megdotstew

[megdotstew]

Part 1: Can We All Agree?

Jackson, Mississippi, United States of America, is the center of the world. If you've lived here long enough, you'll understand what I mean. I've heard it said that Mississippi is the blueprint for the rest of America, and given the Federal government's current direction, that statement seems about right.

Some may agree, disagree, or be ambivalent toward the current Executive administration running the country until 2028. I'm not here to tell you who's right, or who's wrong - I want to discuss what "We the People of the United States, [striving] to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..." should be doing to regain control over OUR democracy.

I've attended various meetings throughout the city and repeatedly heard appeals for a higher quality of life given an honest day's work, affordable education, and affordable healthcare. Most people simply want their investments of time, energy, and resources to pay off in a comfortable life for themselves and their loved ones.

"Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit...Capitalist economies tend to experience a business cycle of economic growth followed by recessions." -Wikipedia

Capitalism is the current socioeconomic system that has produced over 2x more billionaires (902) than the country, China, with the next highest number (450). [List of Countries by number of billionaires, Wikipedia] This sounds amazing until you add the fact that this a reflection of some of the largest income disparities, with America’s richest 1 percent of households averaging 139 times as much income as the bottom 20 percent in 2021, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Where policymakers once fought to distribute income through equitable taxation, increased unionization, and other reforms [Inequality.org], current elected officials are busy making sure the rich get richer at the expense of the lower economic classes. These are representatives that are ensuring that the top 10 percent of society benefits off the backs of the majority of their constituents.

Why do we herald private ownership of the means of production when it has proven to lead to massive inequality?

Socialism is a dirty word, but an economy where the people own the means of production is the ideal at face value. Take Jackson's water system, or our international airport, for example: the money that is generated by those assets benefits all citizens, whereas if they were privately held, only a small few would see the profits. How, then, do we expect the same system (capitalism) that has produced massive inequality to also be the solution to the problem? That question is rhetorical.

"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house." - Audre Lorde

A hospitable habitat for all

I'm a native of Mississippi, but also an alien to this place; I've traveled to several metropolises and have found my sojourn welcoming, but when I live in my hometown of JXNMS, I am rejected at every turn. I traveled back home to Jackson, MS, in the spring of 2023. The year did not end before I lost everything except my car, which I chose to use as a home to ring in the new year.

I'm privileged to have lived many experiences that allow me to empathize with different walks of life. Through my journey, I've come to see that we are all connected by innate principles, which are defined as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," in the Declaration of Independence. Expanding what a happy life and ability to pursue liberty looks like for a diverse and ever-expanding population means we must regularly redistribute our resources to keep society moving forward.

There is an idea of merit-based access to resources. Those who qualify attend good schools, have safe and efficient healthcare, and have access to reliable transportation. What are the options for those who are unworthy of benefits? Prison or death tend to be the catch-all categories. Given that Mississippi has the highest incarceration rate in the United States, it might be worth considering whether we are offering enough opportunities for success, since so many of our citizens find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Education is meant to be a great equalizer. With knowledge in hand and the wisdom on how to use it, an American can write their destiny, or so goes the American Dream.

Students are more than test scores

What I have found is that our education system is failing to equip its citizens with the scruples necessary to run society. How to communicate and agree on an issue. How to confront someone peacefully and resolve conflicts. How to register to vote and find your representatives. These are the skills needed to function as a peacable adult, yet they are missing entirely from our schools' curriculum. What does it matter if Tyrone can read on a grade level if he doesn't know how to manage his anger? He's still going to end up endangering his community.

A school needs to see the whole student, not just their test scores. That being said, students come with families. If a student is having issues, the family must be involved for it to ever be resolved. This is where social workers, counselors, and therapists find their value. Every family that is found to be in distress because of the behavior of a student needs a team to help them strengthen the support they are getting so their son or daughter can thrive. I will contend that the government can be that "village" when the private and non-profit resources are insufficient to address the matter.

Healthcare is a human right

What if we could ensure that every expecting mother was provided with all the resources they needed to ensure the health and well-being of their child? Think about it. Prenatal appointments, medication and nutritional meals, rides to and from the doctors, lactation counseling, registering for preschool, and regular health appointments. What a benefit to women who are doing the laborious work of incubating another human being! Mothers are not receiving the benefits they deserve for the work only they can do, and it is time we honor their duties with something more meaningful than breakfast in bed on the second Sunday in May.

From conception to the day we transition from life, we could all maintain our optimal level of health through access to health services and medical professionals. If we are pouring into a system, we should expect it to also benefit us. We invest in a person's education from 0-18 years of age, but we should also ensure that they live long enough for the community to see that investment mature. Health is related to output, which is evidenced by the need for "sick-days" being a common benefit in most salaried employee packages. When a healthy, emotionally mature, and self-aware student graduates from our education system, they should be ready to sustain the ecosystem that is focused on their overall well-being.

Education is an investment in production capacity

Since we are investing wholeheartedly in all of our citizens, let's ensure that they receive the education that would be most beneficial for our communities. If we need more civil engineers, provide paths for those seeking to fill that role to get the education needed to perform that job. The Government should be providing the best services, but that would mean hiring the best people at competitive wages. Instead of getting compassionate-hearted professionals willing to take a pay cut, we find ourselves employing self-aggrandizing embezzlers. There is a virtue in an individual selfishly maintaining provisions for themselves and their family. For that, one cannot fault an honest person for working with a private company over the local or state government, given the latter barely pays enough to make ends meet.

If we need to train qualified individuals for a specific skill, then pay for them to take the training so that we can move forward with the workers we need. The military adheres to a similar ethos when it comes to investing in the soldier. We can look at the individual as an asset that, when well-maintained, can be a major boon for our economy.

JXNMS' biggest export is intelligence

Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, Belhaven University, Millsaps College, Hinds Community College, Mississippi College School of Law, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center all reside within the city limits of Jackson. According to the Secretary of State's office, the City with Soul had a -0.5% population growth over the past year, and the Governor has been complaining about the state's "brain drain" for at least as long as the city has been shrinking. I happen to think that these two facts are related. Our universities and colleges attract talent from all over the state and the world, yet we see Jackson's population plummeting year over year. Can you imagine if the students who studied at our schools stayed for an additional five to ten years after they graduate?

We are already exporting our greatest assets, but we aren't reaping the return on our investments. Why are we seeing so few young, college-educated adults staying in the capital city and taking over the running of our government? Why are we praising our scholars running off to different states instead of encouraging them to return and replenish the wells that they drew from? It goes back to priorities. We value the individual over the collective, and that "crabs in a bucket" mentality is retarding our city's growth.

Jackson needs to have a candidate pool of local graduates returning to the public sector before venturing into the private sector. If we cannot afford to hire the best in a field, we should be the ones training them. Let's define a culture of excellence within our city that is evidenced by those we train and employ. It is easier for a young adult, void of serious obligations, to start their career serving the public for a lower wage than an experienced engineer seeking to support their family. Providing sufficient training and experience will secure quality applicants, reduce turnover, and provide better service to the clients - the taxpayers.

As is, Jackson, MS, is an inhospitable habitat for the best of what we have created. I think it's time we begin building leaders through our public school system who understand what we need for the future, instead of trying to rewrite the past.

A vote is a powerful weapon

Freedom Riders drove from the north to the south to help integrate public transportation, all risking their lives to make possible what some thought would rip this country apart - the end of segregation. We are back at that crossroads because some have put down their arms, refused to fight. They have claimed to see no point in showing up at the ballot box to cast their vote for the lesser of two evils. Some have buried their weapons for religious convictions, or scheduling conflicts, or lack of documentation, or transportation to their polling place, or any other number of reasons. But I bet if you ask them what they want fixed in their neighborhood, or in their schools, or community, they have a long list. It's easy to blame the quality of life in JXNMS on institutional injustices, which is half-true. But a fuller truth is that those with the duty to vote did not honor their privilege.

"And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth... /His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant,... Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents." - Matthew 25:25-28

Voting is an archaic method of getting consensus. Yet globally, there isn't a system that has superseded it. It's not going away anytime soon in democratic societies, so take ownership of your right to express preference on your representatives. If you don't like your options, find better ones - be the change you want to see.

Voting doesn't mean that all of your problems will get solved because the "right" person is in the position you need them to be. That's like thinking your doctor can take care of your health with no input from you. We must be in conversation with our elected officials for them to understand what is important to us and why. They work for us, and if they are unwilling to meet with you, fire them! That's what voting is for. There is lobbying, there is dark money flowing through politics, but despite all of that, your vote is still the most powerful weapon you can wield, and when you have others voting in agreement with you, you're a force to be reckoned with.

"Scared money don't make no money." - Anonymous

Why is money so important? Because we agree that it is. We agree to use it as a means for exchange in all aspects of modern life - from food to clothing to shelter - money is necessary for obtaining a comfortable life.

The wealthy understand the concept of investment - putting money in a vehicle that is expected to increase in value over time. Agreeing to pool our collective resources to provide education, sufficient healthcare, adequate housing, and quality food to all members of society will allow our city to flourish with creative energy, new entrepreneurial endeavors, and an increase in population. Viewing people as investment vehicles instead of liabilities shifts the focus from making profits to grooming the means of production itself - human intelligence.

If a portion of your investment is underperforming, do you take all of your money out of that sector, or do you rebalance your portfolio by taking from the overperforming sections and investing that into the ones that aren't doing as well? It depends on what your long-term goals are. If you're trying to make a quick buck, you may put it all into the investments that are doing well now and hope to cash out before the market turns. However, if you are looking at a longer timeline, you're likely to rebalance your account so that it retains the percentages that you were looking for.

Investing in the "bottom" of society ensures that we all have farther to fall should we have to weather the inevitable economic downturn of a capitalist system. The only reason not to agree to uphold the base of society is if you feel you are outside the need of the community. Otherwise, let's all agree that we need each other and should invest in everyone with equanimity.

[megdotstew]

Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.

Abraham Lincoln (1840)

[megdotstew]

fucknomisconceptions:

megandstewart:

The thing about work is that one can choose to do it. If one does not feel that they are being fairly compensated for their time and effort then they can go find other work.

Do you not think, if it were that easy, people would be doing that? The lack of available jobs is…

I tend to see more in people. I believe we have the ability to change our lives and our destinies. I do not see the smallness in people. I see their greatness. I think people who  know their own greatness do not accept those jobs. They work them, but they don’t choose to live their lives on them. They go for better things. "Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be." - Goethe Furthermore, having a roommate to split the cost of living in order to make one’s current situation sustainable isn’t a wildly revolutionary idea. And to ask me to try to live on min wage is preposterous. I worked and made decisions to not end up on min wage. If I were on such a salary I would continue to make decisions to improve my situation. It isn't about the amount of money one makes, it's about the choices and habits of that person. People make choices and decisions and we are not absolved from the consequences of our actions. We must live with them and make better ones. By raising min wage it seems to be absolving people of the responsibility for their own lives.

[megdotstew]

I had read a story earlier in the previous year that described an underdog story: low-income students were accepted and planned to attend ivy league institutions. This really bothered me. I wondered why they would choose to go to an expensive college where they chose the least expensive major so they can afford to be there when they could get a free education from a public institution and a degree that matters. Malcolm Gladwell explains another reason why those students may have been better off choosing a lower caliber college that I hadn't, and many people  planning to attend college probably haven't even considered.

[megdotstew]

Why I am against raising the minimum wage

The thing about work is that one can choose to do it. If one does not feel that they are being fairly compensated for their time and effort then they can go find other work. An employer has the right to pay what he feels a job is worth. If getting the floors mopped is worth $7.50 an hour to them then that is what they have the right to charge. It is the decision of the employee to except or decline that offer. It is a sense of entitlement, an idea that because one exists one deserves comforts and joys, that has created people that feel they can demand exorbitant compensation for work that is of little monetary value. Life requires work and certain types of work are worth more than others. That’s the way it is and always has been. The varied pay grades for different jobs is supposed to entice the best out of people and encourage people to achieve more. If we give in to raising the minimum wage to a “living wage” we are doing a disservice to our nation. We are undermining the very idea of capitalism and the ingenuity of people. I think the first fault of these people is that they believe they have no other means of making a living other than working these jobs. They don’t see any other way to provide for themselves than for someone to tell them what they can do. These people have become indentured servants that think they are free. But since their mind is not free to think of other possibilities for their life they are trapped and they think the only way they can survive is through other people. The second fault is what they are trying to achieve off these salaries. So many people feel that they are entitled independence. They choose not to collaborate and work with others in order to improve their situation. If you can not afford it then that is not what you deserve. You deserve what you have worked for and if the worth of your work has determined that you cannot afford to live on your own then you do not deserve to live on your own. We can not demand more of others before first demanding more of ourselves. Our individual situations are determined by our own actions and inactions. Those demanding more money need to look at themselves and ask are they achieving their best selves or are they requesting their employers lower their standards?

[megdotstew]

Have you ever looked for the root of production? Take a look at an electric generator and dare tell yourself that it was created by the muscular effort of unthinking brutes. Try to grow a seed of wheat without the knowledge left to you by men who had to discover it for the first time. Try to obtain your food by means of nothing but physical motions – and you’ll learn that man’s mind is the root of all the goods produced and of all the wealth that has ever existed on earth. But you say that money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak? What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expense of those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is made – before it can be looted or mooched – made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can’t consume more than he has produced. To trade by means of money is the code of the men of good will. Money rests on the axiom that every man is the owner of his mind and his effort. Money allows no power to prescribe the value of your effort except by the voluntary choice of the man who is willing to trade you his effort in return. Money permits you to obtain for your goods and your labor that which they are worth to the men who buy them, but no more. Money permits no deals except those to mutual benefit by the unforced judgment of the traders. Money demands of you the recognition that men must work for their own benefit, not for their own injury, for their gain, not their loss – the recognition that they are not beasts of burden, born to carry the weight of your misery – that you must offer them values, not wounds – that the common bond among men is not the exchange of suffering, but the exchange of goods. Money demands that you sell, not your weakness to men’s stupidity, but your talent to their reason; it demands that you buy, not the shoddiest they offer, but the best your money can find. And when men live by trade – with reason, not force, as their final arbiter – it is the best product that wins, the best performance, then man of best judgment and highest ability – and the degree of a man’s productiveness is the degree of his reward. This is the code of existence whose tool and symbol is money. Is this what you consider evil? But money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. It will give you the means for the satisfaction of your desires, but it will not provide you with desires. Money is the scourge of the men who attempt to reverse the law of causality – the men who seek to replace the mind by seizing the products of the mind. “Money will not purchase happiness for the man who has no concept of what he wants; money will not give him a code of values, if he’s evaded the knowledge of what to value, and it will not provide him with a purpose, if he’s evaded the choice of what to seek. Money will not buy intelligence for the fool, or admiration for the coward, or respect for the incompetent. The man who attempts to purchase the brains of his superiors to serve him, with his money replacing his judgment, ends up by becoming the victim of his inferiors. The men of intelligence desert him, but the cheats and the frauds come flocking to him, drawn by a law which he has not discovered: that no man may be smaller than his money. Is this the reason why you call it evil?

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

[megdotstew]

Touchy Subject: Abortion

I am what some may call a pro-choice pro-lifer. I think that abortion is murder, but the problem I see is not that abortions are legal, but that abortions are seen as necessary by those who choose it. Women sometimes see having a child as a lifelong connection to an abusive spouse or as a way to keep them in an unhealthy relationship, or they see it as a step toward poverty, or they see it as a blot on their reputation that they may never live down (albeit it sounds superficial if you look at how single mothers are vilified in society it becomes easier to understand why a woman would want to avoid falling into this group). These women may also see having a child, especially a child that would be in an oppressed/negatively stereotyped minority, as setting their perfect creation up to be bombarded daily with the message that “the world hates people like you.” There are many reasons women do it and those proponents of getting rid of abortion need to consider the reasons why women do it. There are the arguments that these women shouldn’t be having sex if they don’t want the consequences. Well I say where are those arguments when it comes to other things, say for instance driving? We put laws in place to protect people in the case they get into an accident instead of saying “well they wouldn’t have died if they hadn’t been driving in the first place.” We understand that people are going to drive and we also understand that people will have sex despite the risks that are associated with both. The difference is how we educate people about the safety precautions that should be taken in those risky activities. Some places don’t teach comprehensive sex education, but provide drivers education that is. The goal should be the prevention of abortions, not the outlaw of them. Those that want to outlaw abortions must realize that by eliminating the choices for these women they will never get rid of the real issue. Leaving such things to fester improves nothing in the end.

[megdotstew]

Be the change you want to see

Folks wonder what’s wrong with the youth and where are their values. Look at society and remember it takes a village to raise a child. The youth have become a reflection of the values of their community. When someone looks at a child not doing their best and then blames someone other than themselves for not helping them achieve better, that’s where the lack of accountability is being taught. When a child steals b/c they have had carrots dangled in their face but haven’t been taught how to attain that prize properly, society can take the blame for creating a thieves. When kids are taught about sex but not to have respect for and how to protect their bodies or respect for the life they produce, society has generated sexually irresponsible people without regard for human life.

[megdotstew]

Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford

This song makes me wish I had paid for college out of my own pocket instead of taking out loans. That or just kept up my GPA those last two years so I wouldn’t have lost my scholarships. Debt is just a show of how much of our current life we are willing to sacrifice for the pleasure of a temporary desire. Or is it showing how desperate we are to grasp for things that make us happy? We work to put food in our mouths, a roof over our heads, and clothes on our backs. Some go into debt just trying to survive, some go into debt trying to carve out what they perceive is a better life for themselves. But why do we pay more to have it now instead of paying less to receive it when we can afford it? Is that the joke? That we don’t know if we will even be here tomorrow so why not pay more up front in case we never get the chance? Shouldn't we be more optimistic than that? I think I will start putting away my pennies instead of thinking they will never amount to anything. I believe I have a long life ahead of me and I can wait to get what I want when I can afford to pay it out right. I better start saving on a house, now that I think about it.

Sixteen Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford. http://shz.am/t52224093

[megdotstew]

Batman is really deep. I wish more cartoons had this many elements

I went to an open mic recently where a man read a poem that was prefaced with how odd he found it that billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne, went around Gotham City beating up people he felt had no other choices in life. Th poet cited the fact that the criminals used very poor grammar in order to postulate that the thugs were poorly educated and thus turned to a life of crime due to lack of choices. Fallacies aside, I wish that I could converse with that guy after now remembering Bruce was more than a rich guy passing judgment. He was an orphan looking to avenge his parents' murder, and perhaps even prevent others from feeling his pain and living his torment.

[megdotstew]

I am so over race.

Racism is perpetuated by those that believe race exists. I’m over believing in race. I’m choosing to no longer be a part of the problem. I’m choosing to treat people according to their behavior, not their appearance. Everyone is unique, unless they choose not to be. And last time I checked skin color wasn’t a choice.

[megdotstew]

Seen in Esquire

I love Esquire magazine. Absolutely with all my heart. MaHB: Sex. Clipped from Esquire using Netpage: http://clip.netpage.com/clippings/issues/9526a85a-be9d-4814-ac29-b8a0d0efb459/regions/r50/browser.html

[megdotstew]

Procrastination at its finest

[megdotstew]

Another Pet Peeve

I learned in kindergarten that when you are feeling upset you should use your words to express to someone why you are upset with them instead of attacking.

Somewhere along the lines people have forgotten how to do this and have become raging a-holes.

They make personal attacks against you to make you as angry and frustrated as they are. This is just vindictive and doesn’t solve anything. It only escalates problems.

I prefer amicable conversations where people can convey their feelings; say that they are hurt and why they feel that way so that I don’t feel attacked and pissed off at them even if they had a valid reason to be upset.

I don't know when it happened, but people seem to have forgotten how to get along and nurture healthy relationships. Everyone seems to try to make me want to feel guilty because I can be absentminded and I am socially awkward. Not that they attack these characteristics but that these attributes contribute to my seemingly “cold-hearted” behavior.

I’m just a logical person. Not really the emotional type. It really grinds my gears that people don’t get that and attack me for being myself instead of accepting me for who I am. Quite frustrating when the people closest to me don’t like me for who I am. But I like me and I don’t want to change.

Impasse. 

[megdotstew]

I have a new temporary pet. It's a toad to which I have given the name Cody. 

I found it last night outside the garage and tried to feed it to Phyllis, but it seems Phyllis doesn't eat frogs (fortunately for Cody). I decided that since Cody survived the night in a cage with Phyllis the least I could do was feed it before I sent it on its merry way.

So when I went to go pick up Phyllis' meal I bought a handful of crickets for Cody's feast. At first I was afraid it wasn't going to eat, but I had nothing to worry about.

So when Cody finishes its meal I will release it back into the "wild" also known as the backyard.

P.S.

I don't want to keep Cody as a long term pet because, to be honest, frogs kinda freak me out.

[megdotstew]

Moving on Up!

I was given a computer at this desk upon beginning my job at Jackson Free Press.

Now that they appreciate the work I do, they have given me another wall!

  And please notice the artwork, painted wall and lamp. More than I had asked for. I think they're trying to keep me around for a while ^_^

[megdotstew]

Who Would Win if...?

Who would win in a fight between a lion and a panther? I guess it would depend on where the brawl will take place. Panthers have the advantage in jungles where there are trees while Lions might be better suited in a savanna. 

Although I would hate to see the animals get injured, I would really like to know how that fight would play out.