It’s Not All Bad

Arrogant excess does not slip out of a system quickly. Innocent people – euphemistically the “collateral damage” of an economic collapse fostered by a government that enabled and empowered the excess and a perpetual growth assumption the fueled imprudent borrowing to unprecedented proportions – are always the main victims. The period of deconstruction – “de-leveraging – will be long.

October’s unemployment numbers, reported today by the Department of Labor, are even higher than expected – moving from 6.1% to 6.5% on a clear path even higher – as another 240,000 people slipped off the job rolls. We’ve lost 1.2 million jobs this year, half of them in the last three months. As foreclosures continue to rise and vast pools of payrolls are unfunded for lack of bank financing for the companies in question, many of which look at the record drop in retail sales and picture their own demise. Why could any of this be good?

Because a patient who is very sick but feels great does not visit a doctor. Because this nation has replaced its realistic dreams with mythology. Because 24/7 news channels have paraded ideology – left and right – at the expense of facts just to find enough “content” to fill the airways. They call it news, and Americans get angry and believe them. Blowhards believe they matter, and people who “outsource” their opinions and are unwilling to ask what’s behind the “solemn” admonitions and idiotic judgments, simply adopt the expediency of their particular social group’s position on complex issues rather than grapple with understanding the complex issues and facts that require committed time to review and ponder. Our failing schools don’t seem to engender genuine curiosity inherent in an inquiring mind.

It’s why I write this blog. Sure I give opinions, but I give you numbers, background and facts in support. I provide historical perspective often lacking in traditional journalism. I try to focus on the specific issues burning at the moment, adding context and substance. I’d like to think of giving people facts is the “de-leveraging” of ignorance and excessive reliance on labels as the end-game. That’s what really got us into this mess.

So why is all this good? We used to call it a “reality check.” But if enough people start asking questions and demanding accountability, when enough of the body politic is no longer content with the mislabeling of good ideas and the “brand marketing” of ideas and slogans that look great but are really hidden vehicles to support special interests’ at the expense of the average American, and when we are willing to go beneath surface simplicity to live in the real world of whirling and dynamic complexity, what will follow will be the keystone in a foundation upon which we can rebuild our world. It is the only way that “left,” “right” and “middle” become Americans again. It’s how we recover and sustain.

So when you see a simple “one word” label… a fighting word from the past… that someone wants you to apply to a person, issue or policy, know that you are being manipulated for the slogan purveyor’s own good and your own loss. Dig deeper. Always.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I am trying.