Occupy...My Desk Chair

First, let me go on record saying that I agree with much of what is going on in the Occupy Wall Street movement. A lot of people have expressed their frustration with the movement because they believe people are simply rejecting personal responsibility and trying to blame their poor financial decisions on others. 

I can respect that. In fact, I'm sure a lot of people are blame shifting right now. But I don't think it invalidates the entire movement. I take responsibility for a number of bad money moves I made over the years, but I still think major corporations tend to implement unethical policies more than they implement ethical ones. Big business sells our information, promotes a buy-now-pay-later culture, sometimes actually prevents people from learning responsible financial skills, doesn't show empathy and is sometimes just plain immoral. (Or have we forgotten about Dead Peasants' Insurance?) 

Still, I'm not sure how much good an Occupy Wall Street movement is going to do. First, because a lot of people involved don't seem to know exactly what they are protesting and, second, because I am willing to bet most of them aren't willing to do what rejecting corporate culture really means. Because it means quitting your job with the big company, giving up shopping at the big box, paying off and not reopening your credit cards, staying on top of and advocating for ethical policies in corporate America and throwing your investment dollars to the most ethical not the most successful companies.

I'm a person who has avoided shopping at Wal-Mart for years. Capitalism: A Love Story, though I admit hyperbolic at times, changed me. And still, I couldn't do everything up there in the bold. What I have done is to reject a life of working in corporate America. Every day, I put together a hodgepodge income consisting of writing and teaching  revenue. Have I done some work for corporate giants in the past? Ish.  I've done some contract work that was published on Discovery Health. I've done web content for Cash4Gold. Neither of these could be described as "Mom and Pop" organizations. I regret doing work for Leading Insurance Quotes. Now that I look back on it, I'm pretty sure that was a less than ethical decision. And that's the point, this culture is pervasive. To deny it completely would be a little bit like a story I heard on NPR a few months ago about a family who lives off the grid. Is it possible? Of course. Would it be difficult? Definitely. 

So what's my point? It's this: that there is no perfect solution. That the "personal responsibility" advocates and the folks marching on Wall Street are all trying to do something to change our culture. They can't do everything, they can't choose scapegoats, but they can do something -- hopefully they realize that. Hopefully they all realize that for real change to occur, we're all going to have to do just that -- change. 

As for me, I'm choosing to occupy my desk chair. If anyone would like to come protest by doing some editing for me, let me know.

Cracked

The title of my new blog comes to you via my cracked computer screen. It's a 13.3-inch macbook, the beautiful white kind. The LCD screen is bright with vivid colors -- except only about 2/3 of the screen is visible. A large, black blob of cracked pixels coveres the upper lefthand corner. It does a pretty good job of marring the screen.

Marred brilliance. Limited function. Beautiful imperfection.

In reality, isn't that what we all are -- cracked computer screens? We are beautiful, innovative people designed by God to do something great but limited in that ability by our cracks, our scars and our imperfections. Thankfully, God has the ability to use us in spite of and sometimes because of our imperfections.

Did you see Bruce Almighty? Do you remember the scene where Bruce acting as God allowed a young man to avoid teasing in gym class? Morgan Freeman's character, the real "God," says that the boy would have been a wonderful poet whose teasing would have enabled him to write beautiful poetry. Bruce's sparing him of the teaching cost that young man his future.

Luckily, we're not relying on Jim Carrey. God won't "slip up" and accidentally prevent us from being used for his purpose.

Ok, now I have to do that declarative thing where I tell you what this blog will be about. As an English teacher, I hate that. Yuck! But I guess there is no way around it, so here it goes.

This blog will be about...EVERYTHING!


So stay tuned! I'll be posting everything from how-tos to why-comes.