Four Problems That Could Sink America

-Four Problems That Could Sink America-

"There's the country of America, which you have to defend, but there's also the idea of America. America is more than just a country, it's an idea. An idea that's supposed to be contagious." (Bono)

I love America but although love is blind, you'd have to be blind to not see that we have some problems here in our great nation. I believe we are in the midst of currently coming back, but it won't be easy and it won't be as quick as some would like either. I won't go over all of the problems that we're currently undergoing but the other day, I was surfing around the internet and came across a fantastic little article from U.S. News and World Report, written by Rick Newman. Here is a link to the original article, which is quite a good read, discussing, as the title might suggest, four problems that could undermine our attempts to recover from this economic downturn. The Americans spirit always triumphs, innovation always overcomes, our perserverance always manages to see us through, but there are definitely some problems that we should work on as a country and as individuals. I'll admit I'm as guilty as anybody else when it comes to some of these following issues, which I'll definitely be working on. America is, in my opinion, the best country in the world and I want it to stay that way. But in order to do so, we'll have to address some problems here as outlined below -

1) We Don't Like To Work. "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all." (Sam Ewing)
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Personally, I know for a fact that I don't enjoy working. I do, however, enjoy the money that work brings. Unfortunately, they do go hand in hand. I'm sure there have been more than one occasion where work has asked me to stay later and I've told them no, only to complain later when money is tight. There is a great quote in the article from a young entrepreneur who says "If you want to work eight hours a day, you're going to get eight-hour-a-day results. There's nothing wrong with that, but I don't want to hear you complain about money if you're only willing to work eight hours a day." This is a great thing to keep in mind as we go to our jobs. Our parents typically have great work ethics which they've tried to instill in us and so far, I'll be honest, it hasn't taken as well as they probably would've liked. But, living on your own and paying your own bills definitely forces you to change. Now I look at working an extra hour or two at work as "these extra hours can help pay for my groceries for the week or that's half of my cell phone bill that I can put towards something else". If you want to be successful, you have to be willing to work hard.

2) Nobody Wants To Sacrifice "Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness." (Napoleon Hill)
In these modern times, most people don't feel the need to sacrifice as they feel a sense of entitlement. After I graduated from college, I went out to the work force practically expecting a job to be handed to me and was practically shocked when people weren't lining up around the block to hire me. I mean, after all, I had a college degree. Apparently, so does everybody else. Getting a job requires a lot of sacrifice and if you have a job right now, feel very honored. I complain about my job at times, but I should feel very blessed that I have one when unemployment is approaching 11%. That means 1 in 10 people are unemployed. Even with that staggering statistic, people still don't sacrifice. The government is seemingly able to swoop in to rescue the middle-class without a problem, right? Wrong. That stimulus package earlier this year was hundreds of millions of dollars. The government doesn't have a vault underneath the White House where they have endless piles of money. That money has to come from somewhere. The solution of most people nowadays is "Why don't we just tax the rich? They can afford it, can't they?", which I'm sure sounds completely fair when you think about it at first. Forcing 2% of the population to pay for all of the changes in our country isn't fair. Some sacrifices definitely need to be made, by all Americans.

3) We're Uninformed. "Half Of The American People have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half." (Gore Vidal)
This is definitely a huge problem when it comes to the issues here. When it comes to voting on issues, we often have little or no grasp on those issues. More people vote on American Idol than they do on for the presidency of the United States, which is a sad commentary on our nation. When it comes to big issues like climate control, health care, the stimulus bill or even a number of smaller issues, Americans seem to have little or no idea. I realize that the average American is very busy, so between jobs, families and friends, there may not be much time to educate yourselves but they really ought to make time. Basic information that every American should know is shockingly uninformed on many issues. If you're one of the Americans who takes time to get involved and knowledgeable about the issues, then that is fantastic and you should be very proud. If you're not (like myself, who definitely needs to know more), then take some time to educate yourself about these issues which could end up defining not just your generation, but also your children and even your grand-children. These decisions affect more than just you and you have a voice. Get informed and use it.

4) iCulture "America is a country that doesn't know where it is going but is determined to set a speed record getting there. " (Lawrence J. Peter)
For me, the i represents instant. We know what we want and we want it now, with none of that hard work in between. Things like the McDonald's Monopoly Game (which I confess I played and probably will again), the lottery, books like the One Minute Millionaire and other such distractions may temporarily convince us that we can become rich practically overnight. This idea is reinforced by the media and by ourselves as our priorities are wildly out of proportion. Movie stars, sports players and other similar, frivolous pursuits are rewarded with astronomical sums of money while crucial jobs like teachers are almost criminally underpaid. Not to say that actors or sports players aren't working, because I know I certainly couldn't do what they do. They have worked hard to get where they are and they deserve to get paid, but hundreds of millions of dollars to play a game, to me, is absurd. In fact, in the NFL or NBA, you can get paid millions of dollars if you get picked by a team, without ever playing a second. Basically, it's money for nothing. That's the dream of million of Americans, to be rewarded for little or no work. I know I dream of a day when that will magically occur, but the odds are it won't. I'm never going to win the lottery, especially when I don't play it. Success is not the result of luck, chance or anything of the sort. It's the result preparation and perseverance, failure and learning from it, discipline and determination, and the willingness to do what it takes - however long it may take.

I thought this this was a great article that really got me thinking and I wanted to share. The problem listed above are just some of the problems facing us, but definitely ones that need to be dealt with, hopefully sooner rather than later. These are tough times - financially, spiritually, emotionally and in all general areas - for us as a nation. It's going to require quite a lot for us to rebound, but I'm confident that we will and stronger than ever. But these four problems are big problems and ones that won't be solved overnight. I know I'll be working on these and if these are issues you recognize you struggle with, then I hope you do too. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions or anything else you have in response to this, just let me know by commenting or messaging me.

"There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom, intelligence and energy of her citizens cannot cure." (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

Stay classy, America.

Throw Off Your Cloak Of Invisibility

-Throw Off Your Cloak Of Invisibility-

Recently, I watched the film 17 Again. It's not a film I probably would've normally chosen to watch, but I had a friend recommend the movie very, very highly. Mainly on the fact that there was a character in there that I was told reminded her of myself. So, after many weeks of deliberation, postponing and every attempt to avoid the film, I decide to sit down and watch the movie. If you're not familiar with the film, it's similar to the premise of the 1988 Tom Hanks film Big, in which a character is transformed age-wise but this time it's reversed so that Matthew Perry is transformed back into his younger self, played by Zac Efron. So, a twist on the premise which led to what was surprisingly a pretty good movie. The biggest discovery of the movie would not come from either of the leads of the film though, but from a supporting actor who plays the character of Ned. I'll take a moment to let you know that there are SPOILERS AHEAD, so if you haven't watched the movie, then beware. However, if you don't care about the movie or have already taken time to watch the movie, then feel free to read ahead or skip the following few paragraphs.

The character of Ned is played by Thomas Lennon (Reno 911), who is in the movie as the best friend of Matthew Perry's character, who helps him out with such sage advice as with this following classic exchange between Ned and Mike after discovering the transformation -

Ned: It's a classic transformation story. Are you now or have you ever been a Norse God, Vampire, or Time Traveling Cyborg?
Mike: I have know you since what, first grade? I think that maybe I would have told you!
Ned: Vampire wouldn't tell, Cyborg wouldn't know.

This is the type of discussion I can imagine having or hope to have if one of my friends ever had a similar dilemma. The character of Ned is a huge, for lack of a better word, nerd or probably more accurately a geek. A geek is a person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream. From now on, I'll use the term geek throughout the rest of the post, as geek mainly denotes somebody who is an enthusiast of things outside the mainstream spectrum whereas nerd is, in my opinion, more of a derogatory reference. In my case, it's superheroes for the most part, though I'll admit to being interested in other things such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings as well.

Throughout the film, Ned pursues the character of Jane Masterson, masterfully played by Melora Hardin (The Office), who is the principal at the high school where Mike is attending. Most of the film involves Ned's attempts to woo Jane, though she she continually rebuffs his advances as she refuses to date the parents of students. However, it's revealed in a dinner scene as Lord of the Rings comes up unexpectedly and just as unexpectedly, she is discovered to not only speak the Elvish language but is a huge geek as well. She still struggles to overcome her reservations until a pivotal (and perhaps the best scene of the movie) where he arrives at a basketball game wearing a cloak, which he declares to be the cloak of invisibility. When she says that she can't be seen with him, he coolly responds "How can you be seen with me when I'm wearing the cloak of invisibility?" Touche. (SPOILERS OVER)

On that note, There comes a time when you have to throw off the cloak of invisibility and be proud of who you are. The fact is that I'm a geek. I realize that this probably comes as a surprise to well, just about nobody. Not to say that when you're an enthusiast about graphic novels or comic books or Harry Potter that the description encompasses all that you are. It's a big part of you though - something you should be proud of. It certainly doesn't mean that you're weird, embarrassing, socially inept or anything of the sort. It means you're not afraid to pursue things that may not be potentially popular and things that are outside of the mainstream. You're not afraid to march to the beat of a different drummer or take the road less traveled. Stand up!

In that manner, I'll admit that I'm single and I may have to start thinking outside the box as I search for a girlfriend. Not to say that if you're a geek, then you only need search inside geek culture. I have several friends who are also geeks but have married girls who are not in the least into the culture, but embrace (or tolerate) it out of love. But, I have to say, looking for a girl into areas where you are interested in certainly can't hurt. In fact, it can only help. On that note, there are numerous comic book conventions, websites and blogs devoted to just such an ideal - bringing people together who are into the exact same things. Whether those things are comic books, Battlestar Galactica, Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, video games, or anything else of the sort, what really matters is finding a good foundation to build your relationship upon. There is the conventional way of finding women and perhaps, the convention way.

Then, of course, if you find another geek to marry, then you have the option of a themed wedding. (I mean, you've got Lord of the Rings - "the Fellowship of the Ring." See how well that would work as a wedding theme? The ring? Clever - I know). But, that's a blog for another day. Right now, I'm off to look up the upcoming convention schedule.

Stay Classy.

P.S. - If you're interested in the upcoming conventions of various geek types, then my suggestion would be to visit this site - Convention Scene, which goes over the upcoming events. I had a friend send me this link today to Soul Geek, which declares itself to be the cyber-home for geek dating. Then there is finally this inspirational story from CNN which discusses geeks finding love at comic book conventions and includes this quote from the founder of SoulGeek, who says "You can't settle. You can't be with somebody who's going to hope that someday you're going to grow out of this." Truer words were never spoken. As X-Files declared years ago, the truth is out there. But, maybe, just maybe, love is out there too. You just have to look for love in the right places. Put on your favorite geek shirt proudly and walk out there to find it. Love is out there.