I like to project all good and light these days, but plain facts dictate things are not otherwise so good, and so I must tell it like it is, as it were.
Receiving wind that most of the shelters in the area are at capacity while it is still not even winter can bring things like this to the forefront of our consciousness.
It’s not pretty to know that a good many of our fellow community members are struggling. It is not easy to cover up with indifferent smiles or the like. The unrelenting economic indicators present times that are hard, continue to still be, and we are not nearly at the end of our struggles job-wise and economically-speaking.
We are looking for the next great job producer industrially-speaking. What could or can that be? That is the great question. No one, from President Obama to loser Mitt Romney, knows what that is. Until it can be identified, our struggles will continue, we will accept less wage-wise for jobs hard fought to come by, and to begin with.
Everyone is trying to find a niche, and yet nothing is safe. What seems to be the greatest issue when we think about what needs fixing, is not knowing what it is that truly needs to be done. We are at a loss as a society and our leadership is not helping.
While we continue to infuse our capital markets with phony liquidity in the form of fiat, worthless paper money currency, most of those beyond middle class are oblivious to the hits their portfolios will likely take.
This is because of the layer of insulation that exists between those that perceivably have, and those who do not.
Those that have, remain eating at the very restaurants that the wait staff who are struggling to exist on a base salary and tips, are working.
It’s a strange, symbiotic, co-existent type of relationship. We are living in a world that is not sustainable economically. We are living in a world that will most likely unravel and probably soon.
I said something less than light and airy. But positive change is possible with positive attitudes.
While those that have seem to think the plight of others is less fortunate than theirs, and it is unfortunate that they are unable to lift themselves up out of a seemingly endless cycle of generational poverty, the next big thing that could make the difference in terms of closing the gap between the haves and have nots, remains elusive.
For it is not possible for those without financial resources to better themselves.
There, I have said it. It is not possible for those without financial resources to better themselves.
Think about it.
Are you a have or a have not?
Do you struggle? Have you ever had to spend time in a shelter—whether just for one night or nights on end? Do your fears take you over just thinking about the prospects?
Our resources dictate quite a bit of how we end up and how we manage through our lives. Those of us who come from meager upbringings are not without the chances and opportunities that exist for all of us who live in this country.
But the struggle still remains. We all, no matter our economic or living situation, were able to take advantage of a Thanksgiving meal—provided we were able to get to a place that offered one. The shelters were full and provided quite a few of these meals. Others of us were at family or friends’ houses and enjoyed a good dinner.
At the basic root of life, of our existence, our ability to put food on the table and in our stomachs lies at the very heart of our existence and ability to sustain. We need to be able to work jobs that provide the food we eat. We need to keep in mind those of us who have fallen off the grid, who need a helping hand. For by many estimates, although I espouse the best can yet be to come, for many, the best is still clearly hidden by less than good times.
Extend your hands to those less fortunate. Who you lift up and make as good as or better than yourself, dictates your legacy.  Peoples’ memory of you will fade as time goes by, but you will be remembered if you ever actually helped someone who was struggling at a time in life, more readily than yourself. Thank you for caring about your neighbor and the stranger you’ve yet to meet, above yourself.