Tonight is the first night I start working again in over a year. I really think people have assumed I’m “on vacation”. That perhaps I’m not exactly “looking hard” for work or that I’m flat out not looking. The stark reality here is that the jobs simply don’t exist. It’s hard to see that unless you’re jobless and struggling, in which case you probably aren’t involving yourself with others all that much and you’re overly involved in your own search for gainful employment. No, I’ve been looking hard for a long time now, not just for jobs that pay the same rate I was making before- but anything. I applied to anything and everything that came my way. Any employer that claimed to be hiring. Anywhere, anyone, for anything- I applied and heard nothing back. I have more rejection emails than I can count. Barack Obama is being lauded now for adding jobs to a forlorn nation. The sad reality is that the jobs being added cannot sustain this country. The government is despotic, I’ve realized that sooner rather than later, and corporations are at the masthead.

It makes me sad to see people prod at the unemployed, the homeless, and the suffering, like that’s the life they’ve chosen. Yes, there are plenty of people out there that have had mistakes. There are just as many people who’ve made mistakes that aren’t homeless or jobless. The reality is that unless you’ve walked a day in their shoes, you’re wholly unable to judge them- reserve your words. Reserve your opinions. Opinions don’t feed. Harsh judgement doesn’t clothe. Cruelty won’t shelter. Unless you’ve actually suffered- you don’t know anything. Unless you’ve ever watched your child’s heart break because you’re unable to meet their needs, you have no place to judge. So go back to your armchair in silence. Continue doing what you’ve always done; measuring others before measuring yourself. You have no place in reality.

Alright, I’m done with my rant.

Mumford & Sons / Sigh No More - The Cave