politics without the fries.
as election season this year has drawn to a close, i've been a whirlwind of emotion and a flurry of activity (sounds like i'm a combo of some neurotic weather patterns).
i think everything took on monumental significance because i've finally reached my version of 'middle age.' don't laugh and never mind the actual number associated with my age, it's more of a state of mind - i'm finally far enough out of school that i don't feel like a struggling student constantly. i've made good progress on my career and life plans are beginning to feel more firm. carefree days of boredom and spontaneous plans are fewer and fewer between.
with this jump has come a more serious attitude when it comes to the implications of things. i inherently know, the value of a dollar and just how long and how much it takes to earn it. i wonder about what the future will hold, tomorrow, next year and in 20 years. i have come to realize that we are known by our actions and the company we keep; that our reputation is everything, even as it is one of the hardest things to build and nurture. i know that not everyone shares my values and beliefs and sometimes the very fact that they don't, can infringe on my ability to act on mine.
turning to this election cycle - i was truly concerned. over the past four years, i have witnessed changes in our country, some small, some major. changes i haven't been a fan of, sometimes because they go against what i know in my gut to be right, sometimes because they've made it harder for me in my own 'pursuit of happiness.'
i graduated from law school in 2008. i expected my future to be bright. i had put myself through this giant of education expecting to be rewarded exponentially. sadly, as many '08 law grads found - the world was not in need of the vast number of baby attorneys that were churned out. we accepted this and everyone scattered to find something to pay those student loans - for every attorney i know that landed in a successful gig right out of school, i know 10 that are still under employed or have moved out of the legal field. i wanted to get into the energy industry, and my town is the right place for that - i was lucky to find a job in the industry after 6 months of looking. i have never turned back from the choice i made to work with the energy industry. our great nation requires great power to fuel her, without strong energy support we will always struggle with being fueled by those that want to see us fail.
my line of work has given me a unique perspective. when the price of gas goes up, i can see how the govt can impact that price. energy production can have a long life cycle when it comes to oil and you begin to see how day-to-day things (a boring new regulation, aging plant facilities, or a military attack overseas) that the ordinary citizen may gloss over, impacts what you pay at the pump. cause and effect is everywhere if you know where to look.
my heart has become sick over the past week as i realized that cause and effect has once again come to play. our nation stood at a crossroads - record unemployment numbers for months on end, record high numbers of people of food stamps, a nation more divided that it has been in decades and people all searching for an answer but few agreeing on what that might be. we chose our crosses to die on - for some it was a personal issue like who can marry, others it was an economic solution, and still others looked for what would give them most for free. and in making those choices we moved our nation. some will say that we've taken the first step of the beginning of the end, some believe that this is a new dawn, a time for a 'new america' and others believe that in the end it won't matter, that it's all a back and forth that doesn't really result in a net change over time.
what i see is that after generations of people seeing the American life as a great struggle for success, where nothing is guaranteed but the right to draw your next free breath and where you and you alone must make your fate and future, we have turned a corner. it seems people no longer desire that path. healthy, able people work a system designed to help those that are in a rough patch or those that are ill and can longer support themselves. people have stopped looking for work, simply because the govt provides more than they could make a job that is 'beneath them.' we have coddled and babied a generation to the point that the expectation is 'what can the gov't do for me?' free lunch. free phones. free healthcare. free birthcontrol. the irony is that we seem to be a little less free these days. everything costs money, and it does have to come from somewhere - the Chinese will have their pound of flesh one day or we will simply implode like Greece.
i see this election is just another cause and effect - if you condition people to expect to be taken care of, then they will elect anyone that promises to continue the status quo - never mind anything else.
i believe that there is a season for everything, and that we are never beyond hope. but i fear that are in for some trying times.
i think everything took on monumental significance because i've finally reached my version of 'middle age.' don't laugh and never mind the actual number associated with my age, it's more of a state of mind - i'm finally far enough out of school that i don't feel like a struggling student constantly. i've made good progress on my career and life plans are beginning to feel more firm. carefree days of boredom and spontaneous plans are fewer and fewer between.
with this jump has come a more serious attitude when it comes to the implications of things. i inherently know, the value of a dollar and just how long and how much it takes to earn it. i wonder about what the future will hold, tomorrow, next year and in 20 years. i have come to realize that we are known by our actions and the company we keep; that our reputation is everything, even as it is one of the hardest things to build and nurture. i know that not everyone shares my values and beliefs and sometimes the very fact that they don't, can infringe on my ability to act on mine.
turning to this election cycle - i was truly concerned. over the past four years, i have witnessed changes in our country, some small, some major. changes i haven't been a fan of, sometimes because they go against what i know in my gut to be right, sometimes because they've made it harder for me in my own 'pursuit of happiness.'
i graduated from law school in 2008. i expected my future to be bright. i had put myself through this giant of education expecting to be rewarded exponentially. sadly, as many '08 law grads found - the world was not in need of the vast number of baby attorneys that were churned out. we accepted this and everyone scattered to find something to pay those student loans - for every attorney i know that landed in a successful gig right out of school, i know 10 that are still under employed or have moved out of the legal field. i wanted to get into the energy industry, and my town is the right place for that - i was lucky to find a job in the industry after 6 months of looking. i have never turned back from the choice i made to work with the energy industry. our great nation requires great power to fuel her, without strong energy support we will always struggle with being fueled by those that want to see us fail.
my line of work has given me a unique perspective. when the price of gas goes up, i can see how the govt can impact that price. energy production can have a long life cycle when it comes to oil and you begin to see how day-to-day things (a boring new regulation, aging plant facilities, or a military attack overseas) that the ordinary citizen may gloss over, impacts what you pay at the pump. cause and effect is everywhere if you know where to look.
my heart has become sick over the past week as i realized that cause and effect has once again come to play. our nation stood at a crossroads - record unemployment numbers for months on end, record high numbers of people of food stamps, a nation more divided that it has been in decades and people all searching for an answer but few agreeing on what that might be. we chose our crosses to die on - for some it was a personal issue like who can marry, others it was an economic solution, and still others looked for what would give them most for free. and in making those choices we moved our nation. some will say that we've taken the first step of the beginning of the end, some believe that this is a new dawn, a time for a 'new america' and others believe that in the end it won't matter, that it's all a back and forth that doesn't really result in a net change over time.
what i see is that after generations of people seeing the American life as a great struggle for success, where nothing is guaranteed but the right to draw your next free breath and where you and you alone must make your fate and future, we have turned a corner. it seems people no longer desire that path. healthy, able people work a system designed to help those that are in a rough patch or those that are ill and can longer support themselves. people have stopped looking for work, simply because the govt provides more than they could make a job that is 'beneath them.' we have coddled and babied a generation to the point that the expectation is 'what can the gov't do for me?' free lunch. free phones. free healthcare. free birthcontrol. the irony is that we seem to be a little less free these days. everything costs money, and it does have to come from somewhere - the Chinese will have their pound of flesh one day or we will simply implode like Greece.
i see this election is just another cause and effect - if you condition people to expect to be taken care of, then they will elect anyone that promises to continue the status quo - never mind anything else.
i believe that there is a season for everything, and that we are never beyond hope. but i fear that are in for some trying times.
