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does anybody care?

Christ_empowered

Christ_empowered

Member
I mean, about social issues. In the US.

We have: loads of people in prison, growing poverty, job insecurity, diminished opportunities for upward mobility, and what appears to me to be increasing loss of freedom. I mean, these days, even rich people end up going to prison. I never thought about that before, but now that I do...it freaks me out. When Martha Stewart gets rail roaded and people just laugh it off...scary times are ahead for the rest of us.
A lot of us are screaming for the right to have gay marriage. That's great, OK, gay marriage. I don't care. Why aren't we screaming for prisoner's rights? For job security? For unions? For the opportunity to climb up the totem pole, socially, or at least maintain our current position? (The middle class slide means that, for decades now, achieving and maintaining a "respectable" middle class lifestyle has become increasingly difficult, sometimes impossible).

I was reading that we've effectively made being mentally ill a crime. Loads of mentally ill people are in prison. The only reason I'm not is my newly affluent people and the grace of God. Of course, the answer to this is usually...bring back the state mental hospitals. Right. Because that worked so well the first time around.

Being homeless is also a crime, apparently. As is being poor, basically. We may not have debtors prisons anymore (just wait for it...wait for it...), but we do incarcerate, stigmatize, and punish poor people who make mistakes in a way that...wow...can only be described as vicious. Straight up vicious, that.

We have The War on Drugs. Great. The government spends billions yearly to protect us from ourselves. Meanwhile, school kids are routinely doped up....poor kids on Seroquel and the "good kids" on uppers.

it used to be, I think, that there was a sense of the common good. No, people weren't nice to the poor, but...we had state mental hospitals, more humane prison sentencing laws, we had more upward mobility, etc. Not that those were halcyon days or whatever, but...is this really progress? I mean...OK. Women can get abortions, no prob. Know why so many women need that "right" ? Because of crushing poverty and a culture that has given up any concept of the common good.

What freaks me out is how little people care. Not that the world's ever been a great, comfy place or whatever, but...man...

...lots of people keep up with celebrity gossip. TMZ, Perez Hilton. They can tell you about so and so's sex tape, nose job, hair color disaster, etc. They can't/won't/don't wanna talk social issues. And not just younger kids...

...even people who are trained to analyze. Like, one of my acquaintances, she has an advanced degree...in Sociology. Basically, she's paid now to analyze social issues. But does she *care* ? Answer: no, not really. Even the sociologists have given up on actually caring. Research, sure, that's great, especially when its a trendy issue that'll further their career. Ugh. Other than that...they're like everybody else.

I think it extends to our daily lives, too. We have lots of "Friends," but nobody who actually cares. Try, just try, to talk about something of substance with a "normal" US citizen over the age of 22 or so. They tune out. Turn polite, get uncomfortable, change the subject.

Apparently, caring is creepy.
 
Yeah, I need to lean on The Lord and not on my own (rather pessimistic) understanding. I'm getting there...bit by bit, step by step. I was also heavily caffeinated when I wrote the initial post, lol.
 
you expect a narcisstic, hedonistic,society to care in general?
I also believe that many small government types simply want nothing to do with actually caring for the poor and don't want to pay for it even if they had money to donate or the time.i also say the same with big government types(liberals). they also want $$$ for votes and if union they don't care if it takes from the poor or the ability to assist those in need.
 
There are many very caring people in the world - and America - today. Typically, one doesn't hear about them because they do not seek attention for behaving in the ways we are guided to be, in accordance to our Lord's Word.

Historically, tho, Angel's list is what has motivated people. Wealth - by having the most livestock, land, offspring. Power - controlling and influencing the largest number of people. Beauty/sex - whether it's clothing, make-up, hair, centuries of people have sought the ability to be attractive and therefore not relegated to those who are side-liners (wall flowers). Wealth, power, beauty combine to make a person an "A-List Member".
 
I agree 100% with you christ empowered its almost like I was saying those very words.Also with angels list every person that ever "told" me they loved me ended up abandoning and rejecting me over money etc.Literally God is all I have(but hes all I need anyway) ,Ive forgiven those people but I wont let them back in like before .
 
hallowbonnie said:
I agree 100% with you christ empowered its almost like I was saying those very words.Also with angels list every person that ever "told" me they loved me ended up abandoning and rejecting me over money etc.Literally God is all I have(but hes all I need anyway) ,Ive forgiven those people but I wont let them back in like before .
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If they are rejecting you over money than its their problem- you did nothing wrong. do you think you would really want to be with them anyway?
 
Angel said:
It seems like there are 3 things in America to seek after:

1. Wealth
2. Beauty/Sex
3. Power

And its amazing how people will manipulate to get some of it... or all of it.
Click to expand...

wealth - lust of the flesh - (the fruit was looked good to eat)
beauty/sex - lust of the eyes - (the fruit was pleasing to the eye)
power - the pride of life - (tree was desired to make one wise)

Genesis 3:6
1 John 2:16
 
I guess part of the problem is that I've been living in various states of various states of semi-vegetative semi-consciousness since age 19, until very recently (yeah, this just in: psychiatry DESTROYS people. Thanks, Jesus, for saving me!). So, on a personal level, there's growing up plus the sudden realization that US culture is not only bad, its gotten worse since 10 years ago, and its going downhill fast.

In Canada, the UK, western Europe, there's a strong sense of human rights and the common good. Not here. Did you know, for instance, that the US used to tax really, really rich people heavily? I mean, yeah...there were loop holes...but the wealthy were taxed more heavily, there were anti-poverty programs, we had state mental hospitals (not all of them were hellish nightmares), upward mobility was a reality...even the prison system was different. Until the 70s or so, prison was about rehabilitation. No longer. Longer sentences, more mentally ill in prison, more people in general with criminal records.

No, things weren't perfect. There were skid row homeless people, drug addicts; there was racism and sexism; the poor, as always, were oppressed. But...many families could live OK on one worker income. Houses were smaller. Life seems to have been simpler, less "necessary" stuff. We had unions, skilled blue collar workers with pensions and job stability and a middle class lifestyle. Their kids often went on to college or some sort of education after high school. When couples did divorce, women often got alimony. And child support. And often the house, for the kids, if the couple had shared property (this probably applies more to the middle and upper classes). Contrary to popular belief that there were often significant legal barriers to divorce and no fault removed them, the truth is that there was considerable variation from state to state. The real barrier to divorce was stigma, because marriage and family were viewed as important.

Now...we have downward mobility. Not only do many people in the middle class slide down, so do their children. The bean counters use statistical tricks to deliberately under-estimate US unemployment. We have lots of homeless people, untreated mentally ill people. We talk a good game about "treating addiction" while locking people up for having and using illegal chemicals. Most families need 2 incomes. We "need" more stuff, including much bigger houses and fancier cars. Unions aren't as powerful, pensions and job stability are but a memory. Higher education is crazy expensive. Divorce is OK, right? Cuz, I mean, sometimes you're "incompatible", need to "move on," etc. Great. Post-divorce, many women and their children slide into poverty. Alimony is much less common; child support orders often go unenforced; property distribution is to "equitable." Not only is their no real stigma to divorce, there's a whole cottage industry in "collaborative divorce," using counselors to ease the transition. Locally, there's a couple counselors with M.Div degrees who can provide counseling along with help with your divorce....for a fee (luckily, thanks to "mental health parity," your insurance will probably cover it...and your kid's post-separation psychiatric treatment).

UGH! And I feel like I've woken up, only to find that a lot of churches aren't even preaching The Word, a lot of "Christians" are anything but, everything's going downhill, and...well, you must depressed. Go see a counselor. Maybe you need Prozac-klonopin-ambien-seroquel-Abilify-Adderall. Nothing's wrong, sweetie. Now take your pills, go to your terrible job, smile, go to your fake church, exercise, eat right, and have a nice day :) .

UGH!
 
oh no of course not Angel thats why they are not part of my life anymore though they still try to be,I try not to be mean but it is obvious I have distanced myself from them.I have this new pure joyfilled life and I wont let anything poisonous in to destroy that.
 
I was listening to a radio show the other day where the guest said that at one time in this nation was so optimistic. They promoted stuff that you would not dare say today, such as power in the atom, nuclear energy, technology, the space program etc, to make life better with vision. Today, he said, there's this pessimism. The economy will fail, people will be poor, technology basically kills instead helps, excessive environmentalism, etc.

The host asked, "Well, what happened that there was this shift in attitude?" The guest replied that one month after we stepped on the moon, Woodstock was held, and the same hippies are the ones in power right now. That's where it started.

I laughed my bottom off. For those of you who read some of my generational posts, isn't that what I've been saying all along about the baby boomer generation? And gen x behind them are not much better. So far I like what I see in generation Y (early 30's or younger, mostly in their 20's yet). I just hope they can bring a breath of fresh air 2 or 3 decades from now when they are in power. It's to be seen, but so far they are my favorite generation, only equalled in the silent generation, but they were too indulgent as parents and perhaps a tad conformist-- they wanted to keep up with the Jones and give too much to their baby boomers which sparked this off. They had it rough and wanted their kids to have it easy, but nevertheless they were a good generation that fought the wars.
 
im not impressed with that group. we have a few of those in my workplace. most of them that have left, are of that age group. poor work ethic. I understand leaving for a higher paying job. or to work for the same with less stress. but to simply be lazy?
 
Yes the mentally handicapped people in jail, some of them should be there and some of them should not be there. In America you will be thrown in jail at the drop of a hat. We jail more people than anybody on this planet, and it is our own fault.
 
Lewis W said:
Yes the mentally handicapped people in jail, some of them should be there and some of them should not be there. In America you will be thrown in jail at the drop of a hat. We jail more people than anybody on this planet, and it is our own fault.
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jail of a different sort. im unimpressed by these mental facitilities. there are a type of jail. my brother and sister were in those. a joke. my sister played the clinic and was able to escape a time or two.
 
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