Flaming Pie

[H2O Man]

24. Very well said!

Thank you for this!

My daughter, son-in-law, and little granddaughter live in a country near Sweden. Their government reflects the citizens' desire to have put the well-being of people as their number one goal. My younger daughter wishes she had not come back after visiting them this summer. It's kind of the opposite of my paternal grandfather's sisters and aunts coming here when a foreign country was ruling in a manner that caused the Great Starvation, as it is properly known.

I think of equality in the context that, say, men and women are equal, but not exactly the same. People should have the same opportunities, and be paid a fair wage for their work. I favor expanding the idea of a job to include a stay-at-home parent of little children. Our current economic system has damaged both parenting and marriages/partnerships, and made it where single adults working for low wages too often require two jobs to make ends meet.

A few years ago, I remember Big George Foreman saying he was fortunate to grow up in America when it was in style to care about poverty. Then my son asked him to give a shout out to Job Corps, which had its funding threatened, and sure enough, George did! We need to have a national discussion on these things, and 2026 provides us with a perfect opportunity. This administration will continue to damage the country, of course, and the new House and Senate we elect will start on healing the nation as soon as they take office in a year from now. There aren't magic solutions, and so it will demand a coordinated effort that involves everyone from the grass roots to office in DC to put forth their best efforts.