Big Girl Panties

I’m sorry to say that my American Pride is at an all-time low and I’d like to think that something can be done about that.  We fought and won our independence and have taken our rightful place as a world leader in an amazingly short period of time.  We spit out guys like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy, women like Clara Barton and Rosa Parks.  We have a fight and a fire that is white hot.  We just need to come together and focus it on cleaning house right now.

I am not telling you all of this without following through with some ideas.  For one, the more attention you give a negative subject the more power it has.  Yes, there are people committing evil acts every minute.  We have homeless people and criminals and we’re near panic about shooters and bombers while people with good ideas are attacked and minimized because of ignorance and a lack of common respect.  Everybody wants to fight fire with fire instead of water.

Sometimes you have to help someone else put out a fire before you can put out your own.  There are so many things that need to be done on a federal level and so much red tape that all we can really do is start thinking about becoming a true Union again with some radical reform.  Still, there’s so much that can be done in the meantime- things that are totally feasible if people want to do them and put aside their differences.

Businesses merge all the time but you never hear about charitable organizations doing the same.  Merge the common interests, use what works and appoint one really good Organizational Facilitator to delegate tasks and keep people on track and make it BIGGER, thereby reducing the power of the problem.  Keep it non-profit.

Population control.  This rat race is making me carsick.  Too many people competing for whatever we’re competing for and too many falling through the cracks.  We shout out the statistics like it’s something new, but it’s not- we just have more people.  We all know Big Pharma is controlling this economy, along with several other corporations, and I say it’s time to demand something back.  They should provide women with free birth control.  Hire their own doctors to write prescriptions if they want, maybe save some money by providing vasectomies and tubal ligations.  Give the insurance companies a break so rates can go down.  They should take some responsibility for the problem instead of just making money off of it when they already make more than they can spend on blood pressure pills and antidepressants.

Another insurance break would be less sick people.  We all know diet is key to health but junk food is cheaper.  Personally, I am tired of tightening purse strings due to greed and a lack of imagination.  Work out a deal so hot dogs cost more and hamburger costs less and everybody still gets paid.  Fruits go down and pastries go up.  Milk goes down and sugary cereal goes up.  Make the connections.  It’s time for companies to get innovative with each other instead of playing Monopoly with our lives.

I know these suggestions depend on the willingness of some powerful people to deviate from their agendas and think about the common good, so…chances are iffy at best.  But, this next observation is key:  our mental health has become a serious issue.  According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the Global Burden of Disease study found that- “mental illness, including suicide, accounts for over 15 percent of the burden of disease in established market communities, such as the United States.  This is more than the disease burden caused by all cancer…major depression ranked second only to ischemic heart disease.”  People are depressed, frustrated and anxious and Prozac can only cover up the problem for so long.  We must encourage therapy rather than stigmatizing it.  Start a Non-Suicide Hotline for people who just need to talk and gain some perspective.  Step up the game on prison counseling.  Recruit psychology/psychiatry majors and merge some of those charitable organizations to make help more accessible.  We need all the positivity we can get.

I don’t mean to attack the media, but news outlets have got to take some responsibility for the effect they have rather than sensationalizing every horrific event and playing it on a loop for days on end.  By all means, report the facts and keep us updated with pertinent information but it is not necessary to interview “experts” to tell us what they think in order to fill screen time.  We can think for ourselves.  Find more positive stories to report to balance out the negative.  If there is not a reality show about cleaning up neighborhoods, there should be ten of them.  Free speech is a wonderful thing if people are responsible with it.  Stop paying so much attention to hateful acts and words and the haters will have less incentive.

Which brings me to gun control.  We simply cannot take away the right to bear arms.  If the government ever gets to that point there will be an uprising like never before, as well there should be.  I don’t own a gun, but I certainly appreciate the fact that I can.  There are enough guns in circulation to supply everyone who wants one, so how about we start by stopping the manufacture for a while so we can get a grip on things?  Why do we keep making new ones when we can’t even regulate the ones that are already out there?  It would be a step in the right direction without taking anything away from the citizens.  Sell the guns that have been confiscated by law enforcement and use the money for something useful.

We have GOT to get creative and stop being politically correct.  Democrats slamming Republicans, Christians versus Muslims and gays, black pride against white supremacists, poverty and the one percent.  It shouldn’t be about winning.  It should be about getting everyone safely to shore rather than throwing each other overboard.  It’s one thing to compete with the rest of the world, but why should we have to compete with each other when there is a surplus of nearly everything in this country?

This is not a letter to the government.  This is a letter to the American people.  We can either take back control of our house or let the corporations and politicians continue to lead us down the path to certain destruction.  Democracy only works if citizens are invested.  Capitalism only works if citizens demand accountability.  We have the right to pursue happiness and the capacity to think beyond our own self-interests.  We far outnumber the powers that be.  All we need to do is get on the same page and make sure that everyone has their turn.  Make a list of issues, put them in order, and everybody tackles each one all at once.

I propose we assemble a “round table” with an Organizational Facilitator to keep the conversation on track.  Fill the seats with two of everybody, just like the ark.  Find representatives from fields such as Sociology, Psychology, Economics, Law Enforcement, History, Social Work, etc.   Give them research assistants and access to data.  Keep the politics and the profit out of it.  The only agenda is to solve the problems that affect large groups of people.  If Congress can’t stay on the same page, we have to figure out a way to do it for ourselves and our children.

You have the right to attack me for my ideas but I will hold you accountable for improving upon them as well.  Come up with better ones.  If all you can do is spout negativity, I am not interested in what you have to say.  If you are ignorant about a subject, either study up on it or remain silent.  Just because you have the right doesn’t make it right.

For those of you who see any value in what I am saying, for those who still harbor even a sliver of hope for America amidst the greed and stupidity, I urge you to do whatever is in your power to do.  I do not have money or connections.  All I can do at this point is get this out there and hope for some real change to start happening.  I have ideas and I am ready and willing if you are.