You probably already know this, but there is a reason why the economy has been such an overwhelming news story. It might seem obvious to some, but it wasn't for me. So maybe there are some other lost souls out there who haven't yet connected the dots.
The economic downturn has been such a long standing news topic because money is what most people care about most. No, really I mean it. Stop laughing in my face, I think I'm on to something here.
I can hear what you're saying, no shit Sherlock, the economy is such a big news topic because it impacts so many people, right? Everybody has a family to feed and take care of, am I right? It's inescapable, Money impacts nearly every aspect of our life, so of course when it gets harder to come by, well that's important.
Still, I think there's something more subtle going on here. We as a society say many things are important to us, the environment, education, our families, equality, liberty, freedom, yada, yada, yada. But if these things are important, and if they are failing us, or if those ideals are under attack, or eroding away, wouldn't those topics be in the news more?
Let's take education as an example. I submit that, like money, education touches us all as well. We're fortunate enough to live in a place where, if we want an education, it is available to us. It's difficult to believe, but there ARE places were that opportunity does not exist. Therefore, let's assume that we've either attended school or our children are attending school now. Now let's assume that the quality of our educational system is bad and that it has been for a very long time. Then why don't we constantly see news about education? We have a long-standing crisis with our educational system, but we rarely hear about it, talk about, or do anything about it. Why is that?
If we examine our society, we will find system after system is in a state of crisis. Many of these crises are in the very areas we say are important to us, but our leaders, our politicians, nor our media want to talk about it. Are the problems just too complex? Are the solutions so few? Or is the problem that money, the pursuit of money, the love of money, mass consumerism, and a hyper-materialistic drive have all silently snuck-in and replaced everything else we say we care about?
I've come to believe in one common trait in all human beings. What we say and what we do are usually two different things. So if you want to know what is important to someone, examine what they do, not what they say. It should be obvious then, that since we are doing a lot of different things to try and stimulate the economy, then we must think that money is important. So it must follow that if we're not doing much to improve education, eliminate our dependence on foreign oil, reduce solid waste, safe guard our freedoms, yada, yada, yada, then they must not be as important as money.
Reading through some recent articles, it certainly sounds like I've got the grumpy old man routine down preee-ttty well. If you can believe it, I've been trying to lay the foundation for this article.
While it's arguable how aware most people are of the problems we face in Puerto Rico, I do think most people at different times recognize or are affected by those problems. So in this sense, we are just like any other place in the world, we've got some great things about our home, and some not so great things. Our challenge is to leverage those unfortunate times when our problems are obvious, clear, and present. Like for example when we lose power, or water, or wait in a line too long, or damage our car in a major pothole. We need to route our anger towards projects and companies that are trying to make a difference.
One of my personal heroes is Tim O'Reilly of O'Reilly Media. Recently he has been pitching to his audiences all over the world, that we've got to break out of the mold which has us slaving away at jobs that merely aim to generate profits. Sure profits are great, they enable all sorts of good byproducts, as well as generate a lot of greed, but that's another post for Mr Grumpy.
The point he's trying to make and one which I fully concur, is we need more businesses (more people) working on the tough issues which plague our society. So it's not about working for a successful company or not. It's about choosing to work on projects, or at companies that are trying to solve the big problems of our society, for example, energy independence, starvation, climate change, extreme weather, water shortage, to name just a few.
Not sure you're working at someplace that will make a difference? Consider the following litmus test. If your job isn't directly related to solving, improving, or eliminating the big issues which threaten our way of life, then I'm afraid to say it this way, but your job doesn't really matter. Which is cool, someone's got to do them. The problem we have is that everyone sort of thinks that someone else will work on and solve these problems, but very few do. We need more concerned citizens who are willing to invest their blood, sweat, and tears on the jobs that make a difference. How about you? Are you ready to make a change?
Flickr Creative Commons Contributor: woodleywonderworks