Yes, I am as flabbergasted as you are on that George and his buddies are pissing on the Constitution.
But you know, sometimes at the peak of frustration--it is better to walk away. Do something else. Get out of your own head. For me, it was loaning $25 to a guy in Iraq.
About an hour ago I got an email from Kiva. Kiva is one of the microcredit lending agencies. They help struggling entrepreneurs all over the world. These are people who are battling for some financial independence in places where it isn't as good as we have it here--even on the days when the Constitution is being actively shredded.
C'mon. You have it better than most--even today.
There are people elsewhere who aren't getting the day off tomorrow. They don't have the luxury of blogging their irritations. They are working hard to feed their families and serve their communities. They can benefit from microcreditto expand their business--even hire others--and maybe their days can get better.
You may have heard of microloans around the time when Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Prize this past year.
Muhammad Yunus was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Grameen Bank, for "their efforts to create economic and social development from below."
Create economic and social development from below. This is what I'm getting at. There isn't much you can do to work on the "above" part today. How about working from below--helping someone else instead? Maybe that could take your mind off those above....
So my email from Kiva told me that my first loan--to an African woman named Bridget--had been paid back in full. I had the option of taking my money back out. But I decided to look around at the other people who needed money right now.
One of them was from Iraq. His identity is protected--because of George's incompetence, of course. He needed $25 to complete the loan amount of $1000. He wants to get new equipment, and to hire 3 unemployed people. The loan page came with a disclaimer:
Disclaimer: This entrepreneur is from a volatile region where the security situation remains unsettled. Lenders to this business should be aware that this loan may represent a higher risk and accept this additional risk in making their loan.
Yeah, I stand at risk to lose my $25. I think I can take that risk. So I put my $25 into a business in Iraq. That loan is now fully funded, and I hope it goes to "Identity Protected" tomorrow. I wish him luck in a very difficult time and place.
If you can help other entrepreneurs, go toss 'em a few bucks. Get out of your own head, and out into the world. We gotta keep working around these guys, and not let them ruin the whole planet.