Friday night begins Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. We apologize for our transgressions and try to be better people. We fast for 24 hours to cleanse our souls. We look deep inside ourselves and come to terms with who we are and how we can improve.
As this Yom Kippur approaches, I am terrified that I have come to conclusions that nobody should reach.
I care more about wealth and power than anything else.
Actually, the wealth is irrelevant. Power is what I need.
My parents have never cared about money and power. My girlfriend does not care. Most of my friends do not care.
It is not about possessions. I want nothing in terms of material goods.
I have no desire to control other people.
What I want is what every human being deserves…human dignity.
In this society, people fall into two categories.
Either people are wealthy and powerful, or they are utter garbage.
I see it every day.
I know there are so many people worse off than me, but counting my blessings got tired a long time ago. The only thing I want is to matter.
I don’t matter. Neither do most of you. You think you do. You don’t.
Unless you are in the very top class of wealth and power, you are garbage.
A pair of incidents that occurred yesterday have me ready to spit blood. In the big scheme of things they are not important, but little things add up.
I was supposed to speak to a group yesterday, as I have done many times before. I am a professional. I know what to do.
I got there in plenty of time, and found that the building where the meeting was supposed to be was locked. I knocked on the door, and could not understand what was going on. This was definitely the meeting place. After 15 minutes past when the meeting was supposed to start, I was ready to leave. Then an incredibly well dressed man showed up. I had no doubt he was a candidate. He was one of the speakers. Neither of us could figure out what was going on. He rang the doorbell, and finally somebody came downstairs.
They expressed shock that the door was locked. We went upstairs, and found that the room was empty. Nobody had showed up to the meeting.
I drove over two hours in traffic to find out that there was no audience.
These people did not offer any apologies. They didn’t care. They shrugged their shoulders.
I felt awful for the candidate. This guy has two months until his election. His time is valuable. He took time to speak to these people, and they did not have the decency or class to even bother showing up.
I make my money on book sales. I have expenditures, including hotel stay. These people did not care.
Why were the people this indifferent? Because the candidate and I had something in common…we do not matter.
Does anybody think this happens when “A-List” speakers are booked? These hosts would have spent every waking moment dialing people to fill the seats for their guests.
I then went to the hotel, where the only thing I wanted to do was get some work done online. Despite being told otherwise, the internet did not work. The technicians promised to fix it. They did manage to make the problem worse, but that is not the same as fixing anything.
Does anybody think Jack Welch or any other high-powered CEO has this problem? They just get somebody up at 4am to fix it.
All I want is for my small corner of the Earth not to be impeded.
I give a d@mn about people. I want others to care. I treat waitresses, shoe shine guys, and others with dignity, because they matter.
Yet too many people have zero interest in showing any human decency toward anyone unless they are a “big deal.”
I remember having to stop payment on a check in 2000. This was done by mutual agreement with the other party. The other party waited until 2002 before trying to sneak the check through. The airhead bimbo of a bank clerk did not look at the date, and my account was overdrawn. For three weeks I had to live on bread and water while trying to get my money back. Finally I found one intelligent man who was a decision maker. He restored my loss.
Does anybody think that Lee Iacocca has this problem?
Wealth and power is the only solution. Nothing else works. Try flying coach on an airline and seeing how little you matter. Then fly first class.
Again, these isolated incidences do not matter. The underlying theme behind them is what eats at me.
Wealth and power is seen by some as leading to abuse. Lord Acton famously replied that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Yet plenty of people I know have power and they are not abusive.
I will never be one of those guys screaming at people getting me M & Ms to separate them by color and remove the green ones.
I just want my right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I don’t need anything but for the hindrances to get out of my way.
My parents will still never care about wealth and power. I genuinely envy them. They are happy just being.
That is not me. I am going to pursue power with a vengeance and obsession that is required to get it.
Those who question why I do this should sit and continue to understand why the world has no use for them and remains indifferent to their life or death.
Wealth and power gets things done. Everything else is garbage.
What a way to spend my final hours before Yom Kippur.
I should be celebrating the beauty in life. Instead I am thinking of how the world would be a better place if certain people died.
The person I am and the person I want to be are so far apart. The chasm may never be bridged. I just know one thing.
I will not live on this Earth as human garbage.
Wealth and power absolutely does bring peace of mind if one allows it. Only those desperate to minimize their own insignificance will protest otherwise.
Besides, these people could drop dead on the street and nobody would notice.
People are not equal. Nobodies get the nobody treatment.
The goal is to be somebody.
Only power can allow for the transition, with plenty of wealth as icing on the cake of respect.
eric
Just remember, my friend, yuou are talking about the root of all evil. Be careful.
JMJ
The root of all evil, as one poster comments. Okay, tell that to
Bill Gates, George Soros, the Fortune 500 CEOs, etc. Get my point.
Having money is not everything. It doesn’t make one happy.
But it sure helps.
Money is power, power is sometimes derived from money.
But money also gives people dignity.
95,000 Calif families pay 90% of Calif taxes.
Their wealth brings a degree of happiness to millions more.
The poor dont create jobs. The rich do.
20% of US taxpayers pay 65% of USA taxes. This
money pays for all the entitlements to the advantage of 10s
of millions.
Social security is almost bankrupt. Medicare is a trillion dollar
under funded. Calif is 20b in debt.
Who will pay for the above..the rich and powerful.
The movie industry has lots of mllionaires. They support the remainder
who work part time at union wage levels.
Power is not a bad thing in itself….but it depends. Hitler and Saddam
had power, the power to improve peoples lives.
Instead, they abused their power ( read the NAZI platform) and 70 people were murdered, mostly innocents.
Roosevelt had power and stopped Hitler before he invaded the USA (planned). Churchill had power, and thwarted the invasion of Britain
by Hitlers SS Men and army.
Ahmad has power, combined with the Rev Guards and Parliament.
His election was fraudulent..and he stopped the protestors cold.
He is the head of a corrupt, abusive government,whose only
goal is to kill every Jew, Zionist and Infidel (Christian), starting
with the Evangelicals.
He has immense power..and wealth.Instead of helping his people
he is making nukes to destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa., perhaps
the US fleets in the Gulf?
Again, wealth and power are not bad in and of themselves. Its
how they are used.
Dav,
I hope, for a change, you and I could engage in a colloquy here.
Money, power, (and don’t forget fame and sex) are not in and of themselves the root of all evil, I agree and understand – but the love, the lust, the unbridled, unrestrained passion to have these things most certainly often are. And, of course, they don’t always have to be! Many a great man or woman has strived for money and power, only to wield it for good. And our good host feels, or at least hopes, that is his aim. But our good host himself admits that he feels it is still, at least possibly, a human failing on his part. He envies (in this case, envy is a good thing) those people whom can be happy without money or power, who do not feel like “garbage” just because they don’t don’t have much money or power. I don’t feel like garbage. Sure, I don’t have much money or power, but I don’t need it to be happy. And I don’t feel like I don’t count. I think everyone who actively engages in the world around them “matters,” “counts,” is much more than “garbage.” That’s the whole conceptual foundation of American-ness in the first place – that we all count, we all matter, we all play an important part in our community, our nation, our world; even the least among us.
JMJ
“20% of US taxpayers pay 65% of USA taxes.”
Yes, that’s because they make that much money! Heck, the top 1% alone makes more than an entire 50% of the American people! What do you expect?
JMJ
Perfect example of moonbat cluelessness;
1) “the top 1% alone makes more than an entire 50% of the American people! ”
So, half the country is in the top 1% ? REALLY ? NFW !
2) “What do you expect? ”
were tired of drawing that picture for you
Some count more than others.
Period.
Otherwise we wouldnt be giving them so much money
I’m with Jersey on this one…I don’t need power to feel worthy, and I certainly don’t need other people to “validate” me to have dignity…Granted, having a “position” within the military, politics, or business makes it easier to get things done – creature comforts such as email connectivity, rides to the airport, et al, but in the grand scheme of things, the great equalizers are perspective and relativity… Poor example, but one that may hit home: some would say “Seinfield” has power or is influential…I have never watched the show, so he is irrelevant to me, and from my perspective, powerless. The people didn’t care about the candidate because they didn’t feel he could do anything for them…when I went to work for a Christian Mortgage business several years ago, I was shocked that this “principled” owner of a highly-touted Christian organization gave us our initial briefing with “WIIFM”…What’s in it for me?
So, from my perspective, if I am willing to live my life as a letter of recommendation for my God, then I am relevant and will matter to the people I encounter… and will have all the dignity and respect I could imagine. And you can substitute “my God” with your “principles”, or whatever…it is still a matter of perspective and relevance…
When I made more money…I was happier.
And so was everyone else.
Its some pretty cool stuff to have around.
Jersey, people are the root of evil, not money, not guns…its the people
Micky, it’s when people lust for money and power – that’s where most of the world’s evil is sewn. That’s why 1% of the population holds should a ridiculously diproportionate share of the wealth while alomst 44 million Americans – AMERICANS! – now live in poverty. That is evil.
Eagle said it perfectly: “So, from my perspective, if I am willing to live my life as a letter of recommendation for my God, then I am relevant and will matter to the people I encounter… and will have all the dignity and respect I could imagine. And you can substitute “my God” with your “principles”, or whatever…it is still a matter of perspective and relevance…” He should publish that. There’d be a great way of doing something good and still making some money from it! ;)
JMJ
“Micky, it’s when people lust for money and power”
yes, like I said, its the people.
Some people get rich in perfect honesty Jersey. Grow up and get over it and being such a whiney a$$ thief.
Who the F are you or anyone else to designate what is proportionate ? HUH ?
That 1% also pays for 60% of your entitlements today.
“And you can substitute “my God” with your “principles”,
Too bad you cant accept the fact that those who believe in God give more to world and local charities than anyone one demographic on the planet without being forced.
Jeez, Micky, what’s with you today? Yes, like I said, many people have lots of money and power and get it honestly and use it for good. Who the $#@! is arguing with that? The simple point here, a point that anyone with any ethical or moral gruonding knows full well – the love of money and power and sex is the main cause of the vast majority of the evils of the world.
And no, that 1% most definitely does NOT pay for “my entitlements.” The FICA tax is FLAT, there is NO deduction or claim to adjust it, EVERYONE pays it, and there is a CAP on the taxable income for SS, which means that for SS the rich pay LESS than the rest of us. Get your FACTS straight.
JMJ
Oh, and as for “charity” – much of that is simply paying for the religious institutions and clergy, and it is “forced” as for many it is “buying a stairway to heaven,” buying God’s love, without which they will go to hell. Theological blackmail. Many Protestant evangelicals even believe in the “law of reciprocity” by which they believe for what they give in “charity” (much of it just lining the pockets of televangelists) they will receive back through God’s grace – as if God was a numbers game.
JMJ
“the love of money and power and sex is the main cause of the vast majority of the evils of the world.”
No, its a lack of morality. Not the abundance of sex, money, or power…get it ?
Its the people. It all starts with the individual.
“much of that is simply paying for the religious institutions and clergy, ”
Thats quite possibly the largest peice of crap you’ve ever dropped.
Christian donations are so prevalent across this planet its not even funny. Of course your little mind thinks were only talking about the offering plate.
Christians have more charities and more missions and more hospitas and more schools across the globe in needy countries than ANYONE !!!!!! (and even here at home)