integrity lost

i've spent a lot of time lately thinking about what's wrong with society. not in a judgey, 'those darn kids these days' sort of way, but connecting dots to see how we got to where we are. when i look around, i see society as a whole not caring about respect. self respect, respect for others, respect for our planet. especially respect for our differences. how boring would it be to live in a world where everyone thought the same way? we would choke on our blandness, like a lump of wonderbread stuck in our collective throat. instead, we're different, and our differences are beautiful. but we seem to have forgotten that. we trash talk and belittle each other, we ridicule the political leaders that we elected. we have forgotten that we have more in common than not.

there is such disparity in american society today. social stratification is back in a big way, riding a corvette with a platinum convertible top, and why shouldn't it be? that's the american dream, right? for the wealthy to not only safeguard their wealth but grow it? and honestly, i do think people should have the right to invest. if you have been blessed with material wealth, you should be able to do whatever you want with it. in that sense, i (gasp) agree with many conservatives. it makes sense to me that you shouldn't be penalized because you've done alright for yourself.

however, you shouldn't be rewarded either. you have already been rewarded, and your bank account reflects that. you shouldn't be exempt from the rules those not in your tax bracket have to live by because they don't know any better. you shouldn't receive special discounts. you shouldn't have to pay less because you make more. and anyone who buys what the wealthy tell us is easily bought.

look around. the people in charge are the ones trying to safeguard their wealth, and we are foolish to validate them. instead of defending billionaires, corporations and wall street, we need to start respecting them. we need to start seeing them for what they are, as greedy, selfish, money making machines who are very good at what they do. let's not pretend they're helping us. that's not their function, and we need to start showing ourselves and the rest of the world that we're smarter than that.

we need to respect each other. we need to respect that some people's lives are enhanced by religion, by their personal relationship with god, and that doesn't make them weak. we need to respect that some people are attracted to people of their own gender, and it's not a big deal. we need to respect the fact that the age of heroes has changed, and the only one riding to town in a suit of armor is ourselves. if we want things to change, then we need to start. it's mental, seriously. if you want to live in a world of equality and respect, then stop disrespecting those around you. instead of demanding from the world that which you DO deserve (because you do), try putting out into the universe the energy you'd like to come back. basically, if you think you deserve to be richly happy and satisfied and at peace, then approach the world from a place of generous happiness, satisfaction and peace. change is absolutely possible, but our problem is we've been looking in the wrong place.