Population matters

There seems to be a strong contingent of our citizens who would like to see the population reduced for various reasons, some of which are legitimate, such as a concern for the environment, for sustainability, for resources, and so on, under the general belief that there is a limit on everything, and that more people create intense pressure to sustain what we already have.  Then there are those who want population, if not reduced, to concentrate on sustaining certain peoples and evicting others so that the country can remain in conformance with various preferred orthodoxies such as religion, race, and the origin of one’s nationality. 

 What seems to have been pushed aside when it comes to those that desire to reduce population or to cherry-pick who should or should not be permitted into this country, is the general fact that countries that provide fair opportunity for all, and concentrate on seeing that their citizens are well educated and treated with equal respect, are developing the type of citizens which will be not just a credit to the nation, but will help that nation to remain strong and vibrant for the long haul.

 Further to the point, how dynamic and how persuasive a given country is has a significant amount to do with its overall global footprint, and those nations that have relatively small populations, though they may be well educated and diligent, aren’t going to have enough numbers to effect positive global change that they would achieve if they had a larger amount of people.  Indeed, population matters because there is inherent strength in numbers, and those numbers can be exceedingly influential when those that make up that population are driven to do the right thing and are determined to get it done.

 So too, what needs to be remembered is that the color of one’s skin, or the size of one’s billfold, should not be the determining factor of how valued or valuable a given person is considered to be in society, but rather it should be about the content of one’s character, and the grit and determination of these people making their mark on society, by focusing on doing their fair share to help this nation to become better, through their valued participation in augmenting the good values of this country which helps to present our nation at its best.

 Those who believe that we need only the “right” people immigrating here, and to forsake all those that do not fit into that “cookie-cutter” belief, have got it all wrong.  Rather, what is needed is a governmental objective, fairly structured and open to all, that makes the point of this governance to see that not only is nobody left behind, but that all of our people need fair access to the resources that make for a well-educated and a good citizen, by a collective belief in pursuing what this country stands for, which is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

 When this occurs, the foundation of why population matters will become clear because those who come from different backgrounds but who have bought into the American way at its best are the same ones who collectively make for a powerful force that other nations and peoples can emulate. Indeed, this produces the best citizens and is a powerful and influential global force when it also represents a large population.

LBJ at his best

President Johnson's greatest mistake was the Vietnam War, and if he had made different decisions and listened to different advisors, his legacy might have been much better than what it became.  In March 1965, while introducing the Voting Rights Act, LBJ was at his absolute best because the words and sentiments he put forth were a masterclass in espousing what this nation is and what this nation could become.  In that speech, LBJ disavowed empire-building and made the point that he desired to feed the hungry, to educate the children, to help the poor, to end hatred among our citizens, while simultaneously promoting love among our diverse population, and finally to end war. 

 While it could be said that LBJ and the American government fell well short of these noble goals, it needs to be recognized that those who know what the right thing to do is are surely on the right path, and in order to get to where we need to go, there needs to be the determination, fight, and drive to get it done through being true to that righteous path.  LBJ and the American public did not get done what should have been done, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t pick up the baton in the present and take it to the finish line, if only the people, in conjunction with their government, would make it their point to do exactly that.

 Unfortunately, we live in a troubling time, which, by governmental actions, seems to have turned its back on peace, on dealing constructively with impoverishment, on improving education, on ending hatred, and instead is intent on focusing on being an empire, in which its motto is that “might makes right.”  This surely indicates that America has lost its way, and because of this, we suffer from all the ills that a country that is divided and on the wrong track could conceivably suffer from.

 It must be acknowledged that within America, we still have good people who desire to do the right thing, but too many of those who are at the highest levels of power are not on the same page with the sentiments so wisely expressed by LBJ, and thus we are in the throes of a country that is divided, and because of that division it does not stand strong, because its aggregate moral compass has been corrupted by greed, injustice, hatred, and oppression in far too many ways.

 Where we go from here should be up to the American people, and what we should fight for is to see that all Americans are entitled to all of their Constitutional rights, and that the business of American governance should be to promote the general welfare of the people, above all, and thus cast aside empire building in pursuit of doing right by the people, in honor of those that sacrificed so much to bring about American independence, by remembering that we need to have malice towards none, and charity towards all, so as to bring forth a new dawn of liberty, justice, and opportunity for all of our people.

It’s either labor or capital

In the United States, many people are dismayed that those who already have it all are acquiring even more assets and wealth, largely at the opportunity expense of those who own hardly anything.  It would be one thing if the number of superrich relative to the impoverished were at some reasonable percentage, so there weren’t so many superrich compared with those many who are nearly completely indigent; but that's not the case at all.  Indeed, we read at federalreserve.org that in the 1st quarter of 2026, those in the top 0.1% of wealth had an incredible $25.07 trillion, and the bottom 50% of Americans in total were worth a mere $4.27 trillion.  This type of financial domination, in which such a small percentage of Americans lord it over 50% of Americans, doesn’t seem right, but that is the way that it is.

 Indeed, for a large percentage of Americans, the income that they receive comes solely from their labor, which is typically augmented via governmental or other charitable handouts.  This signifies that the poorest amongst us pretty much have little or no capital.  On the other hand, those at the very top of wealth, though they may well labor, have essentially a significant portion of the money that they have via inheritances, dividends, monetary interest, real estate, equities, and pretty much anything that represents capital that they own and thereby invest with.  This would seem to strongly indicate that those with capital have far more wealth and far more power than those who simply labor.  Further to the point, what has got to be seen as distressing is the fact that capital is clearly lording it over labor, which is demonstrated by the fact that labor unions in America are in a steep decline, and without strong unions, the percentage of national income going to capital will continue on the same present trajectory, which is ever more to capital.

 In a country that truly cared about its people, it would be governmental policy to try to even the tables between capital and labor by taxing labor far less in every aspect, especially for those that make modest wages, and to tax more those that have a lot of capital.  Additionally, it would behoove that nation to see that, by definition, every American who labors would earn a living wage.  That should be national policy, but instead of that, we have a government that seems to be nearly completely captured by capital, which is why this, the richest nation that the world has ever known, has such a high percentage of its population that not only struggles paycheck to paycheck, but has no true security for its present or its future.

 This then seems to say that there is a perpetual battle between labor and capital, and this government has thrown in its hat with capital, which is why the wealth and income distribution in this nation is getting ever more extreme, which isn’t good for democracy, it isn’t good for the bulk of Americans, and it clearly doesn’t represent a government of, for, and by the people, nor is that government promoting the general welfare of those people.

The American Revolution and the confiscation of Loyalists' property

When it comes to war, there will always be winners, and there will surely always be losers.  We see this in the Revolutionary War, won by the colonial revolutionaries, which produced courageous winners who put it all on the line to achieve freedom from the United Kingdom's dominion.  This meant that those who pretty much went with the status quo, as loyal therefore to that crown, or took an active interest in supporting that crown, were vanquished, and in consideration that a fair amount of those people had property and assets in this nation, it meant that there needed to be some resolution as to what to do with their property and those people.

 Indeed, one possibility was to reintegrate those who were formerly loyalists into being productive citizens of the United States of America, because quite obviously nations should have an abiding interest in keeping those who have plenty of assets, initiative, and the drive to be successful.  After all, that is beneficial to any nation, as opposed to imprisoning or banishing them.  The other main choice pretty much came down to vengeance and greed, where the objective of the exercise was to remove loyalists from this country, voluntarily or not, and to confiscate their property, which could then be redistributed to those in the know, as the profits of war.

 That said, it needs to be acknowledged, that there aren’t many people or governments for that matter, that would not consider the taking of others’ property that had backed the wrong horse in a revolution, and the American revolution was no exception to this rule, and those that did not understand that wars, typically have people defined as being on one side or the other whether they were intimately involved or not, meant that those on the losing side, might well be subject to losing their assets, which dutifully occurred here in America.

 The thing about confiscation of what use to be other people’s property, is that this seizure can definitely be beneficial not just to the people, in whole, and its government, but for those that are well placed in such, personally quite beneficial, which is why we see that these things tend to occur, under the color of governance as thereby being appropriate, whereas it could be argued, that this is unjust greed or war profiteering, disguised as justice, because perhaps those that fairly own property and other assets, should be entitled to keep such, as long as they promise to keep their noses clean under their new governance.

 In sum, while patriotic Americans may well see the confiscation of loyalists' property as being right, this needs to be tempered with the knowledge that should some other revolution occur within these United States, the tables may well be turned, and those that are rich in this present construct, may be dismayed should they be on the losing side, whether they were contributors to that cause or not, because confiscation, especially of those that have plenty to be confiscated, is something that many a person and nation, finds to be irresistible, and when it can be seemingly justified, it will be done.

For real change, “give peace a chance”

In 1969, John Lennon of Beatles fame wrote the song “Give Peace a Chance”, which expressed the clear sentiment that we needed to find a way to turn away from all the violence and discord, and to instead be more considerate, caring, and peaceful towards one another.  This seemed to say that the way to make progress in human, as well as governmental sponsored actions, was to replace violence, armaments, greed, and the attitude that might makes right, by embracing all the good qualities of those that desire for peace, which include justice, charity, disarmament, civility and concentrating on the better angels of our nature to bring about peace, which truly would be a real change.

 Regrettably, more than fifty years later, and this world, and the societies along with the governments that make up this world, don’t seem to have made much progress and while it’s true that there are various achievements which humankind could rightly be proud of as representing progress in human civility and justice, the bottom line is that country after country, and society after society, have for the most part seemingly got even more violent than they were before, or if they have improved, that improvement has not been nearly enough to say that we are in a truly more peaceful sustainable construct than we were back then.

 Look, it has to be acknowledged that it doesn’t seem that the powers that be, who have an incredible influence on what societal programs are financed, and how they are implemented, have actually made a conscious choice to do the right thing by the people, and though there are times when we have seen progressive change, this seems to be countered again and again, with those at the top that insist that we need more law and order, and thereby more of the boot upon the people’s neck. 

 Instead of what we have now, we need to recognize that those that believe that somehow we can achieve peace through unnecessary violence, unfair restrictions, and constant surveillance of what we are doing, will not work to bring lasting peace and there isn’t any reason that it will ever work, for it seems the object of the exercise for those that are at top of power in governments all over the world, is to first take care of their own, and if by doing so, the people as a whole are dealt with unjustly, so be it.

 In sum, the road to peace requires buy-in not just from the general public, but from our legislative representatives and the executive office as well, because working together toward a common goal requires everyone to lend a helping hand.  To achieve lasting peace is one of the most worthy goals, and it is no easy task, which thereby requires blood, sweat, and tears to get us to a more peaceful and just society. Still, as it has been said, the arc of time bends towards justice, and those who desire real change need to do their fair part to actuate this sooner, as compared to all the heartbreak if it is later.

The military-industrial-technology complex owns America

There are all sorts of things to worry about in life, but considering that the two countries that are contiguous to America are not bellicose towards it, and are often quite accommodating to America’s needs and concerns, it is very surprising that so much money, indeed, such a high percentage of our GDP, needs to be allocated to “defense” spending.  The fact is that America spends so much more than any other individual country on its defense needs, that this must clearly reflect that our governance is not of, for, and by the people, at all, but rather the most important thing for those that control the levers of governance and its influencers, is for more and more money to be allocated yearly to our defense expenditures, which is thus taking away from the people and society their needful things.

 At this point, when America points its finger at the big, bad wolf, there is a general acknowledgment that Russia simply doesn’t have the money, the personnel, or the ability to conquer America, and quite frankly, has no desire to do so.  So, when it comes to potential enemies that could challenge America’s global dominance, only one nation is big enough in population and spends enough on defense to conceivably pose as being a true rival: China.  The thing about China is that even though its population is one billion more people than the United States of America, its defense spending as a percentage of GDP is about half of the USA, and at a sheer dollar level is far below the United States.  Indeed, Copilot Search tells us that in the years 2016-2026, America spent a bit over ten trillion dollars on defense, and China spent just under three trillion dollars, leaving a considerable difference of seven trillion dollars between these two nations.  Not only does this seem to strongly suggest that America is wildly overspending on defense, but it also has to be acknowledged that those monies that have been allocated to defense could have been allocated elsewhere, such as in the infrastructure of this nation and the social benefits to the people of this country, instead.

 Indeed, it would appear that to promote the general welfare of the people, which is an important Constitutional clause has given serious ground to defense spending, which is why this the richest nation that the world has ever known, has a considerable amount of its people, struggling not just paycheck to paycheck, but struggling just to have a decent life, because this nation through its governance has decided that a significant swath of the people of this land don’t really matter, and thus they have been left behind and essentially treated as refuse to be ignored and considered to be an irrelevance to the greater glory of military power and might.

 In truth, the decisions that our governance makes absolutely matters and when those decisions are for ever more armaments at the expense of the people, than the die has been cast, and the decision is that the business of America is only that which is in conformance to the desires and dictates of the military-industrial-technology complex, and those that are its most vulnerable and needful can have no better than the scrapes off the masters’ table.

Outward appearances can be deceptive

We are instructed not to judge a book by its cover because outward appearances do not necessarily reflect or typically reflect a person's true character.  We need to remember that the look and accouterments people present in public may or may not be a deception, so we should reserve our opinion of someone until we actually get to know them.  Additionally, it is important not to place too much trust in someone that we don’t even know, by virtue of the fact that they look nice or appear to be nice, for when we are quick to believe that all is well when we don’t really have enough information to actually know, we can get ourselves into a potentially troubling situation, by being way too trusting in a situation that doesn’t warrant such.

 While it is appropriate to be civil to one another, it is not appropriate to provide what we would consider to be rather personal information about ourselves to someone that we do not really know to fill their supposed need to know  Additionally, we should always be careful in dealing with those that we do not know, because the bottom line is that those that are up to no good, recognize intuitively that they are going to be more successful in their shameful acts when they have taken on the aura of being respectable by looking the part by being well dressed and well mannered, which encourages us to bring ourselves closer to them, and thus endangers our person, when they are something entirely unexpected and out to damage us.

 So too, there are plenty of people that we are quick to judge without having spoken a word to them, because, for instance, they don’t look the way that we think is appropriate, or they don’t smell the way that reflects cleanliness, or they act in a manner that we find to be weird, and so on. While it is absolutely fine to be wary of that which we don’t feel comfortable with, this doesn’t mean that we ought to judge them, mainly because we don’t know them, and while it makes sense to be circumspect and careful around those that discomfort us, it doesn’t mean that they are bad people, mainly because we don’t know them or their circumstances.

 Additionally, because so many of us live in communities which are so large we find that we typically are not in a position to truly know one another, we thus therefore need to comprehend that those that have bad intentions, appreciate the anonymity that exists all around them in big cities because in a very small town, people’s reputations, fairly or unfairly, precede them, while in a big city they do not, which is why it is imperative that we consider our own safety first, before we place ourselves in a position in which someone that we do not know can take advantage of us.

 So then, don’t put too much credence into outward appearances, or be quick to give credit where credit is not due, because those with bad intentions are savvy about hiding who they really are, and adept at deceiving us, which is why we need to be eternally vigilant for our own safety.

The devil can cite Scripture for his own purpose

Regrettably, there are plenty of people who will take our words and even our actions out of perspective to try thus to show us as being something that we really are not.  While this is frustrating to deal with, it demonstrates that those who are intent upon impugning our character will do what they do so that they can, by bringing ourselves down, justify themselves better.  That is to say, one of the reasons why we may have to deal with unjust criticism from others that distorts who we are is because these people who are up to no good are attempting to move the spotlight from their own faults and make it to be about our own, thus somewhat absolving them of their character faults.

 So then, we find that the devil and others can cite Scripture for their own purpose, because they desire to take what would appear to be an authoritarian, sacred, and well-respected book and twist it in a way in which whatever position that they favor appears to be in accordance with God, when in actuality, it isn’t, because the Scripture so being utilized, has been misinterpreted, taken out of context, or truncated in a way that its original purpose has been compromised.  In other words, those who are intent upon hurting us can find ways to do so by editing our true viewpoint, or overemphasizing some of our words at the expense of other words that we have spoken, to make it look like we are something different than what we truly are.

 We find that there are those people who have no hesitation in doing whatever it takes to hurt us, especially when, by doing so, it makes them look better so as to take the pressure off of them, which is why they are doing what they have done.  Those who purposely distort our words to make us appear to be something that we are not may well have success in their dastardly acts, but will at some point suffer the fair consequences for their immoral and wrongful actions.  Indeed, we need to recognize that there will be justice and a fair accounting of who and what we are, so that those who make it appear that Scripture says the very opposite of what it is intended for will have to answer for their deception, in one way or another, sooner or later.

 When it comes to those who are out to get us through foul and unfair means, all we can basically do is ask people to take into account who they know us to be, as well as for them to consider the source of those who attack us, and pretty much leave it at that, because there isn’t any good point in endlessly fighting against those that have an agenda against us, because not every critic or potential argument or accusation, necessitates our continual attention to it, for in the end, in the skeins of time, truth will always win out.

The fault is in ourselves

There are plenty of people who have lives of quiet desperation and disappointment, in which they are often quick to point out how unfair life has been to them, which may actually be valid.  That said, no matter how a given person’s life becomes, at some point, those responsible and in the know need to take agency over who and what they are becoming, because in the end, what has been done or not done is assigned to the person who is involved in those moments in time.  This signifies that the very first thing that all of us need to do is to fully comprehend that we are responsible for how we think and, consequently, how we act, and the wrong thinking has a whole lot to do with the wrong acts subsequently done.

 One thing we need to understand better is that during a storm with very heavy rainfall, water will find a way into our homes, even if the way in is small and seems inconsequential, because where there is a leak or a weakness, relentless water will find it.  This means that we should consider our full character and that which we are weak at so that we can shore it up, or else that weakness could easily bring us down, or be exploited by others that read us well, and thus they will take advantage of us in those moments when our vulnerability is most evident.

 So then, we find, while there a whole bunch of character faults that most of the people suffer from in some way at some time, such as anger, lust, greed, and envy, we almost always know where our greatest weaknesses are, because these are the same types of mistakes and errors, that we repeat, time and time again, which signifies that these are the most telling mistakes that need to be dealt with constructively because quite obviously they aren’t being corrected on their own.

 Of course, we are human and obviously subject to the lures that society seems to entice us with.  Still, the bottom line is that we have the capability to improve our character if we make this a focus of our lives, for when we are quick to get angry and frustrated, we should try to ascertain what it is that triggers such anger and then do something about it, so that we don’t keep making the same sort of mistake, because quite obviously we aren’t progressing.  Further to the point, when we reflect upon our error and are suitably embarrassed by it, we ought to see this as something which is reminding us that we should and can do better, because the very first step in correcting bad behavior is the sure recognition that we have erred.

 Indeed, while life will present us with plenty of challenges, we need to see these not as something that we hate having to deal with, but rather as our opportunity to rise to the occasion and to deal constructively and correctly with it, so that we can progress into becoming a wiser and more mature person, who has successfully develop not just the self-awareness of who we really are, but demonstrates again and again, that our responses, so of, are consistent with those that have not just learnt their lessons well but are applying such for their own betterment and also as their contribution to the society that they are a good member of.

Capitalism and Christianity should be at loggerheads

It’s amazing that for some reason a significant swath of Americans believe that capitalism and Christianity are somehow compatible.  This would seem to strongly suggest that people don’t seem to understand well what Christianity means, and probably don’t understand well what capitalism represents, because for certain they should be at loggerheads, and to believe differently, is incorrect.

 The first thing to recognize about Christianity is that it is not a self-centered materialistic religion.  In other words, the Bible clearly makes the point that we are to share things in common, though we are under no compulsion to do so, and that wealth, rather than being seen as something that signifies how blessed that we are, would be more appropriately seen as something that makes many a person stumble for none of us can serve two masters, and those that are serving mammon are the same that are not serving Christ.

 So too, when we look at Christ, we need to remember that Christ owned nothing material and did not desire to have riches, but rather made it His point to care for the downtrodden, the vulnerable, sinners, common laborers, and those that were, because of their position, such as tax collectors, out of favor with the people.  While Christ did not begrudge those that were rich, He made it clear, that the rich while having the best of it here on earth, would find it problematic to obtain the kingdom of Heaven, because quite frankly, we are, in essence, what we spend our time doing and obtaining, and those that are after lucre, are the same that aren’t at their heart, faithful to the tenets of God and have failed to paid their dues to what Christianity truly represents.

 While capitalism preaches the value that those that put their nose to the grindstone are fairly entitled to the profits so generated, the fact of the matter is, that those that are exclusively fixated on making money are the same that are going to frequently try or be tempted to tilt the playing field to their favor, because capitalism as it is played, encourages those at the highest level, to seek ever more profit, not just for their own benefit, but also as what they supposedly rightly owe to their investors and executive officers, which puts money at the forefront, leaving charity to be something basically akin to paying off society in a way and manner that it appears that capitalists are doing their fair part in giving back to their community.

 Each of us has a calling in life, and those that find their calling to be the accouterments of material success will find that capitalism at its best, can fulfill that well on a personal level, but as in anything, because of the free choices that we have made, there is a consequence for those choices, so those that have it all in their monetary favor in this world, by prioritizing financial success over religious faithfulness, may believe that their subsequent donations and charitable acts will do them right in the skeins of time, but they must surely understand that when judgment comes, they will be seen as receiving credit for having heard the Word but paltry in their bearing of fruit.

Capitalism at its worst has no guardrails

Here, in America, we live in a capitalistic age in which the most powerful mega corporations that the world has ever known are somehow permitted to do pretty much whatever that it is, that they so desire, and while it is true that from time-to-time some of these corporations have been sanctioned with monetary fines in the billions of dollars, it needs to be understood that when corporations are making multi-billion dollars in profits yearly, that paying back a fraction of that to the government, is simply looked upon as the cost of doing business, and in absence of antitrust or other effective guardrails being put into place, it’s pretty much full speed ahead for these behemoth corporations.

 We like to believe that capitalism and competition go together, and by virtue of a market in which there is healthy competition, this is beneficial not only for the state but also for the people.  The problem, though, is that many businesses don’t actually care for competition, because it impacts not only their bottom line but also makes them vulnerable to losing their position; whereas their preference is to always increase revenues and profit, signifying that competitors are often seen as something that needs to be dealt with in a constructive way, and one of those ways is to buy them out.

 When it comes to buying out one’s competitor, it needs to be understood that a significant number of competitors aren’t interested in being bought out, because they are quite satisfied with the business that they are doing, and appreciate being in the driver’s seat of making decisions.  That said, businesses have to answer to capital, and especially need to answer to their venture capital and stockholder investors, and when those investors are of the mind that they want the lucre from being bought out, then many companies will somewhat reluctantly permit themselves to be bought out, which quite obviously means less competition for the buyer of such.

 Then there are those companies, that because perhaps there are so few players to begin with such as we see in the airline industry, as well as certain sectors of the defense industry, and so on, understand well that the optics of being bought out just aren’t going to work, and where there is plenty of business pretty much for everyone, there is structured a deal, understood between the parties, but not formally agreed to that essentially aligns the interests of these businesses that makes for a smoother revenue and profit line without impacting business concerns, because they are, in essence, colluding with one another to get what they want by deliberating not undercutting one another and so forth.

 Finally, when there is a competitor that simply will not be bought out, and will not align with the mega-corporations’ desires, then the nuclear option is to deliberately undercut that competitor through the pricing of the products so being sold, in which a mega-corporate conglomerate can readily run a particular sector of their business at a purposeful loss, whenever the gameplan is to do so, to drive the competitor out of business or severely damage such, with the understanding that in the future, prices will rise to recover this scorched earth tactic.

 In all of these things, we find that the governance of this nation, seems to take a laissez-faire position, not really because it has no vested interest in the outcome, but often because those in governance that could do something actionable about such, are themselves either captured by industry or are from that industry and hence performing their duties not from the people’s perspective but instead in homage to that industry for their own personal aggrandizement.

The secrecy that undercuts American values

A great country that is a source of freedom, liberty, and justice for the people is that of which its governance makes it to be their principle to be transparent and accountable to the people.  For that to happen, it must conduct its most important policies in the open, so they can be debated and discussed, so the people know what is happening on their behalf and can leave their imprint on it.

 This signifies that any nation that makes it their point, that to govern and to protect the people, it needs an inordinate amount of secret institutions, that are not accountable to the people, that are not open to the people, and are hence not transparent to the people, quite obviously makes it susceptible of doing things in secret, that the people would not countenance if they were to know the extent of it.  While it is true, that there are those situations such as in warfare, that necessitate secrecy, in addition to secrecy having its place when it comes to protecting vital interests of the nation, there needs to be at a minimum, measured discretion, which does not mean nor does it signify, that secrecy should be the go to option of those in government, but rather it should be used selectively as well as still being accountable to those that are the representatives of the people, and thus should never be an operation that is essentially running on its own, and answerable only to those that are the ones that actuated it in the first place.

 Indeed, the more secrets that a given governance has and keeps, the less free the people are.  Additionally, secrecy is quite obviously the place for governance to do all sorts of things that they would not dare attempt if it were ever to become public knowledge, typically not because it would hurt true national security, but rather because the powers that be of those secrets desire to be able to do nefarious or underhanded things that they would reasonably expect would not meet with universal public approval.

 The government that leads us should itself be a paragon of virtue and right action, best proved by being open with the people, and thus subject to review and approval.  On the other hand, secrecy, depending upon how many layers of secrecy there are, becomes a dynamic in which the left hand might not know what the right hand is doing, and the principles behind such secrecy in the first place are often forgotten, changed, or ignored.  Further to the point, in absence of effective oversight or strong shields to prevent bad acts being done under the color of secrecy, which thereby undercuts the very essence of what American values are, there needs to be robust rules in place to reduce considerably that which is permitted to be secret, and all those institutions that are currently structured as secret, should be thoroughly audited as to the reason why, and ultimately accountable to representatives of the people in a way and manner that when something secret needs to be curtailed, that those representatives can curtail it, or else this nation has, in essence, permitted secrecy to trump democratic values.

Why democratic representation matters

The main reason why democratic representation matters and why the voice of the people has a right to be heard is because we find that, in nation after nation there historically has been a governance in which those elites at the very top, essentially through the practicality and power invested in them of that governance, determines what the law will or will not be and thus how that form of social justice is enacted and enforced within that nation, which typically favors the few at the expense of the many.  That is to say, whenever it is that the powers that be, control not just the levers of power, but are themselves the same that are its legislature and are the masters of how justice is determined and ultimately exacted within the nation, than the people are not free, they aren’t really citizens, but rather they are unfree, without self-determination, and are no more and no less than subjects, subjected to the whims of those that are its rulers.

 All of the above represents the prevailing reason as to why not only should the Constitution, fairly debated and thus agreed to by the people, should be the supreme law of the land, but also why it is mandatory that those that are the representatives of the people, as well as the judicial officers so appointed or elected, must be a fair representation of those same people from all walks of life, because when that is not the case, in which, instead, we have a small subset of citizens that went to the “right” schools, know the “right” people, and have the “right” accouterments of power, influence, and connections will thus represent exclusively those that are in control of how things are legislated and enacted, thus signifies for a certainty, that the people not only won’t have a true voice, but they are in the uncomfortable construct in which the authority of the state is essentially held in the hands of those that do not represent them, because they are from a different milieu which quite obviously will first take care of their own and if not they will be evicted from the same.

 In fact, a true democratic nation is that nation in which the rights of all of the people, that favors none, is the very principle of the structure of that governance, in which, that governance is not only fully transparent with the people, by not having, for example, a hidden powerful governance behind the scenes, but also will not have a multitude of secret agencies, secret institutions, and secret agendas, which are forever unexamined by the people, and for the most part, unanswerable to the people.

 Indeed, whenever the people effectively have no voice because they have no representation, or whenever their representation has no effective legislative, judicial, or executive power, then the rights of the people have been vacated to that which answers not to them, and subsequently the result is that the people are oppressed, and seen essentially as a tool for those that are empowered to be exploited, manipulated, and used, until their usefulness has been completely extracted from them, and then they are discarded.

“What we need in the United States is not division…”

On April 4, 1968, in Indianapolis, Senator Robert Kennedy, upon hearing that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr had been assassinated, said in his extemporaneous speech, “What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness; but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country…”

 Yet here we are decades later, and we aren’t really any closer to loving our neighbor, being more peaceful or law-abiding, and, in many cases, we've forsaken compassion, dismissed justice, and foregone our obligations to those most vulnerable and still suffering greatly in this nation.  While it has to be acknowledged that there are plenty of people and organizations who have made it their point to do right by the people by providing those most in need with aid and comfort, there are plenty of those other citizens, however, who don’t seem to care about the poor and downtrodden, or simply dismiss such people out of their minds.

 The United States is truly at a crossroads, and desperately needs not just the right leadership to deal with its systemic troubles, but also to have the wherewithal to do the right thing through that leadership, as compared to favoring the superrich individuals and corporations that pretty much have it to be their way, and thereby primarily share as little as possible with the American public, and care not to be fair to them, or to contribute their fair share in taxation and in giving back to the country that provided them with the opportunity to achieve such great wealth.

 So too, the animosity and uncivility that we see from those that are our politicians towards one another while also being imposed upon the people, again and again, is thus serving to divide us ever further -- whereas the objective of the lesson here in America, should be to become a true melting pot, of people that have originated from different nationalities, different religions, and different circumstances, to ultimately come together into one body politic, to help make this nation a great nation, of truth, justice, and liberty, for all.

 Indeed, the United States of America seems to have lost its values, and replaced selflessness and service, with the wrong belief that each of us should be about getting as much as we personally can and thereby the devil take the hindmost, which quite obviously reflects not only the worse of capitalism but also demonstrates that this government supposedly of, for, and by the people has deviated from its good purposes to not support the most vulnerable, but instead to almost exclusively favor those that are the power brokers of this nation to the exclusion of the people that it should and ought to serve.

 Where this nation goes from here really comes down to the people of this land, for the change that we so desire is going to have to come from those that will not deviate from standing upon the principles that love, civility, justice and unity are the true mark of a great nation and that it is our incumbent duty to take care of our people first by turning our swords into plowshares, and utilizing some of our collective wealth to build a solid foundation for those that are fairly entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness by providing all that live within our borders with the fair opportunity to live in decent housing, to be educated, and to have the opportunity to become something of merit by a system that does not unfairly close the door upon them.

 The decision of where we go comes forth from what we truly are at heart, for united we stand and divided we fall.

Setting a good example and civic trust

For any civic society to survive and thrive, all parties must believe in the virtue of trusting one another and, in turn, deal fairly with one another.  This is something that those in the most powerful positions, whether that be political, corporate, or governance, need to make sure that they adhere to, because whenever the perception by the people is that their society is really structured between those that have all the advantages and thereby utilize those advantages for their personal aggrandizement at the expense of the people, then we find that trust is eroded, because society devolves into a construct in which each party is trying to “get over” on the other, which is quite obviously not beneficial for trust and cooperation.

 So too, when it comes to our family structure, as much as our parents might seem to believe that their children aren’t smart enough or savvy enough to see the contradictions between what they tell us to do and what they themselves do, whenever their actions are not in conformance with honest and good manners, this creates the problem of children losing trust in their parents, and basically having a strong tendency of losing trust in authority figures, in general, because they hear the talk, but see that the talk does not always match the corresponding actions.

 All of us has a responsibility to one another, for we live not upon individual islands, and if more people took to heart, that we should treat others with the same respect and decency that we would want them to treat us, this would make for more civic trust and for a better society, because the fact of the matter is that whenever we don’t trust the other, we therefore have to put into place all sorts of additional constraints, surveillances, and doublechecking to make sure that whatever that it is that is supposed to happen as per promises made, actually does happen.  On the other hand, where there is trust, there is the presumption that a person’s word is their bond, and that, once agreed upon, will thus be enacted, without us having to verify everything.

 When we think about the whole security apparatus, we need to comprehend better that as much as we might be able to secure ourselves and our possessions in a lot of cases, we can’t secure it all, even when we have taken the most careful consideration and planning to do so, because in the end, those that are motivated to get what we have and are intensely focused upon it, will probably find a way, which is why those that decry that we need more law and order, need to comprehend that we wouldn’t need even more, if we had firstly more civic trust, and that the beginning of making a society better and more wholesome, necessitates trust and fair dealings with one another, and whenever this occurs, there begets a more civil society.

 So then, each of us needs to do our fair part to be considerate of the other, by making the conscious choice that cooperation, consideration, and concern for one another make for a better and more desirable society.

The military and the supreme law of the land

The United States of America proclaims that it is a nation of laws, of which the substance of those laws must be in conformance with the Constitution, for without such a rule of law, then pretty much whatever the powers that be so desire and subsequently implement would, in effect, act as the law, and thereby hollow out the Constitution and make it irrelevant.  This thus signifies that those who are our legislative representatives, as well as our judicial courts, and our executive office, must adhere to the Constitution, and thereby no one person or institution is “above” that Constitution, for this is a land in which the Constitution, not any other personage or organization, is the supreme law of the land.

 All of the above should be a real source of comfort to everyday Americans, because this signifies that America cannot become something other than what it was created to be by the Constitution, unless those that are in power are somehow placed in the position to do so or take it upon themselves to do so, and no effective opposition stops them.  So then, when it comes to the military, and to the orders of that military, it is of upmost importance to recognize that the military must adhere to the Constitution, from the highest to the lowest, and that the duty of those that serve this nation, is first and foremost to serve that Constitution, and those that do not, are the same that are, in essence, enemies of the true state.

 When it comes to the military, people need to understand that great power in the sense of armaments, personnel, and the infrastructure to support such, permit those exercising that power, whether directly through the highest military commanders or in conjunction with the executive office, should they be inclined to make an end around the Constitution, will thereby commit a great disservice to this republic, for by doing so, they would have abandoned their obedience to the supreme law of the land, and should thereby be seen as what they are, rebels to that Constitution, and therefore in rebellion to the people of this country.

 Indeed, we find in nation after nation all around the world that military juntas are a fairly common way for the prevailing political party, fairly elected, to be overthrown because military might is not something that the people can effectively counteract whenever they are seriously outgunned, and do not wish to become carnage in such an uprising.  So, it is clear that the greatest military power in the world must make it its point that those committed to serving this nation actually serve what they are supposed to serve: the supreme law of the land, our Constitution.

 In short, those who want to be patriotic need to fully understand that only those who abide by Constitutional law are patriots, and anyone outside that constraint, or who tries to subvert it, is a traitor to this republic and deserves neither our loyalty nor our support.

Christ was the master of endurance; He paid the price

While there are a multitude of words to describe Jesus the Christ, such as Son of God, Messiah, Redeemer, Prince of Peace, Savior, and so on, one of those words that seems to be seldom used is endurance.  That is to say, when we consider who Christ was, and the injustices that happened to him, such as the mockery, the beatings, the contempt, the betrayal, and the crucifixion, we then need to take into fair reflection that to suffer those things necessitated not just surrender to God, but also the endurance and devotion to do so, on our behalf.

 This thus signifies that it isn’t good enough to just see Christ as a great prophet, or avatar, or even our Messiah, without understanding that He suffered and that He endured it for our sakes, because Christ had the power to do something about it to save Himself, but did not do so, because the enduring lesson that we need to take to heart is that there is most definitely a price to pay for sin, for evil, and for things that we have done wrong, which therefore necessitates a true sacrifice, and that sacrifice was made by Christ, not only because He loves us, but because it was necessary to help rectify wrongs that had been done by us.

 So then, all those that have erred in their behavior, need to better understand that our thoughts and actions have consequences, and in order for things to be set right, there needs to be something done that will take care of these issues, and a simple apology or a promise to do better in the future will not do, because that, quite frankly, is not enough.

 Each of us needs to reflect upon the fact that there are fair consequences for our bad actions, and that the best way to make good on these mistakes, is to not only to do right where there has been wrong, but also to recognize that negative like for like, such as violence in response to violence, or insults in response to insults, is not ever going to get the job done.  Rather, we are required not just to find a better and more constructive way to deal with things as they are, but also to make good on that which was wrong -- we too are going to have to demonstrate our endurance as our tribute to God.

 Indeed, there is no easy path to get to the only destination worth arriving at, which means that this life represents our opportunity to utilize our free will in a way and manner that we do homage to that which created us, by thus making amends where we have done wrong, by subsequently doing the right thing; and also when the times require such, to endure what we need to endure, to assure ourselves that not only will we have done our good part on behalf of our brothers and sisters, but also that when put to the test, we did not waver, nor complain, but we endured, as did Christ, before us.

What to do

Life must have a meaningful purpose for our existence, or else life becomes meaningless.  This signifies that it is incumbent on us to find that purpose and then to live for that good purpose, for when we do so, we have a life truly worth living and have thus correspondingly structured our lives to do our good part to help make society a better place for our good participation in it.

 What we do find is that in this world, life offers its challenges along with its temptations; some of those temptations can lead us far astray from where we ought and should be.  So too, those that aren’t able to handle their challenges well and thus overcome them are the same that are going to be susceptible to making bad decisions based upon their perception of personal failure and inability, which can be rather destructive, which is why all of us need to do our fair part to lend aid and a helping hand when such is appropriate to do our good part thereby to make things better for those that are struggling and are hurting.

 Regrettably, some people are reluctant to do much of this or that, because they don’t feel that they are good enough, but that seems to miss the point, for it is in the effort to help, and to be good for something of merit, which helps make this world better.  Indeed, none of us are perfect, so then we need not be overly concern that everything that we touch and interrelate with, requires perfection from us, but it does signify that we ought to be concentrating on doing the right thing, as compared to doing the convenient thing, or even worse, the wrong thing, which is why we need to keep our wits about us, because not everyone that we meet or congregate with, has our best interests in mind, and those that do not have the proper resolution to resist temptation or to say “no” are those that have veered off the straight and narrow, typically to their regret.

 We are meant to do the best that we can do within the abilities that we have, which signifies that small deeds most definitely have their place, because it is in the small favors, gifts, cares and concerns, that we are most human one to another, and the right word at the right time, or the right deed done for the right person are the very things that fit a need that helps to make things better.

 We serve best the one who first created us by making it our point to be good and fair in all our interactions, whether we receive thanks or appreciation or not; for the reward that is of most importance to us is that which is attuned to the good characteristics of that which brought us into existence.  So then, we need to do our fair part to shine light where there is darkness, to love where there is hate, and to bring justice where there is injustice, all done through thinking the right thoughts and following through by doing the right deeds, in the sure knowledge that by doing so, we have done right by our immaculate Creator for the greater good of humankind.

The exploited fear of immigrants

Because we live in the richest nation that the world has ever known, there thus is a certain type of pressure applied upon those that are born within this nation, that they need to have or to obtain the accouterments that demonstrate that they have achieved something of merit within this nation, or else they worry that they won’t look too good when compared to others, and this is especially galling to those that seemed to be vulnerable to losing the little that they have, and thus being left behind, especially when it appears that immigrants have gotten the better of them.

 This signifies that a certain segment of native born Americans are concerned about falling behind and are especially concerned that immigration may be the prevailing reason for them falling behind, because they feel that these immigrants have taken a lot of their jobs away, have taken their welfare away, have taken their housing away, and have left them therefore vulnerable to not having security in the job that they have, and thereby under constant pressure that when they do work, that they aren’t going to be able to make a living or sustainable wage, which basically means that they have failed to achieve the American dream, and while the blame could probably be put elsewhere and be more appropriately targeted to the way the system is structured and implemented, they have a strong tendency to keep it simplistic by blaming immigrants for, in their viewpoint, ruining their lives.

 So then, whenever politicians or influencers of all types, get up on their high horse, and proselytize that the reason why some of us are feeling pressured, or are lacking security in those areas of most importance, such as wages and housing, they like to put the blame on outside agitators, such as those that permit immigrants to willy-nilly “invade” this country and then serve to undercut us with their labor rate, and to also wrongly take away our welfare benefits from us, or reduce such, because there are so many of them and they keep on coming here.

 This then is really the crux of the matter, which is that people of this nation have an abiding concern to take care of those necessary things in life, which really involves being at a minimum an adequate provider, necessitating decent wages, housing, healthcare, and thus being able to live a satisfactory life and when those things seem to be out of reach, or are actually out of reach, blame needs to be placed somewhere, and rather than blame themselves for at least partially failing, or to blame those that have undue influence upon where capital is expended, as well as blaming those that have eviscerated labor unions, or the politicians that have hollowed out welfare benefits, it just seems easier to blame it on the immigrants under the mistaken notion that if it wasn’t for them, all would be well, when in actuality the system itself, needs fixing, because the duty of the good governance of this nation, should be to see that all who labor and applied themselves, make a living wage and are backstopped with appropriate welfare benefits, fit for this the richest nation in the world.

What does “national security” actually mean?

In America, we hear this term “national security” again and again, which, for the uninitiated and those who prefer not to question authority, seems to be a good thing, for most everyone wants to be “secure” in their possessions and to be safe from that which would threaten their overall security.  So then, to be pro-national security seems to be a sign of someone who is a true patriot.  Still, the thing is, in actuality, national security has far less to do with us personally being secured, and of our unalienable rights definitely being secured, but rather has far more to do with the status quo, or those that are empowered, securing what they have, and if there is a conflict between those that are empowered to put forth the agenda of what they have earmarked as national security as contrasted to our interpretation of such, our viewpoint doesn’t matter.  In other words, national security pretty much has everything to do with those in the catbird seat wanting to continue to hold onto or even to augment theirs, along with those that help to make that happen as being their interpretation of such, and the rest of us, are pretty much irrelevant in their pursuit of what is really their personal security, under the guise of it being national security.

 We find that way too often, when the people are told that they need to sacrifice some of their unalienable rights, but just temporarily because of some enemies or disturbances that must be dealt with, we find that rights once sacrificed seldom come back to the robustness that they once represented, but instead are often a shell of their former selves.  Additionally, when it comes to what the general public is required or urged to do on behalf of national security, it seems that the people are often the ones who are on the front line of risk to secure such, whereas the true beneficiaries of this push to strengthen national security, are themselves, totally secure, for they have us as their minions to be risking life and limb on behalf of them.

 No doubt, when it comes to freedom and liberty, there needs to be some sort of give and take regarding security, but that give and take should not only be out in the open, debated and discussed, but in the end, it should be the people that decide how much security that they really desire, and what they are willing to sacrifice, if anything to secure such, in addition to where the red lines are drawn when it comes to that security.  Further to the point, the people need to know what it is that they benefit from, when it comes to prioritizing national security, because for a certainty, those that want to be secure are going to have to sacrifice something, and may be sacrificing something of real value, so then they ought to know what it is, so that they can make an informed decision, because as it stands, national security seems to be one of those nebulous things which means whatever the powers that be wants it to mean, and in actuality mainly implemented to manipulate and to control the population for their own personal aggrandizement.