Occupying My Mind
There is nothing new under the sun.
Recently, and now, and for the foreseeable future, the protestors that title themselves as Occupy anything will be with us. They are similar in many ways to others we have seen marching the streets of America, and yet there is a rather dramatic difference in them.
In the Thirties we had Cox's Army and their fringe in the streets of Washington. In the Sixties we had the Civil Rights marchers and their fringe all over the country. In the Seventies and Eighties we had the Vietnam War protestors and their fringe all over the country. Today we have the Occupiers all over the world, but centered primarily on Wall Street.
Similarities? Well, each of these movements were pretty well organized - except for the current Occupiers. And each of them were centered on a specific issue - except the Occupiers. They each prevailed in their goals -it remains to be seen what will happen with the Occupiers.
The Occupiers are not organized, they have no specific issue. And until they do they will remain disorganized and will not prevail.
My favorite songwriter, Tom T. Hall, seems to have had the right idea, long before the Occupiers arrived on the scene. In looking at the human condition in the United States, Hall wrote "We got too many do-goods and not enough hard working men, we have too many hands out and not enough lending a hand..."
A few weeks ago I read a blog that excoriated the Occupiers, and answered their demands point by point, a great entry, and it got me to thinking about this rag tag group. At the time I also wrote a dissertation about them that went much deeper into their demands and answered each one. I will not bore you with it, if you want a copy get in touch with me through this blog and I'll send you a copy - just give me your mail address (postal address please, I'll not place it on e-mail.)
The upshot of my response was as I have just indicated, they are too disorganized for anyone to take them seriously, have no set of specific demands but the ones they have put forward are simply impossible or too darned stupid to even be considered. I'll pick just one for discussion here (and a short discussion, too.)
According to the published demand, the Occupiers feel that it is a must that ALL debt be cancelled. Immediately. Personal debt, student loans, municipal debt, state debt, federal debt, interbank debt, IMF debt, country to country debt - the entire gamut of debt, as they say "planet wide" must be obviated NOW.
Well. That is a pretty big demand. And wouldn't it be wonderful - if it were possible!!
They assign no responsibility for who is to do this, only that it be done, with no regard to the obliteration of every economy in the world. It just won't play in Peoria or anywhere else in the world, and specifically within the US. Just think, if General Motors needs $3 billion to have steel on hand to produce the autos and trucks that the world needs, they would have to pony up that $3 billion upfront - and the question immediately arises, where are they going to get it since all personal and corporate debt has been eliminated and all those millions indebted for $25,000 for that car or truck and GM won't get it. They could not even say they would pay upon delivery, as that in and of itself creates debt. Taken as a demand that one falls so far short of any reality it is laughable.
As is the whole 'Occupier Movement."
Any person with a reasonable grasp of basic economics must understand that their whole movement is being prodded by those who do not have such a grasp. Indeed, I was unable to find a single one of their demands (these were just the ideas of one person, by the way, God knows what others may be thinking) that have any basis in reality.
As Hall said, "...we have too many hands out and not enough lending a hand." My basic instinct tells me these wild-eyed pie in the sky Occupiers would do better to go home and grow up - and go to school and learn some of the facts of life. No one has a debt to these people who refuse to better themselves. Personal responsibility has been the guiding quality of Americans for three centuries. I expect it will remain so for any successful people throughout the life of our republic.
I view the Occupier Movement as no more than a hair on a pimple on a wart on the otherwise fair face of this country. If they want all these things, then the answer is to go out , get a job, make the money required and then put their ideas into effect.
But - they won't. they are too much into gimme, gimme, gimme.
But Hall also wrote about that, too. In one song he relates the story of an old man who told him, "Folks will tell their kids, now I don't want you to have to work the way I did. They don't - and folks will tell you it's a shame. But you've got to think - before you place the blame."
Yeah. You've got to think before you place the blame.
Recently, and now, and for the foreseeable future, the protestors that title themselves as Occupy anything will be with us. They are similar in many ways to others we have seen marching the streets of America, and yet there is a rather dramatic difference in them.
In the Thirties we had Cox's Army and their fringe in the streets of Washington. In the Sixties we had the Civil Rights marchers and their fringe all over the country. In the Seventies and Eighties we had the Vietnam War protestors and their fringe all over the country. Today we have the Occupiers all over the world, but centered primarily on Wall Street.
Similarities? Well, each of these movements were pretty well organized - except for the current Occupiers. And each of them were centered on a specific issue - except the Occupiers. They each prevailed in their goals -it remains to be seen what will happen with the Occupiers.
The Occupiers are not organized, they have no specific issue. And until they do they will remain disorganized and will not prevail.
My favorite songwriter, Tom T. Hall, seems to have had the right idea, long before the Occupiers arrived on the scene. In looking at the human condition in the United States, Hall wrote "We got too many do-goods and not enough hard working men, we have too many hands out and not enough lending a hand..."
A few weeks ago I read a blog that excoriated the Occupiers, and answered their demands point by point, a great entry, and it got me to thinking about this rag tag group. At the time I also wrote a dissertation about them that went much deeper into their demands and answered each one. I will not bore you with it, if you want a copy get in touch with me through this blog and I'll send you a copy - just give me your mail address (postal address please, I'll not place it on e-mail.)
The upshot of my response was as I have just indicated, they are too disorganized for anyone to take them seriously, have no set of specific demands but the ones they have put forward are simply impossible or too darned stupid to even be considered. I'll pick just one for discussion here (and a short discussion, too.)
According to the published demand, the Occupiers feel that it is a must that ALL debt be cancelled. Immediately. Personal debt, student loans, municipal debt, state debt, federal debt, interbank debt, IMF debt, country to country debt - the entire gamut of debt, as they say "planet wide" must be obviated NOW.
Well. That is a pretty big demand. And wouldn't it be wonderful - if it were possible!!
They assign no responsibility for who is to do this, only that it be done, with no regard to the obliteration of every economy in the world. It just won't play in Peoria or anywhere else in the world, and specifically within the US. Just think, if General Motors needs $3 billion to have steel on hand to produce the autos and trucks that the world needs, they would have to pony up that $3 billion upfront - and the question immediately arises, where are they going to get it since all personal and corporate debt has been eliminated and all those millions indebted for $25,000 for that car or truck and GM won't get it. They could not even say they would pay upon delivery, as that in and of itself creates debt. Taken as a demand that one falls so far short of any reality it is laughable.
As is the whole 'Occupier Movement."
Any person with a reasonable grasp of basic economics must understand that their whole movement is being prodded by those who do not have such a grasp. Indeed, I was unable to find a single one of their demands (these were just the ideas of one person, by the way, God knows what others may be thinking) that have any basis in reality.
As Hall said, "...we have too many hands out and not enough lending a hand." My basic instinct tells me these wild-eyed pie in the sky Occupiers would do better to go home and grow up - and go to school and learn some of the facts of life. No one has a debt to these people who refuse to better themselves. Personal responsibility has been the guiding quality of Americans for three centuries. I expect it will remain so for any successful people throughout the life of our republic.
I view the Occupier Movement as no more than a hair on a pimple on a wart on the otherwise fair face of this country. If they want all these things, then the answer is to go out , get a job, make the money required and then put their ideas into effect.
But - they won't. they are too much into gimme, gimme, gimme.
But Hall also wrote about that, too. In one song he relates the story of an old man who told him, "Folks will tell their kids, now I don't want you to have to work the way I did. They don't - and folks will tell you it's a shame. But you've got to think - before you place the blame."
Yeah. You've got to think before you place the blame.
posted by tanstaafl | 8:17 AM
1 Comments:
I think it was Neil Boortz, talk show host, who I heard say yesterday---let them all move to an island somewhere and run their own country with the ideas they are spouting, and when they have been successful in running that country, then they can come back home and tell us how to run this one.
Notice the key word..successful....which with the misbegotten way they think, will not happen.
Just saying.
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