Pride.

[pvtmorriscsa]

Howdy All,

I just got home from work, and checked my email. I got a message from my little brother Jeff, and I am feeling a bit choked up with pride. Anyway, read on:

http://goupstate.com/article/20080529/NEWS/805290364

It may seem strange, but I had to share it with someone, and I figured the denizens on this forum would be likely to appreciate it.

[West]

Good stuff--thank you for sharing! One thing that made me laugh was the fact that Jeff attributes his success to his hard work and dedication to his goals, while the other individual, Kiprono, gives credit for her success to "the Lord". Big pat on the back for your little bro!

[softwareNerd]

Great stuff! I loved this quote from your brother:

"I'm just one of those people that, if I can't do something, I want to get to the bottom of it and figure out why I can't do it (and progress) to the point where I can say, 'Oh, that's a piece of cake,'" he said.

[Steve D'Ippolito]

Quite a contrast between the two, that's for sure. Congratulations to both on their achievements, and to Jeffrey alone for a proper understanding of where the acheivement came from.

[K-Mac]

That's so awesome!

[sanjavalen]

Very good story, congratulations to your brother!

[Mammon]

I didn't catch that he was your brother the first time I read it. Step-brother or real brother?

This is very inspiring to me personally. I thought about it a lot this morning. I think about disabled people a lot, we have a lot of blind people on campus. They need help, but hardly ever ask for it, and if you try to help them they get upset. I stand back and watch and make sure they don't walk into on coming traffic. I ponder about how these people ended up like this, and they still live.

Socieities throughout time have labeled these people as weak and casted them to the shadows. But the live. Living requires strength, and to live and thrife when your senses are impaired is a testament to living and strength itself. Most will never know what it's like to have your own body work against you so much. The cold is one then, but you will stop sneezing. The flu is another, but you will stop puking. Being blind is enternal, you won't see again.

At least not now.

We can cure these people and give them the life they deserve-- the life they proved they cherish. But, alas, there are those in our world who would hinder that for the sake of there mystic superstitions. In case subltely isn't your thing, I'm talking about stem cell research.

God wasn't doing these people any favors by giving them these diseases, and when we try to help them, God or his followers tells us we can't. But, like the girl in the article, they attribute their strength to God. It's a miracle they are alive -- God tried to hinder that enough already. They tell us to pray for these people, to give them money to help these people, and yet... we could help these people a lot better if they'd get the hell out of the way. If they replace there cheery faith, that makes them feel good for peddling someone elses misfortune to rob others, with cold hard reason, which would lift those misfortunes and let these people create even more value.

Irony isn't just for literture. Either is trajedy.