As I read the debt of the war, and the headlines of our own political civil war, and Supreme Court decisions, I wonder if anyone in leadership really has a vision. If someone in leadership has a vision, can they share it with us? I realize our President wants to continue to lead us in fear of terrorists . . . real and unsubstantiated. I realize Congress wants to hold the President accountable, after six years of unaccountability, but they've done nothing to stop the war or curtail the earmarks, our legislators have become famous for. We all know, there will be another "smoke and mirrors" show about this Executive Privilege and subpoenaes, but that's all it will amount to. We don't need any more laws for law abiding citizens and those that are not law abiding are already breaking the ones we do have, so we can watch this show that Congress wants to put on with the administrative branch of government, knowing, nothing will happen in either branch of government, except bluster and decisions about us, but there will be no accountability. But still this isn't what I'm wondering about today. I've made some short distance travels within the southern plains and the midwest, and I've been noticing something that I find frightening. There are big beautiful homes on rolling acres, with for sale signs in front of them. There are storefronts with SUPPORT OUR TROOPS in fading paint on the windows, while the for rent sign sits in the corner of that very same window. There are many small towns that look like "ghost towns" in an old western, and I just can't help but wonder what has happened and if it's going unnoticed. Oh, I realize suburbia is sprawling, but that's not agriculture and it's not business, it's just living large and wanting more. As suburbia expands with bank credit to general contractors, and mortgage companies on every other corner, I've noticed the payday loan places have replaced the car title loan places, and they are literally on every corner and in every strip mall. As we have become a nation of consumers, will we receive a warning before the credit cards crumble and the banks foreclose on the landlords, and the taxes to pay for the war exceed the wages and the property values? The only reprieve from the horrific tax burden will be unemployment and eminent domain.
. . . without a vision, the people perish . . . Holy Scripture
. . . without a vision, the people perish . . . Holy Scripture
1 comment:
Thanks for that, very insightful and true, and as always, very well-written and better than anything I could come up with. I too feel our way of life is slowly crumbling, and that the American Dream is a thing of the past. I'm a recent college graduate, and think of the life I possibly could have had if I'd been born a couple of decades earlier. As it is, there aren't a lot of good positions available out there, and even less that pay particularly well, by well I mean a salary one person with a family could live on.
I feel that Americans need to reduce their expectations and more importantly, their standards of living in a big way. I don't mean to eat dog food or anything like that. But let's face it, people don't need the H2 or the McMansion. Especially when they're struggling to pay for them in the first place.
As for me personally, hopefully I'll be able to pay my student loans off in a couple of years. I have some money saved as well. I'd like to move off Long Island since it's gotten too crowded and expensive, and go somewhere more quiet, and just rent an apartment. Not too long ago, even that modest goal seemed out of reach, but with no bills, maybe I can pull it off. To keep it on topic, I think leading a simple life and reducing what you expect out of life, while enjoying the simple things, can be a possible answer to the certain economic decline of this country.
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