To be the living poor and to be Christian

It would seem that in western nations to be poor is almost the equivalency of being a loser.  This seems to be the impression so made upon people, in which, for many a person and organization the overriding drive of their lives is to make and to have money.  Yet, for those that profess to be Christian and have actually examined the life of Christ as well as his disciples, those that have wealth seem to be on the opposite side of what Christ and Christianity represent and was always meant to represent.  After all, Christ, himself, had no material assets, and never desired or needed to have any.  Further to the point, Christ made it his point that the “Great Commission” is not a commission to achieve material wealth, but rather is a commission so structured to make disciples of many nations and peoples.

What might surprise some people is how powerful the orthodox Church, of many Christian faiths, did so become in the Christian era, in which, the church often joined hands with the prevailing political institution to thus have their corresponding power and control over the people – and seldom then were they in true service to the people.  Additionally, how is that any Christian edifice would ever desire to achieve or to acquire great material assets as if this somehow is in harmony with what Christ so characterized.  That is to say, Christ owned nothing; yet, the Christian church has billions upon billions of dollars of assets, of which, there are hundreds and hundreds of millions of people that are suffering and are continuing to suffer, each and every day, because of the lack of aid and help so reaching them.

The mission of any Christian church, should be first and foremost, to be a great shepherd to their flock.  So then, to the degree that a church needs monetary assets in order to provide that service, this most definitely has its place; but the optics of what that church has and what it truly does, should be consistent to that which believes that in Christ, we have everything that we could ever need.  So then, those churches, peoples, and institutions that have great monetary and physical assets need to do a far better job of putting those assets to work in the helping of the living poor, and far less in trying to maintain their own wealth and power.

In truth, Christ took on a vow of poverty, but so many that profess to be Christian and also have wealth, have absolutely no intention of taking a vow of poverty, themselves.  This would seem to presuppose that today’s Christian is quite good at mouthing platitudes and not so good in actually living a life of material poverty and thus having no material assets.  Perhaps this is the way that it should be, of which, each of us is fairly entitled to the wages that we have so earned or have been gifted, which is therefore ours to keep and to thereby expend as per our discretion.  Perhaps though, Christ was right, and those that permit mammon to take precedence over God, are at best, lukewarm, and thus vomited out of our Savior’s mouth.

The Libertarian party will never become a major party

There are only two major political parties in the United States, the Republican party and the Democratic party.  While there are a lot of Americans that identify as “Independent”, there is no actual political party that is the Independent party, so for all practical purposes, those that claim to be Independent, are going to end up voting typically for either the Republican candidate or the Democratic one.  There are, once one gets pass the major parties, a whole slew of Third parties, of which, the biggest of these is the Libertarian party.  Yet, the Libertarian party has so few members, in total, that with the exception of some local elections, those that run under the Libertarian party banner are primarily running as a protest vote against the two major parties.

The Libertarian party platform is contained within the saying that it desires “as much liberty as possible” and “as little government as necessary.”  One might think that with a general sentiment as being all for liberty and less for governmental interference that this would resonate most visibly with people that are successful, educated, and well-placed.  Indeed, the makeup of the Libertarian party does reflect these types of people, along with those on the pathway to that sort of perceived independent success.  After all, when we look at successful people that believe wholeheartedly that their success is built upon their effort, or their astuteness, or things akin to this, they then may well be susceptible to believing that they shouldn’t need to really pay much of anything in taxes, or to be interfered with in regards to the liberties that they feel that they are fairly entitled to.  That sort of position, has its logic, but as in many a thing, there is also the unfortunate forgetting that few of us, actually get to where we get, without having been provided some sort of assistance by other people, governmental programs, or just the basic infrastructure of this nation which permits such success to be more readily generated.

In life, there is only so far that a person that is all about their own self, and hence is self-centered and selfish, can go, without feeling some degree of pushback from other people that are members of that same society.  In other words, while we should give credit to those that are highly intelligent, motivated, clever, and that exert themselves with a good and concentrated effort upon their given goals – it has to be recognized that not everyone has the same innate capabilities or abilities within their skillset.  So that, while it can be said, that those that are Libertarian and successful, can pat themselves on their back, it has to also be recognized that there are other citizens of these same United States, in all sorts of various stages, good or bad, of their respective lives, that each of us needs to acknowledge, as well.

Indeed, there are those people that point out that they don’t really need help from anyone, and to their credit, they aren’t really wrong about that – because they are often adept at what they do, and quite accomplished in the things that they have done.  However, to believe then that we owe nothing to anybody else, or to our government, or to society, is to believe that individual achievements trump everything else; when, in fact, those that desire to be a member in good standing of society, have an obligation to do their fair part to lend a helping hand to that society, of, for, and by the people.

Earning money and making money are not the same thing

For most Americans, they make their living by actually laboring for it; for instance, from those jobs that don’t even pay a living wage to those types of jobs that compensate those that work at them at an exceedingly high rate.  The thing, though, fair or not, at least it can be said that those that labor for their living and therefore are paid through wages, with appropriate taxes taken out for Federal, State, local, Social Security, and Medicare, are people that represent the standard method of earning their money.  On the other hand, there are plenty of other people, that don’t labor for a living in any traditional sense, but instead, are able to use the medium of money to make money for them, through financial alchemy of all types.  When it comes to those types of people, it has to be said, that the money that they make, primarily comes though their ability to exploit, to be clever, and to take advantage of financial situations; and of which it is important to say, that the “work” that they so do, basically does virtually nothing to enhance or to make life better for society, at large, but in reality, represents the making of money without doing any real labor for it.

Again, those that labor for their wages in industries in which the labor that they are so providing, is helping to make society better, for example, by furnishing a service, or creating a product, or in their contribution to necessary infrastructure, and so on and so forth, are accomplishing something of real merit.  As for those others, that make their money, through those activities in which there is essentially a shuffling of money from one entity’s hand to another, with one party getting the better of the deal; doesn’t help to produce anything of actual substance for society at large, but merely demonstrates that certain people are especially adept at making money without laboring for it, by their cleverness, exploitation, and other advantages that they utilize for their expressed advantage.

The more that any nation concentrates upon or permits financial alchemy, encourages it, or does not discourage it, the more that there will become an ever higher inequality between average folks as compared to those that are especially astute at manipulating money for their own benefit.  Those types of societies are not fair, they are not just, and they pervert what it means to be free, as well as to what is supposed to be represented by equal opportunity.  There is, within any society, those rules that are written as well as those implicit unwritten rules, that good members of society make it their point to adhere to.  That is to say, there is the law and the spirit of the law, and when any society consistently permits particular entities to basically profit upon the labor of another, or to exploit the other, then what is so happening is that one party is making their money from the blood, sweat and tears from the other.  A nation that is just, would make it their point, to discourage such activity, and would also make it their point to shame those that do such.

The need to walk a mile at a minimum wage job

There are plenty of people that at some time have had to work a minimum wage job, and if they are true to that experience, then they will have the empathy for those that work at minimum wage jobs, in appreciation of what they had to experience, good and bad.  On the other hand, there are plenty of people that have never worked a day at a minimum wage job, would never accept it, if offered, at any point in their life, and have then zero direct appreciation of what a minimum wage job entails, and often don’t care to ponder upon such.

It's very easy to ignore that which we never have experienced, as well, as it is very easy to ignore the steps that are taken to bring food to our plate, packages to our door, the cleaning up of a hotel room or home, the picking of vegetables and fruits, and many other things that are hidden from our view, or that we don’t care to investigate or to learn about.  The thing about life, is that just about everyone has some moaning and gripping about their job, and their particular situation, of which, most of those so complaining aren’t really expecting any real sympathy or empathy, but just want someone to hear what they have to say, and thereby get such off of their chest.  This would signify that lots of people have heard about those that don’t make a living wage, or have to have two or more jobs, or take on some sort of additional gig job, but none of that really resonates with them, because they aren’t in the same boat.

So then, as might be expected, those that have not personally gone through the experience of working at a minimum wage, typically have little conception of what this actually feels like – in addition, to never having experienced the work conversations and politics of fellow employees that are also making that same minimum wage.  So too, those that have not worked a minimum wage job, have a tendency to discount the effort, the skill, and the work ethic that must be displayed by those so working in minimum wage jobs, of which, if they had, they might well comprehend better, that hard work, deserves a living wage.

It has been said, that the best tippers are those that themselves were servers, or are currently still serving – of which, they typically, besides leaving a good tip, also take the time to stack up the plates, and generally help clean up the table for the server.  The reason why so many that are servers and have been servers take such good care of their current server, when they are the customer, has an awful lot to do with the fact that this is the type of customer that they most appreciate, so they thus try to be that customer, themselves.  Additionally, that sort of consideration, is a way of showing respect for those that work in the service industry, of which, those then that have ever had a minimum wage job and/or have been exploited, are in most every case, going to comprehend far better, the travails then of being paid a minimum wage.

We make progress by every step that we take in the right direction

In western societies, we are surrounded and inundated with all sorts of “come-ons’ that are meant to make us to believe that no matter how long we have been doing the wrong thing, and thus suffering the consequences, so of, that if only we would wake up and avail ourselves of this one magic pill, or this one surgery, or this one this or that, that not only will all be well, but that we would be thus magically transformed, seemingly forever.  Perhaps, in some cases, this indeed does work, but the reality of the situation, is that the progress that we make in this world, is based primarily upon a sound foundation of good precepts, that we thus adhere to, and we make it our point to be true to, each and every moment of our day.

For instance, take a tree, such as a mighty oak, this tree did not suddenly become mature and strong within a day or even a week, but rather, day by day, it developed itself, slowly, inexorably, from a young sapling into something of real substance.  So then, recognize that as a tree goes through stages, and then continues to grow and strengthen for decades upon decades, that the same sort of progression is ours to avail ourselves of, by applying ourselves to those necessary and good things, day by day.

In truth, there are no shortcuts to growth in our essence, for what we so have and make through our own efforts, we have fairly earned.  Each of us is called to grow, and those that consistently ignore that calling are the very same people that regress and thus do not progress.  So too, those that recognize that calling at a later age, have then lots of ground to make up, for those that have missed their opportunity to improve themselves, must now work at double-quick speed to catch up to where they really should be at.

The choice of what we do or do not make of our respective lives, is solely ours to make.  While there are, for many a person, a legitimate excuse for why they have slipped and fallen, to thus rely on those excuses as being then the reason why a given person has not made something of merit with their life, isn’t going to do much for them.  The race that each of us is meant to run, or to walk, does not have the same starting line for all, for that is the nature of this material experience on this good earth; of which the variety then of circumstances that we so see, thereby makes for a far more interesting and compelling experience, for all.

Remember this well, each of has been gifted with free will, of which, the choices that we thus make, whether or not we wish to own up to, are ours and ours alone.  Those then, that consistently choose well, and thereby progress in the right direction, are getting ever closer to the only destination that ultimately matters; whereas, those that do not, are stuck within a construct, in which, essentially, only they can walk themselves out of, by lifting their head up, and walking, step by step, to the Light.

Direct language and euphemisms

There is many a person as well as many a nation, that when they have done something that is clearly wrong, or at a minimum, is suspect, are going to want to spin their tale in such a way that they don’t look so bad; and even better, to somehow escape any negative consequences without having to outright lie.  That is why, in this modern age, we see so many euphemisms being utilized, in which, quite frankly, the euphemism, is basically an attempt to coverup what is surely a very bad action.  For instance, torture is torture, and has little or nothing to do with enhanced interrogation, for an interrogation, properly done, is the serious and systematic questioning of another, with perhaps, enhanced, meaning that such is done through an especially skillful and experienced interrogator.  So too, there isn’t anything as alternative facts, for facts are facts, and if two supposed facts contradict one another over a particular subject matter, at least one of those so-called facts is wrong, and possibly both.

Again, the reason why euphemisms are utilized, is to escape the fair consequences of bad behavior, in which, most of the time, that bad behavior is not in question, which thus means that euphemisms are thereby used in the hope that the punishment, will be lessened, reduced, or not even imposed.  There are a significant amount of people and governments that perform bad actions, that know that having been caught in that bad action could have rather dire consequences for them; so that, in recognition that denying the obvious is probably going to be of no help to them, they make it their point, to come up then with creative euphemisms to basically disguise the reality of what has so occurred.

The words that we use conjure up mental images, so that, words that have very negative connotations such as murder, rape, coldblooded, and genocide, are thus replaced with alternative words or sayings, which are meant to be less chilling and thus less negative in the mental images that they provoke; and ideally for those using these replacement euphemistic words, perhaps provides them with the  “benefit of the doubt” for those so listening that want to thus believe that somebody claiming that their heart and best intentions were in the right place, should thus then take precedence over those ensuing bad actions, that have been exposed.

The thing about life in regards to the people that we really love and care about, along also with those that have a deep affinity for the nation that they are a citizen of, is that many a person or governmental representative does not desire to believe that what appears to have been a very bad action, is as cut and dry as it might first appear.  That is to say, we want to believe the best about our family members, as well as to believe that our country always has our best interests at heart, which thereby makes it easier then to believe in the euphemisms which when constructed adeptly, make it appear that what has so occurred, isn’t really all that bad, after all.  Regrettably, though, those that hide behind clever euphemisms as opposed to owning up to what has really happened, are the proximate reason why there is so much injustice and wrong in societies, and why it will continue to be so.

Indentured servitude and student loan debt

Indentured servitude was part and parcel of the American experience, especially so for those so desiring to immigrate to America in the 17th, 18th  as well as into the 19th centuries, of which, these people, accepted indentured servitude as the price of admission to come to America.  Basically, indentured servitude signified that a person was under contract, typically for a term as short as four years, and as long as seven years, to pay back, for instance, their passage to America, along with their room and board, and they would thus have to perform labor for that person or entity that had paid for their passage to America.  The indentured servant while performing their work in service to their sponsor, did not obtain a salary, but would, after completing their servitude, be free to become their own person.

As might be expected, indentured servitude was a hard life, especially in consideration, that the work that they were typically involved with, was the type of back breaking labor, that could debilitate a lesser person, and oftentimes, did.  So too, most people that agreed to be an indentured servant did not have a real conception of how difficult or abusive being an indentured servant actually represented in the real world, and so, there was a great deal of resentment to being an indentured servant for such a lengthy period of time, in which, that servant was basically without human rights.

While, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution put an end to indentured servitude in America, we do so find, at the present time, that our higher educational system, appears to have taken on the aura of indentured servitude for many of those that have taken out student loans.  We read at bestcolleges.com, that 43.5 million Americans have student loans, and of which, 3.4 million of those, have loans that total at least $100,000, with apparently nary a single one of those that have been stuck with these loans, actually being guaranteed that the debt that they have so incurred, will provide them with a corresponding degree or even a job, that would be commensurate with the monies so spent on that education.

So then, the work that students have performed in their studies, provides them with no assurance of adequate compensation, now or in the future, and of which, years have been spent incurring that student debt, without a guarantee that this investment of time and effort, will actually be worthwhile.  In short, successful or not in their education and job placement, those that have student loans, are themselves fully responsible for the paying back of those loans, which essentially means that their income will be garnished, week in and week out, for probably, years upon years.  In other words, student loan debt appears to be the price that many students must pay for the opportunity to get higher education in America, of which, the responsibility to obtain employment, is theirs alone; and, of which, these students have traded both time and money for what they think will be a better life, without knowing that they will get even a fair deal, for having done so.

The flexible 72-hour time limit for arrest to arraignment

Nobody desires to be arrested, and a significant amount of people that are arrested, typically had little expectation that they would be arrested.  The most obvious thing about being arrested, is one’s freedom at the point of that arrest has effectively ended.  This would presuppose that most people that are arrested, desire strongly to cut to the chase, and simply wish then to see that whatever charges that they are going to have be impressed upon them, end up being determined as soon as possible, because the sooner that a given arraignment is held, the sooner that the actual charges will thus be formally made against them, or, in some cases, dropped; as well as also the sooner that they will then have their bail amount set for those so charged with a crime.  Once, bail is set, those that are arrested, are presented with the opportunity to bail themselves out, if they have the monetary means to do so.

For some of us, when we, for example, go to school, time seems absolutely endless, because we are not engaged with whatever subject matter is being discussed.  When it comes to those that have been arrested, and hence are no longer free, most of those people, have a strong desire to see that the 72-hour time limit for an arrest to a mandatory arraignment or release, occurs within that actual 72-hour window.  In fact, many an arrest process, can exceed far more than 72 hours, because oftentimes in many justice courts, we find that for Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays, that the clock is thus stopped, which perhaps is fair for those that work within the justice department, but wholly unfair to those that have been arrested, and who strongly desire to have things take their course, in an expeditious and speedy manner.

After all, in this modern world, time really does matter, and those then that do not report to work in a timely manner, could easily lose their job.  Further to the point, those that have other obligations, such as to their family, to their school, to their bills, to their vehicle, and so on and so forth, cannot well attend to those things when they are locked up.  So then, just the very nature of being arrested, even when the charges are subsequently dropped or reduced to some minor infraction, can be extremely debilitating to a person, depending upon their personal circumstances, which hardly seems just or fair to them.

In short, 72-hours to arraign someone that has been arrested, in which weekends and Holidays don’t count, isn’t fair to those having been arrested.  We do so find that In today’s world, there always seems to be some place or something that is opened 24 hours, every single day of the year; so then, it would behoove the justice and policing arm of the state then, to get to the business of making their case to a judge or magistrate, within a more reasonable time period of just 36 hours, or in fairness, even less for those crimes which are adjudged to be of a relatively minor nature.  That is to say, in a country in which guilt needs to be proven, those that have been arrested, should be processed in a way and manner, in which this very mindset is thereby taken into full and fair account.

Society should be fairer than what it currently is

We would like to think that the human social experience is one in which there has been a steady progression to enlightenment, in thus how societies should be best formulated and actualized.  Yet, regrettably, to a very large extent, countries such as the United States, clearly have regressed in just about at every meaningful level, when it comes to having a society that is fair in its structure and thereby in its results.  It isn’t so much that American policies haven’t had enough time to demonstrate their effectiveness, but rather America does not even try to encourage, let alone, desire to actualize, a society that is based around seeing that as many of its citizens, as possible, are provided with the required tools so necessitated to have a fair shot of living in a safe neighborhood, with a good public school system, and sound infrastructure, along with plenty of good economic opportunity for those that have steadily applied themselves.

The bottom line, is that America pretends it is a land of opportunity, it pretends that it is a land of justice, along with fairness, and of equality for all, but it, in reality, isn’t any of those things, at all.  For the most part, those that are born into poverty of every sort, cannot count on their government, or even most members of society, at large,, to lend a true helping hand on behalf of them, because that supposed government, of, for, and by the people, cares not a whit for them.  This is the proximate reason why there is so much trouble in America, of which, those problems appear to be unsolvable – leaving those that live within those problem areas, to their own means to make something of substance in their lives.  So too, this is why an inordinate amount of monies is dedicated  year after year to ever more  law and order, and thus to all the forms of oppression so enacted against the most defenseless, misunderstood, and un-championed of society. 

Those that know that they have no future and hence are filled with hopelessness, are seldom going to be “good” citizens, because they have nothing vested in the American dream, for they have little or no hope of having any part of it, themselves.  The preferred answer for this American governance, in regards to the poorly educated, and the forsaken, is primarily to keep them in ghettos of poverty, thereby making it so much easier for governance to monitor, to abuse, and to manipulate them.  The fact that the United States is clearly on a course in which these difficulties will not only never be rectified, but in all probability, will continue to be exacerbated, is a fair reflection that this government has no solutions, because it cares not to solve that which could be solved – of which, the resolution to such, is to provide to all Americans, the fair opportunity to become something of merit, by seeing that each American is fairly provided with decent housing, good public educational facilities, safety, opportunity, and the proper incentives for these people that have consistently been treated as second class citizens or worse, to become that which they always had the capability of being, which is members in good standing, of the society that they should be an integral part of.

To win over the people of a nation

America believes that its form of governance is the very best that has ever been birthed into existence, in which, this country, in theory, is a government of, by, and for the people.  The thing is that though the population in America does have the vote, in point of fact, America is not a nation in which the democratic vote has much impact upon its real policies, legislative acts, and justice within its own borders.  That is to say, there is a huge class of Americans that distinctly believe that they have no voice, no opportunity, and have no part within the American dream, which is the seminal reason why there is so much angst, anger, and incivility within America, and will continue to be so.

Clearly, America’s house is not in order, and if there was a time when that house was more in order, that would have most likely been seen during the implementation of FDR’s New Deal, and the subsequent changes so enacted in America, which gave rise to its vibrant middle class, and therefore brought home to the average American, that America was indeed that nation of liberty, freedom, and opportunity.  It isn’t so much, that America has consistently lacked great leaders, or great legislative acts, for many a time America has been led by visionary leaders, as well as having thoughtful acts initiated, but the overall impact upon the people, in whole, has been disappointing.  The history of America is to understand that it believed in its manifest destiny, which necessitated then the wholesale destruction and the compromise of American Indians, or of any other nation that got in its way; in addition to American governance believing that it had the right to have particular human beings to be classified as property, who therefore had themselves, no rights, that a white man needed to respect.

Yet, despite it all, there is good in this nation, and more than enough good, that those that have been historically discriminated against, and are oftentimes still discriminated against, have indeed, made progress, of which, some of them, thus have ended up achieving a toehold into the American dream.  The reason that this is so, is that America, despite its many contradictions, as well as its disappointing failure to live up to the principles of its Declaration of Independence or of its Constitution, recognizes in its more honest times, that America was created with a solid foundation, that was meant to be lived for the greater good of all of its people.

Indeed, a people of any nation, cannot ever be won over, and hence must then be policed with a strict adherence to law and order, when a significant portion of those that populate it, are oppressed and without fair opportunity.  The success of America can only be assured, when those that are the least amongst us, are provided not just with a helping hand, but with the necessary infrastructure so required that they will thereby see themselves as members in good standing of this nation, because they now have fair access to that which will be their basis to build their own earned life of merit, upon.

Cryptocurrency is definitely not a currency

The coin of the realm is important to governments all over the world, as well as obviously to the people that utilize that currency for their transactions; done so,  in such a routine way, that most people take it as a given, that currency such as the United States dollar has existed, seemingly forever, though, in truth, it has not; of which, we find historically that many a currency, upon the demise or revolution within a nation, loses all or most of its value, because of the fact that the faith and confidence behind its fiat currency has been permanently broken. So then, this is why virtually every accountable government, understands that is has a responsibility to safeguard their currency, for it can be said, that nations rise and nations fall, upon the stability of the coin of the realm.

When it comes to cryptocurrency, there is no real government regulation of it, nor is there any independent agency that meaningfully regulates such, which is why cryptocurrency is so volatile in its value; and further to the point, this is the reason why cryptocurrency is not actually a currency, at all.  In point of fact, virtually no licit transactions are done through cryptocurrency because of that lack of stability; in which, we find that nobody in the business world desires to do transactions in cryptocurrency because speculation is not part and parcel of how businesses are meant to be run and conducted; rather businesses as well as people require that their monetary transactions be done in a medium that is universally accepted, stable, and fungible.

Yet, despite the fact that cryptocurrency is not a currency, the value of all the cryptocurrency in existence, is indeed a staggering sum of money, in which it has to be recognized that cryptocurrency is not backed by anything, other than the confidence of those that speculate in it.  Further to the point, those that speculate in cryptocurrency must recognize that whatever monies that they have put forth, to purchase cryptocurrency, provides them with nothing tangible, such as a stock or bond certificate, or of that which represents legal tender of a nation. In other words, those that speculate with cryptocurrency are doing so, without a net,  and because cryptocurrency is not regulated, makes such essentially an unregulated and unregistered security.  That is to say, there is basically nothing or very little actually backstopping cryptocurrency, whatsoever, which signifies that there are no or little safeguards for those that speculate in cryptocurrencies, at all.

As in a Ponzi scheme or a pyramid scheme, all may be good for a while, but eventually there comes a point, in which, those that have made their money, cash out – and those that got in late, end up losing their speculation.  Perhaps there is a place for cryptocurrency in the world of speculation or currency, but cryptocurrency as currently structured is not a currency and never will be; because a currency of any real value requires universal acceptance, transparency, as well as the necessary regulations, structures, and protocols that are required to help maintain that value and worth.

Eternal good health

In this world, so many of us, are focused upon having or maintaining our good physical health, for as long as possible, as if this is the be-all and end-all of our existence.  That said, those that are more knowledgeable and wise, recognize that we need not just good physical health, but also good mental health, as well as good spiritual health.  In truth, the focus of our lives, should always be upon that which is eternal, and thus everlasting, as compared to that which is temporal, and thus subject to its inevitable demise.  This does not mean that we shouldn’t be concerned about good physical health, for this is the house that we utilize in our material incarnation; but rather indicates that the most important health, is that which is eternal in its nature as opposed to it being just of the physical.

Each of us is called to grow, for the purpose of life, is to find our way back to where we need to be – so that, though many a trouble we face in this world is of our own making, we also will inevitably happen upon those needful “thorns in our side” so meant to get our attention, to thereby fixate away from that which really doesn’t matter, so as to replace that distraction, with that which really does matter.  For, after all, the good overall health that we actually need does not rest upon a foundation of just physical health, but rather rests upon sound soul health – for all those then that are not able to take on the attributes of love, calmness, empathy, patience, justice, truthfulness, and the like are not where they need to be, and where they ultimately must be.

While it must be said that medical doctors play their necessary part in the helping and in the aiding of the physical body, that in and of itself, just is never going to be good enough – for each of us invariably must age; in addition, to the fact that there does come that time when our physical body will no longer be able to successfully house our soul.  All those that are unprepared for their departure from their physical form, are going to be lost and unprepared for what comes next, for they typically have not concentrated on that which is eternal and therefore lack the appropriate skillset  and mindset to best traverse what comes next.

All of us, in our own way, are meant to find out who and what we really are – which therefore allows us the opportunity to grow and to transform ourselves into what we should really be.  This signifies, that the physical should be best seen as the temporary housing of our soul, which thus means that for those that desire to be true to themselves, they must make it their point to concentrate and to place their main energies upon those activities which are eternally beneficial, as opposed to that which only brings a temporary satisfaction.  In truth, the good health that each one of us really needs, must be eternal, of which, those that are right thinking and right acting, are clearly on the right path that will ultimately take them to the only destination that everlastingly matters.

The biological warfare of the United States of America

The United States is the only superpower in the world, and strongly prefers to keep that way.  Not only is the United States a large land mass with a population of well over 300 million, it is also bordered by two nations that are quite friendly to it as well as being subservient to America; in addition, to the salient facts, that the United States is in aggregate the richest nation in the world and by far, the most militarily powerful.  In short, the United States is second to none.  Further to the point, the United States does indeed have the greatest University system that the world has ever known, and those then that are quite intelligent, clever, and are amendable to doing what their country desires them to do, makes the United States an incredibly formidable nation, because the elite of those so educated, have developed great talents, which are ready then to serve their country, in seemingly whatever capacity that they are called to do.

As might be expected the United States, does not like to be embarrassed, and in particular, does not like to see released, items that are embarrassing or inconvenient to it.  Yet, this is a nation of laws, and some of those laws, such as the Freedom of Information Act, basically force this government to divulge secrets that they so desire to keep dead and buried.  So then, as much as sensitive documents are redacted, there comes a point when suppositions can essentially be reasonably verified, and then judiciously acknowledged as being factual.  One of those very things is biological warfare, in which, to this day, the United States has been vociferous in denying that it has ever engaged in this type of activity against any foreign nation or entity, but the evidence that this is a falsehood is overwhelming.

The fact of the matter is, that there are a multitude of ways to engage in battling an enemy that need not involve, shooting that enemy or engaging in traditional warfare with that enemy of any sort.  For instance, one way to take down a nation, is to overthrow its governance through a sponsored revolution backstopped by the United States but never acknowledged by it.  Another way to destroy a nation is to destroy its economy, or its coin of the realm, which thus is debilitating for the continuance of that government, as well as to the comfort of the people.  Then there is also another very sinister way to destroy or to seriously damage a nation, which is through targeted biological warfare, so done through, for instance, the surreptitious aerial bombardment of a nation, that thus releases the plague or any of a multitude of biological agencies that are seriously damaging to people, or to the countryside, or both.

Regrettably, the United States utilized biological warfare against both Korea as well as China in the 1950s, and the only reason why this is not widely known, is because the United States never successfully scaled up that biological warfare against either Korea or China, but rather made it a point, to just demonstrate their capability to do so in the real world, so as to know its overall effectiveness.  There are, indeed, a multitude of ways to kill or to hurt people through warfare, and for a certainty, poisonous biological agents are one of those ways – the United States knows this for an absolute certainty, because it did such.

Companies with 500 employees or more must be mandated to be unionized

The battle for unions in the United States, has been fought, and unions, for the most part have lost.  At this point, for those that are employed in private enterprise, there just isn’t any horizon or reasonable contingency in which we will ever see again the rise of unions in the United States.  Because free enterprise has not played fair with their employees, it is due season that this national government gets involved so as to resolve what needs to be resolved, so that those that honestly labor for their wage, are thus able to make a living wage; which this country, needs to see implemented, nationwide, in order to be seriously considered as a nation of opportunity, as compared to a nation that consistently exploits vulnerable segments of its own labor force.

The bigger a given employer is, the more power it thus often has, in which, many a community will provide successful large employers with intrinsic benefits, for their placing their facility within that community, such as tax set asides and abatements, roads and other desired infrastructure improvements, and so on and so forth.  Yet, these very same large corporations, already have plenty of money and the resources to take care of what they need to accomplish, without having to pressure communities to provide them with special benefits.  This is especially unfair, when we consider that a lot of companies that desire favoritism from communities, are the exact same companies that do not play fair with their own labor force, in the sense of providing all that work for them with a living wage, decent benefits, work schedules that take into account input from employees, as well as fairness for those employees to actually engage in soliciting or being solicited by a union.

The answer to the problem that this nation has in regards to having so many of its citizens that do not make a living wage is to see that companies are mandated to be unionized at the wages and benefits so set by this national government, for all those companies of 500 employees or more that are not now currently unionized.  After all, it has to be taken into consideration, that all those that are employed that are not able to make a living from their labor of forty hours a week, often must lean upon the government, to prop up their salary through an Earned Income Credit as well as other pertinent programs, which when translated correctly, signifies that the government is essentially backstopping private corporations that underpay their workers, by that government paying for that shortfall, instead, which isn’t fair and which isn’t right.

It has got to be recognized that for those seeking employment from private enterprise, that the negotiation for a salary, is seldom a negotiation, and in truth, is a “take it or leave it” proposition, so set by those companies.  That isn’t just, and in order to even up the score, unions were created so that workers would have a seat at the table of private enterprise so that those workers would thus have the opportunity to make a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s labor.  For this, then, not to be currently provided to American workers by private enterprise, should be seen for what it really is: a shame, a sham, and exploitation, and thus it is high time for this national government to step in and to do the right and necessary thing.

Those that are blessed with many privileges have corresponding responsibilities

In the scheme of things, life doesn’t appear fair, in the sense that some people are born with privilege or seemingly entitled to so much; whereas, there are those others that are born with so little and are seemingly entitled to not much of anything.  The truth of the matter is, that each of us, has our own race to run, of which, it is our responsibility to do the best with what we have in the running of our respective races.  So too, there is a balancing in life, in which those that are gifted with a lot are expected to do something substantially good with their gifts; whereas, those that have been denied such gifts, are expected to do basically the best that they can, in consideration of their circumstances.

For all those that have many privileges, and spend nary a minute, in consideration of all that is wrong and unjust in this world, that is their free choice.  Yet, as might be expected, there are consequences for every choice that we so make and when those choices are consistently wrong, selfish, and misguided, there will surely come a fair reckoning in which each of us, on our own, must then answer to who and what we really are, and what we have or have not done with our life.  That sort of judgment thus takes into consideration, the expectations that each of us has been graced with, whether great or something far, far less.

The rights and privileges that have been bestowed upon us, are our responsibility, to own up to in the way that we thereby interact with one another.  That is to say, for those that value free speech, free assembly, and freedom of movement, they need to respect those very same freedoms for all other people, even when they might so disagree with the choices so made, because the nature of freedom is that each of us is equally entitled to these rights, as opposed to believing that only the privileged or the elites of this world, are worthy of such liberty.

The nature of governance, consists of a basic structure in which a small subset of the people are going to have a lot of power over others – in which, when it comes to governance, that power is supposed to be utilized for the beneficence of the people, as representatives of those same people.  Additionally, in our relationships with other people, we have a responsibility to take into account, that we should treat other people, the same way that we would desire to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot.  That signifies that we need to own up to not only our responsibilities to do the right thing, but to simply be fair to one another, in consideration that the best society is that in which there is justice for all, and without special set asides for those that are privileged, in which the same sets of rules do not apply. 

In this world, we will be tested, and those tests can come in many forms, of which, one of those forms, is for those that have everything, to demonstrate that they have the wisdom to do what needs to be done in order to help make this world a better place for their participation in it, and to know that whatsoever they do, to thus hold themselves accountable to it.  

Crime is a reflection of social conditions

There are plenty of people that believe in this basic simplicity, that crime is pretty much done by bad people and for bad reasons – thus we need then a strong policing force to stop those bad actors.  This seems to be the implicit belief in the United States, which is why the United States, locks up a higher percentage of its citizens, by a significant margin, over any other industrialized western nation.    Yet, for all the crime and punishment doled out by America’s justice system, the crime keeps on coming, in which, apparently despite all the criminals locked up, there are still plenty of other criminals plying their trade upon the public and its institutions.

The fact of the matter is that crime does not operate in a vacuum, so that there are always proximate reasons why crime exists, which should be considered to be a fair reflection of the actual social conditions of that nation, as experienced in real life.  That is to say, what breeds crime, has an awful lot to do with injustice, unfairness, inequality, discrimination, hopelessness, lack of opportunity, dysfunctional home life, bad environments, inappropriate role models, impulsive and bad decisions, and inadequate educational systems.  Further to the point, it can be stated with absolute certainty, that the crime rate of a given nation reflects fairly the social conditions, in whole, of that nation.  That is to say, those nations with low crime rates, are the very same nations that are noted for being more fair-minded and just, in the first place.

In truth, an abundance of inequality and injustice breeds discontent.  The solution then to rectify that discontent comes from the removal or amelioration of that inequality and injustice, as opposed to having in place, a police force, that will, for certain areas of particular communities, act not to serve and to protect the people, but pretty much as an alien occupying force, which exerts its form of justice, upon the streets.  The crime that we have in this nation, is related to the fact, that those that cannot have what they believe that they deserve or want, are going to thus find the means to get that which they believe they deserve or want, frequently through criminal or other illicit activity.

America represents an amalgamation of peoples with quite diverse backgrounds, of which, to the credit of this nation, it has attempted to meld itself into something of true substance, and to represent then that “out of many, we are one.”  Regrettably, the United States falls far short in accomplishing this achievement, and to the dismay of those that wish to see America live up to is founding ideals, it has visibly turned its back upon the poor, the disenfranchised, and the vulnerable.  The crime and the dissatisfaction that we see all around us, is a reflection of the current social conditions of this nation, and the solution is not now, nor will ever be, more law and order; but rather the appropriate solution needs to be based upon the foundation that each citizen in America, is fairly entitled to a fair opportunity to live a good life, with the incumbent structure so needed for this occur, solidly in place and functional for each of its citizens to avail themselves of.

Social Media and Keeping up with the Joneses

Social media is one of those things, of which, there is a rather large dividing line between those that are absolutely transfixed and engaged with social media of all types, and those that don’t really pay much attention to it.  Those then, that are intimately involved with social media, are often caught up in seeing other people’s lives being presented in a way and manner to them, in which, these particular people seem to have the best of the best of it, in regards to nightlife venues, material accouterments that represent success, and in the knowing of and in the hanging out with the right people.  Further to the point, the top influential people on social media, appear to not only dress the part, but to live the part, as well.

Perhaps then, that’s a good thing, and to the degree that this brings comfort, appreciation, and perhaps some vicarious pleasure in the peering into of other people’s successful lives, so much to the good.  However, the truth of the matter is, besides the overall deception which often is part and parcel of so many social media posts, which try so hard to sell the illusion that all is an endless parade of fun and games – is the inconvenient fact that many of those that follow people that are perceived as living a very good and enviable life through following their social media posts, are themselves personally caught in this dilemma of wanting what these social media success stories apparently have, while recognizing that for them, in their more honest moments, that they aren’t going to ever achieve or get close to such.

We find then that the shortcut to having a successful life, or a perceived successful life, doesn’t really lie actually in achieving the goals that would legitimately represent such, but rather has a lot more to do then with obtaining the symbols of what that successful life is being portrayed as.  This thus means, in the social media world, the trick to keeping up with the Joneses is to present one’s own story in a similar way to what has already been viewed – which means, that half of the battle is in the presentation of our own lives, carefully constructed to give the appearance that we are, in our own way, having the best of it, as well.

In other words, back in the day, the objective of the exercise was to keep up with the Joneses, that were primarily in our neighborhood, or were part of our general milieu – but, in recognition that social media, has literally a global reach, we now have to keep up with the Joneses, that could be just about anywhere, which provides us then with the advantage of understanding that it doesn’t much matter what our neighbor does or does not know about us or thinks about us -- what really matters, is only those that we have connected with through social media, of which, our objective for that audience, is to  manipulate our social media persona that thus will make us appear to be something grand, ourselves.

Government: Our Master or our servant?

When it comes to the governance of this nation, there are very few people, if any, that truly believe that we, as a people, are actually being faithfully served by our government in any aspect, whatsoever.  Rather, it is pretty obvious and clear, that the government as currently structured is a power onto itself, and therefore, the Master of the people, of which, those people, should be properly fearful of that government, for it thus has the awesome power to seemingly take away the liberty and freedom of just about anyone, at any time, for any reason, or for no reason, at all.

That said, the formation of this government, was supposed to represent a government which derived its just powers from the consent of the people – of which, this then became a government, of, for, and by those people.  Yet, clearly, that isn’t the case at all, for the governmental authority is so powerful and so strong, that those that are its citizens, recognize that the failure to obey that government, is itself, a threat upon their free speech, free association, and freedom.  In other words, while this government preaches to the world that it is the bastion of freedom and liberty, that is belied by the very actions that it takes domestically and abroad.

It might seem strange that our elected representatives don’t seem to actually represent us, but for all practical purposes, they do not.  This would imply that within the governance of this United States, there is a shadow government, that effectively controls what will or will not be permitted to occur within this nation, and utilizes then all the tools of its trade to manipulate, control, and to direct the mass of citizens in the behavior which will be tolerated and thus permitted within this country.  All others then, that are not in compliance with those dictates, are effectively monitored, through the vast hi-technology apparatus that the United States government agencies wields or works with, and if so necessary, dealt with in a way to effectively neutralize or to counteract their actions.

In short, American governance, as presently structured and implemented, is not in any aspect, whatsoever, serving the American public for the good of the people; but is instead, pressuring its citizens to serve and to be in compliance with that government’s desires, so they then will assist that government, in a way and manner that is pleasing to those that are its actuators.  Not too surprisingly, controlling millions upon millions of people, is most definitely a challenging task, which is why the government asserts tremendous amounts of pressure upon those corporations and others of influence, to comply with its demands, by providing the choice then for them, of thus receiving great beneficence from that government for good compliance, as opposed to suffering thereof, from having made the inappropriate choice.

Though each of us, is born with unalienable rights, what we so find, is that in America, those rights have been effectively subsumed by the government, and replaced with counterfeit unalienable rights, which when push comes to shove, have no tangible value, at all.

You yearn for those moments that you can never get back

All those that are super young, typically lack perspective, which traditionally comes with age, experience, and wisdom so obtained.  To live a good life is to understand that there are stages to life, of which one of those stages is the firm acknowledgment that what is physical, must so eventually face its demise.  This is known to each of us from the beginning, but often becomes of more pertinence as our body, or our mind, begins to betray us – though, for those that are more astute, such recognition comes much earlier.

So then, the family that we grew up with, the friends that we make and have made, are eventually going to leave us, or we will leave them.  Perhaps when these events occur, all will be well, because everything that we wanted to say, do, and act upon, has been accomplished – but, in truth, those that we are especially close to, are the very same people that we desire to have forever with us, so as to celebrate our mutual accomplishments, to talk to, to gaze upon, and to just enjoy each other’s company, and when that is gone, it is seemingly gone, forever.

it has to be noted, that when we go to our favorite venue, or sit in our favorite chair, or visit the home that we grew up in, and the person that we use to enjoy spending our time with, is no longer there to join us, we can become rather dismayed that all is not how it once was.  So too, though time is absolutely relentless, and continues to tick away, day by day, there is a tendency for many of us, to picture those that are the dearly departed, as actually being forever locked into a certain time and place, when we most appreciated one another’s company, and we yearn for that time to be back in the present.

We want those that we really love to be with us, forever, because they are the ones that have helped to make our lives, better and more meaningful.  We desire to have them with us, so that we can continue to have those comfortable conversations, as well as to reminisce about bygone days.  We desire to do then the same sorts of things that we use to do with them, that thus brought us the greatest joy, again and again, because it has become for us, a touchstone, that we never tire of. 

Sure, life moves on, and we have our other friends, family, and relationships that bring us satisfaction.  But what cannot be replaced is those that represented to us, the security that all will be well, as well as providing to us, unconditional love and acceptance.  For those then that have departed us, we yearn for those moments when we were together, joyful, happy, and satisfied.  Though we cannot get those moments back, we can show our respect and love to those that we cared so much for, but have left this world, by making sure to be good to one another, and by remembering them in that special way, in which, they are always with us.

Employer of last resort

One of those things which has always seem senseless is to dole out money, food, and other accouterments to people without requiring that those people receiving those goods or corresponding aid actually do anything of substance in return.  No doubt, there are going to be a certain percentage of the people, that are, true wards of the state, because they are handicapped in one form or another that thus precludes them from doing gainful work – though, in truth, even those that appear to be challenged, are often quite capable of accomplishing some tasks of merit.  Indeed, there are plenty of people that are currently unemployed but are quite capable of accomplishing good work, with the proper training and direction, of which, this government should see that this is thus accomplished, for the mutual benefit of the people.  That is to say, all able-body people, almost without exception, that are capable of working and thus willing to work, should have training and then work assigned for them, which thus will provide the dual benefit, of that work so being done for the betterment of that society, as well as having that person then fairly earn their keep.

To believe that somehow there isn’t enough work to do in this nation, is belied by all the structural problems that this county has, of which, not a single major issue that the United States needs to address, has been fully and completely addressed in a comprehensive way.  Indeed, oftentimes what should be worked upon, is ignored, or underbudgeted, or left for another day.  That is to say, there are plenty of tasks that need to be accomplished, such as environmental cleanup of dangerous pollutants, bridge repair, reservoirs upkeep, sewer maintenance, safe water access, fire breaks, road repair, safer communities, playgrounds, parks, and so on and so forth.  All we need to do to understand what needs to be done is to simply note all of the frustrations that we have on a given day, of things that we wish were better, corrected, or repaired.

There is truly plenty of work to be done and in recognition that those that work for the government are working in a department that is not structured around the need or the requirement to make a profit -- understand then that to believe that private industry, somehow, is always going to be the answer in regards to absorbing those of the working age, to work for them, have got to realize that for-profit industries are exactly the same industries that are typically reluctant to pay a living wage, as well as to provide good benefits, because it will hurt their ability to be profitable, to grow, and to compete.

We do so find that the amount of monies spent on what is labeled as welfare, is estimated to be $1.19 trillion, as we read at budget.house.gov.  Further to the point, the labor participation rate is far below what would be considered to be full employment, of all those that are able and willing to work.  Those then that are willing to work, need to be provided with the opportunity to work, and to do so with the United States government as their employer of last resort, which will thus provide to the people of this nation, necessary infrastructure as well as other duties accomplished, and provide to those that are working for that government, a living wage, experience, and often an improvement of their self-worth.