A
female
age
51-59,
Abella
writes:"Where is the World going? And yes this does affect life and relationships."The original question received from an anonymous female in the UK aged 26 to 29 and called "Where is the UK going" inspired this article. And you might think this does not concern relationships but I think it does. And I thought it a very exciting concept to consider. The original poster of this question asked:"What the hell is going to happen to the UK? Personally, I don't know a lot about the goings on of things, but I wish I did, or knew a way to find out. People are saying the EU is bad, some say it's good. I don't know the pros or cons though, but I'd like to! And the rise of prices in everything, cut backs, recession" and the original poster wondered if "sheltering us a little too much," meant that information was why such things were not known. The original posted then said, "I just want advice on what exactly is going on and how am I meant to get on in the world when it's changing so drastically and quickly?"So I started to answer it and realised it was too big for a few lines. And then I thought that no country is alone in this. All countries are grappling with variations of the same problem, so I felt it only fair to widen the question, while still focusing on what the original poster asked. When governments mis-use resources and spend unwisely they do not have the resources to spend on the things that need money spent on them There is a finite amount of income to spend and unlimited wants to spend it on. Unfortunately Governments make wrong decisions and this can lead to less money available for what is required. When there is less money then money needs to be borrowed to make up the shortfall. When too many people are clamouring to borrow money then the cost of borrowing increases. This leads to an increase in costs overall for everyone. So prices have to rise. People's incomes rarely match with the rise in government spending. So people at the bottom level in society, which is about ninety (90) percent of the population, continue to be worse off.The European Union (EU)The European Union represents a joining of twenty seven (27) member states with most in Europe. Turkey is a associate State. It combines economic and political forces with many different countries with different structures, values, attitudes and beliefs European Commission (EC)The European Commission is the peak body or Executive level that oversees all that affects the EU. It can propose legislation. Make decisions that affect the EU. And it can ensure that all member states adhere to previously signed treaties. The European Court of Justice meets in Luxembourg. That proposed budget for 2011 was 487 million $US dollars. The budget set in 2009 was 337 million $US per annum, but is higher now. The UK pays for a proportion of this cost This Court can enforce any deviation from adherence to previously signed treaties by member countries. This court is more powerful than the courts in the member states and previous rulings have supported that “member states had definitely transferred sovereign rights to the European Community that cannot be over-ridden by the domestic law in the member states. Would the people of the UK have agreed to join the EU if they had realised this eventuality? When ever pressured to make a decision leaders in countries should ask: “And think what this could become?”The European Community (EC) were supposed to be the answer to England's illsI do not think it ever was. And instead I think very few people have truly benefited from it. I do think the EU has been good for some countries. But The Economy of the United Kingdom is not one of those countries. I do think that the Public Relations people have reaped a bonanza in consulting fees. Journalists also love it. Plenty of ready made Press releases. Easy writing for them. But decisions made in Luxembourg or Brussels in the European Union or European Commission are then being imposed on all the EU members. No one in the UK voted for the members of the EC. But the deaf, dumb and blind parliamentarians just follow the leader. Easy for them. The EC has already insisted this is what will happen. Countries poorer than the UK benefit at the expense of the countries that might once have been seen as relatively wealthy, but where manufacturing and exports are no longer bringing in the incomes once enjoyed. When people's lives are disrupted by falling incomes and rising unemployment in any country or economy then this puts pressure on relationships. Marriages break down when bankruptcies rise. Stable family life is disrupted when out of control debt leads to arguments and domestic distress. When lives are so disrupted that people must move elsewhere to earn and income and thus must enter into a Long Distance Relationship this puts pressure on people. When children cannot get good schooling they then cannot get into good training programs. If there are no training programs in their district or no transport to allow them to get to a training program they can become so discouraged, that they give up trying. When people becomes so demoralised that they become non-aspirational they then start to get depressed and lose hope, This puts further pressure on their lives. Not everyone succumbs but some people do turn to other distractions to such as alcohol and drugs and gambling to try to forget how much pain they are in. Talking about the big structural decisions at the top that start these events happening is important. Often people do not make the connection between a decision in a boardroom thousands of miles away and the sorry state of their lives. And the "Haves" those people blessed with a good regular income and everything running like clockwork are very quick to blame the victim rather than the real issues. The following is an effort to address the real issues and I will try to look deeper at the issues not fully covered herein, at some stage in the future. . The fastest growing economy in the world today is China. It is also the world's second largest economy after the United States of America. China's wealth is growing at an estimate ten (10) percent per year as at 2010.And has been growing at this rate for the last thirty (30) years. Structural reforms to their economy and exceptionally low wages and good research have made this possible. Whereas the economies of western countries in the world are in decline. These influences are important but they are not the only deciders of what affects and disrupts people’s lives. (1) Change is the one constant that you can guarantee will exist in your life. Change is ever present and happens everywhere. If you want to make time stand still, or you actively try to resist change, then you will still need to play catch up later, and that can be much harder than being flexible enough to accept that Change is normal.In some ways it could be said that the UK did resist change and nostalgia about all things British led to a denial that the world had changed.Go to any area that was once a world class manufacturing centre in the USA or in the UK and you will see boarded up shops, abandoned businesses, rusting infrastructure. And people unemployed. When people can no longer support their families and cannot endure unsustainable levels of debt in a business they cannot continue. A family may be able to limp along but a business cannot open it’s doors if it does not have the funds to continue trading. And if no one else has the funds to buy the business then financial ruin is the result. When China started restructuring thirty years ago the world did not initially realise that the dragon was awakening. Where once the USA produced the best towels in the world (luscious velour Fieldcrest flowers all over beautiful towels) such manufacturing has declined. In Ireland one has seen the decline of beautiful Waterford Crystal and Beautiful porcelain producers in England because they cannot compete with cheaper alternatives on sale. Rather than rigidly refuse to change some of these manufacturers may still exist if they had been prepared to adapt to what consumers could afford. Changes in a society do affect relationships in a wide range of ways. (2)How the society is structured. And where the Power exists in the Country. Even how people are elected or cannot get elected can be influenced by the system in place to elect people. People often think the Power is with those who are the figure head at the top. In society today this is far from the truth. Those who wield real power are often unseen. I would argue that the real power in the United States of America (USA) is not the people nor the President. More on that later.(3)Corporations which wield huge financial power in an arena that often extends beyond country borders. People are often unaware of who really benefits at the top. And such corporations often give away what look like big amounts but which is mere loose changed to such corporations. Money is power. But this is hidden from the people and often from the government. Corporations that are household names. And you may say that their shareholders are the power. But attend any Annual meeting of the Share owners of a Corporation and you will realise that this is not true. Forbes list of multi rich people does not really have a list of the richest people. There are people who successfully tie their money up in Trusts so that their wealth is not known.And there is money that never even makes it into the banking system until it is well laundered. This is money from drugs and illegal activities. These persons never make the Forbes List but may well be more powerful and richer than some people on the Forbes list. Very rich families and very rich commercial entities seek to not attract publicity (4)The huge rise in Spin in society. Which would be called Lies in past generations, and peddled by 'snake oil peddlers' in the 19th century. . People need to be taught to think for themselves and not accept dogma. And not be swayed by powerful rhetoric. Never have so many been employed to twist the truth and society is poorer as a result. (5)Education is power. So if a society wants to keep a group of people down it puts in place a structure that fails to deliver good education to particular groups of people. Without education people cannot work effectively to get the best for the people they represent. Being able to think for ourselves and analyse what is the real truth is very important. It is not acceptable to just accept because someone tells you that the sky is green that the sky is green. And keeping people in a state of ignorance does not make for a good society to live in for those whose opportunities in life denied them an education.(6) Keeping people Healthy. A productive country ensures that the people universally have access to good medical care and good ideals to keep healthy. Healthy people have better lives and are more productive. (7) Why distracting the population is ruining society. Although she did not say it, long ago Marie Antoinette in 18th century France was alleged to have said "let them eat cake". Centuries before the Ancient Romans knew how important it was to distract people from really examining the government by supplying "Bread and Circuses" to the masses to distract them. Today people in society are distracted from productive activities by legal and by illicit activities. Governments will often schedule events partially funded by private enterprise with government support, sometimes in the lead up to an election so that people get distracted from looking at the real issues. Sometimes during a Recession to provide work but also to look as if something is being achieved. For Instance the Empire State Building was started and finished during the Great Depression. Activities scheduled to distract can include:(a) Festivals(b) Horse Races(c) Expensive 'Vanity' structures erected by governments to excite the nations. The 'Eye" in England being an example (d) Car races(e) "Beat up" issues that contain untruths to hurt and opponent(f) Lies about opponents played out very publicly(g) Press releases to the Media where the media then get heavily involved. Governments also make money from activities that do not benefit society but do make easy money for the government. Some of those revenue sources are only lucrative because some people find these things impossible to resist. While people with less scruples will distract people with activities to make them easy money such as: (a) Tobacco products that result in sickness for many(b) Alcohol which is not handled well by a minority(c) Gambling which is not handled well by a minority (d) Illicit drugs(e) Pornography(f) Mis-use of natural resources(g) Pollution of natural resources. (8) See no Evil; Hear no Evil, Say nought on Evil by governments tolerating illegal activities at the highest level. It is not the petty local crook that a society has the worry about most. It is the esteemed and revered public official who is on the 'take' and is corrupt. It is the revered public figure who gives millions to charity and attends Church on Sunday and who is involved in laundering drug money. It is the 'above reproach' self important person who behind the scenes is making decisions that ruin lives but hiding human trafficking empires behind a convoluted string of off shore companies. It is people who pay little or not tax but live lives on unimagined wealth and opulence while behind the scenes their minions distribute pornographic and depraved products to those who need distracting. From these people filters down corruptions. And from these lesser persons other weak willed people are helped into corruption. (9) Using "celebrities" to focus people on things that do not matter. And celebrating people for achieving nothing except being a public face in entertainment or sport. This is a human form of "Bread and Circuses"Magazines are devoted to their dubious activities. Their "wealth" is splashed around. Their extravagance cannot be emulated but people do try.(10) Using "designer Labels" to try to show acceptance when these things were probably made in a sweat shop in a small back alley. (11) Easy Credit. This keeps ordinary people poor and is made very easy to acquire. Thrift is not valued. The poorer people are the more they remain as weakened as Serfs were in the 1100s. Easy Credit does temporarily lift the economy as there is more money floating in the society and the multiplier effect comes into being. But easy money has to be repaid some time and this is when crunch time arrives if people cannot repay the debt.(12) Restructure of Society by Immigration. Many people are unaware that China refuses to allow Immigration to their country. People can live temporarily in China but cannot permanently immigrate into the country. Japan has a similar policy. Democratic societies try to be very fair and just to all (13) Privacy being mis- used to stop people from doing their jobs.(14) Political Correctness being mis-used to bring in illogical decisions.(15) Caring about the disadvantaged in the world. A just society does. An unjust society turns a blind eye. (16) Out of Control Debt. Powerful influences ensure that no one wants to be the ones affected by reductions in spending. The reality is that the most powerless and those without a voice are the ones who affected. Since it is easier for the Government to ignore them. The figures below are from the site shown and from other sources. http://www.visualeconomics.com/gdp-vs-national-debt-by-country/# The United States of America is being affected by poor control of government spending with suggestions that there are no real checks and balances on this spending. As at December 2010 the USA Federal Debt was thirteen (13) Trillion dollars. How is that repaid? By borrowing. Or by job cuts. Or increases in Taxes. Or by reduction in defence spending. Or by restructuring society. Will that happen? Probably not. The United Kingdom is much better at hiding their complete full level of debt. Their debt is spilt up and quoted in different ways. Plus the "spin" by BBC correspondences, possibly quoting government Spin handouts helps the government was issuing stories such as, “Is UK government debt really that high?" At the very least the UK government admits it owes 1000.4 billion. That currently represents 73% or Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But another figure from the above web site suggests that all things added makes it closer to Forty Two Trillion US Dollars and therefore the GDP in possibly far more unfavourable to the UK. Any GDP higher than 50 percent is Danger Zone (sorry James Bond) The GDP measures all financial activity in an economy. Incomes, exports, earning and expenditure. Negative growth is bad for an economy and too much debt and rising debt with no prospect of repaying that debt in the near future is not good for the country. measured by a country's gross domestic product (GDP), although the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) does not necessarily need to see this occur to call a recession. (17) you do not want inflation. Inflation weakens a country. It is harder to borrow money and when you do borrow money it costs you more. Rampant inflation makes Banks pull back from lending and people start failing in business and privately bankruptcies rise. But some people benefit from inflation and so make money. But ultimately inflations hurts an economy.How change affects countriesThe United Kingdom is being affected by change that may have been occurring outside of the United Kingdom at a faster rate. Now that England has become very 'big city' centred, the rural areas are really noticing that they are being left behind. This has been happening in other countries too. For a long time England has been able to romanticise about their rural areas, and their rural areas are beautiful. But the real concentrating of populations is in the cities. And governments know it. Education facilities are centered in big population areas. This makes economic sense. But also means that rural based youth have to leave rural areas to get an education and get a job. So training and transport and hospitals and a variety of services are not as easy to access in rural areas of England. Travel in England between regional areas takes time as so many people live in close proximity in the populated areas. Governments want votes and more voters live in the big cities so governments can get away with ignoring rural areas. The rural areas are declining too, as there are not enough people left to manage the land. And the prices obtained for their goods is not enough to sustain the people who own the land. If land cannot return a good dividend it is not worth it to the people investing in the land. And some farmers have resolutely refused to move with the times. Some may not realise that in other parts of the globe that single farms exist where the said farm covers a larger surface area than the whole of the area that comprises England. The economies of scale mean that a small farmer in England farming a small acreage cannot compete now, in the world. Canada is now a huge developer of food in the world especially fruit and vegetables as is China. Though reliable figures for China are harder to come by.In Detroit and attempt is being made to create a super size farm of 30,000 acres from abandoned land. People are talking about it being an acreage to compare with the big farms in Australia. The Biggest farm property in Australia is Anna Creek Station and it is 6,000,000 acres. But this property has to de-stock during droughts.Compare that with the size of some farms in the United Kingdom and it is quickly apparent why England now finds it hard to compete with world markets The total acreage of just a few countries listed below explains why England has to diversify to succeed on the world stage by being smarter and not by holding on to the way things have always been done. Canada 2 466 614 400 acresUnited States 2 428 224 640 acresAustralia 1 882 431 500 acresIndia 812 294 400 acresEngland 322 233 600 acresRather than try to compete with the world by joining Europe England might have been better to expand knowledge and develop new industries. To a degree this is being tried with wind farms - but the employment opportunities are minimal for off shore wind-farms. But of course water and weather is the big decider to create arable land that can be farmed, and can support a population. All the countries above have water in abundance, except one. Lack of water affects what can be produced from land. As evidence by Anna Creek being de-stocked when drought hits. It is my belief that the European Union (EU) has been a big confidence trick played on England. But already the changes have become embedded in the country like a mould infecting a cheese. There may well be people who benefit from the EU but often those people are the 'Spin merchants'. A subject I will now expand onGovernments need to distract the population so that the people do not become restless. The ancient Romans knew this. And the term give them "bread and circuses" arose in Roman times. There is an area of employment that has truly expanded is Public Relations, Marketing, professional lobbyists, and Spin merchants. These are the smoothers who distract people from the truth. They work closely with the media and the entertainment business. When any public figure is in trouble they are brought in to 'spin' the truth into something palatable. Politicians and big corporations and anyone wanting to change public opinion employ these people by the thousands. They create millions of press releases. And Public Relations, Marketing, professional lobbyists, and Spin merchants are the scourge of society. Once only diplomats were employed by Governments to pacify the heads of other countries with nice sounding words. At a political level they can be used to distribute propaganda. Think Hitler and Goebbels. His principles of Propaganda could well be re-badged as the essentials for any Public Relations, Marketing, professional lobbyists, and Spin merchants. And while I discuss change I will contrast two countries, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, to make it easier to see that powerful influences can mean that a single big change in the world will affect different countries in different ways. Namely the United Kingdom and the United States of America. I may mention some other countries in passing, but if I were to contrast more than two countries, then this article would be longer still. Who has the most power in a society will influence what is valued and what is not valued in a society. Those with the most power and influence may not even be the most rich, but the very very rich usually do exert some power in one or more sphere in their life. Those who are most powerful are often hidden from view. The very very rich and the very very powerful like it that way.What is valued in one country will be different to what is valued in another country. And what is valued in different strata in society will reflect the culture and the values and attitudes in that society. But how do people come to adopt certain values and attitudes? That is a question worth asking. Because often people are manipulated in a society at the highest level by the smallest of changes. And not realise how small changes at the top can result in big changes at the grass roots level.Decisions that affect education in a country is one such big influence where a small change at the top can have huge ramifications at the grass roots level. In the past the very rich were happy to let it be known that they were very rich. Today only the very crass strut the world stage boasting of their wealth. Ever wondered about the rise in celebrity in the world? And the large sums paid to sporting and entertainment stars? It is a smoke screen. The money paid to these celebrities is just in a 'drop in the bucket' to the very rich. It allows the masses Society today is being conned by governments to think that governments are doing all that is required to advance the cause of the people in a democracy.Yet thousands of students now leave school functionally illiterate. Unable to spell. Unable to punctuate. Unable to use the right word in the right context. Unable to read and write. Unable to read the time on a clock that it is not digital. Unable to complete maths tests that include calculating percentages, add, multiply, subtract and divide. Unable to budget their money. Unaware even, of how their own country operates. Children are advanced up each level in grade school even though they did not pass their tests. Children are being still taught in some communities by rote. Repeating out loud but not understanding what they are being taught. Children need more than rote facts. They need to understand why and learn to think for themselves. For example:England is a Unitary system with one central government. And is a Constitutional Monarchy currently headed by the Queen of England. And is a Democracy. The Head of State is the Queen. It is a hereditary appointment. The head of state is meant to be apolitical and provide advice. The Queen does not make laws. She signs off on laws already decided in Parliament. The Head of State is appointed for their lifetime from the time they become the Monarch. Unless they choose to Abdicate, which is rare. The Executive in England is the Prime Minister and the Cabinet The Cabinet a re Ministers in the Government. No the cabinet is not a wooden cupboard and the Ministers are not Ministers of religion. Laws are made in Parliament. Where the elected officials debate and make laws. Though England also has a huge amount of Common Law which has been created over centuries and still applies in many instances. The Government (which also includes the Executive) meets in Parliament to govern the people. The Judiciary is entirely separate and applies and explains the law and can make judgements based on the laws made in Parliament. There are various Government departments. One example is their equivalent of Vital Statistics offices which is named the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages in England have one central office where all the records are held for England.The Civil Service is meant to be apolitical. These are the public servants. The officials in the government have tenure, which means they retain their jobs when the government changes. Parliament has a Lower house where the parliamentarian stand for office to represent the people and an Upper house Below that are counties and Counties attend to local issues affecting their county.Whereas, For example:FEDERALThe United States of America (USA) is a Federal system with one Federal Government. And it attends to Federal issues. The Federal House of Representatives has elected representatives who serve two years terms and are elected by the people they represent. The Senate is for the Senators who are elected to represent their state and serve six-year termsAnd USA is a Republic And USA is a Democracy And the Head of State is the elected President of the United States of America. It is a four-year appointment. But can be extended one more four-year term depending on the outcome of the election. Federal elections for President are held every four years. STATEThe Head of the Executive in the State is the Elected Governor of the State. Other senior roles are held by elected official who form part of the Executive. Each State has a state legislature. Where laws are debated and laws are made and issues discussed at the State level and decisions made.Some call it the Legislative Assembly or the General Court. And in most instances there are two chambers. The Judiciary (Courts) is separate from the Executive. There are Federal Courts and these are separate from the State Courts. The appropriate Judiciary applies and Explains the laws made in the State or Federal Legislative arena.The Federal Government is the largest single employer in the USA and employs the federal Civil Service in the USAThe Civil Service in the state is answerable to their state legislatures and ultimately to the Governor of their StateThe Civil Service acting on behalf of the Federal Government is answerable to the Federal legislatures and ultimately to the President of the USA There are State Courts in each State. The Supreme Court in each State is higher than the State Courts and can overturn judgements made in the lower Court. . These State Courts are entirely separate from the Federal Courts but are not entirely independent from the Federal Court System.Each State has Counties and elected officials within those Counties in each State. Each State has a Vital Statistics Office and each office retain the state records for births deaths and marriages registered in that state. At the State and Federal level many important officials are elected to office and lose their tenure if the government falls. The Federal Government which looks after Federal issues like Defence and Border Security and Immigration. Some issues are better handled at the Federal Level to ensure uniformity across the USA.A uniform Curriculum taught in schools across the USA is one such issue that would be best handled at a federal level to ensure equitable education standards across the USA. Such a move would be strongly resisted by the States and the Counties.Unfinished!
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bankrupt, cheap, confidence, debt, depressed, different countries, drugs, flowers, gambling, limp, long distance, money, porn Reply to this Article
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female
reader, Abella +, writes (24 March 2011):
Abella is verified as being by the original poster of the question hi Ampersand, thank you for your inspiring response. Yes Dickens cared about highlighting how people's lives could be very hard in his time.
Just as even more people do it tough today, but often the poverty is hidden.
I love the sound of your lifestyle. People who develop better survival skills and position themselves to grow and prosper by being resourceful deserve the good things to flow their way.
Regard Abella
A
female
reader, Abella +, writes (24 March 2011):
Abella is verified as being by the original poster of the questionhi Odds,
i totally love your response to this article. Five stars does not seem sufficient for such a lovely robust response. Really meaty, really good. At certain points I felt like cheering.
Privacy i will expand on next time.
When I say Equitable that means ''fair/just'' to me, not equal.
And i hate that governments are stingy re what they spend on education.
Yes parents have a big role to play in educating their children. It should not be entirely up to teachers. My first two could read by 3. The eldest when 4 would read me a story before going to bed. The youngest can recognise words so will be reading like the first two soon.
Thank you, Abella
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A
male
reader, Odds +, writes (22 March 2011):
 I'm going to respond to each of your points by number, for convenience.
1 - Change) Economic instability and societal instability tend to go hand-in-hand. There is a certain amount of mutual cause and effect here, but as for relationships, the effects can be generalized. The more stable a society is, the more protections it has, the more people will be free to make dumb moves. This includes in relationships. A stable society that will provide for a girl who gets knocked up, and will force the father to pay child support, will get see more young girls getting knocked up even with the availability of birth control (see teen birth rates the last 30 years).
A less stable society, one that allows the harsh and natural consequences for actions to play out, will tend to favor strong family structures for 90% of the population, who need the protection, but the most successful people will be the handful of young, able-bodied men who can take what they want from others (see the third world). The least successful people will be young men who try and fail to be part of that 10%.
2 - Power structures) Power in society is entirely defined by the ability to get groups other people to do what you want. Whether that is to recognize your currency, obey your laws, stay off of your lawn, or follow your religion depends on the society. Bad societies tend to be those where people obey bad leaders, or where violence in groups is the only way to get rid of them (dictatorships, or democracies where the incumbent wins even when he's a moron). Good societies are those in which the citizens can easily comprehend the actions of their leaders and peacefully remove them from power if necessary (local governments, term-limited governments, parliamentary governments).
The type of power structure in the government can affect families. Our current US government makes it easy to dissolve a marriage, tear homes apart, and transfer half the assets to lawyers in the process of impoverishing on parent or the other (most often the father), all while destroying the kids' lives. In a better power structure, the people resonpsible for this state of affairs would be removed from power and replaced.
3 - Corporations) Except for their campaign contributions (and bribes) getting certain politcians into office, I don't see any effect on relationships.
4 - Spin) This is the natural result of a government whose actions are on too large a scale to be comprehended by the voters. Lies, scandals, and sound bytes are much easier to comprehend than the vast machinery of governance. This is why I believe in subsidiarity (handling all issues at the lowest possible level).
What this means is, of course, the government gets to pass laws that affect families, rather than leaving decisions to families. It also means elections are popularity contests rather than wars of ideas.
5 - Education) True, public school is a joke. Only ones who learn anything are the fortunate few with parents who kicked their asses into gear at a young age. But learning isn't the goal, as you say. It's credentials. You don't get a college degree because of the education, you get it because it (supposedly) gets you the right job. Which is horribly wrong, but true.
Public school is extended day care, serving to make it more difficult for parents to pass their values on to their children, which screws up their relationships. College, being a place to buy a degree rather than study for one (hard sciences exempted) is an excuse for many to get their first taste of promiscuity, which damages their ability to form relationships later.
6 - Health) Gonna skip this one. I love arguing, but have bascially hit my limit on healthcare. Besides, I don't think it has much to do with relationships.
7 - Distractions) For the government-funded projects and galas, there is a subtle distinction at work. If the project creates legitimate jobs in a recession or depression, it's fine. After all, the New Deal may have caused the Great Depression to last 12 years instead of 8 (obviously the second number is a hypothetical), but folks needed to feed their families every day. Jobs matter, so long as they're real jobs and not just government make-work.
As for the vices, they will never leave us. People love their vice. And in small doses, I gotta agree with them. I enjoy dropping a few bucks at Vegas, going to strip clubs whenever a friend gets married, having a cigar during poker games, drinking beer and bourbon, and so on. Without alcohol, that greatest of vices, so many relationship would never happen - and besides, in the unlikely event that society collapses Mad Max-style, a fifth of good scotch will be worth far more than any amount of paper money.
Thing is, sometimes families need big-project jobs to put food on the table. Sometimes folks need vice to recreate and relate to other people.
8 - See no evil) Leaving aside that corruption at the top is typcially limited to embezzling, tax evasion, and sexual misconduct (human trafficking, for instance, is incredibly rare), the issue is again that we are electing party-boys from Yale and Harvard to public office - as mentioned in Education, the ones who got their crednetials rather than their education. Accountants, engineers, scientists, and other such individuals are unelectable, and we have only ourselves to blame.
Of course, this will always be a problem. Compare the sex lives of a cancer researcher to that of a corrupt Wall Street investor, and you'll see why. In this case, it's not so much power affecting relationships as it is relationships affecting people. There will always be men willing to sacrifice ethics and morals if it gets them more money and sex; there will always be more women available to the powerful and corrupt man than to the good one.
9 - Celebrities) People buy these magazines. I can't blame the comapnies making them, I blame the folks who read them.
Of course, bombarding people with images of celebrities who are much richer or more attractive than their own significant other is not healthy for their relationships, but if people stopped buying them, they would go away. So, not gonna happen, except possibly for the change in media (from magazines to TV to movies to the intenet, etc.)
10 - Designer labels) Chicks judge dudes (and other chicks) based on what label their clothes are. Dudes judge chicks based on how much skin their clothes show. The best labels and best skin-showers are made unethically? The consumer's fault for working the way they do. Though honestly, while sweatshops are afwul on an objective scale, compared to the countries they're usually placed in they tend to be much better than other alternatives. My issue with them is not their working conditions, but the way they tend to stunt the economic advancement of a devloping nation... but that's not relationship-related.
11 - Easy credit) Debt and money issues are the number-one destroyer of marriages, and a major issue in other relationships. But there's a sucker born every minute, so it's gonna happen as long as people need to keep up with the Joneses. So, an unavoidable problem.
12 - Immigration) Japan and China want to preserve their native culture and values. Their governments believe those values are vital to their success. Their people believe those values are vital to their happiness. I will be interested to see whether this proves to be a better or worse plan than the virtually unrestricted flow of, say, middle-easterners into Europe and the US, or latinos into the southwestern US.
Of course, with cultural change comes changes in family and relationships. Muslims, for instance, tend to look less favorably on casual relationships than the typical American. Latinos tend to have kids much earlier than whites. However, the influence of one group on the other causes these groups to change over time. I don't know what the final product will be, but it will be interesting to see.
13 - Privacy) Not sure what you mean here. There's no such thing as privacy anymore.
14 - Political correctness) Pure evil. Just confining ourselves to its effects on relationships, political correctness causes many women to grow up thinking they can sleep around all they want without suffering consequences in future relationships, it causes guys to grow up as herbs rather than the assertive individuals they need to be, and prevents any frank discussion about the differences between the sexes in schools or in many parts of the media. Fortunately, some parts of the media are loving bastions of politically incorrect thought, and most people realize that PC is wrong at a young age, even if they don't learn the truth for years after.
15 - The disadvantaged) In the world? There's too many for any one society to do much about it. Especially given that many people will resent help, or won't move to help themselves. We must see to our own house before we tell our neighbors how to run theirs. Plenty of homeless and disadvantaged in Britain or England without having to worry about Ethiopians.
As for relationships, too much help for the poor (or help without conditions attached) will tend to have the same effect mentioned in point 1 about a stable society, encouraging dumb decisions like single motherhood or promiscuity. Help, but part of helping means getting the person pointed in the right direction, to a healthy life and healthy relationships, rather than subsidizing their stupidity.
16 - Debt) The "powerless" can vote, but largely choose to elect the same morons over and over again. Part of the blame lies on the government creating a vast, incomprehensible bureaucracy and preventing people from understanding what's going on, but ultimately, everyone agrees that the goverment is Doing It Wrong but no one will vote for anyone with a brain because they'd be "throwing their vote away." I have little pity for society in this respect.
Of course, staggering national debt puts most of the pressure on working families, creating a strong incentive not to form those working families in the first place. This is one of the reasons that, although I believe families are the most important building block of a functioning civilization, I am anti-marriage.
17 - Inflation) Just more money stuff. I'm trying to limit this to relationship-based responses, so not much to say I haven't already on the way money affects them.
Changes and their effects) You do a very good job of spelling out the effects of many changes on society. Obviously you've done your homework, well done. There are a few points of contention I'd make, but none relationship-based, and on the whole, you've got many points.
I would say that you have the way, *way* wrong idea about the U.S. education system. First, in assuming an "equitable" education is a good goal - this would only be true if teachers were uniform in their skills, knowledge, personal charisma, and teaching style. They are not, and the best teachers will gravitate towards well-off areas because they will have more students who want to learn and fewer students who want to shank them. The solution to this problem is for communities to work with their local governments to improve themselves, to lower crime rates and attract businesses so they can work and improve the local economy. Second, the whole reason my country ditched your country is because we didn't want some guy 3,000 miles away telling us what to do. A bureaucrat in DC has no business telling a family in Los Angeles how their child is to be educated. Third, even at its very best our public education system is a joke. Fourth, school vouchers would give devoted parents a chance to send their kids to better schools, but will never happen because teachers' unions are pure evil.
Home-schooling is the only viable option for poorer parents. It takes energy and commitment, but honestly, three hours every evening by two parents ought to cover everything a normal public school would do in a six-hour day. It's worth it for the kids.
But then, relationships are affecting the politics again. Home-schooling is only a viable option for two-parent families. So long as people divorce for frivolous reasons, kids will be sent to public schools and eventually repeat their parents' mistakes.
I look forward to seeing Part 2.
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reader, Abella +, writes (21 March 2011):
Abella is verified as being by the original poster of the questionyes a further part of the answer is going to focus on the real power of the people.'crowds and power' by elias canetti won a nobel prize for exactly that. First i wanted to focus on how people are conned.Then i want to talk about powerful peaceful ways real people can get their elected officials to really do their jobs. And how real people can (and already do) make a difference, but do not get credit for it. the next stage in planning now, but not started. This one posted took my effort first. (was fun!)Best wishes, Abella
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