It's Your Own Damn Fault: A Concerto in Minor

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Sob, sob, sob. Break out the violins, folks, because we're about to play sad songs to paint much more despairing pictures and put the blame somewhere else and once again, flush common sense right down the toilet. Forget politics for a moment here, because it's not the point who is at fault for the shutdown of the government. People's paychecks are on hold and that sucks. I hear you. Who wants to work and not get paid? But the job still has to be done, and so, some people still have to do it. And let's face it, eventually the workers will get paid. Again, that's not the point. It was after the Great Depression when it became apparent and obvious advice that you can't rely on the economy, on jobs, or any other "safety net" to save you when it all goes to hell. You have to take care of yourself. You have to be self-reliant at least to some degree. The six-month rule was created. In other words, save 6-months' worth of salary and create a "Rainy Day Fund." Folks, it's been a rule for nearly 100 years. It's been said time and time again and stressed just as much. So, when you hear stories of air traffic controllers or other people (and by the way, the average air traffic controller makes $125,000 a year) say they had to call in off because they couldn't afford gas to come to work... It makes you wonder. Are these people just stupid? Or did they just miss the memo for the past 100 years? Or did they simply ignore it? I am not incompassionate. I feel their pain. But come on, it's a self-inflicted wound. Things happen. People lose jobs. People lose paychecks. It's a fact of life and has been the fact since the beginning of time itself. If you leave yourself vulnerable, who's really to blame? The evil greedy rich who lay people off? The government for not being able to come to an agreement? Society? The system? Or is it YOU. The person affected who missed the point? The person who failed to check reality and the historical record? The person who failed over and over again to heed the message? The advice? The common sense idea that at some point you will be left to your own devices and you better be prepared for it? Spare me the sob stories. Life can be unfair. Things don't always go the way we want them to. Sometimes we're left holding the bag through no fault of our own. But it's a story that has been told for generations, that has happened time and time again, that will repeat again long after this story has its end, and the sad reality is this... If you're in a pickle, it's your own damn fault and no one else's. Plain and simple, end of story, STOP the violins. You WROTE the song and missed the chorus.