Pedal for a Purpose Day 1
10 years ago
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
CRISES
I saw this video on the Life at Luther blog and I am posting it here again because I think this guy (whoever he is) is right on.
I was reading another blog today and he talks about what life was like the last time the Dow Jones Industrial average was this low. I don't remember there being a crises in 1997
Here is my two cents worth:
We are living luxurious lives, including me. I have my own apartment with my own indoor plumbing. I have my own car that I can drive anywhere. I have this computer that lets me communicate with people that are far away. I have so much food that I could buy and eat that I actually have to keep myself from eating too much. And if that isn't enough, on top of that I have a nice bicycle, a guitar, several pairs of shoes, a cell phone, etc. And many people have much more than I do!
But somehow things are in a "crises," and for some people it is. Some people are losing their jobs and have no money and will have to live on the streets and beg for food. Those people are in a crises. Most other people are simply loosing some of the extravagant luxury that they had before.
To put it another way: We were insanely stinkin' rich before, now we are just rich. We had insanely luxurious lifestyles, now they are less so. That is not a crises, it is just unfortunate.
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3 comments:
Ok, I was going to blog about this video too! Instead, I'll just comment here. The guy is Louis CK and most of his comedy makes me die a little bit on the inside (in a bad way) so this is such a redemption of him for me.
I think we've set the bar so embarrasingly low for what brings us satisfaction and contentment. Or what we think brings us those things. The lecture I went to last week spoke directly to our instant gratification and the fact that we've achieved that. Now, in the paraphrased words of Brueggeman, the promise people have beleived in is being revealed as a sham and those of us who know the gospel know that truth is costly and not instant and does not concern only ourselves.
I don't think Obama is Jesus. Or Ezra. Or Isaiah (1,2, or 3). But I do think that his rational speaking about making difficult choices and sacrifice in our daily living at least pokes a hole in our gluttony, even though this nation will remain gluttonous, despite the free fall.
Perhaps some will have an honest crises of faith. Or CRISES of faith.
Great post Scott! I completely agree with you thoughts on this issue, and I don't know what to do with my pent up emotions about people's unnecessary greed. How do you express to others that you just think everyone is too greedy? We have too much, and the businesses that are suffering the most are those whose goods or services are not necessities. We could bail them out... or we could let them go under because really, if people aren't buying from them right now it's because they don't need them. I feel like this part of the dialogue is missing a bit in the media. What happened to the depression era mentality of being frugal? We could all live on much much less if we realized it. Thanks for providing a space for me to vent. It is nice to know there are others out there who see it the same way :)
Speaking of being frugal and not needing stuff, how about government spending? We are putting our kids and grandkids on the hook for an immense amount of money. How much of it is necessary?
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