Aaron Maloy's Blog

Abyss to Hell

As the economy continues to tank, Americans and other allied countries are coming to the realization that they are in serious danger. What makes the situation more serious is the uncertainty factor; we don't know just how bad things will get, or if we can realistically bail ourselves out of this mess. The scariest part is that even the best and the brightest economists and social scientists don't have the answers, nor can they offer legitimate hope.

Now, frustrated and apprehensive about the current economic crisis and an inability to divine what will happen next, I find myself  more attentive than ever to the biblical dogma of the "last days." Even I think that it's rather quixotic for people to assume that each and every crisis that happens is indicative of the wrath of a divine power, and believe me, there are many whacky radical religious fanatics that do exactly that. But we are at a juncture in time in which each and every augury from the bible warning of the last days is more lucid and credible than ever.

The bible mentions that Israel will become a powerful nation and that there will be vicious wars in the Middle East. True. It also says that destruction will result from iniquities among nations. True. It also states that the world will become more globalized and will eventually be united under the aegis of an international authoritative body.  Bush's shocking assimilation with other nations as a result of this historic financial crisis makes this very plausible. Also mentioned is that there would be famines, pestilence, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. Global warming, tsunamis in Southeast Asia, the rise in the cost of food, earthquakes in China, and tornadoes and wild fires in the USA make this very convincing.

The notion that these doctrines contain some truth seems more likely than ever before, and many religious leaders from various faiths have delivered statements corroborating their validity.  These are definitely uncanny times, and it makes me wonder what is going to happen. I don't know for sure if this is a deific ramification of some kind, but I do worry how people will be affected in the aftermath of this disaster, and what kind of relief will be available.

Hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs by the week, the number of foreclosures continues to rise, the stock market has hit an historic low, and even the most liberal leaders are acknowledging an inability to pay many important public services. Unfortunately, a lack of adequate resources will mean that people's basic needs won't be met, resulting in increased stress for millions of families around the country. History has shown that when people don't have access to things like food, heat, healthcare, and other basic necessities, they resort to crime, and many become so deprived and desperate that they become violent due to mental illness that is induced by stress.

In the latter paragraph I mentioned that liberals are now calling for budget cuts and layoffs, a government action that has up until recently been exclusively championed by conservatives (how many times can you remember liberals complaining about Republicans "slashing this," and "cutting that"?).  So, this means we are in really bad shape. The fate of our society is now in the hands of our leaders. Where and how they decide to invest public money is critical.

I am a bit skeptical of squandering copious amounts of money into a failing financial system. I hate to sound like a Democrat or a liberal, but I do think that now is an appropriate time to start from the ground up. We should focus our resources on cultivating a healthy working class and protecting those who are vulnerable. This calls for better hiring standards for teachers. Aren't you sick of the dummy teachers who are responsible for record numbers of children, youth, and young adults who are academically deficient? It also calls for more tangible aid, not ineffective programs that exist only to create fat cat jobs, to the poor. Most importantly, it calls for investing heavily in the Department of Children and Families. While it is inevitable that many other parts of state government will get cuts, this is one agency that actually needs fortification during times of crisis.

Poverty causes stress. Stress is almost always the underlying reason why people physically abuse children. When children are abused they are less likely to thrive, and more likely to lead delinquent and impoverished lives as adults. Delinquency and poverty put a huge economic burden on the government and are pathogenic to society.  During times of economic crisis it is vital to have a smart and healthy populous to revive an economy and circumvent a depression.

So, in my opinion, if we want to make it through these challenging times we as a country need to re-evaluate ourselves and our values. Let's not allow ourselves to become spiritually dead (a message for Democrats), and let's try to understand why people are poor and weak, rather than demonize them, so that we can help them become healthy productive citizens (a message for Republicans). Otherwise, our demise may soon become a reality.