Quick to forget

Some frustration has come up caused by the angst of fundraising and taxes.  So I have not vented in some time, because I am have been in a wonderful place.  Money and value tend to move me in the direction of intolerance.  So what I believe is that what we value is not necessarily reflective of..."Values".

Taxes:
So I hear so much about how great America is.  I hear about how this country is so productive.  I hear how we are pioneers in this, the most powerful in that, and the best in those.  Well we are fans of our country until it comes time to pay taxes.  I like to the think of taxes as an investment in our country.  When it comes to taxes, some transform America into the villain.  All of sudden America becomes the thief at night. All of sudden America is a wasteful bureaucratic mess.  All of sudden it is full of moochers.   All of sudden we are a bunch of free loading imbeciles that ruin morality and economies.  Taxes are seen as a debt versus an investment.  If America was traded on the stock market what value would it then have.  Wait it is traded on a market, the lobbyist market.

Donation:
It has been really difficult to get business to donate to my Guatemala project.  I understand that if they donated to every Tom, Dick, and Harry that came asking for help they wouldn't have a business, but at the same time I don't.  I would really appreciate if a business owner took the time to discuss how they have extended themselves to the community.  I would appreciate it if a business owner did meet every request even it was with a $5 gift certificate.  I think about how much it takes for me to chose their products and realize they don't reciprocate that same interest in the things I value.  That in turn becomes part of the value measurement of their products.

This experience has really taught me to look beyond a product and the value it brings, and to see the larger profit I contribute to.  Even buying local can mean I am just padding the pockets of a greedy owner versus the board of directors and bonuses throughout a corporation.  I value the redistribution of profits to a community, knowing it takes a community to create a positive culture.  When a corporation or small business mines a community for profits, without considering how to be symbiotic, it becomes like a parasite, feeding until it no longer finds value in its host.  I have learned to look for parasites in my community and accept that sometimes people just are trying to survive themselves.

In the end, I think that what I value tends to be convenient to what I believe.  I think that as my values change, my spending trend tries to keep up.  When I look at my budget, I realize I am still adolescent, hypocritical, and a squanderer.  What I want to spend my money on is not so different from those I have been asking to contribute to my fundraising project and say no.  I am bugged by the lavishness that I think comes with owning a business, and more open to the reality that I don't like to just give my money away either.  What I value leads me to think with bias.  I am foolish to think other people should value what I value too, and most don't, but enough do.  So when I buy that extra beer that I piss into the toilet, I am like that corporation that buys another thousand stupid key chains with their logo on it to be throw away during next years spring cleaning.