Homeless Guy Gets a 2nd Chance

Now that all the holiday partying is over, 2011 can begin in earnest.

The new Congress was sworn in today for a fresh, new start at institutional dysfunctionality. I can't say I'm optimistic about the next 2 years of such inevitable spectacles as Speaker Boehner trying to corral the zealots of his own party, & Grand Inquistor Issa investigating everything the Obama administration has done so far. (I wonder if the Democrats now regret their reluctance to highlight & investigate the plentiful scandals of the Bush years.)

I'm all for a politically-balanced government, but a comprehensive Republican agenda is seemingly non-existent. These clowns want to cast a cynical symbolic vote for "Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law" but have proposed absolutely no mechanisms to deal with the issues that the legislation addressed, however imperfectly.

Invariably, anything that benefits the poor, decrepit, or the elderly will be attacked by those politicians that shamelessly bow before their corporate overlords... who in turn worship their master- God Money.

Insatiable love for money is a source of endless evils in the world, but on the other hand money is a standard of interaction that is crucial for basic integration into society. It's one of those things that's easy to take for granted... unless you don't have any!

On a more positive note to start the New Year, I saw this video online that somebody filmed and posted on Youtube. A homeless guy in Ohio regularly stood by a freeway with a cardboard sign describing his unique voice in the style of a voice-over or radio announcer & showed his talent for the camera.

In this crazy, crazy world of instantaneous feedback, the video has gone viral. The man was offered various jobs & now has an opportunity to put his life in order.

If he can keep himself together in spite of the attention & shocking transition period, it will be an amazing example of the power of technology tapping into a human social potential that we are barely beginning to understand.

This was an miraculous example of opportunity for one person, but it's just one person. There are millions of lost souls in the world who don't have any opportunities from a talent, skills, or even the relative sanity that Ted seems to at least have.

Human misery may be an unavoidable fact of life. However, a story like this can remind us that no matter how horrible our situation may seem, it's still possible for things to get better.