A few thoughts I’ve had recently…
English Protests
I’d imagine by now that you’re heard about the “protests” going on in the UK. Apparently, some British folks still believe their country belongs to them, lol. Sarcasm aside, the “raise the flag” protest is becoming a real movement, and I’m glad to see the patriotism.
I’ve been paying attention to the troubles the English are having with immigration for a while now, witnessing a small bit of it during our vacation a few months back. But I’m not subject to their daily problems, so it’s easy for me to brush off. Of course, I’m mostly interested in how things play out there as I fear we’re going to have the same problems here in the States, only on a much larger scale.
It is interesting, however, to see how some people defend the illegal migrants. Yes, there are some “good” people who immigrate, and I’m sure many immigrants only have good intentions (possibly even a few who are truly patriotic), but that’s not the concern.
Ignoring the fact that literally all of them have committed a crime by the mere act of illegally entering the country (and they clearly know it’s wrong), these people are largely a net drain on society. Yes, there are folks who do work that most of us wouldn’t, and they probably work for less money, but they still consume resources (e.g., housing, food, medicines). They still use infrastructure (e.g., roads, schools, hospitals). And they still showed up without permission.
Although I’ve never been involved in city planning, I’m sure it takes a lot of time, money, and planning to expand a city or suburbs in order to properly accommodate a large influx of people. And that’s they key, isn’t it? After all, it’s one thing to plan twenty years out for people having children, but quite another to incorporate an equivalent number of bodies in a small fraction of that time. And it’s not like people can be evenly spread out over a geographic area; people congregate near resources and economic opportunities, which usually means cities and towns. (If you’ve ever flown in an airplane, you’ll see this stark contrast very quickly!)
Honestly, it boggles my mind how a country is expected to support foreigners indefinitely, and that’s to say nothing of the additional criminal concerns. It would be like me being expected to support (or at least tolerate) somebody living in my house without my permission. Maybe they’re not trying to cuddle with me in my bed or eating directly out of my refrigerator, but I’m still putting a roof over their head and paying the utility bills. At minimum, I should have agreed to it.
Perhaps the worst part is that these immigrants don’t want to assimilate, at least a large portion don’t seem to. They want to be whatever it is they are (via ethnic or religious priorities), speak their own language, and create their own enclaves, but in a better country. They want to reap the rewards of a civilized, first-world country but without accruing the costs paid by their ancestors.
Personally, I get to reap the rewards of what my ancestors did, good or bad, by virtue of being born an American. I don’t, however, get to reap the rewards of what prior generations of Canadians did should I choose to move there without asking them first; if I’d asked and they agreed, then that’s a different story.
Unfortunately, I don’t think this is going to end well for either the UK (or the rest of western Europe) or the United States. We’ve let this go too far for things to be settled peacefully, and that both frightens and saddens me. I absolutely feel empathy for some of these migrants, but having empathy doesn’t mean I must sacrifice my family or my country for their well-being.
Life is hard.
Borders exist for a reason.
And, apparently, so do flags.
Oblivious Drivers
My wife and I have been taking our dogs on a walk most mornings for several months. (It seems that I’m old enough now that a walk is considered exercise these days.) And while it’s nice to get outside for a brief time, I don’t like most of the drivers.
Unfortunately, there are no sidewalks or even shoulders on our roadways. Worse, there are several small hills that are large enough you can’t see what’s on the other side. It’s not a big deal because we just move to the opposite side of the road as we traverse them.
I realize that people are in a hurry. Although the speed limit is 35, most people are doing 50+ all the time. They need to get to work, and it’s a long drive. No problem. I get it. I’m sure I don’t always obey the speed limit either.
But what really gets me is when driver’s don’t bother to slow down when we’re walking our dogs; some don’t even move over as a courtesy. Granted, we do our best to pay attention to oncoming cars and to get off the road completely, but c’mon, have a little humanity!
To me, it’s yet another sign, like the migrant crisis, that our societies are going to shit. We’re so self-absorbed, so “in our own little worlds,” so distracted that I fear for humanity’s future sometimes. Add in AI and how everything is governed by computers these days, and we may as well be living in The Matrix movies.
Or maybe I’m just that getting older and see all so-called “innovation” as highly suspect, even if they promise me the world in return. 🙂
Here’s a thought. Let’s start treating each other like our ancestors expected to be treated. Talk to people kindly. Hold doors for women. Teach your kids not to be selfish pricks so they grow up to be decent men and women.
It’s not that difficult.
But it does take effort.
Veg-flation
I’ve fast-forwarded the following video two minutes to where he discusses “veg-flation,” a term I’ve never heard of before, but I like it. (Well, I like the play on words, not the reason behind it.) You can watch the next five or six minutes about the rising cost of food, something I’ve warned about for years, but I’m preaching to the choir. In the video, he says the price of wholesale vegetables has risen about 39% recently, due to a number of reasons. That’s a lot!
Just the other day, I went to Costco and didn’t even fill my basket full, but still spend over $600. I used to be able to overflow our cart for barely $400. Granted, we’ve changed some of the foods we buy, but it’s obvious to anyone who chooses to see that grocery prices continue to rise. And there’s no reason to believe prices will be coming down. Please continue to prepare yourself because I continue to fear the worst is yet to come…
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