I am looking forward to SS and Medicare myself…especially me…because I wouldn’t get SS AT ALL if it weren’t for my husband…..I have not worked outside the home for money respect and benefits for 34 years.

I tried to teach my grandsons to live by the T.E.C.H. principle.

Truth – Try to lie as little as possible and never lie when it harms someone.

Empathy – Learn to look at things through other eyes.

Courage – Do the right thing even when it hurts, and spend your life learning how to discern what is the right thing.

Honor – To thine own self be true.

I always told my kids when they were this age to be part of the solution. Not the problem. I don’t really know what good I did, but it was what I needed to do.
My son once said, in his early twenties, ” I always thought the world cared. They don’t.”
I have no idea how I played into this, but what is done is done.
(I am of the mindset, similar to Star Trek’s prime directive.) If I was asked, I offered my perspective, but otherwise, I felt I let them figure it out. I did not want to influence them in my way of thinking. Our lifestyle, my sense of fair play, my need for justice, picking your battles, critical thinking and the Golden Rule spoke volumes in my household, and a word might not pass my lips one way or another. I walked my talk. With every thing I had. I am approaching things differently with my granddaughter, because it feels right. I gauge her ability to understand and her mindset at the time of offering up observations I have about *things*. Her quiet times in the car are the best times to do this, and I know when I am losing her attention. I turn on her favorite music and hope one morsel sinks in.
She doesn’t understand about government. She doesn’t have a clue about corruption, wealth, power… She barely knows what gay means and money is for grown ups.
For all I know from where I sit, is that I must raise this remarkable joy in my life how not to be a victim. How this will play out is anybody’s guess…but this is all I know. I walk my talk.

Thank you for re reading my post.

I think you may be curious how I personally deal with these issues, as opposed to my recommendations for policy on a national level.

I have a great interest in politics and economics because I am a student of history. I see what is happening around me now as history in the making, as opposed to a series of events which are part of my own biography. History is a process that is constantly occurring, and certainly affecting me, whether I am aware of it or not. But it is not an evil conspiracy directed against me personally, masterminded by sinister forces and people determined to get me.

I feel I am very lucky, that I am insulated and separate from what is going on around me in the world of “Current Events”. Although I certainly have sincere preferences as to which political party and philosophy dominates our future history, these are to a certain extent abstract and academic. I’ve tried to design my life so that I am independent as much as possible from whatever might go wrong. I almost can confess I’m ready for the bad guys to win, so that just out of sheer curiosity, I can find out what will happen if they actually succeed in getting their way. After all, just because the future I wish for fervently materializes will not guarantee I will benefit from it. And vice-versa.

Like I said, I think I’m very lucky, things have worked out well for me, or perhaps, I’ve even managed my life wisely and have managed to maneuver myself into a fairly secure place, a situation where I can sit back and just watch this movie play out to the final scene.

Sure, I know things may go awfully bad, either politically or economically, and no doubt there are all sorts of other personal disasters that could dump on me unexpectedly. But you could say that about any time or place in history, or any person, and at my age, tragedy, health or finances could probably sneak up on me and blindside me at any time. But we all have that fear, and face that same threat. After all, we might wind up getting hit by a meteor during surgery. You can’t plan for everything.

Still, I have taken all the reasonable precautions, and to worry and fret about what might happen next would just be paranoia. The other shoe eventually drops for everybody, unexpectedly, no matter what we do, so its pointless to obsess about it. Maybe I’m being too smug about it all, but that doesn’t hurt anyone else, so my conscience is clear.

Whatever the future has in store for me, historically or personally, I’m in good shape to deal with it now. And if it turns out to be a real pain in the ass, something completely overwhelming and thoroughly intolerable, well…I’ll just have to deal with it when it gets here, won’t I?

In the meantime, I’m just going to kick back, roll another one, and listen to my Spirit albums.

As long as the rich can buy elections, the rich will rule. And those representing the poor will have no choice but to organize their own institutions to raise money to counteract the rich. But being poor, and being leaderless, they start off at an enormous disadvantage.

Yeah, Yeah, I know it is still possible (sometimes) for the poorer candidate to succeed, but it is getting harder and harder as the machinery for transforming dollars to votes becomes more effective and attracts more and more talent. And I don’t buy the argument that
“money and advertising can’t buy elections, because no one puts a gun to your head in the voting booth and makes you vote for them.” If that were true, billions wouldn’t be raised for campaign funding, and politicians wouldn’t spend all their time fund raising. The very fact that it happens, and that it gets worse, is all the evidence you need that it works. No one spends millions of dollars unless they expect to get something in return.

Other countries, like Great Britain and other democracies, don’t have this problem, and their campaigns are short and cheap. No, I don’t buy the lie that money is free speech. Our country is run by racketeers, and every year it gets worse.

What to do about it? Here is my program, no philosophy or ideology, just policy: corporations are not people and money is not free speech. Persuade the Supreme Court to overthrow “Citizens United” and find some other way of funding political campaigns, like anonymous contributions through a third party, or government subsidies to political campaigns or parties or candidates, or taxing the media by forcing them to carry political advertising free as a public service. It may take a Constitutional amendment, but we have no choice if we want to remain a democracy. Otherwise we are headed the way as the Roman Republic–bread and circuses.

But as long as politicians can rely on contributions from wealthy individuals or companies or unions or trade associations or other special interests, and as long as the media profits from campaign advertising, it ain’t gonna happen, and you know those who currently benefit most from the system are going to do whatever it takes and spend whatever they have to to keep it from happening.

ER….as I have stated previously, I am fully aware of the whole wealth and power thing and how the every day schumcks are collateral damage.

But does that mean it has to remain so? As Obama said in his election campaign, and failed miserably in doing so afterwards, *Be The Change.* Zombies can not be the change unless we address a core issue. An understanding of what the majority wants. If we just continue to regurgitate the “how awful government is”, we can not effect change. Cynicism occurs and we shrivel up and die. The human being needs to believe that what is good and right might survive. It is pretty basic. But we can’t even get through the first hurdle of defining what We the People want. We want things better. That is all we know. Better…How better?

Now…I believe there are two fundamental schools of thought that propel our society. Victim. Not a victim. The more empowered we are on an individual intrinsic level, equality does not even enter into the equation, as it would become a result of empowerment. When I speak of empowerment, I am NOT referring to the rich raping the poor…or bullies…it is a paradigm shift of believing that given the freedom , we can accomplish anything we set our minds to. Every last one of us. Even if that means all we want is a box to live in and a dog to pet….It is our choice.

I am clearly referring to individual value systems.

…Don Quixote.

Do you really believe the world is divided into two camps; one of them, groveling, cowardly sheep (or zombies) who are willing to trade everything for a little security (those must be the Liberals), and the other, rugged individualists ready to bravely undergo any challenge or struggle for TRUE FREEDOM (the Conservatives)?

Hell, if you put it in those terms, if you use that dictionary, the choice is easy.

But the choice is never easy, is it? In fact, its not really clear that’s the right choice at all. Come to think of it, its not even clear there is a choice.

I think you’ve been listening to the wrong people, and the advice they are giving you is going to work out a lot better for them than it is for you.

You need to promise yourself to make up your own mind on what Freedom and Equality and Liberty and all those other pretty words really mean, and what they mean to you, and what you are willing to pay or surrender or trade for them. Don’t let anyone else define those terms for you, because you can count on them telling you exactly what you want to hear, and precisely what they want you to believe.

I do not believe everyone should have the same amount of stuff. In fact, I think it is very fair that those who are clever or brave or tough enough to earn more stuff should be allowed to keep it. What I really believe is that those who have stuff shouldn’t be allowed to use that stuff to prevent other people from getting their own, or to steal from others. I have nothing against others having wealth, but I feel very strongly about others using that wealth to give themselves power to accumulate more. I’ve got nothing against you spending your money, just keep your hands off mine.

The choice is not between Liberty and Equality. Its about Wealth and Power.