Our country has long been suffering. There have been good years, and there have been bad years. Unfortunately, for most people, it always feels a little worse. My life has not been too bad. Plenty of people have, sadly, had it worse than me. Unfortunately, most people blame others for their woes. Blaming and generalizing is easier than thinking critically about an issue. This happens a lot with the urban, rural divide.
Much has been written about this topic This is not exactly new waters I am treading in. In reality, the differences between urban, rural are really not that much. Yes, rural blamed urban for that dang Obummer, and urban blamed rural for that dang Trumpster. Unfortunately, we all suffer. The populace was inspired by Obama’s hope. His term in office could have been better.
The same for Trump. He inspired many with his rhetoric, and he provided people a chance to believe he was fighting for them (he is not). This is similar to Bernie’s 2016 campaign. The far left and far right are at the ends of a horseshoe. They are closer in some ways than people believe. The economic anxiety makes it seem possible why Bernie and Trump were hitting the same chord with different types of people.
Honestly, the issue is not rural vs urban, it is workers vs big business. When American companies decided it was better to outsource to different countries and consolidate at alarming rates, America entered decline. Whether it is farming, local journalism, or our cereal companies, everyone has to go big or go home. No room exists for the little guy. Greed has taken over American big business. They have no corporate obligation to provide for the common well-being. These companies float terms like social responsibility, but they only are socially responsible when they know they can make money that way. True social responsibility is paying employees the best wages possible and providing great health care. These big businesses do not need to exploit their employees.
People always chase the greenback and burnout. Money is everything, and we lose sight of why life matters. Maybe the lack of religion is part of the issue. Moral clarity helps people stay grounded, but honestly, money is the issue. Someone always wants to make the money at the expense of an urban or rural person.
The only thing to do is fight back. Shop local, buy local. Do everything in mind that keeps things local. Do not let the big guys win. Google any story about how much CEOs are making, and you will find the first reason why to fight big business. Every year it seems like it is more than the year before.
Does anyone deserve to make more than a $1,000,000 a year? Absolutely not.
Whenever I hear someone makes more than $100,000, I am blown away. No one deserves that amount of money. I am not fighting for socialism; I’m fighting for moral clarity. Be the person who is modest or be the person to give the money to someone else. Help each other out. Help people in poverty. Modesty is cool.
Sadly, the greed mindset will never change for some people. When one country, state, municipality, business changes it, the other countries, states, municipalities, businesses, will steal the upper talent. A race is always on to hurt the worker, but no race helps the worker. It sucks. Money is the worst.
This is coming from someone who has lived a decent life.
Do I want to be poor? Absolutely not.
If I were mega rich, would I live a modest life? I would hope so. But maybe that’s the problem, money goes to the head.
What a rant. What I’m saying is rural folks, urban folks, and everyone not making the big bucks needs to fight the big companies and everyone with more money than imaginable. Make them realize sharing is caring.