U. Nited. We Stand, Divided We Fall.

The election is over, now comes the time to lead for President-Elect Barack Obama. As one of the most exciting and historic elections in our lifetime has ended, a new chapter in American history has begun. Our nation faces so many untold perils and issues, that require extraordinary and intelligent leadership by our new president and leaders. Issues ranging from health care to entitlement programs to global affairs to terrorism. However, we cannot expect one man or one government to solve all of these problems alone. It will require the hard work and due diligence of the American people to come together understanding these causes are greater than any one man or woman. We cannot continue to stay on the sidelines hoping things will change, but we must act as well.

We still live in a very dangerous world, with many threats to our idealic beliefs and ideals, as we saw with the recent terrorist acts in India. However, through these challenges can create a new light of creativity and idealism from the people of the world. A hope that there is a brighter tomorrow, in which we can all work towards as one people and one nation. A belief that every man is created equal, that all children shall have a lasting opporunity to dream and live in a nation that is better than when we inhabitated it, and that freedom and liberty shall be the founding and sustained beliefs in America in which guides our ideals and policies.

I know that the halls of Washington, D.C. seem so far away and out of touch with the traditions of rural America or the struggles in our inner cities, but that cannot be the sole reason not too ACT and be engaged in the political process, which determines the fate of so many people. Policies do matter, even if they do not apply to you. Many people thought the actions of Wall Street never affected them or that individuals getting credit, when they should not have, would have no bearing on their futures. However, as we have seen, the actions of all individuals in a globalized ecnonomy has a direct affect on the finances and futures of all Americans and citizens of the world. There shall be no excuses in this new day and age, but only results. I challenge you to e-mail your congressman(woman), or our President-Elect, write to your local campus newspaper, run for office yourself, or to become your own beacon of idealism by using your creative talents to bring the change you wish to see in our nation and world.

There are so many issues and problems facing this planet--and our generation will be the future leaders of this Earth. It is only fitting that we begin to chart our own paths, our own futures, and live through successess and failures, ups and downs, to create a more perfect union. The problems plaguing us will only get worse, before they get better, however we can choose to change that by our own individual and/or group actions to speed up a new awakening within our generation. Creating programs to increase a GREEN society--reducing the use of fossil fuels and spreading the need for conservation, educating youth on HIV/Aids, spreading the need for increased national service, teaching our young people about entrepreneurship and independence, and spreading a new ideology based on love, hope, results, and perserverance, rather than hate, prejudice, and destruction. These are goals that we can all reach for and progress with through our own inate talents and aspirations.

We are truly all in this together and I hope that we can U.Nite. to truly bring a new and innovating change to American society.

Peace,

JM

“I take as my guide the hope of a saint: in crucial things, unity; in important things, diversity; in all things, generosity.”
Former President George H.W. Bush

“I still believe America’s destiny is to become a living testament to what free human beings can accomplish by acting in unity.”
Senator John F. Kerry

“United we stand; divided we fall”
Aesop-Ancient Greek Fabulist

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to leave the world a better place...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

A New Type of Entrepreneur.

There has been so much focus on the world's financial markets and their instability over the last couple of months. With the stock market shrinking, investments weakening, and consumers not spending, among many of other financial headaches, I believe creates an open window to a new type of entrepreneur--social entrepreneur. Social entrepreneur's are those who seek to create solutions for the world's social ills--rather it be inadequate education in inner cities, or providing AIDS education to those in Africa, social entrepreneurship is a needed and exciting new way of bringing about positive and real change in the world.

Whereas, business entrepreneurs seek to build products and services that provide great financial incentives for the entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship seeks to build long-lasting solutions for people, so that whole civilizations and groups are able to create and build upon that positive change and influence. Social entrepreneurship can be quite exciting and innovating in a world that is craving for solutions to so many social and institutional problems. There are many examples of great social entrepreneurship aims, such as the Peace Corps, which has allowed thousands of Americans with so many skills to reach out to impoverished nations, teaching citizens to take hold of their own lives and create economic opportunity for years and decades to come.

There are those in medicine who have created HIV/Aids Information programs--teaching those in Africa and other nations not just how to protect themselves, but the causes of STD's and how they can pass lessons on to future generations. Social entrepreneurship aims to empower people, not just through the purchasing of some expensive cure all item or service, but by giving them the knowledge and expertise so that they too can expand those same goals of independence, entrepreneurship, and idealism for generations to come to their people. If you are as concerned as I am about the social ills in the world, please consider using your own skills and creative juices to become a social entrepreneur and truly change the world.

The Re-Education of Education Reform

Lack of creativity, idealism, structured classes, motivated students, parents, and teachers, and stuck in 20th century thinking=The U.S. educational structure. How do reform our education system and win back the hearts and minds of a whole generation? Since I have been working in the DC school system over the last couple of months I have seen up close and personal the failures of our current education system. A system in which was created for 20th Century thinking that has fell behind miserably to the rest of the world and to our current globalized structure. We all know there are hundreds, if not thousands, of crumbling schools with lack of infrastructure, teaching materials, qualified teachers, and a myriad of other adversities, however this is not the only issue with our current education system.

The thinking in which our school systems across the nation operate are sorely misplaced and perpetuating the problem of creating a future of young people who will be ill prepared for the challenges of the future. Firstly, we have created a student vs. student education system in which every student is for him or herself. The best letter grade wins--no matter how the student got to that point! If you can't keep up, then too bad, its a dog eat dog world. Sure, this way of thinking works in our military vs. an enemy or a political campaign, but it should not be the type of thinking we instill in our children.

Our school system should be functioning in a manner that every student is given an equal opportunity to learn in first-rate classrooms, with caring adults, who try to pull the best ideals out of every student, not just a select few. Students should be challenged to work together in teams, solving problems, creating solutions, and thinking outside of the box. They should be experimenting, getting hands-on learning from professionals across many career fields from science to theater to government.

Our young people deserve an education system that is working for them, not against them. A system that is fighting to raise standards, while simultaneously challenging parents to be actively involved and engaged in their child's education. Our country's future depends on the success or failure of our education system and how our young people are brought up.

Secondly, we cannot expect our children to learn when their school looks like a prison. When a school is mostly white walls, with very little artwork or positive words, without technological advances, or a clean and well-stocked library--we cannot expect our children to WANT to learn. Schools should be breeding grounds for our young peoples ideals, beliefs, culture, and should motivate them to excel to their highest achievements. Learning should not be thought of as a thing for only "nerds", learning is the foundation of civilization as we know it. When students are in a building that resembles the hope and prosperity in which we want to instill in them, we can then challenge them to be successful, to work hard, never give up, and live life to the fullest.

This brings me to a third vital point to re-invigorating our education system--creating a challenging curriculum that is based on a strong core philosophical belief that in order to learn, students must be given the best educational materials, great well-trained and excited teachers, and lessons that tie real-world experiences and learning into their everyday lives. Regardless of what we think--students need to know that what they are learning will benefit them someway or somehow down the road. That they are being challenged, not just because its their teachers job, but because it will better their future. We must be able to tie all of these things together to create a new thinking in which our children are taught and how they learn. Setting tough standards and living up to those standards is vital to the success of a new 21st century education system.

We cannot fail our young people, the stakes are too high and time is running out. We need to promote cooperation, teamwork, creativity, culture, idealism, and remind all Americans that for our nation to stay relevant in the 21st century--starts right in our schools! We have to win back the hearts and minds of our students--it can be done and most importantly it must be done.

Peace,

J. Murphy

Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.
-President John F. Kennedy

Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.
-Plato

How Are We Going To Change The World?

The election is over and those under-30 voted overwhelming for President-Elect Obama--66%, by far the largest amount this age group has ever voted for a presidential candidate. So what does this mean for our generation? It means that we should have a louder voice in the policies and politics that will be coming out of Washington. The decisions that President-Elect Obama and the Congress will make, ranging from energy reform to education to health care will have an astounding affect on our lives and our children's lives. We should not be left in the dark as this is a new era in which we must stand up for our own rights and ideals as a generation of idealist and activist. No matter what your political ideals are, left or right, conservative or liberal, you should not stand quietly nor should you stand alone.

Our nation is ready for young people to finally take action and stand up for our own future instead of waiting for others to do the dirty work for us. There are so many ways to get involved, although for many of us, it seems all to overwhelming to make a dent in such a distorted and closeted political process. However, I believe that change is possible, and I believe now is the time for those aged 18-30 to finally let our voices ring loud and clear. If you only take 15 minutes out of your day to catch up on the news, read about a policy or political issue that you care about, or call your representative to let them know how you feel, you are making a difference. Those who represent us in Congress don't know we exist unless we make our voices and ideas loud! You'd be surprised how interested our leaders are in hearing what their young constituents think about a number of issues.

I would surely hate to see all of this outstanding passion, care and concern for one another and understanding of the issues just go to waste for the next four years until another Presidential election is amongst us. That is why over the next couple of months a couple of friends and I will be working to start a new organization focused on social entrepreneurship. With the creation of this organization, Generation We Solve (GenWeSolve), it will allow the voices of our generation to begin to gain clout in the halls of Congress and to finally put issues important to our generation on the forefront. Issues such as higher education, economic issues, health care, national service, global climate change, energy innovation, and so much more. We will be creating an interactive website that will allow members to engage not only our leaders, but also with our peers to better press issues important to us on the national stage and to create solutions for the many problems plaguing our earth. We are still working out the details of the site and organization, but I promise you it will be exciting!

I believe this will be an awesome adventure and I hope you join us on this journey! Watch out for updates and lets truly change the world!

Peace,

Joshua A. Murphy