Feeding the Beast

Black Friday is behind us and Cyber Monday is breathing down our necks. It seemed this year that

black Friday lasted the whole month of November. I remember the days when people lined up in the freezing cold, blankets and chairs in tow, to get the best deal on a big screen TV, computer or the sought after toy of the year. It was the hunter mentality, enduring hardship to realize the exhiliation of bagging that mammoth. Not so much any more it seems. Internet shopping offers deals all year and who wants to wait for hours in front of Best Buy when you can order online in your jammies? Not me, that's for sure. Besides, do we really need more stuff? Do we really want to go on an exhausting shopping frenzy only to get something for the sake of getting something? No doubt that obligatory something will go back to the store the day after Christmas. One step forward, two steps back. Not to mention the horrific credit card bills that arrive in January. Nope, not me.

Maybe I am at that age when stuff just doesn't seem that satisfying. Maybe because we cleaned 40 years worth of accumulated stuff from a family home that "stuff" has lost its luster to me. How much "stuff" do we actually need?  Remember George Carlin's routine about stuff? What made it funny was the truth it told! I think that in this capitalistic nation we have been sold the bill of goods (pun intended!) that it is our civic duty to shop, stimulate the economy and keep America great. That is the beast I am talking about. The economy is alive and hungry and will ravage our civilization if it isn't fed.  Or so we are  told. The Economy no longer seems to be serving the people, the people are serving it. I realize it would be a difficult transition from the frenetic consumerism of today to a less stuff filled world, but I think the shift would be worth it. Benefits would include fewer products produced and discarded, and the satisfaction of repurposing goods. There would be fewer pushy commercials urging us to buy things we don't need. I can feel the peacefulness descending on me as I write this.

So Black Friday is becoming a dinosaur and cyber Monday is everyday. They are as outdated as the semi-annual sale of my childhood.  Call me the Grinch, but I can say that I am not sad to see it go.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone!

Who you calling a migrant? Huh?

Can we clarify something, please! This morning a news article talked about a federal judge temporarily blocking the Trump administration from denying asylum to migrants who illegally cross the southern border. What are we talking about? This statement clearly mixes apples with oranges. 

People that cross the border to work are often called migrants and this country has had, like it or not, a symbiotic relationship with them. 

Some are legal, many are not. They have harvested our crops and we have paid them a fraction of what a US citizen would get. They have no social security numbers so any benefits they could get would be minimal if at all. They are not a drain on our economy, they support it, often at their own expense because that is better than starving. This year because of administration policy that changed and many crops rotted in the fields. Sad for everyone.

mi·grant

/ˈmīɡrənt/

noun

1.

a worker who moves from place to place to do seasonal work.

synonyms: immigrant, emigrant

A group of people, that legally seek asylum are called REFUGEES. Not migrants. Not illegal.

ref·u·gee

/ˌrefyo͝oˈjē/

noun

a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

It is our humanitarian duty to offer refuge. It is not illegal. These people go through

channels. Can we please stop calling them migrants and respectfully call them what they are? REFUGEES.

I don't expect Trump to change his tune because he is pushing a fear based agenda that "illegal migrants" are bad people and we need to keep them out. Maybe Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric would like to go pick tomatoes? 

But I respectfully request that the media get it right and stop parroting what gets erroneously repeated. 

REFUGEES. They deserve a chance to find asylum here.