Blame me, not your politicians
Blame me for 6 years of having the same prices, despite so much volatility and polarization in our political climate. It has become a reminder to me after 20+ years of complaining about it. My philosophy of moral capitalism is possible (basically Catholic social teaching), if we are all willing to be disciplined and sacrificial. Unfortunately, our current environment is self-absorbed with instant gratification, passing the bill onto the customer or tax payer depending on which end of the economic spectrum you fall on. When I was working for the corporate restaurants, every time inflated costs came, usually temporarily, they would raise their prices. Costs usually would go down and then they would report record profits. This was frustrating.
I see a similar behavior in politics where all sorts of things are injected into the spending and taxes are doubled in a short time with no regard to the tax payer, with no regard to budget or respect to the people working hard for their money. I had this issue in the pizza world where a minimum wage employee had to work 1 hour just to buy a pizza with their employee discount, usually after taxes that’s a cheese pizza. The government would raise minimum wage or pass some bill that was supposed to make things affordable, but in the end it became less affordable due to most elected officials having no business background and understanding the cause and effect of their manipulating the markets. In addition the corporation would become more strict about what they gave aways in protecting shrinking profits due to different strains on their profits i.e. stock market or government challenges.
With some of these ideas laid, I would like to share how I have sustained myself over these years, and continue to hope and continue this practice. First and foremost, it’s a sacrifice of my wife and I. She was already working and paying the bills before we met, I was then motivated to finally start my own business so I wouldn’t burden her. Second, I now try to share that same sacrifice with my customers, who face everyday challenges and when they come to get that consistent experience, that actually improves regularly, it’s a bit of light in a challenging world. Instead of being like all of the franchises that decline in quality as they grow and raise their prices, I have stayed the same, offering an ever-expanding coffee experience, that isn’t just hype. Currently my Colombia Gesha and Yemen coffee capture that spirit. For years I’ve patiently waited for the right harvest, for the right price. I didn’t just want to sell you something because of a notable name for a high price. Now that I found the right stuff, people appreciate that integrity and it sells better than anything, despite being double my normal stuff because my customers understand the quality and price I offer versus all the cookie cutter brands out there.
I decided to finally write this thought because I have come to the realization, we’re in a very homogenous society, losing its identity and authenticity every day, and now with AI it’s only going to get worse, more quickly. I had the privilege of recently serving a local media source that claimed to want to do an article on authentic coffee, after sharing many unique companies doing great things, only 1 of the companies, a group of monks was spoken of, the majority were typical companies that practice deceptive marketing to make you feel good about your purchase, but offer very little more than the grocery store brands and barely donate anything to charity as they claim.
If they donate a lot, they’re just marking up the price of the product that isn’t actually worth what it’s sold for, but creative marketing makes you feel good about over spending to support the lifestyle of others. This brings me to the close in all things in this life, you are spending to support others ways and lifestyles, whether it’s taxes that support all government efforts or charities, the goal is to investigate what you are supporting. Great example I have become a more involved ambassador with UNBOUND because 90+% of every dollar goes to the cause. In addition, they teach people how to fish, instead of just giving them a fish. This is truly how we can create independence and a community of interdependence. The people are working together to use their resources and help each other instead of exploiting each other much like our American way.
In close this brings me to the greatest inspiration for my blog; it’s about your vote and who you’re voting for. First and foremost, you are voting for people who blame each other for failures, taking no accountability for their mistakes. The football player Ricky Williams inspired me with this quote “The second you blame someone else for your problems, is the second you loose control in fixing them.” These people can’t fix our problems, they only want the power because they keep making it worse without real long-term solutions. It’s actually why conversions in the Church are exploding, people are tired of the political messiahs, and they’re turning to God the Creator who has the perfect solution, you.
He created you to be a solution in your society. Our current society votes and leaves the work to a flawed government, rather than leading the way themselves with their Divine Creator. This is what Jesus Christ taught us, when He laid His life down for us, and eventually overthrew an oppressive government that thought they were God, along with an oppressive religious ideology that missed their God right in front of them because He wasn’t a fighting Messiah like past leaders. Neither exist today, although many try to replicate it with the USA becoming the new Rome, and Zionism trying to recreate what was lost 2000 years ago. However, His Catholic Church continues to grow, inclusive of all nations and people leading the way to true change and justice as Jesus promised in a Church of all nations. This all despite the human short comings, like it’s original leader Peter and the band of Apostles who abandoned Him in the darkest moment. Christ prevails in the Resurrection and All Saints in Her history, proving nothing, not even death can win. This I have learned, which is what inspires me to stay disciplined and serve, trusting God will provide, if I do the right thing serving humanity over profits, serving the face of God in everyone I meet, over what are they giving me.
May this philosophy and theology inspire real change. Maybe then if our culture believes it, the people we elect that represent us, will also believe it. Reality is it’s not their fault, it’s ours. Just as God makes us in His image, our politics are made in our image and our votes, and sadly it’s why we are left disappointed. If God isn’t the image we are reflecting in our politics, we’re going to be left disappointed every time, because it’s not how life was designed to be lived. Everything we do must be made in the image of life. If that is our focus and all lives matter, then we will make an effort like a truly good business to serve all those lives, not just what we “choose” as politically convenient. From the innocent child conceived in the womb, to the guilty convict on death row, we need hope for everyone. It’s hard, but every time we devalue a life, we devalue God’s creation, which diminishes the value of our society and net worth, leaving us feeling morally bankrupt seeking justice. Great dividends have been paid throughout history when we invest in humanity.
As I road trip, I am regularly reminded of the value I offer. My cup, which is fully compostable, freshly roasted and a single origin every time is $4 for a standard 16 oz. The cup I ordered on my right was $3.50, a blend that is hard to replicate every year with lots of low grade coffee made in a factory worth billions of dollars. I was also amazed my 12 oz of coffee costs almost as much as theirs. Everyone keeps going up, but I stay the same…….