I don't mind Capitalism. I think it affords opportunites to anyone willing to work for them. The problem with Capitalism in this country is that those at the top have no regard for those at the bottom who hold them up and make their wealth possible. I almost wonder if shows like "Undercover Boss" are just a Republican fluff piece to show us common folk that those CEOs really care. But we don't need sappy music and pats on the back. We need healthcare! We need competitve wages! We need education! Those at the top pour massive amounts of money into the pockets of politicians to ensure that they can continue to have enough money to pour into the pockets of politicians so that they can get these politicians to oppose things like health care for everyone, which may, God forbid, take a few pennies out of their pockets. Meanwhile, they fire Americans and send American jobs overseas to nasty, unregulated shit holes that send back lead-poisoned toys and plastics that pour endocrine disruptors into our bloodstreams. Our 6 year old girls have DD breasts and our 10 year old boys can't do math and no one can figure out why as they fill their Wal-Mart shopping cart with cheap Chinese shit.
Honestly, are we past the point of rescue? Clearly the people in power are OBSESSED with profit and aren't willing to be a part of their global communities, lest their stock falls a point or two. How does a human being end up like that? Why are we a nation of "ME ME ME!" These are NOT the United States. We are far from united when we are unwilling to meet the BASIC needs of our neighbors and friends.
There are many problems in the US...
ReplyDeleteI would say the distribution of wealth is a big one for sure. Another is that we can't agree on ANYTHING anymore. Take distribution of wealth, for example- poor, dumb conservatives think that it is a good thing to allow rich people to exploit them, because greed and dirty money are viewed as freedoms here. These indebted ignorant clowns will fight tooth and nail to protect and elect their oppressors.
We can't even agree on simple things like evolution and global warming. Simple civil rights like gay marriage and due process. Our government won't sign an anti-landmine treaty. How insane is that?
On the other hand, a lot of people are poor because they're stupid and have no sense of responsibility- they think they can live however they want and debt is fine, and they're entitled to buy and consume and breed forever. So ignorant poor people (which is of course not all poor people) aren't always much better than the asshole rich.
I think one of the dividing issues is religion... most still use it as their moral compass, even though it is a deeply flawed one at best. Logic would say we need to evolve our value system to reach consensus on more national priorities, but logic is not a part of religion, and never will be.
So... is it too late? Well, I think it's too late for us to take solid preventative measures to save ourselves. We're just too dumb.
However, mankind does it's best work on the edge of destruction, so it's hard to say when we'll finally be wiped out.
I find it unlikely that we have much of a future though... I know I'm starting to get beyond the original subject here, but for our species to survive we need to focus on space travel and getting off of earth. Ironically, the worse our situation gets, the less we focus on that, but our days here are definitely numbered.