Saturday, April 18, 2009
Built on punishment and crime
It occurs to me that everything in every city built is based on the position of "crime" and "punishment". Recently here in my scrappy little city on the Tennessee River a small group of Asians, who had several restaurants and an apartment house, were busted for immigration violations. I was reading the article and its comments on the local news channel when it occurred to me that the only reason these folks were busted was because they had built a small empire. There are thousands of illegal immigrants here who have nothing. Why bust them? Simply because there is no money in it.
Look at the recent local history in your city/town you will find similar trends where the "criminal" sects of your village built something that your "law enforcement" claimed as their own. It does not matter to me that this is a fact of business and society building, but it is good to know where things really dwell when we are casting stones. To throw morals around from a false doctrine seems to make matters worse as we view the graft taking place in a larger arena.
Look at the recent local history in your city/town you will find similar trends where the "criminal" sects of your village built something that your "law enforcement" claimed as their own. It does not matter to me that this is a fact of business and society building, but it is good to know where things really dwell when we are casting stones. To throw morals around from a false doctrine seems to make matters worse as we view the graft taking place in a larger arena.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Childhood, vanish middle class
I had a great childhood, my parents were gainfully employed up until my senior year then the "NEW WORLD" economy started to settle in as their jobs moved to Mexico back in 1982. When I say they were gainfully employed I mean they were working for a manufacturing firm that designed and built electronics right here in Tennessee, and they were paid a stable income with longevity bonuses with benefits such as health care and vacations.
Since they were long time employees they received long summer vacations some times as long as six weeks, in which I was a part of. We would set out to see America because fuel was cheap and time was long.
I ponder at times if that last glimmer of American prosperity was the last my eyes will see. I worry that my children will never see that kind of comfort. They have never seen a summer vacation of weeks on a road trip or an extended camping excursion with their parents. My kids parents divorced while they were fairly young and neither have they had a father that lived with them every day that they can remember. Their mom barley makes enough to clear each month and dad is the same and yet in separate homes they witness first hand struggles of parents not having resources to make the rent or anything easily. I don't think I considered money shortages as a young child. I remember doing things to make some cash that I could completely control at about 12 years old on, but there was never a problem with my folks chucking out the dough to send me on a field trip with school, paying my lunch card well in advance, buying me a class ring, or renting me a tux for the prom. My kids have to do without vacations, extra trips with school and even shortages in lunch monies.
I would like a little truth before I die. Was the implosion of our country caused by too many middle class people or was it the controlling few, hungry for too much too fast? I know it is far more complex than I am able to comprehend, but there must be some truth reveled to not make matters worse.
Since they were long time employees they received long summer vacations some times as long as six weeks, in which I was a part of. We would set out to see America because fuel was cheap and time was long.
I ponder at times if that last glimmer of American prosperity was the last my eyes will see. I worry that my children will never see that kind of comfort. They have never seen a summer vacation of weeks on a road trip or an extended camping excursion with their parents. My kids parents divorced while they were fairly young and neither have they had a father that lived with them every day that they can remember. Their mom barley makes enough to clear each month and dad is the same and yet in separate homes they witness first hand struggles of parents not having resources to make the rent or anything easily. I don't think I considered money shortages as a young child. I remember doing things to make some cash that I could completely control at about 12 years old on, but there was never a problem with my folks chucking out the dough to send me on a field trip with school, paying my lunch card well in advance, buying me a class ring, or renting me a tux for the prom. My kids have to do without vacations, extra trips with school and even shortages in lunch monies.
I would like a little truth before I die. Was the implosion of our country caused by too many middle class people or was it the controlling few, hungry for too much too fast? I know it is far more complex than I am able to comprehend, but there must be some truth reveled to not make matters worse.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Fool of April
I have found myself very uninterested in writing down my feelings. Moreover I have not cared about this "American Dream" in the way that I did my first forty years here. Therefore I feel my sharing may not meet the requirements I keep in my mission line to not make matters worse. I am about to spew my indifference and fail to fall within the boundaries of my blog.
You may remember how nearly two years ago I wrote of losing my home to the A.R.M. loan debacle. This scandal was happening to me when these things were unheard of, and folks just thought, oh well here is another loser whining about his stupid decisions. Now that it has been headline news a while and the government is giving people help who are about to lose a house or a business "too big to fail", I find my feelings on the matter apathetic, and the only emotion alive is bitterness.
As I know from my common mans dabbling into the psychological realm, disappointment comes from unmet expectations, so I expect nothing now. I have a dark craving to see this mess go into total collapse, every system down, burning houses for fire wood and way gone past the point of no return. Feelings on this are very difficult to shake as I have never seen a god damn bail out and all my punishments for being short on funds have only further made other people rich. It has all been a lie, a grift, a sham, a system designed to deceive built on real estate that is not real. I don't care to see this economic system heal if it is going to be the same type of amortized impossible-to-catch-debt. Rather my vision watches it burn into ashes. Rebirth from ash is the only hope, otherwise it is the same uncomfortable perceiving freedom, as money mongers rape your REAL efforts, with deceptive bank "products" and carefully languaged policies.
You are wondering what has happened to Jed the lovable fool? He is no longer lovable, he is a fool simmering into the stew of this melting pot and hoping matters boil dry. Don't let any of this worry you, because Jed only sees the obvious and never the future.
You may remember how nearly two years ago I wrote of losing my home to the A.R.M. loan debacle. This scandal was happening to me when these things were unheard of, and folks just thought, oh well here is another loser whining about his stupid decisions. Now that it has been headline news a while and the government is giving people help who are about to lose a house or a business "too big to fail", I find my feelings on the matter apathetic, and the only emotion alive is bitterness.
As I know from my common mans dabbling into the psychological realm, disappointment comes from unmet expectations, so I expect nothing now. I have a dark craving to see this mess go into total collapse, every system down, burning houses for fire wood and way gone past the point of no return. Feelings on this are very difficult to shake as I have never seen a god damn bail out and all my punishments for being short on funds have only further made other people rich. It has all been a lie, a grift, a sham, a system designed to deceive built on real estate that is not real. I don't care to see this economic system heal if it is going to be the same type of amortized impossible-to-catch-debt. Rather my vision watches it burn into ashes. Rebirth from ash is the only hope, otherwise it is the same uncomfortable perceiving freedom, as money mongers rape your REAL efforts, with deceptive bank "products" and carefully languaged policies.
You are wondering what has happened to Jed the lovable fool? He is no longer lovable, he is a fool simmering into the stew of this melting pot and hoping matters boil dry. Don't let any of this worry you, because Jed only sees the obvious and never the future.
