Maintaining Equilibrium; Living in Parlous Times

In my current blog post I plan to ruminate around a sense of living in parlous times, ("parlous," being an obsolete form of, "perilous").  Perhaps a sense of  being on edge regarding the future is a way of waking us up to the reality that even in these modern times, we cannot take anything for granted.

Currently, it is reported that even the astronauts out in space can see the explosions, because of fighting in the Middle East, and once more our military is dropping bombs, as well as food and water, onto the soil of Iraq.

A radio ad playing here, sponsored by a financial counseling firm, asks the question, "So, when have, 'times' been certain?"  Nonetheless, in the not-too-distant-past, at least in some parts of the world, we humans have been able to lull ourselves into becoming complacent.  Currently, in addition to the heating up of the hostilities in the Middle East, the world is again faced with a potential pandemic comparable to that of AIDS which we experienced beginning in the '70s.

While most of us still manage to create a sense of a reasonably safe world around ourselves, any input from news sources can undermine any sense that we are safe.  Perhaps this is why so many have immersed themselves into the available Social Media.  It also may be an explanation for the, seemingly-irrational, political determination to prevent any attempt to change the social order. 

To my mind, if there were the same amount of effort, and money, to introduce a workable solution to the world's problems, rather than fighting, perhaps we can have a safer world.  Here in, Albuquerque, New Mexico, the city management has determined, by putting money into a possible solution, that it is quite a bit cheaper to put the chronically homeless in housing, usually with a helping friend or relative, than to leave them out on the streets, trying to survive, day-by-day.  To me that is an excellent example of a pro-active solution to a major problem.

It has been established that many of the current homeless are veterans who, visibly handicapped or not, have been abandoned by those who promised to be there for them, a fact that, while not news to many, has had major news coverage recently.  Those who returned from our earlier wars were not abandoned, and they ended up as respected contributing members of society.

Former President Carter has created an organization called, Habitat For Humanity, which helps people to build homes, with the help of others, for themselves.  There are many excellent examples of how homeless people could be housed, at a relatively low expenditure, compared to what is currently spent on those on the streets.

This is not a new idea, a Chinese Proverb stating this idea is, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."  It is clear that many of our schools are failing to teach anything meaningful to survival.  It is to the sorrow of many that currently, in this country at least, what young people learn is to kill people, primarily through video, "games", and violent movies.

Since a primary employer in this Country is the military, it is understandable that the military is a viable option.  Many of the young people, who try to survive by, "joining up," are primarily the young people who are only a little more successful at learning what our schools teach than those whom teachers have failed to teach.  This is verified by the fact that a large percentage of those who try to join the military are not accepted, because they are unable to meet even their minimum standards.

So what can be done about this situation we find ourselves in, if just in this country?  What the above indicates, is that there is much work to be done.  First, and foremost for me, is to pass on minimum skills to the young.  Much current attention is given to the facility young people have for learning and working technical devices, i.e., computers and other modern devices.  It is about time that we in this country admit how badly we have failed in teaching even basic living skills to all young people.  Currently, it appears that such skills are beneath the higher achievers, and not-needed-to-learn by those who are dropping out of school by the thousands, just here in New Mexico, as reported in a recent newspaper article.

Our futures are dependent upon the vulnerable of this world. Denying that major problems exist in this world, including here in this Country, trying to claim that these aren't parlous times for everyone is not going to get we humans out of this major sink-hole we collectively have created in this world.

On this sad note, I end this entry,

Shirley Gallup