The opposite of CONCORD is DISCORD.

We seem to be having quite a bit of that lately. The discord, that is. It is so frustrating to me to watch our nation tear itself to shreds. From planned Islamic Centers, to partisan bickering, to pretty overt racism–I’m sad to say I am an adult among other (supposed) adults.

There are so many things we need to worry about, other than the aforementioned trivial b***S**t, if you catch my drift. There is a very violent conflict, just south of Texas, that goes virtually unnoticed. How many people–a lot of them innocent–die every day in Mexico? Phillipe Calderone’s government is having a tough time with this. From what I understand, Mexico is almost at the point of making deals with the Druglords and their factions just to calm things down. The Federal Police have already somewhat aligned with one of the major cartels in Juarez–and the ordinary officers were paying the price for their leadership’s alliance. The “regular” police rioted against the corrupt ones, and sadly, were dismissed from their posts (pending further disciplinary action). Since Mexico is our southern neighbor, how much can we/should we/have we given or give them help and advice? I would hate to see that country fail. And we were worried about Greece’s financial collapse.

It is certainly good to see that we are starting to pull out of Iraq; those people need a chance to come back together and create a great country with the promise of a peaceful future.  It is a dim hope, but EVERY person deserves peace.  The United States probably kept Iraqis so angry with the progress of change, that the only real change can come when we step away.  The other possibility is that the nation turns to extremism–revenge, for short.  Afghanistan, on the other hand…they have seen so many occupiers and changes of regime, our only prayer is to convince each and every Afghan that peace and prosperity is not that far away.  If they have a national hope and pride, they may be able to see that blowing us and their fellow countrymen up is counterproductive.  If we are able to share with them a day in our American lives, where we are relatively safe, they may see that we mean them no harm, and that they can have their way of life in peace.  If hope in Iraq was dim, this prayer for their people may be a pipe dream.  I wish both nations the best.

Speaking of money, it is somewhat confusing to me as to why the private sector is not even bothering to innovate. I’ve seen a few good things in the tech sector (i.e. phones, and the like), but other than that, where is all the “green” tech? We sank money into it on a federal level, right? So, get to creating things, even if the price of oil barrels dropped. All companies need to do some major R&D, and frankly, I did not realize that having lots of reserve cash and investors galore had anything to do with a corporation’s ability to make and sell a product that would earn money. Isn’t that how it was done in the old days? I’m not even talking about the new, startup companies, either. I’m talking about the old establishment corporations with enough cash in reserve to feed all the inhabitants of the D.R.C. for a year. These simple actions are too easy, and would result in too much gain for the average American (i.e. corporate production would necessitate hiring, more jobs = more people with money, people with money buy things, corporations profit, corporate taxes from profits go back into the pot…everybody wins.). As far as taxes go, yes, I wholeheartedly agree that an American company should be taxed heavily for offshore labor. I don’t mean having a division overseas…I mean when the whole of the manufacturing component of a company is in some area other than the U.S., we should tax them for the negative American jobs they created domestically.  Perhaps the difference between the wages their foreign employees earn and American minimum wage–per employee?  Ok, maybe that is going a bit far, but  I am totally willing to pay the difference on your product  if you at least keep half of the workforce here!  For those who are screaming that taxes will drive these corporations away from the United States, I have this to say:  Good luck with your incorporation in Iran, Columbia, Yemen, South Africa, Israel or Georgia.  Even a giant like China is going to restrict your growth in some way, if not financially.  I’m not particularly keen on worrying about lead in my toothpaste because the American company I bought it from doesn’t monitor their manufacturing sector very well  in an unscrupulous or laxly regulated country.

Ugh.  Enough about that.  The issue here is A LOT of discordant behavior.  This unwillingness to empathize, sacrifice a little, go out on a limb, hear an opposing POV…since when are we not human beings?  Since when did we lose the ability to reason?  Since when did we become so ugly to each other (and the fabled “them” that we find ourselves opposed to)? War, terrorism, classism, sexism, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and so many other manifestations of our hatred for one another are enough to make me sick.  I just want to call someone I’ve never met and solve a  problem…or just talk to them, in an open, honest, and friendly way.  Or walk up to someone on the street and say something nice.  Or make a baby of another ethnicity laugh.  I know that kind things are happening, but there is an overwhelming feeling of  tempered anger among our fellow man.  It was great to see how many people spoke out about the planned Qur’an burning in Florida, but it is truly sad that there are at least 30 people anywhere that feel this way about someone else’s faith.  It’s time to do something different.  Let me know where all the good-hearted people are, instead of letting me feel completely disheartened about the human race.