The Japanese, the Greeks 'n' Us

I reread my note from yesterday. It sounds a bit angrier than I meant it. I do despise these grasping politicians and their incestuous self righteous handmaidens in the press but I don't think that alone explains it. I think there is a malaise abroad in the land. I think the reality of the size of our problems is beginning to sink in and people don't like it. Nurses are talking politics; they never talk politics. A scrub nurse today talked bitterly about government, about her 20 year old--an employed, hard working tax paying guy--who is being haunted by the local police because of the look of his car, so much so he sold it. Many hospital people talk openly about collapsing their retirement plans because no one is to be trusted. Some openly criticize the new immigrants brought in as refugees by Catholic Charities for gaming the system and plan with their families how they can do the same thing, not for money but revenge.

The national news is bad. Barney Frank and his ilk are not going away. Obama goes hat-in-hand to Arab t.v.. Pelosi wants to have hearings on Bush administrators. Rahm Emanuel, for heaven's sake. No one knows where 350 billion dollars went. Obama wants to retrofit the auto loans with environmentally friendly requirements, as if these will sell better.

There are some interesting parallels in history. The Japanese remade their country completely, twice, in one hundred years, first after encountering Perry when they went from a feudal culture to a modern world culture and then after the devastation of the Second World War. Perhaps it is easier after military annihilation but they did it twice. And the Greeks are interesting too because they created a culture that was new to the world, entirely new, as they created the polis based democracy that ruled the world and formed the foundation of most of the worthwhile things after it. That culture did not evolve; it appeared. We are early in this mess and many of those responsible are still here. But so are the children of the people who built this country. These times could get rough. Think of the Roaring Twenties becoming the Depression in three years. If I had any advice to offer it would be this: protect yourself. People will get stupid. They will give up on good things and start up bad. For all the wonderful philosophy underlying this country, its basis is work, hard work. Think like a farmer. Work hard every day, plan for the future but know that today's work allows you to eat next week. Enjoy your life and the world you live in. Ignore the jabber of the non-producers; build yourself and your life. The world is living beyond its means. Be prepared so that when it contracts you are able to be self sufficient and content. A lot of very demanding people in history were very content in cultures that were minuscule compared to us.