There is nothing magical about the 40 hour work week; it was an arbitrary number, plucked out of thin air back when corporate America was forced to scale back it's demands on its workers.  There is no divine decree that a 40 hour work week constitutes a 'full-time' position. 35, 30, or even 20 hours - or 10 - could be considered full-time if we allowed it. Who has brainwashed us to believe we are required to labor 40 hours, and usually more, to enrich someone else?  When will we envision a truly better life for ourselves?

If there must be a defined order, Socialism might look good on paper, but it has proven itself too violent and regimented to nourish the human spirit. But it is correct when it assesses the faults of Capitalism. Humans are not 'units of production', and this is where Capitalism completely fails humanity.  What is needed is a re-working of the Capitalist idea, with particular attention to modifying Capitalism's demands on workers.  A more humane Capitalism is the only way it will remain relevant in the long run. That or do away with it altogether and start with a blank slate. We need new ideas. Who said our lives are required to revolve around a monetary system?

We create our own reality. When that truth finally sinks in, perhaps we will create a truly beautiful society, one that helps fulfill dreams, not crush spirits.  Our world is what we make it. 

A Capitalist society has a great self-interest in educating the working class to venerate those qualities which serve to prop up the system upon which it rests and to despise anything outside the norm which facilitates its continuation. Therefore the working masses have learned to equate hard work and unquestioned loyalty to the employer to a form of patriotism & support of country, and they will equally despise any deviation from these precepts as signs of a low and despicably lazy character. They never question who ordered their lives thus and decreed the majority of their lives should be devoted to creating wealth for the relatively few. They never ask to be allowed to live first, not as an afterthought.

We should be paying attention to the insidious creep of technology into our lives. The directed marketing to 'improve our Internet experience', the intrusive 'help' of Siri or Cortana; the advent of flat-screen, Internet-ready T.V.  All of these things have deadened our awareness of the subtle manipulation we are subject to wherever we turn. It is a form of crowd-control, meant to keep us diverted  & under surveillance of our activities. We've forgotten how to live freely.

Every child should be encouraged to play an instrument and exposure to music should be mandatory in our schools. Violins and drums should be as common as math books.  Harmonicas, flutes, oboes, and bass guitars;  a large repertoire of instruments should be available to children, starting in 1^st grade.

We must decide as a people that we will not be enslaved to the work life.  There is dignity in work, yes, and work is necessary for our own support and for the benefit of society.  But work is not the end-all and be-all of Life.   We need to re-think how much of our lives we devote to our jobs. Our true priorities lay with ourselves and to our families and friends.

Women: When looking for a new job, very carefully read the description of the job for which you are applying. Take note of how many different ‘hats’ you will be expected to wear: If the description says you will be responsible for typing office documents, you will have a Secretary hat. If you are also responsible for greeting and directing clients, you have added a Receptionist hat. If you will be expected to plan itineraries, you’ve just been given an Executive Assistant hat. Asked to collect or process payroll, welcome to Human Resources and add a hat. Do you create invoices for the company? Process the checks received? You now own a Bookkeeper’s hat. And so on. Count the hats you’ll be expected to wear. And when that company proudly offers you an unlivable hourly wage as though they are doing you a favor, run. This is not a job; it is abuse.

A government unsure of its power relies more and more on bureaucracy to legitimize itself. 

Remember when commercials just tried to sell you a better detergent and were not the most agitating, salacious bits of brain washing ever to assault the minds of human beings?  We could all use a bit more detergent selling nowadays and less of the slick, sick ads. 

We and we alone are each individually and as a whole, responsible for the society we’ve created.  So the sole responsibility of the culture we live in- its great beauties and its accomplishments, along with all the ugliness and cruelty and exhausting demands of our country- falls squarely on our shoulders.