"Everything in life is luck"

[sucka]

I share Dynasty's sentiments. I'd also add that it's entirely possible to 'Create' your own luck, which is exactly what the more prosperous nations (at least the majority of inhabitants) have done.

That said, do I consider myself lucky to be an American? Absolutely. However, like many people I wasn't born into poverty but still had a pretty rough go at it but 'created' my own luck and have gone on to be quite successful despite my 'bad luck' of having shitty parents. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

So, I'm a firm believer in creating your own luck. In this country (and other prosperous ones with opportunity) certainly get dealt a hand to start with but that doesn't mean your stuck with it. However, in the depressed areas of the world it doesn't matter how much potential you have or how smart you 'could have' been if you can't eat and are disease ridden from birth...yeah, that's bad luck and unfortunately until Red Cross shows up, you don't have a whole lot going for you...

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
I share Dynasty's ignorance.

[/ QUOTE ]

FYP

It's not hard to do well when dealt a nice hand...

If you were born into an African family you are screwed. What's the average lifespan of an African? The quality of life? Why aren't we helping them? There's so much wrong in that continent that it's not even funny and the fact that we went over to Iraq instead of helping them is an absolute joke.

I can't believe people are comparing Africans to Americans without even thinking about SLAVERY. That can be partly attributed to the success of this country. We have cheated and killed to get to where we are. Our ancestors have committed terrible crimes. So to say that "we've created our own luck" is to say that a cheater in a card game has "created his own luck." Even if you win, you're still wrong.

Edit-- too politicsy, my bad

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
Why aren't we helping them?

[/ QUOTE ]

We tried to give them the polio vaccine. To this day they refuse to take it because they think we are trying to poison them with it.

Also, women literally put detergent in their vagina to increase friction during sex. This increases the rate at which aids is spread. People refuse to change their ways despite the epidemic status of aids over there.

A small but powerful insight into the mentality over there.

[tbach24]

Wow. That's really bad. Is it the people who don't trust us or the governments?

[sucka]

I don't know about anyone else on this forum (or anyone else that's alive for that matter), but I've never owned a slave. Is it a part of history, sure it is. Just because 300 years ago a bunch of idiots went to africa and brought slaves over here doesn't change the fact that I'm here at this PRESENT time and that my 'luck' has ABSOLUTELY F'ING ZERO to do with any of that.

I understand what you are saying but none of us that are alive today had any control over those events and as far as I'm concerned are all but irrelevant as far as this conversation goes.

[tbach24]

[ QUOTE ]
I understand what you are saying but none of us that are alive today had any control over those events

[/ QUOTE ]

Or any events before we were born. Thus confirming that we're lucky and they're unlucky.

[sucka]

We help a lot of people and there are private citizens, non-profit orginzations and a multitude of other good folks that are sending money, aid, medicine, thier own time, etc... to help these countires. I for one am tired of the "let's put ourselves in a box and spend all our money to make sure that (insert welfare recipient name here) can take care of the 8 kids that she has with 7 different men" before we spend a dime on making sure that a Tyrant Dictator quits gassing his own people and doesn't use WMD on his neighbors or us"

Moral of the story - the picture is a lot bigger than that. If there was a magic wand someone could wave and fix all the epidemics in this country, believe me they'd be using it. Unfortunately, in our country, just like many others there lazy, worthless individuals who are a burden to our society. Frankly, I'm all for paying taxes and helping out our fellow man and what not - but there's no such thing as entitlement in a country like ours where anyone has the opportunity to succeed. For some, it's harder than others but the opportunity is there.

Whether you agree or not with what is going on in Iraq it doesn't mean that we shouldn't be involved in any capacity like that until we end world hunger and have no people living on the streets in America. Wake up dude.

[tbach24]

Nice post.

The Iraq point was more that we're stopping a tyrannical regime there and at the same time there are plenty of tyrannical regimes in Africa to get rid of.

[sucka]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I understand what you are saying but none of us that are alive today had any control over those events

[/ QUOTE ]

Or any events before we were born. Thus confirming that we're lucky and they're unlucky.

[/ QUOTE ]

I would certainly say that slaves fit in the 'unlucky' category. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Nelson]

wacki, seriously, these are awful, simplistic and untrue, generalizations - "we, they, they, we, over there"... That is not the true experience with regards to the fight for polio eradication in Africa. With all due respect, that was not an "insight" into the mentality "over there".