Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

Let me go out on a limb & state that most of us here on this site & in America & much of the world can be looked at as main stream.

We go about what we need to do to get by.

We are the people that hold the systems together.

What we say & do or try to say & do are are key in getting & keeping a good system to live in.

We don't need to look very hard to see that what we say & do is an important part of what is good about life.

There is I feel a feeling that most of us don't want to rock the boat & lose what little we have so we hang on & support those that look out for them self at our expense.

We need to stop letting our self be divided.

We in the middle can only gain as we come together.

We need to look at who has the most to gain if we stay divided.

There are just too many seeking the few openings at the top.

There is room in the middle for more of Us.

There is room for more at the bottom.

There are those that wish to be alone at the top & are working at having more at the bottom.

There is much room for what those in the middle may have.
There just needs to be a time when enough is enough.

Some must be left for others.

We must never forget what being an American meant.

A LAND OF OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL.

WE MUST ALSO NEVER FORGET WHY AMERICA WAS FOUNDED.

Floyd Brown

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

Wow, well said Floyd

But with that said who has gained the most under our current administration?

Energy costs up, corporations running to greener pastures, healthcare in shambles, the middle east a sespool of extremism, federal debt beyond anything we can could possibly pay down in our lifetimes, ebola spreading and race relations worse than anything we have seen in 50 years.

Hope and change well I certainly hope we can change what is happening or we will crash and burn.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

The trust we need to have in our leaders is sadly lacking.

For the most part any trust we put in them is wasted.

We need to put our trust in each other.

There is much to be trusting of those of Us that form what I would call the middle class.

For it is in our day to day interactions with each other that make up the bulk of what we do.

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

Well said, both of you. I started to quip something about hitting rock bottom and we could only go up from here. As I went to key that thought, however, the little voice that "sometimes" keeps me centered intruded to remind me of the painful fact that we just "may not have" hit rock bottom yet. Crashing any further down than we already have and burning to a crisp should be a visual no one wants to become a reality.

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

We in our rush towards urbanization have lost the sense of community, we no longer belong to organizations like the lions club or the rotary club. We are too self obsorbed in what's in it for me.

I don't know about the rest of you but I get the greatest internal self gratification from helping others. Knowing that maybe I made a difference in just one person's life.

Floyd is right, and should the unthinkable happen we will need to find renewed strength in taking care of our own communities, families, friends and neighbors.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

I'll add to that this; it's unfortunate that politicians, for the most part, are taking advantage of this " disconnect " and telling people what they want to hear, giving false hope to folks, because they know there'll be nothing they can do about it - once they've been betrayed. It will be a minimum of 2 years before a politician can be "punished" for not keeping their promises and by then, we'll have a whole new situation to deal with - and they KNOW that - and count on it.

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

I agree with you when it comes to that loss of sense of community -- and it is evident everywhere, even in the rural community in which I live. When I moved from the MD suburbs to rural VA, I had to search hard to find ways to make a difference. I thought it would be a simple search but discovered it was harder than it looked, and it took time for my eyes and mind to make the adjustment. In the burbs, opportunities just leaped out, so easy to come by that my husband once stated that he wished he could play a recording every night while I slept that just repeated over and over "just say no." :wink: It is a different way of life here, but an open mind finds a way. What a different world it would be if everyone allowed themselves to be open to the endless possibilities....

She Wolf Loc: Currently Georgia

I agree Floyd. Somehow, we have become so self centered we no longer care about our communities. When I was young, families cared for their elderly, their young, and their returning heroes.

I believe most of the division is caused by government and media propaganda. The middle class is told over and over if we help our vets, our elderly,our disabled, or our children, it will somehow make us poorer. Greed is the new religion of the U.S.A.

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

It's not up to the politicians or gov to care for us, it is our own responcibility. Until that 47% Romney accidently verbalized understand this we cannot possibly make our country into what it was always meant to be. But I fear we are now well past the 50% point and all that that will mean for future elections. The worse it gets the more we will depend on the gov and less on ourselves.

I got some pretty good advise yesterday on what type of gun I should buy.

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

Good to see you She Wolf. I concur with your observation with regard to Greed being the new religion. It's as if "The Me Generation" continues to play like a broken record....

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

All we need to do is stop empowering the greedy.

We are the heart & soul of the country.

it is the losing of our power & influence that is what is at the core of what is wrong.

Too many of Us sell our soul & well being for the Almighty Dollar.

Look around the world & you will see that people can & do get by & we will get by also. It is just that some get by so much better than others. Some just can never get enough.

The country is on a path that needs to be reversed.
The path I speak of is the the wealth is in too few hands.

Seeking more personal wealth is not the way to make the world a safer or more secure place.

The seeking of personal wealth becomes a problem when to few take out to much for them self.

When too many have very little they tend do things that are harmful to the peace & security of others.

I say my personal well being is best served by some, the few having a little less & many with little having a bit more.

I would say that most of Us who would tend to say we are the middle could agree to this.

If you depend on where your money comes from just stop & tell me how the money changers having more & paying a lesser rate on their taxes is good for any one but them self.

Constitutional libertarian Loc: St Croix National Scenic River Way

What you are advocating the Dems will never accept, the only way to ensure everyone pays their fair share without loop holes or special gov considerations is a flat tax. But it is a very tough sell because the money changers don't want to pay their fair share and the politicians get paid for special consideration during elections.

But then no one would have anything to point their fingers at for failure of our system other then themselves.

Why do you think the Dems didnt pass immigration reform between 08'-10' when theg had complete control? Because they needed to drive a wedge between the republicans and hispanics. Why do you think they don't want to fix the diff between the haves and have nots, again to create a wedge between them and the republicans.

It's all a big political game and the biggest losers are the most vulnerable americans.

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

The choice of words we use leaves much of what we say open to debate.

I feel that there is a case to use the idea that there is a middle class in America.

I believe that this group of people have a set of values that have great merit.

It is this group that is what I feel holds the country together.

This group is losing it's hold on influence on what & how things our done in this country.

I have always looked at having middle class values as getting value & giving value.

Always with the thought in mind that we are all in this together & the my well being is connected to your well being.

It is not the amount of money that makes you middle class but how you view the money.

With what is happening now is some are moving up the ladder so to speak & can be said to be rich.

But many more are lower on the list & slipping down.

In my mind as they grow in wealth too many become greedier.

For some they will never have enough.

People like that have to much influence over what is going on.

I save that this causes the rest of us to fun faster with out getting any where.

Bottom line is that money has to move through the system better, with every one having a fair chance to have a good life.

It is for each of us to weigh the impact we have on each other.

We have to say that at some point I have enough & that as we seek more is our life & the life or others truly better.

We all can be a better person if we let our trust in our self & others free to find the answers to our problems.

I say that the souls that seek material wealth have the greatest fears.

I think many of us have the trust in our self & others needed to not fear what should be done.

Many little thoughts & ideas pass through our heads & I hope that I made some sort of sense out of this.

Searching Loc: Rural Southwest VA

:thumbup: I've said it before but I'll say it again....looks like bits and pieces of "The Hunger Games" being played out right before our very eyes....

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

The idea of flat tax has been thrown around a lot, but until it is all but on paper I say it is just an idea.

When most of the money being spent in the market place is ending up in a few pockets we need to take a deeper look at the Idea.

It is not a political idea to have a large body of dependent workers.

It is Capitalism that needs those bodies.

You can not have a for profit system unless you have some that get less for what they add to the system.

That is what we are seeing now. Capitalism at it's best.
Good for the few. Not as good for the rest.