In damn near everything I've cared about through this last week, from the riots in England, the shooting murder at my old workplace, people's personal medical care, people trying to get problems solved, again and again is a complete avoidance of causes by those who are supposedly seeking to fix things.
Why do people even pose remedies without honestly and courageously examining the causes? Why do they turn immediately to blame and punishment, which are obvious consequences of anything, and run from WHY it's happening? How about looking at the psychopathy of Capitalism, the glaringly obvious usage of the working class and the poor, the real threat of massive deaths at any time bolstered by the culture of fear-mongerers, which has caused rampant cynicism and hedonism in the young? The young folk that I know see things quite clearly and don't buy the lies we were raised to beLIEve about equality and opportunity. At an early age they are exposed to what the world is: scheming, advantage-taking, dangerous, unfeeling, abusive, selfish. This is what our corporate takeover of society has wrought.
My generation saw some of this, but we were raised with falsities and promises. We were the crossover generation. We went from Duck and Cover to knowing there's no help to be had in a nuke accident, let alone terrorism. We sought escape. There are also about 3 times as many people on the Earth as there were when I was a kid. These kids are not us. They see things as they are. They may be uneducated, they may live off the system, but why should they bother? It really COULD all end tomorrow. They know that politicians aren't to be trusted, nor police, nor religious types. They know that getting a college degree doesn't mean you'll have security or even a decent job. They weren't sheltered from the adult world; seven year-olds know more about sex and violence than I did at thirteen (and I knew quite a bit). They've seen the awful things that can happen right there in their own families and neighborhoods. September 11th happened when they were children, as did countless other atrocities, and it was all broadcasted 24/7 in front of their eyes. Bigoted hatred is baldly obvious. They may be uneducated but they aren't stupid. They know what's out there, that the odds are against them, and that everything they'd put decades of their lives building, everything they'd devoted their lives to, could all be gone in a flash. That's what we've proved to them. So why bother?
How do you fix that?
MYSTERIOUS GARDEN
10 months ago
Posts
2 comments:
I can't fix it, and you can't fix it, not the whole bloody mess, anyway. But we keep on doing what we can, keep on reaching out to people, one at a time, and make as much difference as we can in the lives we touch. I can't end all hunger by myself, but I can volunteer at a soup kitchen, and help one group of people at a time. That's all any of us can do. That, and try our damnedest to find humor wherever we can.
Yes. And we can keep making noise and encouraging others to speak their truths, and keep pushing for change. You never lose if you never give up.
And oh yes, humor please. Thanks Susan.
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