Reflections on the American Dream

"You can't really be very well 'adjusted' to your world if it says you 'have a devil' and ends by nailing you up naked to a stake of wood."

-C. S. Lewis

I feel that much of America lives in the sterile environment of the well adjusted. We spend our lives balancing our work and entertainment. Back and forth we travel without ever realizing that we live among peasants. Those of us who are upright and successful citizens are so oblivious to the plight of many around us.

Oh, we struggle. We struggle with our busy schedules. We struggle to insure we can pay the bills of our narcissistic endeavors. We struggle to decide whether we should by a new house, remodel the kitchen, or just buy a new Escalade with our year-end bonus.

What does it mean to wake up and get in touch with the reality of the world around us? How do we get involved with the messy existences of those who really need our human touch? How can we step away from the mold, out of our well adjusted well ordered lethargy?

How can we become unbalanced and maladjusted enough to care?

Richest 2% own 'half the wealth'

I just read an article on the BBC website that describes the vast inequalities in the world. It is easy for me to sit here with a second-hand computer, two old cars, and a two bedroom townhouse and not feel rich. The very fact that I know that I'm having haystacks for dinner makes me rich!

"...half of the world's population own barely 1% of global wealth."

God bless Bono and the One campaign. Yet even his ambitions sound pathetic, right? Lets give just one percent away so that half of the world's population can own barely 2% of global wealth!

And now we're about to spend billions of dollars to have a base on the moon (click here).