Delusions Of Grandeur
Friends, like many around the world, I watched the carefully scripted ‘debate’ There were several things that struck me as it dragged on and on and they weren’t that obvious to the hand-picked American audience. What were they?
There was frequent mention that America was the greatest nation on earth. There was frequent mention that Americans were the best workers in the world, the most innovative, could achieve anything. There was mention of the grandness of spilling blood for the homeland as it went about saving the world from itself. There was mention of America’s devotion to Israel and sweeping statements that it would be protected at all costs. There was mention of nukes remaining on the table regarding Iran. The silliness went on and on while the audience, like good Americans, remained mute and obedient. There was not a murmur of dissent!
These feel-good statements have little or no connection with what is happening to America at this point in time. The reality is that America is demonstrably bankrupt. There is evidence that its greed-based economic system has failed and is also destroying our planet. There is evidence that its financial system is broken and that other nations, burned by the subprime fiasco, are quickly abandoning it.
It is failing badly in the two wars that it has initiated under Bush yet there is now chest-beating about opening a third front involving Iran. Its military is over-stretched. It’s political system is failing to protect its citizens, many of who are fearful of their own government. Its Constitution is deeply flawed as George W., megalomaniac, has clearly shown. And the two candidates for the Presidency, one old and semi-senile and the other completely inexperienced, come straight out of the corrupt conservative-liberal political stable, the one controlled by Big Business.
The reality is that America is not the greatest nation on earth. It is a nation whose ambitions far exceeded its abilities and maturity. It is a nation that foolishly believed that a free, unregulated capitalist market would solve all problems, that greed was a virtue, that God was on its side and approved of all it did, that infinitely expanding its military and capriciously using military force against other nations was the answer to all problems, etc.
The difference between these beliefs and the current reality shows that many Americans (and most of its political leaders) are suffering from severe delusions, delusions created by the careful indoctrination that every American receives from birth.
Americans must accept their new, relatively unimportant reality and discard their grand delusions. If they don’t their psychological sickness will destroy them and perhaps our world as well.
Awesome picture! Yep, I am all tuckered out from dealing with incompetent American workers all day!
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Grace, I can always rely upon you for the truth. How come so many in America can’t see it? I know it’s partly because of nationalistic indoctrination but is the education system faulty as well?
Cheers.
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I am an elected county official who was part of a team that took my county Democrat for the first time. But, quickly, it became evident that the Democrats were more concerned about the needs of their party than they were the people of the county. I reverted back to being independent, and will leave office this year, being besmirched in the internet by bullshitters.
There is no way I could have sat in that audience at that imbecilic debate and not have noticeably demurred in some way. I definitely do not fit in and am appalled by the two-party system.
I agree with everything David G. noted in this article he wrote (and love the picture, meow).
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Your first hand experience, Swan, is scary and sounds the death knell for meaningful democracy.
It was supposed to be a town hall meeting but it seemed the 80 people who were invited were lobotomized!
Cheers.
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There was frequent mention that Americans were the best workers in the world, the most innovative, could achieve anything.
Not necessarily false (at least in some areas), but supremely ironic when you consider that our own government refuses to unleash us on the problems of global climate change and energy independence. This is the only true grown industry that still really matters. Of course, they have a vested interest in assuring that such problems are not solved.
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David,
You use so many extreme descriptions in your posts (I understand why no need to defend) that it is often hard to respond. I’ll latch onto just one of them this time – “free, unregulated capitalist market”.
I work for a company that has a bank, insurance company, and investment company. We spend many millions every MONTH and have multiple departments of 100+ accountants reporting to the likes of the IRS, SEC, FDIC, and 50 (FIFTY) state insurance and tax entities. We also have government auditors from multiple state and federal entities in our headquarters year round, non-stop.
The people running the companies in this latest debacle had to be filing false reports (lying – AKA committing felonies) on the scale of Enron and Tyco. Regulations apparently don’t keep people from lying, or being inept (I’ll give CEO’s the benefit of the doubt).
My Points:
1. The market has probably never been “free” in the U.S. The only market that might be free today is Russia.
2. The market has also never been “unregulated” in the U.S. – maybe poorly regulated – but never unregulated. Even in 1770′s there were regulations (English, then state).
3. Capitalist, like socialist, is an extreme phrase. The U.S. has not been purely federally capitalist since circa 1930 when social security and income taxation laws were enacted. Even before that the states were restricting pure capitalism.
4. Some famous socialist aspects of the U.S. include TVA, AT&T (until circa 1990), then there is the whole interstate highway system, the DoD, FEMA, federal flood insurance, etc.
5. Lighten up on the extreme phrases a tad… if you fell like it. Or, if don’t feel like then don’t lighten up.
Q
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Kvatch, vested interest (big business, religious fundamentalists, Zionists, etc) hang around America’s neck like anchors. They drag it down and down.
Q. I have a question for you. If there is such stringent regulation why is America quickly sliding down the slippery pole? Why are American politicians on both sides vowing and declaring that the current problems have been caused by greed and a lack of regulation?
Look, I understand why some Americans become defensive given the state of their nation. But refusing to face reality is not going to help!
Cheers.
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David,
I’m facing reality buddy. I’ve been living within my means and saving and investing for 34 years now and my net worth is down 40% in the past 6 weeks. My retirement just got pushed back a lot of years. Don’t talk to me about reality dude.
I gave you some facts about the reality of regulations like GLB graham-leach-bliley, SOX sarbanes-oxley, USAPartiotAct, HIPAA, Basel, OFAC, and other regulations. More regulations won’t stop people that are willing to play the numbers and lie (felonies). Got it. Just like laws don’t stop murder, burgulary, and assult.
Politician’s claiming greed and lack of regulation get votes because the bulk of the sheep we call citizens don’t have to take responsibility for spending more than the make, for not having any money in savings – not because food and gas costs so much – but because they have 3 cars, 3000 sq ft homes, 3+ TV’s, eat most of their meals at restaurants at double or triple the cost of eating at home, spend $150 for Nike tennis shoes when they could get similar shoes at Wal-Mart for $15, spend $100 at a hair salon, spend $100/month buying DVD’s, I could go on for hours…
I attribute the current U.S. problems to the following (at least):
- In general American’s having little personal discipline financial discipline (the poor in this country might have an excuse, but that is 15% maximum): hence 9 credit cards per house, $12k credit card debt, no savings account, empty checking account, little equity in their home, upside down on the $30k car they bought that gets 15 mpg
- Criminals (the CEO’s that lied about the financial status of their companies until after they got out with their golden parachutes)
- The war in Iraq
- Barney Frank for his oversight of Freddie and Fanny, many have failed here before him, but he was at the helm when the ship wrecked and was pushing them to take on more and more of the sub-prime loans
- Bernake, Paulson and Greenspan
In my previous responsed I wasn’t being defensive. I attempted to give you some real live factual data about regulations in U.S. companies. Ignore if it suits you to ignore facts.
I’m facing reality. As a strategic planner for a Fortune 500 financial company I understand all to well how central banking, regulation, public policy, trade, investment banking, commercial banking, currency exchange, etc. work.
It is DRAMATIC over simplification to blame lack of regulation. It is a farce actually. But it appeases the stupid mentally lazy masses that don’t want any blame. It also sells papers and TV commercials.
American’s work the assess off, but they are mentally lazy. Create a website with 2 links. One says “click here to see some chick’s twat or some guy’s wang”; the other says “click here to see how to stop a finanical crisis”; guess where 99 out of 100 will go…
It isn’t arrogance. It is lazyness.
Q
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Q, I am sorry to hear about your dire economic situation. You are paying a heavy, unfair price for the greed, ignorance and criminality of others.
Let’s be clear. I don’t include people like yourself in my general statements. You wouldn’t be visiting and commenting on my blog if you were blind to reality (many just visit). However, unlike you, many of your countrymen and women are blind, are deluded about their position in the world, or just think about themselves. These are the people that I am attacking. These are the people that I’m trying to reach, trying to change.
Many hardworking, hard-saving people are in your situation now right across the world. I may join you soon myself if the Australian banks go kaput because our Government only guarantees $20,000. A few days ago it didn’t guarantee anything!
We live in difficult times. Take care.
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David,Your assessment of the U.S.’S position and culpability is quite correct.
responses like, I have saved my money, worked my ass off,and big noting oneself e.g. I am a financial planner for a fortune 500 company, and accusing the rest of the sheeple of being lazy, is the typical retort from the ruling class.
This whole mess is based on nothing but greed, and the further you move up the ladder of society, the more you can control and bleed usury from the system.
The ruling class in the U.S., have been sprung fleecing their fellow citizens big time, and they are now in hyper drive sheeting the blame home, on those least able to defend themselves.
The Gorden Gekko’s of the world have run the line this planet is inexhaustible,and can be ravaged for the next thousand years, when we have best part destroyed it in two hundred. And what’s their answer? lets drill for more oil,and the moose and polar bears can go extinct who gives a flying shit.
If it wasn’t all so serious it would be funnier than Tina Fey taking the piss out of Sarah Palin, on Saturday night live.And if by some strange turn of fate, they put this thing! in the White House with Mad McCain, it will make the sub prime crisis look like a picnic.
But hey, I’m not that naive that Obama is gonna be much better,like the rest of the shysters that mange to crawl out of the swamp and get into U.S. politics, it will be business as usual.
Did I say business? that’s a contradiction in terms in to days climate.
Sub prime crisis what a laugh, so the poor can’t afford to buy a house? What this tells me is, houses are to bloody dear, or the wages they are paying the workers must be shit.
Of course the other problem is, when jobs are being exported to places like Mexico, it’s a bit hard to commute every day to work from New York.
I bloody despair.
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David,further to the above, it has just been revealed on that far left media circus “FOX” sorry that should be “Fair and Balanced” Fox The CEO’s of AIG who have just been bailed out by the Fed, spent in excess of $400k on a shin dig.
Not bad eh. Still I guess when your hard at it fleecing people, a nice massage, a crayfish or two, and some nice after dinner plonk, can be justified.
The old working man who spends his life in some shitty factory some where doing the right thing, bringing his kids up with a bit of sense of morality,probably going with out to get little Johny’s teeth sorted out, and gives a few bob to the Salvos at Xmas is a dead set mug.
These scum bags on Wall St are just laughing at us.
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Hey, Phill, I hope your despair lightens.
As I said to Q, it’s not fair that we who act responsibly have to pay for the actions of con-men and those who, believing the slick advertising, purchase things they can’t afford on credit which the sharks made freely available.
With the Aussie share market falling below 4,000 today (an 8% drop), hard times are coming methinks.
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Has anyone given any thought to the possibility that this crisis was a planned event? It is easy to argue that the American people are an ignorant nation, but I think that this is intentional on the part of the US administration. It isn’t in the governments best interests to have an intelligent population. The US government, however, doesn’t posess these same ignorant attributes as its people.
The US is notorious for intricately planning events to confuse the population into thinking one thing while the truth is in a completely different realm. I will refrain from citing examples. This financial crisis may be another wonderful example of how to make numerous people very rich. A $700 Billion Bailout (not to mention $100 Billion to fannie/freddie and others), if planned properly can line numerous pockets quite nicely.
My views of government corruption may be skewed, but lets be honest … $700 billion in no way can be properly divided without lining a few pockets.
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Ah, Zhann, you’re as cynical as I am. Congratulations.
Lining selected pockets is what drives our capitalist world. I’m still waiting for someone to line my pockets! Just as well I’m not holding my breath.
Cheers.
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“With the Aussie share market falling below 4,000 today (an 8% drop), hard times are coming methinks.”
Indeed, David indeed, that is the truth.
I am not a conspiracy theorist,but I believe the Police and Army in some of the G8 countries have been given their instructions, in the event of the riots and crime, I believe will come..
A wise old Shearer told me once,I was fourteen at the time. You can only believe in what’s in your pocket, your immediate family, and friends of like mind.The rest he said, treat with suspicion.
Most of the old men back then knew what hard times were, what is about to go down, especially to the young and middle aged, will be a truly earth shattering, eye opening event.
Even up until the last election, most believed the party would go on forever.I knew different, like most but not all on this blog, one wonders why more people didn’t see it coming?
When the hamburgers, roast chickens, pizzas, and all the grog you can pickle your brains with on the week ends starts to dry up.And they start buying their jeans in the Op shop.
And they register with Centrelink for the dole, and are treated like second class citizens.
And family’s go to boot sales, to sell the plastic buckets,Chinese drill bits that are useless, and the other rubbish we have been drowning in for the last twenty years.
My despair will be trivial.
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Funny thing is Phill that we’ll go one way or the other. Either the bottom will drop out of our world or we’ll quickly head back into another boom. Who knows which?
If the latter is the case, then I’d reckon this whole thing has been engineered by crooks who manipulate the markets and make a fortune out of the rapid rises and falls. The mugs pay the price!
That Buffet guy is buying in now, spending billions. Does he know something we don’t?
Cheers.
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“That Buffet guy is buying in now, spending billions. Does he know something we don’t?”
Mayhaps! Buffet did not get rich being the village idiot to be sure.But even billionaires among us, make mistakes.
For mine, and I am no expert.The consensus seems to be a recession, now how deep that ends up? We’ll all have to wait and see.
But one things for sure,better to be a baby boomer.
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David, Buffet buying… well.. Buffet is a genius.. but he admitted himself, his failures were never publicized as much as his victories.. at this moment, the man is having a big interest to keep appearances.. his own businesses are on the stock exchange, aren t they… so if it goes bad.. it goes bad for him too.. he needs to instill the confidence in the markets too.. hence people say Buffet is buying.. i ve heard this buffet theory so many times i m so tired of him. But don t worry. even if it goes bad, Buffet knows in advance what is gonna happen. Whoever trades the market and believes that the news just come out of print euqally for everyone is a naive. I tend to believe as well this whole thing was manufactured. And believe me, if Buffet knows something, and is doing something, he s not gonna tell. smart businessmen never share their competitive advantages.. we ll never really know what.. what you see in news papers about him buying is just the cherry on the cake, for you to bite and say : sweeeeet….
Swan, I am really sorry for your situation.
Q, I m really sorry for you too.
I ve been in a brokerage firm for a while.. and as an insider, I know, whatever we do, we always make money, and the client loses, if we can t make money for ourselves first and then for him. Don t tell me you do not know that Q. I do not however retaliate against small individuals, who make a living within the system.. we are ALL contributing to the system. buying things, buying insurance, buying stocks, accepting the status quo.
Phill, don t despair. I despair too. But once in a while, I wake up.. the worst thing that can happen to us is die. and that s inevitable, sooner or later..
maybe it is the clinging to it all that makes us so miserable and so vulnerable.
On a funny note
Kidding of course.. but.. just imagine. around 3 billion people decide to do a one time protest. Mass suicide. and let the “young and fresh” congressmen, banker and politicians reproduce among themselves.. in their bunkers and safe retreats,.. look at them..just look at them, and imagine the result of the interbreeding, the “arian” race and beauty of their offspring.. and as abortion will be forbidden, for God s sake.. a new prayer will be instituted in the Bible: all mighty God protect our offspring of the Down syndrome.. their saviour maybe Palin.. she seems to have already what it takes for mass re-population.. a fresh breath of air for the octogenary losers who cling to power and wealth.. she indeed is the hope that it won t all be ugly, fat, and old.
now.. picture a movie.. subject for a movie
P.S. I love old people. please don t hit me on that. I love old grandmother, and grandfathers and decent men and women. I hate old people who, instead of educating grandchildren and teaching beauty to the world cling to their imaginary immortality and control freaking lives..
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Phill – you calling me ruling class? Back off dude. Here are my credentials:
- paid for 100% of my college education by WORKING FULL TIME
- my wife paid for 100% of her education as well
- got my degree from the elite Southwest Texas State University. I’m sure you’ve heard of it since it is an elitest school – NOT
- still drive the car I bought in 1978 (elite huh? A 1978 camaro – wooo whooo, try to avoid being jealous)
- bought a used 1999 pickup truck in 2005 (most of the ruling class drives used pickups – NOT)
- my wife and I are raising two daughters in a small town (8,000 people). The ruling class is always from backwoods towns in the middle of Texas – NOT
- The four of us live in a 2,000 sq ft home in a 1960′s neighborhood. The ruling class if famous for living in small homes built in the 60′s – NOT
- in 1990 we bought our furniture, TV, fridge, and washer that we use to this day. Again, like the rest of the elites, oh, I just realized that I might not be an elite ruler because we don’t drink Starbucks (don’t even have one in town), we don’t have a surround sound entertainment system, we don’t have a plasma flat screen TV, we don’t have a Bose stereo (we just have a wal-mart $69.95 special)… damn you for opening my eyes to the possibility that I’m not in the ruling class!
Q
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Adina,
I’m sure you are right about brokers. Like realtors they make money going up or down.
The company that I work for (I guess that makes me a ruler) doesn’t broker. Strictly discount trades.
Yes, brokers make money whether their customers gain or lose. But then, when you give your money to somebody (a broker) else to manage, how good can your judgement be?
Q
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Phill,
I’m not a financial planner. I’m a strategic planner. My company provides financial services.
You don’t seem to like facts. You skipped right past them and jumped into labeling me as “ruling class”. You’re problem. But I will restate some facts…
- Americans got in trouble by spending more than they make (not because they had too. it is easy to make a living in the U.S. they spent more than they make for instant gratification and for status…)
- Americans also got in trouble by investing in high risk financial vehicles, and by turning their money over to others for management
- laws don’t prevent crime: they define crime
- regulation doesn’t prevent unethical and criminal action: they define the escape routes…
Maybe DIFFERENT regulation will help, but MORE regulation will not help.
Q The Elite
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Hey Q “The Elite”
I skip past on what ever is my want.
When we are talking about thievery,one does not have to quote rules and regulations, “Pathos” is as good as anything, when we are talking pure delusion.
You have explained my feelings by your own logic.-
“regulation doesn’t prevent unethical and criminal action: they define the escape routes…”
If you are trying to say that the cause of this meltdown is due to anything else but greed, you Sir, are wasting your time with me.
I am old enough to know that, most laws and regulations are crafted by lawyers,who are the very essence of greed.They have been crafting laws to protect the rich since “ANTIQUITY”
We in Australia have a list of bent business people, that have taken pensioners and the less well off to the cleaners since, Capt Cook dropped anchor in Botany Bay in 1788, that would fill the pages of a library of encyclopedias.
Your country is probably the same just substitute Botany Bay for Plymouth Rock.
To blame all of this on a few mortgage defaults is funnier than a barrel of monkeys. Your assertion that a living can be made easily in the U.S. is probably true if your a bent finance broker or similar.What you fail to tell us is, that most people in the U.S. with out a decent education, can work up to three jobs a week.
Some of your workers are on three bucks an hour, so spare me the “Living Easy routine” As much as I hope this whole meltdown does not turn into 1929, this is just what Joe six pack needed to finally get him out of his coma.
This melt down has all the ingredients of the war in Iraq,a fiasco led by an imbecile.
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Phill,
You reading skills are funnier than a barrel of monkeys. I didn’t blame a few mortgage failures.
This statement is delusional…
“What you fail to tell us is, that most people in the U.S. with out a decent education, can work up to three jobs a week.”
> Most people in the U.S. without an education don’t work at all – zero jobs. We have 12 million illegal aliens to do the dirty work.
> Your use of “decent education” is so vague as to mean anything. I suspect that you consider me undeducated and I have 2 college degrees (dang forgot that makes me elite not educated). But, assuming that decent education means at least a high school degree (12 years of public school) then that leaves about 15% of Americans with a less than decent education.
This is another almost a meaningless statement…
“Some of your workers are on three bucks an hour, so spare me the “Living Easy routine”. You are right, the illegal Mexican, Honduran, Panamaian, etc. workers do work for $3 an hour. Because they can live better in America on $3 an hour than they could where ever they came from – oh yeah, they have enough money to send some back home…
There are also waiters and waitresses that work for $3 an hour, but they also get tips. Thus, most low $ restraurants are staffed with school aged kids.
Maybe you are watching too 80′s movies. Or maybe you get your data from the press…
When one skips whatever they want, they are want to be ignorant.
Q
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Dear Q, even if you were a broker, that wouldn t necessarily make you a bad person. The system is corrupt. And we can argue about whether anyone who s in any way contributing to it is also corrupt or not. We conveniently, in civilized world, accept that less civilized countries are our pool of cheap goods production, which we consume, regardless of ethics, and morals. We all play roles, and it is difficult to point finger to you or me or any other.. we are masters at finding culpable people, but we are not masters at acquiring the power to solve the whole mess.
You were saying that whomever gives money to a broker to manage for him is greedy or stupid. not necessarily.. if you innocently believe the model of being active part of a company by owning shares.. and having a professional handle it for you.. do you know how many innocent retirees or young hopeful people give into that because of sheer innocence? we maybe live in an era when people should be better informed. is not always their fault that society educates us to believe that the teacher, the doctor, the broker, the expert know better than we do..
Anyway. Wishing all the people who struggle all the best. With all my heart.
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Wow, I really appreciate each persons’ thoughts about the how and why we are in this unfolding mess. I am not avoiding you all. Recovering from surgery and it was the staff of my fine doctor that set me into a spin with the reference to incompetent Amer. employees. Not entirely fair, but sometimes all too accurate. If one does wrong, they all cover the another. Its incredibly incestuous, actually! It’s ok. We must stay vigilant. When I awoke in the night persevorating about the chain of events, I put it all to writing and am now free! So the moral of this story is to remain ever vigilant. Do the right thing. My heroes of the week are the NSA whistleblowers who admitted they werer listening in on the private and sex conversations of American citizens talking to each other. It was a world where they all broke the law and would discuss lurid details of private citizens and cover for one another.
I think I Will post a copy of the Constitution of the U.S. to keep by my door. More and more it is not popular to go gainst the pack, but if an individual does not remain vigilant to principles as citizens and humans with rights, this is always the beginning of the end. Like when U.S.of A. relented and gave China its Most Favored Nation trading status – without holding to our previous guns and demanding human rights, we literally sold ourselves out! Hello China.
Peace, all
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Adina,
Thanks for the supportive words. My wife and I don’t need much to thrive (food, clothing, and a little left over for social life). We have way more than most people in America and we have no debt (we have always lived far beyond our means – relative to how others use the same amount of income).
There is a kindness about your posts that I should perhaps try to adopt.
I do want to clarify some words you attributed to me. I didn’t say that people that use brokers were stupid or greedy…
As you noted, brokers tend to make money regardless of how their clients do. In other words, people that use brokers are paying a certain amount for the effort, regardless of the quality of the effort. Like all humans, broker skills range from really good to not as good. Likewise, broker motives have a broad range. Sometimes it is very smart to use brokers. Sometimes it isn’t.
I was taught that people are a lot more conservative with their money than with your money… be careful who you trust with your money. My grandparents and parents lived through the 1920′s era… need I say more?
Q
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Adina,
Oooops, that should say we have always lived far beneath our means…
We could be in a 4,000 sq ft house with a Hummer and a Lexis. We could go on cruises and drink $6 lattes.
But we drive an old beat up camaro and a used beat up pickup truck. We live in a 2000 sq ft ordinary house and for our last three annual family vacations were drove to Carlsbad Caverns, Galveston, and Amarillo.
Not very exciting to some people…
Q
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Dear Q,
But I bet you are happier than many who do live in 4000sq feet house! I bet on that, and not just because it is a stereotype that modesty equals happiness. Yours is a conscious and honorable choice and if more people would be like that our world would be different ..
Don t be fooled about my kindness
I can be very, very, mean.. But there is a genuine-ity (how to say) and honorable pride in your post, that made me reciprocate in kindness. I don t know why, I can feel a very kind and decent person speaking, I m sure that s the kind of people you and your wife are, just like many other Americans who become easy target and collateral victim in the AntiAmerican hatred..
I am just a mirror, hence do not adopt my kindness, be yourself and I and other people will naturally follow
You made my day.
P.S. as for misquoting you, I apologize, sometimes happens because of speed. No bad intention tough.
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“You reading skills are funnier than a barrel of monkeys. I didn’t blame a few mortgage failures.”
Q me old China where do I start?
if you are going to return an insult in the world of repartee, you must find your own theme.
I can read quite well, and you are easier to read than a cheap novel. I know exactly where you are coming from.
Your thoughts on the plebs, and now your cheap labor source, tells me exactly what you mean and don’t mean.
Your comment ref education needs no further comment, suffice to say, you knew exactly what I meant.
As for your workers getting three bucks an hour, defending what is tantamount to slave labor, by telling us they receive tips!!!!
Keep digging Q you are nearly there.
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Maybe not my business to interefere with this. But America.. with the indians, and then the cheap labour Mexicans and all. Europe with bringing down the communists (not that I compare the communists with the indians) and then complaining eastern europe flooding them as cheap labour. And then Australia, you think Australia is nicer? with the atrocities on the aborigene people, and then with their second class cheap labour chinese for many many years.
and I could go on and on forever.
EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD waitresses and waiters are paid cheap.
Blaming someone else across the globe is easy. Is it his fault? Is it his class? Can we spill our despair and bitterness on him?
I ve been a highly educated individual in my country. I ve migrated and been paid for less in other countries. Maybe I would have stayed in my country. Couldn t , as it was all privatized to foregners, and I would have ended up with even shittier living conditions. Funny, overseas, I have been hated by locals for accepting lower salary and . “stealing” their job.Meanwhile they all wanted to buy cheap land and pay cheap labour opening businesses in my Land, my Country. Easy, huh..
Today, civilized countries, we ve got our progress. China has to stop. We did what we did. We learn our lesson. India has to stop before they begin.
Easy to talk.
easy.. far too easy.
All this selfishness ond one sided view finger pointing ruthlessness is the root cause.
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Ah, and I forgot the most atrocious historically famous double sided political/war causing sluts: the British. and the French, with their African Colonies. and the Dutch..and the Russians.. and what the heck? check your Australian home belongings.. how many are stamped made in china? Are you better than an american? Why?
So if any of you anyone belonging to these “beautiful nations” and many many many like others, if any of you have to say anything against Americans today, think of your history..
doing it now is nothing worst than doing it then, except that your selfhisness, cannot allow you to see that Americans are a young nation, and all the harm done by their predecessors is much higher in that historical perspective.. but you not being involved in it directly, your lives and pensions not being affected by the past.. makes history Ok, and allows you to spit far to easily on Americans.. your Gran Gran Grandma and Grandpa did the same. So shame on us. Human Species. You re all guilty as charged.
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Oh. Let me mention the magna cum laudae German too. and Italian. And Spanish with their atrocities.. .. and and and?
Want some more?
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Adina, my blog consistently promotes the idea that we should all be world citizens, that we should be all equal, that we should all share equally in the world’s resources. And pigs might fly!
This will never happen because we’re human beings. We still carry around our primitive law of the jungle nature, our desire to kill, our love of dominating others, our cruelty.
We are destined to become extinct. We deserve no better.
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I know David, I know what you stand for. and my comment to anti-american chriticism is not directed against you, not at all. Neither against Phill. Nor against Q. Or NoOneYouKnow. I do not know for sure your nationalities. and you can see my own comments I reserved to attach one on one a supposingly American.. who turned out to be Australian.
But again. I really do not have anything against either of these nations. I just sometimes manage to get above that level, and tune into a bigger perspective, encompassing histiory, and self detachment… and then i cannot “hate” any nation anymore. The ideas that you promote ar the reason the make me follow your blog so much. The people that I met here, despite opposing views at times, are passionate people, who care and try, their own way. MY COMPLIMENTS TO ALL OF YOU. (except the religious prozelitists who claim supremacy of one religion above other)..
To end my ever long as usual comment, i now self impose a one week abstinence from posting here. But I ll keep reading you all.
And in Homage to the fact that you liked my metaphor of golfing-god, while we are fighting over trivial matters like nationality and religion.. watch David’s picture of the day: The Devil is playing Monopoly with Humans.
And one more: NO PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVED AT THE SAME LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS THAT HAS CREATED IT. EINSTEIN. a Jew. For some. A Buddhist. For others. A genius. For most.
LET’S TRANSCEND, PEOPLE.
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As if to prove my observation about human cruelty, you are depriving us of your unique insights for a week! How could you, Adina? Please transcend!
Peace.
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Ha ha ha.. Checkmate. Beaten at my game, by my own rule heheheheh.. Astute and Concise as always.
Me? Defeated in my logic and my intent in two sentences by David. See? Impressed by the conciseness of some of the most insightful/short comments in this blog, I tried to reform, as I am aware of my shortcomings and of speaking far too much.
Yet you, David, thought me the lesson I needed to learn one more time?
Ha ha ha .. Like a Zen master, David knocked me on my head with my own words.
Thank you, Master
I m back!
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Peace to you, Adina. May the brightness and goodness of your psyche long continue to radiate.
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Adina, please accept this in the spirit it is offered.
I do not hate any race period.And to use that old cliche “Some of my best friends are (put in your own race)”
But what I do hate with a passion, is conservatives. Ah yes a wasted emotion to be sure, however, as hard as I try, I can never accept their point of view.
Scratch a conservative “IN THE MAIN” you will always find a red neck.
Any where people are exploited, and in Australia of late, the union movement has gone into bat for a lot of our guest workers, having been grossly underpaid.The people who are doing this are not caring green’s,or paid up members of the Labor Party, of that there is no doubt.
But I am not naive, we on the left have our share of racists and greedy people,and it is this sad fact conservatives play on, they have never had any trouble finding half the working class, to beat up on the other half.This sad irony in both our country’s, is why conservatives have had government most of the time.I do not care for them either.So if that is a fault, at least I am consistent.
Defending wages of three bucks an hour,and family people having to work three or four jobs a week to exist, is bad in any country.It seems to happen more in yours in my opinion, because your governments have made anything progressive, being akin to communism.
In Australia we have had our fair share of historical skeletons,and mad leaders, but I do know this, Australia is the best place in the world to live, and with all of its faults, it is the envy of the world.
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Dear Phil, thanks heaven
my country is not US. I have many reasons to I m happy that s the case. And some of them we discussed there….But I believe a big portion of American population are great people. Maybe a bit arrogant at times, but great. My feeling is that their country has been highjacked without some them even realizing it. Or feeling impotent about it…
And yes, I ve got a job offer once in Australia, I visited there, and frankly speaking, I cannot deny: it is a great place to live in … (hej, brother, don t jump with excitement..
it is not your merit being born there.. heheheh.. unless you migrated, and then you’re very smart to have done it). I did not migrate, as the salary they were offering me was low and meant leaving the people I love too far behind..
But you know why I felt that it is one of the best countries to live in? Not because of the politics of the country.. but because of the fact that someohow, people there value life more. They value their evenings, and time on the beach. They value nature. They take care more of what they eat.. and as trivial as that may sound,to me it is proof of higher consciousness… as most of the humans on earth would eat cardboard if it tasted good, it was cheap, and big portions.. So .. I m with you on this one.
I do not defend people who preach low wages.. Gosh I wish everybody had huge salaries.. But I learned to see another perspective also: funnily enough, poor populations tend to reproduce themselves faster.. and I find it is not fair that the share of the world who reproduce like rats, 5,6 who cares.. demand the same rights.. without awareness or the means to raise decent kids, offer them not financial security and physical time with them, education home, principles other than you have to become rich.. you see.. this world is a sick place. That s why we all basically agree.
red necks disguised conservatives are bad. But the “innocent low waged poor” are not necessarily good either. I repeat myself: give a poor tribe african a rolex. next thing you see.. is him wanting to hoover around in a chrisler…snobbing his tribe.
Cheers. And happy we re talking
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Please check out Erik Hufscmid’s website (he wrote the book HUGE QUESTIONS, and has a video by that name on line, plus much great material). He argues in his audio that some humans have not evolved much beyond primitivism, and instead of throwing our hands up and saying we deserve going extinct, we should join together and police our species so that the hombres who are bringing the rest of us down, get locked up.
Anyway, Hufschmid (sp) makes great points in his audio series found on line, and I invite you to listen.
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Phill,
I’ll interact with you even though you made your comments personal in your original post. However, I will stop interacting with you if continue to take my comments out of context.
You accurately noted that “some” American’s work for $3 an hour, but you left out all other germane data. I noted, accurately, that Americans working for $3 an hour are typically kids (earning some spending money). It is an entry level, part time job. You also didn’t quantify how many American’s work for $3 an hour which is an extreme minority. Finally, the same people could take other entry level jobs that pay more (minimum wage is approx $6) – in other words they choose to work for $3 an hour plus tips.
Concerning owning a home. In America almost everybody that works fulltime can afford to own a home – maybe not the home they want, maybe not in the city they want, but a home. What society has 100% of their people housed in a home that they own? Perhaps Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and UAE – ooops, not, the homes belong to a monarch…
Q
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Q, whether you interact with me is of no concern.I have big shoulders and I can take it.
Your assertion that people who work for three dollars out of choice,is totally delusional.As far as numbers and statistics are concerned, I could care less how many, but hey ten is too many how’s that? Of course you know it runs into the millions.
If you believe most Americans that work can afford a home,well I guess if they go around naked and don’t eat it does seems plausible.
Your social welfare system considering the wealth that generated in your country, is akin to something you would find in some of the African states.
Oh by the way I have traveled the U.S. and the poverty found in some of your southern states and city’s, like New York, is very much like the poverty found in places like Soweto in South Africa.Oh and by the way I have been there to.
But don’t feel all bad, we nearly had what you have in America under the leadership of our last P.M. John Howard.Fortunately the Australian people are not quite as gullible as Americans, and he was given short shrift.I must confess, it took slightly longer to get rid of him than George Bush.
Making the point what country’s do have full home ownership is to prove what prey tell? That tells me we should all try a bit harder No ?
Peace.
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Phill,
Sure. We should try harder.
Q
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