When your government knows everything about you

There are those particular people of historic privilege who believe it’s perfectly fine for their government, or even for their neighbor to know everything about them because as they say, they have nothing to hide.  Perhaps for those people, the salient reason that they have nothing to hide, is that they are members in good standing of the favored race, and the favored religion, and the favored class of people, who also don’t bother to ever do much of anything that is out of the norm, for they are quite satisfied with their life as it is, and have not the desire or the empathy to consider all the unfavored races, all the unfavored religions, or all the unfavored classes of people,  because they are not those people, and hence have little concern for them.

Whenever the government knows everything about us, through our basic divulgence of such through all the various forms that we have to fill out, for instance, to purchase a home, or to enter successfully into higher education, or for our medical needs, or for our taxes, or for employment, it is assumed by the general population that this information won’t ever be held against us, or used against us, but because it has been gathered, it may well be.  Further to the point, in today’s hi-technology world, in which video cameras controlled by various governmental agencies are commonplace throughout many public areas, and of which our social media accounts are available to be perused by those same governmental agencies, along also with our vulnerable cell phone records which are constantly tracking all of our communications, as well as our movements, presents for the government, such a rich vein of personal information, that the government knows for a certainty who and what we really are, which thereby presents that government with the discretionary power to do something about those that they find to be irritating or a nuisance or a menace, by digging deep through that information to ascertain our weaknesses and vulnerabilities to thereby exploit such on behalf of that government, so as to punish us, or to intimidate us, or to arrest us.

That which is our government, is not stupid, for they know that their constant surveillance of its own citizens is something that a large segment of such, would find to be not only intrusive but a violation of one’s privacy, so that in consequence this government is careful to present such to the general public as a necessary feature that will protect us and to keep us secure, of which, that government makes sure to show through example by example, of how such surveillance has allowed that government to prevent crimes and to catch criminals, which in many a sense, is basically true.  However, there is a mistaken belief by those who are too credulous, too clueless, or too unconcerned, that the government will not ever come after them, which is exactly what that government wants the majority of Americans to believe because it makes it all that much easier for the government to aggrandize onto itself more and more invasive power, and thereby makes it a near certainty that only those that please and placate governmental interests are going to be secure, whereas everyone else is absolutely in play.

The semantics of the Department of Defense

In 1949, what used to be known as the National Military Establishment, or historically as the Department of War was renamed to the Department of Defense.  While it has to be admitted that nations have an obligation to defend themselves and their institutions, it doesn’t seem accurate to call the gargantuan Department of Defense, anything other than the Department of War, for in reality, the United States has not had to defend itself from an attack from any foreign nation on its soil since 1812, with perhaps a couple of exceptions, for outlying islands in WW II, or also depending on how someone wants to classify such, the terrorist attack of 2001.  The bottom line is if the Department of Defense, really was in principle, a military department, exclusively designed to defend the United States, it is grossly mislabeled, for in actuality, the United States has insisted upon being at war, on behalf of whatever interests or as a proxy for such, all throughout the late 20th century and for the entire 21st century, and any nation that is always at war, is a nation that should properly call the biggest institution that it has, which is its Department of Defense, what it actually is, which is a Department of War.

So too, the citizens of this nation, have a right to know what the institutions that their tax dollars pay for, actually do, especially when that which is earmarked as being for the defense of this nation, are in actuality being spent for endless wars.  There isn’t any good reason for this government to deliberately deceive its population, which it has been sworn to serve, by mislabeling what it is doing supposedly on behalf of those people.

Right or wrong, the United States takes a perverse pleasure in applying the force of arms against typically nations that do not have the wherewithal to properly defend themselves, but often though have the constitution to withstand what they have to withstand in order to survive, through absorbing what they have to absorb, in order to still live.  This signifies that the type of war that America brings onto other nations, isn’t even successful in its alleged mission, but simply reigns destruction and terror upon those nations that it wars upon, but is seldom ever able to conquer or effectively control such.

It is a great contradiction that America declaims loudly that it is the bastion of freedom and democracy throughout the globe, by its very actions, done through the misnamed and bellicose Department of Defense, clearly indicate that America not only wants its way, but insists upon it, and cares not a whit about the sovereignty of other nations, of which, again and again, America insists that its way is the only way as well as being the supposed proper way, and does not care to win over any particular nation to their way of thinking, but rather prefers to bomb and to attack other nations, into submission.

It is therefore high time to rename the Department of Defense to what it really is, the Department of War; in addition, America needs to drop the pretense that it is defending freedom, liberty, and democracy throughout the world, and just simply admit its aim is global dominance through the act of warfare.

Gangs and dysfunctional societies

Those who have nothing and have been precluded from having the basic skillsets that will provide them with a reasonable pathway to success are going to have to try to find some way to make their way in the world that will provide for them the semblance of a life that would bring them some degree of satisfaction and respect.  The proximate reason for gangs has an awful lot to do with the salient fact that those who have very little or nothing, who are thus without a voice or power, and pretty much are treated as the refuse of society, have then few viable legitimate options to make something of themselves, of which, therefore the lure of being a member of a gang entices them to take what they consider to be that necessary risk for the hope of achieving some sort of respect and success within their milieu.

Indeed, whenever they are enclaves of poverty, of hopelessness, of despair, and of a police force which is seen primarily by those who live within these particular bleak zones as essentially an occupying force meant to keep them in their place, then those that live within those conditions are not in a good place to become good citizens, which is thus further exacerbated by the dysfunctional public schools that have failed to educate them, which therefore lends itself to those that have grown up without a semblance of hope that they will themselves ever amount to much of anything, without then the aid of some other forceful entity, such as a gang.

The thing about gangs is that in a forlorn society in which so many are exploited or taken advantage of, we find that those who do not subsequently make alliances of some meaningful sort are going to therefore be vulnerable to being hurt, for those who have nothing to protect them and nowhere to run, aren’t in a good place, whatsoever.  Further to the point, those who have a low self-image, for they know that their future is bleak, are going to recognize that being a member of a gang, will thereby provide them with the opportunity to have not only the respect of their peers, through that membership, but further to the point, provide them with the ready means to accomplish something that will get them some degree of respect, along often with something tangible that demonstrates their self-worth.

Those who are not permitted the fair opportunity to be successful in the orthodox way so expected of a well-functioning society, because they do not have the necessary tools or opportunity to achieve that success, are going to gravitate to joining together with those who are like-minded and who therefore are willing to risk what little that they have in order to take what they believe should be theirs, by working the angles and underground markets that provide them with the possibility of success, so accomplished by the strength of their gang and ingenuity.  That is to say, gangs are often seen as a calling for the weak and dispossessed, so that when they are joined together they will collectively have power, and with that power, assert themselves so as to get their share, one way or another.

The need to ban cell phones in school

There are plenty of people from older generations who never had to deal with the distraction that cell phones present by the fact that cell phones did not exist at the time that they went to school.  On the other hand, cell phones are so ubiquitous nowadays that a significant percentage of students, even of a very young age, bring their cell phones to school each and every day and thereupon use those cell phones in activities that are typically not relevant to their education.  Further to the point, cell phones in the hands of young people who are in school, serve not only as a constant distraction but also have additional troublesome issues in the sense that the usage of such, combined with social media posts, can easily lead to bullying, inappropriate comments, and activities that are clearly detrimental to the primary task of school, which is learning.  

Look, it has to be recognized, that adults know for a certainty how distracting cell phone usage is, even when that cell phone is set up to be silenced, because anytime that our cell phone vibrates or sends us a signal that there is a text message or email, it serves to break our concentration on the task at hand, and makes us curious instead about what information is on our cell phone.  So too, people can spend an incredible amount of time every day, throughout the day, checking their “feed” on their phone, or posting messages, or reading posts of “friends” on their phone, or in the playing of games, and so on and so forth.  Indeed, since many adults seem incapable of following prudent rules in regard to how they will interact with their cell phone during work hours, it quite obviously indicates that youngsters will be even more challenged with such.

In regards to teachers, it is hard enough to get students to be engaged especially in those subjects, which they give the impression that they don’t care all that much about, as well as to have to deal with not only all the historic distractions that a school class filled with young people can present, but also with the present day trouble of cell phones, that compete against the teacher in the sense of where that student’s mind will be at.  Additionally, there is the danger, that cell phones represent, in which those who lack self-discipline or self-restraint, see cell phones as an easy way to post comments or pictures that are sure to stir up trouble, and if not for that cell phone, that trouble may not have so easily happened or even occurred.

The primary purpose of education is to educate those that are in school, and that which predominately does not serve to benefit those students in the attainment of that valued education is most appropriately represented by the inappropriate use of cell phones.  The fact of the matter is, that those students who cannot resist using their cell phones during class hours are the very same who need to have their cell phones taken out of their hands, in order to at least provide them with a fair opportunity to learn something of import, which is the main function of attending school.

Family heritage

We all come from a family, of which, it’s important in the knowing of ourselves, to know our family, as to its traditions, its heritage, its past, its present, and its possible future, so as to do then our good part to make our fair contribution to our family heritage.  In life, everybody has a story, and if we do not take the time to listen to those stories of our elders, it will be a lot more difficult to understand and to appreciate our family, for within those stories, are going to be life lessons to be learned and to be expanded upon, and if we miss out on that very thing, we are lessened because of it.

It is important to remember that we all go through stages in life, so that, while we might not be able to imagine our grandparents as being children in their day, they were, in fact, children.  So too, the knowledge that they know in regards to their life so lived, has relevance to us, because we are tied to them through not only our interactions with one another, but also through our bloodline, and those who pay fair tribute to those who came before them, are the same that can garner nuggets of wisdom, from our members of the same family tree.

Each of us wants to be remembered but also appreciated, which is why it is so vital for us to spend time, listening to those who have a life full of previously expressed experiences that we can have the opportunity to identify with -- in addition to the important fact, that knowing our family history, helps us to comprehend better who and what we are, through that family background that often serves to explain our own eccentricities, desires, and hopes. 

So too, the thing about stories, is that if we are unwilling to listen to those stories or not to pay much attention to them, then we will miss out on our personal history, to our detriment.   After all, as much as we might believe that the world strictly revolves around just us, the fact of the matter is, that all of us bring something of value to the table, and the more that we know about our family members, old or young, the more that we can appreciate our heritage.

No doubt, sometimes dealing with certain members of our extended family can be difficult, but that isn’t all that much different than the fact that dealing with certain members of society can be difficult.  The difference, though, is that family members are our people, thereby providing us with the opportunity to appreciate where they are coming from.  Indeed, the appropriate time to cherish a family member is when they are amongst the living, for when they depart this world, so do their stories, as well as their personal interaction with us, which is why we need to do our good part, to spend time and devote attention to those that came before us, so that we can meet them in the here and now, for our wise understanding of their immense value.

Hopelessness and despair

America considers itself to be the greatest nation that the world has ever known, but this is belied by the fact that so many of Americans, live lives of abject hopelessness, despair, and frustration.  It is to America’s great discredit that it essentially ignores those who are its most vulnerable, and does not do nearly enough to set the foundation of success for as many Americans, as possible.  Instead, this is a nation, that has a significant separation between those who have it all, as compared to those who have nothing at all, of which, the poor and disadvantaged realistically recognize that they will never have even a foothold of prosperity, in this the richest nation that the world has ever known.

To live in a society, that apparently believes that the rich should always get richer, is to live within a society that has sown the seeds of its very destruction. Indeed, those who have been ruthlessly disregarded and therefore are without hope, as well as those who have been humiliated by being constantly reminded of their failures, which are often not even fairly their own, are those that will remain a thorn in the side of those who are the richest and most powerful entities in America.  To believe, somehow, that millions of Americans, can simply be dismissed day in and day out, of which nothing of substance is done to change what needs to be changed so as to give hope to those that are the most in need of such, is demonstrative of an empty promissory note, that will never be paid in full.

Look, it has to be said, that while we are responsible for the decisions that we make, that quite obviously, those who have nothing and no opportunity, will therefore have no fair pathway to achieve anything of merit, and are going to be inclined to rebel against this injustice, again and again.  The very troubles that we see within America, of civil unrest, of despair, of anger, and of rage, reflect a nation that will not live up to its immortal creed of equality and justice for all, which is thus fairly displayed in the amount of violence, incarceration, and troubles that this nation duly suffers from.

All those who have some semblance of the American dream, are those who basically buy into the belief that America is the land of opportunity, but for those in whom opportunity never presents itself to them, this nation represents the nightmare of being within the confines of that which could provide them with the accouterments of success and a good life, but has cruelly seen that the game has been fixed in which the result for them, has been predetermined and therefore cannot be ever changed in their favor.  To take away hope from another is to take away their incentive to be a good citizen and has replaced such with a desire to either become listless and disinterested, and hence barely living, or else to do their part to have their say, by any means necessary, so that at least, when they meet their fate, they have let it be known that they will not go quietly into the night.

“Your Honor” as a formal salutation for judges must be changed

For whatever reason, judges are accorded the type of respect, that even the President of the United States or our own parents are not privileged with.  That is to say, in a court of law, judges are typically expected to be addressed as “your honor,” but the President of the United States, as exemplified by our founding father, President Washington, insisted on nothing more than the title of Mr. President.  So too, our parents are not ever addressed as something akin to “your lady” or “your lord”; so then, to believe that somehow a judge, should be addressed as something that sounds superior to our parents or to the President of the United States is fundamentally unsound.

In this country, while it is a part of civil discourse, to deal with one another in a polite manner, that respects the other, it has to be said, that “your honor” seems to clearly be not in accordance with a country that specifically believes as per its Constitution that “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States…”  Indeed, it is hard to see a title such as “your honor” as anything other than what stands in as a title of nobility, and therefore this should not be part of our justice system, as there are plenty of alternatives to “your honor” which would still demonstrate respect for the judge, but would not require those judges to be addressed as “your honor” such as Sir or Madam, Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. Judge, or if they have a doctorate, as Dr. Judge.

While there needs to be proper decorum in a courtroom, it is not necessary though that a judge need be addressed as “your honor,” as if any other reasonable salutation is considered to be not respectful enough.  Those who are our court judges are not of more importance than our parents, or of the President of the United States, or many other professions of importance, in which none of those people are ever addressed as “your honor”  or its equivalency.

Additionally, a courtroom should never be a place in which potentially those that are in front of that judge, aren’t judged via the merits of the case, equally applied, but rather are judged by their respect or disrespect to the judge, and of which the facts of the case then are almost an irrelevancy.  Those who are judges should simply be dealt with in a professional manner, and therefore need not be addressed in a way that seemingly confers onto them, the impression of nobility when there are no noble positions within America.  After all, we live in a nation that believes that it should be governed by the people, for the people, and of the people, with equality for all, of which, each person therefore has the same legal rights, and nobody, no matter how educated or esteemed, should be seen as being somehow above the other or the law, but rather, all are under the same law, even those that currently answer to “your honor.”

Imagine if credit cards did not exist

In today’s world, people take for granted that credit cards are not only desirable to have because of their convenience, but also for their ability to buy goods without having to have the money on hand; yet, there was a time not so long ago, when credit cards did not exist, whatsoever, but somehow business was able to be transacted all throughout the United States, through checks, cash, as well as credit given by local merchants such as a grocery store, for certain customers.  So then, for a certainty, life would not end without our ubiquitous credit cards, but it would be different if credit cards simply did not exist.

The very first thing that would happen without credit cards being the go-to usage of how we purchase goods, would be a significant drop-off in items being purchased, because many a family purchases goods with a credit card, as opposed to a debit card, because they do not have ready access to the funds necessary to make that purchase.  This would presuppose that auxiliary purchases of goods that are desired but not really necessary would be reduced considerably without credit cards, though, perhaps, over a long enough period of time, people would adjust to this lack of ready credit, by saving more and then spending those savings on the same sorts of goods that they use to purchase with their use of a credit card.  That said, it has to be admitted that when people pay for goods with cash, or a check, or a debit card, it feels much more real to them, because it is in effect, going to reduce their bank balance, immediately; whereas, with a credit card, because there is not that instant hit to one’s bank balance, it is easy to dismiss what is being charged, as something that will be taken care of, at some future point, and therefore not something to worry about.

It could also be argued that life without credit cards could well mean that family budgets and thus their savings would materially be improved, for we have to keep in mind, that credit cards and the fees so associated with those cards, such as late fees, penalties, and high interest rates contribute to families budgets being materially negatively impacted, because money that they would have had in their possession, has now gone or is earmarked to the banks that issued those credit cards.  After all, we read at lendingtree.com, that “Americans’ total credit card balance is $1.129 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023,” which signifies that with credit card interest rates being fairly commonly set within the range of 18-27%, Americans with credit card balances that are not paid off in full each month are paying a very high price for the borrowing of that credit. 

Indeed, those who would be most concerned about how they would survive without easy access to credit cards, are typically the very same, who are using those credit cards primarily as a crutch to carry them through from one crisis to the other, mainly because their expenditures are higher than their income, and without those credit cards, it could be argued, they might well find themselves in a better place, in which by tightening their belt, life actually didn’t actually end up becoming worse, but may have become better, because they had now been essentially forced to live within their means.

Freedom of speech with or without the First Amendment

Most people are quite familiar with the First Amendment, which states in part that: “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech.” Indeed, it would seem that the First Amendment provides us with the right to freedom of speech, but that would also seem to presuppose that without the First Amendment, there would be no right to freedom of speech, and quite frankly, that interpretation is flawed.  It has to be remembered that the Constitution is a constitution of enumerated powers and nowhere in the Constitution including the Amendments to such, is there anything stipulating that the people are precluded from having freedom of speech.  In other words, the Constitution as the governing document has specific enumerated powers and therefore is limited to those enumerated powers, and no more.

The fear of those debating the Constitution was that enumerated powers or not, the Federal government, might well aggrandize onto itself, more and more power, at the expense of the States and of the people, and therefore they argued successfully that the people needed to have a Bill of Rights, protecting them from this anticipated future infringement.  The problem though with adding these rights for the people is that those very rights, meant for the benefit of the people, could eventually be circumscribed by the government to align with its own interpretation of what those rights, did or did not mean.  So then, while there were powerful arguments on both sides in regard to the necessity of the Bill of Rights, those that wanted or insisted upon the Bill of Rights, won out, and thus the Amendments to the Constitution were made, though the powers that be were careful to see that the Ninth Amendment was also added which stated: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”, which one would think would therefore represent a failsafe for the people, that they would not be relinquishing any of their unalienable rights to that Federal government, ever.

Regrettably, when we fast forward to the present age, we recognize that in regards to the First Amendment, legislation has been passed that clearly restricts freedom of speech, for various reasons, of which, the upshot of those reasons, is that this is being done for the supposed benefit of the people, though when looked at with even a cursory glance, this would appear to be legislation passed or interpreted in favor of the federal government so that they can aggrandize onto itself more control of that speech, and therefore of what is or is not permitted by that government to be spoken, written, or expressed.

It has to be said, that despite the First Amendment, or perhaps because of it, the federal government seems to be in charge as to what is or what is not freedom of speech, and that this is ever-changing into the belief by the federal government, that our freedom of speech, needs to be monitored and restricted, for the good of society – somehow misunderstanding that freedom of speech, is in actuality that which the federal government has no legitimate right to infringe upon.

Patience and your GPS

Nowadays, many of us are reliant upon our GPS to help get us from place to place, and though we always are ultimately in charge as to whether or not we strictly follow such directional advice, it’s nice to know that GPS has our back.  The other very nice thing about GPS is the fact that unlike a human being or a backseat driver, the GPS doesn’t ever yell at us, it doesn’t call us stupid, it doesn’t berate us, but is instead endlessly patient, and willing to “reroute” us to our destination, should we miss our turn or make a mistake.  There is indeed, something to be learned about all this, which is that if we all took it to heart, would be helpful, of which being patient and not belittling one another, most definitely makes for a better situation, than losing our cool with one another.

In life, we all are going to take wrong turns, and many of us will not directly get to the destination that we are supposed to get to, so then when we make mistakes, often it does not prove helpful, to be yelled at, or to be looked down upon, in which those sorts of attitudes take what is already not a good situation, and simply makes it worse.  That is to say, of course, it’s frustrating when we make mistakes, or when it is pointed out to us that we are mistaken, but when a mistake has been made, there isn’t any good reason for the problem to be compounded, by being yelled at or screamed at, when the situation does not truly call for that sort of reaction.

What many people like about GPS, besides its accuracy, is that it performs its job on behalf of us, without ever losing its patience with us, and is forever forgiving of mistakes or detours that we have made.  There is a lot in life to be said, about our need to be patient with one another, but also to recognize that because we all make mistakes as well as misjudgments, that we would be better served then by representing calmness in those situations, which don’t require us to overreact to something that isn’t all that critical, to begin with.  That is to say, if more of us would simply recognize that we are going to have those inevitable missteps, then we would be in a better frame of mind, to not waste our time judging such missteps harshly, but rather we would be much better off, by adjusting to what happened, so as to continue to keep our eye on the mission, above all.

The thing about impatience is how frequently such impatience is not the appropriate response to a given situation that seems to have gone in the wrong direction.  In other words, the impatience that we exhibit typically is a rather poor response to a given situation, in which, we would be far better served by recognizing that not only will we never be perfect, but oftentimes it isn’t even necessary to be perfect to ultimately get to the destination that we desire, successfully.

Every family has a tragedy

Somehow, we like to believe that the grass is truly greener on the other side, of which, that other side, thus experiences life at its very best, without any problems or concerns.  No doubt, some people’s lives are materially better than others, but life is far more than our material gains, for life encompasses the whole gamut of love, betrayal, success, failure, and just about everything that we could possibly imagine that could occur or desire not to occur.  Indeed, no family has not experienced some sort of tragedy within their domain, for those that live today, are the same that will die tomorrow.  So too, those that are closest to us, are the very same that can be our greatest joy or they can also deeply hurt or disappoint us.  So then, life has its inevitable ups and downs, which thus provides us with those obstacles and challenges to overcome or else find ourselves defeated by such.

It is important to realize that all of us have suffered some degree of disappointment in our respective lives, for our desires forever outrun what we actually achieve or have in our possession.  This alas is the nature of life for those who are not able to temper their desires and replace such with simply running the best race that they are capable of, come what may.   In truth, the more that we desire something or have to have the perfect family or the perfect life, the more that we set ourselves up for inevitable disappointment when things do not go according to the plan that we have so structured.  It isn’t so much that we shouldn’t prioritize what we ought to work on, but rather it has a lot more to do with our inability to take into fair consideration all the contingencies known and unknown that are oftentimes either out of our control or we can’t control.

The tragedies that happen within our life, of death, injury, and failure, are ours to deal with, to the best of our ability, of which, it has to be noted, that every family suffers from some personal tragedy, as well.  This thus signifies that as much as we might admire or envy someone else, if we were to indeed spend some time in their shoes, we would know that they too, have also suffered their own tragedies.  The human heart will invariably be hurt, and because each of us has been hurt, we have the opportunity then to find common ground with just about anyone, in the sure knowledge that they too have grieved for that which has been lost.

So too, the reason why we want to acknowledge that every family has experienced tragedy is to recognize that this type of sorrow is universal, and because this happens to all of us, it thereby provides us with the opening to relate to one another in a way and manner that we can grow and heal one another, by the recognition that our common humanity, finds its highest mission, in our gift of love, forgiveness, and the resiliency to carry on, in the sure knowledge, that what we presently accept as a tragedy, will surely be overcome.

Sports and the military have helped reduce racism

The United States has a distinct history of racism, as demonstrated by the fact that slavery was legal within the United States as well as the fact that American Indians were forcefully removed from their historic territories and also had countless treaties violated by the American government.  That said, the past does not necessarily always present us with a prelude to the future, because there is always the opportunity for society to learn from its past, so as to make progress in adhering to these immortal words that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”

In 1948, President Truman signed an Executive Order stating that “there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces…”  This Executive Order became the basis for the American military to effectively integrate itself, and though this in its implementation was never going to be a smooth process or even something that instantly occurred, what did happen, is that the pathway for that integration in conjunction with the law, supported the non-discrimination of those so entering into the armed forces of this nation.  The end result is that the military provided the foundation for those who previously had not treated one another with consideration and respect to eventually mold together as a team, because those who were part of a fighting unit, had to merge together as a fighting unit, or else they would endanger not only their selves but also the mission, so impressed upon them.

In regards to sports, it has to be remembered, that many a sports team is motivated by winning, above all else, and will do whatever then that it takes, even to stretching the rules, to win the prize.  So then, those of the more progressive sort, recognized that many fine athletes were non-white that would as part of their sports team, help that team to win, and therefore it was no real stretch for that management of some of these teams, to determine that adding a player of immense skill and talent to their roster, would provide that team with a better chance of winning.  So too, other sports owners and management, would in recognition, that they were falling behind the competition, have to do the same sort of thing to remain competitive.  The result then for sports, was the integration into the sport of more and more non-white players which not only made for a better team but also made for a better sport.  Additionally, players of different backgrounds and races that played and trained together, day after day, were thus provided with the opportunity to get to know one another, and therefore to let down their guard to one another, eventually to understand their similarities as well as common interests, so that, the net effect was those that were members of the same team, identified first as being of that team, and only secondarily to their individual race.

Indeed, when it comes to the fans of these sports, though they may well have been uneasy about seeing non-white players on their favorite team, at the end of the day, though, as fans, they desired their team to win, and therefore to root for a team with black players on the field, but somehow to hate them as a people, was a contradiction that has eroded over time.  As for our military, those who are patriotic, want our armed forces to win their battles, in which, that can only be accomplished by those who make up those forces, working together as a team, thus then superseding the racial classification of a given person, for the collective good of the nation.

The Wilmot Proviso

In 1846, Pennsylvania’s David Wilmot put forth his proposed proviso stating that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of said territory, except for crime, whereof the party shall first be duly convicted.”  This proposed proviso would then apply therefore to the territory so acquired from Mexico, as the end result of the Mexican-American war, in which, the United States was able to get Mexico to cede what became the States of California, Nevada, Utah, and New Mexico, as well as the majority of Arizona and Colorado, and also parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.  In addition, Mexico relinquished what became the State of Texas to the United States.  In short, the point of the Wilmot Proviso was to make it national policy that the new territory won through what many considered to be an unjust war, would not then be utilized on behalf of the expansion of slavery.  In other words, the point of the Wilmot Proviso was to keep slavery confined within the States where it currently existed, and thereby not to spread this inimical abomination of humans enslaving other humans any further than it already existed within these United States.

The Wilmot Proviso though was not passed and therefore was not ratified, and did not thus become the law of the land.  The result of this legislation not being approved was the inevitable increase of slavery into what became new States, that previously did not have slavery because Mexico had abolished slavery from their nation in 1837.  In other words, some of this previous Mexican territory, such as Texas became a slave State and also slavery was made legal in the New Mexico, Utah, and Indian territories.  That is to say, those of the South made it their point to take territories so bought or won in war by the United States, so as to expand such into those additional States so created, as much as they could, such as in Louisiana and Missouri, which became slave States.

It is quite unfortunate, that the Wilmot Proviso did not become the law of the land, and to demonstrate how forward-thinking this proviso was, we need only look at the words of our 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States…”  These words of the 13th Amendment are essentially the same as that proviso, with the basic caveat being that in order for the 13th Amendment to become the law of the land, there first had to be fought a bloody and extended civil war, which cost the lives of 620,000 Americans.

Indeed, in a land that celebrates freedom, justice, and liberty for all, there was never a point in which slavery could be justified within that national mindset --  yet, slavery was legal within the Constitution so ratified.  Still, the principle of permitting slavery as understood by those legislators working within the construct of the Constitution was that they believed that by abolishing the slave trade as of 1808, that slavery would in time, cease to exist.  Regrettably though, through territorial expansion, this renewed and reinvigorated those who saw the personal benefits of that slavery, and therefore they decided to do whatever that they had to do, to expand such into territories so bought or won through war, which led to the inevitable conflict of which a house divided, would not stand; but from the ashes of that great civil war, came the foundation that had previously been declared through its independence of those immortal words that “all men are created equal.”

The art of persuasion

There are lots of people who desire, at least from time to time, that the other should come to their way of thinking and therefore people use all sorts of stratagems to accomplish this.  One of the ways, that seldom works though to persuade the other to our point of view, is basically to harangue them,  or to harass them, or to just use methods which follow the line of how stupid that they are for not seeing things the way that they ought to be seen.  Not too surprisingly, berating the other, or trying to dictate to the other, is not going to be the most effective way to get someone to change their mind, though coercion can produce the result so desired, but does so at an unethical price.

On the other hand, those who truly desire to persuade the other, recognize that first of all, they need to understand the valid reasoning behind their having that particular point of view, and then further they need to know the best way to disseminate that information, which involves not only knowing their own self but also involves knowing the other.  Then, in order for persuasion to best work, such must be done in a friendly and civil manner, of which, that said, there are many a case in which persuasion on a certain subject is not going to immediately produce results, but because the conversation has been initiated, this will produce the necessary seeds of what will eventually end up being a good result.

When people respect one another, and further to the point, like one another, there is typically going to be an openness that permits ideas to be engaged one to the other, so that, for all those who feel that a particular person is misguided about something of import, there will thus be the opportunity to disengage the other from that point of view,  when properly presented.  It has to be remembered though that those who have opinions or preferences of long-standing, that to expect someone like that to simply drop their previous thinking to somehow embrace a new type of thinking upon that subject, is always going to be the exception, and never the rule, for many a person is not capable of changing their ingrained habits of thought in a blink of an eye.  Rather, to effect change, and therefore to be persuasive, is going to be, an exercise in patience, respect, consistency, and persistence, so as to break down their walls of defensiveness, and replace such with openness to a new perspective which is more worthy of them.

Alas, when neither side to a particular point of view is willing to listen to the other but insists upon talking past the other, nothing of merit will be accomplished, for they aren't even really having a conversation.  Therefore, in order to persuade the other, the format for that success needs to be friendly and unpressured, though, the nature of the conversation requires that it have some intended purpose behind it, and those that would persuade, need to do their good part in conveying what it is that they wish to impart, in a manner that it best reaches its intended destination, and is thus received in good humor by the other.

President Andrew Johnson's Pardon and Amnesty for Confederates

On May 29, 1865, President Johnson issued a very important Proclamation of Pardon and Amnesty, with several provisions to it, in regards to what those who brought rebellion to the United States, needed to do in order to become citizens of good standing with their attendant rights returned to them by this nation.  It has to be remembered that those that make war, and thereupon lose that war, would not thus be in a position to demand much of anything, for as the losers of this civil war as well as being the initiators of that war, they would have to rely on the mercy of the victors; yet this nation to its esteemed credit did not desire to have malice to those that had rebelled against them.

While President Johnson's Proclamation had many provisions, the most salient one, was that those who had taxable property of over $20,000 would have to make a special application to the President in order to secure back their right to vote as well as  to hold office.  In other words, Johnson's Proclamation was seen as being the instrument that would once and for all, put a sword to those of the privileged white class, who had been the biggest slave owners, as well as being the instigators and material contributors to this rebellion of the Southern States, against the United States.

Unfortunately, Johnson decided for whatever reason(s), to pardon pretty much all those who were members of what would considered to be the slaveocracy of the South, so that thereupon in short order, the end result was the return to power of the very privileged people that were the previous office holders within those Southern States, or their equivalency, and therefore returning those that had rebelled against the United States, to their previous condition of superiority and control within those States. 

This then meant that though the Southern States had lost many men, as well as having property destroyed or confiscated by the victorious North, in their futile fight against the Northern States, and despite having been the proximate cause of this war, things were able to return to essentially how they had been before the civil war, though, new laws and Constitutional Amendments had been ratified, to, in theory, preclude such.  Sure, slavery was no longer the law of the land, but those of the South recognized that there were other avenues available to them to still exploit those that had been enslaved, to thereby serve the purposes of the South.  So too, the South was still united in their belief of what they would or would not tolerate from those that were non-white, which continued to be a drag upon liberating national policy, for decade upon decade.

In summary, it can be said, that the Amnesty proclaimed by President Johnson, was well reasoned, and a necessary precondition for the people of those previous rebellious States who were thus required to swear to such so as to come back to the Union in good standing; it was though, implemented in such a manner that it kept those that had previously been enslaved, for the most part, in the same unjust and inferior position that they had not only expected to have seen changed but also undercut the very emancipation that they had been granted in 1863.  The end result was that the slaveocracy which should have been shattered, upon the conclusion of this civil war, was not, and therein lies the human tragedy, of which the remnants of such, live until the present day.

Mileage signage on freeways

Those who travel on freeways are dependent upon exit signs being clearly marked, and though many a person prefers the actual name of the exit that they are taking, it has to be said, that probably a lot more, actually prefer the exit number as of being more important, for names of exits can be fairly similar or sound about the same, whereas exit numbers are absolutely distinct.  Because this is the United States, there aren’t always the exact same formal standards that each State follows when it comes to their exit numbering, of which, logically the best numbering system is to begin at the number 1 for those entering the State as in, for example, from the western direction, and then to tie in the exit numbers to the distance so being traveled eastward, which aligns with the mile markers, that are often posted on one side of the road.  That is to say, exit 3 should represent having traveled 3 miles in an eastern direction, and if the next exit isn’t until another 8 miles, that should be labeled as exit 11.

When it comes to the accuracy of mile markers and even mile markers that are further broken down into tenths, such as .1 mile, .2 mile, and so on, this signage if it has been deliberately created to provide that specific information is going to be very accurate, because it has been engineered to reflect an accurate distance; so then, it can be taken as a given, that any signage, which is specifically meant to show mileage, is accurate.  On the other hand, there is plenty of signage that has been posted onto a freeway overpass, of which, that signage is going to be susceptible to being not so accurate, because overpasses are designed first and foremost, as a way and means to travel from one side of a road to another, and has little to do with being placed, for instance, exactly one mile from a given exit.  This means, that those who note mileage signage on an overpass, that tells the driver that they are 1 mile away from an exit, can be inaccurate, by as much as ¼ mile, in either direction, thereby, indicating that those traveling at a high speed, may not have as much time as they think to get over to the exit lane, and why some people believe that a given exit, just seems to come up too quickly, or for those signs, which are underestimating the distance, why it seems to the driver as if that mile is a very long mile.

The thing about GPS and driving is that GPS is very accurate, and those then that rely upon GPS for their navigation are relying upon an instrument that almost always gets the distance and the exit, correctly.  When it comes to freeway signage, though, it isn’t so much that engineers can and do make mistakes, though they do, but rather it has a lot more to do, with the signage, especially on overpasses, as being an aid to the driver, but not meant oftentimes to be taken literally, for as they say, your mileage may differ.

The law and standing for that which is right

Henry David Thoreau tells us that: “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. “  Indeed, there are far too many people, that believe that the law, wrong or right, needs and should be obeyed, always, which doesn’t make sense, because not every law is a just law, and those laws which are unjust and immoral, are, by definition, in conflict with that which is just and right.  To somehow believe, that legislators and politicians are not influenced by the times that they are a part of, including the prejudices and favoritism shown to those that have undue influence upon them, is to be badly mistaken, for certain laws have a strong tendency to be in conformance with what those that the most powerful desire, as compared to those laws always being in accordance to that which is right and fair.

Those who take a moral stand, subject to the vagaries of all sorts of punishment and opprobrium by the forces of society that do not desire to see things change, are the very people who are in the vanguard of the necessary change to happen.  In other words, those that demonstrate civil unrest, to thus bring to the attention of authorities, that not all is well, represent people of principle, as compared to people of expediency.  Undeniably, the society that we are a part of has a strong tendency to reflect the preferences of those in power who frequently believe that they are above moral law, and therefore they impose upon society, the demands that best fit what will be most beneficial for them, but not for society.

In life, we will be called to account, in which the question of the hour will be, as to whether or not, when we were called upon, we stood for that which is right, or whether we unquestionably obeyed the law, no matter how wrong, or even worse, simply were indifferent to it all.  Those who control the power levers desire for us to be indifferent or compliant to the laws of the day, thereby providing them with more resources to apply pressure on those who are not so willingly obedient.  Indeed, those who truly believe that obedience to the law, is our inherent obligation to the law, are those who have sacrificed their liberty for whatever it is that they so have that provides them with some degree of comfort but have done so, at the price of their good conscience.

Each of us has been gifted with a mind, to utilize to the best of our abilities, of which, one of those important things for each of us to address, is whether or not we desire to behave in a manner that is just and right, with the clear recognition that because not every law is just or right, there will be conflict, and ultimately a showdown between them.  Those then that are on the side of right, are those that believe in justice, equally and fairly applied, and those that are on the side of law, whether it be right or wrong, have forsaken their liberty and freedom for obedience, as if obedience was the highest calling that should be aspired to.

19th century Carriage ride accidents

Nowadays, most of us take for granted, the general safety and security of our automobiles that we utilize to get to the various places that we go to, day by day.  That said, vehicles have only been around for about 100 years, and as tragic and as dangerous accidents can be for us with modern-day vehicles, it has to be admitted that on a per-mile basis, vehicles are actually pretty darn safe, especially when compared to the utilization of a horse carriage, back in the 1700s and 1800s.  It has got to be remembered, that not only was the construction of a given carriage not necessarily the most robust, or even necessarily well engineered, but also that horses were susceptible to becoming frightened, and thus bolting and thereby becoming the proximate cause of an unfortunate carriage accident.

Those who rode in carriages recognized that there was risk to that travel, but preferred to travel in a way and manner in which they could not only be catered to but was in the scheme of things, far less tiring and more comfortable, as compared to riding a horse themselves.  So too, people rode in carriages, because a carriage ride permitted them the opportunity to have a conversation, to attend to paperwork, or to dress appropriately for the event that they were traveling to, as well as to not have to personally take the responsibility of navigating the roads.

There are a multitude of reasons, why riders in a carriage, could end up being in an accident, having first of all to do with the integrity of the carriage, its wheels, the distribution of the weight of that carriage, as well as the condition of the roads, which could be far more dangerous depending upon weather conditions, steepness, narrowness, branches, or loose stones or gravel.  Additionally, the person so driving the carriage, needed to be careful in their driving as well as the traveling speed of that carriage, because of obstacles, and just the general knowledge that turns so made in a carriage, needed to be done at a speed conducive to safety first.  Additionally, carriage drivers had a responsibility to not only to check the integrity of the carriage periodically but also the condition and overall fatigue of the horse(s) so pulling that carriage.  Also, a horse with less experience, or one more susceptible to being frightened by unexpected noises, could in a moment, take what was a safe ride, and make it far more dangerous.

Finally, there is the knowledge that those on the road with a carriage, would invariably come across other carriages, or other horse riders, or pedestrians, in which, somebody had to yield to the other entity, or else a collusion or having to maneuver off course could easily happen.  The fact of the matter is, as much as we might today, think that riding in a carriage would be both pleasant and safe, it was far less pleasant and far less safe when this was a necessary means to get from one destination to another, because there was not only the possibility of human carriage driver error, but also the unpredictably of a frightened horse, as well as the carriage itself, may not have been all that secure or safe.

The importance of not always saying what is on our mind

We are told that we should “think before we speak,” and the reason why we should consider well this wise adage, is words that are unthoughtfully spoken can easily create friction, conflict, hurt, and trouble, for when we fail to self-censor ourselves, and thereby to filter out those things that we know that we really ought not to say, it can create all sorts of havoc between ourselves and other people.  While it is true, that we can get into trouble, in myriad ways, it is also true that those who get in trouble and uncomfortable situations the most, are those who are unable to tame their own tongue, thereby they are themselves the instrument of their own troubles.

In life, all sorts of thoughts will come to us, of which, it is our responsibility to determine whether or not what we are thinking about, should actually be expressed in words, written or verbal.  For some people, one way to get around personal hurt is to put into writing what has come to their mind, not from the perspective that this is what they are really going to say or send, but rather as a means to let go of some of their aggression, by simply going through that exercise and then reading, and re-reading it, only to eventually recognize that what has been written, isn’t going to serve any good purpose, except perhaps to give them sufficient time to reflect upon such.  Indeed, those who are tempted to respond back to others in a hurtful manner because they feel that they have been marginalized or hurt, need to understand, that not only do two wrongs, never make a right, but also, that not everything said to us, or text to us, necessitates an instant reply, but rather oftentimes we are better served by doing our best to remain calm, in which, as the heat of the moment begins to dissipate, we find that though those words may still sting us a bit, their overall effect to us, has been reduced, considerably.

So too, there are those people, who seem to suffer from their constant inability to self-censor themselves, and because they just can’t seem to resist saying what is on the tip of their tongue, they go right ahead and say what they say, never seeming to realize that not everything that we think of, needs to be expressed in words, because when those words aren’t of any good purpose, even if somewhat true, along with those words, not being of benefit to the other, we would be far better off, if we simply shut up, instead.

It is well to remember, that we as a people are human beings, of which some of us have thicker skin than others, and because we have feelings, we need to understand better, that wrong words can hurt, and words spoken in haste that are hurtful to those that we claim we love and care about, are the type of words that can have long-term implications for the worse, because a word unfitly spoken or angrily written cannot be retracted, and the hurt that we have thus created, may not be easily healed, or ever healed, and therein lies the reason why we should consciously monitor what it is that we say and send, especially when we know ourselves, how much hurt that wrong words directed at us, can create.

“The past is never past”

It has been said that the past is never past, which basically means that those that do not believe that the past has any relevance in the present time or in the future, do not properly grasp the importance of the past. The very purpose of the past is not only to learn from it but to recognize that what has happened in the past, is often cyclical in nature, for the very process of time as measured in this present age, clearly demonstrates to us, that time itself is cyclical, for the seasons of the year tell us that, as well as the fact that each day has the same 24 hours, day after day after day. Therefore, to believe, somehow, that we should always and forevermore conceptualize time as being linear is to misunderstand the full truth of time, which is better represented by the knowledge that what we see as time in this world, is for our learning experience, for in actuality time is an elaborate illusion.

Each of us should be grateful that we know of the past, and the more that we study the past so as to understand not only the errors of past times but also the insights of such, the better we are able then to properly see the past as a necessary stepping stone to get us to where we really need to go. This thus signifies that the past is structured as the past so that we will utilize this knowledge to help bring us ever closer to understanding and comprehending who and what we truly are. Those who are wise, recognize that the smoothest path to enlightenment is to stand upon the shoulders of those esteemed personages of the past, who were visionaries and innovative, as compared to desiring to start over, again and again. For those who do not desire to pay attention to the past, thereby represent the very same who will be susceptible to living the same errors of the past because they are apparently unwilling to learn the valuable lessons that will free them from the mistakes so made in those past times.

In order to break free from the endless cycle, of birth, life, and then death, we have got to acknowledge that this can only be accomplished by those who have taken the time to read the past, and have thus used that knowledge to thereby break free from the confines and limitations of misguided thoughts and beliefs, to accept that there is a better way, and those that pursue that way, diligently and unrelentingly, will surely find that previously undiscovered and hidden country.

The past is never past, because the skeins of time cannot be erased, and as much as we may well wish to ignore or to pretend that certain past events did not happen, they did happen. The point then is not to ignore the past, but rather to see the past as a necessary piece of the puzzle which, when fully put back together, will provide us with true freedom and endless liberty, in the sure knowledge that all that has so occurred, makes eminent sense and always has.