The Postal Service

     In Newsweek I recently read an article about the potential privatization of the Postal Service.  This would be the wrong choice for America.  The congress could solve the fiscal problems of the Post Office, but has chosen not to.  You can thank the Republican "Just Say No" approach to lawmaking.

     I would not trust a private corporation to assume the role of the post office.  Just look at other government responsibilities and posts that have been privatized.  Here and around the world the examples serve as a warning.  The American Enrichment Corporation,  has caused costs to skyrocket.  British Petroleum an efficient state owned company was privatized and we all know how that ended. 

    There are somethings in our everyday life that should not be based on a for profit motive.  The postal service is one of them.  Our Postal Service in the US is a very efficient and affordable service that no-one is unable to use should they wish to. 

In Short

Keep Your Corporate Hands Off My Mail!

Build babby Build!

     Obama inspired the nation's young people in ways never before seen.  And with it he could have moved mountains.  Well maybe not move them, perhaps just fix the tunnels and the roads that go along them. America's infrastructure for the most part has either the New Deal or Eisenhower's defence spending to thank for it's very existence.  It was what allowed us to in the 50's actually be number one. 

     But like all things it has an expiration date.  And do to our inability to put the milk back in the fridge so to speak it is quickly reaching the end of it's lifespan.  Most of these bridges roads and damns were not meant to last forever, indeed most of these projects were only mean to last 50 years.  That time has come and gone, and it only speaks to previous American expertise that they are indeed for the most part still in use never mind standing. 

     Most if not all of these man made wonders are operating at much higher capacity then they were ever meant to carry, without any of the maintenance they reacquire, longer than they were built to last.  Next time you go over a bridge particularly a suspension bridge over a canal, look at all the rust corroding the supports, the metal chords and the pillars, and know that you could die just by going over this bridge that should be properly maintained if not retired from service. 

    

For it is the bridge near you and not London Bridge that is falling down.


My fair lady...

The rising cost of College

     Paying for college is no easy feat, and it is one that is growing ever harder with the passage of time, exponentially so.  What many do not see is that our nation is slowly once again trying to form an elite class. 

    Yes college loans and scholarships are making it easier for more to go.  But they will be paying off this debt for the rest of their lives. 

    That means that there will be that much less consumer spending, meaning the economy will suffer. 

    Nationwide student loan debt tops 1 trillion dollars, and it is growing.  The cost of college is growing so fast it has outstripped inflation.  The best part is there is no real way to control it.  As we need them more than they need us.  Society needs to introduce measures to control the cost of a college education.  The amount of money the average American makes has flat lined since Ronald Reagan, inflation has skyrocketed.  The only reason why this has been hidden is a great deception on the part of the corporate world, by Firing Americans and hiring what is equivalent of slaves and paying them less then old Ebenezer Scrooge would give to charity before his spectral visits, they have hid their highway robbery of the American people, with lower prices on everyday trinkets.

    How can the average person pay for college, in such a world?

How Humility Can Save Our Nation

     Americans are known for saying their nation is number one.  Number one in what, having the best schools, or perhaps the most civil rights, longest life span, or best healthcare?  No we don't qualify for number one in any of those categories.  We do however imprison more people than any other people on the planet.  

     But somehow when everyone was cheering "we're number one!" I don't think our incarceration rate is what they are talking about.  

     While the pride of these people is in many ways justified we've stopped moving forward.  We may have been the first kid to the swimming hole, but we have been just sticking our big toe in the water and deciding after doing this for about half an hour the water is too cold while all the other kids have cannon-balled in.

     America can be number one once again.  By being humble.  In order to be number one we must first acknowledge that we no longer are.  This will remove the blinders upon which we have placed on ourselves as a society.  If we acknowledge the fact that we are not the best and in some cases not even close, the veil of complacency which has draped itself upon us will be lifted.  

     America had a manifest destiny once to expand from sea to shining sea.  Now we must make a second promise to the American people.  That we will make our nation the best of the best.  Not through the use of arms, enforcing a Pax Americana but through a new high culture that we can build.  

     The saying goes that "Rome was not built in a day" but then again the flip side of the phrase is "Rome did not fall in a day either"  Rome when a republic had a greatness although flawed by prejudice was still ahead of its' time, and thus "Rome did not fall in a day either".  Rome fell because it stagnated and the pride of the roman citizen stood alone when the deeds that made Rome great were no longer done.  Architectural wonders were built for the glory of a single person, and were wonders of prestige and social status.  Decadence replaced hard work and unless we as a nation wake up we will go the way of Rome.

Disenfranchising

     Many states led by the right wing are leading a charge to make voting nearly impossible many minority groups and the underclass.  This is most reminiscent of the Alien and Sedition Acts which delayed the citizenship of thousands of immigrants, in an attempt by the federalist party to remain in power.

     My question is why would the conservatives of the country wish to make it harder to vote for those who don't share their views and social background?  As opinionated as I am I would never seek to take away the franchise that is voting from the right wing.

     The right to vote is something that wars have been waged over toppled governments and started wars.  The only way to preserve a Republican society like we have here in the United States, is to ensure that as many people as possible participate in the electoral process.  This is our nation, and this is our government.

     If we don't fight this then I fear that we shall be going down a path were only one party has power, no matter how right or wrong it may be, omnipotence leads to naught but ill.  And should we allow this to continue then government of the people, by the people, for the people, may just perish from the Earth.

Unfortunately one wont always succeed in the fight for freedom, but that doesn't mean one should no longer try.

What is Virtue?

vir·tue

   [vur-choo]  Show IPA noun

1.

moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.

2.

conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethicalprinciples; uprightness; rectitude.

3.

chastity; virginity: to lose one's virtue.

4.

a particular moral excellence. Compare cardinal virtues,natural virtue, theological virtue.

5.

a good or admirable quality or property: the virtue of knowingone's weaknesses.

     So this is what virtue is.  But I bet you all already knew that. If not in so many words.  Many of us grew up with the tale of Pinocchio as portrayed by Walt Disney,  the puppet who wanted to be a real boy who would have to listen to his "conscience" in the form of Jiminy Cricket.
  
     Unfortunately we don't have an adorable little bug, to bug (yes pun intended) to tell us right from wrong in a memorable little jingle.  We have to do that task ourselves.  
     We try to excuse our actions, saying that it was the only way... but ask yourself the only way to what?  Where is it that you are going that is so imperative.  What exactly are you accomplishing?
     Society is created by all who take part in it.  To provide an order to things, an order in which we can safely and productively interact with others.  By acting against the best interests of the society we harm ourselves, because we depend on others and they depend on us.  Deep down we fundamentally know this to be true.  Not only for the betterment of ourselves, but also to retain that which makes us human.
     In the Soviet system political prisoners would usually be held in solitary confinement for months at a time.  With no light or human social interaction their minds would almost always breakdown, allowing the prisoner to be remolded into a happy and compliant citizen.  The power of the state to do this allowed them to keep the people weak and deprived of the necessary will to unite, and overcome their oppression.  Because they were able to keep the people divided and in fear they were unable to to come together, unable to unite, they were never able to become strong enough to overthrow the system until Solidarity.

     My point is that society exists as long as we give it the power to do so.  But it can't be done alone, it only takes one person to light a match it takes the multitude of the masses to fan the flames.  And one can't say that somebody else should do it either those who can carry the torch must do so.  

A Dog Eat Dog World?

     This post is a little more philosophic then usual.  Why do we live in a dog eat dog world?  And more importantly why must we.
     Is it because that is the way it has always been?  And if so does that not make us slaves to the tyranny of tradition.
     Or more disturbingly in my own opinion, does the human race as a whole not want to change.  Do we truly now wish to revert, to through away the mask of culture to reveal the visage of barbarism?
     Just food for thought...