The State of America: Where Are We Going and Why Are We in This Hand Basket?

Seriously, where are we going and why are we in this hand basket? (Quote form Jim Gaerhart (sp?) from NJ 101.5FM talk radio).

The state of America is going down the drain. We all see it, yet no one is doing anything about it. Why? Are we all too afraid of being labeled in the latest witch hunt? Are we afraid of being labeled as un-American? Seriously, we have the freedom of speech, why not utilize it?

Corporations have turned their attentions to seven figure salaries with six figure bonuses for their executives while lowering pays for the people who actually do all the work (though raises lower than inflation and hiring at (much) lower wages). It seems that they'd rather save the company a dime as opposed to say "good job" to someone who went way above and beyond. No good deed goes unpunished and the people who try to stand up for their rights are systematically, and efficiently, terminated, leaving a collective of mindless drones to blindly do whatever the company demands that they do whether it is right or wrong.

A lot of people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions. We see it every day on the news. Someone's child dies because they drank a container of Draino, but it wasn't the parents' fault for leaving it out, its Draino's fault for making such a poisonous product! It's not the parents' fault because the kid became a criminal; it's the video games and television's fault for "promoting violence". It's not my fault I was driving at 125MpH down the highway, blame Ford for making a car that can go that fast. My kids were not brought up correctly; it's the school's fault. The bar served me too much alcohol, so it's not my fault I was drunk driving and killed several people in a car accident. Sorry people, we need to take responsibility for our own actions and inactions. Instead of looking for blame where it shouldn't be, try learning from your mistakes and going on. No one forced you to raise your kids in front of the TV, drink those few extra beers, or ignore the cord in your living room, so when something happens, you need to take responsibility for your own actions. Quit passing the blame where it doesn't belong.

Lawyers. OK, yes, we do need some (don't flame me for that comment!). We need people to stand up for our rights, but some have gone way too far. I'm talking about ambulance chasers, DUI defense attorneys, and so on. My wife had to go to the ER and while filling out our paperwork we were approached by an attorney saying that we need "representation" so we can get the money we deserve (what, we're going to sue ourselves?). I've also seen DUI defense attorneys say "Well, there is no law against drinking of you're over 21 and you are allowed to drive if you have a valid driver's license, so technically, my client didn't do anything wrong". Guess what, your client had too much to drink, knew he was impaired but STILL got in his car and drove home. Don't blame the alcohol company or the bar, blame your client. A lot of lawyers today seem to go after frivolous lawsuits. You walk out of a hospital with a sniffle? SUE! Your airbags deploy in an accident and the gas gives you laryngitis for a few days? SUE! Your cell phone dies after it goes though the washing machine (your own)? SUE! I broke into someone's house and their dog bit me? SUE (and have the dog put down!!) Look at the payouts, the only real winners are the lawyers. People, take a step back and really think was it really caused be someone else's negligence or your own? I'm not going to sue the city because I slip on a wet patch of grass. I'm going to call myself careless for not being careful. People need to do the same. Keep the true good lawyers out there and get rid of the ones giving the good ones a bad name.

A lot of Americans are also not the most educated in the world. On a cruise, we had an elderly couple who happened to be on almost every excursion with us (stops in Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama). On a pontoon boat ride, he had to pipe out "On the island of Belize, do you have schools?" Um, dumbass, look at a map, Belize is not an island, it's about as much as an island as California is. Also, look at your wording. It's OK to ask about their education system, but inquiring about the existence of such a thing? Really now. Sure enough, after his question was respectfully answered by our tour guide, he pipes up "On the island of Belize, do you have hospitals?" No, that big city our ship passed on the way in? They only have a couple of tribal shamans there. (Note: that's a little thing called sarcasm). Luckily they didn't go to the Mayan ruins in Costa Rica with us, but in Panama, at the port of Puerto Bello (sp?) they complained about the lack of lights and hand rails in the ruins. Um, yes, the Spanish conquistadors had elderly and ignorant Americans in mind when they put up the fort back in the what, 1500s or 1600s? Excuse me, sir, didn't you see the starving children on the way in? This country can barely feed its own people let alone worrying about an ignoramus like yourself. Of course he said if he got hurt he was going to sue (good luck with that!). He would have had a field day at the Mayan ruins. J People, pay attention in school, try to educate yourself so you don't sound like an idiot whenever you talk in another country. Also, learn how to use your electronics.

The way we react to one another, prejudice and so on. Yes, racism and prejudice is alive and well in the US. If you don't believe me, try bringing a non white person to a high society meeting or a homosexual rights rally in the Deep South, it isn't going to happen and if it does, trouble will brew. Try bringing a white person into a ghetto at night. No, not everyone fits into this category, but enough people do to make a significant impact on our society. Hey people, we're all human. Sure, some of our skins may be a different color or we may look different or have different beliefs, but we're all human, we all live on the 3^rd rock from the sun we like to call "Earth". The opposite is also happening. With things like affirmative action companies are forced to take lesser qualified candidates over a highly qualified candidate because they need their token (insert ethnic group here) person. People, if I want to hire someone I should be able to hire them based on their qualifications not the color of their skin or religion. If you feel a company didn't hire you because of that, then why not boycott the company? Stage a protest and maybe the company owner will change their mind, or have the ultimate ethics lesson and have their business shut down due to lack of business?

Ethics have also gone down the drain. What happened? Back in the 50s people cared about each other, helped each other and companies did the same. Now it's all about "me". What's in it for "me". I can do this to help my company, but they won't give me anything for it (a hit on the person and the company). I do it every day. I go above and beyond to help my customers, save some from leaving but never once did I get even a "thank you" from my company (yet action is swift and severe if one is unhappy!).

Yes, there are some glimmers of hope out there. The lady who said "thank you" when I held the door open for her. The person who stood in the rain so the old lady could stand under a canopy (or the person's umbrella). The driver who slowed down so someone could pull onto the street. The person I knew in college who ran into a burning house to save an elderly woman. The off duty police officer who helped save someone's life. The employee who, even though he was punched out, helped a customer in the store. The company who rewarded the employee for going above and beyond. These are the people we need to learn from. America still has time to be the world leader it used to be, but time is running out.