Old Man’s Thoughts.

 

 Old Man’s Thoughts.

When I was about 25, my boss told me I must join our pension plan. It did not impress me. It was a large sum, and I was too young to think about someday when I would be 65 and receive a benefit. I didn’t trust the politicians even in those days when they did much more for us than they do now.

More money in our pockets is a good election slogan, but we can’t do it. I couldn’t at 25 make a significant commitment to save for retirement. I truly believed that I would do something that would provide me with the money that I would need for retirement. I and some millions of young people bought into the American dream. We were going to work hard and get rich, and it didn’t happen.

Thank God someone wiser organized pension plans that were invested professionally and accumulated the money needed for the later years of life. That money financed some ventures that made more money and left us with enough to live the rest of our lives comfortably without asking the young generation for help. Yes, our pensions are financed by us and our employers. The money should be invested in our future and not for politician’s pet projects.

It worked well until politicians decided to dip into it for their own benefit. They could and did take over managing the money and lost as I expected. Good politicians are not necessarily good investment managers. By investing for political reasons, they lose but don’t care. In four or eight years, they will collect their pensions and go play a new game.

Now I am the last of my group of friends from the old days. My best friend, (and my best man), is dying from COVID and other health issues. For me, what’s left is isolation and prayers to stay alive a little longer. Each time that I go out, I meet some folks who tell me not to get vaccinated since they had some health issues after getting vaccinated. They feel justified in recommending not to listen to the doctors since they themselves know better. I choose to listen to my doctor.

However, all the COVID issues will be forgotten ten years from now. We have bigger problems to deal with. We live in a scary world which doesn’t have to be that way. Natural disasters, wars, baffling weather, hate, and vengeance are just a few things I see. Greed and competition for turf are more common than any positive emotions. Almost anywhere I look people are divided half against the other half. Yet the Earth can provide for all and people can solve all the problems we have without fighting. If we give all people what they need, not want, we will have a lot to spare.

When we search history and pre-history, we see a few interesting facts. There have been great civilizations before us. They either failed to protect themselves or destroyed each other and disappeared. Knowledge that we don’t yet possess existed on this planet several times over and was wiped out. It arouses my curiosity and makes me think about where we are heading.

All the past generations had a conflict between good and evil or light and dark. Only the difference is blurred out. Those who win always write history. The side that lost gets no air time. Yet, if we could ask those who lived before us, we would always find people believing that the side we are talking to is the side of good and the other the side of bad.

All sides have good and bad intermingled. All sides get corrupted by power and people feel sorry for the weak but join the strong. This is enhanced by those who preach that God is on their side. No, He isn’t.

God created not the same but equal and gave humans free will. Now, He is waiting to see what we will do. Will we join the dead civilizations or be the ones created in His image? We are living through the latest test right now. It is being tested around each kitchen table, in every community, and worldwide. None of us escapes the test. It is between my wife and me, and between America and China at the same time. It is decided by loving negotiations and by great modern equipped armies.

A relatively slight change in people’s outlook on life can solve problems and perhaps save the world. Why are we not doing it? Mostly because none of us wants to lose and all of us wish to win. Those are animal instincts, not human values. This is where we need help from God. If we all accepted that God wants us to have His kingdom on Earth, we could have it.

Sadly, we may have to fight for it. Rudolph will not give up his leadership position since he has the red nose. We will do what we must as well as we can not forgetting that peace and happiness are the goals.

Goodness can become a reality in some small place and spread throughout the whole body. People follow the example, good or bad. The actual fight is inside each of us and we must believe that we can win. Some day cooperation will eliminate competition.

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and comment.