The Price of Corruption

I've been watching a lot of news lately. At first I wasn't sure exactly what all the economic hubbub was about but I think I am beginning to get a better grasp on things now.

I am a little perturbed about the whole "bailout" business, not because I am personally going to immediately suffer, although I am not delusional enough to expect I will not get hit by it eventually, but because of the social implications of what this bailout means.

I am a "free-market" type person. I believe that hard work should pay off and not carry penalties. The idea of taking from the rich and giving to the poor absolutely infuriates me. I am by no means rich but if someday I work hard enough to find myself in that status I do not want it taken away from me. With that being said, I believe that those who are corrupt in acquiring their wealth incur bad karma and eventually there will be consequence to their corruption. And now we are seeing that the consequence has indeed happened. I feel extreme sadness for our country and those that will suffer unduly because of the greed of others but I believe that also is a price of passivity. We did not stand up when we should have to speak out against corruption and put a stop to it and now we will pay a price for that. There is no vote of "present" for those with integrity, they must actually take a stand and position. Presence with inactivity is in all actuality simply a dolled up term for "accomplice".

What are we an accomplice too? A deception. A deception that we can live beyond our means. A deception that the presence of credit gives us a false sense of security that simply is not real. We rely on credit to make us feel better about our lives. The percentage of our country that actually lives on cash is minuscule but they are the ones who are now sitting in true security while the rest of us are trembling in our boots. We have believed a lie. Credit is not real wealth people! What we have realized this last week is the true impact of what the disappearance of credit would mean to each and every one of us. If that realization entails the idea that one would have nothing left, then they truly do live in bondage to an inescapable slavery. Get away from this false sense of presence and security and begin to truly save and accumulate real money that cannot dissipate simply because your signature on a piece of paper, that by the way may take your soul along with it, has been deemed worthless. If we Americans as a whole had been more diligent with our prosperity, we might not be facing this present crisis. But we have lived a lie and now we will face the consequence of that lie.

This bailout will not allow for any consequences to be suffered, at least not by those who created the problem, but will be felt by those of us who did not stand up when we ought to have. I am against this bailout, because no matter how much it may eventually hurt me, it will hurt those who were corrupt more. If this bailout does occur then I think it is vital that we walk away from this with a lesson well learned and not forget that lesson. We cannot stand for corrupt practices and we must speak out against them, no matter what the cost. Whatever the cost of your voice may be it will never be as great as the consequence we suffer when we do not speak out.