Democrats blame the situation on Republicans. Republicans blame it on Democrats. The people blame the federal government. The federal government blames the economy, the mortgage bust, and the European economic turmoil. All predictions on unemployment are proven wrong to the detriment of the people, and all known economic laws on unemployment fail to explain the lawless economy. Plans to extend unemployment benefits are put on hold, because the ruling party fails to garner a majority, and some senators go on vacation, while millions of jobless go hungry. That is the current American way of life. Either recognize it and change your ways, or ignore the reality to keep pursuing fantasies.
So, how to tackle the situation? It did not get this way due to the action of years, or even decades, but that of centuries. This situation developed slowly and inexorably by pursuing needless individualism to absurd levels for so long that it has become part of the American way of life. Anything less is unacceptable. The slow breakdown of the American joint family, the splitting of homes and hearths to the extent of having separate living spaces, furniture and accessories for each family member, has given the economy a joy ride over a great period of time. We are now paying for the fun we've had, or past generations did.
While having personalized items for hygienic reasons, like having separate toothbrushes and towels, can be understood, people in many countries of the world fail to understand, how and why almost every American individual, including children, need separate bedrooms, separate televisions, separate phones, or separate music systems. You need your own home, your own car, your own music system, and everything on earth including phones, i-phones, all kinds of gadgets and stuff, computers, laptops, and everything that you can think of converted to personal ownership. Naturally, your lifestyle is going to cost, and your expenses are going to be immensely larger than those living in joint families.
Large joint families of immigrants built America. They shared the home not only with everyone in the immediate family, but also with kith and kin as well as intermittent guests. They could manage to do that only by the practice of using common spaces and common amenities shared by family members. It is still the practice among all communities in struggling economies of the world.
So, if our economy is in a struggling phase, it is time to recognize that and start returning to our roots and those family structures and values that were practiced by the earliest generations of immigrants. We need to cut down expenses by sharing, and ensure survival by pooling our resources.
A separate, or almost separate, establishment pattern for each individual leads to unmanageable overheads sufficient to bring small families doddering to their knees. On the other hand, the pattern of joint and bigger families creates a resource pool that helps individuals to survive and grow. To secure a better future, one needs to secure survival today. To fight the present economic maelstrom, families need to increase materialistic bonds and rule for common establishments rather than individual ones. It's time to change your way of life and increase your power of survival. You survive today; you will be there to find a job tomorrow.
