Culture of Selfishness

One thing that I can't fathom about the 21st century, is how morals have been turned on their head. People who do evil things that hurt many people are defended as if they are the victims; people who help others are called, "idealists", "liberals" (even if they are conservative), or (my personal favorite) "socialists". Greed has become somehow more of an admirable trait than selflessness. The world that we live in has become stagnant and rotten.

Too many people that I see on a daily basis complain about worker protections, unions, welfare, social security (which everyone in the country pays for and it is not a "handout"), or anything else that would benefit the general public or the poor, even if they, themselves, are poor. Someone, who did not feel a need to help others in any way made up a word for such programs: "entitlements". This casts a light on the programs that isn't flattering. It suggests that the poor people who use these programs feel "entitled" to other people's money.

This sort of avarice and cynicism a decade ago was considered repugnant by the general public. It was normal to want to help those in need. Helping the poor, the crippled, and the mentally ill is a trademark of a civilized society. Allowing the rich to trample over the less fortunate is a sign of barbarism. This is practice that rears it's ugly head in 3rd and 4th world nations, or with feudal society. The fact that it is re-surfacing paints a grim picture for the future.

Whether it is a mining catastrophe that kills workers, an exploding oil rig that kills workers, or a financial catastrophe that ravages the world economy, none of those who orchestrated the tragedy, through careful planning or willful neglect, ever see justice. Crime must be punished, and it must be punished in every economic bracket.

There is a lot of footage of the CEO or COO talking about how they were careful to follow all laws and that they had no idea that there was any neglect or recklessness inside of their company. We saw this with Massey Energy, the Deepwater Horizon, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Goldman Sachs, and many more. I have observed more interviews with these sort of executives than I can count, and I haven't witnessed a single reporter attacking them with questions.

Moreover, the United States Government has taken to propping up these industries when they make fatal mistakes that hurt thousands or millions of people, instead of allowing them to go into financial wreckage or be litigated into oblivion, under the argument that it will cost workers their jobs. This, of course, is a silly reason to do so. Their is still a market for the good or service that these corporate monstrosities offer. One company will pick up where the other left off. The new company will employ the workers that have been let go and maybe treat them better then their previous failed employer. Letting these companies fail is nothing but a boon to the world.

Of course, the media, the elected officials, and the public go along with the poorly justified dismissal of consequence. Just to be clear, these people are thieves, liars, and murderers, but because they are greedy and rich, for some odd reason, they are treated like the victims. They need to be incarcerated with the other thieves, liars, and murderers in our society, because allowing them to run amok will turn our world into a desolate wasteland.

Contrast that with the current situation with schools. Nobody becomes a teacher because they are greedy and want to make a lot of money. It is a thankless job with dismally low pay that people do in order to work for the greater good. These people care about children and they care about a well-educated and informed public. Sadly, this seems like the least respected career path in the nation.

Schools have been under attack for my entire lifetime. There is a constant stream of budget cuts, "teacher accountability measures" (trying to measure a teacher's worth in an underfunded school), and individual groups openly trying to attack them. A good example of an individual group is the anti-tax group "Empower Texans". According to the NPR story on budget cuts in Texas, Michael Sullivan, the group's president, said that "tons of money" has been thrown at education.

Of course, the NPR story neglected to give the only information that really mattered: the yearly budget, the resources the school lacks, how much those resources add to the yearly budget, and how much the district was being given. It is difficult to say how devastating a budget cut is if that information is not given. Perhaps that is why it wasn't given.

They also neglected to mention Mr. Sullivan's qualifications. Does he have a background in education? Does he have a background in accounting, and has he had a look at the district's budget? Based upon his general lack of specific information given by Mr. Sullivan in the interviews, I find these options unlikely.

This prompts me to ask other questions: Is he a radical anti-tax lawyer like Douglas Bruce in Colorado? Is he just some hillbilly that was fed a bunch of "information" by a third party? The anti-tax lawyer scenario is likely, but based on the lack of real information used, I find the hillbilly scenario much more likely. These are all questions that should have been asked by the reporter who was interviewing him. NPR markets itself as a reliable news source, but this story was a whitewash.

The only part of this story that wasn't a whitewash was the mention of a 5 billion dollar nest egg that the State of Texas was reserving for an economic crisis, that lawmakers refused to touch to help the failing schools. This is yet more abuse to a benevolent institution. (If anyone wants to read the story, look at: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/22/144079041/texas-schools-grapple-with-big-budget-cuts.)

As a society, we need to change our ways. Cruelty to the poor and weak is barbaric and propping up blood merchants is foolish. I have a few suggestions to help ourselves: First, always consider the source of information. If somebody displays an opinion, question that person's qualifications and motivations. Second, feel free to use your own moral compass. If somebody is asking you to support something that seems cruel or unethical, chances are, it is cruel and unethical, and it does not deserve your support. Third, do not go along with the crowd. The 21st century is plagued with group-think. Large quantities of people are supporting things that they don't really believe in because their social group is supporting it. Last, and most importantly, get involved. There is not point of having opinions if you don't do anything with them. Most of the corrupt do not want to see the average person vote or publicly display their views and values, so voting and displaying your values might be a good place to start.

There really is no such thing as a tough guy. Unicorns have a better chance of existing. No matter who you are, no matter how much physical pain you can take, no matter how strong you are, no matter how much be-hind you can kick, there is someone or some thing out there that can make you cry like a 6 year old with a skinned knee, so feel free to drop the act. What does exist are toughER guys and fake tough guys. As a public service, I am going to explain the difference.

Fake tough guys have a skewed idea of what a tough guy acts like. Fake tough guys will say "WHAT?!" if you look at them, they never smile at others, or perform any acts of kindness, they pick fights with weaker opponents (because only the insane pick fights that they are going to lose), they hate homosexuals, they always have a speech about how the less fortunate brought it on themselves, they carry weapons, they are chauvinists, they drink large quantities of alcohol (this makes them "tougher"), they like violent movies, they feel obligated to drive big vehicles, they don't like children, and so on. I don't feel like adding any more traits. We all know these people. Most of us don't like them either.

The posture and look of a toughER guy is unmistakable. It is easy to tell that he is going to be a heck of a combatant AND this look doesn't go away whether he is squaring off with another person, cuddling a teddy bear, or smiling at children. The fake tough guys typically don't have this part figured out. If a stout looking man (OR woman, lets not forget the toughER girls) comes into a pediatric clinic holding a 6 year old girl's hand with tears in his/her eyes, don't mess with this person. This person will give you brain damage.

One of the most peculiar parts of possessing any significant amount of strength is that the need to prove yourself isn't quite as important. If you are not compensating for anything, you are typically not afraid of being seen petting a dog or being kind to strangers. Displays of affection are not off limits for the toughest among us. Who does a prize fighter normally thank? God, his/her (training) team, his/her mother, father, wife/husband, and his/her kids for their support, and he/she does it with tears in his/her eyes. Prize fighters often admit that their strength was lent to them by their families. Sometimes a prize fighter will thank the pope. Often this monster-in-the-ring will say something about charity, or the less fortunate.

Manny Pacquio is considered one of the world's nicest and most charitable people and there was nobody who could even come close to beating him in the ring. He has admitted that his biggest goal is to help other poor Filipino kids that are experiencing the same difficulties that he did. He does what he does for his home country and the people that live there. There are no reports of him saying "WHAT?!" when somebody looked at him.

Manny brings up another trait of the toughER guys. Many times, somebody became strong because they were countering adversity. I am sure that there are some people out there that are tough by nature, but I don't think that I have met any of them. When you see somebody struggling with the same issues that you have, there is always a little bit of sympathy and an urge to help that person, isn't there?

So, I would like to give this piece of advice to the general public: give in to kindness. Help a neigbor or a friend, love your children, and don't waste your time trying to look "hard." That kind of behavior is an obvious sign of weakness.