Thursday, June 3, 2010

Wishing I was home...a rant

We left Patagonia for a trip home arriving April 3rd...a beautiful wedding for our daughter, catching up with all of our children and some medical tests. It is June now, two operations later for my brave and strong hubby, and a couple more coming up.

We have had a wonderful time with our children, but being back is disorienting and I am having a difficult time being here as is Greg though it is a good thing we came and necessary to stay until he is all fixed up. The hardest thing is the frenzy and pace. People have NO TIME to live a normal life. I suppose they think this is normal...racing to work, racing to the store, flash meals, buying food and items to save time so they work harder to pay for those things. The TV's blaring "BE AFRAID", the political vitriol, people afraid of crime, children who can't safely play in their neighborhoods. It's craziness. The cost of prescription medicines and medical care...the US should be ashamed!

I see so many people just hanging by a thread, trying to keep a roof over their head and food on the table. At the same time I see things thrown in the trash that is so wasteful I could scream. I long for my simple life. Though it was difficult at times, it felt good and clean and right. I see people who could grow food in their back yards, make good bread, make better food cheaper than they can buy, but many simply don't have the time. It's sad really.

Every fad that comes along, for even small children, sweeps the country and everyone HAS to have whatever the new product is. People talking on cell phones while they are driving, shopping, walking. My god, how did we ever live when our phones were wired to a wall in our homes? Two hundred channels on the TV. Supreme Court decisions that defy all legal logic and wisdom. You can carry a gun on the metro in Atlanta and in Arizona you'd better carry papers showing you are a United States Citizen. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and that whole debacle makes me ill. Angry aggressive drivers!

I don't belong here anymore. I feel like a foreigner now. I don't fit in and can't see myself being happy here for the long haul. Many folks assume that we left here because we didn't like the US. That was simply not so. We left for adventure and travel. What I have learned is that the US is run, OWNED by corporations and herded by media marketing. It feels like as long as the general population can be kept working and buying at a breakneck speed and a level of fear and misinformation is fed to them, nothing is going to change.

Remember the days when you spent the summers running wild as a kid? Coming home after playing all day only when your mother called you in for supper? Building a fort in the tree in your yard? Lugging a sack lunch to school and being able to work out your differences with a neighbor kid by tussling with them. Knowing how to get somewhere using a map. Walking to school by yourself. I know I sound like an old lady with my "those were the good old days" whine, but this visit has made me painfully aware of just how mired people are now, tied to a consumer hamster wheel, running faster and faster. One day they will fly off and crash.

Friends and family have suggested that I can find my preferred lifestyle here in the US, that I don't have to traipse off to some "god-awful, third-world country". The truth is, yes. If I were financially well-off, I could spend thousands of dollars to find a place in the country somewhere, build a little place where I could do all the things I love to do. But I can't afford to. And I can't afford our medicines or health care, or utility bills. There's alot I couldn't afford to do including spending time taking care of my husband when he's ill.

It's a shame really.

4 comments:

Harry & Lisa said...

Well said Vic and thanks for posting! We miss you guys!

Tanya Miller said...

Just came across your lovely blog. Thank you for posting this--a heartbreakingly accurate assessment of what life in the U.S. has become. We feel it's wrong in our bones, but nobody seems to stop long enough to do anything about it. When the breaking point comes, it will not be easy.

Best to you and your family. Prayers for your husband and the renewal of his health.

CodyGirlScout said...

I just came across your blog and this gem of a post.
It's really a shame the way this country's government has such control over it's people. And the people don't know, are apathetic or are so brainwashed that they think this is the dream. My partner T and I want to just live a simple life. We have broken away from much of society and have starting planting gardens in all of our open spaces, raising chickens for eggs and disposing of our things to people who think they need them. Yesterday, I had to gather anything that was important to me quickly. I grabbed my computer, the SS cards and the birth certs. Besides the kids and T, anything I care about fits into my backpack. What does that say about the rest of my stuff? I will be writing more about this on our blog, twoqueerhippies.blogspot, if you would like to check it out. I tried to follow yours, but I can't find the button. Thank you for an amazing post when I needed a little boost. Please keep writing, as I will be checking in periodically. I hope your hubby gets well. Love Jen

Joel Buxton said...

thank you!

Godspeed, Joel