Why have politicians allowed the world to become this way? We are over-governed in some ways. They seem to want to get into the smallest parts of our lives. But then there are tons of companies out there bilking us for billions. How has this come to be?
Look at the "health-care crisis" in America today. The truth is that there is no problem with our health care. We have great health care. The real problem is insurance and that is, lightly put, a racket. Between the exorbitant prices hospitals pay (without question or protest) for the smallest of items (and then pass those bills on to us) and the 300% - 1000%+ mark-ups the pharmaceutical companies get away with, not to mention the ridiculous price of health insurance in this country as compared with others, I have to ask again: How did it get like this?
In a country where we don't really trust any politicians, CEOs or bankers, how did they get away with corrupting our systems so thoroughly? Why are companies allowed to make things and sell them when they are made to break down? Remember when people were able to fix their own cars? Not only is that impossible in modern cars, they are also not built to last. Nothing is because someone realized that if people have to keep replacing the crappy things they manufacture, we will keep buying them. So our landfills get full and our wallets get empty. Where is the government to step in on our behalf and say, "Stop making this crap! Create sturdy products or stop making anything!". Well, in one way or another, they're benefiting from this mess. It's really scary to think about the government being 'in cahoots' with such industries as health insurance, big oil, pharmaceutical companies, and big tobacco. If they're all holding hands, who is looking out for the rest of us? Well, it's us. And who will listen to us? Again, I think it's just us.
So, being basically politically ignorant, I'm at a loss when I try to envision a way out of this. The more I learn about the political system, the more I think that they just keep making it harder and harder to affect any sort of change. And when we do manage to change something, it's always at a loss. Every bill I read about and want to vote on is written in such double-talk and there is always something there to appease the other side or the other point of view, so we really only get a little slice of what we want and sometimes need.
America is a beautiful and diverse country. It's unfortunate that so much of the world's power resides here. The world looks to us (reluctantly sometimes) to see what direction everything else is going to go. As such, we have a responsibility to show the world what can be done. We need to man and woman up and start to make change. All this bickering between parties and between people is getting us nowhere. There have to be some established goals that we all can agree on. We have to learn to communicate with less emotion so that we can really hear one another. I need to learn a lot more so I can start to piece this thing together because as a novice, I am at an utter loss.
Maybe we all need deep spiritual practice. Even Atheists. Anyone can meditate. Maybe that would help us. If we had a quiet space inside, maybe we could hear each other there. If we each move through our days with a well of calm inside, the tumult of the world will be less able to rock us. I know that rushing through our days leaves us feeling totally spent and not very reflective. We've got jobs and kids and mortgages and rent and other bills to pay. There are parties and weddings to attend. There are e-mails to return and blogs to write. There are papers and books to read. There are deadlines and meetings and all sorts of things to pull us out of our center. It is a big job to be here now. That's asking a lot of the human mind- to slow down so we can breath and become aware of our bodies and surroundings.
Is there a correlation in here somewhere or am I going in circles again? Ok, maybe I am going in circles but I do believe that if I remain centered (and that needs to be learned) I will be more able to respond with love and calm. I will learn to respond rather than react. This is a start.
P.S. Reading Aine Butler's blog The Evolving Spirit helps me every week to slow down for a few moments. One of the many resources out there that helps me move towards peace. Thanks Aine!!
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