Nah, I'm not crazy. But I watched a guy this morning. He was already unsteady on his feet, and then he chose to stand up in the middle of the bus aisle to try and but on a fanny pack. The bus jostled him to and fro, and it occurred to me that the guy had never developed any self-preservation skills.
Here's my thought: When I've observed people in countries that have no social safety net, while there is sometimes a good deal of poverty, there are also a good number of resourceful people. I'm reminded of the women in Ghana who spend their days pounding cassava to make fufu flour and then attempt to sell it to tourists, or the women in Senegal who dry shrimp to cook and sell or the people in Senegal who harvest scrap metal and make bracelets from it. I've seen people make shelter from all sorts of ingenious materials, ranging from cardboard and leaves to cinderblocks to leftover sheetrock, and have seen all sorts of contraptions for people who lacked both limbs and wheelchairs to attain mobility (modified bicycles, wheeled chairs, etc.). It reminds me that necessity is the mother of invention.
It seems to me that in this country, where we have a social safety net, and a culture of entitlement, that people are less self-sufficient. It often appears to me that people lack common sense, especially when it comes to caring for themselves, and my thought is that it's because they've always been able to depend on the government to take care of them. If someone's providing for my every need, then what motivation do I have to become self-sufficient? That's why I think the government makes people stupid. It provides essentials for people in need (it gives them a fish), but does not equip them with skills necessary to provide essentials for themselves (teach them to fish). That's my perception. It's a very generalized perception and could be way off, but that's my perception.
Lately I've begun to think that America would be stronger, and our youth would be more directed, if we required either military service or college after high school. I see so many young people just hanging out, apparently lacking both discipline and direction. Can't help but think that if we spent money to put them into some sort of boot camp situation that we'd develop some sort of structure / discipline for their bodies, minds, and spirits. I wouldn't want this service to make everyone automatically eligible to fight in a war, though -- I just think if we were proactive about training our young people, that it would probably cost less than incarcerating them later.
OK, off the soapbox. On Friday night, I joined a group of people at a place called Tillman's downtown (165 W. 26th Street, www.tillmansnyc.com). We celebrated Pam's 54th birthday. While I generally don't like going out to eat, and definitely don't like bars (I don't drink alcohol and am no longer amused by watching people get drunk), I actually had a very good time. Like at any of Pam's gatherings, we just sat around and talked. No one overindulged, although three of the guys got together and were very loud. But that was probably more about testosterone than alcohol. No one was rude or disrespectful to the waitstaff, although there was some disarray, it seemed, when it came to splitting the check. If you have the food bill separate, and you have a dozen people minus the honoree, and the tip is included, why wouldn't you just divide the amount of the check by the number of people, tell them that's the minimum contribution per person, and leave it at that?
Yesterday, I went to see the Liberty play the CT Sun. The Sun scored 11 points before the Liberty even got on the boards. The game was a real snoozer, and I found it hard to stay awake -- the Liberty's shooting was off, and they kept trying, but they couldn't find their sweet spot. The Sun were outplaying them terribly, and I started to leave at halftime. Instead, I went into the Double Teamed store and bought a shirt with a 20% discount and got the little hanging monkey I liked, using my $5.00 off coupon. I wandered back to my seat and saw the Liberty were slowly closing the gap. Long story short, the Ladies of the Liberty ended up winning the game, 77-68. A group of really annoying guys sat near me. As the game ended, the one who sat closest to me asked about my jersey. Was it new? No, I told him. With a frown I said, "the new ones have Foxwood across the front." Yeah, he said, "I'm one of the owners of Foxwood."
Yesterday, NYC celebrated Gay Pride Day. It marked the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. The article below touched my heart and, sadly, reflects what I consider to be an unfortunate reality of the Gay Rights movement -- it used to be a struggle for civil rights, and it still is in many places. But in big urban centers, the young people have forgotten the beginnings of the movement, that it came about not as a means for them to express their individuality so much as it was a vehicle through which all people should have the right to live equally as Americans. And while it perhaps doesn't set out to do so, it also brings up the question of older gays and lesbians, especially those who are estranged from their families of origin: we're all living longer now. What happens as people age, with no family to care for you and all your friends of the same age and therefore likely in the same or similar physical condition? This doesn't apply only to gay people, but to anyone who does not have traditional family support structures. Years ago, when AIDS was epidemic, you found familial support structures inside the gay and lesbian community. I don't think those exist in the same way any more, and in its comments about the younger generation, the article confirms that suspicion.
I started this blog talking about how government making you stupid, because it provided for people and did not empower people to develop the skills to provide for themselves. This situation is a bit different: this woman apparently provided for herself, but eventually lost the ability to continue to do so... There is a larger issue, one that is very close to my heart, which is: "what happens to the elderly when they have no family to care for them?" "I think they started already. They're probably wondering where I am." Bless her heart.
Can't get the code to post properly, but you can cut and paste the following into your browser to see the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/nyregion/28storme.html?scp=1&sq=stonewall,%20nursing%20home&st=cse
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