Ebony's Pearls

"Some things we just didn't do for money. The United States always defined capitalism, but it didn't used to define us. But now it's becoming all that we are." - Bill Maher

That's true. We were always a capitalist society, but we were never a greedy, grasping, selfish society. There were always things we did because it was the right thing to do, because we shouldn't profit off others' pain, because nice mattered. Tax exemptions came about not for personal profiteering, but because we, as a society recognized there were some things we had to do that should never be done for a profit.

The news, for example. Sure the people who worked in the news field got paid, some quite well, but generating a profit? Never. To keep the news real and vital and important, the people in the news industry had to be outside the greed field. Other things generated a profit to support the news, but the news itself didn't create profit. Scandal sheets, gossip rags, and yellow journalism were scorned - they sold, they made a profit, but what they reported wasn't news. Now, almost all we get are scandal sheets, gossip rags, and yellow journalism. "News" is invading someone's privacy to extract the last juicy detail,and if it's accompanied by rumours and innuendo - so much the better. Ruining people is the name of the news, hopping on some off-the-cuff or heat-of-the-moment remark and turning it into the latest on-dit as if it were earth-shattering news that would change the world - accompanied by compromisingly cropped photos and videos,of course. That's news today,a shame on the entire profession. The news needed to remain untainted by profit so it could get the facts and be as unbiased as humans could make it. Different companies supported the news even when they didn't agree with it and it cost them because it was important to have. Profit compromised the news, sullied it down to mere sensationalist headlines and gossipy rumours. That's what we have today,now that the news is supposed to make money. As Bill Maher said on the Huffington Post June 23, 2009: "Making money was the job of The Beverly Hillbillies. And now that we have reporters moving to Alaska to hang out with the Palin family, the news is The Beverly Hillbillies."

It's not just the news. Healthcare was once a not-for-profit entity. Doctors were respected, but not necessarily wealthy.Now, they have neither respect nor wealth - it all goes to their holding corporations and insurance companies.

Prisons were not for profit because they were necessary,but once they became privately owned, the pressure was on to increase the profitable prison population, and to do that,we needed more criminals. When that happened, people became potential criminals, not friends, neighbors, and respected community members. It's why the police no longer treat citizens with respect - they're just waiting for us to exhibit our inherent criminal nature because we all guilty - no one is innocent anymore. It's why our prisons are overcrowded with people who are innocent, who have committed victimless crimes,or minor ones that would never even have led to an arrest before - like Professor Gates. We knew that making crime profitable in any way would make more criminals. Unfortunately, the criminals created by profitizing prisons aren't the ones behind bars.

When we profitize a profession that shouldn't be profitable, it loses its professionalism and we,as a society,lose respect for that profession. Doctors, reporters, prisons, war, charities, even religions getting into the for-profit mode...they get no respect because they are no longer loss-leaders in our society.

People who do things "for love", "because it's right", "because it has to be done" - they get ridiculed. Few people support them, and I think that's utterly wrong.

I may only be one person, but I promise you (and me!) that I will continue to do things that cost me in time, money, skills, and effort because they need to be done and doing them won't generate a profit. Sandwich Saturdays never made a penny, but it fed hundreds of people a year. Taking in storm refugees cost me in food, transportation, utilities, and other things, but it saved a few people a lot of hardships. Rescuing those puppies cost me in vet bills and food and time to train them, but they are healthy, happy, useful animals now. Itzl is my signal dog, Rafferty is a loving companion for someone else,Xoco is still a baby but even with her special needs, she trying to be useful in her own way. Mowing my elderly neighbor's overgrown yard costs me time, sweat, and fuel, but the whole neighborhood benefits far more than if I complained to the Code Enforcement Officer and got her fined instead. The city loses the profit from the fines, and we gain a friendlier neighborhood.

Not-for-profit has benefits that for-profit can never have. Until we as a society remember that and act upon it, we will live in a money-rich but very poor country.