Margin Call - the movie - and I'm on a tear, so you've been warned...

Hello friends,
Heavenly Father, please help us through these tough economic times, and may we learn to lean on You, and each other more, instead of the quote almighty dollar. May we learn valuable - not just monetary either - lessons. And in all things may we have a greater faith in You, Lord. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Carlton and I went to see the movie "Margin Call" last night. Here's the synopsis, per Rotten Tomatoes, "Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, Margin Call is an entangling thriller involving the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. When an entry-level analyst unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm, a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions both financial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink of disaster."

Carlton, a political scientist, has been obsessed with the causes of our financial demise, as many people have been. See "Margin Call," and "Inside Job," for a 'complete' understanding of what's happened. Not really, but they are a good start.

One of the first things that Carlton did was see where things may have gone wrong politically. He found that Reagan's de-regulating the banks, in the 1980's, may have been the beginning.
But Carlton doesn't really think this economic crisis is as simple as de-regulation, as I know many people would agree, myself included.
I appreciate the axiom of Occam's Razor, "The simplest answer is often correct." It has served me well, especially when dealing with explanations.
I've consistently believed, naively, I recognize, that people are basically good. Philosophers and people far more intelligent than  me have debated this view of humanity, but for me, God created all of us, and He only creates Good; however, it's our choices, that make us do bad, criminal, and immoral things. Think of the seven deadly sins, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Acedia, Wrath, Envy, Pride, and Vainglory (I copied and pasted them from Wikipedia). I think de-regulation opened the door wide to these hideous sins. (Acedia, just so you know, "is the neglect to take care of something that someone should do.")(I didn't know either, lol).

But I don't blame de-regulation completely, I mean, these sins have been around since the Fall of Adam and Eve. Humans naturally make poor decisions, it's an inherent flaw that only God can remedy, but adding money to this poor sense of judgment, creates a luxurious playground for the Seven. I am not opposed to people making money. I am opposed to people making money off the misfortune, or ignorance, of others.

I'm mentioning all of this because I want to encourage my readers, and I pray for my readers, to always do the right thing (I sound like Spike Lee, I know); I ask that they pray for me as well.

And yes, the right thing is hard to do, but again, we don't do life alone, we only have to ask Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, in moments we struggle with what to do. He will always lead us to the correct decision.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa