How the “Corporate Grinch” Screwed Christmas

Posted by Derek J.Sowa | Posted in , , | Posted on 12:56 PM

With yet another holiday season upon up, many of us Canadians, not to mention millions of others around the world are once again feeling the pinch of the holiday season… (consumerism and corporate greed.)

Yes it is the end of another good year if you are the CEO or one of the top executives of some fortune 500 company. Yet for those of us far less fortunate, more and more we find ourselves nearing poverty, struggling to put those simple gifts under the tree or food on our tables, while millions of young children the world over suffer from famine. What should be a time of sharing, a time of compassion and giving, of brining families together to rejoice and reflect on the years accomplishments and celebrate life, has somehow transpired into something much less meaningful thanks to the world of consumerism and mostly, corporate greed. Instead we find that once again the true spirit of Christmas has been lost leaving so many of us with a sour taste in our mouths that we may not easily wash away.  Visions of sugar plums? Bah Humbug.

The “Corporate Grinch” hides his ugly head as he eagerly stashes away his new found wealth far from prying eyes as he plans his next diabolical move. Rubbing his greedy little fingers together while pondering yet more austerity cuts. Using cheap labour to amass his good fortune, he thinks no one has noticed his sinister ways. Yet in the real world of  “Whoville”, many people are awakening to find that perhaps the true spirit of Christmas means something a whole lot more!

 

With the ever increasing cost of maintaining our daily lives it’s not hard to see why so many of us feel overwhelmed during the holiday season. So much of our acquired wealth now goes to the “Corporate Grinch” that we can barely survive one holiday before the next one steps up to take it’s place. The vast majority of us struggle on a daily basis just to pay our ever increasing debt, leaving us feeling isolated and with little hope. Seldom do our meagre wages meet with the demand of todays modern world and yet each and every year we see a rise in expenses at every turn while the corporations who employ us reap huge profits. Almost yearly we see a increase in taxes, increased service fees, increases in food and housing prices, increases at the pump! And still they want more…

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? (Perhaps Kevin Bloody Wilson say it best  with his tribute to the holiday season.) I believe there is and it is in the awakening of millions of people worldwide. People are becoming more aware and opposed to the “Corporate Grinch” than ever before. People are coming together to oppose all levels of corporate greed and we need desperately to keep this momentum going. We need to become more aware of our actions when we shop for certain items manufactured with the use of cheap labour. We need to learn better to understand our economy, and those who would control it. We need to band together, strive together to make sure that no one is left hungry or cold. That every man, woman and child may know the true spirit of Christmas.

(1) Comments

“The Colors of Fall”

Posted by Derek J.Sowa | Posted in | Posted on 7:26 PM

20131027_105616

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. ~ Charles Darwin

The seasons change! Fall becomes Winter, Winter becomes Spring, Spring becomes Summer and the cycle repeats itself in endless fashion. Unrelenting, the seasons change year after year reminding us that change is inevitable. Yet when one looks closer is it really change we see, or is it just the  same endless seasons come back to fool us one more time?

Much like the politics of today… new faces replace the old, the strong replace the weak, new lies replace old and the change we seek is reminiscent of the colors of fall. We all can see the leaves change color and then their gone, buried deep beneath the glistening snow. Just like the many promises made day in and day out by those we entrust to bring about change, we are once again fooled into waiting yet another season, hoping for brighter days.

How long can one wait? In a world now plagued with corruption and deception at every level, can we really afford to stand idle and wait for the snow to disappear? For once the snow glistening with all it’s promise fades into spring  and has long passed away, what if anything has changed? With the coming of a new season, the sun will surely still shine, the grass will still grow, and the birds will once again sing their happy tune! However for the rest of humanity, I fear humanity will still be where it was before the snow came, looking once more for the colors of fall, the smell of decay strong on our nostrils.

If we are to save humanity and our frail planet, we need not wait for change, we must learn and strive with each passing day to make that change happen. Mankind can not afford to wait for the passing of the seasons any longer. We must now open our hearts and our minds to effect change. We must empower and educate our young so that they live each new season with joy and content. We must rid ourselves of all false hope being stowed upon us by those wising to enslave us, and learn to think freely for ourselves. We must put an end to all deception, the overwhelming greed of corporations, and the undying corruption, for it has no place among us. We must learn to show more compassion with all people and the world around us if we wish for effective change to take place. We are our only hope!

This very moment, as you stop to admire the colors of fall and the changing of yet another season, perhaps it is time you ask something of yourself… What change it is that you would like to see and work hard to make it happen. Only then will you truly enjoy the Colors of Fall.

Learn to look for and appreciate the love, beauty and kindness around you. It's there, but, you may have to change your thinking and behaviour to discover it!

(1) Comments

"A Special Note From The Occupy Movement"

Posted by Derek J.Sowa | Posted in , , , | Posted on 9:31 AM

A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people ~ Mahatma Gandhi

172685-occupy-wall-street-moves-uptownAs a once proud Canadian, I have to admit that I’m somewhat disappointed in my fellow Canadian’s who seem content with the life they now live. (You Fuckin’ Pussies…) Stand up and be counted! As the world we currently live in seems to be rapidly deteriorating around us, very few seem to take note that as each day passes our freedoms erode to new heights. Corporations, Big Banks and an undemocratic and corrupt Government have conspired against us to their own agenda, while the working class suffer in their wake. The ruling class, using their puppets in the form of local television and media have been able to control the thoughts and minds of their minion’s, of which seem to sacredly worship all they see and hear.
 
Perhaps it’s the comfort they derive from their own materialistic attributes that they fail to see the world beyond their precious surroundings. They idly lay on their sofa’s gazing at some silly repeat of their favourite reality TV show, perhaps even pondering their next extravagant purchase of some useless item which has no purpose other than to upgrade their status, seemingly unaware of the atrocities committed almost daily throughout the entire world.  As they lavish in their contentment, millions of children worldwide cry out from poverty and hunger. Thousands more people die almost daily in unjust wars while millions more from all walks of life are oppressed. The environment is decaying as oil companies and big industries spew their toxic waste. Yet sadly, they see nothing!
 
As for those who do see and wish to make a difference, they only become further oppressed. Not only by their Government’s, but from their very own kind. (Their Family, Their Friends, Their Neighbours) The one’s who are content as long as it’s not their child starving or their family who is being killed in some unjust war. As long as they don’t have to drink tainted waters or breathe the air polluted by big industries. Yeah… as long as they are safe with all their amenities they have nothing much to say. For the time being they will side with their cohorts’ as long as it is favourable. Denouncing all those who strive for change!
 
317518_274730299215291_204904669531188_911586_69951692_nNow, for a moment imagine the shoe on the other foot? What if it was YOU who was being oppressed? What if it was your family who were being detained, or killed by some out of control Government? Sadly, it is! (Too bad you you’ve yet to notice.) WAKE (the fuck) UP!!! Get your heads out of the “Good Book” and have a look at the real world. It’s not as pretty as you may think!! Those of us trying to make a difference are not hoping to get a big pay check at the end of the day. We want what everyone should strive for. We demand Equality… A Responsible Government! A government who’s concerns are for the people who have put their trust in them to make a difference and not the corporations who abuse the system. If you wish to be silent… be sure to keep your trap shut when all of your freedoms have been quelled! Don’t jump the fence when your world turns sour… you may not like what you find on the other side!

(1) Comments

“Dissent” A Story We All Must Share!

Posted by Derek J.Sowa | Posted in , , | Posted on 6:33 PM

If constructing the future and settling everything for all times are not our affair, it is all the more clear what we have to accomplish at present: I am referring to ruthless criticism of all that exists, ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of conflict with the powers that be. ~ Karl Marx
From the wake of the Arab Spring, to the Occupy Movement and more recently the ongoing Idle No More protests, one prominent view which has re-awakened in the minds and souls of endless people across the globe is “Dissent!” Alas, for very good reasons. Consumerism, Corruption, Inequality, Religion, Politics and Greed, just to name a few, play a big part in the discord most of us feel today.

(Group)

For myself, what causes even a greater concern is the rate at which dissent is quelled, for what purpose, and those who are behind it. As more of our freedoms erode in what is touted as a free society, what is to become of the world in which we now live? What is the legacy we will pass on to future generations, if there is to be any? Troublesome still, is the complacency in which we in the face of all the atrocities being committed against mankind and our planet can we allow this to continue. Do we not owe it to our children to educate and inform them that the way to a better world is to fight for justice and equality for everyone and not just a select few? Should their voices not be heard? Have we as a human race become so heartless and out of tune to what is right and wrong in the world the we can not see past our own fortunes? I would hope not… for this in essence would surely be the beginning of the end.

In today’s media, unless one is deaf, dumb and blind, we can discover all that’s wrong with the world, yet the people stand quiet. We can see how our current government has eroded and cast away many environmental protections while muzzling our scientists all in the name of profit. We see how big corporations time and time again give false testimony to the public in order to gain financially and defeat competition. Furthermore we see Big Bank bailouts, unjust wars and the killing of innocents, unfair trade, corruption scandals, extreme famine and poverty, the polluting and degrading of our lands, sea and air and yet amazingly, we still stand quiet.

As for those who do and have spoke out, we see how fast the media jumps in to quell and portrait the dissidents as something other than what is their intended purpose. In the height of the Occupy Movement the media portrayed the movement as a bunch of “pot smoking hippies” with “no direction” who’s only intentions were to squat on public property. We seen it again with the Idle No More Movement when Chief Theresa Spence staged a hunger strike outside Parliament Hill. The media once again were quick to shift focus away from the cause of the movement to the mismanagement of Aboriginal Affairs. For those whose interests are substantially greater, as with the Alberta Tar Sands, we see how the government took steps to muzzle those who may shed some light on the real environmental impact and health issues caused by the seepage of toxic waste into the lakes and rivers surrounding the Tar Sands. Still we have no voice!

 The Time Has Come! It’s paramount for all our voices to be heard! As people, if we wish to leave our children with any kind of a future, we must come together and be more involved in what the real issues are facing our world today and not what the media portraits. For the sake of all humanity, it’s time we all speak out and make our voices heard. We must no longer sit idly by why ‘big corporations’ plunder our economy and reap all the benefits. We must change the direction in which we are currently heading if we wish to survive. We must teach our children not to fear ignorance, but to overcome all adversities even in the face of fear. We need to strive for equality in all walks of life and to respect all living creatures.

Perhaps this is all much easier said than done, but if we don’t take that first step, then they have already won!!
If I don't have faith and belief in something much bigger than myself, what then do I have? Here and now, eyes open, one step at a time. ~ Unknown

(0) Comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)