What I Think About What Other People Say (WITAWOPS)

  "Isn’t it inconceivable, depressing, and pointless?" What I thought This was my gut reaction when someone suggested buying life insurance for my young kids. My thoughts were: It’s inconceivable and depressing. Children are meant to bury their parents, not the other way around. The idea of losing a child is unimaginably painful, and no amount of money could ever begin to fill that void. A payout would feel like putting a Band-Aid on a heart attack. It’s pointless. Isn’t life insurance meant to protect those left behind? A couple with or without kids buys life insurance so that the remaining spouse can pay the mortgage, work less depending on the age of the kids, and maintain their quality of life. Since a child has no financial obligations, why buy something that will not be used? What I Learned I was naive. My assumptions were built on incomplete truths and misconceptions. Here’s what I know now. ( Disclaimer, I am not a financial professional or advisor nor am I selling ...

“Why is your husband rude, aloof, and anti-social? I called out to him at our community center and he ignored me”. What Do I Think?  I often feel antisocial, aloof, and alone in noisy, crowded spaces. It’s not by choice—I have a disability that makes these situations incredibly difficult. For a long time, I thought I was the only one until I discovered a Facebook group of 5,400 others with the same condition: Single-Sided Deafness (SSD) . For many of us, this condition came on suddenly and without explanation. My right ear stopped functioning between 2 and 4 a.m. on July 1, 2012. The cause? Idiopathic—medical jargon for “we have no clue.” One member of the Facebook group summarized our shared struggles perfectly: “No one can see the fact that I have no idea who is talking to me or where any sound is coming from. No one can see how hard my brain is working to make sense of what I hear. No one can see how exhausted I am.” Single-Sided Deafness often comes with a cruel two-for-one sp...

"I’m Jewish, and I’ve covered wars. I know war crimes when I see them." --  Peter Maass, April 9, 2024, The Washington Post. What Do I Think Peter Maass' article in The Washington Post reminded me of my own letter to the editor published on May 15, 1992 in the  Daily Pennsylvanian (Volume CXIII, Number 61 , page 7). It can also be found at  https://www.thedp.com/article/1992/04/letter_holocaust_ii , but without the opening paragraph and publication date. The opinion refers to an article, "Being There" by Jordana Horn, published in The Daily Pennsylvanian, Volume CVIII, Number 47, 8 April 1992 )  1992 Letter to the Editor Jordana Horn's column "Being There" (DP 4/8/92) describes her feelings when she visits the site of the Holocaust about 40 years after it happened. Is it ironic that her very own article will be used in the future to portray the emotions felt when an American Palestinian visits the Palestinian homeland in the year 2020, about 40 y...

  “You should not surrender your honest convictions about the value or significance of evidence solely because of the opinions of your fellow jurors. Nor should you change your mind just for the purpose of obtaining enough votes for a verdict…As jurors, you are officers of this court. You must not let your emotions overcome your rational thought process. You must reach your decision based on the facts provided to you and on the law given to you, not on sympathy, prejudice, or personal preference.” -- Instructions to King County jurors in a civil case, 2020. What do I think On the surface, the American jury seems, frankly, absurd. Why should a random group of citizens—without specialized knowledge of law or the specific field at hand—be tasked with deciding someone’s fate in a court of law? What could a jury of laypeople know about the nuances of the legal system and the technicalities of cases involving medicine, education, environmental policy, or other complex areas? How can they...

Breathe. It’s over. We have a new president-elect. As I reflect on the campaigns, the rhetoric, personalities, attitudes, and language, certain words linger in my mind—words that resonate with my background, interests, and beliefs. Words like African, Indian, civil servant, immigrant, garbage, environmentalist, climate change believer, Muslim, migrant, brown, Ivy League. They’re just some of the many times I heard myself being called out during the campaign. What I Think To move this country forward, we all have to make a genuine effort to learn about, understand, and embrace the other. Why does that person think the way they do? What influences their beliefs? In what ways are we similar and different? The Qur’an, according to Muslims like myself, is the word of God as revealed to Prophet Muhammad. In Sura (Chapter) 4, Ayat (Verse) 1, God reminds us that we were all created from a single being or soul. (If you're curious, you can find several translations of this verse here , keepi...

"8 percent of Christians in India do not believe in God." (Pew Research, 2021) What do I think Given our diverse interests, our dinner conversations are generally very lively and interesting. When we really get into a topic, one person, generally the one who starts the topic, will also use their phone at the table. Here’s why. I grew up without internet or cell phones, my parents couldn’t instantly validate, correct, or elaborate on anything we discussed. Our discussion was limited to what we already knew or believed. Now, though, we can dig deeper in real time. Take a recent dinner conversation: my child mentioned hearing about Jehovah’s Witnesses in India. The questions flew across the table. Was that for real? How many Christians are in India? One phone came out. 2% of Indians are Christians, which equates to roughly 28 million people—almost the population of Texas!  But any search gives multiple answers. This one also told us that 98 percent of Christians in India do not ...

“If you’re a seal, the Ballard Locks are a great place to find a snack. Seals eat a lot of salmon as they migrate through the Locks’ fish ladder to try to reach spawning grounds on the other side. Some of those salmon are Chinook, the only food of the starving Southern Resident orcas.” -- Elis O’Neil, KUOW.org , September 23, 2020. What I think If you’ve visited the Ballard Locks in Seattle or Willamette Falls near Portland, you might have witnessed sea lions or seals, known as pinnipeds, feasting on salmon in a natural buffet line. These man-made choke points—perfect for a patient, opportunistic pinniped—exacerbate the struggle to protect salmon runs while managing a booming population of protected marine mammals. Despite costly attempts to scare pinnipeds off with rubber bullets or loud deterrents, they continue to make their way back to these salmon-rich bottlenecks. Stories like that of Herschel, a notorious sea lion relocated hundreds of miles down the California coast at a signif...

29% of voters opposed “removing historical racial references, such as “negroes,” “mulattoes” and “whites," from the Oregon Constitution." ( Oregon Measure 14 ). What do I think When I first read this, two thoughts crossed my mind. First, I assumed that the proposed amendment vote happened a very long time ago. Second, why on earth would 29% of voters oppose the motion? I dug into it. It turns out that Oregon's racial history is not rosy. “Oregon began as a whites-only state, through a series of Black exclusionary laws that were designed to discourage Black Americans from living here in the first place.” ( Tiffany Camhi, OPB , October 20, 2024). I wonder: did that culture and history influenced those that voted "no"? But I was also very wrong on the timeframe. It did not take place in the 20th Century. Or the 19th. Measure 14 was actually voted on in this century, in 2002. And yes, 29% of voters opposed it.   I never imagined I could find something more insane....

“Many parents and advisors may not have considered establishing a child’s Roth IRA.” Brian Dobbis, LordAbbett.com , April 15, 2024. What Do I think I ignored this advice when I was a new parent but paid more attention years later when a friend with twin teenagers explained his simple strategy. Kids may earn $1,000-$2,000 over a summer or school year doing a part-time job. Of course they are motivated by money to buy some things, save up for something bigger, or learn how to invest in stocks.  My friend convinced his kids to put all their earnings into a Roth IRA in exchange for the equivalent in cash. A few formulas in a spreadsheet was all it took to show them the returns. $1,000 a year from age 14 to 21 growing at 6% becomes $325K by age 80. $2,000 becomes $650K. Its a no-brainer. The IRS allows this as long as the annual deposits do not exceed the child’s income for that year. Income can be formal or even informal — tutoring or odd-jobs. Why should you care Most teenagers are n...

" His detailed account of five projects that mattered intensely to him, which did their little bit to make the world a better place, is sprinkled with humour and charmingly idiosyncratic, while packed with serious intent."   — Michela Wrong,  author of "It's Our Turn to Eat: the Story of a Kenyan Whistleblower" in March 2021 about my book " How I Changed The World In My Own Unique Ways ".  What I think I showcase five real cases, based on my international development experience in Kenya and Pakistan. It covers disaster preparedness, anticorruption, youth empowerment, judicial reform, book bans, and procurement reform. The book is available in ebook and audiobook formats at your favorite online bookstore or visit https://tinyurl.com/booksbygaleeb . Why should you care Anyone can really make a difference. This short book shows real, practical examples on how we can all change the world regardless of our specific interests and technical skills. There is p...