Several years ago I called a local print shop to order some brochures and the guy gave me a quote for the job. I emailed him the file and stopped in there a week later to pick them up.
WRONG!!!!!
The phone guy was not there but my brochures were, without an invoice. The boss had me take the printed brochures, saying he would send an invoice.
Three months went by, no invoice. I stopped back in and prepared to pay. Still no phone guy and the boss man still had not prepared the invoice. I told him what the quote was and he had me pay that. But he marvelled that I had come back in, saying most people would not.
I said that was sad. I then said that I try to live by the Golden Rule.
“Oh yeah,” he sneered, “screw them before they screw you.”
“No, wrong attitude, ” I reminded him I HAD come back in. “Treat people the way you want to be treated,” I reminded him. He laughed, not a happy sound.
Today I saw a meme on Facebook where Elizabeth Warren challenges us Americans to consider where we are as a society. If most of us have the attitude that the printing shop owner has, we are in big trouble.
So, why have we become a very selfish, self-centered, I need I need I need I don’t care about you society? This is not because Black men don’t stay with their families. This is not because today’s music undermines the morality of our children. This is because most of us are hurting and resentful and above all, it is because most of us want what we want and many have forgotten that you need to work for it.
Many people are unhappy with the way things are. Many people, like me, have passion for one or two issues but never move beyond them to consider the common good in choosing a candidate.
If you abhor abortion, and you’re a woman, don’t get one. If you’re a man, don’t get a woman in a position to need to consider one. Support widespread education about how to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. And then, be responsible not just angry.
If you are terrified that any Muslim is going to kill you, get educated. Believe it or not, Harvard offers FREE online courses. You have a computer, after all you are reading this. So, take advantage and learn more in a way that will not be slanted to one political ideology. Here is the link for the free courses offered about religion. Xenophobia is not attractive and your fear means the terrorists are winning. They may not have to kill you to show they control you.
If you believe the poor are sitting back and taking advantage of social programs so they don’t have to work and you believe they are the cause of our national deficit, time to realize that the most expensive welfare program in our country is to corporations in the misguided effort to keep big business here at home, hiring our workforce. Large corporations despite huge profits are eligible for huge tax incentives and other programs that put money in their corporate pockets. They take advantage of the laws and STILL move offshore with their manufacturing plants, also taking advantage of the law. In the effort to keep food commodity prices low, large corporate factory farms are given money NOT to grow food. Your tax dollar, in other words, is NOT being abused by the poor. The programs may not be effective but don’t cut services without offering a better alternative.
If you notice a recurring theme, it is get educated.If you are angry about something, dig in more, using all sources, not just the ones that make you happy when you read them.
And then, get back to considering my first question. Are you your brother’s keeper?
We are part of a nation with vast differences. Those differences have made us what we are. We have different heritages, different living situations, different educational experience, different work experiences. The people who seem to be most upset are those stuck in the past when the White majority had all the power, and those on the edges who are trying to gain their equal place in the sun. We should not have different attitudes about everyone living in peace, everyone living in a safe place, everyone having access to education to improve their world and the world around them, everyone doing their best at their chosen work.
If we don’t lose this “me versus the rest of the world” attitude, we are in for more divisiveness, more anger, more home-grown people choosing to use their legally acquired guns to exhibit their anger.
It starts with YOU and how you raise YOUR children. Work it. Be responsible and educated.
If this blog irritates you….there she goes again with more liberal ranting….please take the time to respond and explain why wanting all us of to work together is against your sensitivities. If you agree with the concepts here, please comment and explain why and, if you are willing, go a step further and explain how you put those feelings into action. After all, some people need a road map. Let’s build one together.
goingplaceslivinglife 
February 27, 2016 at 6:33 am
“So, why have we become a very selfish, self-centered, I need I need I need I don’t care about you society?”
I think it is twofold.
One, Reality shows, which have to be the meanest of the mean, and promote it. I don’t know why anyone would watch them — I’ve only seen commercials — but the meanness finally tipped over into the cooking shows and now they are buttheads too, which is not fun to watch. Somehow I think having a nation that thinks this is the way to behave makes it so.
Second, few people interact anymore. I see moms and dads walking babies in strollers on their phones or texting. Couples at lunch texting. People walking texting and talking to the point where a judge finally set precedence in Los Angeles where he said that the person on the phone who stepped into the street was at fault,m not the car — that is a big deal in California, the land where pedestrians used to rule. If all you do is Facebook and rants (troll-like) on internet sites and tweeting, it is all about OUT-going, not about DIALOGUE. In fact, I have disappeared so-called friends on FB who don’t ever comment on any of my posts. Why bother. FB is, for me, a chance to share with high school friends, old work friends, and artists around the world. SHARE, not throw at them and run!
Your post hit a sore spot. We also run a business. Now people test inquiries to 30 businesses for quotes, and for us in our business, a quote is a bit of labor. I ask for contact info before my willingness to spend time, and i vet the job to see if it is a good fit. I do this politely. You cannot believe the vitriol I often get in return.
I have a good blog for you — and BTW, you visited me on my foodies blog, thanks you — but I think you’d enjoy this blog and the people who follow it — dialogues, and other great blogs. http://nofacilities.com/
February 27, 2016 at 9:02 am
I don’t watch tv but I did tune into the first Survivor when everyone was talking about it at work and watched one episode. That was it for me. We also stopped watching the Food Network when they stopped having “how to” shows and had more competitions. So I very much understand your point there. I also notice people are unable to express their opinion…they just “know”. This cognitive dissonance has reached such a level that many of my conservative friends on FB don;t even bother responding to me any more since they know I will try to get them into a discussion and they can’t keep up. We can’t change them….all we can do is influence our own family and group of close friends to stay thinking beings.