Huilahi (blogger) often recommends films in his comments on my posts. He writes film reviews — excellent reviews, actually. This week he recommended Poor Things. 

I had heard of the film, having seen the movie poster but knew nothing of the film. I don’t follow much of the hype surrounding movies, rarely if ever watch the Oscars, and am generally not “in the loop” when it comes to films. The movie poster didn’t grab me, although it’s quite remarkable, now that I look at it. Something about Huilahi’s review caught my attention and I immediately cued it up. 

Wow. I have not seen many movies that were as impactful or as visually powerful. I decided to follow the watch with a reading of the book. Listened to the audiobook. Not once, but twice! 

I’m looking for my Poor Things tribe. It is a beautiful film and so thought-provoking. I want to discuss!

The philosophy espoused throughout the book by different characters is tickling my brain to consider that maybe, just maybe, the world is unfolding as it began with the survival of the fittest  being the order of the day. Which brings me to the following:

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I read this post today, the gist of which: “In the first seven months of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, spending on net interest has reached $514 billion, surpassing spending on both national defense ($498 billion) and Medicare ($465 billion). Overall spending has totaled $3.9 trillion thus far. Spending on interest is also more than all the money spent this year on veterans, education, and transportation combined.”

We must pause for a second to consider those numbers. Five hundred fourteen BILLION dollars in interest in 7 months. 

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My typical reaction to such numbers is despair. But my despair isn’t going to change one single thing. I can write to my congresspeople, for sure, but our Congress functions by being a dysfunctional body. By design, the lobbyists are the ones to whom our Congresspersons are beholden. 

By design, our legislators spend more time bickering than even imagining that reaching across the aisle might be indicated. By design, their highest priority is staying in office.

By design, our electoral college system puts the power of elections into the hands of a small group of people. Last election, we saw efforts to create fake groups of electors to influence the outcome.

By design, the supreme court is dysfunctional, placing an unimaginable amount of power into the hands of nine people. For life. What if those people are more interested in power than truth? See “Citizens United.”

By design, the financial management of those at the top involves spending more than we have, borrowing more than we can pay back, and changing the rules so that we can just print more money, with no backing, to make the numbers “work.” 

By design, our major media is motivated by clicks and attention and therefore chooses the easiest way to attract attention, which is certainly not to present the news in an impartial way, seeking the truth. 

Last but certainly not least, by design, a capitalist economic system creates wealth inequality by prioritizing profits over people. Jesus said the poor will always be with us. Capitalism agrees.

Many people write posts with the thesis “it shouldn’t be this way.” But, it *is* this way. 

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Today’s prompt asked about leading and following. What choices do we have when it comes to leading and following in our own lives? 

We can cry, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.” We can get involved and try to make a difference. But I think the most powerful thing any of us can do is to be the best version of ourselves. 

I think, I *think,* what makes the most sense to me is to be a person who does the following:

1. Thinks critically about issues in my circle of concern, leading with love.
2. Leads and lives from my heart, creating hope and meaning in my life and sharing it with others, with love.
3. Allows others to love who they love, believe what they believe, practice free speech, with love.
4. Shares my time and resources in ways congruent with my values, with love.
5. Recognizes that our major media are not neutral and therefore carefully considers the motivation behind what I hear, read and see, with love. 
6. Is extremely careful about what i repeat or maintain is The Truth, with love. 
7. Recognize where I am in power struggles and move beyond them, with love.

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What if all of us lived by the four agreements?

WHAT IF.