We need more than words.
By Thom Hartmann A...
Yesterday, President Obama spoke to a crowd at The ARC arts schoolhouse about the real deficit in our nation – which has nothing to do with our national budget. He said, “A relentlessly growing deficit of opportunity is a bigger threat to our future than our rapidly shrinking fiscal deficit.” The President explained that the lack of economic mobility in our country has led to the wealthy staying wealthy, and the working poor finding it harder than ever to get out of poverty.
He said that this is an American problem, not one that people face in other first-world nations. President Obama said, “It is harder today for a child born in America to improve her station in life than it is for children in most of our wealthy allies, countries like Canada or Germany or France.” The president was referring to the perpetuation of trickle-down economics, which started in the late 1970s and created an ever-widening wealth gap in our nation. He called on Congress to pass legislation that could reverse this economic inequality – like universal preschool, a minimum wage hike, and the Paycheck Fairness Act. And, his speech brought back images of the old social contract – the so-called American Dream – when a child's economic future would “not be determined by the ZIP code he's born into, but by the strength of his work ethic and scope of his dreams.”
Once upon a time, these principles were not just ideals in our nation, but policies that gave everyone an equal chance at success. Today, the system is rigged, and it's harder than ever for those born at the bottom of the income ladder to climb their way to the top. President Obama's speech cut right to the core of some of the biggest issues in our nation, but we need more than words to fix this broken system. It's time for our elected leaders to get to to work at restoring the American Dream.
Comments
#2
Loren ~ I too am sorry to hear that. The holidays can be very trying by themselves. It's a shame to cloud their beauty with additional hardships. Hopefully, it is short lived and the holiday spirit will pick you up soon.
Let me assure you that I too am a strong believer in the first and second Amendments. In our struggles we should remain strong and well armed. I've traveled abroad and seen countries where the only people with guns are the military and the criminals. I have no wish to live in such countries; and, quite frankly, could not wait to get home. There is nothing like seeing fully armed militia on every street corner carrying machine guns to make you homesick. I believe that the final struggle to end all wars will not need guns; however, I never meant to say we should surrender them before that struggle begins. We can carry our weapons. We just won't use them--much like in your own personal story.
Aliceinwonderland ~ I don't see why you think I would groan at the thought of you learning SPANISH. I learned it enough to be fluent to the point of thinking in Spanish. Espanol is a beautiful, melodic, clear, expressive, and a very, very easy language to learn. The only real problem you might have is practice. I'm not sure what the Spanish speaking population density is where you live. Without opportunity to practice, it is really difficult if not impossible to learn a different language. As they say, if you don't use it you lose it. I've actually known people who spoke a native language as children and then forgot it because they moved away and learned to speak a different language the rest of their lives. I respect and encourage you to learn to speak a second language. If you do have the opportunity, it is well worth the effort.
As far as acronyms are concerned don't feel bad they often escape me too. That is why whenever you see me use one I usually put its meaning in parenthesis the first time I use it. It is a courtesy for any reader who is unfamiliar with them, as I usually am. I like to be clear as possible when I speak to avoid any potential misunderstandings. We will always have reason to argue; however, arguing over a misunderstanding is ridiculous. I can explain myself now or explain myself latter. Might as well do it right the first time.
#3
Marc- it wasn't the Spanish I imagined you groaning over, but my dissing of acronyms.
#4
Aliceinwonderland ~ Nope. I wouldn't groan about that either. I hate acronyms too. In the technical field they are a nightmare. An unnecessary nightmare. There are entire books written that are solely dedicated to defining technical acronyms. In my opinion it is easier to learn another language than master all the acronyms of a technical field. They are only useful in writing to save time. A form of shorthand. They are also useful to refer to poorly named things. A form of contraction. They tend to be a form of secret language when undefined to the novice; which, is why I always try to define them. In the event a reader might not be familiar with it using an acronym has the same social faux pas of intentionally speaking a language they don't understand.
Are you familiar with the acronym OTFLMAO. It means "On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off." You have probably heard me use it with Kend as he often elicits that reaction. I apologize if you didn't understand it. IMHO is "In My Humble Opinion"; or, "In My Honest Opinion." WTF is "What The F..." There is also a variation of the first acronym OTFLMFAO. I'll let you use your imagination on that one. That and of course LOL (Laughing Out Loud) is pretty much my vocabulary of social acronyms. If that helps...
Oh wait, there is one more you could easily imagine someone using with Kend, STFU. That stands for "Shut The F... Up." It's actually a rather popular acronym on social media. Go figure!
#5
Thanks Marc! I'm familiar with most of those. But people keep thrusting more of the damn things onto my screen, for me to scratch my head over... (grumble, grumble...) Anyway thanks! Your efforts are always appreciated.
#6
AIW ~ Your very welcome!
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Sorry to hear you're going through a difficult period, Loren. Three weeks sounds like a test of endurance. I hope it passes quickly.