I am not trying to make this listserv political or sociological (my undergrad degree); no other post of mine will ever be like this.

(Although, it is quite easy to bash Walmart. I encourage anyone to see the new Robert Greenwald documentary, Wal-mart: The High Cost of Low Prices. Or, simply ask me about what Wal-mart does in Mexico, I lived there for almost a year and saw some shady ish firsthand.)

However, it is happening more and more frequently these days: educated workers find no work except for retail or some other comparable job that leaves them underpaid and underemployed.

Massive debt: both personal and governmental. A populace that has forgotten why we pay taxes. A gut-churning shift in wealth distribution to the top 2%. The de-funding of student loans and state education from all levels: K to university... I could go on and on. I am not American bashing, I am being a pragmatist. These things do not bode well for our country nor our generation. We will be the first generation to live with a lower standard of life that our parents. Why? Because of the above, which has been done by politicans of all political stripes.

I am married to a Mexican citizen. I am learning Spanish so that in three years, when we start having children, if there is a continued contraction of the middle class, we can move to Mexico or Spain. Novel writing is something that can be done anywhere.

I will be damned if my wife and I both work shit jobs and struggle to provide the bare necessities to my kids - a roof, a good education, health care - to the extent we must sacrifice the most important thing in a childhood: ample parent-child quality time. It is outrageous that this should even be a concern in the richest country in the world.

There I have said my peace. If you bothered to read this after my initial disclaimer, thank you. Like I said, I do not plan on making these manifestos a habit within this listserv.

Time to get my write on,