To My Friends at Occupy Wall St; A Gift to Help You
It's all over the news now, these Occupy Wall Street protests. Not only are they in the Big Apple, Chicago and St. Louis but other cities around the nation as well. The protests have spread from the left coast to the East and several points in between.
There's some confusion as to what the message is of these protesters. For the most part, they seem upset over others making more money than they do. They appear to be mad for not making as much money in life as others do who may not have worked much harder, but did work much smarter. It looks as if they're upset at the basic unfairness of life.
Many of these folks are bussed in by labor unions and other Communist and collectivist interests, and those groups are now drowning out what began as a very legitimate message. But even with their politicized agenda, I want to help my fellow countrymen (and women) in the worst way. To those folks I offer you my best gift possible, to bring you your fair chance at everything you could ever want and then some. It's these individuals to whom I write this message.
If you will but apply this one, easy-to-remember mantra to everything you say and do during these protests, I can promise you your best shot at fulfilling every dream you've ever had, better than any of your union and/or Socialist leaders could or would ever provide.
It really is simple. Here's all you have to do. It's nothing more than a mantra you repeat in your own mind, as you go about each day of your adventure: The world doesn't owe me anything. See? Told you it was simple. No additional assembly required, other than everything else in your life.
Print it up onto a piece of paper and paste it on the ceiling over your bed. Put another copy of it beside your bathroom mirror. Paste a copy of it to your auto's dashboard - if you drive. Repeat it to yourself, over and over as you live each day of your life, whether in the midst of a protest or just going to work. The world doesn't owe me anything.
As your leaders call for you to protest the disparity in incomes, here within America's free market, tell yourself: The world doesn't owe me anything. As you complain because someone else is better off financially than you, say it. The world doesn't owe me anything. Because, when it all comes down to it, the world doesn't owe you anything; not a job, health-care, food or even those things as simple as love or fairness. The life you live is the one you made for yourself. Your income level is a direct result of every decision you've ever made in your life.
I'm poor too, and the world doesn't owe me anything. I'm one of those millions and millions who have lost their homes, families, and were disenfranchised from their field of employment and the world doesn't owe me a thing. Not one damn thing. Every headache, every bill, every loss and yes every single gain in my life is mine all mine. Same goes for everyone else too. The difference between us is some of us recognize this eons-old truth while others simply do not.
At first it will be a little bit uncomfortable, since it really doesn't give you room to complain about anything other than yourself, and how you've responded to the world around you at different points in the journey. (I'm also quite the liberal, in the classical sense, so please don't just ignore this most valuable tool, in a false belief of my "Conservatism." I'm no Conservative. Try it.)
As you remind yourself of the cold, hard truth of how what you have and how you live is what you have chosen to give yourself, you'll also find the power to give yourself whatever it is you really want. Just in case you've forgotten already, here's the mantra once again. The world doesn't owe me anything. It's the kind of simple truth which really can set someone free, but only those who have the courage to accept it.
By the way, here's a rebuttal.
Published by Donald Pennington - Featured Contributor in Politics
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86 Comments
Post a CommentHonora James - The government had no choice but to bail out the banks and Wall Street for multiple reasons, chief among them being that they held a gun to their heads and forced them first to make so many bad loans then again held a gun to their heads and forced them to, using complex derivatives, collude with Fanny & Freddie to "launder" those loans until the whole system came crashing down when oil speculation caused a liquidity crisis. It's very complex and I've oversimplified it, but if you actually look at what happened you'll see that's the gist of it.
Annie Jean Brewer - funny I don't see every liberal that complains about the evil fossil fuel corporations giving up fossil fuels and all the products that come from them or are produced/shipped/etc. using them.
Funny that all the "occupy" morons who hated corporations surrounded themselves with corporate products.
Who would YOU give the power to? Unions? Politicians? The people? You mean the same people who voted in dictators? Those people?
Washington is broken, sure. But all this class warfare/anti-corporate nonsense is a smokescreen, as Obama himself has major corporate backing, though I don't understand why since he constantly bashes them. Oh, wait, except those he takes billions of our tax dollars to lavish and waste on... I guess THEY get something after all! Note how many of the corporations he's given $$$ to are the same ones who's officers helped get him elected and are helping try to re-elect him?
Timetraveler - based on your post - I have some land in south FLORIDA and a bridge in NEW YORK that I just know you'd love to buy.
Despite claims the SS system is solvent, the government has been shoveling the money out the back door and replacing it with IOUs for so long that there really isn't any of YOUR money left there, nor mine.
You trusted the Government and now you expect some magic money fairy to come give them the means to keep the promises they made for you?
Actually, they're working on it - by printing more and more money, hyper-inflating the dollar until it's worthless, which will then allow them to pay off the debt they're busy creating at vastly lower valuations. Destroying the economy and the country in the process, of course, but hey, who said life was easy or fair?
Haven't read the comments, but you scored a home run with this:THE WORLD DOESN'T OWE ME ANYTHING#$%$ straight! Too bad they will just MIC CHECK you whenever you try to tell them this simple, basic truth. Their version of LA LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!
Yes, Sondra, you paid into SS, and you should benefit from them. That's a different topic than the rights Han and I were discussing.
Now, if you'll look to see who it was that screwed so many out of what they were promised...the politicians. I'm trying to show folks we sure as heck don't need to be granting those fools more power.
Social Security has proven to be nothing more than a Ponzi scheme. But that's not Han and I were talking about. Pay attention, please.
I, too, believe that life is what you make it. However, those "rights" you're arguing about concern me. If I spend my life paying into Social Security and Medicare, I have entered a contract with the government that says I have the "right" to expect them to uphold their end of the bargain. Make no mistake...I pay a TON of money every year to have Medicare coverage, and I've paid into Social Security since the age of 14, which is when I began to work.
Yet, for the past two years, there have been NO social security increases, and my Medicare payments have increased by 4.5% annually. Worse yet, every penny I have sitting in the bank...my life's earnings, basically are earning zero interest...and have been earning only minimal interest for the past 10 years. I did not create these scenarios and this is not a matter of life "owing me" something...quite simply, I and all other senior citizens have been consistently screwed by the decisions of others.
Sure, Annie, take your business where you want to take it. That's one of the beautiful things about the free market. We're also agreeing the government has no business picking the winners. It's also been pointed out to me that the act of lobbying is also the same expression of our Constitutional freedoms as is protesting. It all falls under the act of "petitioning the government for the redress of our grievances." Problem is, it's being abused. Like what WBC has done to the freedom of speech and religion, it is being abused by both the corporate interests, and some of these protesters.
This is true. The world doesn't owe us anything.
Also, we have to realize we gave the corporations their power and we continue to give them power every time we give them our money.
If we REALLY want to make a difference we need to start voting with our dollars. Period.
I hear you there, Honora. I'm all for government being called to task, but this Socialist garbage is for the birds.
I've been following the OWS protests, and the message that is coming out is muddled; spread the wealth, the federal government has bailed out Wall Street with the citizens tax dollor, so where is our bail out, down with capitalism, take the country back. I can see the protesters pov when the talk about Wall Street and bank bailouts. They stuffing their coffers after getting a lifeline off the citizens tax dollar, and yet, they gouge the public new banking fees, and the corruption on Wall Street continues. I hear what the protesters are saying along these lines, but the spread the wealth doctrine loses me.