The American Dream is Dead

[presidentjlh]

The role of government is an umpire. Ufortunately, today’s government wants to be our “partner.”

Precisely. The government does serve a role in business, and that is to make sure that customers and competitors are not being deceived or defrauded, and to make sure that abuses of the system are kept at bay.

The government is not to promote a certain business through taxpayer money, however, which is why the “stimulus” runs contrary to the ideal system of wisely-regulated capitalism.

 

[eucharisteo]

The only thing different than in 1929 is that the buildings are higher today. Be careful where you keep your treasure. Those who place their faith and hope in this world will become hopeless.

I don’t think you see the humor in my post. Living and preaching hopelessness or saying things like the “American Dream” is dead is like saying you believed it the first time someone told you there was an “American Dream”. I don’t know about you but I am not only proud to be American no matter what because this is my country, as the song goes. I never placed my trust on things of this world because people that were determined to take a piece of it never gave me a chance at it because I placed people first no matter what.

I quit a job about a month ago that made pretty decent money with great benefits, but I was underpaid because I was performing the same duties as an engineer but have a different math/science degree. The new manager, married, fallen away Catholic, rough life almost as rough as mine, reminds me of my older brother who also bought into the lies of so called the “American Dream” in that they could have it all - wife, children, house, boats, girlfriend……yeap, he had it all and it was taken away from him just as fast as he made it. Once he lost it all everyone turned on him it seemed. Anyway, my newly promoted boss told me while reflecting on my issues of having to juggle a sick wife and sick children along with work “is a good argument against people having children”. Needless to say I chose to drop that decent paying job over a principle because it became obvious to me that they would continue to overwork me, never work with a flexible enough schedule to allow me to get licensed and never get promoted. And it was a government job that they left when the clock turned 5 o’clock on the dot. They acted like they worked hard, but they didn’t get the fact that I worked 80+ hours in the private sector along with all the other engineers. I paid my dues the hard way and they were determined to use and abuse me. I don’t feel sorry for myself, I feel sorry for them. My new plan is to get certified to teach and maybe if it’s God’s will continue my formation as an aspirant for the diaconate. That manager, former friend, never apologied even after I left. So, please call me a fool. Jesus said people would hate us because of him. I am a fool for Christ, like St. Francis of Assisi, at least I’m trying. Nope, I’ll remain the Franciscan that I am and let those that want to save up and store on earth what they could have saved up and stored in heave.

You could have chosen to employee those 45 people and their families, but out of seemingly on the surface selfish reasons you choose to do what’s in your best interest instead without thinking what it would do to those families. Why not offer them lower salaries instead of self-actualizing prophecy?

BTW: my first year of college was in the seminary to become a priest. I chose to return again but met my wife, another true calling requiring serious commitment because of her illnesses. I chose sacrifice money/“success” and even a priestly vocation for her. I’ve passed up many "wonderful and exciting opportunities that could have made me quite well off for the sake of principles like God, family, others, self and career, in that order. My children are the sweetest you’ll ever meet. They are model children to emulate. But I know how the world is and in spite of that I chose to raise them to be holy, not self-seeking money hungry mongrels, which is my perception of people that are stuck on the “American Dream”. I served in the military over 10 years and the nerve of a man that called me “yellow” without knowing my secrets. I found out my last day of work that he said I was a coward for not letting the military deploy me without a fight. But he lived a worldly self-seeking life and died instantly of a heart attack within a week of me having a near prophetic moment of thinking about it - very strange. What he didn’t know was the fact that my wife was on the verge of a major breakdown while running a home daycare and our 3 children in her care as well as our newborn having a birth defect that was healed miraculously, and ultimately converted my wife, who’s found peace in the Catholic Church. I avoided telling anyone about it to save her dignity and knew that once some jerk of an manager got hold of it they’d end up scandalizing me over it in some sick fashion like I’ve seen these guys do to others. We would have lost what little we had. And we would not be Catholic today had it not happened the way it unfolded. You see. God IS in control.

Yes, I have more than my fair share to say about things. You may be a decent person, I don’t know. But you insulted me by preaching to me in that somehow you acted like you are much more knowledgeable about these things and somehow assumed I was worldly. My brother, hung himself because his life felt hopeless. He lost his “success” and everything else fell apart. He lost it all and ended his life because his pride was to great to lower his expectation of getting paid more than me at the time…And to end up with a best offer of $50k per year was just too low for his pride. He could have easily moved into something else with his engineering degree but couldn’t see it because his mind was so far lost in feeling like everything failed him… I wonder what he thinks about leaving his 2 young children behind now.

 

[CPA2]

eucharisteo

It is not what happens to us that matters. It is how we react to it that matters. My wife died of cancer. I watched her be cured spiritually, not physically. Many people think that they are good because life has been good to them. When my wife had cancer she was divorced from her pleasant surroundings and became naked in her soul. She informed me that what was so important yesterday was now unimportant and useless. She found out that she was no longer the affable and genial woman that I knew; she became irritable and impatient. Fortunately, she had an inner light to guide her darkened soul. After she died a smile formed on her face!

 

[eucharisteo]

CPA,
My wife too has been diagnosed with cancer. Fortunately it’s very treatable. But now we’re waiting for another biopsy for an exzema like patch on her breast. She has bad cases of exzema and we hope it’s just that. However, she’s never had it on that location before.

You are correct, it’s not what happens to us that matters. BUT God reveals himself in what we experience. And by sharing, or witnessing - telling stories of our experience, which is normal to the deacons vocation - we show the power of God in our lives so that others might believe and live.

Pax.

 

[Albert_Nygren]

With the passage of Obama Care we now have more in common with Communist countries than we do with the ideals of the founding fathers.

This nation has officially turned its back on God through abortion, no prayer in schools, etc. I think that God will no longer protect this country. He has left us to our own devices, and we will be humbled through a greater financial collapse than the Great Depression! We will not come back to a correct conscience until the chastisements.

I agree completely. This is the time that we need to remember 2nd Ch 7:14,“if my people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

When there is a choice, we must always vote for the candidate that opposes abortion, opposes same sex marriage and is for the rights of Christian Churches. Of course we must personally live a holy life but we live in a Democracy. If we vote for people who oppose God because of some promise they make to give us something, then we are to blame for the government that we have.

That being said, I agree with you that the Bible is clear, things will get more sinful on earth until the chastisements and then of course when Jesus returns. There is a scripture, though, where God says that even if he has foretold a chastisement, if the people repent, He will not bring the chastisement to the people.

If only people would realize how much God loves us and that He set rules in the Bible for our benefit and not to be a spoilsport.

 

[peary]

Only until 2010, and 2012. If Americans get their heads together and elect representatives and a president that is conservative or at least moderate, we will be o.k. Otherwise, we will go down the road to socialism.

 

[Albert_Nygren]

What is the American Dream? Is it a house in the suburbs with 3 or 4 bedrooms, a 2 car garage, and 2 new cars in the garage? I suppose you could add to that 2.2 children and that they would be able to go to and graduate from college.

After WW2 America had a monopoly on manufacturing in the world. Europe and Asia were in ashes; bombed out during the war. At the same time, Europe and Asia had nothing and needed to be completely rebuilt. At the same time, Europe and Asia had no money. The US borrowed them the money and rebuilt those 2 continents. Our businesses made a ton of money and so did the Middle Class.

At the same time families in the US were just starting to get things like refridgerators, washing machines, driers, new ovens, and TV’s. Again, business was making a fortune and the average college graduate could afford a wife and kids, a house in the suburbs and all the rest.

Starting in the 50’s and 60’s I saw Asia start to take away all of our industries. Now we in the US are said to have a “service economy” and most of the new jobs are doing that, especially healthcare. Unfortunately, those jobs don’t pay as well as the old factory and manufacturing jobs paid. I have seen both the husband and the wife get full time jobs in order to have the same amount of money that the husband used to make.

Part of the reason that we have been out competed by the Asians is the fantastic saleries of the ceo’s. When a man makes 20 million a year and has a “Golden parachute”, what does he care if the company goes bankrupt in 10 years. By then he’ll be worth 100 million and sitting pretty. What does he care if the rest of the country is out of work.

The Asians bought a new business model in the 1950’s invented by an American. It had to do with Ceo’s being paid less money and giving the workers an (name removed by moderator)ut into manufacturing decisions. They had things like “quality circles”. The American big business leaders weren’t interested because they didn’t want to give up their big salaries and as I said, didn’t care about the business economy of the country as long as they kept their salary for 10 years.

I don’t know what the answer is. I do know that the answer is not Socialism as Obama thinks it is. Socialism stifles the energy to work and produce. The Church thinks that Socialism is “social justice” because they think it will help the poor. It won’t. It will only make everyone “equally” poor as is demonstrated by the countries that have tried it. The Soviet Union, North Korea, China, North Vietnam, were or are all bankrupt and the people are in desparate poverty because Socialism doesn’t work. All of the European Socialist countries were about to go under until off shore oil was discovered.

The other thing about Socialism is that it is not really just. Is it just to take away the money that one person earned because of discipline, hard work, study, and denying themselves things like a wife and family until he was financially stable; and then giving that money to someone who chose to live the easy life, partied, did’t study or work hard, got his girlfriend pregnant because “It just happened”?

When you read the story of the forgiving father and his 2 sons in the Bible; notice that although the wastral son was forgiven when he came back, the father told the good son that every thing the father had was his. The wastral son had already been given his inheritence and that was gone. The other 1/2 of the inheritence that was the good son’s was not to be divided a 2nd time. The good son kept all of his inheritence.

I don’t know where our country is going in the business world but I know that discipline and hard work still pay off. I think our country has to first come back to God before we do anything else, then God will help us with whatever we need. We need to come back to Christianity being the dominant religion in the country and the Old and New Testaments as the standard for our behavior; not the ideas of some “ivory Tower” professor who doesn’t even believe in God, much less the understanding of God that was divinely revealed to the Jews and Christians.

Until we get our values and morals back to where they were in the 1950’s, nothing will work because those values and morals were given us by God and He is the only one who knows all the in’s and outs of how everything was created; seeing as He was the one who did the Creating.

 

[CPA2]

What is the American Dream? Is it a house in the suburbs with 3 or 4 bedrooms, a 2 car garage, and 2 new cars in the garage? I suppose you could add to that 2.2 children and that they would be able to go to and graduate from college.

After WW2 America had a monopoly on manufacturing in the world. Europe and Asia were in ashes; bombed out during the war. At the same time, Europe and Asia had nothing and needed to be completely rebuilt. At the same time, Europe and Asia had no money. The US borrowed them the money and rebuilt those 2 continents. Our businesses made a ton of money and so did the Middle Class.

At the same time families in the US were just starting to get things like refridgerators, washing machines, driers, new ovens, and TV’s. Again, business was making a fortune and the average college graduate could afford a wife and kids, a house in the suburbs and all the rest.

Starting in the 50’s and 60’s I saw Asia start to take away all of our industries. Now we in the US are said to have a “service economy” and most of the new jobs are doing that, especially healthcare. Unfortunately, those jobs don’t pay as well as the old factory and manufacturing jobs paid. I have seen both the husband and the wife get full time jobs in order to have the same amount of money that the husband used to make.

Part of the reason that we have been out competed by the Asians is the fantastic saleries of the ceo’s. When a man makes 20 million a year and has a “Golden parachute”, what does he care if the company goes bankrupt in 10 years. By then he’ll be worth 100 million and sitting pretty. What does he care if the rest of the country is out of work.

The Asians bought a new business model in the 1950’s invented by an American. It had to do with Ceo’s being paid less money and giving the workers an (name removed by moderator)ut into manufacturing decisions. They had things like “quality circles”. The American big business leaders weren’t interested because they didn’t want to give up their big salaries and as I said, didn’t care about the business economy of the country as long as they kept their salary for 10 years.

I don’t know what the answer is. I do know that the answer is not Socialism as Obama thinks it is. Socialism stifles the energy to work and produce. The Church thinks that Socialism is “social justice” because they think it will help the poor. It won’t. It will only make everyone “equally” poor as is demonstrated by the countries that have tried it. The Soviet Union, North Korea, China, North Vietnam, were or are all bankrupt and the people are in desparate poverty because Socialism doesn’t work. All of the European Socialist countries were about to go under until off shore oil was discovered.

The other thing about Socialism is that it is not really just. Is it just to take away the money that one person earned because of discipline, hard work, study, and denying themselves things like a wife and family until he was financially stable; and then giving that money to someone who chose to live the easy life, partied, did’t study or work hard, got his girlfriend pregnant because “It just happened”?

When you read the story of the forgiving father and his 2 sons in the Bible; notice that although the wastral son was forgiven when he came back, the father told the good son that every thing the father had was his. The wastral son had already been given his inheritence and that was gone. The other 1/2 of the inheritence that was the good son’s was not to be divided a 2nd time. The good son kept all of his inheritence.

I don’t know where our country is going in the business world but I know that discipline and hard work still pay off. I think our country has to first come back to God before we do anything else, then God will help us with whatever we need. We need to come back to Christianity being the dominant religion in the country and the Old and New Testaments as the standard for our behavior; not the ideas of some “ivory Tower” professor who doesn’t even believe in God, much less the understanding of God that was divinely revealed to the Jews and Christians.

Until we get our values and morals back to where they were in the 1950’s, nothing will work because those values and morals were given us by God and He is the only one who knows all the in’s and outs of how everything was created; seeing as He was the one who did the Creating.

Very good post!

Christianity is a failure if it is just a vague ethical humanism. Unfortunately, “Christians” have forgotten that Christianity is NOT about reforming society. Reforming society is a common thread through the ages by those who claim to be acting in God’s name. Big mistake! Fortunately, there are divine elements in Christianity. As my grandmother would say, “It will all come out in the wash.” Christianity is about regenerating men, not reforming society! Christianity changes society, one man at a time, through evolution.

However, that does not mean that I will tolerate humanism, socialism, secularism or Marxism. All of these “isms” want to change society through force. Socialism and Marxism, especially, do not respect man’s God-given free will.

God has nothing against you in giving you His commandments. I think that God is anxious to be helpful. He wants you to get the maximum happiness out of life. That is the purpose of His commandments.

There are many ways to conversion. One approach is the inner despair that we find in our disordered lives. However, I am a convert because I feel the love of God for me. That love is palatable. I get choked up, and tears come to my eyes. It took me over a year to figure out what was happening. One day I just opened the bible, and I read that if we knew how much God loved us, we would cry tears of joy. My love for God also implies sacrifice. I surrender my will and my selfish interests to God’s will.

 

[peary]

Part of the reason that we have been out competed by the Asians is the fantastic saleries of the ceo’s. When a man makes 20 million a year and has a “Golden parachute”, what does he care if the company goes bankrupt in 10 years. By then he’ll be worth 100 million and sitting pretty. What does he care if the rest of the country is out of work.

You give too much credit to CEOs making millions of dollars. They are only a drop in the bucket of our economy.

The Church thinks that Socialism is “social justice” because they think it will help the poor. It won’t.

The Church does not endorse Socialism, but only some portions of it. The Church does not endorse raw Capitalism either.

Until we get our values and morals back to where they were in the 1950’s, nothing will work because those values and morals were given us by God and He is the only one who knows all the in’s and outs of how everything was created; seeing as He was the one who did the Creating.

Don’t be deceived. The 50s weren’t all “values and morals”, believe me. And they are not coming back.

 

[CPA2]

Economy May Not Recover
by Martin Weiss

It’s an outrage: Our leaders still haven’t heard us!

Despite all our petitions and protests, Washington is still spending MORE … borrowing MORE … and printing MORE than ever before.

Look. Most people know that the federal budget deficit nearly quadrupled last year — from around $400 billion in 2008 to more than $1.4 trillion in 2009. What they may not realize is that …

In 2010, our nation’s red ink is more than TWICE as bad as the worst deficit during the Great Depression — an explosive force that would normally drive interest rates through the roof.

But the Federal Reserve has temporarily shielded the American public from surging interest rates by buying up nearly one and a half TRILLION dollars in bonds — financing the deficit with paper money.

If the Fed continues on this reckless path, inflation will explode and your dollar will be destroyed. And if the Fed does NOT finance the huge deficits, interest rates will surge.
Either way, there is only real solution: **We must STOP the administration and Congress from spending and borrowing us into oblivion. **

We must stop our leaders from stealing from future generations to finance and perpetuate the excesses of present generations … from sacrificing America’s future potential and stability on the altar of present expediency … from piling up more debt to deal with meltdowns caused by too much debt in the first place … from creating new financial bubbles to overcome the consequences of prior financial busts.

There’s no other way to say it: If America’s leaders aren’t forced stop this insanity immediately, the **U.S. economy may never recover from the resulting disaster. **

 

[TheresaLS]

The American Dream…I was listening to C-Span this morning and a caller stated that the typical American has not evolved. They still believe in the Constitution and “the old ideals”. The reason why Obama was elected was to bring us into the “new world”.

This idea is scary. To think that our Constitution is not worth the paper that it is printed on…to believe that the government should be our caretaker. I love this country and will continue to be an American that fights for what made this country strong…hard work, and self respect. I will continue to be a good Catholic that puts God first and will make me a good American. Social justice should be rooted in personal responsibility not in hand outs from a government.

 

[Black_Rose]

The American Dream…I was listening to C-Span this morning and a caller stated that the typical American has not evolved. They still believe in the Constitution and “the old ideals”. The reason why Obama was elected was to bring us into the “new world”.

Those tactics are unlikely to motivate anyone, but only serve to polarize Obama from the majority who hold traditionalist values. For instance, those who are protesting the Iraq War as an act of US Imperialism needs to respect the traditional value of patriotism in order not be reviled. While flag burning is protected as free speech in the case of Texas v. Johnson, it is not recommended for a protester to burn an American Flag at a demonstration because such controversy will not attract sympathy for your position. One reason Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution was to purge the inculcated traditional values of Confucianism which was seen hindering the revolutionary ideas of communism. People inciting “change” may need to nominally take the identity of a traditionalist and put the language of change in the subterfuge of tradition.

This idea is scary. To think that our Constitution is not worth the paper that it is printed on…to believe that the government should be our caretaker. I love this country and will continue to be an American that fights for what made this country strong…hard work, and self respect. I will continue to be a good Catholic that puts God first and will make me a good American. Social justice should be rooted in personal responsibility not in hand outs from a government.

I do not know what makes the United States “strong” (for the purpose of this discussion, I will define it as an economic, moral, and military superpower). You cite hard work but one could offer many alternative explanations based on their analysis of American and world history. I would like to hear your explanation (or from anyone else reading this thread) on why “hard work” made America strong.

 

[CPA2]

The handwriting is clearly on the wall:

**This bond market bubble is destined to burst just like the tech and housing bubbles before it. **

And when THIS bubble bursts, it will automatically drive long-term interest rates sky-high — pure poison for an economy in as delicate a condition as ours is now.

Martin Weiss

 

[Black_Rose]

The handwriting is clearly on the wall:

**This bond market bubble is destined to burst just like the tech and housing bubbles before it. **

And when THIS bubble bursts, it will automatically drive long-term interest rates sky-high — pure poison for an economy in as delicate a condition as ours is now.

Martin Weiss

What do you mean by “bond bubble”? Last time I checked (about a minute ago) Bloomberg for the yield on 10 year Treasuries, it was at 3.80% which is fairly decent in a deflationary environment with high unemployment and low economic growth. It is not even close to the historically low yields of JGBs in spring 2003 when yields bottomed at 45 basis points (before significantly rising by one percent in a period of a few months) nor is it even close to 2.10% in December 2008.

I do not buy the argument that foreign central banks will stop buying Treasuries with their dollar denominated trade surpluses because of dollar hegemony. They are forced to purchase Treasuries with their dollars because they cannot use it in their own domestic economy; if they try to convert their dollars into local currency, they will face inflation since the supply of local currency would increase.

 

[CPA2]

What do you mean by “bond bubble”? Last time I checked (about a minute ago) Bloomberg for the yield on 10 year Treasuries, it was at 3.80% which is fairly decent in a deflationary environment with high unemployment and low economic growth. It is not even close to the historically low yields of JGBs in spring 2003 when yields bottomed at 45 basis points (before significantly rising by one percent in a period of a few months) nor is it even close to 2.10% in December 2008.

I do not buy the argument that foreign central banks will stop buying Treasuries with their dollar denominated trade surpluses because of dollar hegemony. They are forced to purchase Treasuries with their dollars because they cannot use it in their own domestic economy; if they try to convert their dollars into local currency, they will face inflation since the supply of local currency would increase.

If you do not believe what I have posted about bonds, then you should buy some 20 year Treasury bonds. These bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government (your faith in the Democrat politicians). Good Luck!

 

[CPA2]

What do you mean by “bond bubble”? Last time I checked (about a minute ago) Bloomberg for the yield on 10 year Treasuries, it was at 3.80% which is fairly decent in a deflationary environment with high unemployment and low economic growth. It is not even close to the historically low yields of JGBs in spring 2003 when yields bottomed at 45 basis points (before significantly rising by one percent in a period of a few months) nor is it even close to 2.10% in December 2008.

I do not buy the argument that foreign central banks will stop buying Treasuries with their dollar denominated trade surpluses because of dollar hegemony. They are forced to purchase Treasuries with their dollars because they cannot use it in their own domestic economy; if they try to convert their dollars into local currency, they will face inflation since the supply of local currency would increase.

This is what others are saying: “Congress and the President only know how to spend. The only thing that will stop them is to vote them out of office.” “It is only a matter of time until the government as we know it is the next big bubble to burst leaving the U.S.A. little more than a Third World country.”

 

[CPA2]

Those tactics are unlikely to motivate anyone, but only serve to polarize Obama from the majority who hold traditionalist values. For instance, those who are protesting the Iraq War as an act of US Imperialism needs to respect the traditional value of patriotism in order not be reviled. While flag burning is protected as free speech in the case of Texas v. Johnson, it is not recommended for a protester to burn an American Flag at a demonstration because such controversy will not attract sympathy for your position. One reason Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution was to purge the inculcated traditional values of Confucianism which was seen hindering the revolutionary ideas of communism. People inciting “change” may need to nominally take the identity of a traditionalist and put the language of change in the subterfuge of tradition.

I do not know what makes the United States “strong” (for the purpose of this discussion, I will define it as an economic, moral, and military superpower). You cite hard work but one could offer many alternative explanations based on their analysis of American and world history. I would like to hear your explanation (or from anyone else reading this thread) on why “hard work” made America strong.

America was great because America was good. The United States now murders over 4,000 human beings through abortion every day. Mary tells us that we are worse than at the time of Noah! I think that America is no longer good. Our destiny is to financially become a third world country because of our sins.

 

[CPA2]

What do you mean by “bond bubble”? Last time I checked (about a minute ago) Bloomberg for the yield on 10 year Treasuries, it was at 3.80% which is fairly decent in a deflationary environment with high unemployment and low economic growth. It is not even close to the historically low yields of JGBs in spring 2003 when yields bottomed at 45 basis points (before significantly rising by one percent in a period of a few months) nor is it even close to 2.10% in December 2008.

I do not buy the argument that foreign central banks will stop buying Treasuries with their dollar denominated trade surpluses because of dollar hegemony. They are forced to purchase Treasuries with their dollars because they cannot use it in their own domestic economy; if they try to convert their dollars into local currency, they will face inflation since the supply of local currency would increase.

Have We Entered A Bond Bear Market?
by Sharon A. Daniels

Bond investors were poised to hit the panic button last week … nervously watching as yields on 10-Year U.S. Treasury bonds briefly pierced the 4 percent level for the first time in well over a year.

Their concerns are understandable. After all, the threat of rising rates has been hanging over fixed-income markets ever since the Fed began printing money at hyper-speed during the financial crisis. And the fears haven’t subsided.

The big question on everybody’s mind: Is the end near for the bond market?

Not imminently. But we clearly see signs that long-term interest rates will be heading higher eventually given the massive federal deficits in the U.S. and our country’s reliance on foreign lenders.

 

[Albert_Nygren]

Very good post!

Christianity is a failure if it is just a vague ethical humanism. Unfortunately, “Christians” have forgotten that Christianity is NOT about reforming society. Reforming society is a common thread through the ages by those who claim to be acting in God’s name. Big mistake! Fortunately, there are divine elements in Christianity. As my grandmother would say, “It will all come out in the wash.” Christianity is about regenerating men, not reforming society! Christianity changes society, one man at a time, through evolution.

However, that does not mean that I will tolerate humanism, socialism, secularism or Marxism. All of these “isms” want to change society through force. Socialism and Marxism, especially, do not respect man’s God-given free will.

God has nothing against you in giving you His commandments. I think that God is anxious to be helpful. He wants you to get the maximum happiness out of life. That is the purpose of His commandments.

There are many ways to conversion. One approach is the inner despair that we find in our disordered lives. However, I am a convert because I feel the love of God for me. That love is palatable. I get choked up, and tears come to my eyes. It took me over a year to figure out what was happening. One day I just opened the bible, and I read that if we knew how much God loved us, we would cry tears of joy. My love for God also implies sacrifice. I surrender my will and my selfish interests to God’s will.

Thanks for you compliment. I was converted by God also and your testimony reminds me of how much God loves you and I and everyone else. Thank you so much. Albert Nygren

 

[Albert_Nygren]

peary:
In response to comment by peary

Thanks for your response to my post but I have several areas where I need to explain. You miss my point about the huge salaries of the CEO’s of big business. Yes, their salaries are just a drop in the bucket compared to our total economy. My point was that because of their huge salaries that they didn’t care if they lost market share to the Asians.

The CEO’s were able to keep profits up by closing factories and laying off employees. They didn’t care if eventually they would have no market share and the business was bankrupt because they already had made so much money that they didn’t need a job. At least if I had 100 million in the bank I wouldn’t be too worried about getting another job.

You say that The Church doesn’t endorse Socialism, just some portions of it. Well, what aspects of Socialism does the Church not agree with? Of course I am talking about the American Catholic Church, not The Church world wide. Everything I hear in the homily about “social justice” sounds like Socialism to me, as does everything I read that The Church prints. You say that The Church doesn’t endorse raw Capitalism; neither do I. We need government regulations to keep businesses at least semi-honest.

You say that “I shouldn’t be deceived” that the 50’s weren’t all about values and morals and that they aren’t coming back. I don’t know how I could be deceived as I was born in 1943 and was raised in a very poor, mixed race neighborhood. If you are thinking about racism, especially in the Southern States, then you are absolutely correct. I am Native American and if I had lived in South Carolina instead of Milwaukee, WI I would have not been able to eat at White restaurants, I would have had to sit in the back of the bus, I would have had to go to a “Colored” school and I would have had to endure all of the negative treatment that any other “person of color” did.

But there was more going on in the 50"s that racial discrimination. 75% of all women were virgins when they got married. Crime was nothing compared to what it is now even though there were more poor (by today’s standards). Most businesses did not try to cheat you or lie to you as most do now. Most children were raised by 2 parents and of opposite genders. Adolescents in the 50’s would never even think of doing all of the terrible crimes that adolescents do today.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love The Church and converted to Catholicism in 1970 when I was 27 y/o. I agree with almost all of the Churches Official teachings; they come straight from the Bible. I would agree with the concept of Social Justice if the USA was like a country in South America where only a few people owned all the land and only allowed the peasant a pittance to life on. Where the Government was controlled by the rich land owners.

But in the USA, social justice is seeing that each person has an equal opportunity to a good education and an equal right to compete with others for good jobs. When I say a good education, I mean grade school and high school and where the subjects are properly taught. If the person sits and looks out of the window instead of concentrating on what the teacher is saying, that is that person’s decision (of course the parents and society need to teach the child that). If the “student” uses his/her text books for a doorstop rather than studying them; then that is their decision.

I was taught self reliance and self responsibility by the adults in my family, my school teachers and all of the TV shows and movies reinforced that. Yes, you are right, the 50’s are not coming back, but thank God that Jesus is coming back and that He will set all things right.

Sincerely, Albert Nygren