Fixing America

[smoothmoniker]

Originally Posted by Cicero

Enjoy your latte, sir.

Thank you, I will.

[Cicero]

*evil grin* I switched his latte with a nice hot cup of stfu.....

[Clodfobble]

It's not about finding something to do that you already love. It's about having the pride and dignity to do what you do well. Those selfish and greedy bankers would still be selfish and greedy even if they were following their childhood dream of being a firefighter.

[lookout123]

What idea do I have for fixing America?

I'd start with annual certification courses for every legal resident. The courses would cover the all important concept of personal responsibility.

Curriculum:

1) Your success is your fault
2) Your failure is your fault
3) No one but you made you who you are
4) See rule 1

I believe, in large part, the root of problems in this country boil down to people refusing to take responsibility for their own lives.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Those selfish and greedy bankers would still be selfish and greedy even if they were following their childhood dream of being a firefighter.

Maybe not. Firemen are measured differently. They are good firemen if they put out fires and rescue people which by definition is unselfish.
Bankers are judged by how much money they make for the bank, and paid accordingly. That forces them to be "creative", about separating people from their money, in order to stand out from their peers. The banker who feels his lot in life is to help the community, and it's residents, will find his bank gobbled up and himself unemployed.

[Pico and ME]

Awww, George Baily managed...cuz cuz everybody came to his rescue.

[SamIam]

I think the idea of "do what you love and the money will follow" is naive at best. I prefer the thought that all honest work is honorable no matter how "lowly" the job might be. I did a stint as a janitor for a while - hardly anyone's dream job, but I gave it my best shot and felt satisfaction when I left my spanking clean building at 2:00am each morning.

That said, my ex-husband always loved the out-of-doors and fly fishing in particular. He wrote a book about his experiences in the Forest Service which was a total flop. He did eventually become a successful fly fishing author, getting published in national outdoors magazines. He now makes a good living writing, lecturing, and guiding fisherpersons. So, it can be done. Pragmatically, the fact that he was married to me and I made a steady income, including health insurance was extremely helpful to him in the early years. (and no, I wasn't a janitor, I was an educator )

[DanaC]

Originally Posted by Griff

I'd need a example from Dana on what that job would be. When I was a kid putting in hay in the summer it was tough, but had a certain kind of satisfaction. Tough manual labor is satisfying to certain kinds of folks. If you are not that kind you should do something else if you can.

I heard a report recently on the radio that was about this very thing. One of the jobs with the lowest rates of depression and suicide is refuse collection. What the report picked out was that in some jobs, the fact that people are overworked, underpaid and under siege from uncaring bosses, actually serves to create a much closer bond and cameraderie amongst the workers. Some of the 'worst' jobs bring with them other benefits. The only people who know what it's like to do a busy Thursday morning bin run, are the bin men (garbage collectors) so they instantly share something uncommon.

[TheMercenary]

I am of the mindset that you should look to do something you love to make that your living. It does not always mean you will be rich. Money will not give you happiness but having it makes your life much easier so combining the two is the key. I have done it. But the real key to that is make those decisions early in life because it is much harder to go back and get a do-over, but you can do it if you sacrifice. Nothing good in life is easy to get.

Back to America, I completely agree with this:

Curriculum:

1) Your success is your fault
2) Your failure is your fault
3) No one but you made you who you are
4) See rule 1

I believe, in large part, the root of problems in this country boil down to people refusing to take responsibility for their own lives.

Until we get out of the mindset that we are owed something because of who we are, or who our ancestors are, or because the government should provided it for me, or because "it is God's will", we will stay socially broken.

And until we get a true balance in our political frame work within government we are going to continue to have divisiveness and conflict.

[Estron]

Originally Posted by lookout123

What idea do I have for fixing America?

Curriculum:

1) Your success is your fault
2) Your failure is your fault
3) No one but you made you who you are
4) See rule 1

As I look back over my 52 years, I see nothing -- and I mean nothing -- bad that has happened to me that I didn't cause. So I really don't have much to complain about.

I'm not saying everyone is like me -- but some are. In my opinion, they need a refresher course in that curriculum quoted above.

[Spexxvet]

American will be fixed when we all start thinking in terms of "we" and not in terms of "me".

[smoothmoniker]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

American will be fixed when we all start thinking in terms of "we" and not in terms of "me".

If people don't understand how important the "we" is, we simply need to reeducated them. And their children. And their children's children. This will, of course, require us to seize considerable control over the population so that we can guide society into the proper thinking, and eradicate those pesky individuals who don't understand the importance of the we. Once we've reeducated the masses, we will then simply give that extraordinary power back to the people, who can now thinking rightly and rules themselves.

Long live the glorious people's revolution!

[classicman]

I see what you're sayin.

[electr2005]

it's most ideal to find a job you love, but when you cannot, you still need to do someting to sustain yourself. I graduated from the college in June,2008. Until now, I haven't found the job I love. But I still have to do another job to get some RMB(China money). I want to be an interpreter. I am an English Major student in China. But now, I am doing an international tade job.

[electr2005]

Originally Posted by smoothmoniker

If people don't understand how important the "we" is, we simply need to reeducated them. And their children. And their children's children. This will, of course, require us to seize considerable control over the population so that we can guide society into the proper thinking, and eradicate those pesky individuals who don't understand the importance of the we. Once we've reeducated the masses, we will then simply give that extraordinary power back to the people, who can now thinking rightly and rules themselves.

Long live the glorious people's revolution!

I appreciate Ron Paul's integrity and consistency. but i still need to read his books to learn his thought.