So how do you feel about that?

It’s important to ask ourselves pertinent questions so as to discover what our underlining feelings are in regards to a particular important event or issue; or in absence of our own self-evaluation, then to have a good friend help us to inquire about what is really going on, so as to add their insight or wisdom on behalf of us.  When we are dealing with issues that are having an impact upon us, for either good or for bad, we should want to investigate such, so as to get a good grasp of how we are actually feeling about that event, absence of overwrought emotions blocking us from a fair evaluation, so that we can thereby get the most out of that experience, for our benefit.

All sorts of things transpire in our lives, of which, perhaps a significant portion of such, are fairly routine events or are of things which we are fairly accustomed to; but then, there are also those seminal events that are of real significance to us, and that are the type of things that have a meaningful bearing upon us, as well; so that it would thereby behoove us to desire to know how we should honestly feel about such.  After all, the things that make us feel worse or involve outcomes that are negative, should be the very same things that we should, if it is so possible, want to avoid in the future, or to mitigate or to even overcome if such avoidance is not possible.  So too, those things that make us feel good, and are positive in their impact, are not only things that we should try to luxuriate in, so as to maximize such a feeling, but also should be the very same things, that we should so desire to repeat or even to enhance, if this is within our power.

It is important that we do self-reflect upon those things which carry real meaning for us, of which, further to the point, we should also want to know why we feel that particular way about whatever that it is that has impacted us.  In short, we do need to question why our feelings are a certain way as compared to not being some other way, and thereby to contemplate not only why this is so, but also as to whether such a feeling that we so have is reasonable, all things considered, or whether, perhaps, there are other legitimate feelings that we could have, or ought to have, instead.

Since we are a free will people, it is vital to remember that a lot of the satisfaction or dissatisfaction that we so experience in our respective lives, actually rests not only in our own hands, but also in our mind, and thereby how we react or feel about something is obviously quite meaningful and thereby influences our lives.  How we so feel about something, is indicative of who we are as a people, of which, why we so feel that way, is yet another piece that helps brings us clarity.  So then, it is thereby up to each of us, to examine our feelings, of which, by that examination, we may so find out a lot more of who and what we really are, which is to our lasting benefit.

Power, privilege, and control

There are all sorts of ways to look at nations and societies, of which, one of the more succinct and appropriate ways to understand such is that in many a case, those that have power and privilege, are effectively those that are the overlords of those nations and societies, of which, they often are determined to not only maintain that status, but to enhance such, so done through the control and influence that they thereby wield against all other parties and agencies through the effective use of that power.  That is to say, people and institutions that are in powerful positions, are the very same people and institutions, that most definitely not only look over their shoulder, but they also have a very strong tendency to vacuum up as much actionable information as possible about those that they do business with or upon, so that they can better control and manipulate them for the expressed benefit of the powerful and privileged.

It would be nice, if we so lived in a world and a society in which the mainstream mindset was really one of “all for one, and one for all,” but that alas is a pipedream, and thus this isn’t really the actual way that society and institutions so operate.  So too, it would be desirable, if the construct that we live in and of which each of us is a part of, really did believe in the absolute value and merit of truth, justice, fairness, openness, equality, and team spirit, but though there are many good people and even societies that nobly try to live up to this ideal, what we so find, is in actuality, that those that are the most powerful and privileged amongst us, often don’t have any real trouble in seeing that such worthy attributes as that, end up being of no real import in what thereby subsequently transpires day-by-day.

We live in an age, in which there is an ongoing battle, between those that are the elite, versus all those others, that are not so privileged.   Quite obviously, since the powerful are so few in number, and so obvious as to who and what they are, one might reasonably think, that the sheer numbers of the population in whole, would be able to successfully unseat the powerful; or if not, at least have some semblance of a seat at the table, in which a civil debate and discussion could thereby so ensue – yet, for the most part, this for all practical purposes, doesn’t occur.

The thing about the privileged and the powerful, is that they are never interested in the sharing of power, for they see absolutely no benefit in doing so.  So too, the alternative appeal to the elite’s sense of fair play and justice, will not ever work, because fairness, equality, and transparency are all anathema to them.  This thus signifies that the only thing that will bring about change, and thereby to take down the elite status quo, can only come forth from a well-informed people, that are not distracted by various trivialities and miscellanies, but rather are concentrated and dedicated upon seeing that truth and justice nobly applies itself so as to finally vanquish power and privilege, so accomplished by the unrelenting pursuit of that very aim, until the end of time.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of free will

Each of us is provided with free will, which is an unalienable right, that all are equally entitled to.  This thus signifies that any government, that operates in a manner, in which that free will is unjustly compromised, has done a grand disservice to all those that have thus suffered from that limitation.  We have each been granted and thereby graced by our Creator with our own mind, to thereby take responsibility for better or for worse, for progress or for regression, in the actions and thoughts so initiated by the use of our free will, so of.

The best government is that government, which supports and helps to backstop our unalienable rights, with the expressed understanding, that governments are a necessary creation so done for the benefit of those same people.  Regrettably, no matter how good a constitution is, and of the noble words so written and sung about, a government is only as good as it is in its actual operation; and many a government, best intentioned or not, has a strong tendency to wrongly take from the people those attributes which are part and parcel of free will, and replaced such with obedience and compliance, instead.

The best citizen is never going to be that which unquestionably obeys the preferences and dictates of the state, but rather the best citizen is that which questions, when so appropriate, that governmental authority, and above all, impresses upon its governance, the critical importance and necessity of that government always being transparent, open, just, and fair with the people.  There is an inconvenient truth, which cannot ever be denied, which is that coercion, deception, violence, and intimidation by the government, utilized against one’s own citizens, outside the norms and bounds of the rule of law, cannot ever be justified.  Rather, the government, must always first and foremost, respect that each of its citizens is entitled to think for themselves, so as to in their own right, be their own person; for each person has their own free will, and thereby must ultimately so answer foremost to that which first created them, for their actions.

The main problem with governments today, is not the fact that governing millions upon millions of people is so ungainly, but rather that many a government, has seemingly lost its way, by forgetting, in essence, the very purpose, of its legitimate existence.  Our government is meant to provide a level playing field, in which all are treated the same, and thereby through its delegated powers, to see that interactions between not only its own people, but also the world, at large, are above board, fair, conscionable, and right. So too, for one individual to impose their will upon another, without the consent of that other, is the same wrong, that a government so does, when it imposes its will, without consent, upon its citizenry.  That which governs, must be limited in what it can or cannot be authorized to perform, and any government that takes upon itself that somehow it has the right, to unjustifiably supersede the people’s free will, has clearly gone beyond its permissible bounds.

In a global market there are no safe havens

Centuries of business has told us that trade is the key to economies growing and being therefore of benefit to the people so doing those trades.  That is to say, whether such trade is done intrastate, or interstate, within one country, or globally, the purpose of trade, is for both sides of that trade to benefit; in which, quite frankly certain products, minerals, labor, food stuffs, and the like, are cheaper or more abundant or more efficient in one locale than another—thereby leading to not only a fair trade between those parties, but the very reason why such transactions are so done. 

Before the era of global markets and global trade, what happened within one country or one locale, obviously only affected that one particular place, for better or for worse, and thereby had no influence or affect upon another distant place or locale.  In today’s world, the largest economies in the world, are frequently intimately globally connected, which signifies that because of that interdependency, what happens to one big player within that construct, is going to have ripple effects, for better or for worse, to everyone else.  In other words, in a true global market, when bad storms come, there really isn’t going to be any safe harbors, because of that interconnectedness.  This truly does signify that in today’s global market there aren’t any safe havens for those that invest in equities, businesses, and the like, for global trade, tariffs, wars, and monetary policy are all integral to whether one’s investments continue to do well or whether they do poorly.

Additionally, what so happens in economies has a lot to do with the confidence level as well as sustainability that business as usual, will or will not continue as normal.  Further to the point, nations as well as multinational corporations, have bills and responsibilities that they must so attend to, and when there is a noticeable fear in the air, about this or that, justified or not, each of those parties has a tendency to desire to reduce their personal leverage or exposure to financial markets, or basically any market or vulnerability, that could adversely impact their nation or business, in a substantial way; and when these markets are vulnerable on a global scale, this obviously can easily turn into a situation in which something that is sort of bad, devolves into something that could reduce the edifice that nations and companies depend upon, to ruin.

All of this thus signifies, that highly unexpected and unanticipated changes to business as usual, can easily create a construct in which there is a liquidity squeeze and thereupon a rush to a safe haven; of which, in all likelihood these havens themselves, aren’t even necessarily all that safe or stable.  At this point in history, we are essentially all in this together, and when nations and mega-corporations get nervous, and thereupon find themselves under siege, all sorts of bad things can and do happen; in which, even the most neutral of countries and societies, are themselves subject to being towed under, for when unsuspected chaos so occurs, it can all so suddenly change from civil to uncivil, in a blink of the eye.

Capitalism and the desire for monopoly

Those that love capitalism believe it is the best economic system, ever conceived of.  Yet, even if we were to grant this premise as being true; the fact of the matter is, that capitalism, in order for it to be fair and of good service to society, must have necessary governmental oversight, as well as appropriate rules and regulations, imposed upon it, or else what capitalism could well devolve into, is something that is primarily going to be of immense benefit to the few, and of far less benefit to the many.

The basic fundamental problem with capitalism, is that those that are the biggest proponents of capitalism, in the sense of being industry leaders and influencers of such, are often by their actions so taken and intent upon, contradictory to what capitalism is actually supposed to be about.  In other words, the best of capitalism, is the competition between businesses, that never seems to end, and thereby encourages these competitors to not ever to rest upon their laurels, but rather to constantly improve themselves, in order to remain relevant and competitive, so as to maintain or to improve their position vis-à-vis other competitors, in a battle that is ever ongoing.

That is to say, it is that competition that forces companies to take calculated risks, to continue to innovate, to expend money on R&D, to hire the best and the brightest, and to be responsive to their customer base as well as to market conditions.  All of this, is to the good, but in reality, what we so see, is that many of the biggest and most influential corporations aren’t really interested in competing, day in and day out.  Rather, these mega-corporations are looking to at worse, create a consortium or an oligopoly, and preferably a monopoly, so that the thing that they fear most, which typically is the lost of profit or of the desired gross margin of their products so being sold, are never in play, but are rather, in their corporate control, at all times.

So then, to maintain or to enhance corporate profit, corporations are always looking to purchase other competitors, as well as to buy out innovative companies that have products that will help augment those products so being currently sold, or contemplated upon.  Further, the goal of the exercise, if monopoly power cannot be achieved, is to at a minimum, reduce the amount of competitors to a reasonable number, and thereby to have an implicit understanding between them that the object of the exercise for these supposed competitors, is for each of them, to primarily make a good and sustainable profit, by an understanding so reached with these other corporations that are in the same basic type of business, of the rules and grounds implicitly agreed to.

Finally, mega-corporations know the wisdom of basically co-opting the government in a way and manner, in which governmental contracts so issued to these same corporations are written in a format that clearly favors just one particular vendor, as well as often providing these same corporations with rules and regulations structured in a way that the barrier for entry for any future competitor is prohibitive.  In short, those that sing the praises of capitalism the most, often are the very same entities, that have done their level best to see that they can game the capitalistic system for their expressed benefit.

“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead”

The above quotation comes from Holy Scripture, James 2: 26, and it is vital for each of us to know within our respective hearts, that faith, without corresponding actions that are consistent with that faith, represents no real value, whatsoever.  That is to say, it isn’t good enough to know what is right, if we don’t concentrate upon doing those very things to make sure that we too are doing right.  So too, those that claim that they believe this or that, but have no works to demonstrate that belief, in tribute to such, are essentially living contradictions to that belief, or in reality, unbelievers to that which they profess to believe.

Our most sacred assignment in life, necessitates our intuitive knowledge of what we should be doing --which we thereby accomplish by putting forth the effort to learn what we so need to learn, to experience what we so need to experience, and then to take that effort and experience to utilize such as our basis to realize what we so need to realize, so as to thereby then successfully create good works.  To know what we should do, but to never have the works to demonstrate that we have done so, signifies that we haven’t even reached the halfway point of where we really need and ought to be.  It could be argued, that those that claim that they don’t really have faith or belief, or are somewhat blithely unaware of such, but within their life, have demonstrated time and time again, compassion, justice, generosity, consideration, throughput, and the like – have through their actions, in essence, demonstrated by their works, that they implicitly do have faith, for what they have so accomplished, is consistent with those that have faith.

Those that claim to have faith, but can’t ever seem to wake up to that faith, have failed themselves, and have failed the society that they are a part of.  Each of us, has a duty to do our best, within the skillset that we have been blessed with, and all those then that are content to rest on their laurels, aren’t doing anybody any favors, as well as not accomplishing all that they could and should do.  We are meant to prove our faith, and to validate our belief, by actually getting into the arena of life, in which, we may so be battered about from time-to-time, but that shouldn’t ever stop us or preclude us from doing what we can so do, to help make this a better world for our presence and our works within it.

There are plenty of those, that talk a good game, while also having some very good words of wisdom, but some of these very same people don’t seem to ever desire to get down and to get accomplished their fair part in life; which is especially disappointing, when we take into fair consideration, that they have the talent and the intelligence to actually do so.  All the great accomplishments that we so see and experience around us, have always come forth, from those that put their nose to the grindstone, and thereby by their works, accomplish that which faithfully makes society better.

The need to feel wanted and appreciated

One might think that when we ask a fellow co-worker or a neighbor for a particular favor; such as for them to proof read an important proposal that we have worked on, or when we ask that neighbor if we can borrow their bush trimmer, that when these are the very same people, that seemingly don’t like us, or that seldom seem to have time for us, then we will invariably be turned down for asking them for that favor.  After all, when provided with the opportunity to help us, those that don’t care for us, would seem to be in the pole position to simply say, “No,” and to thereby take some degree of satisfaction in their denying us their help.  While, that does seem to make intuitive sense, the thing is, that in many a case, people’s desire to feel wanted and appreciated, often overrides their desire to be punitive and petty.

In other words, sometimes the best thing to do, when it appears that there is some inchoate or unknown issue that is precluding us from having a civil conversation with someone, or a friendship, or just some basic respect – then, the fact of the matter is, that whatever has been attempted to date, clearly hasn’t been effective and thus isn’t working, so it thereby behooves people in that type of situation, to consider that there may well be alternative avenues to investigate and to attempt, so as to progress pass whatever barrier is in the way.  The best way, then, to do such, really comes down to demonstrating one’s humility or perhaps lack of personal omniscience, by requesting the other person’s aid in a matter of some importance, in which, that request makes it clear to the other person, that we really are seeking their help.  While a lot of people, might well suspect, that in the making of a request such as that, that they will be turned down, what we so do find, is that often the other person is only too happy to oblige.

The reason that those that we don’t necessarily believe will help us, actually do, in fact, often help us, comes down to the actuality that not only are we as a people, social creatures, but that to accompany that, we each have an innate desire to be wanted and to be needed, by another, and especially by someone that we consider to be our equal, on some level.  Of course, when requesting that help, the other party obviously has the discretion and the power to turn us down, but there is in actuality for them more satisfaction in being of aid, and thereby of subsequently being appreciated by us, then they would so get from the short satisfaction of being dismissive and unhelpful.   

So then, none of us should underestimate how important it is for people, to feel that they are needed, and that they thus have intrinsic worth; and when therefore we are able to call upon those attributes and traits, with another person, each of us is benefiting, which helps us to cut through all the noise and distractions, that previously kept us at arm’s length.

Public servant crime v. private citizen crime

There seems to be an awful lot of hue and cry, about the need for more law and order; which seems somewhat puzzling considering that the United States, alone amongst all those western nations of any real size and influence, arrests and incarcerates such an incredibly high percentage of its citizens.  One would think that with so many of its citizens locked up, or on probation, or on parole, that the crime rates within this nation, would consequently be at all-time lows; but, in fact, despite all of the arrests and incarcerations, America stills has plenty of criminal activity, therefore signifying that America doesn’t seem to be on any sort of trajectory that would reduce such crime to a safe level, anytime soon.

For the most part, America concentrates upon private citizen crime, and pretty much neglects or even sustains public servant crime.  For instance, law enforcement officers, are by definition, public servants of the state – sworn to protect and to uphold not only the law, but they also act to protect and to assure the safety of the citizens that they serve.  To the degree, that law enforcement does that very thing, by providing a necessary service for the protection of the public, as well as by doing their vital part to see that miscreants and other crime breakers are dealt with in a way and manner in which justice will so be served, then indeed, those law enforcement personnel have provided a noble and dutiful service on behalf of the people.  Yet, when those same law enforcement officers, take the law into their own hands, and when they themselves, break the law -- we so find, that the powers-to-be typically turn a blind eye to such, and consider that such behavior while not being encouraged, is at the same time, not being punished or constructively dealt with in any meaningful manner by the state, most of the time.

As it is written, the law in order to be respected and in order for that law to be valid, must not only be equally applied, but the substance of that law, must be uniformly applicable to all, without any exceptions to such.  Yet, in America, we see those exceptions far too frequently; for when a man puts his boot upon a prone person’s neck, so that the person on the ground, cannot breathe, and thereby suffocates that person to death, or when a man reaches for his gun and fires indiscriminately against an unarmed man that poses no threat to him, whatsoever, or a man’s door is kicked in, and thereby robbed of his money and/or illicit drugs, or anytime a man who is not resisting, is assaulted to the degree that they are rendered unconscious and have serious bodily damage, we so do find that in many of these cases, all is just fine, for those that as our public servants have been designated as law enforcement officers, who apparently have been granted impunity to do whatever that they so desire to do, and thereby to render whatever “street justice” that they feel in the mood to do.

Those then, that cry the loudest for law and order, thereby need to be consistent to that cry, for murder is murder, assault is assault, and robbery is robbery; and until such a time that those doing so under the color of law, are dealt with in a way and manner that is consistent with the law, then the lawlessness that we see so much of, will continue to run amok.

When our public legislative servants fail us

The United States, provides its citizenry with the opportunity to vote upon all sorts of pertinent things.  For instance, depending upon the locale, so of, the people are entitled to vote for who and who does not represent them in the legislature, for judicial appointments, for sheriff appointments, and for propositions and referendums so placed upon voting ballots.  Each of these opportunities to vote are provided in a way, in which, the majority, so of, subject to some exceptions in regards to a necessary plurality or an overwhelming majority on some ballot propositions -- thereby results in propositions that are passed or that have failed, and of legislative representatives so elected.

All of the above, would seem to imply, that our democratic institutions provide to the people, an ample and thereby a fair opportunity to obtain the type of governance as well as legislative laws, that are for those people, acceptable to them and of their desire.  This would indeed seem to be the hope of that democratic vote so held in the hands of the people, but as in many things, there are the intentions of what a strong democracy in action is supposed to really represent, and then there is the reality of what so occurs in actuality.

The people live within a representative democracy, in which, those so elected by the people, are the representatives for the people; and of which, those representatives take upon themselves to subsequently appoint competent associates to help them in their legislative duties, as well as to assist them in prudently spending the allocation of monies so provided to them, so as to perform well those duties, on behalf of the people that they so represent.  That is the theory, but what we so find, is that many of our public legislative servants, aren’t really beholden to the people, at all; but rather seem to be beholden far too often to those entities that have a lot of power, influence, and money, upon them, instead.  In other words, our representatives, more times than not, do a very poor job of representing well the people that they are supposed to represent.  This thus signifies, that within a democracy, to have the vote, while certainly having its place, doesn’t actually mean a whole lot, or signify much of anything of merit, when the people, in whole, are poorly served, therewith, by those legislatures and by those subsequent legislative acts.

It doesn’t much matter what a given Constitution does or does not say, or what a given law does or does not mean, or the unalienable rights that each of us is accorded -- if, when at the end of the day, what that Constitution so says is determined by those that answer not to the people, or when those good laws, are thereby twisted, turned and manipulated to the extent that they end up meaning not what they were meant to mean, or further when those unalienable rights that each of us is fairly entitled to are consistently trampled upon for the supposed necessary security, convenience, or desires of the state.

When those that are sworn to serve us, end up serving themselves instead, and primarily answer to the entities that unduly influence them, then the democratic vote, for all practical purposes, is null and void; replaced instead by powers so delegated to those representatives, that have consciously severed themselves from those people.

Who is my neighbor?

The above question would seem to be one of those questions which is quite easy to answer, and perhaps it is.  The problem though, with knowing who our neighbor is, comes down to us behaving in a way and manner that is consistent with what a neighbor should so represent for all of us.  That is to say, when we are very young, it’s excusable for us to only love our own family, and our own environment, and to be therefore protective of such; for these are the good people that sustain and validate us, day in and day out.  Yet, as we mature, we need to recognize that a world that is based simply upon the concept of “me-ness” or “us-ness,” of which we thereby believe that all outsiders, should thus bend to our selfish desires and will, signifies that we have basically got the neighborly thing, fundamentally wrong.

Each of us, is an equal creation of the very same God, which thereby means, ignorant or aware, that each of us has the same unalienable rights as the other, for we are all part of the very same whole.  In other words, either we are truly all in this world, together, equally entitled to the fruits thereof, or for whatever reason, there is instead an inborn hierarchy within this dimension, in which, thereby some of us are privileged and meant to dominate over the other.  It is disappointing, that so many people apparently believe that there really is a hierarchy, God-sanctioned or not, which is the very basis for all the wars, hatred, disrespect, and contempt, so many people and societies show to one another.  Obviously, with that type of corrupt mindset, our neighbor is only going to be someone that has the same belief system, and all those that do not, are adjudged to be something less than what we are.

All those that want to spend an inordinate amount of time, debating about their merits as compared to the other person’s demerits, aren’t doing anybody any favors.  Rather, each of us, needs to open up our unseeing eyes, and to determine, once and for all, as to whether we are or are not equally created by the hand of God; and for all those that recognize the intuitive answer to that question, this becomes the basis of understanding that we are all neighbors, for we are all family.  This thus indicates that our most noble duty is to conduct our affairs in a way and manner in which we foremost, to the degree that we are so able, always treat one another with the respect and consideration, that we owe to sentient human beings with eternal souls.

Those that are most lost, are the very same people, that need our neighborly help the most.  Of course, a significant portion of those people, will ultimately be those that are unable for one reason or another, to fully accept our help or our aid – at least at that time and place.  Still, we must do, the very same duties and obligations, that we would want someone to do for us, if we were lost, confused, and misguided; for we are all sheep of the very same flock, and to believe that the Good Shepherd will leave any of His flock behind, is to misunderstand and misconstrue the very meaning of one and of whole.

“Blessed are they who hunger after truth and beauty…”

Kahlil Gibran, was an incredibly gifted writer, who has provided us through his writing with beautiful insights to go along with his inspiring wisdom.  In his book, Jesus the Son of Man, Gibran reads the Beatitudes and paraphrases a particular sentence of it, as follows: “Blessed are they who hunger after truth and beauty, for their hunger shall bring bread, and their thirst cool water.”

When it comes to Holy Scripture it is important for us to be able to read such in a way and manner that not only renews and reinvigorates scriptural passages for us, but also when done astutely, to thus take us to a different level of insight into what has so been written for our edification and for our benefit.  The Beatitudes so stated by our Messiah, are not meant to be quickly glanced at or read in a rote-like manner, thereby to be pretty much forgotten when we soon get back to our everyday activities and routines; but rather these Beatitudes are provided to help inspire us to become better people as well as to aid us in getting a renewed perspective about that which we so see, hear, and look upon. 

Our hunger is one of the most important driving forces in encouraging our desire to fulfill that hunger in a way and manner that will bring us lasting satisfaction.  Those then, that do not hunger after truth and beauty, are the very same people that will find it most difficult to find at some future point, that truth and beauty. In fact, these people that lack the desire and hunger for truth are basically lost, and are typically also those that are essentially wandering around within the same circle again and again, not seeming to comprehend that those that cannot redirect their activities to that straight and narrow pathway of progress, will become trapped within the circle of non-progression.  On the other hand, those that will not relent in their search to fulfill that hunger, until they become satiated with the truth that answers sincerely to that hunger, are the very people, that will find such, because that which is meant to be discovered, necessitates the continuous effort to find such, until that goal is successfully so met.

There are plenty of motivations that each of us could pay attention to, of which, some of those motivations are going to be positive and worthy, and some of those things, will lack those credentials.  Those that desire to know the truth, as well as to see the beauty which this world can so well represent, have made a noble determination to obtain that which has lasting value, over those other things, that at best, are counterfeit to such, or are simply dead-ends in their construct. There is no higher calling than to not be tied down by the routines and trivialities of what far too many people and societies think are so important, when these very things, represent far too often, distractions to that which is most important.

None of us will find satisfaction until we drink deeply from the very waters that provide such satisfaction, and those clear and cool waters, are represented only by that which is eternal in its construct, as well as being beneficial for us.  To walk past truth is to walk past that which will free us from the illusion that we have put in place of that truth; to dismiss beauty, is to misconstrue our opportunity to appreciate the incarnation that we are a part of and to thereby bypass how beautiful this creation at its very best, so represents for us.  Each day, we feed the hunger of our body; how much more of value it is to feed the hunger of that which has so actuated us in the first place.

“Blessed are they who remember their pain, and in their pain await their joy”

Kahlil Gibran, was an incredibly gifted writer, who has provided us through his writing with beautiful insights to go along with his inspiring wisdom.  In his book, Jesus the Son of Man, Gibran reads the Beatitudes and paraphrases a particular sentence of it, as follows: “Blessed are they who remember their pain, and in their pain await their joy.”

When it comes to Holy Scripture it is important for us to be able to read such in a way and manner that not only renews and reinvigorates scriptural passages for us, but also when done astutely, to thus take us to a different level of insight into what has so been written for our edification and for our benefit.  The Beatitudes so stated by our Messiah, are not meant to be quickly glanced at or read in a rote-like manner, thereby to be pretty much forgotten when we soon get back to our everyday activities and routines; but rather these Beatitudes are provided to help inspire us to become better people as well as to aid us in getting a renewed perspective about that which we so see, hear, and look upon. 

There are plenty of people that do suffer pain and disappointment, of the physical, of the mental, and of the spiritual.  Most of those people, complain about their pain, and virtually all of these people remember their pain; of which, some of those same people, dwell upon such pain over and over again, without bothering to take the corresponding necessary steps to learn relevant lessons from such.  The point of pain as well as of disappointment is never meant to make us to suffer endlessly and without any real lesson to such; but rather pain and disappointment should be always seen as a “wakeup” call for us to respond to in a positive, correcting, and productive manner.  That is to say, when we place our hand too close to something that is burning hot, we feel the pain of that flame, thereby signaling to our hand to remove itself from that which is causing the pain; in which, if that pain response did not happen not only would we suffer more from that lack of feedback, but we also would be susceptible to making the same sort of mistake in the future, for not remembering well that pain.

So too, it is necessary for us to suffer pain as well as disappointment, because having suffered so, we appreciate more the beauty and the joy of that success when we eventually overcome such.  In other words, sometimes we have to take a wrong step in order not only to get back on the correct pathway, but also to appreciate the value of being on the right pathway to begin with.  So too, it is important to see this world as not only a continual learning experience, but also as a true “proving ground;” of which, each of us is challenged to utilize our free will in a way and manner, that we will voluntarily choose that which is of positive value over that which is negative.  There are many that believe, such a choice as that to make is easy, but in actuality, it really is not; for our selfish ego will entice us with all sorts of temptations, in which, many of us, so believe that we can give in to those temptations, and not only be happy but remain of good character, only alas to find ourselves soon enough, feeling regret, disappointment, and shame.

We need to remember our pain, and our mistakes, for in this remembrance comes the determination to do better, so as to be a better and a more complete person, of which, when we achieve that success, we truly appreciate having overcome the travails to get there, which provides us with the appreciation of that joy, fully earned.

Blessed are the peacemakers….

Kahlil Gibran, was an incredibly gifted writer, who has provided us through his writing with beautiful insights to go along with his inspiring wisdom.  In his book, Jesus the Son of Man, Gibran reads the Beatitudes and paraphrases a particular sentence of it, as follows: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for their spirit shall dwell above the battle, and they shall turn the potter’s field into a garden.”

When it comes to Holy Scripture it is important for us to be able to read such in a way and manner that not only renews and reinvigorates scriptural passages for us, but also when done astutely, to thus take us to a different level of insight into what has so been written for our edification and for our benefit.  The Beatitudes so stated by our Messiah, are not meant to be quickly glanced at or read in a rote-like manner, thereby to be pretty much forgotten when we soon get back to our everyday activities and routines; but rather these Beatitudes are provided to help inspire us to become better people as well as to aid us in getting a renewed perspective about that which we so see, hear, and look upon. 

The thing about war, seemingly justified or not, is that the killing and the destruction so done in battle, is a terrible thing; and further to the point, often the closer that we are to that war, the more that we have an inclination to thereby get caught up in the drama of the battle, and thereby to become susceptible to forgetting not only our own humanity, but also the humanity of all those that are in the pitch of that battle.  To believe, somehow, that the best or the most appropriate way to resolve difficulties between ourselves and other societies and people, is to actually have a physical fight, or a sanctioned war, is inhumane and also misguided, on every level.  Those then, that believe, that out of war, it so follows that there will then be a lasting and just peace, don’t have it right.  In actuality, only those that rise above the cacophony of the madness that entices human beings to do battle against one another -- that has been so occurring for eons, represent the only possible personages that have the perspective and thereby the wisdom to understand, that all that sound and fury, really does signify nothing.

We are all meant to be peacemakers, so that, rather than to give in to our worst nature which leads to destruction, hatred, hurt, and the like; we are meant instead to maintain our good character, by our willingness to be the suffering servant, to bite our tongue, to show consideration, and to always keep in our mind’s eye that behind the mask of war, that each of us is in actuality, the very same creation, with the very same unalienable rights as the other.  No battle, lasts forever, and nothing negative can sustain itself over a long period of time; for even those that are the most bellicose, have their moments of normality.  Long after the battle is over, the aftereffects are still there, but those that do their good part to bind the wounds, to heal the brokenhearted, and to uplift those that have seemingly lost hope, have created, in effect, a new garden, seeded with the blood, sweat, and tears of those so lost to us, but this garden, should it be faithfully tended to with love and care, is quite capable of eventually growing into the most beautiful and bountiful harvest.

Trauma and forgetfulness

There are those that believe that truly traumatic events, are capable of being repressed or even forgotten; until such are drudged back up, because of some triggering event, or possibly from the aegis of a therapist, that has discovered such, through counseling, hypnosis, or similar.  The very first thing to know is that people, even those that are on the surface seem quite independent, astute, and intelligent, are to a very meaningful extent, susceptible to believing certain things when so being guided by those that are in some respected position of authority.  That is to say, esteemed psychological therapists, that a given person implicitly trusts, have a great deal of influence over subsequently what a patient thereby believes or disbelieves.  So too, many people have an innate desire to please those that they respect, and sometimes in order to do so, they will agree to a story, or confirm a story, that they don’t really think to be true, themselves; but because that person in authority does, they then thus buy into it, and even augment such.

Some of us do go through incredibly traumatic events, of which, it is theorized by at least some people in authority, that the way that a traumatic incident is dealt with, at least part of the time, can include the suppression of such, so as to thereby get through life, without having to further dwell upon it, and therefore suffering from the possible continuous detrimental effect this would continue to have, upon us.  While, this may indeed make logical sense, the truth of the matter is, that terrible traumatic events that happen to us, are seldom forgotten, and therefore are seldom suppressed; but rather they are to a very large extent, instead, compartmentalized within the mind of the person having so suffered from that trauma. 

Little kids are quite adept at imagining all sorts of things, good as well as bad, and thereby concocting stories that because of their implausibility and inconsistencies, could not conceivably have happened, yet they act well the part that such is true.  So too, adults are capable of the same sort of imagination, though typically far less often, and because of adults’ life experiences, they can often formulate a story that appears to be coherent as well as also being conceivable.  Those then, that believe such, without bothering to question the why, how, and where, have done themselves as well as the other person, a disfavor.  So too, all those therapists that claim that they have unearthed repressed memories of truly horrific things that have happened to a given patient, should have that information, especially if it is actionable, thoroughly investigated for the plausible veracity of such, before possible innocent parties are hurt, by the public exposure of it.

In reality, those events that are truly traumatic and horrific to a given person, are seldom forgotten. The reason that they aren’t forgotten, is somewhat akin to the same way a noticeable scar on a person’s body, is not forgotten -- because of its visibility and thereby its continual remembrance.  Not every scar that we so have is visible to the naked eye, though some of the very worst kind, are distinctly visible to the mind’s eye, and those that have suffered from such, will deal with their traumatic experience the best way that they know how, and the forgetting of them, is not one of the options, so of.

Police officers and the art of acting

One of those seminal events that a lot of people thought would make for safer and more civil interactions with police officers, was when bodycam videos became the norm within many police departments.  After all, rogue cops or cops prone to being overly aggressive, would because of that bodycam video, no doubt, temper their responses, and thereby become less aggressive and combative with those that they are supposed to serve and to protect.  Additionally, the public so dealing with police would also be less inclined to allow their emotions to escalate, by virtue of knowing that what they were saying and agitating about was also being recorded.  The thing is, though that is supposed to be what would happen, the actuality is to a very large extent, somewhat different in interesting ways, then what was first envisioned. 

It must be acknowledged that for one thing, bodycam videos and the recording so of, are not being live-streamed to the general public, but in actuality those bodycam videos are pretty much under the control of the police department; though, in theory, subject to public purview through open access records to such.  What this really means, though, is that police departments to a very large extent, despite whatever laws are written, are going to take such video generated, and to the extent that they can control the narrative, do exactly that -- by not so timely releasing or by redacting or by conveniently losing, or by charging an excessive monetary amount, or by considering such as evidence for a potential case and thereby not making that video subject to release, or by the interminable delaying of those videos so requested by the public.  In other words, just because something is recorded, doesn’t mean that the record will always be released, which signifies that not all bad actions by police officers are ever going to see the public independent light of day.  This so signifies, that when police officers believe that a given action so taken may be a cause of concern, that they can get ahead of the curve, and thereby they do exactly that.

Additionally, there are plenty of people that when so being recorded, are prone to acting a part, in which, when this is done as part of a family video or whatnot, is perfectly fine.  On the other hand, when police officers, make it their point to act a part, this is definitely not okay.  For instance, when an officer, knows that they are using excessive force, they can, as part of exerting such force, say things such as, “stop resisting,” “put down that weapon,” “don’t kick at me,” and so on and so forth.  The fact that these words were spoken and the fact that videos are subject to more than one interpretation, provides these police officers with the “cover” that these things may indeed have been occurring, even if, in fact, they were made up or exaggerated, in order to justify violent action taken against a given subject.  That is to say, when a somewhat gullible juror who already believes in the necessity of law and order, hears something to the effect that someone being arrested, is resisting that arrest by the officer making that arrest, so heard and seen on that video, this may indeed be all that they need to hear or know, to completely justify, in their mind, every action subsequently taken to put down that purported resistance.

In short, to believe then, that every video so recorded tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth-- of which there is only one camera angle and the person closest to that camera can speak whatever words that they feel will help them sell the story that they are trying to tell, will lend itself to a distortion of the actual truth.

Tourism taxation for out-of-State corporations

America really is the United States of America, in which, when it comes to tax policies and the like, each individual State has its own peculiarities; though most States, on a fundamental level, have consistency to one another on how they go about doing that taxing.  One of the most annoying things that tourists visiting an individual State have to put up with, when they so rent a car or book a hotel room, is to be subject to a tourism tax, which usually is applicable, even when one is a resident of that particular State, just by virtue of renting that hotel room or car.  This seems to be one of those things, in which, as a captive audience, tourists can’t escape from, and the purpose of such a tax, seems unfair, since those paying such, are bringing in revenue into a particular locality, and having to pay a premium for the opportunity to do so. 

What we so find with corporations today, is that with the exception of some huge multinational corporations, such as Walmart, that most multinational corporations actually do not have a physical location in each individual State, but typically have a hub State, which is their headquarters, as well as some “sister” locations in different States; yet, a lot of these corporations actually sell and do business throughout all fifty of the States.  As it stands presently, whether or not a given corporation charges and therefore collects a sales tax from those that it sells to in a given State, is subject to the rules and regulations of those States. Yet, consider this, when out-of-State corporations make a sale into a State that they have no physical presence in, they are in essence, trading goods for money, and therefore that State is losing that money in the sense of it no longing circulating locally.  This would seem to imply that for those corporations that have no physical presence in States that they conduct sales and business in, that they should have some sort of obligation to pay something for the opportunity to conduct that business in the first place.

So then, out-of-State corporations, should be subject to their own version of a tourism tax, of some reasonable but small amount, for anything that so is sold to States in which they have no physical presence; something akin to what tourists have to pay for lodging in a particular State that they are not a resident of.  This “tourism tax” so attached to a product being sold, could then be priced into the product so being sold, and therefore, in essence, paid by the buyer of such, or it could be absorbed by the corporation, or it could also be shared between the two parties.

It seems that in the scheme of things, most communities would be better served with sales being so transacted being local, to the extent that such is possible; thereby providing a continuing money circulating foundation for the infrastructure so needed for communities; so when, those out-of-State corporations come in with better pricing or whatnot, they should as a form of tribute, so to speak, pay a price for extracting money from the wallets of given communities, as the tax they so owe for having access to that community.

The global economy and the evisceration of manufacturing within America

The number of sales and profits so made by the biggest and most powerful multinational corporations in the world, so based in the United States, is truly astonishing.  This would be, in the scheme of things, a tremendous boon for those that are denizens of America, if those multinational companies made it their principle point to employ as many Americans as possible, directly in their affairs, and to provide those so employed with some sort of reasonable job security, good benefit package, and at least a living wage.  That would be ideal, if that was so happening, but in reality, multinational companies see the world typically as more of an opportunity to reduce their direct employment, thereby divesting themselves of the responsibility of providing wages and benefits to expensive domestic workers, and essentially instead outsourcing work overseas, in which the pay package, benefits, and costs so of, are often considerably cheaper than within America.

A case in point, is Apple, in which, we read that as of December 31, 2016, Apple had a direct employee count domestically of 80,000.  Yet, Apple goes on to state that they are responsible for 2,000,000 jobs in America, so attributable through United States based suppliers as well as through their App Store ecosystem, of which none of these 1,920,000 people so employed, are actually directly employed by Apple.  Further to the point, when we look outside America, we find that Apple utilizes for their overseas work, primarily foreign manufacturing contractors that themselves do the employing and thereby the supervising of hundreds of thousands of workers to assembly Apple products.  In short, Apple, only directly employs around 80,000 domestic workers, yet had revenues of $378.35 billion in fiscal year 2021; in which the reason that Apple was able to generate such enormous sales, with so few direct domestic employees, has pretty much everything to do, with Apple outsourcing to foreign lands as much work as possible, to the detriment of their own country’s workers.

All of the above serves to point out the salient fact that in America, the biggest and most powerful corporations, aren’t primarily interested in taking care of doing their good part to employ as many Americans as possible, so as to keep America great and strong; but rather their preference is to find the lowest cost producer overseas for their products and thereby to outsource as much supply of this as possible, so as to increase their profits, through the clear and obvious exploitation of these overseas workers, who typically do not have the same basic and prudent protections so provided to domestic workers in regards to safety, overall work conditions, worker rights, hours, overtime pay, unions, and the like.

In other words, our biggest multinational corporations have made a conscious choice that profit always drives their overall business decisions, thereby signifying that they aren’t really interested in doing any manufacturing in America, especially if such may lend itself to having to either deal with a union that currently exists, or the reasonable potential of union activity to come.  Rather, these multinationals are very opportunistic and duly determined to purposefully exploit foreign workers, as well as foreign lands, for they so believe that for the sake of profit, it is absolutely right to wring their bread from the sweat of oppressed other human beings, for their god, is the god of mammon, and none else.

Fair taxation should be on wealth, corporations, estates, and capital gains – not labor

There was a time when there was no Federal income tax, nor State income tax, imposed upon the population.  Those days ended a long time ago, and we now live in an era, in which those that are still laboring in a position in which they are considered to be an employee, have as a matter of course, taxes taken out for Social Security, Medicare, Federal, as well as State and local taxes, if so applicable.  While it is true that those that labor are subject to a graduated income tax rate, the fact of the matter is, that rather than this Federal government concentrating upon collecting money from everyone, including those that are of the middle class or below, that this Federal government, should instead, in a day and age, in which the disparity between the ultra-wealthy and the common man, gets ever bigger, and of which, a significant majority of the wealth in America, is actually held in the hands of the top 5%, that government should actually desire to do more to help the common man, by virtue of a fairer income tax policy.

Those that believe that the Federal government should treat the income so made by the labor of the common man of $100,000 or below as income that should be subject to a Federal income tax, have got it all so terribly wrong.  The bottom line is that the income tax should specifically be amended to tax those entities that have the money, the wealth, the capital assets, and none else.  For instance, once the given wealth of any entity, be it a given individual or a corporation, exceeds the total of $5 million, that wealth should be subject to a yearly progressive tax.  Additionally, those that make their money through passive investments such as through equities, bonds, and the like, should not have their realized capital gains taxed at rates as low as 15%, but should see the taxation on those investments, be structured at a minimum of 25%, and then progressively raised to a maximum of 45%.  Additionally, the amount of taxation that corporations are subject to in America, is woefully low; partly attributed to all of the lobbying so done on capitol hill, as well as through sophisticated tax avoidance schemes, along with the basic gaming of the system.  It must be recognized that as reported by wsws.org, that “US corporate profits before adjustments rose to a record high of $3.14 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in the third quarter of 2021.”  This so signifies, that for this Federal government to concentrate on the common man and their labor so as to tax such, is truly barking up the wrong tree; for the real money, is in corporate hands, as well as those that are ultra-wealthy, which are obviously the very entities that can most afford to pay income taxes to the very country that has provided them with the opportunity to make such wealth to begin with.

Finally, for those individuals that die, with an estate value of $3 million or more, this should be subject to a taxation upon such; for quite obviously while they were amongst the living, they enjoyed the fruits of having that wealth, but now that they have departed from this world, some of that wealth needs to be fairly taxed.  So then, in short, the current Federal taxation as structured, unfairly burdens those that have the least, far more than those that have the most—which demonstrates that this government needs to devote far more time, energy and effort to tax those entities that have everything, or we will continue to see an ever-widening gap between those that are the elite of America, as contrasted with those that are simply trying to get a toehold into a reasonable version of what America should and can be.

The rich and powerful and the manipulation of truth

As much as people might believe that the rich and powerful have some degree of influence over how they are perceived by the general public, that general public, pretty much, doesn’t know that the rich and powerful have, in actuality,  an incredible amount of influence upon how they are perceived and portrayed; of which, when such manipulation is done with skill and aplomb by those same rich and powerful, most of the general public, are none to the wiser, that they have indeed been effectively manipulated and deceived.

The thing about the rich is that the massive amount of money that they have and have access to, absolutely matters; and the entity that has that money, has therefore the opportunity to spend such in a way in which those that do the reporting, and the writing, so of, structure their stories in a format that usually favors that rich person or entity at the expense of the truth, more times than not.  So too, those that are in positions of immense power, have by virtue of that power, an awful lot of influence over other people and institutions, because powerful people and establishments have a lot of say as to who they so choose to benefit, and who they so choose to punish; of which, those that don’t comprehend that, will so suffer for their inability or reluctance to bend when they so needed to bend, so as to please and to placate those powerful interests.

The general public usually receives the news that they so read, or listen to, typically through the medium of very large and very powerful media conglomerates, in which, these media outlets, are subdivided into only two binary flavors, that to the general public, seem to be competing voices, of which, by intuition, it is thereby reasoned that one of those media outlets must be telling the truth and the other thereby, must not.  While that could be true, it doesn’t take into account, the reality of how life actually plays out, which is that typically we do not live in a society, in which, those events deemed worthy of being reported upon, always break down neatly into either that incident being clearly right, or that incident being clearly wrong, but rather real life is a heck of a lot more nuanced than that.  Further to the point, the rich and powerful, really just want the general public to pick a side, of which the rich and powerful, have already prudently taken a vested interest in both of those binary sides, so that, whichever one that the public so picks, the rich and powerful are going to always come out ahead, because they have a piece of the action, either way.

Any society, that has millions upon millions of people, of which, each of those people are capable of speaking their own mind, and of having independent thought, are always going to present a clear and present danger to the status quo.  That is why those that are the actuators of this nation, are never going to provide to that general public the unvarnished truth about anything of merit.  Instead, they are going to do their level best to manipulate the general public so as to direct them to either of the standard orthodox choices, and all those then that think outside the box, will be marginalized, ignored, and if so needed, silenced, in any of the conventional ways, and when necessary, the unconventional ones, as well.

There are less people in West Virginia, today, then back in 1940

According to the census of 1940, West Virginia had a total population of 1,901,974 residents, and in 2020, that number had been reduced to 1,793,716.  To put this in perspective, recognize that the United States total population in 1940 was a bit over 132 million peoples, and in 2020 that population had grown to nearly 331.5 million peoples; yet, somehow, alone amongst all other States, West Virginia, lost population.  The thing about West Virginia, is that this is the only State in the Union, which is entirely covered by the Appalachians, and the Appalachians have historically been known as an impoverished and backward section of America – which probably has a lot to do with the geography of the Appalachians, which though beautiful, is also heavily wooded and mountainous.  Additionally, West Virginia, consists to a very large extent of an abundance of rural areas of modest population centers, often somewhat isolated, and because West Virginia also lacks the lure of having a big cosmopolitan city, those that are adventurous, motivated, and driven, are more inclined to leave West Virginia for greener pastures and opportunity; thereby leaving behind those that are often less educated, less mobile, and less inclined to move on.

Further to the reason for West Virginia’s population decline, is that, despite its abundant resources in regards to coal, forestry, and agriculture, the actual property of most intrinsic value in many of these areas, are often owned and controlled by corporate or outside interests, as compared to that same valuable land being owned by those that are its residents.  Additionally, communities, that lack labor power in regards to blue-collar type of work, are going to typically make less money and have less benefits, than those that have been able to negotiate with their employer through the strength of the union or similar, so as to get themselves a better pay package, or that alternatively work in higher paying white-collar type of work.  In other words, to a very large extent, the poverty and thereby the decline of the population in West Virginia can be fairly attributed to the fact that the people that reside there, make poor wages which goes along also with it having less of its residents on average, so obtaining a Bachelor’s degree or better, in comparison to the average percentage obtaining such in the United States, in whole.

In short, West Virginia, lacks the type of industry that is on the rise, as well as the diversity, culture, and opportunity, that would have a tendency to first of all bring in future residents, as well as because of the lack of these very things, this lends itself thereby to West Virginia losing some of its best and brightest to other States, which seemingly have much more to offer.  That said, West Virginia, is affordable from a real estate and cost of living perspective, and in an era in which more and more white-collar jobs permit people to work remotely, could conceivably thereby bring a renaissance of educated professionals to West Virginia, but alas this probably won’t; mainly because West Virginia lacks the necessary infrastructure to lure in well-educated people, because of its lack of first-rate universities, culture, entertainment, and the like.  This signifies that the road ahead for West Virginia is going to continue to be difficult, and in absence of West Virginia making some fundamental changes to its structure, this is going to essentially mean that West Virginia will continue to stagnate.