16 MOONS

Bummed about the Economy? by jthorvath

I have had the unfortunate pleasure recently of realizing that I am spoiled and ungrateful. I bought, “The Jungle” by Upton St. Clair a couple of days ago, and every night now I am struck by how lucky the last couple of generations have been, lets face it, if you were born after the 1950′s you have been blessed.  As I read about 12 people living in a 2 bedroom apartment, men who shovel guts into a hole for 1.50 a day for 14 hours a day and that those men felt fortunate for that privilege, it puts things into perspective for me.

Not just that, but even my own Father has lived a reality that most people I know never have lived.  He immigrated to Montreal, Canada from Hungary during the Hungarian revolution to escape communism.  When he arrived his Father soon passed away, and he was left to have to help provide for himself, his mom and his younger sister all at the age of 15.  He went to school full time and worked full time for .50 an hour, while having to learn a new language.  When I think about my dad and then characters in the book, “The Jungle” I can’t help but cringe at my lack of gratefulness for the privileges I have.  I have grown so use to 21 century comforts, the fact that I can even type on this computer is an amazing luxury. The fact that I can even read a book about people far less off than me,  is a true blessing and not a right.  I think  that is the problem with me, and others, I think I have a right to all this stuff that has been given to me, when really I don’t have a right to it, it is a gift.  I think that is how my attitude is going to change, when I realize that everything I have is a gift and not a right, even the fact the my lungs can draw in air is a gift.

I feel like I have opened up a whole can of worms now thinking about this topic, so I will stop right here. But still I encourage you, if you have been feeling down about the economy or the present world situation; just know that 60, 80 years ago people were living and having to survive in far worse circumstances then we could ever dream of, even here in the U.S of A. I know we all know of the third world and are confronted with it every once in awhile, and yes we do need  think about it more and our responsibility to those people, but the thought that in the U.S. not that long ago people were living and working in ways we would think are deplorable now, it should give us much thankfulness for all the privileges we have been given, even if the DOW is down.

An as I have been doing, I will leave you with a song, that goes along with what I have been saying, or at least to me it does:

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