by Michael Douglas Carlin
We allow people who have money to get huge bailouts from the government, then we spit on those who are on public assistance. All need to be encouraged to be responsible for their own actions. All need to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and have the means to do so. When we promise a kid that, by working hard and getting educated, there will be a job waiting for him, there needs to be a job waiting. The reward for hard work and diligence needs to be tangible. We all need to be a part of restoring the Promise of America, so that honesty once again becomes the best policy.
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You talk to your kids, and you have a teaching moment. Do you tell them that they shouldn't lie? Seriously. Do you?
Everything around us today is a great big lie. The only thing that matters is money. We don't care where you got it. All we care about is that you have it. "Okay, you killed babies in a foreign country–now read the retainer agreement and give us a check and we will represent you. Oh, and don't forget to sign it. We will be sending you monthly bills that we expect you to pay on time."
Sound farfetched? To what extent do oil companies go to get their multi-billion-dollar pipelines built in Burma? Afghanistan? What happens to the people that are in the way? I think we all know the answer.
How about sweat shops that manufacture clothing in foreign countries? How about businesses tired of dealing with our own Environmental Protection Agency that move their companies across the border so they can pollute at will.
How about companies that outsource to countries that violate the civil rights of the people?
A trillion dollars of aid has gone to Africa under the guise of making it better, and it is now aid dependent. Was this unintentional or were there people who knew what they were doing? Wasn't the motive to keep the focus on other things while the resources could be stolen, a warlord paid off, and the people left with the mess? The warlord ends up in a mansion in the south of France, big business ends up with the resources, and the aid dependent people end up dead or downtrodden.
Have we really reached a point in our human existence where money is so sought after that we throw all morals out of the window?
Cash is the true religion in America today. Christ? Mohammad? Allah? Elohim? Devil worship? None of them compare to cash. Ask a religious zealot to sacrifice his Lamborghini, and you will understand what it is that he worships. If we can steal from the bowels of Mother Earth the resources that we need to fatten our bank accounts, then why should we worry about the consequences?
If we can release software before it is ready and then offer patches to cover up the flaws, then by all means release the inferior product. If we can offer health insurance and then cancel the policy when our policyholder gets sick, then we get to collect and not deliver. Sign any contract for any product or service, then deliver nothing but keep the money. Hire good attorneys to get your back and vacation in the Bahamas. Sound like a plan?
Finally, if you can manipulate markets to suck your cash out of the system without producing anything, why go to all of the trouble to manufacture anything? Why have any employees? Why add any wealth to society?
Is honesty the best policy? Not in the America that we have created today. Let the cable TV wash over the people, so that they get their amusement and fail to act to save us from ourselves.
If you want to give your kids an immediate leg up, you should teach them that money is the only thing that matters. Of course, "Don't get caught." That goes without saying. Honesty? Well, try to create an air of honesty. I mean lie to everybody and make them think that you are honest, but get the cash, because that is the only thing that garners respect. Those of you who care about the long term health and well-being of your kids, the community, and planet should teach them that Honesty is the Best Policy. Because the problem with lies is that truth is hard to find after a pack of them have been thrown around. Remember the "Cry Wolf" fable. Companies that can think beyond the next quarter will find that providing an honest product for a fair price will provide them with longevity.
There is a promise in and of America. Integrity needs to be restored. The pool man who cleans your pool once a week and gets fifty bucks for it is a hard-working American who needs to have the promise of America restored. The gardener who mows lawns and plants seasonal flowers to make America look nice is a hard-working man or woman who needs to have integrity brought back to America to be able to save money for his or her college education. She needs to have a safe place to put this money as part of the promise of America. The bus driver, restaurant worker, school teacher, plumber and mechanic all need to have the promise of America restored.
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