May the month of December bring about a new chapter ......... 🦅

May the month of December bring about a new chapter and new pages of hope and accomplishments. May this month, not only bring you courage, and strength, but renewed confidence, patients, and inner peace. 

May your December days also be filled with love and sunshine, and let joy, and laughter, reign supreme ......... 🦅

Was There A Real Jesus Christ? | Pagan Christ | Timeline ....... 🦅

 

Plenty to be thankful for ......... 🦅

It can be extremely difficult especially with the coronavirus pandemic to maintain an upbeat and positive attitude during these trying times in America. Especially, with the rise in coronavirus cases and deaths in US hospitals.

That being said, I still love to teach my students about this special thanksgiving season it is the season of giving in America. The world can learn a great deal about the value of being thankful for what we have in life and the special people in our lives.

I conduct a lesson every school year about the history of thanksgiving and its meaning and importance for us Americans.

I like to explain to my students that being thankful is a powerful affirmation it brings more of what we want into our life. When we are thankful for the things, we have, we will attract more goodness into our lives and the lives of those around us.

The yuletide season is once again upon us with all the hustle and bustle of mad shoppers. I for one will not participate in the frenzy of Black Friday like millions do in America and I never will.

I am one of those people who simply enjoys the sharing and to give thanks for the special people in my life. That truly makes this time of year special for me because I surely have plenty to be thankful for. Throughout my life people have gone out of their way to be kind to me and I like to tell my students in class when you care for others you are cared for and when you love others you are loved. This special season of giving should reveal our love for one another through kindness because loving kindness gives this special season its true meaning.

There was a time though when I felt the season of giving was simply a common courtesy to receive and provide our significant others with material gifts. I now understand more clearly that this special season is for heartfelt acts of gratitude for having people in our lives. When keeping the true spirit of giving close to our heart it enables us to give from the heart all year-round.

The yuletide season should be a time when our love comes to call because that love gives this time of year its true meaning. I have found over the years, though, that it's not the material gifts that count in life but rather it's the unrecognized, undetected, and unremembered acts of loving-kindness that are our greatest gifts and achievements in life.

If we truly want to see a world of loving and joyous people, we must be loving and joyous toward the people in our own lives. That potential is part of our humanity.

When we reach out and touch others, we touch a part of the humanity that is within us. When we enhance the life of another in need, we in turn enhance our own lives.

Objects gift-wrapped in shiny paper can be forgotten over time, but kindness whispered to those in need will echo endlessly throughout the community. Those small acts of kindness resonate with the giver and the receiver because they are gifts from the heart. Such priceless gifts can never be measured monetarily though because how can you put a price on love?

From my heart to yours I would like to wish all of you a very joyous holiday season.

Always with love from Suzhou, China

Thomas F  O'Neill 

WeChat - Thomas_F_ONeill

U.S. voice mail: (800) 272-6464

China Cell: 011-86-13405757231

Skype: thomas_f_oneill

Email: introspective7@hotmail.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/thomasf.oneill.3/

 

Those who have the greatest influence teach by example, not by words alone ....... 🦅

 

By Thomas F O’Neill

 

I bring up the US current events quite a bit in my classes and my students take great interest in the goings-on in America.

 

They bring up the political divide in the US quite a bit and they ask a lot of questions about the conflicting ideologies within our two-party system. Especially about America’s right to bear arms because citizens in China do not have that privilege.

 

One of my students asked, “Does everyone in America have guns?”

 

I said, “No not everyone.”

 

She then said, “I saw on TV that there are more guns than people in America.”

 

I replied, “that might be true.”

 

Her reply, “why are all those people so insecure,” she paused for a bit and then asked, “what are all those people afraid of?” I had to go in-depth about our constitutional rights one of which is America’s right to bear arms.

 

Another student then asked, “Can anyone buy a gun?”

 

I said, “if they don’t have a criminal record.”

 

His reply, “No wonder they are so insecure in America.”

 

I told them that America is not as bad as the Chinese media makes us out to be.         

 

The election was another hot topic on the minds of my students because many people in China have relatives living in the US and they were very much concerned about Trump getting reelected. Many people in China believe that racial unrest has increased since Trump took office, especially against Asians due to the coronavirus outbreak. The Chinese media aired stories that were picked up from news networks in the US about hostilities directed at Asians after the pandemic outbreak. The racial unrest and protests in the streets were continuously being aired on China’s television networks. Many in China believe Trump was using the political division in America for his political gain.

 

China, in general, is happy with the outcome of the election; Trump, like in America has been lampooned on China’s social media. The Chinese government has never viewed Trump as a polished politician. Some of the things he has said to Chinese officials were not just unpolished but rather insulting. For instance, calling COVID-19 the Chinese virus and he said to a Chinese official over the phone, “it’s the Kung Flu virus from China,” his statement went viral on social media. The television networks in China have also broadcast other world leaders’ criticisms of Donald Trump’s foreign policies. 

 

The Chinese government's general attitude is to slowly build better relations with President-elect Biden. They would like to pursue that relationship with caution but moving toward common global interests.

 

On the other hand, the average Chinese person loves America, and they admire our system of government and our freedoms. Especially, our freedom to criticize our government leaders through political satire which is illegal in China. 

 

The social unrest in America also comes up quite a bit in my classes. The students can see it playing out on the streets of America on China’s television networks. It gives them the perception that the US has become a dark and dangerous place to live.  

 

My students were excited about the election because I was excited about it. They kept coming to my office in between classes to tell me the numbers every time the electoral vote numbers changed. The long wait for the states to count the votes was frustrating not just for me but for my students. 

 

When Biden’s vote tallies were trickling in and being announced sporadically some of my students were wondering why it was taking so long.

One student came to my office and asked, “Mr. Tom, don’t they have computers to count the votes?”

 

I said, “It is more complicated than that” I then explained to him that the vote counters were counting thousands and thousands of ballots.

 

He looked at me with a bewildered expression on his face, and asked, “by hand?!!!” he then asked, “is that the American way of doing things?”

 

The Election was a great way for my students to learn about the differences between the electoral college votes and the popular votes. The electoral process was also playing out live for them.

 

I asked the students jokingly if there was an election for world leader between Donald Trump and their President who would they vote for?

 

One student raised his hand and asked, “you mean to elect one to rule the whole world?”

 

I said “yes.”

 

He paused for a bit to regain his composure then asked calmly, “is leaving our planet an option for us?”         

 

When Donald Trump began campaigning for the 2016 election most in China believed his actions and remarks were simply an act due to him being a television personality. Most people in China believed Trump was acting and talking in bombastic ways to win over the common people for their votes as a Chinese coworker expressed it. They were entertained by him, but since then they became extremely turned off by his personality and his harsh rhetoric toward China. They believe he was using china as a distraction against his failed policies.

 

They are glad Joe Biden will be the next president, but they are worried he might continue the tariffs on Chinese goods. When I talk to my Chinese coworkers, I remind them that President Obama declared China the most favored nation. Perhaps Biden will continue to build those diplomatic relations with China as Obama did when he was in office.

 

The Chinese people in general love America and they loved Obama. They are hoping that Joe Biden will continue where Obama left off after serving 8 years in office. In the hopes of bringing about an even greater comprehensive foreign policy. 

 

Trump is lampooned on social media, and my students pretty much get caught up with the political satire directed at him. They make satirical comments about him in my classes as well. Our President is not taken seriously in China and he has not been taken seriously throughout the world either, especially now, with his refusal to concede to the fact that he lost the 2020 election.

 

A Korean satirist wrote, “in America, Donald Trump is like the diaper that needs changing due to his substance in the diaper,” his comment went viral on social media.    

 

Update about the coronavirus pandemic.

 

The coronavirus infection numbers and virus deaths in the US are brought up daily on China’s news stations. Trump is not blamed here for the spread of the virus in the US. They view it as a lack of discipline on the part of the general population. China got the virus under control quickly by shutting the entire country down for 10 weeks. 

 

They also view the virus spread in America as a lack of coordinated efforts among the states. One news commentator here in China stated in Chinese that, “if all the governors in the US were on the same page and unified their response measures; the virus infections there would be dropping rather than increasing in severity.” 

 

I get disappointed when some of my students tell me they do not want to come to the US to study due to their fears. Their fears are being generated by what is being broadcast both in the US and in China. I remind them that America is not as dangerous as the media makes it out to be.

 

I also let my students know that I am extremely proud to be an American citizen. I’m also truly thankful for having them in my life they give me a sense of purpose.

 

I believe that every person that comes into my life is for a reason. I like to tell others; we are not just human beings on a spiritual journey.  We are also spiritual beings on a human journey. There are truly deeper dimensions to life than meets the eye. 

 

I am an American citizen, amid the pandemic, and during this year’s general election; I must take this time to acknowledge the vote counters. They were truly the unsung heroes and the hands and eyes of our democracy. The votes they counted are also the lifeblood of our democracy. They served their fellow citizens with a gallant effort, to determine who will serve in the Senate, the House, and who will be our next President of the United States. 

 

With due diligence, they performed their civic duty under immense pressure from protesters, while at the same time, protected by law enforcement. The eyes of America were upon their momentous task and I as a citizen of this great land owe them a debt of gratitude. 

 

I am proud to be an American and let us hope our country comes together on January 20th, 2021 not as blue states or red states but as the united states of America because the soul of America is counting on it.

 

Always with love from Suzhou, China

Thomas F O'Neill

U.S. Voice mail: (800) 272-6464

China Cell: 011-86-13405757231

Skype: thomas_f_oneill

WeChat: Thomas_F_ONeill

Email: introspective7@hotmail.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/thomasf.oneill.3/

 

 

More great news for America ....... 🦅

 

Teacher in China weighs in on election ....... 🦅

https://www.standardspeaker.com/news/shenandoah-man-teaching-in-china-weighs-in-on-election/article_d56088b6-91d8-5548-833f-42278418e88d.html

Let us learn from the pages of history ....... 🦅

The 74 million people who voted for Biden are not unamerican, unpatriotic, socialists, or hate America. People voted for him because they wanted unity and stability, domestically and globally, especially with establishing stronger foreign relations abroad.

I let my students and people in general know that I am extremely proud to be an American citizen. I did not flee America as people on Facebook put it. I was offered an employment opportunity to teach in China and to use my education wisely. I am also truly thankful for having the students in my life they give me a sense of purpose. I believe that every person that comes into my life is for a reason. I like to tell others; we are not just human beings on a spiritual journey. We are also spiritual beings on a human journey. There are truly deeper dimensions to life than meets the eye.

A mature person can accept diverse opinions without taking opposing viewpoints personally. My living in China affords me a much more objective understanding of the division in America. Often when I post my opinions some people jump all over them with hostility but they are meant to be taken lightheartedly and with humor. My sense of humor does not make me unamerican or unpatriotic. A well-developed sense of humor gives me a better sense of life and keep in mind that those who take themselves too seriously are rarely taken seriously by others.

The political-ideological divide has not always been as it is today in America; from an historical perspective, it has not always been this way. For instance, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush got along very well with the Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill. Tip considered Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush close friends, and Bills got passed on handshakes.

Reagan and Bush were able to reach across the aisle and get things done for the citizens of America. They never took political differences personally, and both Reagan and Bush were able to win people over with humor, charm, and common decency, wouldn’t it be great if today’s politicians could learn from the pages of history ....... 🦅

Always with love from Suzhou, China

Thomas F O'Neill

U.S. Voice mail: (800) 272-6464

China Cell: 011-86-15114565945

Skype: thomas_f_oneill

WeChat: Thomas_F_ONeill

Email: introspective7@hotmail.com

Blogspot: http://thomasfoneill.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/thomasf.oneill.3/

Better days ahead for America and the world ....... 🦅

Keep counting America ....... 🦅

Amid a pandemic and during this year’s general election; I must take this time to acknowledge the vote counters. They are truly the unsung heroes and the hands and eyes of our democracy. The votes they are counting are also the lifeblood of our democracy, and those counting the votes are serving our nation and our fellow citizens with a gallant effort. They will soon determine who will serve in the Senate, the House, and who will be the next President of our great country. The counters with due diligence are performing their civic duty under immense pressure from protesters, while at the same time, being protected by law enforcement. The eyes of America are upon their momentous task and we as citizens of this great land owe them a debt of gratitude. I am proud to be an American and let us hope our country comes together on January 20th, 2021 not as blue states or red states but as the united states of America because the soul of America is counting on it ....... 🦅

Go out and vote, today, as if the soul of America is depending on it ......... 🦅

A complacent life can become an irrelevant life, so don’t be silent about the things that matter the most. Go out and vote, today, as if the soul of America is depending on it .........