A Personal Mental Reflective Pondering
Sundays are usually set aside for spending time inside one’s spiritual beliefs (in some cases this day is Friday), not doing any yard work, house work, or work-work; but, they are also used as a reflective time as one may ponder what is or what was or what could be. It would also be easy for us to say that a majority of the world’s inhabitants do not perform any mental reflective pondering at all that they are merely content with living life as life lives them. And, while that may seem like a narrow point-of-view to many of us “intellectuals,” it is still nonetheless valid when taking our mental reflective ponderings out of the environment of the US or out of the environment of the world’s cultural elite. I say elite because the word seems to fit 80% of us regardless of income.
Whether you are an American movie star or athlete, a
European store owner or diplomat, a Middle Eastern Sheik or nomadic shepherd,
an Asian factory worker or student that does not look beyond today, there are
still many of the world’s population that are starving and dying of disease
that we (as global citizens) for the most part do not give a rat’s ass about.
And, while there are some like Gates (wants to eliminate disease) and Bono (wants to eliminate poverty), the rest
of us are content with living life the way it is, without the slightest regard
for anyone or anything else outside of ourselves and quite possible our
immediate families but even that is still questionable.
As far as Americans are concerned, there are those
who worry about politics and the socialistic movement in our country but they
only bitch and do nothing. And, there
are those who only care about sports and are oblivious to everything else in
life, including their spouses and families.
And, there are those who are only concerned about
making money and they do not care about whose head they step on to get there. For example, what about the so-called
Christian company owner (I say Christian because he/she attends Church
every Sunday) who ships jobs overseas because wages are low.
For me, when someone says they are Christian, then
they should treat everyone like Christian brothers and sisters. Not only do these so-called Christian
leaders engage in unfair labor practices, but they build plants in 3rd
world countries selling them goods and services that they cannot really afford.
We should bear in mind that managers of all
religious persuasions, from all over the world, treat their people poorly,
especially in countries where there a no to very few social laws to protect
workers.
And, we should not forget those Americans who, like
so many of their friends, “tube out” every night on “American
Idol,” or “Dancing with the Stars,” or a cooking show, absolutely stupid
30 minute “sitcoms,” or “Duck
Dynasty” or some other series that doesn’t just capture their
imagination and interest but allows them to temporary but complete forget the
bullshit of the day. I saw bullshit
because of the way that managers, for the most part, treat their
subordinates. It is not totally their
fault, because we have become and “bottom line” but “greed”
oriented society at ALL SOCIOECONOMIC LEVELS.
These issues (my mental reflective ponderings) are
systemic of affluence and not just in the US but all over the world; an
inherent flaw of greed. Yet, without
greed, no economic system would grow and flourish which is the paradox or conundrum
with which some of us “so called” intellectuals deal… while talking heads simply point out what
is wrong with all of those who do not think like them.
So many of us these days simply go about our
business including this writer, but that does not make it the correct way to
behave. Is it because we are so
comfortable with what we have that we take it all for granted; or, is it
because we are constantly in want of more, but with the caveat that we do not desire
to share?
One would hope that change is in the air…
