Article Surfing Archive

Hearing of the massive layoffs in the local car factories erodes a bit the certainties of future and furthers the perception that things aren't quite the same anymore. So much for the lessons of my youth that once spoke of a surety of workable lifetimes plus a pension fades as the corporate cut away for the leanness of times. Gone are those workplaces that guarantee a place for generations. One is forced to consider what may fall into place for awhile since no longer can one plan for fifty years. Now it's a time for improvising since changes can occur quite often in one's life instead of that once good place to settle. One could think one might get too old for adjustments but now survival demands newness no matter where one is at for the easy chair is no longer assured.

One could point a finger since it is an ignorant habit nowadays and say it's all the union's fault. Too much greed and too much benefit make the American worker obsolete in the global village of huts with no mortgages and paths walked not driven. Like an expensive habit that one would be better off not partaking of, the workers are the first to be cut. Nothing considered than just a matter of survival. Hopes are for the older ones having houses that are paid and cars that will last a few more years, because it's time to work at Wal-Mart for six bucks an hour. Medical care can maybe be put on the state and that's a hole for another year. The younger will adapt and try to survive, law of the species; nothing unusual. It's too late to take ten bucks an hour instead of twenty; the cars are no longer sold.

Then again one could flip a single finger in the air and say it's all mismanagement. Too much greed and too much bonuses made the estates that lined the lakes. Way too lopsided allotments for the upper class took away the cushion for hard times. There are those that will have to be cut but only the juniors, the rest are tenure, entwined within the company until bankruptcy. Most likely are taken care of, medical provided, well paid; just a company function. Now it's time to cut the excesses and indulgencies and get real, scramble together and figure out what went wrong since the cars are no longer being sold.

Not that the cars aren't sharp or classy, all shine and high tech, the ultimate in current know how of gadgetry and devices, the appeal is in the showroom. Vehicles built for power and grace, style and substance. All for the fleeting glance of prestige and recognition, nothing more than a symbol to attain and maintain. The profits were good and the benefits were great, the American way of life. So one could be fair and say that that it was the greed of many getting what they could from the company to live the best that they could. Yet the real culprit is the American way of life. It is the philosophy of America: better, bigger, and wait until next year. Cars were not built to last but to show. Look at my car and my house. Like the demands and expectations of a youth, or the tantrum of a child wanting attention, America is still young. The reality of a long life requires readjustments. Settle down and dig in. The future is always there for the practicalities of balance for longevity. Changes have to be made to become mature, a matter of common sense over charm. After all it's only survival with a little grace to get by. America can no longer act like ugly Americans; as if we*re the only ones that matter.