So, as has been becoming more and more evident to me lately, if there's any
human care left in our society, it can be found with individual relationships.
But all the talk about our democratic liberal Judeo/Christian values, it's all
a lie. There's too much emphasis on technology, progress, and financial
enrichment. Commitment and relationships remain within traditional family
structures and small communities, I suppose, to the extent that these haven't
been corrupted by larger socio/economic forces.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2020 2:50 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: socialism and the self made man
It's a conundrum. Our Older Blind Program suffers the same fools in
administration. Both of our Program managers have never worked in the field.
They busy themselves drafting up new forms to gather new information that they
believe will justify the Program to the Federal Government and to the State.
But meanwhile the contracts seldom provide for increases in cost of aids and
equipment and pay to the contractors. Meanwhile we have not had an audit in so
many years I'd need to look up how long ago it was, but at least ten years.
For the past five years we've had no training. We never meet to discuss
Program Direction, or new developments in the Field. Cathy and I are doing
pretty much the same stuff we did 25 years ago. We do include new information
and aids in the Client Packets we provide, but our budget does not allow us to
provide the array of equipment and services required to assist clients to
maintain their independence.
Our older population, and especially our disabled older population, is getting
the shaft. We're growing in numbers but funding is shrinking.
No training for new rehab teachers. Just a requirement that they haave a
bachlor's degree, preferably in Social Services, and a willingness to work
cheap. When I'm not totally down on the program as it now exists, I think that
one day the Feds will move the last of the money to take care of something
else, and no one will notice.
Carl Jarvis
On 1/12/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Here's what I was thinking about this morning. What caused the train
of thought was my latest very disturbing experience with home health
aides. I hear some organizers on the left, talking about how we need
to raise the salaries of the people who care for our children and our
elderly, how these are the people on whom we depend to care for our
loved ones while we are, are what? We are working at good paying jobs
to pay mortgages and for our children's college educations, and for
our vacations, and for the style of life to which we have been taught,
we are entitled. Nobody, of course, talks about what these underpaid
people who care for our loved ones are actually like, or the quality
of care that they provide. That would open a whole can of worms. So I
was thinking that a society that truly values its children and its
elderly, would be sure that the people who were responsible for their
care were highly trained professionals, people paid the kind of
salaries that would attract the most intelligent and gifted people.
Aren't those the kind of people who you'd want to care for and educate
your children and to provide care and assistance and companionship to
your elderly? But in reality, those highly intelligent, gifted people
are educated to work in technology, the purpose of which is to augment
financial profit for corporations and to make our war machine more
efficient. Other people who are highly paid are entertainers, sports
figures, and news celebrities. Their purpose is to keep the population
diverted and under control. I suppose that the 1% has access to
properly qualified people to care for their elderly, and we know that
the kind of education provided for their children, is very different
from that provided for the majority of children. I assume that they
carefully choose the people who are responsible for the care of their
infants and toddlers. My contact with those families took place when
they were in the adoption process. There were follow up visits after
the children were placed, but the children's caregivers were never in
evidence during those visits because the myth was that the mothers were
caring for them.
Miriam
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2020 1:04 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] socialism and the self made man
Sunday morning mumbling.
The Self Made Man! An oft repeated old Fairy Tale that has been
peddled to Americans since the Creation of this Nation. From those
days of the "rugged individual" who pulled himself up by his own boot
straps, to the "I'm for Me First" Libertarians of the 60's, and on to
today's "Trumpsters", this myth persists, despite overwhelming proof
that it is simply another tool of the American Empire's efforts to
control the American Working Class. Anyone holding those archaic beliefs
that expressed the, "Me, Myself and I"
philosophy, have been fully taken over by the Empire's propaganda.
Stop and ask yourself how a nation can call itself a nation if all its
People look out only for themselves.
That would not be a nation. We could call it a Mob, but without any
concern for those others in the Land, it could never be called a
Nation. We have become so conditioned to believe that socialism is a
dirty word, that we refuse to accept the fact that socialism is what makes a
nation a nation.
We establish rules, laws, regulations. We agree to obey common laws
for the good of the many. We join together, lending our support and
giving our money to support police forces, fire departments, courts,
and we select leaders to represent our needs. All that is socialism,
including our postal system and our public schools. Our churches are based
upon socialism.
Those who Believe certain ways, gather together and develop a
Theology, and raise up a Temple or a Church, and support one another
in the accepted Beliefs.
But we Americans have been so brainwashed that we refuse to accept
that we are social in nature, that we depend upon others for our very well
being.
And by the way, just what is the difference between Donald Trump,
promising what he will do for the people, and Bernie Sanders promising
the People what he will do for them? Each one is supporting
Socialism, whether it is in the form of tax reduction for the
Billionaires, or Single Payer Health Care for All Americans.
Anyway, I'd like to visit one of those "rugged individuals" one day,
and see where they keep their chickens, cows, and grow their crops.
I'd spend the week watching them slaughter a hog and tan its hide,
turning it into shoes and belts and maybe even a wallet and a matching
jacket. Of course they must also grow a small forest in order to cut
down trees, buck them up and split them for firewood. It's been a
very long time since a single individual could strike out on their own
and survive in the Wilderness. So how does one do it in today's world?
Just wondering.
Carl Jarvis, supporting socialism that is "Of the People, By the
People and for ALL the People".
