I awoke thinking of this phrase recently. It kept echoing in
my mind. Over and over it nagged.
A lot of thoughts came up then; scattered as they are during
the wee hours of the morning. Bits and pieces. Voices, too; a dialog began to
take shape. A day later I remembered an odd interlude.
I was at seminary and moving between my home church in Oak Park (Illinois ) and
the seminary in Hyde Park (Chicago ).
I traipsed among the building complexes on campus, and walked the catacombs of
the seminary. Class assignments beckoned me back to my room so I could
concentrate on my lessons and writing assignment. A class visit to a local
agency and discussion with their staff took more time. All was interesting. And
then we had open discussion groups designed to help us adjust from civilian
life to seminary life and what the expectations were likely to be when we
graduated to the outside world once again.
I wondered about the entire experience. It was a new world
forming in my life. Finding my relevance within it was a challenge. I never
wavered in those first several months. I knew I was in the right place. And
this was the right time for it as well.
Yet doubt formed in a knot. Gut muscles tightened as I
wrestled with my preparedness for this sort of life. The call was certain; the
format of the future work was not clear. I was inventing a new ministry; the
school was excited for me to do this with them. It was, after all, my idea, not
theirs.
So it developed slowly a feeling of not belonging. At first
it was just a minor niggle in the far reaches of the brain. Later I would
encounter a small fist of tension in my stomach, not knowing its cause.
In time of course it became more clear. The world was
complex. Her people were each complex. Together they were a conundrum and here
we were trying to make sense of it all. The world of the intellect is one
thing; the universe of emotions yet another. Connecting the two was
difficult. What patterns were forming? What tasks was I being enticed to do?
What paths would be blazed in this sociological wilderness that would slowly
make sense? Indeed, was I on the right path at all?
At times like that my stomach felt bottomless - not of
hunger but of fear and doubt. Surely you have felt something similar from time
to time? Do you recall feelings of that
sort? I did and the seminary experience delivered moments of
similar dread.
I feel this same sort of dread today. Not of seminary. Not
of calling. Not of profession. I am, after all, retired and aging. What lies
ahead is fairly certain, just not the when. But days of living – yes, most
likely years – await filling with purpose and value.
We live in a nation of vast change and chaos. The change is
expected. The chaos is not. It is the result of political unrest that most of
us were not prepared for. The why of that is a good question to probe.
Why are we here? Of course there are many answers, many of
them cogent and with much inner truth. I pose, however, an answer that many
will not like but one which I think may be at the base of our problems.
Laziness. A very basic human behavior. We seek self
satisfaction, ego boosts, pleasure and comfort. Along with that is a sense of
freedom to just ‘be’. Leave me alone; let me rest or lounge, or follow my own
interests. After all, isn’t this what we seek freedom for? Well, yes; but there’s a price to pay for this freedom. It
is hard work to maintain the freedom.
In a democracy such as ours there is a duty to perform; knowledge gathering, fact checking, reading and thinking. Even discussing with
others with differing opinions. It is this work that helps each of us
understand our context and perspectives. This sort of work requires
concentration, discipline and an open mind.
What has happened is the opposite. Many people have been
stirred by rhetoric to question what they have in their lives and are now aware
that they have problems. They wish to blame that circumstance on someone other
than themselves. But the truth is simpler; your circumstances are of your own
making.
Here are facts. Economics does not work as you want; it
works the way it does because it is a social science based on the accumulated
behaviors of masses of people responding to market conditions. Period. And that
is just in our own country. Macro economics is that of nations and among those
same nations. We don’t make those things happen by our own behaviors; they are
natural responses to policies made by individual nations which then force
responses from other nations. The results affect our standards of living within
our nation.
If you don’t understand basic economics, you are quite
likely looking to blame someone for something that you don’t understand; and it
just may be you returning your gaze in a mirror!
And jobs? Has your job changed from what it was when you
first started your career? Why do you suppose that is? Did someone
create a situation that took advantage of you, or did technology, application
of new processes and scientific discoveries actually change your job? Was it
becoming so expensive to your employer that another methodology was invented to
avoid such costs? Your job became obsolete; perhaps a robot took
your place on the assembly line at the factory? Or perhaps a cheaper labor
force was readily available across the oceans?
Isn’t this the right of the employer to source his labor needs where
they are cheapest?
And that leaves you what options? To learn a new skill set?
Or maybe foresee changes and adapt to them before they take away your job?
Perhaps you have another idea you could invest time and money in and build
your own business? This is simple to do here in America . Many people stand
ready to help you do just that. Some of that help is costly but totally free
assistance is also available. Expert assistance, by the way. You just have to look
for it and ask for help.
I think America
has turned to sloppy, lazy lifestyles. They don’t like reading detailed
reports. They don’t like studying complex subject matter and earn education
degrees that certify their expertise in the subject. These degrees may lead to
lucrative careers. And that is your business and mine. The government and policy
makers are not concerned with your details. You should be.
No one owes you or me a job. We earn our own keep.
And by the way, if your government agencies are not dealing
with what is really important, then you owe it to the nation and yourself to
help remove such agencies. This is our government – yours and mine. It is also
our society. We make it what it is. No government does that. But this form of
governance requires us to work hard at knowing our duties.
And following through.
If we all had done our job, Trump would not be in the White
House speaking nonsense and rubbish.
I was doing my homework but many of you said I was a liberal
and not to be trusted. Who’s laughing now? Not me. I know what is happening.
Can you say the same?
February 21, 2017
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