These are images from the west coast occupy movement groups. Times they are interesting in this country. I really respect people who can stand up for what they think is right. Its not always easy and certainly not safe or warm and fuzzy. Whether this is the best use of their energy, I'm not sure its immediately evident. But again, props for standing up for what you believe in.
I guess I'll just say this: Things have got to change. Maybe I sound like some bias news person, but the rich ARE getting richer while so many continue to struggle. The GAP is bigger than ever before. And the only thing that seems to matter in this country is money. It runs and ruins everything. Money sure is great, I'll admit it. I like money just as much as the next gal, but I certainly hope I don't like it so much that I don't give a shit about anyone else except myself. Bold statement. And I know I'm not perfect. I know I make choices every day that aren't considered charitable. I like going out to dinner and buying myself a super cute sweater from a "big box" store like J Crew. I drive a Volvo. Yup, I sure do. I guess I just feel like somewhere our country took a sharp turn that involved truly not giving a shit about thinking about our world and our planet as one big system. And the system doesn't thrive unless we can come together and try to make each other better. Supporting each other. The more we try to squash the "little" people the bigger the problems get and the longer they persist.
I sat on an airplane next to a doctor from Eugene, OR who was en route to MN to see her daughter who was attending Carlton as a freshmen. When I asked her, "What do you do?" she actually sheepishly revealed that she was a doctor. She was embarrassed, and well, a little ashamed. Shocked and feeling boldly inquisitive I pushed her to talk about her job and her role in healthcare over her 30+ year career. Originally from MN, she and her husband have both held various roles within the healthcare community in the Twin Cities, Oregon and they have also spent time with medical teams within the non-profit group Doctors Without Borders [DWB provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. DWB provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need.] Come to find that she has visibility to the landscape of corruption that happens within our current healthcare system. Doctors who feel pressure to earn more money for their respective clinics and hospitals in order to bolster their weekly "reports". And even ethical doctors whose hospitals pressure them to push for certain procedures so that they as an organization can make more money. Sounds like getting your car fixed in that you really just have to trust the mechanic and yet, none of us usually do (unless its my Papa, because he's a mechanic and I trust him!). Anyway, somewhere into hour two of our conversation she said to me, "I guess I just don't understand why the Republicans are so against universal healthcare. Do you realize how many unemployed people have health problems and disabilities and subsequently are unable to work as a result? And the longer they can't get health care, the longer they can't work, and then the longer they are a drain on the system. If we could get people healthy, we could get them to work."
Ok, that's all for now. Something to think about, I suppose. I don't have the answers. I guess I'm just frightened as to where things are going. I'm typically a pretty positive and optimistic person, and I know that things are cyclical. I just hope that we can come together - politically and in our communities - to make this world a good place to hang out and enjoy the people we love. Both for now and for whenever I decide I might want to make some kids who will be here long after me.
And just for reference, I plucked this from the www today.
The Occupy movement.
Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.
Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.
Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.
Demand four: Free college education.
Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.
Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.
Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America's nuclear power plants.
Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.
Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.
Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.
Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.
Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.
Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.
"These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy."
Peace, friends.
I guess I'll just say this: Things have got to change. Maybe I sound like some bias news person, but the rich ARE getting richer while so many continue to struggle. The GAP is bigger than ever before. And the only thing that seems to matter in this country is money. It runs and ruins everything. Money sure is great, I'll admit it. I like money just as much as the next gal, but I certainly hope I don't like it so much that I don't give a shit about anyone else except myself. Bold statement. And I know I'm not perfect. I know I make choices every day that aren't considered charitable. I like going out to dinner and buying myself a super cute sweater from a "big box" store like J Crew. I drive a Volvo. Yup, I sure do. I guess I just feel like somewhere our country took a sharp turn that involved truly not giving a shit about thinking about our world and our planet as one big system. And the system doesn't thrive unless we can come together and try to make each other better. Supporting each other. The more we try to squash the "little" people the bigger the problems get and the longer they persist.
I sat on an airplane next to a doctor from Eugene, OR who was en route to MN to see her daughter who was attending Carlton as a freshmen. When I asked her, "What do you do?" she actually sheepishly revealed that she was a doctor. She was embarrassed, and well, a little ashamed. Shocked and feeling boldly inquisitive I pushed her to talk about her job and her role in healthcare over her 30+ year career. Originally from MN, she and her husband have both held various roles within the healthcare community in the Twin Cities, Oregon and they have also spent time with medical teams within the non-profit group Doctors Without Borders [DWB provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. DWB provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need.] Come to find that she has visibility to the landscape of corruption that happens within our current healthcare system. Doctors who feel pressure to earn more money for their respective clinics and hospitals in order to bolster their weekly "reports". And even ethical doctors whose hospitals pressure them to push for certain procedures so that they as an organization can make more money. Sounds like getting your car fixed in that you really just have to trust the mechanic and yet, none of us usually do (unless its my Papa, because he's a mechanic and I trust him!). Anyway, somewhere into hour two of our conversation she said to me, "I guess I just don't understand why the Republicans are so against universal healthcare. Do you realize how many unemployed people have health problems and disabilities and subsequently are unable to work as a result? And the longer they can't get health care, the longer they can't work, and then the longer they are a drain on the system. If we could get people healthy, we could get them to work."
Ok, that's all for now. Something to think about, I suppose. I don't have the answers. I guess I'm just frightened as to where things are going. I'm typically a pretty positive and optimistic person, and I know that things are cyclical. I just hope that we can come together - politically and in our communities - to make this world a good place to hang out and enjoy the people we love. Both for now and for whenever I decide I might want to make some kids who will be here long after me.
And just for reference, I plucked this from the www today.
The Occupy movement.
Demand one: Restoration of the living wage. This demand can only be met by ending "Freetrade" by re-imposing trade tariffs on all imported goods entering the American market to level the playing field for domestic family farming and domestic manufacturing as most nations that are dumping cheap products onto the American market have radical wage and environmental regulation advantages. Another policy that must be instituted is raise the minimum wage to twenty dollars an hr.
Demand two: Institute a universal single payer healthcare system. To do this all private insurers must be banned from the healthcare market as their only effect on the health of patients is to take money away from doctors, nurses and hospitals preventing them from doing their jobs and hand that money to wall st. investors.
Demand three: Guaranteed living wage income regardless of employment.
Demand four: Free college education.
Demand five: Begin a fast track process to bring the fossil fuel economy to an end while at the same bringing the alternative energy economy up to energy demand.
Demand six: One trillion dollars in infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Rail, Roads and Bridges and Electrical Grid) spending now.
Demand seven: One trillion dollars in ecological restoration planting forests, reestablishing wetlands and the natural flow of river systems and decommissioning of all of America's nuclear power plants.
Demand eight: Racial and gender equal rights amendment.
Demand nine: Open borders migration. anyone can travel anywhere to work and live.
Demand ten: Bring American elections up to international standards of a paper ballot precinct counted and recounted in front of an independent and party observers system.
Demand eleven: Immediate across the board debt forgiveness for all. Debt forgiveness of sovereign debt, commercial loans, home mortgages, home equity loans, credit card debt, student loans and personal loans now! All debt must be stricken from the "Books." World Bank Loans to all Nations, Bank to Bank Debt and all Bonds and Margin Call Debt in the stock market including all Derivatives or Credit Default Swaps, all 65 trillion dollars of them must also be stricken from the "Books." And I don't mean debt that is in default, I mean all debt on the entire planet period.
Demand twelve: Outlaw all credit reporting agencies.
Demand thirteen: Allow all workers to sign a ballot at any time during a union organizing campaign or at any time that represents their yeah or nay to having a union represent them in collective bargaining or to form a union.
"These demands will create so many jobs it will be completely impossible to fill them without an open borders policy."
Peace, friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment