Earth Day

Happy Earth Day everybody! Seriously. I watched the President give a speech at a Maytag factory in Iowa today and he said something very important about our dependence on oil. "So we shift from shock to indifference time and again, year after year." I think that this is the fundamental problem with Americans today: indifference. Obama bravely said that he refused to believe that Americans want to stay the same, that, "So the implication in this argument is that we've somehow lost something important -- that perhaps because of the very prosperity we've built over the course of generations, that we've given up that fighting American spirit, that sense of optimism, that willingness to tackle tough challenges, that determination to see those challenges to the end, the notion that we've gotten soft somehow. I reject that argument." I think that that American spirit died a long time ago. If I/We are comfortable and can drive an SUV and buy the new CDs and buy the new computers and throw everything away, then why would we try to live any differently? He forgets his American history. The American spirit was train barons, land owners who monopolized beef, mining companies that used children, steel mills that had 10 hour work days, Giant oil companies that had to be split up under anti-monopoly laws. That is how the America today became America. 

Does that mean that I think that we should loosen up labor laws or get rid of anti-monopoly laws? No. I just want to drive home the point that no matter how much Obama tries to change the American culture, that it is really really up to us: the Americans. The right will try to say that there is no climate change, or that it is not man made. They'll say that Obama is socializing companies or that he is following in Hitler and Mussolini's foot prints, and the people that they reach, their demographic, believe it. They would rather be "right" then change the wold to be a better place.

Asking the American people to come out of indifference and make a change is asking a lot Mr. President. Not while Wal-Mart has such low low prices.

sunshine

It's been nice to see the sun again. I forget how nice this city is when the sun is out and it is a little warm. I couldn't even get in a bad mood at work, and I work at a gelato shop. I'm looking forward to a warm summer.

Economy

It is so easy to blame our problems on the rich and the powerful. It's easy to rely on class and race as the reason that the world is splitting apart. The G-20 summit is in England right now deciding how to save the world economy. The 24 hour news cycles are blasting us with how bad it is and who might be to blame. Barack Obama is budgeting and taxing and making other bold decisions to stabilize the economy. Nothing seems to be working. What would?

The Right is saying that they didn't do this and that Obama and the Left are trying to socialize the finance and industrial sectors. The Left is saying that they are doing all of this because of what Bush did. No one is right.

You are to blame. You are sitting there and expecting the goverment to fix a problem you caused. I hate to be mean but you want to much stuff. You live way beyond your means. You aren't making any more money then your parents, less in some cases, and you are spending more. There is a lot of Truth when Obama asks you to help him change the culture in Washington and Wall Street. You fall for the traps that Washington and Wall Street spring on you.

Economics is a confusing and complicated science. It's more then just you buy and sell stuff that people need or want. Ecoonomics are similar to Politcal Science: it learns as it happens. That's right! The Economy is learning and growing by making mistakes. Your money and worth is based on what works and doesn't work. Oil and energy works well, and if you invest in those things you make money. You make money, others make money. You invest in morgages that will not get repaid, you don't make money, and other people don't make money off of you.

You want the solution now. The stock market has to climb 700 in one day, or nothing is working. Here is what I'd like to say on this blog that no one reads: we need to change the economy. We need to find a new system. I'm not saying Socialism is the right answer, nor am I saying that stricter regulations are an answer, but I think that how you decide to make money and spend money would change the system. Think about that.

Think about how you make your money. Who is affected? Who is being hurt? Who is gaining? What about how you spend your money. Same questions, Who is affected? Who is being is hurt and who is gaining? Do we spend more money, or do we become more self sufficent? Growing food, making clothes, shopping second hand and being less excited by name brand and fads.

The Problem with the Kids

Why do kids insist on being 'special'? Sometimes they search low and high for some characteristic or little detail that gives them some sort of edge on everyone else. Some people even go as far as claiming insanity: 'I have OCD', or 'I'm depressed and moody'. They decide to start off what music they like with some insane artist like Yanni or some supposed underground band that I probably never heard of because I'm old and I wear a baseball hat.

You are not special. You are annoying and sad. The sadness comes with you thinking your parents and teachers and others telling you that you were bright, creative, good looking, special and you bought it. You bought it and now everyone that you come in contact with must obey and notice the specialties that you have. You don't impress me.

In fact, the younger generation is less special then my generation. You have missed all the great cultural movements and music scenes. You have missed everything. You live in the last ripples of all the cultural splashes. Your music is the copy of the 80's bands that were copying the 70's bands that were copying the 60's bands and so on and so on. The more copies that there were the more bland and souless the music becomes.

You do not really have OCD. You don't really HAVE to check the door lock thirteen times to know it is really locked. It is not true that you suffer from depression. You are a pussy. You need me to tell you you are doing a good job in spite of your mental handicaps. You don't need me to say that. You think you do. Your generation must have positive feedback or you'll be sad.

Be a part of. I'm serious, stop thinking about yourself and see what you can do to make the community better. Stop taking for yourself and give back. That is why your generation doesn't have anything going for it - no givers.

Everything already happened.