Escape from Market-Speak

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Escape from Market-Speak

Posted on 3/11/2016 2:27:22 PM by Marilynne Eichinger - 1 Comment

The Grand Canyon

29” by 35” / Acrylic, Gold Frame/ $ 799

The beauty of the Grand Canyon is overwhelming. I was there recently on a snowy day which added to the contrasting shadows and colors.

Escape from Market-Speak

The political wrangling for president has just begun and already I am tired of market- speak. One candidate wants revolution while another prefers walled-in isolation. One plans to bring jobs back, in part by lowering salaries while another shouts, raise the minimum wage! And I hear. . . get rid of Obamacare . . . transform it . . . replace it with a single payer system; Free community college for all . . . improve education . . . eliminate the Department of Education. “I love the uneducated,” says one. Wall Street is bad . . . billionaires are bad . . . businessmen are good . . . billionaires deserve all . . . politicians are weasels (but,mine is OK). What a surprise . . . the poor feel angry and neglected. Then there is . . . She’s a bitch, he has a big penis, he can’t be trusted, she’s a liar, he waffles. He’s a religious fanatic . . . look, an atheist, and see the bigot. Bring on the guns . . . build defense . . . reduce the military . . . negotiate . . . make deals. We’re Americans and live in the greatest country on earth, but need to be great again. Respect us, fear us, personal freedoms are passé, waterboarding is in. . . bomb the hell out of them. Go to rallies. Yippee!!! a fight!! What fun!

What fun? You’ve got to be kidding. This year’s scary rhetoric makes me want to escape from news broadcasts and television debates. Where to go?

Last January I revisited the Grand Canyon and was reminded that nature provides the best escape route. The view was beautiful, breathtaking, and expansive. Daily concerns disappeared as I meditated on the millions of years it took to carve such a natural sculpture. The air was still pure and the view unobstructed. It’s silence enabled me to hear my own heartbeat underneath the rustling of wind on nearby trees.

We the People deserve to have the Grand Canyon as a National Park as much as we do Yellowstone, the Everglades and Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. What right do ranchers and militia groups have to take away what the people own for the private benefit of a few. Americans need places to go that remind us that we are of nature and have a relationship to all that live in the natural world. As we destroy much of our planet, those few areas that are set aside for contemplation are increasingly more valuable for they bring us back to reality. It is not the words of politicians that matter most, but the actions of our citizens as good stuarts of the land. In nature we are no longer self-center but reminded of our connection to every tree, particle of air and movement of water.

This year, as much as possible, I plan to breathe the stillness and soak in the beauty of the woods, lakes and oceans. For it is there that I will find my peace.

Art is always for sale. Contact me at [email protected].

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For sale on Amazon by Marilynne Eichinger: The True Story of Streetwise, overcoming homelessness and beating the odds. Go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AAXMJOG

Comments

1 Response to Escape from Market-Speak

It is getting harder to determine who will really represent my values and beliefs with election candidates. I have found the person sounds great with all the fairy tales until they get into office and discover it is going to take a while for their plans to become effective or an altered reality. Can a candidate really make their promises for change become reality?

The one thing I do know, is the environment is changing because of our carbon footprint. Yet I have not heard any of the candidates bring this issue to the forefront.

Oregon has an extremely large increase of homelessness; because of lack of jobs; lack of help to get them over the bad times. I see the homelessness, but at the same time am disgusted with how some treat the environment. I see destruction of our Earth; filth left behind for others to clean up. I may be naive, yet I am willing to learn.

As part of the Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs, our President has asked members to donate and grow food for the hungry. Her project is called, Share the Bounty - Tip the Scale. Her mission is to help those that are struggling for healthy food.

I fear I may someday be in a homeless situation. With Governor Brown increasing the minimum wage, which in turn makes my wage less value.

Increase of wages means an increase on the product produced by them. Did we really help the poor or did we just add to it? I feel, it will be added not decreased. All those that are making barely above the new minimum wage will be joining those trying to survive daily.

I had to do a self exam of myself. What would I do if I lost my job? After writing all the essentials, I soon discovered, unemployment would barely pay for the utilities, my car insurance and tri-met pass. It would not pay for cobra medical care or my medications. I would not qualify for foodstamps, because I make too much on the unemployment. It was through this self examination, I discovered weaknesses. Being attached to contracts for monthly services and not being able to break them or if so, extra fees. I know I could cut down on the expenses, but you need internet and a phone for your job searches. The lack of medical is what scared me the most. How will I get the required medications for my survival? Who will accept me as a patient?

Through my brother's experience, doctors today accept medicare patients, but not medicare-medicaid patients. It was explained to me, doctors already take a loss for accepting medicare, they cannot afford to take additional losses with medicaid patients. Hence why we had to take a supplemental plan to have his doctor see him. This made me also look at my future of being retired. Will I have enough to support myself and help supplement my brother's disability income?

I feel we are in a downward spiral. Jobs should be the top priority. Big businesses get all the deals and pay low taxes, where small business are paying full bore. What is wrong with this picture? The small business is what keeps us alive and an entrepreneurial spirit going. What is Oregon's future?

How do we create jobs and grow the economy?