Occupy Movements Without Consequences

I've been following many of the occupy movements across the nation and I'm bothered that people are so critical of the people trying to send a message that is 100% true. The top 1% of income earners in this nation run the government based on the support from contributors that run the industries in this nation.

The occupy movement is a simple explanation that people are pissed off working for companies declaring billions in profits per quarter and yet keep employee wages, benefits, and job security at the lowest possible level. In the meantime these billion dollar companies think nothing of giving out bonuses to top managers that are fifty to ten thousand times what the lowest paid employee of the company would make in a lifetime. If you think about it, and I mean really think about it. The protest across the nation is no different than the union organizers against the mines, the steel factories, and the trucking industry that decided that you as an employee did not matter as long as the top was paid like the royalty of Europe before King George.

The violence against these protesters and by the same protesters against police is a clear example that THERE IS A PROBLEM in America. The inequality of income is at the breaking point. How can it be justified when a company anywhere in America is making millions or billions of profit per quarter and yet many of its employees are losing their homes? It just propagates hate for the upper class of 1% to 20% of income earners that own the businesses that employees cash a check from every week. That is if they are lucky enough to have a job.

Back in the early 1990's, many corporate offices closed plants here in the good old USA to only move the equipment south of the border in Mexico. It was a good corporate decision to close plants costing millions of dollars to operate in the USA and there was no penalty for moving the jobs from the government. The only winners in that decision were the few people that got bonuses as the lords and masters of the business that closed all of the plants. It was and still is a classic case of Marie Antoinette telling her people that they could have the cake left over from her party.

Where is the payback for these corporations? Wall Street. The company beats the street estimate of earnings and the stock goes up. Investors are happy! CEO gets a bonus, underlings get bonuses, the company looks like a solid investment.

What is the consequence? Look around in your own neighborhood. People used to own those house that now have for sale signs on them. You can say hi to those same neighbors down at your local Walmart working for minimum wage. Or at the Wendy's, McDonald's, or any other service industry job creator. You might also be working with them. The end result is that every plant shut down in your area is lost tax revenue to pay for your local schools, your fire department, your police, your roads and your community. Your community takes the hit so someone on Wall Street that has no idea where your city or town is can pocket a huge bonus. It is what it is.

Before you judge the Occupy Protestors you should look around your little piece of the world and honestly see what is going on?

Papamoka

Happiness

Some people say that happiness is just a useless expression of the human mind that I beg to differ with. Happiness can come from so many different events in your life that it can not be cornered into one human emotion. Some people would be happy to have the egg yoke not break for their morning breakfast which for other people can be a tragedy. Some people would look at love being a direct relationship to being happy but love has so many different perspectives to perceive it from that it could never be explained in a simple post like this one. Loving your mother and father is different from loving your children or the person you're are supposed to be sharing your life with.

You can be happy with a home improvement job that as a novice you managed to complete with some self satisfaction knowing that you had no clue what you were doing to begin with. That isn't happiness. You can be happy with a work project that you poured you heart into and know that you gave it your best. That isn't happiness. You can be happy with a child that made the honor role even though you know that they didn't have to work hard to get it because they are smart beyond their age. That will make you happy but it isn't true happiness.

Happiness in some peoples definition is pure adrenalin when everything is going your way and all of the barriers of other emotions are dropped and not considered. I tend to be very happy when I have a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie from one particular establishment. But that isn't happiness. All of my other cares, fears, dislikes, hates, and darker thoughts are gone while I eat that cookie but it is not true happiness. The cookie is what makes me happy for the moment. Then I am sad when the cookie is gone. Sadness is a topic for another post.

Take it one step further when you have a relationship with someone, a person that you spend time with, love, argue with, discuss deep thoughts, and just have the sense that you are happy with that person. That person is the core of your happiness. When you see them, the muscles in your face create a smile which some people would say is the lazy way of greeting someone since it takes fewer muscles to smile than frown. That is the same happiness when you see your child, your mother, your father, sister and brother, etc, etc. Happiness is found in love and acceptance of another

Happiness is an individuals definition of their own life. It can come from the simple love of your children and the understanding that they will love you till the day you die. It can not be defined by what anyone else thinks or believes that should mean or demand that you be happy. Nobody can tell you what is your definition of happiness. The ground work for any personal happiness has to begin with every single person. It can not be rammed down your throat. Happiness can not be forced on you because someone else thinks that you should be happy.

The end result of happiness is defined by you. How you accept and deal with all of the actions and reactions in your life is where you may or may not find your happiness. It may have been my mother or someone else influential in my life that told me to never let anyone destroy what would make me happy in my life. Thinking about that thought, I am thankful for the many friends that I have and very thankful that my life is better spent seeking out happiness. If you find love in your life from another person that loves you for all your gifts and for who you are then that is one path to happiness. It will not be easy but it is the best path to follow if love is there.

Thus, I am happy with my life, where I am in it, and where my future will go. I am in new love and look forward to many years of this love. In that respect I know where my happiness is and I can embrace it and respect it. The rest of the crap that life throws our way is just details that need to be worked on to get through. That is the crap that you should never let keep you down and away from your own happiness.

At the end of your life, would you rather have regrets or thankful thoughts that you spent your life happily embracing love and living life to the fullest?

Comment if you like on how you define happiness. There is no wrong answer.

Papamoka