Clarksville, TN – Our society is at war with itself. The downturn in the economy has brought great fears to many citizens. People who focus on their fears have little chance of seeing a solution. Fear is a paralyzing emotion. Mix that with ignorance of some basic facts that are misconstrued by devious politicians seeking their own aggrandizement and you get demonstrations that defy logic.
With citizens in all walks of life losing their jobs and needing hope, some officials more concerned about grandstanding they hope will lead themselves to higher political office than to addressing the suffering of the people who elected them.
Yes, we all have to support our government through taxes. Yes, we need to be as frugal as possible with public money. Yes, we need to cut pork out of all budgets—federal, state, local or personal.
But first we need to bail ourselves out of the mess we’re in.
Will Durant said, “Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”
We taxpayers have blithely believed that we could allow bankers, Wall Street, and our financial system to police itself. We forgot that these people have only one agenda—to make themselves as rich as possible with no regard for anyone else’s welfare.
Bankers who gave out loans as “sub prime” lending knew that they were going to raise interest rates on these poor unfortunates to the point that they would lose their houses. The banker didn’t care because he knew he would get his commission on the loan and eventually the bank would get the house. Amazingly, he forgot that banks aren’t in the business of holding astronomical numbers of houses on their balance sheets in order to resell them at a future date—especially when the bottom falls out of the real estate market.
Wall Street has encouraged average Americans who know absolutely nothing about the risks of investing in stocks to put their life savings into buying stocks.
The old adage, “What goes up ultimately goes down,” works well in the stock market. If you can’t afford to lose every penny you invest, you have no business gambling in the stock market—because that’s what it is—gambling!
Oversight agencies in the government didn’t bother to check out some of the Ponzi scheme brokers so their clients are now poverty stricken.
The bottom line is that unless you are well educated about finances, you can get taken for the horror ride of your life.
Education for whatever faces you in life is not always presented prior to its need. Vernon Law said, “Experience is the hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.”
We’ve had the lesson. Our country and many of its citizens are scalding in hot water. We now need to stop focusing on our fears and educate ourselves into a becoming a more productive society.
Listen to people who have a positive message. Support those who are trying to bail us out. Solve today’s problems and the future will take care of itself.
This country has spent trillions on wars during the past. It is necessary to defend ourselves at times of threat. We are now challenged to spend trillions on revamping our own infrastructure. We are resilient enough to spend where it is necessary, cut back on frivolous pursuits, and restructure our society so that our children have a better life.
Mark Twain said, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” H. G. Wells asserted that “History is a race between education and catastrophe.”
Educating yourself on the current situation means choosing messages that are sent from those without a personal agenda for blowing one’s own horn at the expense of the good of all.
Our system allows for fools to shout as loudly as the wise. It is up to each of us to judge which message we wish to hear and to act accordingly.
Personally, I choose hope, because the alternative is unthinkable.
