It is hard to change cultures

Stubbornness is definitely a trait that the Bits passed on to the Yanks especially when it comes to measurements.  I was not aware until not too long ago that there was an organized educational push in the 70s and 80s to get the United States on the metric system.   By the way the metric system was officially adopted in France on Dec. 10, 1799 just as the revolution was coming to an end.

Well, I have no idea how many liters of gas my car will hold so this concept has not taken hold here.  I do not know why except to blame stubbornness and laziness, but the same can be said of the British with driving on the left and using the pound.  Now I do not blame them for keeping the pound instead of switching to the Euro (not a good idea to link your economy so directly with Southern Europe) but driving in the British Commonwealth is unbelievable.  One of the first directions we give students when traveling to England is look right when crossing the street.  It is also mind boggling that distance on road signs are in kilometers but the speed is in miles per hour.  At least I can drive a stick shift.

Strong Leaders Accept Fear

On this the 72nd anniversary of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Date Which Will Live in Infamy speech, I cannot help but try to connect him to the great leader of Nelson Mandela whose life the world is currently celebrating.  A common thread that I have seen on television and the internet is the public asking politicians and all leaders to learn from the life Mandela.  In my opinion, it has not been since FDR have we had a President so deeply appreciated as to make any connection to the role made by Mandela in South Africa.   Roosevelt grew up a wealthy white American while Mandela an oppressed villager, but through education both rose to completely change the path of their nation.  Both faced obstacles whether it was the confinement to a wheel chair or an actual prison, but both accepted fear and used it to inspire others. 

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - Franklin Roosevelt

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/franklin_d_roosevelt.html#1Sj4GKZQewFESYBK.99

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/f/franklin_d_roosevelt.html#1Sj4GKZQewFESYBK.99

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” - Nelson Mandela


Click Here to listen to the Dec. 8th, 1941 speech (courtesy of the National Archives) made via the radio by Roosevelt after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Three and half hours later he would sign the declaration of war.