JOYISIM is my personal war on terroisim

That's right. I propose that the way to fight terrorisim is to get out and perpitrate JOYISIM:

INDIVIDUAL to INDIVIDUAL - give JOY in ANY FORM to your fellow human beings, seflessly.

How much junk do you have around your house? What could you sell and never miss? Give away and enjoy not having to clean anymore? Exercise equipment? Unread books that have sat on your bookcase shelves for a year? Then do it and then find a stranger to give it to - without judging the validity, existance or importance of their need. Without prejudice.

Think that's crazy? Well maybe it is. But I think Hamas winning the Palestinian elections is OUTRIGHT INSANITY. I think flying fully fueled passenger airplanes into buildings, killing all passengers and causing the world's (once) two larges buildings to fall to their foundations, is OUTRIGHT INSANITY.

I think that men, women and CHILDREN even, strapping explosives to themselves and then boarding a full commuter train and blowing themselves and everyone else up is OUTRIGHT INSANITY.

I think the answer to terrorisim is JOYISIM. I think that we have enough non-profit charitable organizations. Government programs all tripping over their own feet.

Such organizations are IDEAL for situations like the localized Katrina disaster. Focused human suffering needs FOCUSED charity work.

I propose though that we are, and have been for aVERY LONG time, in the midst of a WORLDWIDE NATURAL DISASTER . Hunger, poverty, war, disease, crime, abuse, death. Charitable organizations like the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc. cannot effectively address this non-local, unfocused ONGOING WORLDWIDE DISASTER.

I'm not saying these organizations are BAD. Just not the best idea for releiving the suffering of the common man woman and child.

I suggest that we finally start DOING what all the endless streams of public service announcements have been urging us to do for YEARS.

Instead of donating to a non-profit organization (who will then take a big chunk of that donation for its own administrative costs, sometimes over 30% of the donation) I say we cut out the middleman. Go direct to the root of the suffering. INDIVIDUAL to INDIVIDUAL.

Or would you rather have a tax write off?

I propose that by giving selflessly to a stranger, without judging the magnitude or validity of their need, is THE SOLUTION. Not another charity organization tripping over its own feet.

It can be as simple as this: Make 10 sandwiches. Go to your nearest city. Walk around and everytime you come across a homeless person, give them one of those sandwiches. You don't have to worry about them squandering it on alcohol or drugs. It's food.

It's as simple as that.

Also, I think it's important becuase by doing charity, INDIVIDUAL to INDIVIDUAL, you will have direct contact with the suffering of your fellow human beings. No longer will you be insulated from it by the storefront, or web page where you type your donation in in the form of a credit card number.

By exposing yourself to the reality of human suffering, your own compassion may just grow.

Think it's impossible? Think that people don't care? Think again. I assure you, it is happening even as you read these words.

This whole idea started out on the Sacramento Craigslist classifieds website. We now have our own Craigslist hosted forum: http://forums.sacramento.craigslist.org/?forumID=7673

Go look.

It's simple. Just post and ask for what would give you diapers. Look, and you'll see that most are asking for things like a job, diapers, baby food, baby clothes, books. Some ask for playsatations. Airline tickets to visit disneyworld. Playoff tickets.

You read that - playstation, tickets, etc... and think, that's ridiculous. I say WHO ARE YOU OR I TO JUDGE WHAT BRINGS ANOTHER JOY? At least they aren't asking for help to make a BOMB so they can blow themselves up.

Perhaps if you helped fulfill their "outrageous" request for joy, you would suprise them so much that they might get involved in the giving as well!

I think most of the people that post such "outrageous" requests aren't really serious. It's more of a sarcastic "Yeah, I want some joy. Give me a million bucks." In a world where it's virtually unheard of for a stranger to give another stranger so much as a single buck... then maybe doing something like sending that person a Target E-Gift card for $10 WOULD BLOW THEM AWAY. Make them realize that their fellow man is not as cold hearted and uncaring as they have come to beleive. Inspire them to change their ATTITUDE toward the world and DO SOMETHING rather than sit with a beer everynight flipping through 150 channels of nothing on.

Check it out. Joy speaks for itself.

PS: Giving joy doesn't necissarily equate to giving money. It can be time, or even ideas as well. Just earlier this morning someone wrote on the forum that their joy would be to have the means (monitary) to help their handful of friends. They were sad becaues they just didn't have the money to do anything for their friends.

I suggested to this person that while they don't have money, they have muscles. Go help your friends clean their houses! What person with their own home or appartment wouldn't appreciate that MORE THAN MONEY?!? Then, when the house is clean, enjoy a beer together along with the nice clean house!

-Pope Magniminimus Omnibus Short Bus XIII
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" - JFK
"Your fellow citizens ARE your country" - Me