It is my personal belief, and I believe it is shared by many, that the world, and society at large, is currently going through a pivotal point in history. It seems there is much turmoil going on today, and that it is beginning to reach a boiling point. America seems to be losing its grip on its hold as the most powerful country, the financial markets are plummeting, common people the world over are rising up against oppression, and governments are responding by consolidating their power. I see this as all leading up to something very big.

    Some of the most disconcerting events that I have noticed recently have been taking place in American politics and in our financial systems. It seems to me that the entire housing bubble and subsequent banking bailout was a perfectly executed scam on the American people designed at taking the wealth back from the people and delivering it to banks, bankers, billionaires, and corporations.

   There was no excuse for the banks to be making bad loans to people that can't pay them back in the first place. The defining difference between a bank and a loan shark is supposed to be the fact that banks only loan money to people that can afford to pay them back, while loan sharks loan money to anybody and if you don't find a way to pay them back they come after you. It seems to me that the banking industry must have decided that loan sharks had the right idea, and have since been operating more like the mafia and less like a respectable institution. They simply made bad loans knowing that they were covered by insurance, planning on selling off the loans to mutual funds and the like, and not worrying about the consequences. Then once all the loans went bad they got bailed out by tax payer money. The part I don't understand about this is, if the American people payed back the banks through bailouts covered by our taxes for all the bad loans they made, why are the banks allowed to still hold people responsible for those loans? It seems to me that they got payed back, so anyone owing them money should be considered free of that debt.

    Now that the banking industry has been bailed out, they are foreclosing on peoples homes, kicking them out on the street, and not loaning out money to anyone. Thereby constricting growth, and forcing small businesses to close their doors, which puts more people out of work. So now they have no way of paying back their debt. Making the whole system breakdown and crash.

    To be fair, all the blame cannot be laid at the feet of our banking industry. They are just trying to make a buck anyway they can to keep their stockholders happy. None of this would have been possible if people had not been so susceptible to the idea of spending money they didn't have, running up credit cards, taking out loans they couldn't afford, and in general losing the ability to delay gratification. I blame this on the American peoples lust for uncontrolled consumerism. We have been taught by marketing campaigns (and allowed ourselves to believe), that having more things, will make us happier. This in fact is clearly not true. There may be a small high obtained by buying the newest gadget, or getting a cooler, better, "blank" than your friends have, but in all reality this rush is usually followed by buyers remorse, and very little true satisfaction. All people want to be happier, and there is nothing wrong with trying to achieve this. But it is a lie that having more goodies, and spending more money on fancier things, will lead to that end. Unfortunately it is a lie that we, as the American people, have bought. Hook, line, and sinker.

    To achieve more happiness from life can be tricky business but it is my opinion that this is much better realized through sharing with loved ones and friends, appreciating the little things along the way (not telling yourself you will be happy when...), and constantly being aware of yourself, your emotional state, the causes and reasons for it, and trying to improve upon it. Definitely not an easy task to undertake. It is much easier to think that having more money and stuff is the key, always waiting for something to make life "better", never trying to improve upon ourselves, and blaming our unhappiness on the fact that we are we are not rich yet. Rather than taking responsibility for our own mental happiness.

    I feel I have begun to digress... To get to the point of what I am trying to say. The current social/economic system is clearly proving that it is fundamentally flawed. This is the reason for all the turmoil we are witnessing in our lives today. Therefore we, as a people, need to recognize this, admit it to ourselves, and begin trying to build a system that does work for us. One that values experiences, friendships, and strength of character. Rather than one that values money, status, and power.

    It is my belief that what we are experiencing now, with the downfall of America and its financial systems. The impact it is having on your life, and everyone around you, is only going to get more intense. For to long we have lived on a system of borrowing from the future, now that the future is here, its time to pay the fiddler. I don't expect this to be a very pretty sight, in fact it could get quit ugly. I still have lots of optimism for what the new future, which we can work together to create, could turn out to be like. In fact I am more excited about all of this than I am scared.

    The way I see it. As people can no longer afford to look to money for the answers to all of our woes, we will be forced to work on making the world and our lives better, by improving upon what we currently know and understand. I do not pretend to know what will come of all the turmoil the world at large is headed for. Or what it could mean to people on an individual level, but I have a vision of the future where people learn to work together. I see all of this as proving that the current socioeconomic system we have is flawed. Forcing us to rethink our values and our principles. For to long we have lived in confusion, waiting for the next day to make our lives better. The next day is upon us. It is up to us to improve our own lives and the lives of those around us through sharing, empathy, understanding, and compassion. If we hold these things to be of importance and practice them in our daily lives. There is no financial crisis, no impending economic collapse, and no political catastrophe that we can not overcome. As I said, I don't have any idea what the future will hold, but I believe that if we give up on consumerism and greed, and go back to what is real, we could experience a new renaissance, a new growth of the human spirit and intellect that we can not from our current standpoint even imagine or comprehend.

    I write all this in hopes that it will be seen by others that share my vision of the future. To let people know that there are others out there that have moved past the world of material possessions owning there life (not that I don't have any. I just own them, they don't own me), and are moving towards a world where thoughts count for more than do things. Please feel free to comment or respond to this if you love or hate what I have to say. I appreciate feedback of all kinds...

    Here is a link I am going to include purely for my own SEO purposes. It has nothing to do with this post or topic. It is a e cigarette review website. It is just a way for me to keep my bills paid. :)