I’ve been scanning the media for stories about the social reaction to current economic events. It seems like the traditional reactions to extreme economic downturns have been either pulling together in shared sacrifice or Fascism, at least that’s how the last one turned out. To get to Fascism would probably require a fair amount of violence and an increasingly forceful response by government to suppress it.
Today’s USAToday (useful for learning what the proles know) has two front-page stories about the better outcome; outpourings of public philanthropy and families coming together in hard times. While it’s heartening to think that Americans might just pull together in hard times, there are a few countries out there, in similar distress, about whom it’s much more difficult to be sanguine.
Let’s see who might take a less happy direction.
Russia? Check.
China? Check.
Albania? Check.
Turkey? Check.
Pakistan? Holy shit.
India? Holy shit tambien.
Anyway, the bad news is that more than a couple of the scarier candidates have nukes. Great. So how does this play out? The bizarre strengthening of the USD against other currencies is horrible news for many of the most challenged countries out there.
Anyway, the good news is that we Americans might not just kill each other off.
The bad news is how many other folks just might be up to the task.
9 comments:
so sunshine . . . your views on Africa? and South Africa in particular in all this . . . add to that Zuma who scares the living daylight out of me
To paraphrase JC, "Africa will be with us always."
Mugabe scares the hell out of me...
Mugabe scared my mother so much she got myself, my sister, our dog and cat out of the country in 1975 at night in a light aircraft that was used for transporting chickens!
I thought Bono said that
HDLee, you bring up the countries that aren't on Jeff's list...but are countries where western greed and domination have led to a breakdown of societies, and allowed the worst and the brightest to rise to the tops.
Some how, that makes me unable to be glad for the good part of this rant. OK, so Americans are hugging each other in a hard time. That's after we got fat and lazy on other countries' backs.
I just read a quote from Mahatma that is bothering me. He said
"if you have more than you need, [presumably in the vicinity of people who don't have enough to live on] you are a thief."
Steve, it is NOT just western greed . . . over the years the chinese have been moving in . . . and European Union . . . and YES then there is the local corrupt and powerful elite.
. . . one of my oldest friends (hippie) has always said - you can't be rich when your neighbours are poor. . .
Besides becoming a radical all we can do is consume less and contribute more - and try to find some rainbows : )
Jimmy Buffet put it so well in paraphrasing the Buddha, "Want what you have."
Jeez, Guatemala, the US and South Africa. This internet thing just might catch on!
HDLee,
Good point. the lust for power corrupts, and steady success in gaining power corrupts completely. However, I still feel China had historically been content to abuse its power within its wall. Once they realized they as a nation were at risk unless they adopted their global neighbors' business tactics, they took the inevitable course.
Local corruption? How about saying: Bastard child of Western colonialism? That was my point with the maybe too obscure phrase "worst and brightest". It is not race, or indigenous cultural corruption, but the extensive effect of colonial overlords finding and elevating those predisposed to go along with their schemes. This did not create a core of Thomas Jefferson or John Adams type patriots left with advantages in political and financial power as the colonists left.
Remember Rhodesia and the purpose for its establishment as a "Nation". Mugabe was a natural, if extreme, outcome of Rhodes' original motives: power and control for personal financial gain.
Jeff;
How about this? the new twist on Buffet and Buddha. Just add an "I" at the front.
funny picture jeff!
Post a Comment