Are You Angry?

I've never seen people so angry. There's a visceral type of anger that is seething beneath the surface right now that I've never seen so widespread.

We have many reasons to feel angry. We pay our bills, we haven't buried ourselves in debt. We've lived responsibly. And now we are paying the price for the irresponsible and the greedy.

We cried out against the bailout, and it was passed anyway. Still, we figured it would calm Wall Street, but instead the dow is in a free-fall. And now (after the fact) we're being told that the Federal government can nationalize banks if they want to. As if they will restrain themselves. Ha! I don't care which party is in charge, government always jumps at the chance to grow in size and power. Socialism here we come!

I know a women who's family is from Cuba. It didn't take long for her to communicate to me that she is confident socialism is NOT the way to go. Yes, that is our possible future. The government will take care of you and incentive is removed from society. Do you know that the more power you relinquish to the government the more freedom you surrender?

I know we're all angry. And it's easy to point the fingers. But without oversimplifying, I want to tell you a little story about good intentions and beautiful ideas.

Once upon a time there was a politician with a great idea. Help people have the American Dream. Help them get into a home of their own. So he helped develop a little organization, a for-profit company, to offer mortgages to higher risk individuals. If they incur a loss, the government will step in and cover them. If they gain a profit, they get to keep it. Well, if you know anything about business, you'd have to agree this is an ideal situation. You're lending money to brand new market with no risk! They had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Left unchecked, this eventually grew to be the driving force behind the dominoes falling before our eyes.

You want to spout talking points at me, go ahead. But please read this before you do to get the unbiased story (the unsimplified version).
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/who_caused_the_economic_crisis.html

It's true, as a republican I'm tired of our party getting all the blame. But I can see that both parties had a hand in this, certainly the democrats did, and there was much to be gained by taking campaign contributions from Freddie & Fannie and ignoring the problem. Frankly, it matters little to me what caused the problem, except that we shouldn't repeat it. What really boils my blood is that they - all of Washington- could SEE it coming and didn't act decisively.

So we're angry. Just be careful where you direct your anger. Don't let your anger blind you. Don't let the politicians do all the talking while you do all the following. Don't let the talking heads interpret what you see and hear. Think for yourself! Question! Debate. Research. Follow the clues. Weigh the options before you carefully and make an informed and sound decision.

We will get through this time of crisis if we do not lose our cool. America is made up of strong people with a strong resolve. We are not wimps. We may be walking through a valley, but we will not take up residence there. We will come through this as a stronger nation. Believe in the hope of the future.

"Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save" (Psalm 146:3) Instead,
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)