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Created: 12:35pm on 08-12-2008
Modified: 1:41pm on 03-02-2010 | |
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Entry #651149, added on 05-22-09 @ 7:26 pm EDT.
[Entry Access Restriction] None.
Title:
Mr. Thomas Paine....
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I had occasion, the other day to read a little of the writings of Thomas Paine. The work I was looking over was The American Crisis, published in 1776 and I have to say that his words ring as true today as they did two hundred and thirty-three years ago.
One phrase in particular struck me deeply as I read.
What we attain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.
Now of course Mr. Paine was talking about Freedom, but it occurs to me that what he said is true about everything in our lives. It is my opinion that the above phrase describes much of the problem we have today in America. This is why our country finds itself in such dire straits finically.
We, here in America have come to feel that we are entitled to only the best. A wallet full of credit cards, a big nice home, a new car sitting in the driveway.....we feel we are entitled to all these things. Credit card companies dole out cards like Halloween candy; never mind that most of can't afford the high interest rates. Banks use whatever method necessary to put anybody in a new house with no money down and low payments....at first. Zero down and Zero interst for two years will get you any brand new car you want....how you pay it off is your problem. After all...we are entitled to only the best aren't we?
No.
We are entitled to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Notice that it said: "Pursuit". We get to chase those dreams, but nobody said we are entitled to them....they have to be earned. When did we start believing that all these things should be handed to us on a silver platter just because we are breathing air?
I remember when I had to show a hard-nosed banker that not only could I come up with a 10 or 20% down payment, but I had to prove that I was finically able to pay the monthly notes on my current income at the time. Same with the new car.
Credit cards were something that most sane people shied away from and those that did get ONE, tried as hard as they could to pay that damn balance off each month in an effort to keep from having to pay the steep late fees. Besides, back in the beginning, a person would not stand a chance of getting that card without a sterling credit history.
So what happened?
Somewhere along the way, somebody convinced us that if one person lived in a nice house on the hill, drove a new car, and had the convenience of the credit cards, then we should all have them. Banks got greedy, Car companies got greedy, and Credit Card companies got greedy. They figured out that the more people they put in those houses and cars and gave credit cards too, the more money THEY would make. Late fees, Percentage rates meant they could make more money as the buyer fell further behind. Can't pay for the house and the car...no problem, the banks just foreclosed and resold them....sweet deal.
All the time, like mice on a wheel, we went round and round, trying to pay for what we couldn't afford and if...finally...we could not do it, well no problem, just let it all go back and start over again. I know people who have gone bankrupt three or four times and are still able to buy all the toys they desire...a never ending circle.
"What we attain too cheap, we esteem too lightly."
Is there anything America esteems today? That was what I was trying to say yesterday in my blog. It wasn't so much about how we celebrate Memorial Day or even about what I went through personally...it was about what America seems to have lost.
We have indeed lost something in this country. We have become soft and weak in many ways. Maybe if we once again had to pay a dear price for these "entitlements" maybe we will once again esteem them more dearly.
It's a thought. |
© Copyright 2009 Tor (UN: davidmcclain at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
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