unemployment

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September 12, 2009

Here’s what you should think, according to me.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under free, unemployment
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Americans are not shy about expressing themselves. I recently had the unpleasant experience of getting flamed on a discussion board for expressing my opinion and am certain that will be the last time I do that. Not because I’m intimidated—oh no. But it was frustrating to be insulted and criticized—personally attacked—by someone who doesn’t know anything about me. There’s no reasoning with people like that.

But debate is good, it’s necessary, and it’s what our founding fathers wanted. We often complain that the government takes too long to react to crisis and injustice. Lately there have been a lot of mixed feelings about how fast or slow they should move. Being unemployed I have a personal interest in seeing this economy get out of the slump and some of the recovery money is helping—some. However, being fiscally conservative I also see the horrific consequences we’ll have to deal with because of this spending free-for-all.

While on a trip recently, I read various signs that expressed the views of my fellow countrymen. I want to share these with you—but please don’t flame me. I’m a big girl and can take some heat but I do have feelings.

U.S. stands for Unlimited Spending—saw that on the Bridgeville Fire Department marquee. Very witty and oh so true.
Socialism = trickle up poverty—this one was a bumper sticker. If only I was as smart and entrepreneurial, I could make money selling crap to everyone.
Reward, Straw Thief—okay, this one was on a piece of board near a farm and I thought it was funny. And it does have to do with money and the value someone puts on their straw. (Which reminds me of a time in high school when my friends and I, ahem, borrowed a bale of straw and tossed it into the pool of our rival swim team. Hey—we were kids with nothing to do and it was better than going out and getting into worse trouble.)

So remember—you may not agree with the guy who lives next to you and that’s okay. Healthy debate is good. It makes us think hard about policies, laws, and programs before we react too quickly and make mistakes. Just try to formulate intelligent arguments, get your facts straight, and be respectful. I love America. I love speaking my mind (but no longer on discussion boards). And I love the people who protect those rights for me.

September 6, 2009

I want to be a princess when I grow up.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under holiday, unemployment
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It’s the end of the summer. Big bummer. We tend to define summer’s end with the Labor Day holiday. But with the August unemployment rate hitting a 26-year high of 9.7%, I would say that this Labor Day has a lot fewer people celebrating their labors. This is why I try not to watch or read the news anymore. But occasionally I just have to because otherwise I feel like I’m living in a bubble. The good news is that those who are working get a day off and those of us who aren’t get a guilt-free day because everyone else is off, too.

I’m spending this weekend with my family. And before the weekend got into full swing, I got some quality time in with one of my nephews. Tyler is nine and he’s about as smart as they come. He’s one of those photographic memory-types. Beware of what you say because he’ll remember it in vivid detail three years from now.

Tyler, being the brains of the outfit, was able to give me some career advice. At this point I’ll take anything—you never know where opportunity awaits. After hearing that I had not found a job yet, Tyler told me I should go to 99.5.com and listen to “hot jobs hookup.” “What’s that?” I asked. “It’s a place where people who want a job can call in and other people listening can hire them,” he said. I looked it up and the kid was right.

He then told me that he’s going to dress up as a woman (Princess Leia) for Halloween this year. I’m not sure if he meant that to be advice on what to wear for my next interview. (Conversations with Tyler are often eclectic.) Happy Labor Day and good luck to those seeking meaningful employment.

September 3, 2009

The only thing I know is that I know nothing.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under God, unemployment
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That statement was made by the famous philosopher, Socrates. I believe that we need deep thinkers in this world. They keep us entertained if nothing else. And the other day as I watched a video on BNET of philosopher Alain de Botton, I was very entertained. He’s an interesting speaker and was talking about anxiety over work and life, job snobbery, fears of being an underachiever, and social inequalities. He discusses the concept of meritocracy and some alternative ways of thinking. You can watch the video at the bottom of this post.

What made me write about Alain (I’m going to use his first name because it has a nice ring to it) and his video segment was the fact that he declares himself to be secular and yet on several occasions references the Bible and Christian concepts and admits that those teachings have value. As a Christian, it’s a challenge to hear people seemingly believe in or have the desire to follow Christ’s teachings but then say they aren’t “religious” or they are “secular” or an “atheist” or even stereotype Christians and insult them as a group.

In the video, Alain quotes St. Augustine who said, “It’s a sin to judge any man by his post. Only God can put everyone in their place and He’ll do that on the Day of Judgment.” Alain says it’s an insane idea to secular people like him. And yet he believes there is value in that idea. Don’t judge people, hmmmmm.

He goes on to discuss a certain characteristic about modern society and why it causes us anxiety. He says, “Modern society has nothing at its center that is non human. We tend to worship ourselves. Most other societies have something else they worship.” So Alain, isn’t it possible to believe that without God in our lives, we are empty? We try to fill voids with things instead of Jesus? It sounds kind of like that to me.

I keep seeing videos of and articles written by really smart people who say they are not followers of Christ (and in fact refer to themselves as atheists, secular, not religious, etc.), and yet they support Christian concepts that are taught in the Bible. I hope they someday let themselves be open to God because they certainly are seeing his point of view. And it’s precisely this that we need to show the world. Not the crazy people who just spout out the “don’ts” in life, but the people who see the beauty, the intelligence, and the wonder of God which is LOVE, patience, grace, and everything good. Can we get the media behind that?

So those are my deep thoughts for the day. What’s on your mind?