This entry began as a review for my blog dedicated to movie reviews but I quickly surmised that it was more fitting to put these thoughts within my own more introspective blog. I just watched Capitalism: A Love Story and it got me thinking. If you watch a movie and rush out and want to talk to people about it, then that is the sign of a good film. If it can stir up emotions in you, it is a freaking awesome movie. Now, I do not agree with everything that the director put out there but there are several instances where you do just want to stand up and scream, “WTF?!”
If I had to pigeon hole me into a specific category, I would have to say that my religion is Christian but have yet to find a denomination that fits my personal POV. I feel like everyone is entitled to his or her own faith. Who am I to say that Muslim, Buddhists, or Shinto are wrong and I am right? I feel like there are many different highways to get to Disneyland. The destination is the same and we all get to the same place. We just take different routes to get there. Some may take the main highways while other take boulevards, and other sneak over the fence while the security guards aren’t looking.
So, without getting lost in ecumenical politics or offending the majority of my audience, I find that I am liberal about some things and conservative about others. I want a strong military. I want criminals brutalized. I want small government and I want Uncle Sam to keep his nose out of my business.
But at the same time, I want drugs legalized so we can tax the revenue and make it less dangerous for those that chose to partake. I want prostitution legalized. I want gambling legalized. I think food stamps and welfare are great to use as a crutch – as long as you don’t make it your lifestyle.
I do not hate capitalism. I would fully embrace it in its most pure and uncorrupted form. But what Michael Moore brings to light in his movie is just infuriating. If his facts are accurate, the top 1% of this country possesses more wealth than the bottom 95% combined. Think about that.
It is clear through his interpretation that Moore is not a fan of Bush, Cheney, and the Republican Party. But in his movie, he equally takes the Democrats to task. The TRUE villain of the film is the banking industry. I am not talking about your local branches and the small town banks but corporations like AIG, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch. The underhanded things that these corporations were doing are just disgusting.
Like many underprivileged Americans, my retirement and 401k plan consists of the lottery tickets that I purchase. I know I am never going to win but I find it interesting to imagine scenarios and what I would do with the money. Aside from my fully functioning replica of the Tumbler from Batman Begins and my castle room to play World of Warcraft in, I would start several businesses – including my gentlemen’s club Fairy Tails. But with me well off financially, I would ensure that the lion’s share of the profits went back to the employees – since they are the true backbone of a company. It is not its CEO or executives that make a company work. It is the grunts working in the mud and the blood everyday. They are the ones that make it work.
One of the more poignant segments of the movie is how people believe that God has blessed America and it is his favorite nation in the history of the world. Yet, I feel that Jesus might be a tad irked about our capitalistic system. If the system was pure and uncorrupted and worked the way it is supposed to, I don’t think he would have that much of a problem with it. But have you seen mankind lately? We screw up everything we touch!
Did Jesus not talk about being kind to the poor? Did He not say how you treat the least of my brethren you treat me? And yet, the wealthy CEOs at all of these massive companies are making ridiculous salaries while grunt workers unable to make their mortgage payments are being shown the door.
This is why I wish the poor and the day-to-day workers could be granted their own businesses because they would know how to treat the people who work under them with respect. But sometimes, the world just doesn’t work that way… and it is a damn shame. C’mon lottery. [And I am fully aware of the irony of talking about starting a gentlemen’s club and citing Jesus in the same article.]
So while I am not one for massive citing of religious text within this blog, I found this article on the Internet and it seemed to speak volumes. Enjoy this food for thought:
If I had to pigeon hole me into a specific category, I would have to say that my religion is Christian but have yet to find a denomination that fits my personal POV. I feel like everyone is entitled to his or her own faith. Who am I to say that Muslim, Buddhists, or Shinto are wrong and I am right? I feel like there are many different highways to get to Disneyland. The destination is the same and we all get to the same place. We just take different routes to get there. Some may take the main highways while other take boulevards, and other sneak over the fence while the security guards aren’t looking.
So, without getting lost in ecumenical politics or offending the majority of my audience, I find that I am liberal about some things and conservative about others. I want a strong military. I want criminals brutalized. I want small government and I want Uncle Sam to keep his nose out of my business.
But at the same time, I want drugs legalized so we can tax the revenue and make it less dangerous for those that chose to partake. I want prostitution legalized. I want gambling legalized. I think food stamps and welfare are great to use as a crutch – as long as you don’t make it your lifestyle.
I do not hate capitalism. I would fully embrace it in its most pure and uncorrupted form. But what Michael Moore brings to light in his movie is just infuriating. If his facts are accurate, the top 1% of this country possesses more wealth than the bottom 95% combined. Think about that.
It is clear through his interpretation that Moore is not a fan of Bush, Cheney, and the Republican Party. But in his movie, he equally takes the Democrats to task. The TRUE villain of the film is the banking industry. I am not talking about your local branches and the small town banks but corporations like AIG, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch. The underhanded things that these corporations were doing are just disgusting.
Like many underprivileged Americans, my retirement and 401k plan consists of the lottery tickets that I purchase. I know I am never going to win but I find it interesting to imagine scenarios and what I would do with the money. Aside from my fully functioning replica of the Tumbler from Batman Begins and my castle room to play World of Warcraft in, I would start several businesses – including my gentlemen’s club Fairy Tails. But with me well off financially, I would ensure that the lion’s share of the profits went back to the employees – since they are the true backbone of a company. It is not its CEO or executives that make a company work. It is the grunts working in the mud and the blood everyday. They are the ones that make it work.
One of the more poignant segments of the movie is how people believe that God has blessed America and it is his favorite nation in the history of the world. Yet, I feel that Jesus might be a tad irked about our capitalistic system. If the system was pure and uncorrupted and worked the way it is supposed to, I don’t think he would have that much of a problem with it. But have you seen mankind lately? We screw up everything we touch!
Did Jesus not talk about being kind to the poor? Did He not say how you treat the least of my brethren you treat me? And yet, the wealthy CEOs at all of these massive companies are making ridiculous salaries while grunt workers unable to make their mortgage payments are being shown the door.
This is why I wish the poor and the day-to-day workers could be granted their own businesses because they would know how to treat the people who work under them with respect. But sometimes, the world just doesn’t work that way… and it is a damn shame. C’mon lottery. [And I am fully aware of the irony of talking about starting a gentlemen’s club and citing Jesus in the same article.]
So while I am not one for massive citing of religious text within this blog, I found this article on the Internet and it seemed to speak volumes. Enjoy this food for thought:
To the rich, God has given wealth that they may relieve and comfort His suffering children; but too often they are indifferent to the wants of others. They feel themselves superior to their poor brethren. They do not put themselves in the poor man's place. They do not understand the temptations and struggles of the poor, and mercy dies out of their hearts. In costly dwellings and splendid churches, the rich shut themselves away from the poor; the means that God has given to bless the needy is spent in pampering pride and selfishness. The poor are robbed daily of the education they should have concerning the tender mercies of God; for He has made ample provision that they should be comforted with the necessities of life. They are compelled to feel the poverty that narrows life, and are often tempted to become envious, jealous, and full of evil surmisings. Those who themselves have not endured the pressure of want too often treat the poor in a contemptuous way, and make them feel that they are looked upon as paupers.
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