Who's to Blame?

You. And I. We are to blame. For a host of problems. Whether we had a direct hand in the making of the problem or not, it is the WE of society that holds the reins of capability and can-do to solve the problems of the day.

Obamacare is the problem? Obama is the problem? No. Decidedly no.

Lack of affordable access to adequate health care is the problem.  Who has attempted to address this? Answer: countless presidents and politicians, churches, philanthropists and many, many voters. The problem remains, however. Why? Do we lack the gumption of a brave society to fix this problem?

Seems to me we have many tools to repair the damage. We lack the moxie and the goodwill to use the those tools.

Independent Voices on Facebook had this to say the other day:

            “Affordable Care Act: are the enrollment glitches a real crisis?

             No. War is a crisis, poverty is a crisis, climate change is a crisis…

 This is not a crisis, it’s an inconvenience. Stop listening to the lies and have some  patience. You have 26 weeks to enroll.”

Education is a problem, isn't it? We don’t like paying for it, whether it is the tuition bills of our own kids in college, or the neighbor’s child in public school. Yet our neighbors paid the public education bill for us when we were kids. Our parents didn't pay the full freight. No one has. It is a public expense. Why? Because the public benefits from a well read, well educated, well -thinking citizenry.  That’s why!

Ray Bradbury cautions us:

“The problem in our country isn't with books being banned, but with people no longer reading. You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

When was the last time you read a book?  Chances are recently if you are reading this blog! Yet I know there are many who will read material on the internet and Facebook rather than read a newspaper or a book. So each reader of this space still needs to ask themselves when was the last time 'I read a book'? And what kind of book? Was it a book that tickled my fancy or my brain? Did I learn something from it or was I merely entertained?

Books provide the privacy to explore ideas. It is a way to get into another person’s brain and rummage around in it. We learn from that exploration how one person’s mind works, reason emerges, ideas develop, and the sensibility within which such good things are allowed to happen. Along the way we learn a great deal about our own mind and power of logic. And the WHY of our lives together as a society.

The big picture needs to be viewed and engaged. We need to do this so we are not insulated from one another, alone and unthinking. Uncaring, really.

Our problems are ours to deal with. Not just me, not just you, but all of us together.

Is this good for Texas and America?  Liberalamerica.org provides these factoids:

            “Education Crisis in Texas:

·         59% of children do not attend preschool

·         72% of fourth graders are not proficient in reading

·         60% of eight graders are not proficient in math

·         21% of high-schoolers do not graduate on time

·         Texas ranks 49^th in educational spending per student

·         Texas ranks as the 42^nd worst state in which to be a child by the Annie E. Casey Foundation

·         Texas has the 14^th largest economy in the world.”

I guess in Texas citizens leave this problem to others to handle. They ignore the issues. They really are ignoring their own kids, families, neighborhoods and state. They damage themselves and the nation. How do we spell selfish and blind?  T E X A S !

Public infrastructure is another issue. We jointly own the airports, highways, bridges, water and sewer systems, military, food safety system and a whole lot more. We own these things together as a society. These are the elements we all rely on to live life in a complicated world. Many different government agencies and authorities take responsibility for these things in our name. 

We have ignored our infrastructure far too long. There are problems within we need to take care of. Now.

Bernie Sanders, Independent US Senator from Vermont reminds us:

“Repairing our infrastructure should not be a Republican or Democratic issue. Today more than 65,000 bridges in this country are structurally deficient and in need of major repairs.”

So we should fix them. We should sell bonds and raise the funds to invest in their repair. For long term benefits. For short term employment of a lot of unemployed. Investment in renewed infrastructure. At a cost we all pay for. Employment for the unemployed or underemployed. An investment in future possibilities for our nation. And an infrastructure we all use to support our jobs, our industries, our standard of living. Rich and poor alike; we pay for these things and we all benefit from them.

Why are we not making this investment? We have the credit. We have the ability. But…we lack the political wisdom to make the proper decisions. Shame on us!

In closing I share these thoughts from thestencilsmith:

            “I choose…

             To live by choice, not by chance;

To make changes, not excuses;

To be motivated, not manipulated;

To be useful, not used;

To excel, not compete.

I choose self-esteem, not self pity.

I choose to listen to my inner voice, not the random opinions of others.”

November 4, 2013