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There is still time to choose.

In this week’s iteration of New York magazine, we get a look at the crime in 2007 and how it has changed since the early nineties. And yes, they point out that Bedford-Stuyvesant is one of the places where crime is moving contrary to the city-wide trend. But! But, it’s not the worst Brooklyn has to offer, which from my understanding is a move in the right direction. Some say gentrification is to blame, others say it is the solution. One thing that is certain is that we have a chance to make a difference in 2008.

I believe in free will. Hence it is my opinion that my choices control the universe. Your (if you indeed exist) choices shape yours. The more you let other people make choices for you, the less the universe will look as you like it. With this in mind, I feel the best part of the entire series of articles is the following quote:

Now is a very good moment to consider the kind of city New York should be in the future, and the kind we don’t want it to be.

As I’ve said before, it’s hard to understand people even when they speak the same language as you. So if something someone says offends you, choose not to engage him. Think about if he really meant it as an offense. If they didn’t, you have saved yourself a lot of trouble by not engaging them. If he did, well he’s a jerk, but here you have an opportunity to reveal how much less of a jerk you are. Imagine what your girlfriend would think about that. If she doesn’t appreciate it, well maybe she would rather be with a jerk in which case I suggest you introduce them to each other.

I would also like to repeat some advice once given by Benjamin Franklin. He proposed it as a way to become wealthy, but it is versatile enough to be applied to more than just monetary gain. That is, cut your bad behavior in half. Want to kill that guy because he disrespected you or your girlfriend? Think twice. Choose to forgive. Save it for the next guy. Hopefully not many people will get to the next guy, but even if they did and followed this advice, there would still be only half the murders there would have been otherwise.

Let’s do good and make dying less of an option in Bed-Stuy 2008 together. Happy New Years!

Do good in 2008 Bed-Stuy

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