Look out, matey! She's about to blow...!!

One of my least favorite existences is being in a closed space with someone with an opinion that I just can’t accept - and especially when they’re directing their opinion at me. This happens quite often here on visits as conversation is often directed at me as a guest. Sometimes it’s possible to nod and change the subject or excuse myself and wash my hands or something. And sometimes I can muster up the empathy and understanding to accept their opinions from their context. Some examples: “America is perfect and no one is poor,” “If we were in America, we wouldn’t have any problems,” OR “It’s too bad you don’t have any brothers,” “If Hillary becomes president, it will be good for Kosova” (yeah, as if KS is even a minute issue in the election), “There’s no difference between what we believe and what you believe,” etc.

Yesterday, though, some steam blew out. I went on a visit to a lovely nearby village – it was my first time there, and it was quite lovely. Inside the gated connecting yards of 6 or 7 family homes, the lawns and houses were immaculate – clean, symmetrical, beautiful. Then I was given a mini-tour of where the vegetable garden is. There was a decent-sized stream that would be great fun for kids…if it wasn’t totally loaded down in a dump. This is not a new sight here; the creek in Gjilan is full of bottles, diapers, cow stomachs, etc. Yet it was hearing the people talk that was grating. “It’s only been like this for 4 or 5 years. It’s awful, isn’t it? That’s the way it is. What’s to be done? (shoulder shrug) Tsk, tsk. So bad. How terrible.” The only entrance to the dump is through their yard. It’s their trash. And they do get trash pick up from the town. I went on a mini-soap box for just a minute about PA being trashed in a lot of areas but volunteers and communities deciding that rather than wait for the government to do something, they’d do the dirty work of cleaning up roads and such. Then I put a lid on it.

Then I went inside and a Manly man came in (meaning – he DUH man so he do DUH talking…yep, roberta needs an attitude check towards gent mentality). “The problem is we don’t have money. We can’t do anything without money. Yeah, there are problems, but we have to wait until independence and get jobs before anything can change. There’s nothing we can do. That’s the way it is. What’s to be done…” (and he gave me a history lesson of Serbia-Kosovo conflict that I’ve heard many dozen times).

NO. Many, many people have something infinitely valuable. You have TIME! Time to clean up your trash. Time to tutor your kids. Time to paint, play sports, read books! But many who aren’t working 70+ hours/week in a corrupted system sit, smoke, and drink coffee for hours on end in a cloud of depression and unmotivation. You want people to invest in your land? Clean it up!!! You can’t keep waiting for someone ELSE to do the work of cleaning, improving the schools, etc. You have the potential to have a kick-buns PTA system with such tight families and with so many people with time. You can do the repairs on the schools with broken windows and pick up garbage in the entranceway yourselves – stop waiting on the government. Your kids – your responsibility. You want a place for your kids to be able to play? You have spaces that could be cleared and grassed. You could make parks and playgrounds…and flashcards! You have hands, feet, health, brains, skills, abilities! The biggest enemy of this land is the mentality that it’s someone else’s problem/responsibility and that you have nothing to offer. LIES!

I know my logic is lamesauce. I know that hopelessness doesn’t often lead to ingenuity and motivation to be agents of change. And, beyond that, I know that my attitude of rigid superiority is leading to dangerous mouth-offs that haven’t come out of me since middle school.

“In your anger, do not sin.” It’s okay to be angry sometimes…BUT “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your big trap but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen.” PLEASE “set a guard over my mouth and keep watch over the door of my lips.” Sigh.