Corruption or how things work?

Sitting in the bosom of suburbia in the highest per capita county in Pennsylvania can give one a false sense of the American dream being intact and strong as ever.  All of those living around here are living that dream.  Most have houses nicer than their parents and definitely nicer than those of their grand parents.

So, how does the current US government/finance interaction have importance to their lives?  If  a company (as now sheltered by the People United Supreme Court decision) wants to speak in its own interest in elections, they are free to do so, as much as any labor union, religious organization, 501(c)3 organization.

So, for those living the "dream", why should we worry? Why?  Because we are living in the latter days of Rome.  The oligarchs are running our lives and we are encouraging them to do that.

Here's an example.  Each school district needs to pay for new schools or renovating older, energy inefficient, or unsafe schools.  They "float" a bond issue to get the cash to fund it immediately and pay it off over time.  Guess what?  The interest rate they are paying is higher than it should/could be.  Why?  Because a small number of very rich banking executives in Britain set the LIBOR rate for borrowing $$ which will affect every municipal loan percentage in our country.   Their recent conviction and parliamentary convictions has not been loudly communicated via the American press on its impact to our local governments.

School districts lay off teachers, build lesser buildings.  Townships hire few police officers or municipal service workers and deliver less services.    Why?  Because a lot of people assume its just the poor US economy.  This financial status didn't just happen.  It was allowed to occur by elected and non-elected government officials across the political spectrum at all levels whose political and personal financial interests motivate them to keep their mouth's shut or, worse, manipulative for those interests, keeps the public from understanding that they are being screwed, not only at the national level, but at the local bosom of suburbia level, as well as inter-city, county, state, and national levels.

So -- very few elected officials are being disposed like the very corrupt president of the Ukraine.  Putin is one of the wealthiest persons in the world, despite having been a civil servant most of his career.  The ultimate leader in N. Korea lives in luxury while his people starve and have been convinced that their leader should be held above themselves, the laws of common humanity, or of any country not fully suppressing their people with via, harsh, military and security apparatus.

So, sitting here in my warm, safe, dry, well lit home in the bosom of suburbia, what should I think?  Is this how things work?  Am I being overly idealistic to expect our leaders in both government and business to have the general well being of their constituencies be priorities in their work activities?  I mean, we are okay..... at least for now.  One enormous set of medical bills or work income collapse and we are screwed.  But for now, I can think that isn't a likely reality.

Does corruption belong as an organic part of any country's political and leadership processes?  Is there some level that makes it work better?  Is it idealistic to think it should never occur?

So?  What do you think?  I think that a level of corruption happens in any system, but that here in the USA, it's drifting upward to a level beyond what is good for the general populace. AND its not a republican/democratic, left/right, liberal/conservative issue, despite well funded sources on both sides efforts to convince of just that.

What we need now, are leaders of high independent character, no matter what political, social or financial perspective.  Their focus should be on making our country and our world be better based on decisions and words driven  by only their passion for our country and world.

Gladiators or Athletes

I like pro-football - there I said it.  But, I am definitely not sure that I should at all.  So here's the deal.........

The men playing this sport are mostly young (under 30) and somewhere soon after their 30th birthday, their career as an NFL player is over - some times due to eroding speed, skills, or commitment, but more often than I think we know it's because they have been injured too many times or one time very badly.  

By their late 40s, many have terrible arthritis in their knees, hips, etc.  By their 50's or sooner, the repeated concussions, and other brutal elements of the game lead some to dementia, alzheimers and other serious health issues, some of which are life threatening.

But year on year we (as a nation) send our sons off to pee-wee football, middle/high school football and, if they are really skilled, to Division One University programs where everything about their lives is about getting them to the large stadiums (coliseums) to fight the (Nittany) Lions, BullDogs, Screaming Eagles, and other teams.  All of this sacrifice goes without a salary.  In Div I, you'll get medical care from doctors paid by the University to get you back on the field or off the roster.

If you get injured and can't heal up to return to the arena, pouf goes your "student athlete" scholarship, tutors, free meal plan, time in the glory lights of the 90-100K seat coliseum of the "educational institution", all covered in big $$$ TV contracts, as well as oversized amounts of advertising, none of which explain the Krebs cycle or anything else useful outside of the arena.  You are officially up S%## creek without a paddle.

If you survive the college level gladiator battles, you can get paid for being a professional athlete and have a contract giving you 1-3 years (or 1 game) of promised income, but in exchange you give your body and soul to the big dollar machine that is the NFL in the US.

The doctors are the teams doctors (who advertise themselves as the "Official xxxx of the yyyy Team name).  If I had a job that required that much medical staff on site at my workplace, I would probably reconsider the quality of the job I have worked so hard to get.  But these gladiators don't.  They fight in the arena and do get injured, even paralyzed, but almost always are in terrible pain  (good thing they have the medics right there).  BTW - if my office had to have an x-ray machine in the offices, I would also find that very blood chilling (oh, wait that stuff is in the refrigerator).

And its not just football.  I was watching the outdoor NHL hockey game called the Winter Classic and there was no way to miss the resemblance to the Roman Gladiators coming out to slaughter...... whoever they can.

I could add a number of other sports examples, but this blog entry is too long already.  

So, where is this all heading?

Can the barbaric treatment / self inflicted harm on these young men being eliminated by replacing them with robo-athletes?  I am pretty sure the ratings would crash - and that's one ugly conclusion - that we prefer to see human flesh in brutal battles than robots.

So, next time your son asked if the player laying on the football field is hurt badly, don't say he's not.  He probably is.  Badly.

Keeping it real that these are genuinely violent events (not really JUST a game) is the first step to figuring out why all the TVs here in the bosom of suburbia spend all day Saturday and Sunday (and Monday night and next season, Thursday night) tuned to football games.   I sure hope we figure out why and that we (and I) consider the nature and value of these "sports" and the gladiator athletes on their fields or ice rinks.

Coda:  I know there are women involved in all of these sports and I am sure they are being used by this system, but that is a whole 'nother blog entry.