At this point, I’m not sure what to call this. In response to the “We are the 99%” cry, another movement has come out to counter what they believe is only rhetoric. The “We are the 53%” movement has been started, saying that they are the taxpayers who believe that you get what you want through your own hard work, and nothing is given to you for free. And they’re not footing your share of the bill. Their motto is” Those of us who pay for those of you who whine about all of that…or that…or whatever. It amazes me that people truly believe that disrespect of anything that doesn’t fit into their own ideology is the most efficient way to launch a counter argument.
I can damn well attest that I and so many others around this world work just as hard as these people do. I put in ungodly hours and got the physical ailments to prove it (and I don’t go to the doctors to “whine”, so the 53% are not paying for anything for me). I’ve spent much of my working career in a Corporate America that thrives on working in dilapidated, non-functional structures that produce the same inconsequential stuff they produced for decades while they paid me what they perceived to be my worth. There was absolutely no room for creative innovation in many of these antiquated institutions that still live in the 19th century with their current mindsets.
But is the perception of this equality of worth true when it only takes in the superficial act of watching the amount of work that is being accomplished? It doesn’t seem to matter to some that the work is not productive, as long as it keeps people looking busy and fulfilling their job requirements. Perhaps this is why we have systems that are broken on a global scale? People are settling because that’s what they’ve been taught to do. Isn’t that what learning is all about: educating yourself to understand new ideas, so that you can expand on the previous thinker or doer? Honestly, you can only paint a bridge so many times while ignoring the repair of its foundation before it just collapses from structural failure. The same goes for any system or institution.
It’s everyone’s responsibility to look at the functioning workings of any system and try to make changes for improvement. Nothing stays perfect forever. It’s sometimes impossible to make changes where you’re at, when there are always people standing in your way so that you don’t shake the equilibrium and make everyone seasick. Just like medicine is a band-aid that masks the underlying disease, acceptance of any system simply because “it’s not broken” is such a cop out. It is horrifying to see that people think we have become so advanced because of our technology, without realizing what a crux it’s become because it’s making us all lazy. Not lazy in the working sense, but lazy in the intellectual sense. Yes, technology is beneficial, but only while we are being responsible with what it produces.
Intellect is a gift that also needs hard work to make it thrive. It doesn’t come because someone puts in a token effort by reading a book or watching a movie. It comes when that person is forced to confront the topic at hand and actually form an opinion that requires hard work to defend, and equally hard work to see the other side. There are two sides to every coin. The universe is made of Yin and Yang. We have external and internal. Everything is about duality, and understanding how they work in unison to create the total picture. It also means that there will be a counter argument to your own ideology, so you better be prepared to defend it through your own honest efforts.
Somehow, whenever empty movements are started based on superficial understandings, it only serves to take humanity down another step of our growth. Why would anyone be satisfied with “good enough” when we could be working towards great? It’s ok to feel connected to a belief or an ideology. But when it closes your mind to other possibilities, then is it really productive or destructive?
And frankly, if you’re going to start your own movement, can you at least make a coherent motto! Or at least use a complete statement, even if you’re aiming at disrespect. Guess what? Even those 99%, who the 53% are speaking out against, will stop to listen to what the 53% are saying. Can the 53% say that they’ve given the same respect back in the past decade or any part of their life? I find it highly unlikely that they know every person’s story that spoke up in “We are the 99%” . I wonder if they even bothered to try? By the looks of their own blog, it seems like they put as little effort as possible, and their laziness shows.
Ideology will continue to strike back blindly until we all understand that there is more to every thing that we know. Each one of us contains a small portion from the fountain of knowledge. Each one of us makes a choice whether we want to take more of that knowledge or not. I plan to take more, because I am thirsty for knowledge that will help me to make more good for everyone. I’m getting off of this rotating hamster wheel, and trying to make my work count for the entire world. I’m done with selling shallow stuff. I want to be able to look at my reflection, and see a reflection that I can be proud of. Actually, I would just like to see a solid reflection again.
So, thanks, empty ideologies for giving me the strength and fortitude to continue on my own path to help society as a whole. Even those who disagree with me.
And to counter the haters, here are the hearters (who did put thought into their actions):
Thank you, people with hearts and souls who give us the hope that there are way more good people who actually care: We Are The 1% – We Stand With The 99%
(and thank you Good for putting this out there for us to find!)
