CommentsIt seems the US is more divided than ever. Both the right and left are resorting to more radical approaches and everyone wants to talk, but no one wants to listen.
So, instead of pointing fingers, what are some things the majority of us have in common?
- The banking system is horrid
The money system is completely hacked. Bankers have rendered us dependent on debt. By printing money and lending it out with interest, there can literally never be enough money in circulation to pay it all back.
Considering money makes our world go ‘round, this is a fundamental issue that affects everyone.
Every time money is created out of nothing in an effort to pay today’s debt with tomorrow’s deflated money, it further devalues the dollars we have in our very pockets.
Then, if we as individuals want our money to hold its value until we retire, we have to invest it, so we’re conned into playing the shoddy Wall Street game right alongside the ones who’ve stuck it to us.
We live in a casino economy where the twenty percent win solely because the other eighty percent lose.
Kids are racking up tens of thousands of dollars in student loans in areas of study which are virtually useless, and with zero chance of forgiveness.
At some point the madness has to end. This absolutely cannot go on forever. Whichever side you’re on, this hurts you and your family’s future.
- Stop the endless wars
Who’s benefiting from it? What’s to gain at this point, and at what cost?
Honestly ask yourself, when was the last time you thought about our involvement overseas, particularly the middle east? When was the last time you talked about it, or heard someone talk about it? How is this okay?
Do you think it’s a coincidence that the media portrays it as secondary news while endlessly toting on about Trump’s latest tweet or the Russia conspiracy (even though conspiracies aren’t supposed to exist)?
Wake up and smell the roses people–there hasn’t been a just war since World War II, and arguably itself, as well. All war is opportunity for profit at the expense of human life, the environment, and our morals.
If we’re as humane and heroic as the media tries to convince us, why doesn’t the fighting end? If this is our concept of a hero, we need a lesson on heroism. A true hero doesn’t want to fight. The fight is a last resort once everything else has failed. The true battle is avoiding the fight–the compromise.
Right or left, people dying for no reason is messed up.
- The wealthy are destroying the middle class
You need money to make money in capitalism, but when wages are a whopping ten to twelve dollars an hour in most parts of the country, that’s tough.
With money you can build a brand, patent, trademark, create trust and notoriety, advertise until you’re blue in the face, lobby to change policy in your favor, endorse politicians, and undercut the competition.
Perhaps not impossible for the rags-to-riches story, but we probably shouldn’t go around prattling about equal opportunity.
Similar to when Rome collapsed, the people that make the most money in our economy are often the ones who provide the least value for society. How can a social media influencer can make 100k a year but a school teacher can barely put food on the table?
Humanity desperately needs to rethink how it defines value. Those that get the short end of the stick MUST demand more (not just for you, but everyone else, too).
- Less federal and more state-level policy making
Most can agree that smaller communities are more beneficial. Voices are better heard and people are more apt to care and make better decisions about what’s happening right in their backyards.
It allows states more freedom and fosters more diversity in policy across the nation.
Federal control was never meant to seize this much, and with one portion of government with so much power, where is the checks and balance system?
- Cut income taxes
There’s no reason the government needs to have the last say on what happens to our money. Money has to be earned, and even the government shouldn’t get to just demand it from us.
Taxing income disincentivizes working, especially when wages are so low to begin with.
Instead, we should tax things we want to see less of like carbon emissions, alcohol, cigarettes, junk food, and excessive wealth.
What are your opinions on tax reform? Leave a comment below.
- Legalize marijuana
More than half of Americans would prefer to legalize it. With statistics like that, can you believe we’re still putting people in jail for possession of a plant that naturally grows on the planet?
The war on drugs is an absolute failure, and a costly one for taxpayers. Marijuana brings in huge revenue when legalized and taxed, as well as business opportunity.
Plus, it has numerous health benefits, is a heck of a lot safer than alcohol, and we can free up wasted jail space. It is literally the solution and not the problem.
Conclusion
The reality is this: we all want the same essential things–freedom, safety, basic necessities, and overall peace–we just have different ideas about what that looks like and how to get there.
What we need more than anything is understanding and compassion. How can we expect others’ to listen to and respect us if we don’t do the same for them?
Difference of opinion is the price we pay for diversity, which colors the world a wonderful and unique place built everyone.
(Jess Kristen has posted at Medium.com since Dec 2018.)
-cw