Labor Day

With only about 10 minutes remaining of Labor Day, I just wanted to take a brief moment to honor the laborers who helped make the U.S. the great country it once was.

Okay - here comes the hate mail. 

Honestly, though, The U.S. as we know it today was built on the backs of the laborers who came before. Those who built our cities and highways; those who feed and clothe us; those who protect and defend us. These are the people we honored today. You may have taken advantage of Labor Day sales or spent the day grilling and drinking with friends and family if, like Uncle P, you had the day off with pay. 

It saddens me, though, to think about those less fortunate. Those who had off today because they have no jobs. While our President (a man I admire, respect and for whom I voted) contemplates spending millions of our tax dollars to intervene in yet another conflict most of the country agrees we should avoid, I can't help but wonder how the money it will cost to do so might be better spent on getting our citizens back to earning their own way while contributing to society in general.

Yes, we must be global citizens and do everything we can to stop Human Rights atrocities. Yes, we must continue to be the exemplars of Democracy (as flawed as it is). But it seems to me we need to make sure that our own citizens have roofs over their heads, nutritious food to eat and the means to survive after retirement before we can worry about what goes on in countries with diametrically-opposed lifestyles. No, I'm not saying we should let a monster poison his own people. I'm just saying we need to think about our own people first. I seriously doubt that the people of Syria care about us as much as we seem to care about them. 

Don't get me wrong - I'm hardly a jingoistic Right-Winger (if you think that, you've never read anything I've ever posted about politics, Human Rights or LGBT rights). What I am saying is that we before we go taking action against another country, we had better make sure we have our own house in order.

Currently, our house is a mess. It just seems to me that we need to clean up our own mess before we go trying to clean up after others.

More, anon.

Prospero