I'm pissed off and you are the reason why - a rant.

    Human beings are by nature political animals, because nature, which does nothing in vain, has equipped them with speech, which enables them to communicate moral concepts such as justice which are formative of the household and city-state.  Aristotle

 

    I came across something yesterday in INC magazine that annoyed me.   Now I admit that I generally don't read that publication but years of owning my own small company and working in banking and fiance have taught me to always be open to knowledge and inspiration ,so I expected to glean some new information from an article entitled 7 Reasons to Avoid Going Rural to Work from Home.  

    My job is done remotely.   I am a good 115 miles from my companies office in Cleveland and live out in the country.   The population of my town is under 1000 people for example and it's not uncommon to see Amish buggies.  I may not be "rural" but I'm damn close.

    The article, which I'll let you read, is a hack piece and clearly meant to play on stereotypes.   I'll be the first to admit that every stereotype has some truth to it - for example, pick up trucks are common in rural America but that has more to do with the practically of having one than any ulterior motive.  When you have to haul around anything from animals to wood it just makes sense to have an all purpose vehicle.  That's what a pick up is and that's why you see so many in the country.

    Religious sentiment is stronger in the country because historically the Church was a gathering place where you saw your neighbors and had a chance to talk and build community.   

    Stereotypes of all types however have become so common that we Americans have lost our capacity to think and to feel empathy.  Much less how to speak to each other.  We have simply become used to having "facts" fed to us by one side or the other.     I hate to get political and truly wanted to avoid politics in this blog but I'm about to.   So stop reading here if you wish.   Here's a cute picture of a baby duck if you don't wish to proceed further.

 

    I am a dyed in the wool Democrat, now that doesn't mean my party right or wrong.   Frankly I'm not a fan of Biden but he was better than the alternative and honestly both of them are worth the equivalent of a shit sandwich if you ask me.

    I am pissed off that what passes for political debate in this country is the equivalent of an elementary school playground during recess.   Seriously how long will it be before we start calling each other "poopy heads?"

    All I'm asking for is for people to get outside of their heads and actually think.   To stop and consider a few things before jumping off the deep end.

    For example:  Gas prices are going to raise and get worse for the foreseeable future.   Opening the reserves will help ease it, but it's not a fix all.   They are called reserves for a reason, and like it or not we may end up in a war soon (I doubt it but that's another article) and the government might be hesitant to release that gas for that reason.  

    Our culture is inherently dependent on trade and gas.  As Americans we import roughly 200,000 barrels of oil a day from Russia alone, roughly 10% of our needs.   That's technically not much, but it's disruption means we have to import from elsewhere and that means higher prices.   If other countries follow the US lead and ban Russian oil from their shores, that means more competition for oil from other sources and the price goes up higher.   That's Capitalism folks.

    You can't blame Biden (Although many will)..  You have to look in the mirror and blame our selves and our car centered culture.   Because nearly everything in America is shipped by truck, higher gas prices means higher costs...that's inflation.   You can blame Putin too.  He started the damn war.

    Smart and savvy investors will see this as an opportunity and invest in Green tech.   That technology was already the wave of the future, now it's just going to be accelerated.  However a lot of that new tech is going to displace a lot of traditional workers in coal and the gas industry.   

    Again these are the people often in the rural areas of the country.   We should be talking about ways to transition them into new jobs and new opportunities.    Change is inevitable.

    That's the nature of the world and technology.   You don't see a lot of farriers and wheelwrights working today although those skills are still needed in today's world.   Just not to the extent they once were.

    The economic picture was showing signs of improving before this war between Ukraine and Russia began.   I've spoken about this before and I'll say it again.   The world is interconnected.   This is 2022, the 21st Century.

    Americans may not be directly involved, but that war affects everything you touch and do.

    We need to stop pretending that borders matter, because America is part of the world.   Because trade is international, because what you do matters.

    Think before you bitch about gas prices or inflation because this is only a temporary issue.