As we begin a new-year, and in view of all the events taking place in the U. S., such as the controversy over immigration, mass shootings, opioid addiction, impeachment of the President, and others just as important, it would seem evident that our image throughout the globe has been negatively affected. Therefore, l thought it would be useful to reflect upon America’s current standing in the world.

According to The Pew Research Center in an article written by Kristen Bialik  “America’s global image today is complicated. On balance, people around the world continue to give the United States favorable ratings and say it respects the individual liberties of its people. Nonetheless there are concerns as Ms. Bialik goes on to say that Western Europeans have strikingly negative views of Trump. In the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain there is a clear pattern in public perceptions of U.S. presidents. People in these countries generally had little confidence in President George W. Bush to do the right thing regarding world affairs. Their confidence was much higher in Bush’s successor, President Barack Obama, but it plunged following Trump’s election in 2016.

Views of the U.S. are favorable on balance, but concerns are evident. Across the 25 countries surveyed, a median of 50% have a favorable opinion of the U.S., while 43% have an unfavorable view. Likewise, a median of 51% say the U.S. respects the personal freedoms of its people, compared with 37% who say it does not. However, there is concern about America’s role in world affairs.

The U.S. receives some of its highest favorability ratings in Asia. Meanwhile, half or more in four of the five Asia-Pacific nations polled view the U.S. favorably, including 83% in the Philippines and 80% in South Korea – both among the highest ratings in the study (along with 83% in Israel). In America’s neighboring countries of Canada and Mexico, 39% and 32%, respectively, have a favorable view of the U. S.

Western Europeans now say the U.S. does not respect the individual liberties of its people – a reversal from just a few years ago. Views shifted most notably in France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the UK – five countries that have been surveyed since 2008. Among these countries, more now say the U.S. government does not respect the personal freedoms of its people (a median of 57%) than say it does (40%). As recently as 2013, a median of 76% across these nations said the U.S. does protect individual liberties, while a median of 18% said it does not.

America is seen as the world’s leading economic power. People in the surveyed countries tend to see the U.S. as the world’s leading economic power, though only by a slim margin over China (medians of 39% and 34%, respectively). The U.S. is seen as the top economic power in all three Latin American countries – Brazil, Mexico and Argentina – and in nearly all Asia-Pacific countries surveyed. Europeans are also divided: Those in several countries, including the Netherlands and Germany, choose China, while those in several others, including Hungary and Italy, choose the United States.

Most people prefer America over China as the world’s leading power. While many people believe China currently is the world’s top economic power, a median of 63% across the nations surveyed say having the U.S. as the world’s leading power would be better for the world. In contrast, just 19% say a world in which China was the leading power would be better.

As we start out the new-year it is somewhat comforting to me to know that people around the world in general still give the U. S. a vote of confidence for what it perceives as a country with time tried “individual liberties of its people” and as the world’s top economic power.

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For most of us, the holiday season is a time for reunions with family and friends in which we express an appreciation for all our blessings; good health, family unity, a roof over our heads, food on the table, and a job that allows us to enjoy a dignified and respectable life.

Even though we tend to take it for granted, we give thanks for our good health, without which, the quality of our lives would be greatly diminished.  Poor health is the single-most important factor that deters us from attaining peace of mind and happiness.

When we look around us and observe dysfunctional families, we give thanks for being a part of a traditional family unit in which mother, father and children play their long established and accepted roles in society.  In today’s particularly challenging societal culture, we give special thanks to a mother and father who manage to bring-up their offspring to be good and productive citizens, while looking after their elders when needed, while willing to sacrifice their own comfort and desires in the process.

Having a solid and permanent roof over our heads is another major reason for giving thanks. We need to be reminded of the thousands of families and individuals who can’t claim this basic benefit, who sleep in shelters, in the best of circumstances, or live in dangerous circumstances on the streets of our cities. We also need to give thanks for all the good people who volunteer their time and talent to mitigate this painful social affliction.

Food in sufficient quantities everyday on the dinner table, three times a day, affectionately prepared in our homes for our enjoyment and nourishment, is also presumed as a given. As we all need to be aware, too many families and individuals cannot claim this essential benefit and are forced to resort to food pantries.

Having a good and secure job is something for which we should be especially thankful.

Hopefully this holiday season, we can try to walk in the shoes of those less fortunate; understand their condition, and do what is in our power to alleviate their plight: we can then sincerely give thanks for all our blessings.

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Even back when I was growing up a long time ago, bullying in the schools was customary. The bigger kids knocked around little kids physically and psychologically as they do now and parents when told about it, had to navigate through the pain that their children were experiencing in hopes of really understanding their feelings and circumstances to do something about the problem, as they do now.

From all the reporting in the press, it seems that the bullying part in schools hasn’t changed, except that now the victims wind up dead. 

A case in point is the tragedy that took place on Sept. 16 at Landmark Middle School in Moreno Valley, Calif. A 13-year-old boy was beaten by two other boys who with cold hearts ganged up on him and punched him until he fell, hitting his head on a pillar. The boy who initially hit the victim hurried over to punch him again while he was on the ground then ran away.

Independent of what will come in the wake of this terrible calamity to all who were active or passive actors in the event, I believe the bigger issue is why something so terrible, for which there is no single answer, can occur. What is going on in our environment? 

Are the forces of evil stronger than the elements for good? It appears so. How else can so many people be a witness to this tragedy and remain passive? Did things happen so fast that there was no time to prevent this from taking place, or were we just plainly indifferent? Has watching so much violence taking place in America in the way of mass killings of innocent people, routine violence in the extreme in so many of the movies that we watch, open verbal aggression at the highest levels of our society and many other symptoms of inhumanity manifested in our daily living, made us immune to this barbarism.  Are parents, teachers and other role models doing their jobs establishing positive examples for the children in their charge to follow, or are they also just as influenced by the mayhem around us and therefore incapable of leading on the right path, having been converted into impotent and indifferent witnesses to the destruction of our society.

Who will ultimately be made responsible for this tragedy, who should be accountable other than the kids immediately culpable, should it be the teachers, the school district, parents who are the first line of defense against a common enemy and in the trenches influencers for good or bad of their children?

Even though, the two 13-year-old kids that beat to death another child the same age are materially responsible, they are only immature children most probably imitating adults whose hearts have been hardened towards their fellow men and emulating many other elements of a disintegrating environment.

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After reading with great interest the Things to do Calendar published and updated weekly in the Hemet / San Jacinto Chronicle, I have come to the conclusion that the San Jacinto Valley is indeed fortunate to have so many people interested in fostering a wide variety of cultural activities and events in our communities. These committed citizens volunteer their time and resources to promoting events in the plastic and performing arts, music, theatre, film, etc.

I believe a listing is in order of some of the organizations that are dedicated to making life easier and kinder for all who will access their offerings.

Diamond Valley Arts Council: Taken from their internet home page, “since its founding in 2004, “Advancing the Arts – Creating Community” has been the motto of The Diamond Valley Arts Council. With The DVAC’s move into a new facility at 123 N. Harvard St. in downtown Hemet, the implications of that ideal has taken on even greater significance for both the arts and for the community. As an organization dedicated to promoting awareness of, and greater participation in, the arts, locating in downtown Hemet opens the door for greater visibility of what The DVAC is, what we do and what is available to our community in terms of arts and culture activities, events and venues.

Western Science Center declares in their mission statement to “Discover the Past, Explore the Present, and Promote a Sustainable Future,” adding that “The tripartite mission of the Western Science Center is to advance knowledge of the region’s natural history and cultural heritage, with an emphasis on the importance of water to life in the context of environmental change over time; convey to students and the general public an appreciation of science and mathematics as essential for understanding the natural world, human cultures, and how the two interact; and play a leading role in meeting the challenge to build a sustainable future for people and their environments in California and beyond.

Historic Hemet Theatre expresses in their web page that “The Historic Hemet Theatre is a Community Arts Center located in the center of the Historic Downtown District of Hemet, California. The mission of the Valley View Foundation (aka Historic Hemet Theatre Foundation) is to improve the quality of life in the valley community through 1) historic preservation of the Historic Hemet Theatre (one of the oldest in the nation); 2) cultural enrichment through performing arts and educational programming; and 3) economic revitalization of Hemet’s historic downtown district. Hosted events include concerts, films, live theatre and educational programs on topics of interest to residents of the valley and the surrounding communities.”

Ramona Hillside Players expresses that the mission of the Ramona Hillside Players is to promote quality entertainment offering creative live theatre productions; providing a cradle for community theatre in our valley; offering opportunities for growth to actors and directors while preserving our dramatic and comedic heritage and providing mutually satisfying theatre experiences for our members and our audiences.

Ramona Bowl Amphitheatre “is a community non-profit organization. Its purpose is to ensure the annual presentation of the California Historic Outdoor Pageant, Ramona, contribute to tourism and continuing educational programs that promote the arts, California history, national humanity efforts, and native American history with quality outdoor theater entertainment.”

The above are only a few of many venues where the residents of the San Jacinto Valley and beyond can avail themselves of first quality cultural entertainment for little or no cost. I invite all readers of the Hemet San Jacinto Chronicle to stay informed through the “Things to do Calendar” of multiple events designed for all tastes and budgets.

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In a recent TV series about a very successful law firm, located somewhere in the United States, two of the principals were discussing the possibility of starting a pro bono office to represent the poor in their community.   One of these attorneys who happened to be extremely wealthy made a statement and then asked a rhetorical question: “I don’t believe I know any poor people, I wonder If I could get along with them” or something to the effect. 

Shocking as this may be, it is nevertheless a fact that too many rich people in this country have no consideration for the less fortunate among us because they simply don’t exist in their world.  The wealthy live their lives on “the other side of town.” Working, shopping, studying, playing, and so on, oblivious to the mass of people that are considered economically disadvantaged.

The wealthy are accustomed to buying everything they desire because money is no object, and this is especially true with the new rich who feel they deserve their good fortune and everything they can buy with it. 

Recently, well to do parents were caught attempting to scam universities to get their less deserving kids accepted in elite schools when poor parents have to rely on their children’s God-given abilities and motivation to aspire to get a scholarship in a top-rated school. Unfortunately, many deserving kids go by the wayside because even with a scholarship they can’t make ends meet.

In one case, much in the news recently, where a mother was found guilty of bribing her way to obtain her child’s acceptance in an exclusive university, her punishment was ludicrous.  Judges, however, impose sentences for crimes based on certain guidelines resulting from legislation. In these cases, if the law allows only for light sentences, it must be because legislators that are easily influenced by lobbyists for the rich are persuaded to keep penalties low.

Everywhere we go, money talks, now and before.  This scheme recently uncovered is nothing new. Some well to do parents teach their children through words and deeds that money will pave the way towards achieving their goals, and these individuals, in turn, will pass on the lessons to their children.

The greater problem is the debilitation of society when too many of us lose respect for the institutions that are supposed to stay vertical and solid but are being corrupted by people who have lost their way in a culture that places money above everything else.  

Unethical behavior is commonplace in our country, so we need to revisit basic values of truth, and honesty.  Too many crossed signals, whether from government or private individuals, are confusing our youth to the point of not knowing right from wrong. 

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Is the United States of America the only country where mass indiscriminate shootings of human beings take place without apparent rhyme or reason?  Are we to be branded worldwide as a gun toting people willing to shoot our fellow citizens just because we can? Did the framers of the constitution imagen when they decreed that we have a right to bear arms that such mayhem would be wrought upon the citizenry.

Certainly, other countries that we read about experience mass killings of innocent people, such as suicide bombings in middle-eastern countries and multiple murders of bystanders in public places such as in a bar in Mexico recently.  The difference between these heinous and unjustifiable acts and the American experience is that they are carried out by fanatics in the name of what they rationalize as a superior cause or as an act of revenge or power maneuver on rival criminal groups.  In both cases, the perpetrators live by a misguided and twisted doctrine.

For the most part, mass killings in the United States are not the result of fanatics looking to carry out acts of violence as vindication of what may be perceived by them as a just cause, but rather by demented individuals who have been corrupted willingly or not by the American circumstance.  The ability to acquire a weapon of whatever caliber by most individuals, is not the only effect of this bloody phenomenon but rather and probably most importantly the cause is the environment in which the shooters have developed – a climate of violence in the home, in schools, the work place, the movies, and everywhere we look and go.  The killers at home don’t care who they shoot.

Taking corrective action of the scenario described above would require generations, and since waiting for the next mass shooting is not an option, in this day and age of information technology where every resident has a record somewhere, it seems reasonable that for the greater good, background checks should be performed on all persons manifesting their intention to buy a gun.

Doing background investigations would weed out not only people with criminal records but also all those individuals with a propensity for violence.  Additionally, approval from family members, neighbors and friends should be required for any individual acquiring a gun, they should know if a person is mentally stable or not. 

Buying a firearm should not be easy, in lieu of outright prohibition like is the case in many countries, buying a weapon in the United States should require that the purchaser provides all pertinent information mandated by appropriate authorities and be investigated to the fullest.  Anything less, judging from past events, means that we will continue to stack up the bodies. 

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We ask ourselves, why can’t people stay in their own countries, why do so many leave their places of birth, their unique cultures and languages, their loved relatives and in a word their entire lives, to emigrate to other latitudes where they are not welcome? Most of these people through no fault of their own are forced to seek survival for themselves and their families elsewhere. Failed and corrupt governments unable or unwilling to provide economic opportunities for their people, are responsible in many cases, natural phenomena such and draught and plague that bring about famine, political upheaval, lack of safety for the population and many other factors contribute to the outpouring of humanity from disadvantaged countries.

Employment opportunities and better standards of living in host countries are huge attractions for people who have nothing to lose, and are willing to risk everything for an improved life. 

Countries in eastern and western Europe, Asia and America, are grappling with waves of immigrants coming from Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America, immigrants that are willing to tackle every kind of job no matter how menial it may be, work they say locals will not perform. Unskilled, low paying jobs that keep the costs of products low so everybody can buy cheap and companies can compete in a world labor market and survive. The cost of union and non-union labor is so high in developed countries in sectors of the economy like agriculture, services and manufacturing that unless there is a source of inexpensive labor, these companies would fail, bringing about many negative social and fiscal repercussions for the entire population. 

Were it not for this pool of cheap hand labor; some crops would not be harvested and left to rot like occurred in the UK in 2018; $13 million in crops in California were not harvested because no one was willing to work jobs vacated by migrants. 

Additionally, labor trafficking in manufacturing has occurred in the garment industry and in food processing plants in the United States. Both men and women are forced to work 10-12 hour days, 6-7 days per week with little or no break time. 

People may be trafficked into garment industry jobs such as sewing, assembling, pressing, or packing apparel. Others may be forced to work in food processing operations that include slaughtering, preserving, canning and packing goods for distribution. 

Immigrant workers, including some with H-2B visas, who arrive in the U. S. to perform non-agricultural labor or temporary services, are often recruited into these industries. 

Immigration, both legal and illegal has been kicked around like a political soccer ball by the governing class so as to keep their positions, salaries and benefits that are underwritten by the common taxpayer – perks that are not offered in private business for these perpetual public servants. 

The voting public in these democracies have the final say. Shall we continue to tolerate that lawmakers here in Washington and other capitals of the world maintain a hands-off attitude towards an immigration issue that unjustly affects millions of human beings that can and should be legally incorporated into a society to which they already contribute, without their fair share of retribution?

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