This thread in the forum is about Bernie Sanders and his campaign/political goals so I am confused about your outrage irt polarberry's post. I sympathize with your economic condition. I too was once a student, and even when not a student quite broke eating ramen and/or mac and cheese once a day for a period of time. My best suggestion to finding affordable fresh fruit is to find an Aldi close by (I have never seen apples or any fruit priced so high there) and/or a farmer's market where you can get fruit at a discount towards the end of the market. Apples are also not in season so you may find that fruit in season is more affordable. This past year (in my area of upstate NY) was a bumper year for apples because of all the rain so maybe look for varieties that are grown here like Empire apples. Also, I am sorry you borrowed so much for tuition and it is likely you will struggle financially after graduation so I think it is important for you to maybe get some proper financial advice and perhaps also look to work a side hustle to help meet your living expenses and see how you can apply your strengths to this. For example: My sister has been developing an ebay shop on the side to help pay off her student loans. Or: there are some great books on making health meals on SNAP or a low budget. Creating menu plan subscriptions for people that are therapeutic and affordable for them might be a help and is a positive action to put out in the world. In the meantime, if you don't have space to start veggie gardening, see if your community offers allotments. It is very therapeutic and gardeners are some of the most generous people I know with advice, extra seeds etc. This is the perfect time of year to get a plan together, even if just some tomato and pepper plants and some herbs.
I also would like to share a website built by a man I admire very much who sadly is gone--it is the webarchive on the wayback machine: http://www.bettertimesinfo.org/1livebetter.ht m"> https://web.archive.org/web/20190709174230/http://www.bettertimesinfo.org/1livebetter.htm I have attached a copy of his ebook which has most of the information that was on his old website except probably the writing he did on his exhortations for social justice. Unfortunately, all his websites have been taken down. I had sent an offer to host them via messenger on the Oscar Romero FB page but never received an answer.
And here is a blog post that is an inspiring profile of Bob that can maybe inspire you --there is not just one person who can bring change--Bernie does not have a corner on that market. There are many people like Bob out there doing this every day, making a difference in their communities, a voice out of the darkness.
https://mikiodie.com/2019/08/31/gods-garden-gnome-gone-home/
Once again, @frank has wise words. For the highest and greatest good, always. Our "choice" may not be the best choice. We are not omniscient.
I try to ask this before a prayer, for myself or someone in need. Similar in some ways to" thy will be done", not my will be done. I also feel much calmer when asking for the highest and greatest good to happen. The burden is suddenly shared or even lifted. Additionally, I often ask that my actions be for the highest and greatest good, at least when I can remember to take the me "ego" out of the equation.
I was anxious before I took a plane trip this week to visit my mom in California. Should I go? Should I stay? If I did go, should my children continue to visit later in the week as planned? Round and round I went trying to decide. Until I finally did what I should have done once I began to worry. . Asked for the highest and greatest good to come from whatever my decision and ask that that decision be guided.
I went. If "19" coms visiting, then it is meant to be. In some ways I would prefer to stay at home in a cave and be safe, but we am making memories now and who knows what lies ahead on this road less traveled.
hWe also need to stop blaming different "generations" for bad things that have happened to our world. There are plenty of boomers who have led socially conscious organizations and movements, and changed the world in positive way. . The Silent generation, which nobody ever talks about, is a forgotten generation in their early nineties through mid 70's who have lead some of the greatest social causes of our time. The civil rights movement, No Nukes, early protests for legalizing marijuana, and a generation of socially conscious musicians like Peter Paul and Mary,. Boomers who followed began Live Aid and opened our eyes to injustice around the world include Apartheid in South Africa, The Famine in Africa during the 80's, Green Peace, and Amnesty International. The Silent Generation and Baby Boomers begin the Organic Food Revolution and were some of the first modern non-Native American land and water protectors. They were the FIRST to really say, hey, big business is in control of way too much of our lives, they are destroying the earth. They have lead the way for the future generation to get involved and start solving some of the worlds worst problems. They lead efforts to clean beaches and parks and fought for getting out of Vietnam.
We are all standing on the backs of some truly great people who have led amazing revolutions and have given us a path to have our own.
One such person is Senator Gaylord Nelson who created Earth Day in 1970 in response to the 1969 Santa Barbra Oil spill. Nelson was inspired by the Anti-War Vietnam student protestors.
Boomers.
( Not so fun fact, in the 70's, I would go to Santa Barbra beaches and still see globs of tar at the beach from that spill.)
Earth Day 2016 is when the Paris agreement was signed. Hopefully by Earth 2021, an lasting, better one will be signed again.
As a Gen-x-er, another consistently forgotten generation, I thank those who have come before me as they fought for a better society. They have passed the torch to the rest of us. Lets make sure we lead the (highest and greatest) good fight now.
Without a Nelson, we would not have a Greta.
I don't think Biden is necessarily a super-forceful champion of liberal causes, but he's done plenty of good. We have the Violence Against Women Act because of him. He also pushed Obama to come out in favor of marriage equality, publicly taking a position in favor of it first, leaving Obama no choice but to follow suit. He brought much needed experience to the Obama administration but never tried to overshadow a young president. He was loyal and supportive. He's been consistently pro-choice. Aside from that he's also someone who has suffered real losses, and has picked himself up and kept going. It hasn't made him bitter. He's remained a kind person. For years he was the poorest senator in the senate, making money only when he left the vice-presidency, and only because of a book he wrote that did well.
Is he the answer to what we need right now? Probably not, but I think that sustained grassroots movements can push him in the direction he needs to go in. But none of that can happen if trump remains in office. Maybe we need someone to serve as a transition between the insanity we have now and a more liberal future. Maybe the truly liberal president will arrive later on. Hopefully she'll be a woman.
I would support anyone who runs against trump, but I feel it'll be Biden. I also feel a lessening of the collective tension. I could of weeks ago I felt such an intense sense of pressure, and it's gone, at least for now. I do feel things are turning. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I feel trump has jumped the shark. I actually had that phrase pop into my head a couple of days ago.
Don't despair, friends. I feel better days are near.
@lovendures (sorry this is so long!)
tl:dr-- Life is difficult for every generation after the age of 18.
I agree with you that blame and anger should not be directed to past generations. Each generation is given the tools to handle the times they are given. Each time has different challenges. I also think it is a negative focus as these generations are also not given credit for all the amazing and positive things that are available now that were not in the past.
Perhaps it is an affliction of youth or of the privilege many of our technological savvy middle class young people have as they compare their present status and relative income/wealth to that of their parents who worked all their lives to overcome the very same kinds of challenges. They see that reaching adulthood is fraught with obstacles and it is not a given or an easy path to reach a level of financial security. Many people also do not realize that security is an illusion. It can all be removed so easily. Living with that knowledge and learning methods to keep that fear of its loss at bay is another achievement of maturity. None of this is permanent, none of it is truly important. Your home can be taken by the wind some random day as the people of Nashville were reminded of this past week... Or fire or flood.. or financial crash.
Yes, some things may have been easier for early generations but at the time, it was not as cut and dried. Money has always been hard to earn and accumulate. Sure, cars were less expensive but they also spewed lead and more pollution and there were no airbags or safety mechanisms. Education was never so easy to obtain as it is now. Colleges are overpriced but there are more ways to obtain the knowledge that were not available to previous generations. No one cared in the 70s and 80s about livable wages. Our minimum wage was so low. Women and people of color could not get certain jobs or even apartments, loans, credit etc. It was also hard for young people to get things like a telephone in their first apartment--we often would use a payphone on the corner. Yet people still managed to prosper over time. Maybe the answer is to have faith in yourself, be persistant, be strong and cultivate a lifestyle and mindset of resiliance.
I am a Gen Xer- born in the mid 60's-- grew up believing I was middle class but we were actually pretty poor- working class. We did not have health insurance or money to visit doctors or dentists. We had the 72 hour cure as our first defense. I had mumps, measles, rubella, chicken pox, pneumonia as a child. My parents both worked 2 jobs. We wore hand me downs, frequently risked the power being shut off, did not have things like cable tv. We did have a telephone service but as children and teens we were not allowed to use it outside 10-15 minute conversations. We walked most everywhere. Secondhand bicycles, fixed up and repainted were a favorite gift for Christmas or Birthday but they were easily stolen if we did not have the foresight to put them away and we did not have bike locks. After high school we were expected to find jobs and move out. If we did not move out (or had to move back in), we were expected to pay rent and continue the chores and rules we lived under as children (I guess it would seem weird today but we had a specific routine in our house of getting ready for the day and it was the kids job to get themselves ready and breakfast and then get coffee ready for our parents and call them awake when it was on the table for them. We would prepare dinner ourselves as part of our chores frequently and have coffee ready for them when they got home so they could eat, review what was needed in the evening and then go back out for their appointments (other job). Our parents (my father married 3x, my mother 2x) often divorced and remarried and we spent years cohabiting with other children and people-- some parents just made new lives and forgot their old ones. We were all the sons of no one and practically raised ourselves. No one had it easy. There was no daycare, no real supervision--we could call a neighbor if there was a real jam and we couldn't get a hold of our parents.
My reality growing up was very different than my son's -- A big part of that is technology, also consciousness was raised concerning children (not to beat them, how to assist development, diagnosing of learning disabilities etc.), safety-- car seats, children are an investment in the future, not just more work and expense.
So yes, I agree it is hard. But it has always been so. We all understand this. When I was young, we had lower student lending limits and limited options and many of us did not go to college because we also had to feed ourselves and pay rent and auto insurance etc-- so we would go part time and take one class each semester or try to test out of classes using CLEP. We took on roommates and shared apartments--I think everyone had a horrible roommate story. Rent was cheaper but so were our wages - min. wage was below $4/hr.
It was late last night when I posted and there are a few mistakes in both my above posts I can not edit now, sorry. Typos will be my ruin one day ha ha.
Also, I actually believe Nelson was a silent generation person, not a boomer, but the idea is the same.
@anumidium I want to offer you as much help and guidance as I can. The last thing I will ever do is nit pick your decisions and tell you where I think you went wrong. Whatever place you are in now is the result of factors none of us know about and so we have no right to judge. In regards to @codyroo comment on apples. I agree that price sounds absurd - however in my corner of New England it's not. It's astonishing how much money companies like Whole Foods, Star Market and Stop and Shop can charge for simple things like fruit - definitely seen $11 bags of apples before.
I learned frugality from my childhood. My mother always went to discount grocery stores, looked through flyers for deals and cut coupons. We ate well and never went hungry but she was extremely frugal in her spending. When living in Montreal and having basically close to no money for long stretches of time I relied on a local farmers market that was dirt cheap to get my groceries from (Pie IX market). The best thing you can do is learn to cook cheaply - websites like prudent penny pincher and budget bytes are great places to start for inspiration. I buy a lot of frozen vegetables like broccoli and peas, canned goods like tomatoes and beans, and tend to get my fresh stuff from Trader Joe's which is cheapest in my area. I buy bulk rice online from Amazon for $20 for 12 lbs - its last me and my hubby 6 months. Whole wheat boxes of pasta are also cheap and have great fiber content. My own mindset is that it doesn't have to taste bad if it's cheap - its always an adventure for me to get the most amount of flavor into a dish by the spending the least amount of money. When living alone I used to budget between $50 to $60 a week for groceries for myself and I ate well. Granted that's tougher in America where food can cost more but I think still doable. There's so much more I could write about budgeting, things like clothing exchanges, book boxes etc... but I'll stop now. Please don't hesitate to respond if you want me to continue.
I hear you, I feel you I completely get the fear, anxiety and panic you are in. You are absolutely not alone, and this period of your life will pass. Believe me in your dark moments you may feel like the hell is never ending (I know I did), but it does end, trust me. A better future is waiting for you, it just might take a little longer to arrive than you like.
Much love
Natalie
@anumidium exactly! This is your opportunity and our generation’s opportunity to fight for change- you’re spot on that it shouldn’t be this way- we all know this. Maybe generations in the past did not know this, we know better and our strength is our willingness, ability and energy to fight for this awareness and change.
i know we can’t change things if we blame past generations- and I truly believe that we are all doing the best we can. So the struggle existed long before we came along and realized it shouldn’t be like this- it’s up to us to listen, to share our experience and to use the energy we have to work towards change. I want to do this with allies from all generations who agree that a) our food should be healthy and free of chemicals that are going to hurt us and b) we need a society where people can feed themselves, work for a living wage and have healthcare not tied to our work status.
We need to change the hearts of individuals to win these gains, our president isn’t going to do this for us- it’s not as simple as that, it doesn’t work that way and it takes our own agency out of the equation- we allowed society to become what it is - it’s up to us as individuals to change the hearts and minds of those we know, our neighbors, our colleagues and our family. These conversations take courage, patience and an ability to listen as well as share.
@codyroo, "what kind of apple costs $3.99 a lb?" ? Crazy, isn't it?
Everyone, I apologize if my fatigue and irritability came through my posts yesterday. I have a lot going on IRL, I am stressed and have been reading the news too much. Every day it's more of the same-Fascist Don and his minions giving the giant F U finger to this country and the people in it. I do need to step back from everything.
Saokymo, thank you for that link. Glad to see it. He needs to say it more. Just as you feel that Sanders is the best shot at bringing change, I feel that he a guaranteed way to hand the election to the fascists for another four. He might be doing the right thing, but again, sadly and sickeningly, not top priority right now. We are in a fight for the survival of this nation. I don't think enough people realize how hell-bent T. and Barr are on establishing full-blown authoritarian rule.
This election-and it kills me to say it-is not about ideas or bringing change. It should be, but it just isn't. It's about beating T., and we need to run the candidate who can do that. If we don't, the only changes will be for T's benefit, to the detriment of the planet and everyone who isn't in his personal loyalty circle. It's not going to be a fair election against opponents who respect the rule of law, hell, who respect anything. You got the fake Pres openly inviting foreign interference, and trying to manufacture dirt on the son of the man he knows will soundly beat him. The rethugs are going to pull out all the illegal stops to, ahem, *win."
Every generation suffers. I remember my mother describing the hardships her parents went through in the Great Depression. Her grandparents were dirt poor and went hungry a lot. Every generation brings positive change as well. There are still many good people in the world.
Rowsella, Frank, lynn and others, thank you all for your wonderful posts. They made me smile.