Show Me The Money

If last week was a rollercoaster, you'd come stumbling off of it swearing, swerving, and hurling as you blew past the souvenir photo booth vowing not to pursue legal action yet determined never to get on it again.

It's always the money. Look at failed marriages, business deals gone bad, storefronts shuttered, medical relief delayed--and those stats are likely all on the uptick given our present economic picture. And it's not just us. Poor Greece is gross and looking for a hand-up, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain are in similar straits, and even the booming Chinese infrastructure industry seems to be slowing. The markets were rotten with the Nikkei and the Hang Seng down sharply, and you saw what the Dow did, especially that 500+ point drop on Thursday. But there are some glinting shards in the broken glass of bad news. The Italian banks have attempted to restructure that country's banking system in recent years and saw their stocks go up this week as a result of investor confidence...but their economic growth rate is nearly flat. Our own stock market is on the rise today (though that is a fluid dynamic to be sure) and we had "better than expected" job numbers...but we're probably still on the lousy, pot hole-ridden road to a double-dip recession.

And all that pressure put on the AWOL Congress seems to have worked for the time being, as the furloughed FAA workers and all those thousands of workers contracted to perform infrastructure improvement projects for the agency may all get to return to work on Monday, with two weeks back pay. It is not finalized yet, but should be sometime today as a little "work around" was thrown in to help Sec. LaHood handle the situation at those 13 rural airports. (Just an aside: If you live near and/or use one of those airports, let me know how it is you could vote for a Republican in the next election cycles.) But we'll be engaged in quite the fight around mid-September, and who knows how the agency will fare then.

And there were some really rotten headlines on the crime front, as well. I throw that in with the money issues because I'm one of those "bleeding heart" types who believes that many crimes are committed in an attempt to rectify an economic hardship. Sure, some people are just whacko, like the mass murderer in Norway, and there's little or nothing to be done about them before they act. But tough financial times drive already angered people toward desperation, and already prejudiced people toward hatred and fear.
Many dynamics are in flux at this moment in history: the economy, demographics, religious fervor (of many types)--all things that could be turned into positives with the right attitude. If we speak out about the economic situation with our fellows, perhaps we could help find local solutions which would find their way to the ears of the powerful higher up. If we embrace multiculturalism and diversity, we stand to learn a hell of a lot more about our world than we would just interacting with people who think like us and look like us. (We would never have had a USA in the first place without multiculturalism and immigration, after all.) And if all that religious fervor could be harnessed into help for the poor, as Mother Teresa espoused, then maybe we could help the kids in Somalia as well as in our own neighborhoods. Times are hard and money is scarce but empathy has no expiration date and is limitless.

One last thing, since we're meeting in this way: Why does it seem that our ever-growing interconnectedness just drives us farther apart? We can sit in our abodes and hammer out our little screeds and reach people we would never have been able to reach prior to our use of communication technology, but do we remember how to talk to the shop-keeper, the traffic cop, or the toll booth operator? It seems that what is dancing on the screen is real and the reality right before our eyes is just another wallpaper or screensaver. All things in moderation, as the Buddha taught. Internet interaction has been a driving force in the "Arab Spring" and that is probably a good thing for the masses. But we should also remember to appreciate the power and beauty of the individual.

I hope you are fortunate enough to have the means to live a comfortable life and that it is a healthy and enjoyable one. Mine is, and I am grateful for it. And as we continue to laugh and scream together virtually, let's not forget those among us who are screaming with need in reality. Let's show them some money, or kindness. And let's hope for the rise of the barter system in those areas where it has gone dormant. For markets can go up and down, but you can never lose a well-honed skill, a talent, or the friend you'll make in sharing them.