Cosequences of Wealth Disparities part 3 ... i told ya so

I have posted numerous times before about wealth disparity in this nation (and the globe too). I don't mean to blow things out of proportion but it seems that western civilization can be leading to a collapse. The youth have revolted in much of the Arab world, Greece, Spain, Paris, London, New York and many other large cities in the USA. Is this just a blip or a sign of things to come? Well, the old saying is that "its all about the economy stupid" is important here. But its not the only thing. The scariest and most realistic reason why this unrest and these protests are only going to get worse is that the youth have lost their faith in the democratic process to effect change. Good times come and go. If a democracy (or a republic) is functioning as it should, peoples angst will take them to the ballot box and they will create change through voting. But as long as the Gen Xers have been alive they have seen donkeys and elephants parade in and out of the white house and congress; and things have gotten steadily worse for them. And, there is not a "we're in this together" mentality, which could buffer the problem during genuine economic tough times, because people suffer while the wealthiest 1% of the country continue to prosper.

I have no political point to make here. There are people who subscribe to a libertarian perspective and think that if you're poor, its your fault (this position could become increasingly difficult to justify because there simply are not enough jobs to go around). And there are more liberal-minded types who believe government has a role to play in helping the poor. The problem with the first perspective is that if you create a society that leaves too many people behind, those people are not going to just go quietly. They exist. They are real. And they are going be angry. The notion of letting capitalism run wild and not caring about the poor can work, so long as the poor a) aren't really too poor and b) the masses of poor people are content with their lots. Neither of these things are the case. I have news for anyone who thinks this is just a nuisance; the only constant in world history is change, the rise and fall of nations and great empires.
This situation must be dealt with.

I told ya so. (obviously so did many others...:))

What they should've said..

I'd like to reinvigorate this blog. But I don't think my invective-laden tirades do anybody any good. I believe this to be the case in the main because the topics are too general and vague. Everyone has their "pie-in-the-sky" ideas about how to make the world better, or more commonly, what is wrong with the world. Thus, I'm launching a new feature that I call "what they should've said".
And for this weeks installment I'm going to give my responses to two people who have been in the news lately.
The first is Anthony Weiner. At his press conference what he should've said is this:


"Yes. I took a lewd picture of myself and sent it to some women. I have cheated on my wife. So what. It has nothing to do with my abilities as a legislator, or my ability to improve the lives of my constituents in my district in New York. I realize that what I have done will hurt my family and my wife, but that is my business and I will have to deal with it. I won't say another word about it. As for my future in politics, that is up to the people of (insert name of his district). They put me here, they know what I have done, and they alone will decide my future, as is the mechanism by which this republic functions. I won't waste anyone's time with false tears and manufactured contrition, written by an overly paid publicist, as have so many of my fellow colleagues. I'm not perfect. I've never claimed to be. And I'm no hypocrite. I have not campaigned for, or championed anything that could resemble social conservatism or religious hegemony that so many on the right of the aisle routinely do. I don't want your vote because you think you can have a beer with me. I don't want your vote because you think I have the same morals and ethics as you. I don't want your vote because we worship the same God. I want your vote because you think I'm good at my job, and that I make the lives of the people I'm sent to Washington to represent, better.
I am sorry if I have disappointed anyone. But my personal life is my own business. I have broken no laws; and i will not step down. I'm a good legislator; and I will continue to be. That is all".

If he would've said that..he'd be talked about forever. He'd look strong as an ox! And he might actually help us escape this awful pattern of getting distracted by the personal lives or our elected officials and pay more attention to the routine shredding of the constitution of which they try with all their might to prevent us from noticing.

A commentary on friendship

I've always been fascinated with friendships. I have been blessed with many throughout my life. I can't remember a time when I didn't always have a dozen or so people that I could call to do anything at any given time. I don't think that is anything odd when I was in high school or college. But as I got into my mid-20's I think that the number of people that most people routinely spend time with that are not family or colleagues (the definition of "friends" from here on it)plummets. But my friendship levels did not. They are probably as high as they ever were, or perhaps even higher. I can honestly say that four or five of my closest high school friends, guys who were always hanging out in large groups, have now lost anything resembling that. Their time is spent with family and work first, and maybe with one or two close friends in the little bit of free time that they can round up.
I am inclined to say that I find this sad, but i don't. They are both happy men, with wives and families that they adore. I suppose that it is the natural order of things. Although I don't think that this is particularly sad in general, I think losing all my friendships would suck. I just can't imagine a life without dozens of close friends. And so I prioritize friends as high as I can.
But that leads me to my next question. How high should you prioritize friends? The benefits are obvious; you have fun with your friends. However, when you have a child there can only be so many hours in the day and time spent doing one thing typically takes away from time spent doing something else. It also makes matters more difficult when you have a large group of equal friends. If you had a single friend; you could stay equally close with that person because all your "friend" time could go that direction. But when you have multiple groups; something has got to give.
There is also an emotional cost to trying maintain friends. One thing I've learned being part of a large network of friends is that no matter how one tries to be inclusive, people always get left out. And when this happens, either feelings get hurt or people re-evaluate their friendships. If you only have a small amount of time to hang out with some friends you aren't likely to invest that time with someone who routinely leaves you out. The reasons are not just petty, time spent with friends leads to stories and memories, and these memories compound over time. If you miss out on too many events, you are out of the loop, and hanging out just isn't the same anymore. Everyone has been there before, like say, if a friend of yours from high school has a group of college friends coming over. They will just talk and talk about the good ole times and you are just a fly on the wall. This never works out.
Although this inevitable fall is somewhat petty as well. Your time may not mean jack shit to anyone else, but its infinitely precious to you. And its hard to justify spending it with someone who doesn't seem to want to spend time equally with you. These things happen all the time as friends "fall off". What exactly is that? It doesn't mean that there is a big fight or a change in one's life, but they start making plans less frequently, that frequency hits a tipping point, and then viola! you reach a point of "I used to hang out with them" from "my good friend who I see all the time". These events happen all the time and they fell like real losses. And I suppose the last thing I can say about it is that perhaps this is why most families fall out with their large networks; they seem to be less and less involved in things and then one day , presto, chango, 10 years goes by and nobody has thought to call. when you put it that way , it is definitely sad.