Paraskevidekatriaphobic (Fear of Friday 13th) thoughts

‘I think it’s all going to end in revolution’ my 77 year old mother said to me without even a hint of humour in her voice. ‘I hope so Ma, I hope so.’

‘I think it’s all going to end in revolution’ my 77 year old mother said to me without even a hint of humour in her voice. ‘I hope so Ma, I hope so.’

The rapidly changing times, and the deluge of depression that is lauched at us through the media has made February a long and hard month. We’ve only reached the 13th, and I can barely summon up the energy to listen to the radio anymore. 
Numbers are having a numbing effect on my brain. This is whether they numbers are specific to job lossess,
1500 yesterday joining the dole queues
37,000 onto the live register of the unemployed in January
9.4% seasonally adjusted unemployment at the moment
7,000,000,000 secret loan from Irish Life to Anglo Irish Bank to make the hole not look so big
102 page document that the Minister for Finance failed to read about such goings on
$630,000 golden handshake for the Financial Regulator who let this all happen on his watch
200,000,000,000 which is the estimate that one friend of mine, an ex-merchant banker, thinks might be the size of the hole in Irish Banking system
€890,000 which is the salary of Dennis Casey Chief Executive of Irish Life and Permanent – After taking a 32% pay cut
330,000 and rising out of work
 
In the midst of all these numbers, I am aware of my own pathetic pension arrangments, the tax that I pay, the increase in tax that I am paying, the pension levy – which is a dressed up wage cut – that I will pay. At the same time from the trade unions that are supposed to defend my job, I hear that we need to get into talks again with the government. For what? Talking got me into this, but seldom did my voice get heard.
I am sick and tired of hearing about how we have to SAVE THE BANKS, in order to SAVE THE ECONOMY.
The economy exists so that we can work, so that we can provide for our families, so that we can have a roof over our heads, food on the table, and a chance of happiness in our time. But the Economy appears to have become some external Godlike monster that we constantly have to offer up sacrafices to, in order to appease it. First we must give money, borrowed on our reputations as good little workers for generations to come, to the banks, so that they will lend again so that we can save the Economy.
How did we get here?
Saving jobs has to be more important.   Concentrating on jobs; and saving them is putting the horse in front of the cart.
Eventually, you have to ask yourself what is all this sacrafice for?
For a system where we are not in control, where a small minority decide our futures and our childrens futures in closed rooms.
Where we get told on Friday not to come back into work on Monday.
Where we have a creaking under resourced health system.
Where we have a sprawling mess of a captial city.
Where we have a society where 20% of them live within €10 of the poverty line.
Where we have a sprawling mess of a captial city.
Where we have our children attending school in rat infested pre-fabs.
Where child care by the state appears an impossbility.
Where gridlock is a daily occurance.
Where our drinking water is not fit for use in some cases.
It is time to draw a line. No more sacrafices. If I am asked to make sacrafices, then I will decide to make them for a system based on needs not greed. Based on peoples needs and desires being met first. Based on our abilities to build a society centred on what people need for a decent life and a true pursuit of happiness.
Not much happiness around in these dark days where high priests point to where the next sacraficial lambs is to come from.
 
We are not lambs. Let us arise like LIONS
 
Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number,
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you-
Ye are many — they are few.