I can’t help thinking the last few months about how our country, and the world, got to this place. Here we are, the economy of the world teetering on the brink of total failure, and no one seems to be reflecting on why we’re here; only how we can get out of it. Isn’t that the first basic rule though, problem solving? Don’t you have to understand how the problem came to be before you can solve it appropriately? Yes, banks gave out loans to people they shouldn’t have, and yes, credit card companies and the like we’re allowed to do what they wanted because regulation was lacking. But is that REALLY the problem? I don’t think so. I think it’s the symptom of a bigger problem. It’s a symptom of something that the companies of the world have lost. Integrity. Morals. Compassion. I mean, let’s face it. This whole economic “disaster” is really a simple function of greed. Somewhere along the way, these companies stopped thinking like individual human beings and started thinking as a machine. Money. How can we get more of it? What can we do to increase our bottom line? Who cares about what the costs are to others, it only matters what we stand to gain.

Let’s go back a few decades… say 5. So we’re in the 1950′s. For the most part, didn’t the Capitalist System work? Why did it work? Because even though companies were in the business of making money, it wasn’t at the expense of the people who paid for their services! Nor was it at the expense of the people who worked for them! WOW! What an idea. There was this overall sense of responsibility to each other, and a responsibility to their moral selves. To America. And those CEO’s and CFO’s and small town business owners realized that screwing over their “neighbor” might be a good short term way to earn more money, but long term it would be a disaster for them.

Now we have a system which has been built on greed. Teach people they need to buy. Teach them they need NEW things all the time. Teach them to live beyond their means and that it’s totally okay. In fact, it’s more than okay. It’s a status symbol to have the newest car, biggest house, most expensive shoes. Is it to make our lives better? That’s what we’re “trained” to believe- that the shiny new car will make us happier than our current less-shiny but relatively new car. But it’s not really about us, it’s about them. They need to sell more, because whatever their percent profit margin is now, is not enough. They need to make more money, because that’s what businesses do. And that’s just what happens to customers!

What if you’re an employee? How does it make you feel to know that you work more hours than most people in other countries, have to pay for your own health care and barely make enough to keep up with inflation, when the head honchos of your company are getting billions in bonuses? It’s even worse when they do a SHITTY job and get an even bigger bonus for leaving! Why? I have to say, I was absolutely moved by the bank CEO Leonard Abess, Jr. who gave his $66 million dollars of his own profit to the company’s employees. That guy should be our role model.

So, companies are going under because they sold bad loans. They knew what they were doing. It was short-term BIG gain without regard to long-term consequences. Now many of us are unemployed, in foreclosure, bankruptcy, or in debt up to our eyeballs. What do they want us to do to help the economy? Take out more loans! Yeah! What a fantastically insane idea. Take out more money that we don’t have so we can buy shit we don’t need and can’t afford. Am I the only one who thinks this is asinine?

And our government, I realize they’re in emergency mode and worried about companies and conglomerate’s failing that our economy requires for survival, but I am absolutely certain that bailing out a company who fraudulently operated it’s business for the sole purpose of making their bigwigs and stockholders rich at the expense of everyone else, should NOT be saved. They should succumb to the Capitalist System. It’s a good system. It means that if you offer a good service at a competitive price and you operate honorably, you get to grow and prosper. If you’re a bad businessman, are greedy, lie to your customers or sell a bad product, you go out of business. That’s how the system is supposed to work. We’re trying to fix a system that was broken long before it began it’s recent descent. I have no doubt in the Capitalist System and no doubt in America. I do not believe, however, that we should be trying to repair a system that is dependent on the citizens of this country going into debt, and allows greedy, selfish companies to be bailed out so they can continue to operate the same ways. And why wouldn’t they? There was NO consequence to what they did! They made a gazillion bucks and now the government covered their ass. They’ll do it again.

I think that the only way to truly fix this, is to realize that this whole problem comes down to the human level. The humanity of not just doing what is best for you, but what is best for the people around you, the state you live in, and your country. It means saying, I’m not going to buy from a company who operates like this. I’m not going to work for a company who has such a low opinion of it’s people. It also means not letting the machine suck you in, and realizing that the idea that our economy HAS to be based on consumerism alone is a scam. There are other ways to have a successful economy. And most of them would probably equate to a healthier economy as well. One more thing: think back to the 1950′s. Do you think people shopped and bought like we do today? No way. People saved for a TV. They drove their cars until they didn’t work anymore. They didn’t need 12 things, all the same just in different colors. They only needed one.

As much as I am angry at the corporations, we also have to realize on an individual level that we are all equally to blame. We have to take responsibility for the fact that we fell for what they were selling. I did. I went shopping every weekend. I saw things everyday that I thought I absolutely couldn’t live without. Things that would make me happier, hipper, whatever. I bought them on the spot. Even if I didn’t have any money. They sold us this idea, we bought it and here we are. I don’t want that anymore. I don’t want that kind of life for myself, that future for my sons, and I certainly don’t want to support the institutions who want to keep the status quo. But maybe that’s just me.

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** Apparently, ask and you shall receive! The very day after I posted this, I received an email from BlogRUSH regarding color options that will become available in the next few days. That good news, and gives me hope that in the near future some of the other things will be improved on as well. 

Now, I realize that I haven’t had BlogRUSH up that long, and so there are a lot of judgments about it that I’ll hold for a while until I’ve seen what it can really do for me. But so far, here’s what it’s not doing for me.

• I don’t like that it’s a fixed design. I have a fixed column width, and as far as I can tell, there’s no way to alter the BlogRUSH widget to conform to my column width. Take a look at my sidebar and you’ll see what I mean (I rearranged some things to emphasize the problem). I realize that I am probably just under-skilled, but come on! Make this tool something that everyone can use easily (Oh, and I don’t think I should have to manipulate my blog layout just to conform to the BlogRUSH widget).
• Again, it’s fixed design bugs me because hey, I’m a girl and I want it to be NOT orange.
• If I go to BlogRUSH to get help for the product, the only support offered is how to put it on your site. There’s no contact option, no FAQ’s, and no other information. So, it seems they will support it so long as you can get it up on your site, but after that you’re on your own.
• Finally, while I was in the help section at their site, I came upon a link to “help” people with flashy blog titles. I took the bait, read the blog article and some of the other helpful tips were to remove all the sharing links from posts, such as digg and reddit (not named specifically, I’m just drawing my own conclusion here).

Seems a little obvious don’t you think? Convince BlogRUSH users to remove other ways of information sharing so that people who visit will be more likely to use BlogRUSH instead. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being weird about it all. I just think that everyone has their favorite site for sharing and I’m not going to dictate or persuade anyone to use one or the other.

Anyway, I will cut BlogRUSH a little slack since I know this has only been up and running for about a week. I am not going to remove it yet because as far as I’m concerned, my issues are mainly cosmetic and I would like to see what’s behind the widget and what it can do for me. Maybe I’m being impatient or bitchy, but I sincerely hope that some of these things will be improved soon.

I am interested to hear what other bloggers think so far about this product…

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What is it that makes us obsess over the personal lives of the rich and famous? I happened upon some “popular searches” today, and as usual most of them are about celebrities. People want to know about Britney’s custody, Paris’ anything, and of course… Brad and Angelina. Why? Visit a few celebrity blogs, and you’ll find that what people most want to read about is dirt. They want to read all the things that famous people do wrong. Anything that is either completely demoralizing or humiliating is devoured by common folk everywhere. I think it’s sad.

Is it that we feel so bored or so displeased with our own lives that watching someone else’s problems play out makes us feel better? Are we jealous of them, or angry at them for having a life we think we should have? We feed the media and in turn they give us more of what we want. They are providing a service that we’re asking for, and we keep asking for more. You can’t blame the paparazzi, you can’t blame the celebrities (we all do stupid things); the blame lies on us for buying what they sell.

It is to me, no different than a bunch of kids picking on another… only we’re adults so we do it through the media. What would you tell your son or daughter if they came home from school one day and told you how some kids had made fun of them and laughed at them? I personally would tell him/her that those kids had low self-esteem or weren’t happy with something in their life, and so they had to make someone else feel bad to feel good about themselves. I think our obsession with celebrities is no different. It’s not like we pay attention to the good things they do, or even care for that matter. We care about their prison time, their custody battle, their lack of underwear… all the stuff that in our eyes makes them “less”. Ask yourself how much media attention “Brangelina” get about their personal lives vs. how much media attention is devoted to their humanitarian efforts. I’ll admit that both get coverage, but it’s the personal stuff that sells.

Why don’t we feel that these people deserve the same compassion and respect that we would expect for ourselves? Sometimes I think people don’t even consider them as human beings, but rather, objects that can be followed and studied and judged. I know that many would say they bring it upon themselves by being famous, and maybe they do. That said, why should that be an excuse for everyone else to behave badly?

I’m not going to name names, but there are so many blogs out there that are 100% devoted to trashing celebrities, and finding anything and everything negative that’s out there. It sells, and bashing the rich and famous is a profitable venture. It causes no moral issues for anyone, and that’s what I don’t get. How would you feel as a human being if you followed your neighbor around taking pictures of every flaw, blemish and life mistake, and then posted it on the web so everyone could laugh at and dehumanize him? I personally, would feel like shit. But see, somehow with celebrities it’s ok.

This is a symptom of our society. It points to a lack of respect for others, unhappiness in our individual lives, and boredom. There’s no band-aid or fix for this symptom, and I actually think it will get worse before it gets better.

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