What does July 4th mean?
How do we celebrate? A meditation on sacrifice and common good: The United States of America emerged from 1/3 of the British colonists who wanted out of the imperial system. Why? Taxes, and restraints on their freedoms! They called out the King of England only after Parliament chose to deny their Olive Branch Petition. The war started in the North- Boston, where colonial merchants were subject to onerous "taxes" and regulations which stifled their trade. They wanted no taxation without representation, a lift on all restrictions on manufacturing and international trade. It is ironic that these same phrases have been used by people in the US to call their freedom into question. We forget that only one out of every three people in the Americas wanted to break away. One third were loyal, and one third could care less. We forget that Native Americans, leaders of their own nations, who were aligned with the British, were pushed away west, and forced off their ancestral lands. To the south, a large number of souls were bonded into slavery on plantations. Oppressed by the same people who stated "all men are created equal." Women and children had little or no rights, and were subject to laws and control. Only the land owners, and wealthy could participate, as renters and journeymen were subject to landlords wishes. Since the beginning, the United States of America has had one set of ideals, and another set of actions. We see this in how we proclaim that a well educated citizenry is the protector of democracy, yet our administrations continue to under and reduce fund schooling. We want all people to be equal, but we have different laws for different income levels. A fine is the same as a free pass for the wealthy. Our nation has made healthcare a for profit business, and 600,000 people have died. Wyoming's population was lost, and Vermont, at just over 600K is next. A building collapsed in the US, and a local leader stated "we are not a third world country" yet all the time laws and regulations to protect people's safety have been repealed or replaced. Our top 1% of wealth owners have made a huge profit off of the COVID 19 pandemic, and spread rumors and innuendos across their media platforms which have caused folks to refuse the vaccination, and claimed that the government was a "deep state conspiracy." As the country eats its grilled meat, and looks to fireworks, we must stop and remember, our "freedom" has come at a massive price- 600000 dead from COVID 7000 (mostly rural and poor) have been killed in the wards in Iraq and Afghanistan Almost 1 in 5 Americans has an annual family income rate of $26, 200 or 12.60 an hour for 52 weeks a year at 40 hours a week. (That is 1.4 million Americans). The Median (or middle wage) is $36,000 (17 dollars an hour for 52 weeks at 40 hours a week). For many Americans also need to pay taxes (which is often 33% of the wages). And the largest employers/ companies/ wealthy folks do not pay taxes. What does this mean? Since the beginning, the top have collected the treasure, blood, sweat, tears of the bottom, and convinced us that it was for our own good! They have tossed Horatio Alger stories at us, and said you too can pull yourself up by the boot straps! Yet that phrase was meant to ridicule the notion- it was impossible! According to science research, almost 2000000 deaths are caused by poverty. Covid 19 gave us freedom to work from home, yet many businesses are demanding we return to work. Women especially are dropping out of the workforce. We under fund child care, where the demand far exceeds the supply. Care workers wages are at the minimum wage. Our US forest service fire fighters make $12 dollars an hour. An entry level enlisted makes 39,600. A direct care aid makes $26568 a year. And they cannot work from home. Substitute teachers who are as qualified as regular teachers make $100 dollars a day. If these Masters degree people with state certification were haired for every day of the year, they would make 18000. Adjuncts at some colleges make $3500 a course. Others make 1800. In the Capital District, the United Way has calculated that a person needs a $50000 a year salary for 1 parent and one child to not be in or near poverty. That is DOUBLE the US Poverty rate. We, as a nation do not have a public transportation system, because the car industry lobbied its way. We do not have health care, because the lobbies won. We do not have stable employment, because the lobbyists won. We expect teachers to teach in a profession where the starting salary is one third of their expenses to get an education. Engineers who pay top dollar for school (250,000 for a BA) are often awarded a starting salary in the 70s, with sign on bonuses. What is the difference? Many engineers are subsidized by the federal military spending contracts awarded to large firms. For freedom, we have sacrificed our livelihoods, our health, our future, and our fellows. The System is broken, we must do better! Comments are closed.
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AuthorOver 20 years experience in consulting for improvement. Lean and Six Sigma Certified. PhD in Leadership Archives
April 2024
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