By admin
It is just about the year 2009 and amazingly, many Americans are still harboring an anti-French attitude which was spawned in the early days of the current Iraq war (or whatever that has become). This is absolutely the stupidest thing I have witnessed in our society over the past decade. There is no doubt in my mind that those who have acquired this attitude, and have somehow managed to hang unto it, have not visited France in their lifetime. Most likely they are mindless drones who spend every spare moment watching television. Either that or they are hardcore right-wing politics addicts that have lost their ability to think clearly.
I remember back about five or six years ago when the topic was hot. It was France and Germany that were the targets of our collective irrational hate. They were the countries that would not directly support us (to a degree of our liking) in the Iraq war by sending troops. Those countries live a little close to that battlefield and decided to sit this one out.
Americans responded by refusing to order French fries at McDonalds and by boycotting German beer. (Stupid Americans that is. Papa Riah wouldn’t abandon German beer even if Hitler rose back to power, as I have my priorities straight.) They soon forgave Germany however - that one didn’t last long at all. But Americans held unto their French hatred for some inexplicable reason, many even to this day. For some reason stupid Americans just want to hate the French and will take any excuse to do so.
It doesn’t make sense. The war in Iraq is unpopular. The President associated with that war is unpopular. But bashing the French for not sending troops to that unpopular war led by that unpopular President is, somehow, popular.
Even for hardcore right-wingers this position is nothing more than pure unwarranted hatred. It isn’t much different from the Nazis hating the Jews (or the modern day Arabs hating the Jews, for that matter). There were plenty of other European countries who weren’t bullied into sending troops to Iraq. For example: Switzerland, Holland, and Denmark. Why aren’t they hated? What is it that makes the French such an easy target for bashing?
Perhaps many Americans forget that the French were our allies in the American Revolutionary war. If it wasn’t for their timely help we would not have won our independence in that war. The statue of liberty, the one universally recognized symbol of American freedom and national pride, was constructed by the French and given to us as a gift after our victory. My how soon we forget these things.
If you start talking about how you disrepect the French for being smart enough not to get involved in Iraq, be careful who you are talking to. That co-worker friend might actually turn out to be French. Then you will feel pretty stupid, won’t you? As you should.
Papa Riah
By admin
Are you a generally happy person? Thankful for all your blessings and appreciative of the good things you get to experience in life? Or are you an often-angry person, mad that others have more than you and not happy about the way the world works? If it’s the latter, I have a question for you: Just who the heck do you think you are? Why is it you think you deserve anything? The truth is you are darn lucky to have what you have, and that you aren’t starving in some third-world country somewhere.
The attitude that others shouldn’t have more than you, that it’s just not fair, is usually held by those who are not willing to do the work that those who have more do in order to get it. Welfare recipients think their welfare checks should be high enough that they get to drive an SUV and vacation in Europe too, just like their neighbor the workaholic who started a successful business in his spare time. What they don’t seem to understand is that the neighbor who busts his butt to get slightly ahead in life is also busting his butt to pay for that welfare check of his lazy neighbor.
It doesn’t matter to them. They hold a different world view than rational thinking people. Joe the plumber might save enough to finally purchase the company he works for through decades of hard work and wise financial planning. But angry-lazy people who hate society, work as little as possible, blow every cent they make on immediate pleasures, and spend all their spare time watching TV think Joe the plumber owes them something. He’s doing fine. But the angry-lazy people think that his “wealth” should be shared with everyone who didn’t work hard and didn’t bother saving any money.
There is a term used to describe the society which the lazy angry people envision. It’s called socialism. In a socialist society nobody has anything more than anybody else. The government takes most, or even all of, the money you earn and provides for all your needs. There is nothing to be jealous of because everybody has it the same way. Of course, nobody works hard to get ahead because there is no reward for it. So everybody has a very poor standard of living.
You know what? That suits the socialists just fine. They don’t necessarily want nice things for themselves. They just don’t want anybody else to be able to get nice things for themselves either. They want to drag everyone down to their pathetic level.
This dangerous attitude usually starts at a young age. It begins with - you guessed it - bad parenting. Not being able to say no to your child and refusing to discipline them raises them in a frame of mind which makes them think they were born kings or something, and that the world should be rushing to meet their every whim. This carries over into adulthood and causes problems.
If your child throws temper tantrums when they don’t get their way and you allow this, you are dangerously spoiling your kids. Spoiled kids grow up with issues of entitlement . They don’t understand how fortunate they are just to be healthy and living in a wealthy society. They think they deserve it all. What a misconception that is.
I have news for you: You aren’t entitled to anything by virtue of your existence. Nobody is. You might go to prison tomorrow, or come down with a terminal disease. Everything you have might be gone in an instant. There is no security in this life. If you are angry about other people having it better than you, then you need to seriously get over it. If you want more than you have put your nose to the grindstone and do something about it.
The recent election has resulted in our government being dominated by a political party who holds socialist views. That is an obvious fact, even to somebody like me who isn’t into politics. You can expect a flurry of socialist policies to materialize in the coming years. Those who work hard to get ahead will have an ever-growing percentage of the fruits of their labor confiscated and given to angry-lazy people who think they shouldn’t have to work hard to get the same rewards.
Now don’t get me wrong. Papa Riah is not a defender our current society. In fact I find much of it quite stupid, thus the existence of this blog. However socialism is clearly moving backwards. It’s been tried before and has always failed miserably. It results in violent revolutions and therefore must be instilled by military force upon the residents of it’s own country. But when people with issues of entitlement get control of world governments, as is apparently happening before our eyes, that nightmare becomes a very real threat.
Papa Riah
Technorati Tags: Socialism, Society, Parenting
By admin
You don’t want to know what’s happening with the $700 billion (with a b) bailout money that was supposed to be earmarked for large financial institution’s foreclosure and mortgage-related losses. Trust me, you really don’t. Especially if you are the type who gets mad when the leaders of your country act foolishly, irresponsibly, and with self-interest as their first priority. This is one time when it’s definitely better to stick your head in the sand. In fact I don’t even want to watch the news any more, especially financial and political news. I’m sure I’m not alone there.
The whole idea behind the bailout was to rescue large financial institutions whose exposure to the subprime mortgage business (and foreclosed properties that can only be unloaded for large losses) was threatening their existence. That’s what it was for. Unfortunately between the time the legislation passed and now, which has only been a matter of weeks, lots of other uses for the money have popped up. Gee, who would have thunk?
Bank of America already received $25 billion (with a b) of that money. Now they are a company that is in good financial health and has never been involved in the mortgage business. They have no bad subprime loans, nor do they own any foreclosed residential homes. BOA is doing just fine charging their customers every time they talk to a teller. So how did they get their hands on that cash? Is it because they have a sign that says Bank on the front of their building? Or do they know the right person somewhere?
Today on television the mayor of Philadelphia made a desperate plea to use the money to bail out city governments - in particular, his city. When it was explained to him that the legislation which allocated the funds would not allow that, he responded that they need to give him some other money then - just like the auto makers are apparently getting. When asked where the money was supposed to come from, he said (and I kid you not) The federal government are the ones who print the money - just print some and give it to us.
As a reader of this blog I hope you understand why that doesn’t work. That crazy mayor might as well print the needed money himself - it will be worth just as much as all American currency will be if the federal government starts printing money to give to every failing entity. Heck, haven’t you made some investment decisions that didn’t work out? Have the government print you some money to bail you out.
The really scary thing is, what the government is actually doing with these bailouts isn’t much different than just printing the money. The effects are going to be the same - they just don’t realize it yet. Or perhaps they don’t care what happens to the next generation in America. By spending more and more money on an unlimited credit line that they have setup for themselves, they are setting a terrible example to the American consumer. The whole system could be bankrupt in our lifetimes, not in our grandchildren’s as we are all planning on. At least consumers have a point where their credit is maxed out. Our government can just keep borrowing - and because they can, they do.
Eventually all this government borrowing and printing money will come home to roost. When it does, expect the US dollar to be worthless - not only overseas but within our own country as well. How are you set on gold coins and gold bars? You might want to stock up on them the way things are going. Either that or you will need chickens, pigs, apples, and ears of corn for currency.
Papa Riah
Technorati Tags: Financial, Bailout, Economy
