Bennin’s kids befriended me on Facebook - yet another marvel of the Internet that we’d connect this way.  But, what are the odds that I’d meet a man from Ghana, on a trip to New York, who happened to know the little township of Agona Swedru?



~~ I spoke at the #140conf*, a Social Media conference where I met dozens of people that I only knew “virtually.” We discussed, shared, and got to know each other in ways that non-verbal, non-direct communication just cannot do.  In many cases, we came up with business ideas and other things we might join forces on that never would have happened without the face-to-face time.

~~ I met people of every ethnicity, stripe, color, and any other human distinction by visiting Times Square, day and night, The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Macy’s (the largest department store in the world), The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and the “Top of the Rock,” Chinatown (for dim sum and boba), saw four musicals (“Spiderman” - front row seats, “Memphis,” “Mary Poppins,” and “Baby, It’s You”), visited FAO Schwartz where I did a Tom Hanks (from the movie, “Big”) and danced/played on their full-size walk and play on piano, Greenwich Village for pizza at the infamous “John’s Pizza” restaurant, The Apple Store, the gorgeous display of masks in front of The Plaza Hotel, did a video interview with my son in Times Square, watched the “Today” show being broadcast “live,” and visited the Harry Potter exhibit at the Discovery Museum. Plus, taxi, taxi, taxi, walk, walk, walk, subway, subway, subway.

So, do you think getting out and seeing the world, interacting with people, learning and doing it away from the comforts of home, is worth it? I sure do!

*Here’s a link to my travelogue article on the trip to New York which has a link to view my “talk:” http://bit.ly/140confNY

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Bruce’s first book, A Dad’s Point-of-View: We ARE Half the Equation is available at Amazon and the store at BruceSallan.com: http://brucesallan.com/index.php/store. Bruce Sallan’s column, “A Dad’s Point-of-View,” is carried in over 100 newspapers and websites worldwide. Please listen to “The Bruce Sallan Show - A Dad’s Point-of-View,” his one-hour radio show, which is available anytime, via live stream, or to download for free on BruceSallan.com.  Everything about Bruce’s radio show, including which stations carry it “live,” and all of Bruce’s writing and other information, is accessible at: http://www.brucesallan.com. Bruce created and launched a website for those who would like Tech help, called BoomerTechTalk (http://www.BoomerTechTalk.com). Find Bruce on Facebook by joining his “A Dad’s Point-of-View” page: http://www.facebook.com/aDadsPointOfView. You can also follow Bruce at Twitter: http://twitter.com/BruceSallan.

American tolerance, temperance required during Egypt's crisis

Carol Forsloff - During 2010 many voices were raised against the building of a mosque near ground zero, despite it was being built in an area of diverse businesses and by an Islamic group known for peaceful ways.  Recent events in Egypt should not be the road to more intolerance.


Egypt coat of arms - wikimedia commons

Experts tell us that during times of economic and political crises, there is a greater tendency for extremism to occur.  This was seen in the run-up to both world wars.  Now the same type of cries for economic stability,  while looking at leaders through the eyes of rising expectations, along with nationalism can provoke serious consequences by outside and inside extremist groups.

Egypt, while it's culture is vastly different than that of the United States, is nevertheless a country with many educated people who are used to having some semblance of contact with the western world and with ways that are coherent with values outside of its country.  There are also those within the country who have extreme religious views, similar to the types of groups that present those same types of intolerant statements in the United States and elsewhere.   This means there is some platform for both common sense and the lack of it, every bit as much as occurred during the political debates concerning the building of a Muslim mosque near ground zero in New York City.

America's position is on the fulcrum of discontent in Egypt, so that if there are abrupt moves in any direction the weight of the distribution of extremism may descend to the detriment of international peace.  That is the reason, according to political advisers reported across the globe, Obama must be cautious in dealing with the volatility of the region and the calls for Hosni Mubarak to resign.

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The writer was the first female student in the Middle Eastern Studies program in 1960 at Portland State College, now Portland State University, who studied the language and culture over several years and continues to be focused in reading and presentation of information and opinion on the Middle East and its issues of politics and religion.

Americans condemn Muslim mosque Imam lack knowledge of facts

by Carol Forsloff - Given the potential for
misinformation on social media sites, and the arguments about the
orientation of the Muslims who want to build the mosque in New York,
it's important to have the facts.



Documentation has been done by
newspapers across the country as well as security officials with respect
to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, revealing he is not only not a terrorist but
someone who is respected in the religious community as well as by those
who have interacted with him in government as a man of peace.



Sound bites from those who
undermine Constitutional freedoms by citing false information are one
thing, full articles of this man's pronouncements are available, as is
the background of his specific religious orientation, which is Sufi.



Given the fact that a reader of
this newspaper, who admitted not to knowing about Sufis, 15 minutes
later declared them to be a violent group, it's important to know the
history of that group, which cannot be learned in a 15 minute selective
search of the Internet.



Islam has its "denominations" just
as Christianity does.  Just as Christianity it has two main divisions,
the Sunni and Shi'a, whose beliefs about the prophet and the succession
are different as are some of the specific beliefs with respect to
government and the law.



Sufis are a division of the Shi'a,
considered to be the ascetics among the Muslims.  They are the
contemplatives, and although within their group they dance and sing and
overtly praise God, they are known for an orientation which is less
earthly and more in the poetic divine inclination.



One of the most famous Sufis is
Rumi, whose poetry of love and spiritual life is respected not just in
the Middle East but in the Western world as well.  Another well-known
writer is Omar Khayyam, whose Thousand and One Nights is a universal
classic.



During
my early college days, as a student at Portland State University I was
the first woman enrolled in the Middle Eastern Studies program  in
1960.   The program involved the study of
Arabic, the culture and customs of the Middle East, history, geography,
religion and economics.  This was combined with my program in
journalism, as it was my intention to be a correspondent in the Middle
East.  I have also traveled to the Middle East some years later .



My knowledge and background with
Islamic studies was something not learned in 15 minutes from a selected
Internet site that the reader, on the occasion of his pronouncements
against the building of the mosque near 9/11 did not name.



Suffice to say, these are  a few snippets
of information already assembled on the Imam Rauf available to counter
the right-wing diatribes that have been demonstrated to have increased
anti-Islamic rhetoric, and even violence against, the Muslims of the
United States.  These incidents have been documented in other stories in
Green Heritage News.

On terrorism:
Well, I'm not a politician. ... The issue of terrorism is a very
complex question. ... I am a bridge builder. My work is ... I do not
want to be placed nor will I accept a position where I am the target of
one side or another. My attempt is to see a peace in Israel. ...
Targeting of civilians is wrong. It's a sin in our religion, whoever
does it. ... I am a supporter of the State of Israel --New York Times quotes

On Judaism: (in his address at Daniel Pearl's memorial, a Jewish journalist where he was asked to speak)." The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg noted on August 19 that Rauf spoke
at a memorial service for Daniel Pearl, a Jewish journalist who was
kidnapped and murdered by militants in Pakistan during which he
condemned violent attacks against Israel and referred to the Jews and
Arabs as brothers.

On suicide bombers:  In a Newsday,  June 8, 2004, Newsday
article (accessed via Nexis) reported: "Rauf has done little else since
the terrorist attacks that pulled him from his mahogany pulpit in the
shadow of Ground Zero. At the outset, he categorically condemned suicide
bombers and, in fact, any violence committed in the name of religion."
The article further reported: "He also said that American policies 'were
an accessory to the crime that happened' since they had armed a
generation of jihadists to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan," and quoted
him saying, "Explaining is not justifying. ... I want people to
understand the things that have fueled terrorism, because if we address
them, that's how we eliminate terror."

These have been collected references by Media Matters which promotes itself as examining statements and beliefs that undermine good journalism and evidence.

There are many other entries in
this same article about the background of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf that
disputes the right-wing condemnation of this Muslim, who has been found,
in documented research of his opinions since 9/11, to be a moderate,
genteel man.  He has been designated by the administrations of both
George Bush and Barack Obama to interact with officials, both in the
United States and abroad, with regard to American - Islamic relations.



To condemn the free worship of such
a man and his followers where they please is something constitutional scholars rebuke as
an affront to the First Amendment of the Constitution.