Please Excuse the Soapbox...

So I know this has been said before, but I needed to say it again because it drives me crazy.

People, stop bellyaching about gas prices and the economy!

I am not completely inconsiderate, and I have great compassion for people who are desperately trying to make ends meet and cutting corners on everything while the gas and food prices rise. It's other people I have no sympathy for. A recent discussion with some -ahem- acquaintances of mine annoyed me just a little. It was all about how the Bush administration has caused the housing crisis, the mortgage crisis, people to default on mortgages and credit cards, higher gas prices, higher food prices, the recession, and all financial difficulties in general.

And yes, I know Pres Bush is not perfect. He has made mistakes. Big ones. And he is probably a little bit to blame for some of the issues at hand (ie some of the Iraq war decisions were probably not his best). BUT- And this is a BIG BUT (hee hee) - YOU CAN'T BLAME HIM FOR EVERYTHING! I get annoyed when people complain about how hard life is and how the government needs to fix it, when it was they themselves who got into TOO much DEBT! If you default on your mortgage because you tried to get a $400,000 home when you were pretty sure you could only afford a $200,000 home, you've got to own up to that! If you are complaining about the cost of groceries, get rid of your kid's cell phone, the cable TV, and eating out every day. Consolidate your trips so you're not using so much gas. Shop killer deals online and pay for shipping instead of driving to the mall to pay full price for something. Eat less meat and more rice and beans. Set the air conditioning at 78 or 80 degrees instead of 70 or 72. Stay home and play in the backyard instead of traipsing off to Disneyland. Be willing to give up some material stuff! Let's remember that some of those people "trying to make ends meet" are part of the 1 million people who already bought the new $200 + service contract iPhone that just came out...

I know that I don't understand what all people are going through. All I know is that we have one income (decent, but not six figures or anything) and three kids and we're still managing to set some aside in our savings. Sure, we haven't purchased our dream flat-screen with 50 billion speakers (sorry DH) or our grand piano or our drum set and my kids have only enough outfits to last them a week and then we wash and our house is not perfectly decorated, but we are doing fine. And we are cutting corners where we need to. And I have a list of things I would get rid of in order to save money if things get worse. I am not saying I'm perfect, and I'm definitely not trying to offend those of you who are struggling and trying as best as you can to provide for your families. I'm just talking about those of us who seem to think sacrificing something we WANT means the economy is in shambles and the government better hurry up and fix it.

A wise person once said, "It isn't what we look like, what we have, how much we make, the car we drive, the things we wear, or the people we know. It's who we ARE when all of that is taken away." (Actually, I'm sure somebody said something along these lines. If not, I guess I'm the profound one.) So I am trying to be less worried about what I have and more concerned about what people would see if everything was taken away. I'm far from reaching that goal, but I'm going to keep trying and hopefully instill this idea in my kids. Because you can't take it with you!

Just my soapbox. Thanks for letting me stand on it! (I had to blog about it because I can't say it directly to the face of those I'd like to say it to...)

Anyone with me on this? Anyone want to disagree with me? Totally open to it.