Recession or Renewal

the economic situtation in our country has fascinated me for months now and that's saying a lot considering i've never put any stock (pun intended) in the idea that money is all it's been cracked up to be. it's an opinion that's left me in the minority over time but i'm used to that spot and frankly, don't mind it any.....

the thing i find most shocking is not that we're in a recession. i'm not surprised by the increase in foreclosures, the increase in homelessness, the increase in violence, the increase in hungy kids walking into school buildings, the increase in prescriptions for anti-depressants, the increase in enrollment at addiction and recovery centers, the increase in applications for food stamps, the increase in the number of folks in the grocery store with coupons in hand and on and on and on.....none of that surprises me at all. what is shocking to me is the fact that so many people seem to be genuinely surprised that the united states of america is, in the year 2009, about broke. hello? ....

look, i'm the last person who could explain the minute details when it comes to hedge funds, ponzie schemes, wall street contracts........but one does not need to understand or be able to explain any of the above in order to pin point the root cause of the crisis we're in. the root cause of the crisis we're in is us. it really is that simple, and until and unless we collectively man and woman up to it and stop looking to pass blame to the government or the president or the last president or bernie madoff or any bank exec or any anybody except ourselves, we’ll never recover. we might put off demise for a while, but sooner or later, if we fail to change course, this overpriced ship we're on is going to sink and it seems to me our empty pockets and non-existent bank balances are going to be the least of our troubles.

a nation that's morally bankrupt will absolutely, positively, no doubt about it find itself financially bankrupt, to boot. i don't understand why this is even mildly surprising to anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear and brainpower to consider it all with. look around you. look around you and observe the lack of decency that is considered not only tolerable but completely acceptable. look around and notice the ratio of selfish actions to selfless actions. do you even know what selflessness is? look around and see the sense of entitlement that so many of us wear as though it's anything but a badge of shame.

a nation becomes morally bankrupt one house, one family, one business establishment, one group of friends, one neigborhood, one school, one city, one state at a time. a country full of those without moral compass, moral courage, moral anything.....wherein claiming to be a good person (in an air of self-righteous indignation no less) has taken the place of ever actually trying to be one, well.....a country like that, like ours, is running on a lot more than borrowed money, it's running on borrowed time. a country over-run with individuals who are most consistent in their practice of arrogance, who demand and get more than they're willing to work for, whether it's a gazillion dollar wall street bonus or a hoodie from pac-sun......is a country that needs to be humbled.

obama has made the point, and it's an important one, that most of what got us in this mess was legal. i'll go a step further. most of what got us in this mess was legal and the rest was so commonplace nobody cared that it was against the law and against the greater good. unless it’s personally beneficial, we turn away from calling out wrongdoing, pretend not to see it, claim it's not our business, not our problem, not our responsibility, not our right to right it.

we're a nation of spoiled brats and scaredy cats. let's face it, the saying "if you never learn to stand up for something, you'll likely fall for anything at all" seems particularly appropriate. when is the last time you stood up for something just because it was the right thing to do? never? you aren't alone. the vast majority of us seem perfectly willing to remain seated, beer in hand...or ice tea...or starbucks frappuccino mocha in a bottle from 7-11 (that would be me)....or soda....or 2.50 bottle of water that proctor and gamble got by way of turning on the tap in their now struggling factory. i mean.....come on....do we honestly believe we have a right to claim shock here?

personally, the thing that most gets me is the realization that so many seemed convinced they could outrun responsibility forever and further, that they felt a need to do so. i wish someone would tell them that not a toy or a gadget or a bank account can ever give the sort of peace that comes when you live your life determined to count the blessings instead of the slights.