Life's inequalities

[blackribbon]

I wonder what is really involved in explaining life's inequalities. I know good people who have good lives and good people who have crappy lives...and the same goes for bad, even evil people.

This is supposed to be "spring break" and mid-rotation break for us at school but a series of snow dates moved our final until after the break. I know I am sitting here studying my butt off because I have a minimum grade I have to make. However, I am looking at some of my classmates who are posting pictures from tropical locations. I get that they might not need to study as much as I do, but I can only wonder about having money like that to spend on vacations. These are good people so it isn't an unfair thing ... but I also know good people who struggling to meet their bare minimum financial obligations and even buying a luxury item at Walmart is a fantasy if they want to survive this program.

As Americans, we live with this belief that "if you work hard, you will be rewarded"...but I don't know if that is a "truth" or not. It is more, if you work hard, you MAY be rewarded.

 

[Neogaia777]

I wonder what is really involved in explaining life's inequalities. I know good people who have good lives and good people who have crappy lives...and the same goes for bad, even evil people.

This is supposed to be "spring break" and mid-rotation break for us at school but a series of snow dates moved our final until after the break. I know I am sitting here studying my butt off because I have a minimum grade I have to make. However, I am looking at some of my classmates who are posting pictures from tropical locations. I get that they might not need to study as much as I do, but I can only wonder about having money like that to spend on vacations. These are good people so it isn't an unfair thing ... but I also know good people who struggling to meet their bare minimum financial obligations and even buying a luxury item at Walmart is a fantasy if they want to survive this program.

As Americans, we live with this belief that "if you work hard, you will be rewarded"...but I don't know if that is a "truth" or not. It is more, if you work hard, you MAY be rewarded.

Unfortunately, in this world it is oftentimes "those who compromise their moral integrity" somehow, someway, that make it to the top, (just my jaded opinion though)

But I understand being broke, anyways God Bless!

 

[blackribbon]

No...some of the people on the top really deserve to be there. The one I am thinking of is celebrating her 25th anniversary on a tropical island this week...beautiful pictures on facebook and it couldn't have happened to a nicer woman.

 

[Neogaia777]

No...some of the people on the top really deserve to be there. The one I am thinking of is celebrating her 25th anniversary on a tropical island this week...beautiful pictures on facebook and it couldn't have happened to a nicer woman.

Sorry, I was speaking of the majority, I know there are some people inthe world who deserve everything they've got, but how can they be completely comfortable with driving nice brand new cars and living in huge houses and having a lot of money put back, and then say ignore the homeless person they see on the street corner, so desperate that their holding as sign that says "will work for food"

Just knowing and being aware of the fact that there are these kind of people in your neighborhood, in your country, while you live in the lap of luxury, haven't you compromised your moral integrity already?, in a way?, I'm glad I'm not rich cause I don't think I could sleep, or even live with myself at night the way my conscience works...

Anyways, God Bless!

 

[blackribbon]

Sorry, I was speaking of the majority, I know there are some people inthe world who deserve everything they've got, but how can they be completely comfortable with driving nice brand new cars and living in huge houses and having a lot of money put back, and then say ignore the homeless person they see on the street corner, so desperate that their holding as sign that says "will work for food"

Just knowing and being aware of the fact that there are these kind of people in your neighborhood, in your country, while you live in the lap of luxury, haven't you compromised your moral integrity already?, in a way?, I'm glad I'm not rich cause I don't think I could sleep, or even live with myself at night the way my conscience works...

Anyways, God Bless!

She isn't reclining in the lap of luxury...she is using her post mommy years to become a nurse..and trust me, there is zero luxury in what we are going through.

Are you proposing that we all give up what is good in our lives and give it away until everyone is equal? And until we do that, we are compromising our moral integrity?

 

[scraparcs]

Sometimes I think I don't want more financially, but all too often I wish there was just enough that small unexpected things weren't catastrophes...like ten years ago.

I don't think a sociopolitical system that was based more on economic equity would be a major threat to moral integrity, but I do suspect it would be a threat to initiative and progress.

 

[Doctor Strangelove]

Sometimes I have been rewarded for working hard, sometimes not. I have taken calculated risks - some panned out, some did not. I have had failures and successes. Early in life I often faced opposition and difficulties. This taught me to be determined and to keep focused. I would rather swim upstream than ride anyone's coat tails. I don't begrudge anyone of their success.

 

[Neogaia777]

She isn't reclining in the lap of luxury...she is using her post mommy years to become a nurse..and trust me, there is zero luxury in what we are going through.

Are you proposing that we all give up what is good in our lives and give it away until everyone is equal? And until we do that, we are compromising our moral integrity?

We need a way of figuring out who is deserving...

For example I heard three homeless men's stories, one drank and did hard drugs, and partied, participated in sexual orgies,and made money off both sex and drugs in his youth, and now he is broke, homeless, but won't swallow his pride and admit that he did wrong (won't be or act repentant at all), and still brags about his past even though he is homeless and living out of a tent and is still drinking his life away, collecting and turning cans in for beer, and will still do hard or any kind of drug if and when they are available to him...

The other one (I talked to) was clean from drugs and/or alcohol , said two years ago he had a good job, a nice house, a good wife, and kids, (family) but said that his company (plant) that he was working for, shut down, he got unemployment, but couldn't afford the house payment with it, and so he lost his house, and his family, couldn't find another place to live that he could afford along with his car payment, unemployment ran out, lost his car, that he was living out of, and now was homeless, on the street holding up a sign in the Wal-Mart parking lot asking for help, now when I spoke to him he was very meek, mild, humble, and kind, and clean cut for a homeless guy, so I didn't have any money I could give him, but the back of small SUV was full of bags of cans and so, I asked him "do you need a way of getting some money, and he said "Yeah, yes please" and I told him about my cans that he could turn in and gave them to him, (and that's how we got into the conversation about his life in the first place)

And the third one, I was at a gas station, and the (homeless) guy offered me five bucks if I would give him a ride across town and so, I did, and he went down to a park with a river that runs by it, and I had some time on my hands and we were getting into some interesting conversations on the way over there, and he had a fishing pole with him, and he asked me if I would come down to the riverbank with him for a little while, and so I did, I found out he was a Vietnam war veteran who got injured in the war and returned home disabled and so was on disability, but he didn't get much (per month) and so couldn't afford a house, or apartment, or a car, and he (rightfully) and proudly told me about some of his war stories, (and I could tell by the way he talked about them that he proud-fully probably practically lived in these stories/these memories and probably told them over and over all of the time, which he had a definite "right" too, after all he did do a great service for our country) now he did drink alcohol, (but I can't blame him) but as far as I knew no hard drugs.

And, I sat with him and listened to him talk while he fished the river, after it was over and I told him I had to go, he asked if I knew of any place he could get a hot shower, and I knew what he was hitting at, he probably was wondering if I lived as a single person and was fishing at me to offer him (perhaps into my home so he could take a shower) but I had my Family at home and "No, sorry, I can't do that, and then I told him that my family was waiting on me at home I had to go, and so we said our goodbyes, shook hands, and parted ways. It was a very interesting experience...

Now how can we judge?, certainly some of them deserve a better hand than what they got (dealt) in life, but there are also some that it's there own damn fault and there not even repentant or sorry for or about anything, how do we decide?

Anyways, just thought I'd share that, God bless!

 

[blackribbon]

What is economic equality?

How do you compare jobs for this equality? Everyone gets paid the same per hour?...so a doctor or engineer who spent years getting trained and buying that education earns the same as the man who walks in and runs the cash register at 7-11?

And if a person's job involves making life or death decisions on a daily basis, they shouldn't be allowed the "luxury" of a mental break in the tropics without guilt?

I realize that not all jobs pay what they are worth or professional athletes and entertainers wouldn't have some of the highest salaries (and we often forget that most professional athletes and entertainers barely make anything). However, we as consumers decide how much these people make by voting with our dollars. We want free education...but we want our teachers paid high salaries?...exactly how does that work? And for free medical services...where are you going to get the scientists, engineers, and doctors who are willing to invest years of their lives to training and research if we only want to pay them the same as the "average Joe".

 

[blackribbon]

We need a way of figuring out who is deserving...

How do you figure that out?

For example your partying drug using homeless person...

I met a number of these people in the mental hospital....one got his first drugs from a wrestling coach when he was 9 years old. The coach injected it...I am guessing without the parent's knowledge.. Is it his fault that he is addicted ten years later?

Or how about the ones who are just partying to escape some pretty miserable childhoods....or mental illnesses?

Life isn't fair and we can't make it fair. The only way to be fair is to take everything away from everybody so nobody had anything.

 

[Neogaia777]

How do you figure that out?

For example your partying drug using homeless person...

I met a number of these people in the mental hospital....one got his first drugs from a wrestling coach when he was 9 years old. The coach injected it...I am guessing without the parent's knowledge.. Is it his fault that he is addicted ten years later?

Or how about the ones who are just partying to escape some pretty miserable childhoods....or mental illnesses?

Life isn't fair and we can't make it fair. The only way to be fair is to take everything away from everybody so nobody had anything.

How long does one carry along in victim-hood, somebody, someone has to break the cycle somewhere, someway, somehow...

When does the partying or drinking or drug using stop and/or go from being someone else's fault, to being your fault for continuing in and not putting a stop to the behavior?

And who determines such things?

Those who are more or less able than others to do such things... Again, who (among humankind) can/determines such things? who decides?

And we can't all be equal, certainly some should get more or less than others, but Don't you think everyone deserves food, clothing, and shelter, but what kind of shelter, and/but who get's the bigger and better things, and who get's the lesser things?

I guess only God knows, all's we can do is pray out loud with our voices and use our words and hope the Holy ones know better than we do and will do the work in the world, at our asking it... we cannot conceive of, or determine such things...

God Bless!

 

[blackribbon]

I wouldn't call the young man's issue "victimhood"....he was abused and the end result was physical addiction. He either takes drugs or gets physically ill.

The same goes for the mentally ill or the people looking for an escape from a horrible life. The drugs cover their reality...for the schizophrenic patient...they quieted the voices that he heard in his head. These aren't the same as "bored Bobby" getting high on the weekend...but honestly, who would "choose" homelessness and addiction? Yes, some may have started out "bored Bobby" but by the time they are on the street, it usually isn't just a "choice" to get clean...it is a serious medical issue...and people die from detoxing the same way they die from overdosing.

 

[Neogaia777]

How do you figure that out?

For example your partying drug using homeless person...

I met a number of these people in the mental hospital....one got his first drugs from a wrestling coach when he was 9 years old. The coach injected it...I am guessing without the parent's knowledge.. Is it his fault that he is addicted ten years later?

Or how about the ones who are just partying to escape some pretty miserable childhoods....or mental illnesses?

Life isn't fair and we can't make it fair. The only way to be fair is to take everything away from everybody so nobody had anything.

Well, the first guy and I don't know if he victimized or abused or basically pushed into it at a young age or not. He was around forty-five when I met him, You'd think by that age (and by the current situation he was in) could have/should have led him not be so proud and such a braggart about all his drug-dealing days and bragging about how much money he made and how much fun he had during his sex orgy day's...

You'd think that he would have (at least) come to have a repentant heart, even if he was abused, you think he would have come to the realization that he needed to get down on his knees and say something like (if he was abused) "Lord, I am sorry that I let my abuser have this much power and control over the whole rest of/my entire life, and I'm sorry that I'm not sorry about my drug dealing days or sex orgies, and that I still brag about it" or something like that...

You'd think that he would have humbled himself, like the second homeless man I talked about did, and he really wasn't even guilty of anything (as far as I know) and I'm not saying the first guys guilty either, not if he was a victim, but how long do you get away with playing the victim card in life? And even if he feels like he can't stop his behavior, he should at least not like himself so much over/about it, so as to humble himself, a develop a repentant heart, then maybe he might get some divine help, who knows?

And I do not know whether or not he was/is mentally disabled either, but He seemed pretty intelligent during our conversation, and if he was mentally disabled, I'd like to think that even mentally disabled person's can know what it's like to be sorry for something, and I'd like to believe that even mentally disabled persons can be taught how and come to know what it is to have a repentant attitude/heart?

I don't know, very, very complex issues, only God knows and can decide, anyways, have a good night, and God Bless!

 

[Neogaia777]

I wouldn't call the young man's issue "victimhood"....he was abused and the end result was physical addiction. He either takes drugs or gets physically ill.

The same goes for the mentally ill or the people looking for an escape from a horrible life. The drugs cover their reality...for the schizophrenic patient...they quieted the voices that he heard in his head. These aren't the same as "bored Bobby" getting high on the weekend...but honestly, who would "choose" homelessness and addiction? Yes, some may have started out "bored Bobby" but by the time they are on the street, it usually isn't just a "choice" to get clean...it is a serious medical issue...and people die from detoxing the same way they die from overdosing.

Can't he get help? Help getting off the drugs, and if he is schizophrenic patient, isn't their another medical, legal alternative, counseling and or different pills designed for those disorders?

In your opinion, should "bored Bobby" down the street, be condemned?

 

[blackribbon]

Being addicted and being rebellious are two different things...and two different issues to deal with. Sometimes bravado attitudes are to cover hurt, pain, and weakness.

As for the humble men...they may or may not have been honest. I have heard some of the most sincere sounding stories come from the biggest liars. Quite often they don't tell they whole story...they only tell the part they know people will respond postively to.

I don't believe in "throw away" people. But I don't think there is a way to "equalize" this life.

 

[blackribbon]

Can't he get help? Help getting off the drugs, and if he is schizophrenic patient, isn't their another medical, legal alternative, counseling and or different pills designed for those disorders?

Sadly, no. There are not prescription drugs that always work...and many have some wicked side effects. Beside, you need to have money to go see the doctor for the prescriptions (because they need to monitor the side effects) and then you need money to buy the medications. Street drugs often are cheaper and easier to get...not necessarily better, but easier to get. Sad fact of life.

The mental hospital that I did a rotation through was only designed for a 3-4 day stay...only long enough to get med dosages figured out....then you were on your own. Legally, we can not keep mental ill patients against their will for more than a few days without a judge signing a order....and that is usually only for 30-60 days max.

 

[Neogaia777]

You are very wise, blackribbon, and I give you credit for your wisdom...You have taught me a few things tonight, and I personally thank you for that, How come we don't see you in other forums, you could certainly teach people a few things...

Well, I'm afraid I'm out of words for now, and I have to take my own meds for my own condition and go to bed, perhaps we'll speak some more at another time then?

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, may God richly bless you, Good night, and God Bless!

 

[blackribbon]

I don't know about being wise...but I am missing Dan today and contemplating the universe and other things too big to grasp. I think what life all breaks down to is relationships. And sadly, as a society, that is what we are the worst at dealing with.

I only post here because most of the other areas scare me. Bullies like to hide behind the anonymity of a forum like this. When I have wandered elsewhere...I found out deep things like how I am "sinful" because I look at the naked bodies of my patients....not quite sure how I would take care of them otherwise?... especially when I am looking for signs of skin breakdown....or allergic reactions? I do have a couple other places I frequent occasionally but I am not sure I am as welcome. Here I know I will always be with some people smarter than me and some people who have bigger hearts. It is a good place to be. (and they tolerate me her too...)

 

[Doctor Strangelove]

I have been thinking about Dan and I haven't slept well the past two nights. I'm feeling kind of blah and tired.

I don't care for how bullies put people down in the name of spirituality.

 

[dayhiker]

That's interesting Doc .... I've slept well but have found myself waking up early and praying in tongues for an hour before I get up. The Holy Spirit hasn't given me a clue as two what I'm praying about, but I find the pray goes on and on.

I suppose there are many ways to respond the your, black's question/puzzle about work and getting ahead. There are so many levels and dimensions to it. The one that has been hitting me was a study I listened to on a podcast. Its was a simple study of the incomes of people in the 70's and 40 yrs later in the 2010's. 1st he showed a bar graph of the incomes by percent for all Americans in the 70's. It went from almost 0 income for 1% to millions for the top 100%. The graph was almost a line low on the left to the top right.
The 2nd graph was for 2010 with the low on the left again close to 0% but the right 100% group was so tall that he had to break it out to the right and have over 5 bars to represent all the moneys they have coming in. So the line started out about the same as the 70's line but then went flat and finally almost straight up. The top, the 100% bar was 100's of millions.
The 3rd graph showed how much each percent would be making if the money, total income of the nation, was paid in salaries, income in the same proportions as the 70's. You and I would be make 10-20K more each year. Think how much less we would have to borrow for college, how many less people would be on food stamps, how many less people would be losing their home etc.

These people worked hard and deserve good money, but not that much harder than the person at McDonald's, or the guy taring the road, or you name the job.

That is how and why I think we done get ahead like we used to in this country. Tho I am getting ahead, so its not a complain I personally am apart of.