A Slight Fever

I went to church yesterday and was find; but, by the time I got home I couldn't eat and developed a fever. Darn thing kept me up all night with the chills and the sweats. I still haven't slept and I trying to stay awake so I can sleep tonight. I say this by way of explaining if my writing isn't very good.

I was reading the news and came across more stupidity from the media. Occupy Wall Street and the others are not about seeking an answer, it is about identifying the unifying truth for most of us, we are not treated fairly and insiders run the show. It is not anti-capitalist (though some may be), it is not anti-government (though many are against our current form of government) and it is better to consider what it is about, what it is in favor of.

These protesters and most people in the country feel they have been cheated. They want to be treated fairly. They don't like privileged classes. I read an article today that talked about the 1% of income earners not be mostly in the financial industry. It completely misses the point, this is not about the 1% of people getting salaries more than others, it is about the 1% that own 90% of this country, the ones who control the government and the media, not the well paid CEO's that work for them.

Now here is the answer to why they will not listen, they know what this is all about, they understand it is about changing the system to be fair and open. If you have an oligarchy there is no reason they are going to like that, it means giving up unfair control. It is about making sure that people can have a reasonable lifestyle, with reasonable freedoms and a reasonable chance to get ahead and we don't have that.

There are two kinds of special treatment, one is earned and the other is inherited. Most people would agree that the war vet who lost a leg and stole some food should be treated better than Linsey Lohan for stealing jewelry. If Steve Jobs changed the world then maybe he deserves to be treated a little better at a restaurant. Still, if he had killed his wife then we probably wouldn't support him as much. What we see are people who are given special treatment and immunity from prosecution and conviction because they have the money.

I have never liked mobs. I don't like large groups of people who are not organized in a manner that they can be reasoned with. But I know history and I know what can happen when your citizenry becomes a mob. It means that they lack confidence in the basic system. There is a need to go back to fundamentals, to fundamental justice. There is a need to stop rewarding people for bad behaviour.

The issue is not the thousands in the occupy movement, it is the 37% that support them. The percentage of people that support the current system is about 30% and that is getting lower. Stop the next ten people you meet and ask them if they think the system treats them fairly. Ask them if they think the rich get special privledges.