It's Memorial Day weekend, time for barbeques, the Indy 500, and visits to the cemetary to honor those who fell in war time. These are all good things to do.
However, I believe the other American warriors existing today, beside the brave men and women who serve in our military around the world (and thank you all for serving), are the millions of people who are struggling to make a living in today's economy. There are way too many of us trying to get by on our social security and disability payments, our family support payments because we can't find jobs, food stamps, and medicare and medicaid. Too many states are bankrupt or verging on bankruptcy, and are cutting back benefits. Extended unemployment benefits are being cancelled because the jobless rate has improved. Unfortunately, the new jobs may pay far less than the old jobs, and the competition for the new jobs is so fierce that marginalized populations, like older workers, have little hope of finding anything outside of WalMart.
There are things we can do to help ourselves: grow food in your back yards, in containers on your balconies, in pots on your front porch. Do something entrepreneurial, even if it is babysitting, picking up after yuppie poochies, dog walking, pet sitting, making herb vinegars and oils and selling them at the local farmers market. Whatever. Of course, making and selling craft items presupposes one has the funds to buy raw materials.
Even trying these types of fixes may not be enough. How can we make our dissatisfaction known to our governments, both state and local, which all too often side with the oppressive corporation? That would be a good topic for discussion. We can boycott spending our limited funds at companies that do not put consumers first. We can write letters to the editor, go on the internet and post stories of consumer abuse. Gathering in the streets, even peacefully, is risky now, as evidenced by the dancers harassed by the police at the Jefferson Memorial. Good grief!
One thing we cannot do, we can't just drift along with the attitude that if stuff doesn't happen to us personally, all is well.
Theresa
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
The Winds of Change are Blowing
5/27/2011
Hi Y’all... Yep, those winds are really blowing! Weather-wise, tornados up and down the Alley, and east and west of the Alley! Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee,even Northern California of all places. Earthquakes, tsunamis, radiation spreading across the Pacific, and volcanic activity in Iceland, again. Other places that don’t get tornados, like where I live in the mountains of northeastern Arizona, have endured strong and continuing winds for months now. Unexpected high temperatures followed by sudden freezes have made gardening iffy. We need this food!
The political winds are blowing... the Patriot Act has been extended, giving TSA more encouragement to grope and irradiate little children and senior citizens, not to mention the many business travelers who fly across the planet on a daily basis. Are we that afraid of shadows that we allow our sovereignty to disappear? What happened to Live Free or Die?
Economically, we are really struggling. Our dollar is losing value; the money lenders have not only defiled the temples, but the marketplaces as well. Mortgages are hard to get, jobs pay much less (when you can find one). Our homes are worth less every month, but the payments and costs of maintenance don’t go down. Hundreds of neighborhoods across the country are turning into ghost towns, as family after family have abandoned “the American dream.” Retirees are watching their savings diminish and are having to stretch to live on just their social security. The gap between rich and poor is growing exponentially.
There are wars, and rumors of wars, there are comets, not enough sunspots, or too many sunspots. There are conspiracy theories aplenty about everything from weather manipulation by HAARP, to invasions of space aliens to either save us, or enslave us. Help!!
Are these the End Times? What does that mean, anyway? The rapture was supposed to happen six days ago, but was apparently called off due to bad weather. I understand there has been another date for that set. We’ll see.
I want this blog to be a forum for all of us who are desperately bracing ourselves to withstand these winds, and come through stronger and wiser. I just have one request: be respectful of one another. There are enough wars nowadays. And please, I am old enough to blush at bad language, so none of that either.
Theresa
Hi Y’all... Yep, those winds are really blowing! Weather-wise, tornados up and down the Alley, and east and west of the Alley! Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee,even Northern California of all places. Earthquakes, tsunamis, radiation spreading across the Pacific, and volcanic activity in Iceland, again. Other places that don’t get tornados, like where I live in the mountains of northeastern Arizona, have endured strong and continuing winds for months now. Unexpected high temperatures followed by sudden freezes have made gardening iffy. We need this food!
The political winds are blowing... the Patriot Act has been extended, giving TSA more encouragement to grope and irradiate little children and senior citizens, not to mention the many business travelers who fly across the planet on a daily basis. Are we that afraid of shadows that we allow our sovereignty to disappear? What happened to Live Free or Die?
Economically, we are really struggling. Our dollar is losing value; the money lenders have not only defiled the temples, but the marketplaces as well. Mortgages are hard to get, jobs pay much less (when you can find one). Our homes are worth less every month, but the payments and costs of maintenance don’t go down. Hundreds of neighborhoods across the country are turning into ghost towns, as family after family have abandoned “the American dream.” Retirees are watching their savings diminish and are having to stretch to live on just their social security. The gap between rich and poor is growing exponentially.
There are wars, and rumors of wars, there are comets, not enough sunspots, or too many sunspots. There are conspiracy theories aplenty about everything from weather manipulation by HAARP, to invasions of space aliens to either save us, or enslave us. Help!!
Are these the End Times? What does that mean, anyway? The rapture was supposed to happen six days ago, but was apparently called off due to bad weather. I understand there has been another date for that set. We’ll see.
I want this blog to be a forum for all of us who are desperately bracing ourselves to withstand these winds, and come through stronger and wiser. I just have one request: be respectful of one another. There are enough wars nowadays. And please, I am old enough to blush at bad language, so none of that either.
Theresa
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)