We're Still Here - But We Don't Feel Well

I started this blog back in 2008. I was frightened by what I saw happening in my country.  The American Dream, that belief that hard work, intelligence and ambition could take you anywhere you desired, died.  It was a slow, sad, painful death and some of us still can't believe it's gone.

It is.

I have gone through all the stages of grief and have finally accepted that the world I grew up in no longer exists. The brave new world is not better. And we need to speak up about it.

I want to do something. I am not a policy maker (nor do I want to be), I am not a radical (except in my imagination), but I know something has gone terribly wrong and we all need to stop denying it.

There is not one simple fix for an incredibly complex web of issues. But fixes have to begin somewhere. So I'm focusing on work.We are working harder and longer than ever before, yet the middle class is heading for extinction. When it's gone, so is the society we say we live in.

I write.  I believe that this little corner of the blog universe is my place to shine a spotlight on individual stories, true stories that will illustrate what life is like in what we're told is post-recession America.

I have begun interviewing people from all walks of life, asking them about what it's like to try to stay afloat in the treacherous seas that are America after the economic meltdown.

 Some of them are working multiple jobs. Some are trying to find one. Some of them are at the top of their professions. Some thought they'd be retired by now.

They're young, they're old, they're saddled with college debt or never finished high school. They are us. And their stories are the real stories of what it's like in this country today.

There are other projects out there with similar (or even the same) names. It doesn't matter to me. What I'm doing is not the same as what they're doing, and we're all contributing to what I believe is a vital conversation.  I hope you'll look at all of them.  They matter. These people matter. We matter. All of us.

Like most of us, I work several jobs. Time is my challenge. But my intention is to post one story a week here, and I hope you'll read, comment and share. Welcome to Everyday People. Join in - share your story.

Civil Public Discourse - I think not

Enough is enough, already.  I've had it.  America has forgotten its manners and the fans of what they call good old fashioned American family values are currently the worst offenders.

Rush Limbaugh is not worth discussing.  He hasn't been for some time.  The disconnect between his views and his life makes everything he has to say just noise.  I'm not surprised at his latest sexist rant.  I am surprised anyone - anyone! - would defend him.

This post was inspired by someone specific, yes indeed. Someone I know wrote a Facebook post agreeing with Limbaugh after he demanded sex tapes from a college student speaking up for insurance coverage for contraception.  This person said Limbaugh was "right!" for calling her a slut and prostitute.

No, he wasn't. You're wrong. 

It's also a gut reaction to Rick Santorum's assertion that only a "snob" wants a college education for America's young people.

Really.

I thought that the American dream was to want better for your children.  Instead, now we're supposed to view higher education as sour grapes - since we can't afford it, it must be something we didn't want anyway.

What an incredibly transparent ploy to persuade the disappearing middle class that there's nothing wrong with our system.

That's the end of it for me. 

There is NO excuse for character assassination in a policy debate.  I've had it with name-calling and I refuse to try to understand this angry hysteria any more. Snob - slut - prostitute - those words have NO place in this conversation.  Any similar words from the other side - equally inappropriate.

These rants are indistinguishable from childish temper tantrums - and I have no patience for them.  I hereby declare my independence - I can't hear you when you use that tone of voice.

YES! The good side of the economy!

It's almost horrible, yet somehow very comforting. For the first time ever, poor people are happier than rich people.

How can this be, you ask? Well, it actually makes sense. If you're poor, nothing's changed for you, has it? Life was tough before and it's still tough. In fact, prices are coming down a bit.

But if you're rich, whoa Nellie! You're scared to death - you might lose your job - maybe you invested your big bucks with a shyster - maybe your stocks have tanked. You might become gasp MIDDLE CLASS!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-henry-sterry/poor-people-happier-than_b_164772.html

Now of course nobody's talking about the middle class - we working shlumps who go to school, get a job and then work fifty weeks a year fifty hours a week to make ends meet and try to afford a vacation once every five years or so.

We didn't lose anything with Bernie Madoff. Most of us don't have any stocks, except for maybe a 401K through work that's now worthless. Our lives go on as before, except maybe it's becoming less likely that our kids will be able to get the education we had. The other big change is that we're not talking about retirement anymore. We don't expect to retire. Even if we want to. We're going to be working until the day we die and we just hope we can stay healthy and keep going.

Maybe this economy will level out the playing field a little. Maybe it's time we finally realize we're all in this together - and maybe it's time to grow up, reach out and all work together.

Are you listening, Congress?


Thanks to the Huffington Post for this one.