We are heading for a brick wall

[blues90]

I saw this because when I look at the popular topics on many sites and on the news they are about 2008 or someone who is well known life .

Sure there are many stories of this admin and the so called new government we have .

Each day something new breaks and here we go off of one intense important topic to the next .

What troubles me most is all those who have lost their lives or their homes or jobs , people who live on the streets . The vets sitting in Walter Reed and all across this country . The Millions of Iraqis who are dead . The thousands who are locked up to be tortured . The troops still fighting this insane war and the ones not yet sent into this killing field .

This is a list than can go on forever .

I do know they are a few people and groups out there trying to help , however compared the the 300 million in the US these are few in number .

So it hits me hard today that it is true , as long as you are not effected directly life just goes on as usual and all the others are forgotten . They lost out and now are not part of societies rules and are left behind . It seems like the people who do try to help are the people who are broke for the most part and have not the funds or means .

There seems to be nothing that will ever change this fact .

[MADem]

1. Start with yourself. Go volunteer at a homeless shelter.

What changes these facts are people.

Be part of the solution, if it bugs you. Don't worry about what others do or do not do. Worry about yourself and your role in improving the situation. You'll feel better.

[Monkeyman]

2. You Mean Some Place Like This

http://www.helpaveteran.org

[bobbolink]

5. Instead of cutting someone off at the knees who obviously has a heart,

how 'bout doing your part?

You are cordially invited to start here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x394904

Thank you for your efforts!

[MissMarple]

3. Actually, it is better than it used to be. The New Deal programs lifted many out of poverty.

Social Security, especially, has helped the destitute elderly. Medicaid and Medicare have also helped. Title IX greatly expanded scholarship opportunities for young women. Disabled children who used to not be served by their local schools now have educational opportunities unavailable previous to 1967. We have come along way. And the corporatists want to take that all away.

Our hurdle is not just to expand on what we are doing right, but to expose the greed and avarice of the richest among us who actually do care nothing for the poor, the disadvantaged, the temporarily down on their luck. If it doesn't directly help them, these robber barons see no value in it. What may take money from their pockets for the general good and maintain a healthy and vibrant society, has no value for them. They are evil, selfish, and they are predators. Our job is to outflank them, to marginalize them, to put them on display for all to see, for all to know them for what they are.

It is a job that never really ends, like housework. But we do make headway. Got a broom? "Ladies, let's clean house!" (from "Practical Magic" the movie). Oh, and guys, too.

[bobbolink]

6. You may have noticed the New Deal programs have been cut to shreds.

Not New Deal--came later, but are you aware that HUD has been cut over 65% in 25 years???

Here's a way you can help:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x394904

And here are some Capitol Hill Toll-Free numbers to call any Senator or Rep. and get them fired up!

Toll-Free Capitol Hill Numbers:

800-828-0498

877-851-6437

800-459-1887

800-614-2803

Thank you for calling, and kicking the thread, and for passing this info on to others! :toast:

[MissMarple]

9. That's why the deep pocket corporatists were so ecstatic about Reagan.

Everything would be smooth sailing to dismantle the New Deal and the continuing progressive bent of American politics. Nixon could never run as a Republican today, nor Eisenhower.

Thanks for the heads up, I'll call. But I'm not holding my breath...the American people live in a state of cognitive dissonance, they like to help the stricken, but they also think people in need have some sort of moral failing. In their minds, if you can't pay the rent or for health care, it's your own damn fault. The corporatists have been quite efficient in creating this obscene world view, and Americans eat it up like hot dogs and ice cream.

[bobbolink]

11. I'm very well aware of that cognitive dissonance--I get it all the time!

I got laid low with an attack of it from some church Barbie Doll a few days ago, and it has really hurt.

So, I totally understand it, and I know the damage it does.

that is why we poor folk NEED the support of folks like you so very badly!!! WE NEED TO KNOW WE HAVE YOU IN OUR CORNER!

Being out here alone, and getting shit on by all the "liberals" who bought the Raygun shit hurts very deeply.

[MissMarple]

16. Hey, bobbolink!

I see you are in Fort Collins. :)

Being progressive has nothing to do with education, income or status. Critical thinking skills combined with compassion and/or just basic pragmatism helps us know why we all have to bring all of us along together. I remember watching the last Poseidon movie, I know, way Hollywood, but those guys got out because, basically, they didn't leave anyone behind. I think that is a rule, unless, of course, one is saving the human race. I don't think that is a factor in our world, today. We are not yet in a scifi holocaust scenario....yet.

Sorry about the Barbie doll churchie person. And the people who bought into that Reagan stuff....they were/are not liberals in any sense of the word.

And luck has a lot to do with being rich, poor, or just comfy. Luck, along with all that other stuff. Good Luck!

[bobbolink]

21. Actually, I've come to the conclusion that compassion has nothing to do with intelligence or

education.

It has to do with FEAR.

People are fearful of ending up in the same situation as someone who is "beneath them", so they protect themselves from worry by finding the things that make the hurting person "different". Then they can console themselves that it wouldn't happen to them, because they are "better" in that way.

It took me years to figure this out after my son was kidnapped and people said all manner of hateful shit. But it has been confirmed in my experience.

Too bad so many people don't take the time to learn about themselves, and what runs them.

Thanks for the empathy about the church Barbie Doll lady. They are all over, and it's why church is only for those who either "fit in" or who can put on a mask.

[Tsiyu]

22. bobbolink

I am sorry about what happened to your son :hug:

You know, 10 years ago I got kicked off a couple message boards for saying exactly what you just said. Those people were so afraid, they didn't even want to hear the suggestion that they might be afraid!!!!!!!! :shrug:

There IS a class system in this nation and it's really ugly and it's based on fear (and greed.)

"There but for the grace of god" is just another way of saying, "well, at least god loves ME enough not to put ME there" when the truth of the matter is, unless you are uber wealthy, you can get "there" just as easily as any of the rest of us, and god has nothing to do with it.

Peopl have everything to do with it. When PEOPLE refuse to pay a living wage, refuse to demand that all have access to affordable health care, refuse to support their nation by paying a fair share of taxes, and refuse to see that issues concerning the poor, weak and sick are "moral issues," we can only blame PEOPLE, not "god."

[bobbolink]

27. Thank you for understanding---it means a lot!

Today we've seen the result here on DU of hurting people having to leave because of the ugliness. I'm very sad about it. :( It's so sad that "liberals" can't seem to respond more from the heart. :(

It means that much more that you can understand and care about what I was saying. I know completely what you mean about people not even wanting to know that they don't know! I've been thinking a lot today about Jung's concept of the shadow, and how we're doomed to keep repeating crap until we understand something about our shadow selves. But the denial here and the defenses against our own shadows are going to be our downfall, if we don't wise up.

Those of us who've been caught in the ugliness of the class system know just how ugly it really is! I guess it's like the propaganda of the media.... people in this country have decided that "we're the best", so they can't see propaganda, and they can't see poverty. To do so, they would have to alter their view of everything.

There is one point of yours I *will* disagree on, though. "There but for the grace of god" is just another way of saying, "well, at least god loves ME enough not to put ME there" That really isn't what that means. The real meaning is like what the librarian said to me a couple of weeks ago, when I helped a neighbor with dementia find her missing and horribly overdue library books. She managed to delete all the HUGE fines, and when I thanked her, she said, "You're welcome. That could be me someday." She knew she could end up in the same place. That's the meaning of "There but for the grace of God go I"---it really is a humility thing. It's very unfortunate that people don't even say this much anymore. They seem to think they are so much better that they are impervious. In my worst moments, I start wishing they could have it all befall them, so they would learn something. Not very gracious of me, eh?

Thanks again... your reply has warmed my heart, and that means a lot to me!

:loveya: :hug: :loveya: :hi: :loveya: :hug: :loveya:

[Tsiyu]

28. You are awesome

Thanks for checking in on me in the other thread. I'm on dialup so I'm going to respond to this one.

:)

I am only slightly hungover, after a birthday celebration that involved a wonderful Fedexed gift from my SO and then kidnapping... I was kidnapped by some young people who arranged a string of various drivers to deliver me to various places where I was forced to drink various adult beverages.

It was just awful ;)

As for your explaining the "there but for the grace of god," I do see what you are saying and you are completely correct in discerning the original meaning of the phrase. I suppose I just believe that people today use that phrase to imply that their god has set them apart. If "the grace of god" is responsible for putting someone in one position or another, what can a human do? Does that make sense?

Sometimes in my life it has been "there but for the grace of a good person?" To which some might say, "Well, my god acted through that person." In any case, people need a steady reminder to care, and I suppose people like you - with your big old heart :loveya: are here to do just that.

But all the worst of it still sucks, and I hope your world changes for the better very soon. :pals:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. "We're heading for a brick wall at 100 miles per hour

It's not about survival, it's about power....."

"Why Should I Care" by Robert Hoyt. Great singer/songwriter-check him out.

[Madspirit]

7. When I was a young leftist

When I was a young leftist, in the late 60s and 70s, there was a group of Trotskyites we worked with. Now, this is not something inherent in Trotsky beliefs. This was just this one group...

Anyway, they always made a point of voting for the very worst candidate...Nixon, etc. because they thought that as long as the majority of Americans are complacent and comfortable, nothing will happen. They said they wanted to heighten the contradiction between the Haves and the Have Nots. They wanted the middle and and the working class uncomfortable enough to get off their asses and do something.

I never agreed with them because real people have to live under the administration but I can certainly see their point now. No one wants to rock the boat, if the boat comes with an IPod and a color tv and a DVD player and etc.

Compassion is just not part of being an American.
Lee

[bobbolink]

8. I see their point, too, and I see it right here at DU!!

You may have noticed, poverty issues don't get much attention here.

:cry:

[Madspirit]

10. Exactly

I rarely see issues of homelessness or poverty or mental illness or health care....addressed here. It is some but not to the degree it should be. Poverty IS one of my main issues. I come from poverty and I am still quite poor and uninsured, etc. and I used to be homeless. I suffer from a mental illness and cannot afford care or medicine, etc. It's ridiculous.
Lee

[bobbolink]

12. I'm with ya, Madspirit!!

:hug: :loveya: :hug:

Please keep your eye out for Sapphire Blue's threads, and help us to keep 'em active!

Thanks for being here! :pals:

[Madspirit]

13. Hugs and thanks to you too!! n/t

[nam78_two]

14. Weapons of mass distraction

The glitzy senseless stuff gets all the attention...Poverty, homelessness, lack of healthcare are not glamorous topics x(.

[CrispyQ]

17. A nation of no substance. --nt

[Sapphire Blue]

15. We've slammed right into that wall and the casualties are piling up; yet the indifference continues.

You're right; unless people are directly affected, make that severely affected, they're not going to get up off their duffs & do something. Blame it on Raygun. Blame it on bush. Look the other way when Clinton signed off on NAFTA & Welfare 'Reform'.

Katrina happened. We saw... and looked away.

Still looking away, in comfy McMansions, watching plasma teevees... a tsk, tsk now & then when the teevee news tells us of the atrocities going on... but ain't that a nice plasma teevee???

[bobbolink]

20. Sapphire Blue, I'd be able to handle it if it were only those in the McMansions with their plasma TV

I could then know them for what they are, and put it out of my mind.

But as much as we want to try to partition it that way, it just isn't so. All we have to do is to look around our local Dem party structure--how much have local parties reached out and included poor folk? There was a time when Dems did that.

How much time do the local party organizations give to discussing poverty, and ways to alieviate it?

How many DUers respond to pleas for simple calls about budget issues?

Just look at how many responses there are to calls for buying roses for a well-known public face, vs the effort people are willing to expend to keep housing viable for those who will otherwise be homeless. Look at response after response about some online "poll to DU". Look at thread after thread about some silly celebrity escapade. etc, etc, etc.

It's all right here.

We don't have to throw rocks across town at the McMansions.

It's all right here.

[formercia]

18. I spoke with a Fundie friend

and he accepts it as part of the 7 years of trials and tribulations. It's another part of the propaganda campaign to pacify the evangelicals.

[bobbolink]

19. On the other hand, many evangelicals are MUCH MORE supportive of poverty issues than liberals!

It's something they are mandated to do, so to speak, and they take it seriously.

With liberals, it's only if it's something popular at the time.

Since John Edwards is currently the only candidate on the Dem side who is consistently pushing poverty issues, it's just not something that liberals are caring about.

So, be careful not to use too broad a brush....

[formercia]

23. Reich-wing Fundie

would have been a more descriptive term.

Point well taken.

[TankLV]

29. "many evangelicals are MUCH MORE supportive of poverty issues than liberals"

Are you FUCKING INSANE!?!?!

Just what planet do YOU live on?

I have never, ever heard such a RIDICULUOUS statement as that one.

Evangelicals are a POX on the world - their only concern is getting in MY face trying to FORCE their brand of religion down MY throat.

FUCK the evangelicals.

And I make the distinction between these scum and the generally genuinly religious persons...

[B Calm]

24. Global Warming

[bobbolink]

26. Keep ignoring poverty, and you may find peasants with pitchforks

much more of an immediate threat than global warming!!

It really *IS* possible to focus on more than one problem at a time.

Really, it is.

Trust me on this.

[RestoreGore]

25. Social Darwinism...

That is the system we really live under and it is far from Democratic, and I do see it practiced somewhat in the Democoratic party as well. It is not exclusive only to those who believe in the Dominionist ideology that claims if you are poor you deserve to be because you have lost face with God. It is a perverse and widespread acceptance across the political spectrum that poverty is really a non issue. It would appear that on issues of morality such as poverty, climate change, human rights, etc., that this country falls very short in practicing that morality because the mantra is, greed is good.

I thought for sure that Hurricane Katrina would open up the eyes of many across the board and start a real dialogue about poverty and climate change which are definitely related to each other and its affects in this country and globally. However, it didn't, and as we have seen the entire issue of poverty was once again shoved under the rug.

Poverty is again on the rise in this country as millions of children go hungry every night, and yet, it is not on the greatest pages of the Internet as it should be everyday because it isn't exciting enough. It is also not part of the dialogue on any political side to the point where you would feel in your heart that people actually care for those who struggle to survive every day. America has lost its way, and unfortunately I also do not believe people will see it as important until they are deeply and personally affected by it. It seems to be human nature to not care unless it is about you, and to me that is a sad statement on human nature that those of us who do care have to continue to work to change.