I am sure that 2012 is going to be an interesting year, just not sure in what way it is going to be interesting, and how things are going to turn out. I imagine that our so-called world leaders are having similar thoughts. Right now, the world and everything in it (apart from nature) is controlled by the top 1% – the people who have all the money and therefore wield all the power. Now, in my opinion, there are very few REALLY wealthy people who care about anyone else – the vast majority of them just want to maintain their own status quo, and even increase their wealth, while expecting us so-called lesser mortals to tighten our belts.
At the moment, a few brave people around the world are standing up and saying that the status quo is not good enough. That things need to change, that perhaps we need to have an international society where we care about each other a little more. There has to be something wrong with a world where the biggest employer is the U.S. Department of Defense. I only found that fact out a few weeks ago, and it stunned me. Surely we would want a force for good to be the world’s biggest employer, like an organisation that helps people to be more healthy or peaceful?
Personally, I don’t have a problem with people who are so insecure that they have to hide behind money and power. I have my ordinary house, ordinary car and I live within the law mostly. I try to help others through my work, but I’m being asked to tighten my belt to help sort out a mess that I didn’t do anything to create. I have no debt, and not that much money. However, I do get angry when I hear of people such as company directors awarding themselves massive pay increases when everyone else is struggling.
I hope 2012 will be the year when more people wake up to the realities of the way the world is, and start complaining about it. Maybe then by about 2015 we might start seeing some real changes, such as people doing things for the sake of others, making enough money to fulfil their needs rather than making money purely for it’s own sake. I hope you have a great 2012 – I am planning to!
Happy New Year Graham. Another great trip for me to these fair isles but something that I’d love your opinion on is ‘tipping.’ It is foreign and unacceptable in my part of the world and I’ve spent some time trying to get my head around it. I know that there are probably more countries who do than don’t, but what is the reason for it? Does this tie in to the service perspective, and business owners pocketing excess profits by expecting us to pay for their product, their service and their staff wages?
Happy New Year Karen – thank you for your comments.
I agree that in an ideal world tipping would be unnecessary, however with things being as they are many people in low-paid jobs in the hospitality sector rely on tips for their survival – I know, I did that sort of work myself for twenty years!
2012 has the potential to be a great year. It will be a year of Opportunity mixed with Difficulty, it all depends how we look at life. For those who wish to make changes in their life, opportunities are there if we have the vision to see them.
Great to hear from you Craig – Happy New Year to you, and I look forward to seeing you at a 4N meeting soon!
Graham, these markers such as the turn of the New Year are great stimuli to reflecting. One of my interests, and concerns, is the continued and subtle growth and influence of the faceless corporate world, both public and private. I have just begun reading Stanley Deetz’s “Democracy in an Age of Corporate Colonization” Published 20 years ago! More on this later. Good wishes to all!