Since my mind has just been working overtime on finding correlations, I thought I'd point one out here in the Politics thread (my other one is in the Science thread). LOL Again, this is not anything outstanding, but just an observation that I felt like sharing with my favorite group of online people! I read about Obama signing the Volunteerism Bill the other day and then went to see The Soloist yesterday. To me, it seemed like great timing of the two events!

I heard the NPR discussion of the soloist and it seemed like such a sad situation that the homeless guy who plays music would not have access to mental health services and was so brutalized by the system. It seems like such a daunting situation. Was the movie a good one?

Poetess, for me the movie was sad and also inspiring. It was sad that such a talented man was in such a bad situation, both mentally and physically. It was also inspiring because even though the reporter could not change the situation to his liking(get meds administered)he still did what he could to help and befriend another being. It shows how one person can choose to make a difference. It also shows that sometimes you have to make the changes you can but accept those that you can't. Also, part of the message was that you shouldn't be deterred by those things you can't change. Don't give up on the whole thing because you can't fix the entire situation! Focus on what you can help with! I like this message because this is encouraging to people thinking about volunteering. Sometimes people look at the problem as too big to fix and question why they should get involved at all. I say, do what you can, do what you're comfortable with, and be content with the level of involvement you choose to engage in!

What a wonderful way to look at volunteerism. I think you are right that some people choose not to volunteer because the big picture can seem unsolvable. maybe the movie will help change some minds. Thanks for sharing your views!

You're welcome, Poetess. Thank you for responding! Maybe you'll get a chance to see the movie. If you do, let me know what you think!