Society and Responsibility pt. ii

Society needs to have some responsibility for how it takes care of its members and how its members are doing. People do not exist in a vacuum. Those who have accumulated great wealth have done so because of society. Society has allowed them to achieve these goals. Now we say people should work for their money which is all well and good but the pay scale is another matter. The pay scale should be fair. The pay scale should be better regulated so that everybody gets a fair share for their labor. The owners, executives, and shareholders should not be allowed to receive unduly large quantities of money. At a certain point the money should be distributed back to employees, schools, other businesses, and society in general. That way we all may benefit from the products of society which we all contribute to.

People made their money with the coordination of society. Without society they would have nothing. Without the rules and laws that allowed them to gain great wealth they would have nothing. That is why we should change the laws so that we all may live healthy lives and prosper for if we allow a few people percentage-wise to take all the excess profit after making their payroll and what not we are leaving the rest of the population in a precarious position during crises and economic turmoil for there is nothing left for them to fall back on. In a worst case scenario only the wealthy elite would have any means for sustaining themselves while the masses were left to starvation.

Society Needs to Exhibit Personal Responsibility for its Members

Society Needs To Exhibit Responsibility for its Members

Society does need to take responsibility for its members. There are many people who believe in personal responsibility meaning that people should take responsibility for their place in life and not blame anyone else or society in general. Personal responsibility in this sense is real however it should not be used as a scapegoat for any culpability of society.

Employers create jobs for people and while this is commendable, what kind of jobs they are creating for people is important too. Are these jobs ones that pay well enough for people to live off of or are they simply jobs that will provide a substandard of living for these employees? It is lucky that many things in the United States are generally cheap so that people with modest means can still get by while others with far more money than they need hang on to it for whatever reason. Corporations instead of investing in society and infrastructure save their wealth so that they can merge with competitors and thereby increase their value to shareholders and executives alike. All the while they have armies of employees working for $10 dollars an hour or less being led by employees making $20 to $30 dollars an hour or more, depending on the position.

As a society, instead of having a profit motivated, get rich, mentality we should really be providing healthy opportunities for all and sharing in the successes and failures of our society together as one country united. There is an over-emphasis on individualism in the current political and economic climate. We could do so much better as a team working for everybody's success instead of as individual competitors working for our own success and hoping to degrade others as failures and losers. Let's lose this culture of negativity and really work together as one people united with more of a together we stand divided we fall type of ideal.

We should have a more self-less ideal where we are really pulling for and rooting for everybody to succeed and do well. We should not have this competitive dog eat dog, achieve success on the backs of others mentality. Let's not fall for it. Sure there are smart people and leadership qualities are important but let's not believe that these leaders deserve all the respect and recognition while we get very little for what we do. Let's have some personal respect and faith in ourselves and demand what we deserve from our society, the government, and employers alike.

Society needs to have some responsibility for how it takes care of its members and how its members are doing. People do not exist in a vacuum. We are all in this together.

The Story of my and my brother's original music.

http://www.myspace.com/mistlethistle

MistleThistle Biography

I met my brother some time after I was born. He is seven years older than me. His name is Tim and I am Walter. Tim and Walter Holstad. We started working on music together probably some time in 2007 I would estimate, maybe 2006. I was living at my mom's in Muskego at the time so we would practice in her living room on occasion or I would go over to my brother's apartment around 80th and Oklahoma in Milwaukee.

My brother is a very prolific writer and very determined. He writes a lot and makes a point to work very hard at his music. He is one of those people that were told to work hard in life and took it to heart I think. I on the other hand like to enjoy things in life and treating the music too seriously takes the fun out of it in my opinion. There is room for both. Certainly without some effort songs will not be written and polished to a decent level but if there is no heart or joy in your music it will sound lifeless and boring. I have about 15 or 20 songs that I have written. My brother has a lot but we play probably around 20 of his.

Our first show together was at my brother's wife's uncle's house in Minocqua, Wisconsin. We played out on the deck at his house on a lake. It was pretty fun and for the most part people enjoyed it. At the end we played a blues jam and people wanted us to keep playing but I was a little nervous and putting my guitar away at the time so we stopped.

I played a Battle of the Bands show in June of 2009. I played this show with my friends Ian and George and Tim did not play. Tim and I were not playing together at this time. We separated after working with a new drummer because the new mix of tension and egos was too much of a burden to continue. The battle of the bands show was at the Rave in a smaller side bar area. I had a lot of fun at that show and it went pretty well. We did about 6 songs, 5 originals and a cover of Eddie Vedder's Society.

Recently Tim, Chris ( the new drummer I spoke of ), and I got back together to play at a fashion show at Crisp bar that I had been invited to play at. The show was September 26th, 2010 and was a lot of fun. We had about 3 practices in the 2 weeks before the show and that was it so it was kind of tough. The songs were not fully polished and ready so the show had its ups and downs. It was good practice and there were some good parts for sure. I did get some applause after a guitar solo and some of the songs were pretty solid. It was definitely a learning experience and hopefully we will have more shows in the future to build on the experience of this one.

Meeting People And Living Life - Over Thirty-five

Meeting People And Living Life - Over Thirty-five

It's not as easy as it used to be. Now that we've “found” ourselves and discovered and learned more of what we like and don't like it seems we are compatible with fewer and fewer people. Gone are the days of superficial beauty and no opinions to get in the way. In the mid-thirties people have developed their personalities more, experienced more, and had successes and setbacks further sculpting their personalities. Life is more complex. Yet emotions still have virility and strength.

What can we who have moved into our mid-thirties do to ease loneliness and meet new people? I guess stay close to the friends we already have and work from there. There are always the old standbys of taking classes, joining reading groups, and so on. Venture out on occasion to local taverns, but not so much that it interferes with your goals and motivation to get things done. Stay active. Exercise. Do what works best for you.

These are stressful times for a lot of people and change at this age can be very difficult since many people have achieved stability by this point which is expected of us in many ways by the tendencies of our society. I personally believe that societal norms should not hold and judge us. Let us not be bound by what the majority does. We are all unique and beautiful individuals. No matter where life takes us. Let's try to see beyond our differences and appreciate our uniqueness.