Dollars and Sense

Though this might sound to some like some glib hippie dribble, and not seem even worthy of writing, I find myself pondering in my logical wandering of the standard devotion of our precious lifetimes to laboring. This wage enslavement, in a monetary system that yields less and less benefit per cent, according to an apparent plan by a Federal Reserve Bank which is alarmingly not run by our U.S. government, is not what freedom was ever meant to be about.

I find the many contradictions of the word freedom and its definitions in relation to the great land I live in more than a little bit taxing to my natural, logical mind. I consider myself to be free-thinking. And yet I am beginning to wonder if I might be labeled as liberal. If I remember correctly; before cable news was plugged into my viewfinder, liberal used to mean generous, and liberate meant to free. But now, when the word liberal is mentioned--it evokes negative responses in people and is condemned hundreds of times a day on a certain brand of television that has reared its ugly horns over the past few decades.

I can't get over the inherent feeling, or is it truly just a naive belief, that we were created to be free and equal, and that by liberation of each other from our sufferings through simple, humane generosity, we might actually be able to have what we were destined to create on this planet in a truly free and more peaceful coexistence. In God I do trust. But in public schools we no longer mention God. God is printed on our money. Are we to associate our trust in God with money? Or is it to keep us in the mindset of money being good for us? That seems foolish doesn't it? I need to make a buck. We all do. But what does it have to do with God?? Wasn't Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God, God in the form of man on Earth, who tried to separate the money lenders from the temples? Wasn't the problem then the same as it is now? Spiritual life is anti-capitalistic in nature. It is based on the Golden Rule or on simple kindergarten consciousness. And as I speak of the need to look at the hell we create for so many by the soulless allowance of rule by money--I yet feel as a blasphemer for the sacrifice of some brainwashed idealism about how good capitalism is supposed to be for the world. If it was so good, there would be no need for social security, or health care coverage, or welfare systems, disability insurance, pensions, or any of the problems we face for our infirmed, elderly and disenfranchised or discriminated population.

We have been so tragically brainwashed to live with the lie that time is money here in the land of the free. And our commercially stone-washed spirits think we need so much more to be happy, to be successful, than we ever did before. To earn our vacations in the great outdoors we mostly toil away our years in our decorated offices, gilded cages and polished automobiles. It isn't a choice to work for money. We must chase this elusive animal we call "financial security". As our years go by and we slow down physically, we must be wise to "stay ahead of the game". The game. What is it really? Is it a game like Monopoly? The "Game of Life"? Seems simple enough. Are we just allowing ourselves to be used like the game pieces, while only the financially elite actually get to play freely?
Time doesn't equal money. It is worth far, far more. Money, by the way, will not buy you another minute in reality. People can help people to live longer--that is true. But buying time isn't possible in the miracle of life. So while money actually equals less and less time as time goes on, it still has no real worth if there is no one to accept it. It is merely the tool we were given, that some originally chose for the masses, to decide who gets what on this shining ball of blue. Surely I believe in working one's way up, and that no one should get a free ride while others pay for it. But I see the clockwork of this society and the time is running out for it. More and more people are disenchanted, disenfranchised and disillusioned with the snake oil panacea of the capitalist definition of freedom here.
Money gives one a false sense of freedom. Poverty is very close however, to actual imprisonment. Unfortunately for the free impoverished, the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter aren't readily supplied las in our prisons. One must find shelters, food and medicine through charities and under-funded institutions that are paid for by the taxation of those fortunate enough to make good money, who live in the system. The rapid downward spiral of the dollar leaves me puzzled and more and more disenchanted as I consider the lives of every truly free animal left on the planet, whose numbers are dwindling because of corporate greed and unwise capitalism moreso than any other reason.
Though I immensely enjoy the comforts and technologies of the modern human endeavor, I see clearly that our impact on Earth is unsustainable for much longer. Population is not the problem. Sharing of resources and wise use of land would make all of the difference in the world. America has so much unused land for living on...and yet it is practically all privately owned, or otherwise controlled and not truly free for use. America's Declaration of Independence was something very different that we used to revere as Americans, not so long ago. The "right to pursuit of life, liberty and happiness as it reads". Without our own land though, this isn't easy. Even if we own land, we must pay taxes on it. If we do not, we lose this land of the free, and are subject to the dangers, stigmas and struggles of homeless living.
Near my old home is an island that is free to wild horses, and deer among many other creatures. Though deer and rabbits, birds and burrowers and swimming beings of the sea are expected to roam free--horses are decidedly not. Why, when one can yoke them up to plow a field, pull a cart, carry someone across the continent for the price of fresh foliage and water, would a horse ever be allowed to roam free, left basically homeless and without a job to do for people who care for it? Having to find its own food, and having to fend for itself, the wild horse is not much different than a wild dog or cat. Wouldn't they want to be domesticated and taken care of? Of course, if they were thoroughbred Arabians they could be worth millions of dollars to someone. But these horses are not so trainable. They are wild and free and high-spirited, with no desire to be yoked or broken. They might be considered dumb to a horse trainer, not suitable for much, as they don't have the genetics or the horse sense of their cousins who were born in pens and on fenced in pastures.

As so many people sit in cubicles day after beautiful day, dreaming about the things we would rather be doing with our lives--don't we too still have the freedom to decide for ourselves to stay or go? What about this bit and bridle we call the 'almighty dollar'? And how long would we actually survive if we had to eat it? If we had to build our own homes, which would be safer? Pennies, nickels, dimes or paper dollar bills? Would we still enjoy our lives as much if we chose to live closer to the land, and farm for our own subsistence without selling off our crops? There are folks who still do this today. Folks who live relatively comfortably, healthfully, and peacefully. Many people around the world are very happy in their natural lifestyles, while still being civilized to each other and living long lives. Though they may depend on other animals as do we all, to live our lives...we separate ourselves intellectually from them here in the "land of the fee". We consider our lives--if not ourselves, better in some way. Does our concept of living better somehow equate to happier? Mustn't it? Isn't it NATURAL? Isn't it a better life for a horse that lives in a large heated stable with fresh bedding every night and a loving owner to brush and bathe and feed them? If we gave a horse the choice to live in on a ranch, sleep in a stable and eat the standard diet of a horse in captivity ('domesticated' as we like to phrase it) and live with regulated meal breaks and responsibilities, whether riding, pulling a cart, racing, etc... OR the option to live freely in the land it was designed for, free to choose its bed, its meals and mealtimes, its friendships and where it wants to go....what would the horse choose? What choice would be more rewarding? Security of shelter and free meals, or freedom to choose? One choice leaves the horse very few choices afterwards. The other choice opens the realm of possibilities and the uncertainties of being a prey animal in a landscape that changes and where food and water may not always be easy to come by.
The range of terrains, foods available, and the experiences of freedom as a wild horse must greatly outweigh the amenities of a captive life. I have worked on a well-funded horse ranch, and have spent my time next to the fence, inside the stalls and in the pastures. I know for sure that an animal of this strength and spirit is meant to run free, just as sure as the bird with wings is meant to fly, and the fish are born to swim where they will.

The human is born with hands and feet and a mind to create what it chooses, and the spirit to explore life's possibilities and to embrace and increase. Why we chose to stay locked in our financial pens leaves me befuddled and while not yet broken. I have not the means to continue to write as I wish as I feel a sense of impending crisis while the financial clock of my lifetime ticks quickly in my head. But here I am feeling pent up and fighting to remain free. Ironic as it seems, wild horses couldn't drag me away from my pen...just yet.

In vast green waves of lush marsh grasses flowing,
lives a breed of unbridled power and grace
So close to distant cousins, waiting pent up, never knowing,
a sense of true purpose, destiny or place.

Freed from her bonds generations ago,
an old mare is yet noble and wild.
as another son rises on the Neigh Boring ranch
with alfalfa flake hand-outs to her child.

Though each in each wild clan lives truly endangered,
Their whinnies speak louder than words,
and as another sun sinks behind the wonder-full manger,
Is it 'the good life'--apart from their herds?

Tomorrow's sun sparkles on fresh spicy mustards,
and the clover's as sweet as Spring water,
as our broken horse dreams, still, before it awakes,
to break fast on what we would call fodder.

Today it reigned hard for the herds without roofs,
huddled close under trees kept them warm,
while "Lucky" was treated to freshly trimmed hooves,
to the tune of rain drumming down on his dorm.

Free or broke not one may choose in this world so equine,
though all may still prance, muck and/or muddle.
We truly lucky are only confined, as we are so inclined,
and need not stand in our own smelly puddles.

Whether alone or in herds,
like swimming seals or caged birds,
We can "reign in" our wayward courses.
For each sentient being here on Earth,
from the first moment of each one's birth,
Let us re-embrace the good senses of our horses.