Life Between 0 and 1

Today has been difficult for me, definitely a “down” type of day that has infected everything around me. It’s been a long time since I last had a day where it started off wrong from the moment my alarm went off. No matter what I’ve attempted to accomplish today, it’s gone sideways and ended up being much more effort to be expended to get things straight again. Coming off a great three-day weekend (had a friend’s wedding on Friday) where no one yelled, got angry, or fought about anything just to get rewarded with such a horrible Monday really does suck. Noises around me seem worse today the before, my typing is horrible and labored, have yet to have a meeting go well, and I keep fighting the urge to just go home.

The news was depressing at lunch and didn’t do much to make things better, although it was part of my routine that wasn’t upended today. Bombs, stabbings, rumors it is linked to terrorism….. WTH? I can’t shake the feeling that we’ve done this to ourselves, we’ve created a system that is ripe for this sort of violence. We’re a divided country and with that division, we’re too focused on what offends us to recognize what a massive target our country actually has become. Obama is a lame-duck, the government is gridlocked and hopelessly ineffective, the Fed is hinting at a rate hike (that I think is needed btw), yet all we’re worried about is how much gasoline is going to cost heading into the holiday season threatening our pervasive need to buy more stuff. It makes me sick. We want the quick fix, a miracle pill for the economy, all without the sting and pain that goes along with it. Don’t raise my taxes, but reduce the debt. Don’t spend so much on military, but protect us from evil-doers. Keep me safe, but don’t violate my privacy doing so. Grrr!

My pessimism can’t be hidden today. I’m angry at the system and the people who have been allowed, unchecked, to mold the system to their benefit. Only 3% of this country makes over $250,000/year (after tax deductions and loopholes that is) of reported income. Would I think differently if I suddenly started making $2-3 million per year? Perhaps. I’d much rather think that I’d be the outsider, the squeaky wheel, the one that polarized the 97% to recognize their power and start wielding it instead of ignoring it. Take all that pessimist energy, the “downs”, and channel it into something productive that normal Americans can get behind. How quickly things would get turned upside down and quickly fall apart when over 300 million people start pushing a common message. A message that tells the other 3% your time is up, easy money is gone, and they’re the ones footing the bill for our great economic recovery.

Has my day improved now having gotten this negative word vomit out? No. Has my pessimism been reduced a little? Yes. Do I hope that you are listening to me instead of just hearing me? Yes, definitely yes! A good saying, not sure who said it. “You can fill a bucket with drops or a torrent, the bucket still gets full. You can change Government one person at a time or with a country, the Government still changes.”