The recession may be over at last – now what?

I saw this headline on Yahoo and wanted to scream.  What fucking idiot thinks the recession is over?!  Do they even live in America?  I can’t believe anyone thinks the recession is anywhere close to over.   Food prices are still shooting through the roof.  Unemployment is still astronomically high.

RAM’s number one customer ( a non-profit group which provides medical assistance to third-world countries) is the United States.  So let me get this straight.  Hundreds of people show up to these all volunteer traveling clinics for simple care like getting teeth pulled and the recession is over?!  WTF!  How can the recession be over if Americans can’t even afford to see the dentist?

America isn’t even close to being out of the recession.  The truth is we are sliding downhill very fast.  Look around at the empty buildings, the foreclosed houses, and the homeless and then tell me everything’s going to be all better.  The truth is this recession is about so much more than lost jobs and empty homes.  Or even poor medical care.

This recession is about homo sapiens being so short-sighted they can’t see past their own lives or their childrens’ lives.  When things are going well we assume they’ll always go well.  Just like we assume oil will never run out, the dollar will never lose value, overpopulation will never ravage the earth….and the list goes on and on. 

I’m going to stop before I get too depressing.  Mostly because I know everybody is buried up to their necks in bullshit.  Because the truth is this recession is a way to create a better life.  I don’t know what that better life is.  All I know is I’ve been searching for the better life for as long as I can remember.  But maybe that’s backwards.  Maybe the better life isn’t some rosy picture that will come true….someday.  Maybe a better life is recognizing what you’ve already got and doing something with it.

I know a lot of old geezers would look at this and have a bunch of clever responses.  “Everybody gets jaded.” “Life means taking a lot of shit.”  I only have one thing to say – get a new pair of sunglasses!  Life isn’t taking a bunch of punches and saying “oh, well, nothing I can do about it.”  Life is knowing you’ll make mistakes and learning something from them. 

Positive thinking alone won’t make the recession go away.  Change is always preceded by action.  But anything positive, any solutions will take real people finding positive solutions instead of sitting on their asses complaining.

Why do women have sex?

A recent survey found that, surprise, women have sex for pleasure too!  Wow, what a shock!  Are these people living in a cave?  Anyone who pays attention to popular culture knows women have sex for pleasure.  Books like, My Secret Garden, showcase women’s sexual fantasies, most of which are devoted to receiving pleasure.  The idea that women are solely ruled by emotions is archaic and out-dated.  Like any stereotype it does a disservice to both genders.

As a young women I revel in sexual pleasure.  I see it as my right.  I also see it as nothing to be ashamed of.  I write erotica for the sheer pleasure.  In fact, when it comes to sex women want MORE pleasure.  The challenge for women today is balancing an appetite for sex with the judgements men are going to make.  If women have lost anything, it’s an appreciation for the mystery which makes sex so much sweeter.  We no longer have the Audrey Hepburn models that epitomized grace and style without being slutty or baring it all.

Yes, women have sex for pleasure.  No, we don’t have to put it all out there.

Surrogates Movie

The Surrogates plays on an old theme; the ever-present dislike of our personal lives.  Humans have a fatal flaw; we always imagine the grass is greener on the other side.  Whatever our strengths are, they aren’t enough.  Our flaws always seem to grow.  The Surrogates trailer introduces a new sci-fi concept, disappearing into someone else’s life for a day.  The trailer shows a young woman being transformed into a sexy, blonde vixen.  No doubt the recurring wish of many overweight women.

The truth is America is suffering from the self-improvement cancer.  Our lives are flooded with commercials and self-help gurus saying they have the answer to happiness.  Is it no wonder so many of us spend all of our time seeking validation?  How can we not after being told over and over again that something – whether it’s our nose, our work lives, our love lives – just isn’t good enough?

It used to be called “keeping up with the Jones’.”  Now it’s masquerading as Dr. Phil, Opera and skin rejuvenation products.  I must confess to reading my own share of self-help books.  To be honest I have to blame American soc iety’s lack of coming-of-age rituals.  Anyone who’s under 20 feels a need to find themselves.  America doesn’t offer any rituals designed to welcome young men/women into adulthood.  In fact, our rules are conflicting.  Young people are allowed to start driving at the age of 14 but are told they can’t drink until they’re 21.  Sex is supposed to be non-existent until age 17, even though sexual curiousity begins at age 12.

Our coming-of-age rituals are related to material goods or money.  The first liscence is supposed to represent freedom.  But what does it do to feed the soul?  Cars are just piles of metal, they don’t change anything about who we are.  Many cultures had physical rituals designed to allow young people the opportunity to connect to their bodies and minds.  Our culture gives young people cars.  Does anyone see a problem?

We are almost afraid of connecting to ourselves.  Our lives are jammed with noise; television, traffic, radio, Ipods, computer games.  Those quiet moments of inner reflection are often avoided.  Older people have told me they envy my youth.  I cringe when they say this.  Youth is an uncertain territory with no clear markers telling us what to expect as adults, or even when we are adults.  It’s a whirlwind occupied by tons of adult voices trying to tell us what we’re supposed to be, what we’re supposed to say, and what “self-worth” is supposed to mean.  I wonder what it is about age that allows people to forget all of that confusion and self-doubt.

It will be interesting  to see how The Surrogates plays on our self-doubts.  I doubt the story line will be this brainy.  We are talking about Hollywood.  But, in any case, it will be interesting.