A Livable Salary

So I'm thinking of all the people that I know are looking for jobs. Some of them are reaching the point of desperation. They've  almost exhausted their funds and their options are few.  Some of them have families to support. Some of them are older workers.  I keep hearing about how our economy is going gangbusters & there are more & more jobs being created every day.  But what kind of jobs are they?  From what I'm seeing, a great many of them are either part-time or low paying positions, or both, which for many people is really no better than no job at all.  People must - I repeat - must - have jobs that provide them with a livable salary!  People are struggling and are unable to make ends meet.  Pay rates are entirely outdated & to those business owners who are still paying $8, $9, or even $10 or $11 an hour, congratulating themselves on their generosity, to them I say, Try it. Try living on the salary you offer your workers. You will soon discover it is nothing less than a slave wage, designed to keep people enslaved.  The barest minimum should be $15 an hour so that people may live with some form of dignity.

Everyone has a calling; a line of work to put their hand to that is gratifying and brings fulfillment. The problem lies with a system that seeks to make seers of children and forces them to choose their calling before they are ready. And then grinds down the unfortunates who find themselves trapped in jobs that are soul-killing and without any redeeming factor other than a means to scrape by. We need continual reassessments throughout our working lives and an opportunity to correct course. Education should be free.

Do I detest work? Am I lazy?  Against being industrious? Un-Patriotic?   Not at all. But I do question the system that traps people in unfulfilling existences, rather than helps them live rewarding, rich lives, and there are so many indicators that the majority are not happy in their work.   Something is missing from the way we do things.  People are not disposable drones. 

This meme was seen recently on a social network where it was garnering a lot of 'likes' & agreeing commentary. It begs the question: how is it that so many people relate so deeply to its message?   How did we allow ourselves to get brainwashed into thinking this is in anyway normal for people to spend a majority of their lives in occupations they find so distasteful?

A long silence while I immersed myself in the rhythm of so-called 'normal' living, my life ordered to the demands of the work-week.  Conclusion?  This is not real life; this is a form of servitude, prettied up to tame the masses to complacency.  I want to shout from a rooftop:  Awaken!  But society slumbers on.

Talking with a few people yesterday about the upcoming lottery drawing happening last night. The prize was $700 million dollars.  After awhile, the dreams shared, the yearning expressed, the hopefulness of the what-ifs began to become achingly poignant vignettes of lives only wished for, not realized. And I was left again asking, why not. We, the common masses, have had a centuries-long scam played on us. We've been duped into allowing our lives to be ordered by people who have only their own well being and profit in mind.  Want a revelation?  What if we all worked only to secure safe and attractive dwellings for each other, means to keep warm or cool,  music & theater & items to beautify our surroundings, road repairs when necessary, means to help those whose health was failing or have other bodily/mental requirements, and to grow food.  And what if these things were provided free of charge, each individual being indebted only to provide like services when needed. Think of all the superfluous businesses that would no longer seem necessary.  What if we all collectively took a deep breath and decided to do away with our legions locked away in company cubicles and trapped in hated employment. Why dont we embrace crafts and reward true workmanship & say no to mass-marketing? Why don't we start dreaming this into reality?  Nothing can stop billions of people throwing off the bonds of slavery.

About Social Networks: you have to wonder why there is such a push for us to connect.  One is even pushing me to allow it to choose new friends for me, as though I should trust this corporate giant to choose who I allow access to my private information.  I suspect the powers behind these networks want to keep us busy as little bees, all under their watchful eyes.