The Times Are a Changin’
Posted: Saturday, May 24, 2008
by e
Dhammabucha Rocksprings Meditation
It's never easy when what we have been accustomed to is pulled out from under us. We see the warning signs, perhaps for a long time, but we just don't pay attention to them. Then, one day, when everything suddenly changes, we feel blindsided. We feel abused, hurt and rejected in some way because everything is supposed to remain the same. But it never does.
The changes began with the California hippies in the 50's and 60's. They were jogging back then, and into health foods, riding bikes or driving tiny VWs, meditation and alternative religions - things that were laughed at heartily at the time. Hippies were called tree huggers, sprout eaters, and all the rest of it. But now, corporations and religious organizations are tripping over each other in the flight toward "Green," while hospitals and psychologists are embracing meditation for its health benefits. And healthy diets are being promoted gushingly.
The west Coast has always been the cutting edge, the clairvoyant of what is to come and eventually be accepted by the entire country. If anyone was caught jogging in New York City in those days, they would have been arrested for fleeing the scene of some kind of a felony. And anyone turning right on red would have been hauled into court. (That was before $4.00 a gallon gas!)
Now, "foreign" cars are not only being accepted, but preferred, even in the East. This is because they are made better than domestic brands, they subsequently break down less often and last longer, and they therefore depreciate less. One of the reasons for this is because our automaker's hands have been tied by having to provide expensive healthcare, reducing the quality of their vehicles. It is simple math.
Japan, in the meantime, and all the other progressive industrial countries, had no such burden. Healthcare was provided by their governments, which used broad taxes to pay the bills. This is fairer than isolating businesses with the burden, and therefore making them non-competitive. If you want to see who has caused jobs to be exported overseas because we are non-competitive, don't look at our workers; look no further than the lobbyists - the HMOs, the drug companies, and the AMA, that has lined their pockets while breaking Middle America's back.
And look to California if you want to see what the rest of the country will be like in 20 years. California is going green, is accepting same sex marriage, will soon provide health care for all citizens, and is leaning very liberal. This is because liberalism welcomes change, while conservatism fears it. Change, however, is going to happen regardless of attempts to keep the status quo. And people are waking up to the fact that the status quo is only good for the ones having status. And this is not fair to the ones without status; the middle class.
Middle America has been spun like a top by brilliant strategists interested in only two things; money and power. But middle class Americans are beginning to realize how they have been tricked, and also where their priorities lie, which is not with the strategists who have had their way for far too long now. Middle America has been kept asleep by those in power who destroy anyone with intelligence, or anyone who sees the inequities developing . . . by character assassination, by branding anyone with a real voice for the American Middle Class as elitist, and all the while the opposite is true. The true elitists are the ones that spun Middle America with lies, tricking us into flag waving while the real interest in the Iraq war was to make fortunes for the politicos, their subcontractors and weapons manufacturers. It was a very subtle manipulation yet powerful, because some still can't see the deception. The Iraq government is going to spend ten billion on weapons (which we will supply), while middle class Americans rebuid Iraq's schools and infrastructor, paying exhornitant prices to favorite contractors. And guess who the weapons will be used against someday, if history has any credence?
The real elitists are the ones who are becoming rich off hard working Americans. The elitists are the wolves in sheep's clothing that has us fighting over cultural side issues, such as abortion, flag pins, same sex marriage - things that are secondary to our kids staying competitive in the world by having access to higher education without becoming involved with student loan sharks for the rest of ther lives. Our middle class pockets are being picked by everyone, all trying to make a fast buck off of us. And it's taking its toll. Everyone wants to get rich off middle class backs.
Look at house values these days. Who do you think created the bubble, who looked the other way when crooked financial institutions gave out bogus loans like candy to house flippers, again trying to get rich quick? And who ran off with all the money just before the bubble broke while we stood here holding the bag? Who is making a fortune off oil, while we can't afford to fill our tanks?
Who is cleaning up in the medical field (which is supposed to help people) while you can't afford the skyrocketing costs of healthcare, or are afraid that your health care provider will drop you because you are a poor risk and might hurt their precious bottom line? Who is afraid to quit a bad job because he or she can't afford Cobra. Who is making a fortune off our kid's blood in Iraq ?
If you don't take the time and trouble to ask these questions, and instead hide behind your comfort zones, whatever they may be, then don't be hurt or surprised when you find yourself living in the streets, without a job, without a house. Get involved now, or don't complain later, because greed is unlimited; the greedy can never get enough. It's like drinking salt water, the more they drink the thirstier they become. Lobbyists will never stop until they have all the money, and where does that leave Middle America , and more importantly; Middle American children?
It's time to equalize the wealth, simply because we all work hard, and it's not fair for the privileged to drive expensive cars and play with expensive boats, while poor, but intelligent and hopeful kids can't even go to college. As soon as Middle America realizes that they are not the privileged class, and that they are being fooled into believing they are, and that instead they are the honest, hard working class, and when Middle America accepts that fact and becomes proud of it, then the dam will burst and drastic changes will be made.
Once Middle America understands that it should be running this country, instead of a few lobbyists, politicos, and corporations, and understands that their voice can be heard with the right leadership, then look out! All you have to do is really consider who and what you are, and see if you have been cleverly fooled by those in power.
Wouldn't it be ironic if a black man was the one to take us out of our middle class slavery?
E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-nine years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Yeah e, in Obama's speeches he sounds like the man who can pull us out of this mess were in. But if elected will he do anything constructive or is he all talk? I'll be voting for him in hope he will come throughI agree with you David. Obama is different, in more ways than color. I feel calmer when he speaks, as if we can actually come together for a change. We'll see! Best..........e
hi e, this was a very well written, interesting, and scary article. I am middle america minus an income, and i see how my kids are struggling on the outside of their home and comfort zone. it appears hopeless, but for Faith in a Higher Power. thanks for sharing, suePraise the Lord, but pass the ammunition! Thanks for speaking up Sue. It all begins with seeing what's up. Best..........e Oh. By the way, if you are ever in South Florida: Welcome! The Sanctuary Meditation Center is located in Naples, Florida on fifteen acres of natural, native habitat. It is in walking distance of the Corkscrew Sanctuary, the Audubon Society's premier wildlife refuge encompassing 11,000 acres of wetlands and forest. Meditation guidance and instructions are available by our resident Theravada Buddhist monks, as well as our senior laypeople. Free meditation instruction is offered on Friday evenings at 6:30 PM, followed by a group meditation and discussion. Three day silent retreats are held monthly, but space is limited (except for tenting) so please contact us in advance if you are planning to attend a retreat. Also, if Friday evenings do not fit into your schedule, we can usually make other arrangements for you; just contact us below. Our center is dedicated to the certainty that personal transformation is not only possible, but the only lasting happiness. Because of this certainty, all of our services are on a donation-basis-only in keeping with the Theravada Buddhist tradition that practicing the Dhamma (that which transforms) should always be free. We trust that our expenses will be met by the generosity of those who experience this transformation in their hearts, a transformation that not only opens them to the happiness of generosity, but to the freedom of being aware of the needs of others. Please call or email us for additional information or for any questions you may have. The Sanctuary Meditation Center 1112 Sanctuary Road Naples , Florida 34120 239 785 0322
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