Tyrus Thomas and Possible Bridging of the Social Divide??

[qtlaw]

Read this story about Tyrus Thomas trying to motivate folks to help Baton Rouge's flooding:

Tyrus Thomas calls for more attention on Baton Rouge relief

His mention of hardcore "rebels with Confederate flags" helping blacks and gangster blacks helping whites got me thinking about is there any hope for our country to move away from separating ourselves and towards helping each other?

I remember in 1989 the Loma Prieta Earthquake hit SF and it was amazing how people opened up to each other in a time of need.

On the drive in today I thought about "why are the conflicts so great in the US today?" I thought I needed to push myself to ask those who I have thought are on the opposite side of my social/political/economic views:

What is important to them?
What can I do to help them?
Why do they feel so passionate about those issues?

So I ask those of you here, in all seriousness, do you think that our country will continue on this socio-economic/political divide, which will only get worse? Or is there hope that we can bring it back to the air of hope that I felt growing up in the late 60's and 70's?

What can kickstart such a return to optimism?

For my kids and the young people growing to today, I really they can at some point feel the air of optimism that the US was fortunate enough to experience after WWII.

Beyond all of the rhetoric that comes across these pages (and aside from the upcoming elections), I know that is a tremendous amount of intellect that generates that rhetoric and I'm hoping that the exchange will show some promise for not pessimism but for optimism.

 

[qtlaw]

Wow nothing? I guess serious thought is too much? Or did this come off comical?

 

[Riptide]

We're busy with shower beers and shower pissing.

 

[qtlaw]

Got it. Thanks.

 

[Earthman]

Wow nothing? I guess serious thought is too much? Or did this come off comical?

It's a very thought provoking question but your likely not getting the traction because this discussion belongs on the politics board.

 

[FileNotFound]

I think, generally speaking, there are way more good people than bad people, and I think, generally speaking, nothing in this world is as good or as bad as it appears in our Facebook feeds.

And a side note: I remember the '70s pretty well, even though I was a child, and I don't remember that being a time of peace and love and great optimism. I remember it as a time of malaise and high interest rates and high gas prices and Iran and general down-ness. From my seat, everything is better 2016 than anything was in, say, 1978. I have a box the size of a pack of cigarettes that contains all the world's knowledge right here in my hand. I can call my mother half a country away and not count minutes (and thank God, because it's forever to get her off the phone.) I have a car that has twice the horsepower and gets twice the gas mileage and is at least twice as safe as any 1978 car. I'm connected with friends worldwide, and even the ones I disagree with are pretty OK people.

Most importantly, there were just as many assholes in the world in 1978 as there are in 2016; they just have louder bullhorns now.

In spite of everything we hear and read, in real life, we're surrounded by way more Good than Bad. It would be nice if the Good got more attention, but I think this "divide" that we keep hearing is largely manufactured.

 

[Riptide]

Short answer: Quit screwing the middle class. The majority class deserves ample chances for prosperity.

 

[Earthman]

Short answer: Quit screwing the middle class. The majority class deserves ample chances for prosperity.

Who's screwing the middle class?

 

[Earthman]

Change the drinking age back to 18

 

[Riptide]

Who's screwing the middle class?

 

[qtlaw]

I think, generally speaking, there are way more good people than bad people, and I think, generally speaking, nothing in this world is as good or as bad as it appears in our Facebook feeds.

And a side note: I remember the '70s pretty well, even though I was a child, and I don't remember that being a time of peace and love and great optimism. I remember it as a time of malaise and high interest rates and high gas prices and Iran and general down-ness. From my seat, everything is better 2016 than anything was in, say, 1978. I have a box the size of a pack of cigarettes that contains all the world's knowledge right here in my hand. I can call my mother half a country away and not count minutes (and thank God, because it's forever to get her off the phone.) I have a car that has twice the horsepower and gets twice the gas mileage and is at least twice as safe as any 1978 car. I'm connected with friends worldwide, and even the ones I disagree with are pretty OK people.

Most importantly, there were just as many assholes in the world in 1978 as there are in 2016; they just have louder bullhorns now.

In spite of everything we hear and read, in real life, we're surrounded by way more Good than Bad. It would be nice if the Good got more attention, but I think this "divide" that we keep hearing is largely manufactured.

I recall the high interest rates (up to 18%, leading to downfall of Carter) and high gas prices (I remember when it went past $1/gallon!!)

However, I grew up in an area which was solidly lower middle class, not college educated, but with steady, union wages, paper, steel and can manufacturing plants, union building trades. This allowed people to purchase a tract home, a couple of cars/trucks, possibly even a boat, not in ground pools, but "Doughboy" pools.

Those jobs have essentially vanished and IMHO, there's a gaping hole there in our economic system. Where do those without college educations turn now (or in the past 25 years)? There are some building trades jobs still, but more the superintendent, foreman types and less of the basic in the trench jobs. Joblessness may be low, but the widening economic class disparity is scary.

Yes, we've got fantastic products available and better, safer cars, but the costs are amazing. Think, a family in 1980 did not have: monthly cellular bills, monthly satellite/cable bills, monthly internet services bills. Those eat into disposable income fast. Most importantly, credit was not so widely available nor consumed.

I understand that credit is a behavior problem, not an economic impediment. The lack of good wage jobs? That's a killer with respect to leading to class divisions and tension in inter-socio-class relations.

 

[qtlaw]

Change the drinking age back to 18

I went to Hawaii when I graduated from HS specifically for that (hello Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays!)