
I've had a couple of sleepless nights recently during my trip to the East Coast. At first, I thought it was the jetlag or the days getting shorter. Then I realized that I was discontent and utterly disappointed in the America I have inherited. Let me explain, my parents are hard working people. My father emigrated from France to New York at age 26 and my mom was the first homeowner in her family. They saw America as a place of oppportunity. Their lifetime included the rebellious sixties, liberating seventies, prosperous eighties. America was a superpower and as long as you were willing to work hard you were given a chance to accomplish your dream no matter your status or class.
But America has changed. The dollar is in the dumpster, my friends are contractors not for the killer daily rate but because human labor is just another commodity. Now along with finding a good job, home, life partner and caring for family, we have navigating retirement, health care and whether the Earth is going to exist. We have the burden of figuring out what we being told is truthful or what we are being sold is sustainable. With an abadonment of ethics and loyalty, we can no longer count on old standbys to be there for us. An active, defensive partcipant is required to insure the "good" choices you are making are in fact "good".
I am looking forward to the next election and the smell of change in the air.
Labels: legacy, personal, politics, tangient