Day #7 - Greed

I will not even dignify this word with its definition.  Anybody with 1/5 of their brain power and three years of life under their belts or better know what the word is and all it's associated with, especially in this, our newest century.  Oh, some only wish they could compete.  Gold rushers?  The Grinch?  Daffy Duck?  Ebeneezer Scrooge?  Snidely Whiplash?  Donald Trump?  Amateurs.

No, if I had to say a word about every person in America alone that has exhibited or whom has practiced the art of greed, in one fashion or another,  I'd be talking about it till the day I die.  This is in the top ten, one of the big heavies, as well as the most likely winner in the "Death To Us All" category in our version of the Life Game.  Greed, selfishness and self-absorption have attributed to all but just a wedge of the sludge on our souls, which are mostly beyond any benefit of repair.  Random Acts of Kindness are becoming more extinct as the generations pass and we breed more conscience-proof, self-serving citizens.  Corporations, in their on-going battle to make more money, ship our jobs over-seas and lay-off indigenous employees.

As more refugees (as well as illegals) pour over our borders, and jobs get harder and harder to find on our own soil, Americans get more possessive of their belongings and the money they've slaved for all of their lives.  Oh sure, diversity is our middle name.  We take all poor, hungry, etc.  But it's when the poor and hungry get smart and figure that out and start to take advantage of us that we get miffed, and the word 'MINE' becomes more a part of our vocabulary.  But as we hug our earnings closer to our chests, our government is already thinking of new and different ways to strip you of a larger percentage of it. In the meantime, we get angrier and angrier.  Our mental health suffers greatly, when all you do is work.  Some are taking on 2-3 jobs apiece just to keep up with the amount they ought to be making to live where they do and buy the things they need.  The rich are greedy, and the poor are needy.  Both hoard their money, but it's the poor that have to.  Morals fall apart, and some turn to breaking the law to get the job done.

And why not?  What choices are left us?  Retirement is a word reserved for comedy shows these days, becoming fast a fictional ideal. Success is yet another word headed for extinction.  "The American Dream?"  Forgotten.  Discussed, imagined and believed only by people in worse shape than we are, and remembered best by American historians, learned and knowledgeable of life in the post World War II era.  New words and phrases have replaced them.  Hoarding.  Stealing.  Conning.  Dog-Eat-Dog.  Brother screws brother.  It's in vogue to be involved in any number of lawsuits in a given year.  And the human condition, at its best?  America's benefit?  Non-involvement.  Miserly behavior.  Cynicism.  Unrest.  Next thing you know, they'll be picketing the White House using Facebook and cell phones, in addition to everyday picketing and riots.  And for every cent we lose, and every rule we impose, the more money taken out of our paychecks, and the less credit we get for what we've done for human-kind, the more we learn to keep our wallets closed, close-by, and hidden, to lessen the possibility of it ending up in the hands of of others.  Compassion, empathy and sympathy are words in danger of becoming cuss words someday.

I've done more than enough blogging on this subject, so let it be known that greed, in all of it's inhuman glory, will, if we're not careful, be our legacy, as well as our downfall.  See you tomorra!!