Ok, so one of Goldman Sachs VPs exits his position with a bang. A dissertation in the New York Times about Directors at Goldman Sachs referring to clients as "muppets" and spending more time trying to swindle their customers out of money than help the "muppets" make money. On the other hand, Mitt Romney said in a Fox News interview that he has confidence that the American public is not going to fall for the bullsh*t being slung by Gingrich or Santorum. He believes that the American public can see through an old school politician and a far right conservative nutjob and that Americans want someone who's earned their way, lived the American dream, and wants to give back. Wow, what a stark contrast those Directors and probably many of the employees at Goldman Sachs have of a public versus what a possibly future President thinks. Got me to thinking. (I know you're thinking "duh".) Are we "muppets"--confined to cliches, stereotypes, easily duped, basically just a bunch of sheep that will follow the first wolf to step in front of us? Or are we, the American public, something far greater than that--bright, articulate, hard-working, and still capable of living the American Dream as Mitt Romney has?
Well, the word "muppets" really probably is meant as an insult by those Goldman Sachs types, but I always liked The Muppets myself. Honestly, that show was extremely innovative for its time, and their creator, Jim Henson, is revered for his skill, talent and business sense. The Muppets made us laugh, at a time that in all honestly, we probably needed it. Kinda like we need someone like Jeff Dunham now. But yes, the Muppets were goofy, and we all see how Goldman Sachs meant it. They meant how stupid, how easily they could rip people off, how quickly they could live the American Dream off the backs of these, us, "muppets". Perhaps, we have lost a lot of common sense. In our urgency to make everyone equal, we've created an environment that exhaults and exudes mediocrisy. No one thought about that in the 1970s. If every child, every teenager, every college student, is the same and we cater to the slowest of the bunch, then we dragged down the brightest, the most talented, the gifted, the artistic, the scientific, the group that we expect to lead the country someday. It's a sad commentary, I know, to say that some people just can't cut the mustard. However, it's true. And, here's even a more devastating comment, so what? Not everyone can be Bill Gates, Charlize Theron, Mick Jagger, John D. Rockefeller, or Steve Jobs. Not every kid can grow up to be President, or even a Congressman or Senator. That's not to say that the slower kid, or the kid that hates school, doesn't have a place in society. God (yes, I believe in God, if you don't then substitute DNA) makes each of us unique, gives us certain talents, abilities, and that should be all fine and dandy. It shouldn't be about money. Here's a shocker for the *ssholes at Goldman Sachs--some people don't care about money. I don't. Yes, I like to have nicer things--what girl doesn't? But my definition of "nicer things" isn't the same as my cousins or some of my friends. I have a really good friend that's perfectly content in her doublewide on a lake. She never went to college. She's worked a plant floor her entire life, and not in a UAW plant where they make more money than the damn engineers do. She's never had a credit bill in her life; saved up for her first new car, and then made payments to herself for eventually her next new car. She put her son through a top university and medical school with no student loans. He's even offered to purchase her a nice little house or condo on the lake. (Isn't he a great kid?!?!) Her response, she's perfectly satisfied with her life and proud of what she has accomplished. I LOVE HER!! Don't we wish everyone could be that way? She's definately not a "muppet". She's living the American Dream, and yes, it's her version of the American Dream, but there's nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with that.
Mitt Romney has also lived the American Dream, probably closer to the stereotype that most of us see when we invoke the words "American Dream"--successful businessman, made a lot of money, has a nice family, a nice home, been a beloved Governor of his state, and all that coming from middle class America. He's looks to have the picture perfect life. (So far, he's proven to be "squeeky clean" too, otherwise, politics as usual Gingrich would have the tabloids involved by now.) He's not apologetic for his success. Why the h*ll should he be? He's worked hard to be where he's at now, he's not a braggert about it, but he's not ashamed of it like Gingrich and Santorum have insinuated he should be. Seriously, do we need another apologetic, ashamed President? Do we not think Obummer has been enough? But, is Mitt Romney right? Are we the exact opposite of what those Goldman Sachs idiots think? Are we a bright, articulate public, capable of seeing through bullsh*t and making intelligent, well thought out decisions? Mitt's hanging his hat on it.
I don't know if we are. I can think of dozens of people that are "muppets". We trust our Congressional leaders until they prove us wrong--or do we? In Jacksonville, Florida, there's a Congresswoman who makes maybe 3 to 10 votes a year while Congress is in session (they typically exceed 400+ per session). The newspapers, the television, even her opposition, always point out her horrible record in doing what the heck she's supposed to be doing. Her constituency has heard this over and over and over--over decades. She still gets re-elected every time. Why? Maybe people are "muppets". Who else would continue to vote for her when she obviously can't get the job done? PT Barnum said, and it's not exactly how he said it supposedly, "There's a sucker born every minute." If there's just one every minute, that's still 525,600 "muppets" being born every year. What happens if those "muppets" are in charge? Apparently Goldman Sachs does. Egos overbearing the real work. Greed running amok to the point it almost devastated a global economy. Housing markets so over-inflated that millions of people went immediately thousands of dollars upside down in their mortgages. I'd argue that those jerks running Goldman Sachs and allowing that mentality to run rampant in their firm not only corrupted their viability, but the viability of other Wall Street firms, other financial firms around the globe, and yes, even the financial stati of governments. Outrageous. Who's acting like the "muppet" now?!?!?!
We come across people every day that have never left the pettiness of high school behind. People get sued for fraud, kill innocent people in the name of a God that they've never met or over some stupid trinket, or act like they are better than someone else just because of money, position, who does their hair or which church they go to. Still, we have others than would give the shirt off their back, teach their children right from wrong, hold themselves accountable instead of playing victims, and genuinely try to do the right thing. Maybe some of us "muppets"...but not all of us.
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