red alert today
The news this morning makes me wonder about the long term effects on society of living under this much imposed fear and stress. The rhetoric on the radio (MPR) this morning on the surface seems more thoughtful, but scratch the surface and it’s still all about having to be afraid and protecting ourselves and our stuff from ‘bad guys.’
It’s like what DB was relating about the high school mission trip that returned this past weekend. The went to Benton Harbor, MI, a town that is in a pretty serious economic situation. He said that apparently, the town used to be prosperous and that he heard three stories about why the town has gone bust. All the stories had to do with blaming “them.” 1) African-Americans who moved here after WWII and drove out the white residents because of “how they are” and the resulting business failures, 2) a cult that began here in the 20’s or 30’s called Branch of David, that God punished the city for harboring or 3) Welfare mothers who keep having babies to get bigger checks.
Around the staff table, I was the only one that pointed out the scapegoating involved in these three theories and that none of the theories included the fact that Benton Harbor’s economy was built on steel mills and manufacturing and an economy that is allowed to be so monochromatic is at great risk for bust when the boom runs it’s course. I mentioned that the theories they were told were comforting to the tellers because someone else was at fault and they were innocent victims and therefore had no responsbility (or power) to make changes.
blink blink
I know. It’s a nonsequitor. No relation at all to what happened this morning in Britain.
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A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…
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A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…
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A year ago (or longer) on This Journey…
