Wow...this has been an amazing week for me, in both good and bad ways. As I sit and watch how the world around me is developing we are slowly morphing into the animal kingdom. I see the human spirit being cannibalized by our money driven society and our spirits are being choked into submission by this new era of greed. It seems we don't care about much else other than personal gain regardless of the pain or wreckage that is left in our path.
How have we become a society ruled by fast talkers and cheaters where only the most unethical appear to survive and thrive? We are being forced to compromise our morality in order to accommodate the needs of this machine. If we don't comply we are made to feel that we are not cut out to be a leader. I've watched good people be reduced to nothing more than slick talking, half truth telling, bottom feeding people in order to climb the corporate ladder. I am also wtnessing this great country suffer it's worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression because of this very mentality. Our insatiable greed literally crashed the world's economy and no one wants to take blame for it, that's just the way it is. We don't value the weak or elderly among us, we count them as little more than a nuisance among us. We as a country don't even value our own soldiers that go and fight around the world for our freedoms. Many return from conflicts limbless or mentally traumatized only to find out they fought for our right to forget theirs. They can no longer contribute to this machine we call Free Market Capitalism.
We purposely take advantage of those we perceive to not fully understand this game we play and count them as sheep for the slaughter. We want to win at any cost and any expense. Unfortunately the cost is our soul as a nation. We are being taught and teaching our children to lie, cheat and steal at every hand if the opportunity presents itself especially if it will result in personal gain. What have we become? Who are we?
How can I tell my three beautiful children to be respectful, honest and walk with integrity then send them into a society that doesn't value this? Then expect them to get a college education and join the workforce only to discover that no one is playing by those rules anymore. People don't even marry for love any longer, it's a business relationship now. What have we become? There is a passage in the Bible where Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" The answers were a reflection of how Christ carried himself through life and how other men perceived him. I believe that no matter what the answer would have been, it wouldn't have negated who he was. But....look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, "Who do men say that I am?" What will they say...honestly? Are you a liar? Will they call you a cheat? Will they call you an asset to the world or say that you are always around confusion? Will they say you are not trustworthy? Will they say you are a great manipulator? Will they say you're a good person? We wear so many masks during the day we forget who we truly are. During our societal rise we are willing to throw away the essence of our own decency in order to become noticed by those who are actually operating below our own standards. We are made to believe that we cannot be decent people and achieve great things. I don't believe this.
I won't sell my inheritance for this bowl of soup. I won't sacrifice my good name for short or long term monetary gain and worldly recognition. I am afraid that we as a country, on every level, have become consumed with the thought of what we perceive as success. Yet we are willing to sacrifice all that is precious and all that we've been created just to be viewed as a success in this world.
We were not created to devour one another but to lift one another up. We must push each other towards our own personal greatness so we can benefit from one another. We are connected through all that we do and say. We must treat one another with respect and decency regardless of what this corporate world tells us. We must break out of the traditional corporate setting and strive to create our own incomes to become free from its thinking. We can succeed together without tearing one another down. We are better than this. And if we do not make the changes necessary and return to the fundamental goodness that is within us all...we will not survive as a nation. Don't conform to this mentality but be a shining example of what we should be. Maybe someone else will see your light within their own darkness and begin to change.
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