I'm Maxed Out

There wasn’t much to do yesterday on a rainy Sunday expect watch television and even though I have cable there was nothing worth watching except documentaries. I woke up yesterday and learned of a global health crisis and potential pandemic. Later in the afternoon I learned American teenagers are kidnapped from their homes and sold into sex slavery-not to mention they post porn sites of these girls on Craigslist. Around dinner time I caught the tail end of a documentary about the polar ice caps. Research tells us they could be melted by 2013 (in 4 years). In the evening when I needed some lighter news, I watched an amazing documentary on the Credit Card industry-Maxed out. Afterward I turned to CNN and watched fisherman mass murder sharks for soup. I was maxed out and it was time for bed.

As I tossed and turned this morning, unemployed and depressed I thought of all the issues I watched yesterday and I came to one startling conclusion; all these issues at one common denominator –money. I have been told in recent days that money is not bad and I need to have a healthier attitude. And I agree money is not bad. Greed, materialism and selfishness are bad. But you see it is more than just money it is our value. We value our money, our stuff and ourselves more then we value life itself. Many say, don’t watch the news. It is depressing. It is easy to turn our heads away from the problems if they don’t affect us.

People are dying and going bankrupt in our country because they can’t afford health care. Not my problem, many say. I don’t want to pay for someone else’s health care. You don’t care until a loved one gets sick and dies. And then you wish someone was there to help with the health care.

Teenage girls are being sold into prostitution, raped and beaten until nearly dead for our billion dollar porn industry. People are making billions and billions of dollars abusing young children. It’s not my child. Even many police officers are blaming these girls-classifying them as bad. In media personalities like Bill O’Rielly say they had it coming. This is not a major issue and until your child turns up on a missing persons page, porn internet site or the morgue.

The melting of the polar ice caps, many do not want to believe. They worry too much about their cars. We must have oil to fuel our cars. Corporations say they cannot change because it will raise the bills of average consumers. Consumers complain about raising utility costs. Here’s the point, when and if the polar ice caps melt, the earth will heat up making the planet unlivable. At that point your car and the extra nickel you saved in utility bills would be worthless.

Credit card industry is the issue close to my heart. Being a dreamer, I bought into the American dream. Unfortunately I learned the American dream costs a lot of money and even my soul. Many have made a lot of money in the credit card industry, pimping cards to students, collecting debts, consolidating debts, etc. Many college students committed suicide because of debt. Families have gone bankrupt and living in poverty so these corporations can continue to make a mass profit. Check out the movie, Maxed Out! It’s brilliant.

This quote speaks volumes today as many want to turn their head from the problems and pretend they don’t see. The point is we can continue to turn our heads and look in the other direction. It doesn’t affect me. I am healthy and I have health insurance. That doesn’t concern me. My child is safe and a good kid. Environmental talk is BS, plus I need my car to get back forth to work. I am good with my money, why should I concern myself with debtors. I don’t like shark soup.

When a crisis knocks on our front door, will our neighbors help? Will our government we elect come to our aid or the aid of big business for profit? When we need a helping hand, who will give? In the end political and economic ideologies are meaningless. It doesn’t matter if you are a democrat or a republican, a liberal or a conservative, capitalist or socialist, Christian or Muslim. We will all be affected.