Freeloaders

 

Freeloaders kinda bug me.

I suppose to have a discussion about freeloaders you'd first have to define your terms, and "freeloader" is a pretty loaded term.  A quick internet seach turns up this

free·load·er

/ˈfrēˌlōdər/

Learn to pronounce

noun

INFORMAL•DEROGATORY

1. a person who takes advantage of others' generosity without giving anything in return.

 That works for me.  

Let's talk about who is not a freeloader.
I think we can all agree that while babies might meet the technical definition of the term, babies are not freeloaders.  Babies are wee humans who need us, who will learn, and grow, and are cherished members of our family.  Elders in care facilities might seem to meet that definition, but again, these are cherished members of our families and whose lives have contributed to our collective wellbeing. 
What about people who use social services like Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, etc?  Nope, not freeloaders either.  These people are making use of public services that were created to support people in need.  Nearly every person who use these services are either adults who have worked and paid into these services, or are minors.  These services have been created to better conditions for all of us individually as well as our nation collectively.
Children attending public school?  Nope, not free loaders, citizens using a system we have decided benefits not just them but all of us.  An educated citizenry is better than an ignorant one.
Veterans using VA benefits?  Quite the opposite, there will never be enough to pay back what they have given to all of us.
You get the picture.

Let's talk about who is a freeloader.
That friend who "lets" you by his drink every single time, and never remembers his wallet when it's time to pay for dinner.  That one uncle who borrowed your car, crashed it, barely told you about it, never compensated you, and never brought up the subject again.  The friend who borrowed your treasured copy of The Hobbit, never returned it, and claims to have forgotten all about it... ya those folks are free loaders.

Who are freeloaders? 
 People who cheat on their taxes. 
Corporations that use our roads to ship their goods, hire citizens educated in our public schools,  then pay those workers so little that even a full time worker needs welfare to get by, and then use every loophole to pay as little tax as possible.
Millionaires and billionaires who got rich using our resources and our labor then pay off politicians to write laws that favor them even more. 
Politicians who get government paid benefits for life after making laws that they and their handlers will profit from.
A millionaire president who has paid $750 annual tax while signing orders that harm his own people - those are the freeloaders.

And I'm sick of it.

The only way our system works is if we all participate, accept our own responsibility, and meet our obligations.  A good citizen pays their taxes.  A good citizen votes.  Every single time.  

It's literally a basic obligation of being an adult part of our society.

VOTE

Make bad art

The act of imagination is an act of survival

To learn is human
To engineer is human
To create is human

Create because it feels good, not because the product is good, but because the process is.  It fufills a basic human drive to effect change, create, express.  It's good to feel good. But, if you need an excuse, make art because making art is good for us, like vegetables and exercise level good.

Remember when you were little?  You'd make something and not know that it was "bad"?  Mud pies were real.  You'd draw a picture and it was so satisfying, no, it didn't look like what you'd intended, but it felt good to do it, you liked the colors, the shape, the way it felt.  You'd hear a song, it gave you shivers, and then maybe you'd sing it, with no thought to if you were "good".

Then, probably, somewhere, you got feed back that didn't feel so good.  You handed someone a picture and the tone when they asked "what is this?" stung. Or your fourth grade music teacher told you to just mouth the words instead of singing. 

When I was a little kid I would sing, all the time.  Real songs I'd heard (or mis-heard), songs I made up, pretty random, but to me it made sense.  It was comforting.  Some time in 6th grade I learned that maybe this wasn't socially acceptable. (ya, late bloomer here)
[I think it was when I got peeved with a friend on the play ground and loudly sang at her "Anything you can I can do better, I can do anything better than you!"  You get a certain sort of rep when you do shit like that.]

Even as a teen my brother and I would play a game where we would only respond to each other with snippets of song.  Huh.  Firelord and I found ourselves doing that when the full implications of COVID19 started to hit us.  "It's the end of the world as we know it" "We didn't start the fire, 'cause the worlds been burning since the world's been turning" "Staying alive, staying alive"
So, ya, I guess I haven't really outgrown it.  It feels good.

There's research out there that shows that art is good for you. 
Making art is good for you.  The  objective quality of your work is irrelevant. 
Play.
Make art because it feels good. 
Call it a mediation if you need an excuse. 
Do it to stay sane. 
Do it to model for your kids and community this oh-so-valuable survival mechanism.

Good job making things work

I had a really good day today.
I did good work.
I did not get paid, in fact, we're down money. 
I barely got recognition, and what I did will not be remembered.
I hardly got done anything I'd planned to do.
But, it was a good day.

I helped someone get some medicine.  I lifted a little chore that made 2 people's lives easier.  I walked with one friend and listened to her thoughts around a hard decision.  I walked with another friend, vented some of my frustrations, got some good ideas, and listened to her vent about her frustrations.  I practiced letting go.  Yesterday I was in a well justified snit, but it didn't make anything better and wasn't helpful so I'm still practicing letting go.
I accepted the chance to help an older adult learn to read.

I'm not exceptional.  I'm the norm.  This work I did?  There were others directly involved doing even more.  There always are others, doing what needs to be done, not because they get paid, but because it just needs to get done.  What do women do?  Get shit done.

This world runs on the unpaid, unacknowledged, and unappreciated labor of women.

Just thought you should know

Also, to all my women friends doing the good work every.single.day.

 I see you.

You're amazing.

Art is for everyone

Last year I did a program called Wellspring.  One part of the program was that we had to commit to a daily spiritual practice, although what you did could vary day to day.  One of my favorite things to do as a spiritual practice is to create.  Sometimes I practiced an instrument, or wrote something, but some times I drew.

Found Zentangles

I'm doing a class called Wellspring.  Today it was my turn to share a "spiritual practice", so we zentangled while listening to How Could Anyone by Libby Roderick. 

When I was looking for extra supplies I found some old Zentangles I'd done.  It was kind of cool, like lost treasure.

Finding these, and doodling, helps me remember - art isn't about making something perfect.

  It's about making something.