Win for Team or League?

With the dramatic series of games versus the Tampa Bay Rays, this past week, the Philadelphia Phillies have won the World Series. But who honestly cares, that the Phillies won? This was the question I was asking myself after I sat on my couch taking in every inning, every pitch, of the five game series. To me, I was looking at the broader ideal that followed the lack luster victory. A win for the Phillies meant a win for the National League. I view sports unlike I view the real world, with an idealistic eye. And frankly, I'm sick of hearing that my favorite baseball team, the Milwaukee Brewers, is overrated because the National League, and the Central Division more specifically, is weak compared to similar divisions in the American League. To me this win will bring prominence to the National League and help me not dwell on generalizing sports columnists that interfere with my pragmatic view of every day.

What to Make of it All?

I don't see how anyone can make a wise decision in our markets with the way it been going. This bipolar ride has left investors scratching their heads and wondering whether they should take the idealist or pragmatic approach to playing Wallstreet. CBS News provided a quick and ugly wrap up of this week's economy.

Option One: Is my dollar going to help raise investor confidence around me? Of course it will. The true idealist way of riding our this market trip-up would be to invest in strong stocks and tell all of their friends to do the same. Men like Warren Buffet, who have shown their expertise in the historically unstable U.S. markets, continue to invest and urge that the Americans who can afford it do the same. 

Option Two: Make like the majority of skeptical men and women during the Great Depression and hide my cash under the mattress. The downward trends in the market are too threatening to be overcome by isolated days of immense gain. As our class saw how pragmatists like Benjamin Franklin managed to equate all chance and reasoning to a simple process of data collection. When American's eyes are seeing red, (the stock graphs, that is) the pragmatist cannot help but hold onto that extra money to help pay for the day to day amenities as gas prices rise as well as food prices. 

To me, Option Two seems to be the most realistic and economically sound way of existing in this nation strived with economic turmoil. If it gets any worse, expect to see more Americans jumping on this wagon.

Idealist Hope spurs Pragmatic Results

It is a large number of people, 50,000. That is how many men and women took to Jones Beach State Park in New York to support the cure for Breast Cancer, a disease that affect millions each year. While the outcome was outstanding, the amount of money raised can really put the results in perspective. $3 million. For a subject that requires so much hope and idealistic attitudes to get a cure, the money raised shows that pragmatic and tangible results can and will be reached soon. With most middle class families feeling the crunch of the economic burden this month, this event show that we all have some idealism in us and are willing to donate the extra money in hopes to reach a cure. Another immediate result of this march is to bring awareness to the disease. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and this was surely the climax of it all.

To many a cure seems an unattainable goal. But the people of our country have overcome so much fueled by idealism. Would any pragmatist expect that a small group of settlers scatters on the eastern shore would be able to take on and defeat the strongest military power in the world? Would any pragmatist foresee that a loosely organized group of men will conflicting viewpoints could organize the world's model for a democratic nation in one document? While pragmatic decisions were made in that effort, every hope starts with an idealist that must face his or her fair share of tribulations, but in the end the idealist and pragmatist must work together. Modern science and rallying people must band up to eradicate cancer. And the 50,000 people that marched this Sunday were a good start.

Who Profits from our Fear?

As once again the confidence in investing has plummeted in the United States, our country has entered recession and fear for our futures has gripped the nation. With so much money being spent on trying to fix the current financial market, how is this counrty supposed to pay for events like the Superbowl? And even worse yet, how will Chicago ever be able to compete with other countries top cities in the race for 2016 Summer Olympic city? Well the Olympic Committee has stated that Madrid is a safe choice for the 2016 choice. It has been stated that they are the most firm city financially as the global credit crunch has hit, the one that started in the USA.

If Chicago is ever going to get this election, the city, and Cook County as a whole will have to step up to present a budget plan that will instill confidence in the eyes of the I.O.C. (International Olympic Committee). Other than that, the residents of the area will have to put these Perilous times behind them and see that a large check is not the only factor in choosing the host city for the widely viewed Olympic Games. We must not rally to fester our suspicions or insecurities, but we must show that we as a group are ready to host this spectacle.

Palin offers Fear to the Frightened

As if American families are not already fearing their financial situation, fearing their children's safety as gun violence rises, and fearing for homeland security, Governor Palin began enlisting Fear Tactics in her speeches. In a recent rally, McCain's running mate said, "I am just so fearful that this is not a man who sees America the way that you and I see America...I’m afraid this is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country." I can understand that the campaigns are becoming increasingly negative as crunch time approaches, but insinuating that Senator Obama is a threat to this nation because of his ties to a former radical is the same tactic as spreading widespread rumors of Obama's Muslim faith. The Muslim argument was blasted by critics, but this is a more subtle way of digging into that part of the mind that recalls 9/11. It is smart though. In a time of economic crisis in a country fighting an astronomically expensive war, nobody wants to hear that Obama is "friendly to terrorists" as she was also quoted saying.
My bias is not cloaked. I feel that in these times of peril, we should gather around a new model of leadership. Bush and his administration dug a hole into this countries treasury and morale, and McCain and Palin, armed with shovels, don't promise to fill it in. As the Great Depression strangled our country in the late 1920's, the country realized that it had to join together in order to correct the apathy towards the common man. FDR came into power and inspired the country to get their hands dirty. Men that once drove Mercedes were loaded into buses to build dams but McCain and even Senator Obama are forced to preach that the average man will once again have prosperity without having to lift a finger. According to Palin, all we have to do is ask ourselves if we want a terrorist friendly President like Obama and head to the poles with the "right" choice.
In times of Peril, we take so easily to the leader appearing powerful and willing to take action. But these are, like Mr Hale in "The Crucible" said, new times. In these new times we have to realize that swift action is and bold experimentation are not the keys to this country's recovery from economic disaster. We should not be shaking up when we should be bolting down and looking past partisan differences to get things done. Had partisan issues not been so strong during the 1920's perhaps the Republican Party would have look at Senator McCarthy and questioned whether he was right in the head.