Upsetting Things This Week

• “Yet, about 100,000 teachers at regional schools and educators at universities will see their wages increase by 5 percent, which would add an approximate €42 per month to their pay…”. Source: The Slovak Spectator. Vol. 19, No.34. Monday, October 14, 2013 – Sunday, October 20, 2013.

Excuse me, what? I – not being or working as a teacher and with no responsibility to inspire and teach future generations – earn more than that. How on earth is a country (not just this one but any country) going to develop if there is no investments made in the future skills and knowledge of its children? Teachers and the educational system is one of the corner stones of a functioning society, where the quality of education should be a goal. And really, who will be inspired to choose the teaching profession if one will barely afford a roof on their head and food on the table with the prospective salary?

• Slovak women ranked as the 2nd most beautiful women in the world. Or something like that. This was something I saw on facebook and can no longer find.

Anyway. Why should women always be ranked depending on their looks? And for that matter, why should nationalities be ranked? And who cares? I get that men like looking at attractive women, women like to look at attractive men, too. But why make such a big deal out of it? There is so much more to people than their looks, but especially in the case of women, this fact is often overlooked. Women are constantly – directly and indirectly – fed information about how they should look in order to be accepted.

People can be clever, funny, witty, smart, intelligent, talented, disciplined, kind, sweet, nice, caring, thoughtful, positive, optimistic, affectionate, amusing, encouraging, courageous, amicable, considerate, diligent, energetic, creative, friendly, ambitious, determined, honest, good, loyal, sincere, passionate, polite, and a lot of other things. So why just focus on being pretty and attractive?

My personal belief is that the source to a deeper appreciation for life and the world lies in the cultivation of knowledge and social relations based on internal factors. Looks are just the shell. Taking care of one’s appearance is not wrong but it should not be the only factor upon which our worth as human being is based (by ourselves and others).