Well, the White Conference pow wow didn’t gain us anything, and 3 bank leaders had the audacity to no-show. I’ve been watching Congress on C-Span grill bank and financial regulators and NGOs in panels with fervor, chomping their gums. I am validated that, while my own congressional representatives haven’t bothered to respond to my voice or email requests, the ‘collective’ body of lawmakers is hearing our ‘collective’ pain. Yet still no teeth, and not enough activism on our parts as citizens to really force the issue. I, too, have been ‘active’ on my own necessary priority more than the community myself, so I am the pot calling the kettle black.
I mentioned in my JPMorgan / Chase blog posting the other day that I may be suffering from some learned helplessness…
This is an AMAZING article that speaks through another’s heart what is in my own head and heart.
(Warning – longer than a typical blog but worth every word. The comment section goes on for days, so I’m not the only one who was nodding yes over and over as I read it. Here’s a snippet and link -
Are Americans a Broken People? Why We’ve Stopped Fighting Back Against the Forces of Oppression
A psychologist asks: Have consumerism, suburbanization and a malevolent corporate-government partnership so beaten us down that we no longer have the will to save ourselves? more ยป
“But today, most U.S. citizens are broken by financial fears. There is potential legal debt if we speak out against a powerful authority, and all kinds of other debt if we do not comply on the job…Elitist “helpers” think they have done something useful by informing overweight people that they are obese and that they must reduce their caloric intake and increase exercise. An elitist who has never been broken by his or her circumstances does not know that people who have become demoralized do not need analyses and pontifications. Rather the immobilized need a shot of morale.”
