The necessary takedown of the dominant culture

There are plenty of people who clamor for change, but despite all their hue and cry, we do so find that change is not only slow in coming but that to a large extent, those agitating the most for change, somehow end up becoming compromised by the dominant culture of the day or subsumed by such or just ignored.  Indeed, the bottom line is clear that for change to happen, the dominant culture must either itself be replaced or modified, and if this does not occur, the changes desired will likely be few and far between.

So then, those who are on the margins of society need to recognize that what keeps them marginalized more than anything, is the fact that because they are not part of the dominant culture, they are effectively without a voice, and because they have no voice, the changes that they so richly desire are not going to materialize.  This thus signifies that to make progress in society for the members of such, it has to first be recognized that having a justified cause and believing in that cause is only going to get a collective voice so far, because what has to occur is that to make progress one needs to have a true seat at the table of that which faces off against the effective leaders of society, especially including those that are the power behind the throne.

The fact that in society after society, we see that it is consistently a minority that rules over the majority, seems perplexing, especially in those nations that are democratic in nature, with an equal vote for all.  It doesn’t seem to make sense, that despite democracy, necessary change for the good of that society seems to move at a glacier pace, even when judicial decisions and legislation have been passed, that should bring change, but still, that change does not come, which reflects that those that are the dominant players in society, are expertly adept at navigating and accomplishing what they need to do, so as to maintain their control over the population to their benefit.

It has been said that “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come,” but that sentiment is contradicted by the fact that there are plenty of really good ideas that are most definitely timely, but their time never seems to come, because those that are the dominant culture do their level best to counteract these ideas, or dilute them, or delay them.  This means that those who desire change have got to be more targeted in their approach in which they have to be relentless in dealing with the dominant culture, by utilizing all of their various means, so as to exert pressure on those who are the dominant players in order then to have any hope of accomplishing necessary change.  Indeed, those who have power are the very same who are absolutely reluctant to give up any of it, which is why until that power is compromised or negated or negotiated with, change comes very slowly, and the only way to speed up that process is to successfully undermine or overcome that dominant culture.

The government as guardian of our unalienable rights

It has to be said, that disappointingly, many Americans are pretty much clueless about where their unalienable rights originate from, and if put to the test, many of them would indicate that these rights come from their government.  Not only is this answer fundamentally wrong, but such a viewpoint as that is dangerous, because if indeed our unalienable rights came from our governance, then those very same rights, could be taken away from us, by that government, at their whim.  In truth, unalienable rights are indicative that we as human beings are born with those rights. Fortunately, we have a Constitutional government whose primary function is to be the upholder and thereby the guardian of our unalienable rights, and to the degree, that it is not, then such a government as that has betrayed its purpose to the detriment of the people, in whole.

It is important for people to comprehend, that the best government, isn’t necessarily that government that governs least, or that government that desires to be all things to all people, but rather that the best government is one that concentrates upon seeing that its citizenry has its unalienable rights secure and not subject to being infringed upon.  That indeed, is the very purpose of our Constitutional government, to see that we as a people, are free, at liberty, and that the playing field that we thus operate upon, is fair and equally applied to all.

Indeed, it would be far better for the people to understand and to thereby acknowledge that this government is supposed to operate under the consent of the governed, and therefore the people should not be in the thrall of a government that violates their rights, but rather it is up to the people to remind its government and their representatives, that is their duty to act on behalf of the people, so as keep their unalienable rights, secure, no more and no less.  So too, that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, must in its operation therefore be mindful that to lose focus of its purpose, or to aggrandize onto itself powers that are not enumerated for that government, is a betrayal of that Constitution.

Unfortunately, there is the Constitution as written, and then there is the application of those powers in actuality, of which, as time has gone on, more and more power has been ceded by the people, for whatever reasons, wittingly or unwittingly, to that government, which is less and less answerable to the people, and further compounds its legitimacy by acting on its own, far too often without appropriate oversight, without transparency, and without accountability to the people.  Therefore, it is critical for the people to remember, that its government is not supposed to be a power onto itself, but rather it is supposed to be the guardian and thereby the protector of our unalienable rights, which when done correctly permits us to have quality lives of purpose and happiness.  Instead, we live in a day and age, in which, many see their government as a force that talks a good game, but cares not a whit about being the guardian of the people’s rights, but rather prefers to do whatever it pleases, while desiring only that the people be obedient, and to not worry so much about their supposed unalienable rights.

The undercount of those who are in poverty in America

The one thing about governments that can be said for a certainty is that they absolutely love statistics and therefore they keep track of all sorts of stats, not so much to do something constructive about such, where this is most needed, but rather as simply a means to keep a good tally of how that society is doing.  Regarding poverty in America, census.gov tells us that 37.9 million people in America were part of the official poverty rate in 2022.  However, that number of people does not count any of the estimated 1.23 million people who were incarcerated in prisons, of which, the overwhelming majority of those prisoners were either in poverty before their incarceration or because there is typically no reasonable means to make a decent wage in prison, they are in poverty while in prison, signifying that an additional 1.23 million peoples are effectively in poverty as well, though not counted as such, by the United States Census Bureau.

It doesn’t take a sagacious person to understand that to a meaningful extent, those who are in poverty are the very same who are going to have a strong inclination to commit crimes, because those who are without fair opportunity and hope, aren’t going to be vested into being a good citizen. This would seem to strongly imply that a reduction in those who are currently in poverty, would help to reduce the number of people committing crimes and therefore would diminish the number of people being incarcerated, which a sensible person, would surely be in favor of supporting.

Indeed, to somehow believe that crime is arbitrary and that those who are locked up consist of a fair reflection of the income and assets categories of this nation, is woefully inaccurate.  In fact, it is those who are the least amongst us, in the sense of having fair access to the desired accouterments that help make life good, who are overrepresented in our prison population, because they do not have, what they so desire to have, and because they do not believe that there is a legit way to gain access to such, take it upon themselves, to take shortcuts to get what they so desire, which is bad for society, and when violence or coercion is used, even worse.

So too, as they say, idle hands are the devil’s workshop, which reflects that because incarceration is not cost-free in America, and thus costs the American people a considerable sum of money, for the expressed purpose of getting certain people off of the streets, that it would therefore behoove this nation, to come up with sensible work programs, that would not only provide income to those that most need it, but also would permit this nation to do something constructive about the infrastructure which is in disrepair all over this country.  After all, the fact of the matter is that those who work, especially at a living wage, are always going to be less inclined to commit crime, because they are busy and occupied with the work that they are so doing and getting paid for, of which, the more that any segment of this population can buy into the belief that America is truly the land of the free, the brave, and of hope, the better it will be for society, at large.

Hopelessness leads to the destruction of self

When a person has lost hope, for whatever reason or reasoning, that person has placed themselves into a position that is almost for a certainty not going to produce good results; for those without hope, are the very same, that have given up on their own self because believing their situation appears hopeless to them, aren’t going to be engaged to do much of anything that would truly alleviate their hopelessness, and are thereby prone to indulging in whatever substances that they can obtain that relieves them, at least for a while, from that feeling of hopelessness, through drugs of all types, or mindless entertainment.  Those without hope, are therefore not really living, but are, at best, just existing, for they often have no purpose, no drive, and no realistic goals.

The main crux of the problem with hopelessness is that those who are without hope, are typically unable to obtain or to generate the escape velocity to jettison themselves away from hopelessness into actually having hope, and because they cannot accomplish this, there are in what appears to be a never-ending cycle of despair, lack of self-esteem, lack of self-respect, and lack of purpose.  Further to the point, those who are without hope, are going to be prone to indulging in those types of activities that are harmful to their development of a sound mind along with a sound body, for because they cannot conceive of a bright future, they are intent thereupon embracing the darkness, instead.

All of the above, basically means that the best thing and the most important thing that society can do for those who are without hope is to help construct the environment that will bring hope, to those most needing such, for we do so find, that those that are with hope are those that will usually buy into their fair obligation to that society, recognizing the fact that a healthy society consists of a reasonable degree of give and take, which thereby helps one another to achieve goals and purposes so desired or envisioned.

The reason that we find so many that are without hope here in America is because America has too many enclaves of poverty and neglect that have very little of the accouterments and opportunities for those that reside there so as to develop hope, and without that hope, they readily fall into hopelessness.  This indicates that the government needs to do more to involve those that are its most disadvantaged in a way and manner that replaces that hopelessness with hope, which necessitates a driven purpose by governance to concentrate upon that very thing, by suitably investing in the people and areas of this nation, that most need that type of investment, for the problem with capitalism run amok, is that the successful get ever more selfishly successful; whereas, the poor and neglected fall ever further behind.

It is indeed in America’s best interest to do what it best can do to provide hope to those who are currently without hope, for those who are hopeless, will continue to be prone to engage in the self-destructive behavior of substance abuse, incivility, and a general feeling that nothing that they do really matters, because in their perception nothing ever changes, and never will.

Physicians, COVID-19, and who lives and who dies

Those who are medical doctors are the very ones who inform us as to how healthy or unhealthy our body actually is, while also typically providing us with options to deal with what we have to deal with, of which, most patients of doctors assume that the information that they are receiving from their physician has been conveyed to them in an honest, transparent, and open manner.  The problem, though, when it comes to our health, is that when a given community is suffering a health crisis, from something such as COVID-19 or in dangerous war zones or other areas in which resources, time, and options are severely reduced is that physicians, for better or for worse, are going to have to make decisions that definitely affect as to who lives, or has a better chance of living, as compared to those that have essentially been left behind.  This thus indicates that as it presently stands, there are those times when physicians and the decisions that they make, are going to be the difference between life and death, which signifies that somewhere along the line, there needs to be not only an independent agency that supervises all this but also, ultimately, there needs to be accountability -- unless American citizens believe that doctors and doctors alone, should make those decisions, based upon the physician’s perception as to the “utilitarian value” of a patient or dealing with such from the perspective of the number of years saved or some other factor(s).

When it comes to physicians it has to be recognized that those who are in ill health, are dependent upon those physicians making decisions that are in their best interests, but when that is compromised by the fact that equipment is in short supply, or medicine, or myriad other factors, then what is occurring is that somebody or some agency has to make a decision as who gets or does not get the necessary medicine or aid, which is something that should be as transparent as possible to the public, at large.  Additionally, there needs to be some monitoring agency that has no profit motive, that is truly independent, to determine whether decisions being made are in accordance with what we owe one another, in a society, of people, all deserving to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  So too, there needs to be an open debate as to how the decisions that are made, are arrived at, so as to understand better as to whether or not, such is reasonable and in accordance with societal norms.

So then, when it comes to COVID-19, there needs to be an inquiry, because the crisis has passed, as to the decisions made at hospitals by physicians or the administration, as to who did or did not get priority when it came to necessary treatment from those suffering the debilitating effects of COVID-19, so that this government can ascertain as to whether or not what they have currently in place is considered to be, for instance, haphazard, good, arbitrary, or whatever, because it could be said that to leave the decision as to who is prioritized or not in the sole hands of physicians or of an agency that answers to nobody, is probably not going to be the best decision that could or should be made, especially for those that are our most vulnerable and deserving of fair consideration.

Knowledge needs to become insight

There are plenty of people who know a whole lot about many things, but aren’t though gifted with the insight that such knowledge should present to them, mainly because they have not deeply thought through the point of that knowledge, or because they do not care to continue down the path that will bring them the necessary insight that they really need to know and therefore is of value not only to their own self, but to society, at large.

There are indeed many people who know the literal meaning of many things, but do not care to understand the inner meaning of what those things really represent and how important they are for our continual advancement and enlightenment.  In life, there are many steps to take to get to the destination that we are supposed to reach, of which, that destination does not ever change in any way, form, or manner, but even though this destination is within fair reach for anyone so desiring to put forth the consistent effort to get there, we find that to our dismay, few can break through to that ultimate insight, which therefore means that humankind suffers through the same sorts of mistakes and errors, generation after generation, without change.

Indeed, while humankind understands that we are all created by the same hand of God and that therefore we are created equally in the image of God, surprisingly few, though, are subsequently interested in knowing what this truly means, but rather prefer to spend inordinate amounts of time in divisiveness, arguments, selfishness, and other bad traits which serve to divide us as a people, and therefore precludes us from reaching forth to that which will bring us everlasting peace and sanctuary.

While it is good to have strong knowledge about many things, for it helps us to better understand the world as it is, we have got to recognize that such knowledge always has an end-game, of which, that end-game is for us to know that the purpose of our life here, so as to ascertain the full measure of what we are not only supposed to know but the application of such, for the betterment of the society that we are an integral part of.

It is wise to remember that as children, there is only so much knowledge that we can absorb, for we have not yet developed the capacity to absorb and to understand all that we need to comprehend so as to obtain that higher awareness.  Yet, the steps that we take as children help us to build the foundation so necessary to climb ever higher into the awareness that this world has definite meaning and purpose, of which, that meaning is for us, to be in harmony with our Creator, by behaving in a manner in accordance with God’s good attributes, and that by doing so, we will understand that our essence is eternal in nature, which signifies that those that are incapable of seeing beyond the physicality of humanness to our ultimate spirituality and soul, are missing the forest for the trees.  We are meant thus to be paragons of virtue, helping to bring out the good in the other, in the sure recognition, that by this insight, we bring light to where there was formerly darkness.

Walking it back

There are those people who when caught in an outright lie or in a prejudicial statement or in a disgraceful act, somehow can’t find the courage or honesty to ever own up completely to their mistake, but rather their preference is often to “walk it back” by downplaying what has so occurred, and basically excusing it in one form or another, that seemingly then takes care of the issue at hand, though, in truth, it does not.

In a fair and just world, those who do stupid and regretful things, but then hide behind equivocating words or try to place the blame on someone else or some other entity, and therefore aren’t ever willing to truly face the music, for what they have so done, are dishonest people, that we should be reluctant to trust, because those that will not admit to their faults and errors, especially when caught red-handed, are people that lack integrity.

That is to say, those that walk it back from their ill-advised words or bad behavior as if this somehow rectifies what has been said or done, have got it all wrong.  No doubt, all of us have said and done stupid things, of which, those with integrity then are going to be the very same, who won’t mince words but will own up to what they said or done, and then make it their point to take corrective action in order to help ameliorate such, if that option is still available.

The fact that so many personages of high authority are somehow permitted to walk back that which they have said or done, with this being considered to be acceptable, reflects this country and its moral code as being in a steep decline.  It has to be said, for the most part, walking it back, shouldn’t be permitted, for words once spoken or deeds once done, cannot be undone; therefore, the only just solution to mistakes and errors that have been made is to own up to such, which demonstrates character as well as the determination to do better in the future.

So too, whenever we see people in authority, who are permitted to walk it back without suffering some sort of just punishment, it’s then only fair for those watching such, to determine that they too should be accorded the same sort of option, as well.  Yet, that doesn’t seem to be the way that society works, for those that are the least amongst us, are almost never permitted to walk back anything, and instead must face the full fury of the law, exercised against them for their wrongful behavior.  This thus bespeaks the main problem with walking it back, and the hypocrisy, so of, which is that those of a certain class, or of privilege, or of power, are apparently allowed to say and to do whatever that they desire, often without having to suffer the fair consequence, because they alone are permitted the second chance to amend their error, by simply walking it back, though in actuality, in their persona, they haven’t walked back a thing, and therein lies the rub.

“Promote the general Welfare”

Our preamble to the Constitution states that the governance of this nation was formed so as to promote the general welfare of its people, amongst other important obligations.  This thus signifies that American governance needs to do its level best to do right by those citizens by promoting that general welfare in the activities that it so envisions and accomplishes.  Yet, when we take a good look at America, and see all the misery, poverty, ill-education, incarceration, lack of opportunity, injustice, and hopelessness that a meaningful subsection of Americans duly suffers from, we have to admit that the general welfare of this nation does not appear to be something that has been well distributed to all Americans, but rather seems to be something that has been corrupted in a way that the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, with the middle class carrying ever more weight, thereby reflecting the unjustness and unfairness of America.

Indeed, part of the reason for America falling well short of promoting the general welfare on behalf of the people is that those who are our legislators don’t seem to recognize that this obligation is one of the cardinal functions of the purpose of their being the people’s representatives.  In other words, our legislators seem to, far too often, turn a blind eye to the people, and spend far more time concentrating on benefiting their own self in conjunction with those special interests that they specifically are trying to please, thereby effectively ignoring their constituency.

America would be a far different country, if those who are our representatives, recognized in their thoughts and in their subsequent actions, that their first responsibility is to the people, and in particular, to see that what was accomplished on behalf of those same people, was that which promoted their general welfare.  The fact that this is the richest nation that the world has ever known, signifies that the reason that the welfare of so many, is not up to par, reflects that the taxation of this nation, the fairness of this nation, and the construct of this nation as exercised, is not in conformity or in harmony with the promotion of that general welfare.

Look, it has to be said, that many a comparable Western nation, has a far more robust social safety net for their people, along with having a universal health care system for them, as well as importantly having far less violent crime, which reflects that America has not done right by its people.  Our Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and when that Constitution is effectively ignored or circumvented, then what we do see, is the general welfare of this nation, not being prioritized and thereby falling short of what it could do for its people.  Indeed, important and great legislation has been passed for the benefit of that general welfare, but any legislated law is only as good as its successful implementation in the real world, and when we look around America, it has to be said, that regarding the general welfare of the people, our governance is doing a lackluster job in reaching those that need such welfare and opportunity, the most.

The cause of human misery

While there are myriad theories of the cause of humankind’s misery, which happens far too often to far too many people, it has to be said that the basic cause of that misery is humankind’s inability to do what they ought to do, and replacing such by doing that which is in disharmony to Nature’s God, and thereby suffering in one way or another, the penalty for that disobedience.  In other words, anytime that we do something morally wrong through the exercise of our free will, we have quite obviously weakened our ties to God, by our own volition, and in order then to strengthen back those ties, we are going to have to work very hard to make sure to do the right thing, instead.

The misery that we suffer from is often not from our misunderstanding of what is right and that which is wrong, but rather it is our stubbornness to insist that our way is the right way, even though intuitively we know that this isn’t right.  In life, there are going to be presented to us, time and time again, decisions that will necessitate us sacrificing something of our ego or of our desires, in order to do the right thing for those that we congregate with, and in many a case, when we fail to do the right thing, it is not because we aren’t capable of doing so, but because we willed to not do so, for whatever dubious reason.

It has to be said, that every step upon the wrong path, must be made up by a step upon the correct path, and the sooner that we recognize that we are continuing to walk down the wrong path, and thereby make then the determination that we will not continue down that path, the sooner that we will begin to mark our return to the right path, by taking action to do that very thing, as opposed to just thinking that we should do so, but never seeming to get around to actually accomplishing such.

To somehow believe that the decisions and actions that we make that are wrong, will somehow be okay in the end, is foolishness and is not borne out by the results that we will see in this life or the life beyond.  To be gifted with free choice is to be gifted with the opportunity to make good on such, or to fail to do so.  Those who make poor choices will experience some degree of misery, for they have not done what was meant to be done right, and having failed in that task, will duly have to pay the price for that disobedience.

For all those that expect their judgment to be an easy day, it is almost certain for them, that it will not be, because they are apparently not even cognizant of the mistakes that they have made.  In this world, we will be tested, and those who have the courage to do what needs to be done to pass their tests, are those who will rise above misery into enlightenment; whereas those who have not, will rue their stubbornness and stupidity, for in having been provided with free choice, they have sowed poorly, and will thereby reap the whirlwind.

Freedom of choice, government, and religion

To be free necessitates that we are able to make our own decisions as per our particular individual desires.  The problem with freedom of choice when it comes to societies and the governance that oversees that society, as well as the religious persuasion of the day for that society, of which, throughout history religion has typically had a very strong influence upon the people, is that governments and religions, besides their general perceived benefits for the people, are also in the business of reducing or restricting choice.  That is to say, the reason why governments have so many rules, regulations, and laws is to restrict the people as to what they are permitted to do or not do, and those who do not follow the rules of the road will thus have to pay a penalty for their obstinacy and their apparent inability to follow those rules.  As in regards to religion, we are all familiar with the Ten Commandments so given to us by God, as well as other commandments of that general ilk, which therefore are set before humankind to command them as to what is or is not permitted, and those that do not adhere to those God-given rules will thereby suffer punishment if not in this world, then the world to come.

So then, we live in a society in which our free choice is circumscribed by governance as well as in many a case, by religion, and when it comes to the government, our fear consists of the fact that disobedience to the laws can result in our incarceration, or if not that exactly, then society may impose upon us its disapproval by banishing us from congregating with them as a citizen in equal standing to those that have been accepted as being properly obedient.  As for religion, our free choice is circumscribed by the fact that virtually every religion has specific behaviors that are encouraged, and other behaviors that are discouraged, and those that insist upon behaving in a manner that has been essentially forbidden, will have to, sooner or later, pay the piper.

In short, as much as we might believe that we are completely free agents, free to choose what we so desire to do or not do, in actuality, for all those who live within a given society, this is not true.  Rather, as a member of society, we have essentially voluntarily sacrificed some of our freedom and therefore our free choice, for the advantages that a good society and a good governance provides to us.  So, in essence, we prefer some degree of security and the advantages of working with others in harmony, as compared to doing whatever it is, that we desire, outside of society and its governance, so of.

In theory, to sacrifice some freedom of choice to our governance or to religion is something that we freely do --  so as to live a better life, but when that freedom of choice, is basically taken from us through a government that is oppressive, unfair, and discriminatory, or that freedom of choice is coerced out of us, because of what is in actuality an unreasonable fear of God so propagated to us by religion as a means to control us and not for the betterment of our soul, then we have been cheated out of our freedom, by those that want to rule and to dominate us, primarily for their benefit, and not ours.

Social Security tax for high-income earners

It seems like a contradiction that as of 2024 all yearly earnings above $168,600 are not subject to that earner paying the 6.2% Social Security tax and therefore this is not withheld from their pay, nor is the employer required to pay their portion of that 6.2%, either.  The reason this is such a contradiction is that America’s tax system is progressive in nature, but the Social Security tax as currently structured, belies that for high-income earners.  Not only does this not appear to be fair, but it seems to confirm that the rich get special privileges, and the poor and middle class carry even more of the resulting burden.  Therefore, this nation should consider amending the taxation for high-income earners in the following way:

1.      For income above $168,600 but below $250,00 the Social Security tax shall be reduced to 5.2%

2.      For income above $250,00 but below $330,000 the Social Security tax shall be reduced to 4.2%

3.      For income above $330,000 but below $410,000 the Social Security tax shall be reduced to 3.2%.

4.      For income above $410,000 but below $500,00 the Social Security tax shall be reduced to 2.2%

5.      For income above $500,000 the Social Security tax shall be reduced to 1.45%.

What we find through this modification is that high-earners will still get their Social Security discount, but that discount will be leveled down before it eventually reaches just 1.45%, which matches what is taken out of their paycheck for Medicare.  Not only does this seem to be reasonable in what it is trying to achieve, which is to provide more funding to the Social Security fund, but it also is pretty much in harmony with the current Social Security tax withholding system, by reducing that tax for high-income earners, though it will not eliminate such. 

Look, it has to be said, those that are high-earners are already in the pole position to have a very pleasant life, so that it doesn’t seem necessary or fair for these high-earners to get even more benefits.  Indeed, the amount of money that these high-earners would sacrifice to Social Security under this program would be essentially no real big deal for them, though in aggregate it would be a big deal for the Social Security Administration.  Additionally, those who are fortunate enough or skilled enough to be in the category of the top ten percent of wages so being paid, have got to recognize that this amount of income, in and of itself, should be more than sufficient for them to have no legitimate gripes, about no longer getting a free ride above $168,600 on Social Security withholding.

After all, for all those who complain about the unfairness of this proposal, it’s only fair to ask, as to whether they would prefer to make less money and therefore not have to deal with the fact that the Social Security tax would no longer be phased out for them, or whether they would prefer to take a small hit to their net pay and continue to make wages that places them in the top ten percent of all American wage earners.  The answer to that question is pretty obvious, and therefore appropriate legislation should be proposed to rectify this current unfairness to something more sensible, for the betterment of all.

Nixon’s Family Assistance Plan (FAP)

The United States does not have a Universal Basic Income plan and quite frankly doesn’t appear to be on track to have one, anytime soon.  Yet, incredibly, when we turn back the clock to the Nixon administration of 1969, President Nixon, put forth the Family Assistance Plan, which in its effect, would have served the purpose of a Universal Basic Income, in which families would thereby receive an annual guaranteed minimum income, whether or not they were employed.  Further to the point, those that did work, but made a minimal wage, would still be eligible for that same federal stipend from the FAP, of which, that stipend would be reduced but not eliminated.  In other words, those that worked for low wages would have their wages still augmented by FAP, and those that were not employed, would receive what would represent a Universal Basic Income.  As history tells us, though, this proposed FAP was not approved by the Senate, and therefore was never ratified.

It seems a shame, that despite this nation recognizing how enervating poverty is, and therefore the need for income or welfare at a meaningful level which would thus provide a basic floor for all Americans, we find that this nation still does not have the character to do the right thing by its people.  If one of the complaints about the welfare state is that far too many people are paid to do nothing all day, the Nixon plan would have demonstrated that those so employed, would still have been entitled to receive benefits from the government, thereby providing them with necessary funds to help keep their heads above water.  So too, those who were unemployed would themselves be entitled to have a yearly monetary stipend that would provide them with something of substance to help them to survive.

For all those who believe that it is just fine to have millions of Americans living in substandard and impoverished enclaves of hopelessness and abandonment, it would behoove them to better understand that lending a helping hand to a fellow American is something that this the richest nation that the world has ever known, has as an obligation to provide for those that are the least amongst them.  Indeed, to ignore the poor and disadvantaged people in America, is a disservice to those who have little or nothing, and if the lust for profits in this capitalistic nation, essentially means that there will always be the poor amongst us – then the least that this nation should do is to devote the time, energy, and effort to help those that truly need a helping hand, with the overall objective getting those that currently are unemployed or in dire circumstances, a fair shot at getting a toehold into this nation, for in doing that, not only will this country have more of its citizens, that believe in America, but this would also serve to proclaim that in America, this actually is the land of opportunity, of which, this nation does not ever close the door upon its own, or turn out the light, because in reality, these are our fellow Americans, deserving of their fair chance, as well.

Commuting to work alone

In most cities in America, with a few notable exceptions, such as New York City and Washington, DC, the vast majority of people commuting to work, drive their own car, and drive that car, by themselves.  So then, despite the fact that most every vehicle on the road can easily handle four people in it, we see time and time again, just one person in that vehicle, which is the driver, and no more.  This does seem like not only an environmental waste, because of all the fuel that is being utilized for just one person, but also the incumbent pollution generated from the excess amount of vehicles on the road.

One would think, that America, would want to look at its commuting habits and see what could or could not be done to reduce the amount of solo drivers upon the road, but this doesn’t seem to be any real priority for America, to its lasting disgrace.  One possible solution is for there to be more carpooling, but carpooling doesn’t seem to be something that has ever really caught on in America, though, with proper incentives and encouragement, perhaps this could change for the better.  Another way to reduce not only solo drivers but the driving of vehicles itself would be to have a more robust form of public transportation, which America duly suffers the lack of, not only because so many cities are so spread out, but because our infrastructure for public transportation, in most of our cities, does not hold a candle to European cities, and does not appear to be something that the powers that be, would like to concentrate upon.  Another avenue to pursue would be for this government to place pressure upon corporations, that they must put together action plans that would meet some minimum goals of people commuting to work that would increase carpooling, with incentives put in place to encourage such, and penalties to discourage their lack of follow-through upon this action.

Of course, another way to deal with how many solo drivers that there are, would be to manufacture cars that are lighter and smaller and therefore more efficient in their energy usage, but that doesn’t seem to be in America’s DNA, so that would appear to be a non-starter.  Additionally, we could encourage companies to see that more of their employees be permitted to work from home, and should this be accomplished, this would be a welcomed win-win scenario and thereby should be actively encouraged and incentivized.

The bottom line is that it just seems unfathomable that so many people are far too content to drive their own automobile, and are blithely unconcerned about their individual contribution to pollution or the usage of a form of energy that is non-renewable, but that is indeed the case.  So then, at this point, it seems that the only way to reduce solo driving in America would be for the government to come up with a nationwide plan to address such, which thereupon would take an active role in expending the necessary billions of dollars now, in order to reap the benefits, later.  For as it stands, to believe that society’s laissez-faire attitude will change much of anything when it comes to solo driving, is complete ignorance

Increase your vocabulary

In order to communicate we utilize words to express ourselves in both written as well as in verbal form, and when we don’t have a strong vocabulary it can become rather difficult to understand not only what the words mean that have been spoken or written, but also because we lack that, such is subject to being misunderstood.  So then, it behooves all of us to desire to increase our vocabulary, and one of the best ways to do so is to make it our point, to not only learn the definition of a given word, but to see that same word subsequently used in various sentences, and then to utilize that word in our own sentence, correctly.  None of this is especially easy, but given enough time and with dedicated effort, we will in short order, improve our vocabulary, which will typically mean that we will be able to better communicate with others.

It's important to recognize that the reason that we have so many words in the English language is that it permits us to be more specific about what we are trying to say, rather than leaving it up to the individual to try to decipher what we meant to convey because, despite the context of what has been spoken, we still aren’t sure what has been said.  Indeed, those who have a strong vocabulary are the very same who put themselves in a strong place to have a vibrant and successful life, for those who are able to comprehend and understand the other are in a pole position to communicate with others in a way and manner that is more satisfying, as opposed to someone that simply looks stupefied or has tuned out, because they don’t really understand what has been written or said.

While there are a multitude of ways to increase our vocabulary, from something as simple as looking up words in a dictionary and then trying to memorize such, a far better way though is that whenever we come across an unknown written word, to first try to figure out what that word might possibly mean, by the context of the sentence that it is written in, as well as our experience in deciphering similar words. Next, we should look up the definition of that word to find out if we were right or wrong, and then we need to see that same word utilized in various sentences so that we can understand it better, and finally, the true test of whether we grasp the definition and purpose of a given word, is to create our own sentences that utilize that new word.  Indeed, in order to retain new knowledge, we need to actively communicate utilizing that word, to the best of our ability, so as to retain that memory and appropriate usage of that word.

There is never a great shame in not knowing what a particular word means, or in our misunderstanding or even in our complete lack of comprehension of a given sentence, because we do not yet know the meaning of too many of those words — but given enough time, and given enough effort, we can make inroads into becoming more proficient with our vocabulary, which will present to us, a greater appreciation of dialog, communication, reading, as well as the understanding of the other

What the United Football League (UFL) should do

In America, football remains its most popular sport, and the Super Bowl is the most-watched sporting event of the year.  While those that have NFL franchises and the fans that watch the sport are seemingly dedicated to the NFL, it is somewhat surprising that each recent attempt by an outside football sports league to make inroads upon the NFL has all gone down relatively easily to defeat, despite in many a case, achieving sports network coverage and the critical revenues that this so brings to that respective upstart league.

Presently, the latest attempt to engage fans into watching football is the United Football League (UFL) which has smartly structured its season to run in the springtime, after the NFL season is over, and pretty much after “March Madness” has ended.  While there are always going to be other sports leagues, such as MLB, NBA, and the NHL to attract viewers, the one thing that the UFL has going for it, is the fact that it clearly does not compete against the NFL through the same seasonal dates, which thus provides those most interested in football, with an alternative league for them to turn their attention to. That said,

it would seem that what the UFL should not do, is attempt to essentially be a “NFL light’, in which the rules of the game are in essence, a copy of the NFL.  Instead, it would behoove the UFL to communicate with their fans to see what they do like and what they do not like when it comes to the NFL, and then to concentrate their attention on trying to provide the changes that would be most pleasing to that audience, in which, the game would be familiar enough to those fans, but also different and innovative enough that changes so made to UFL rules would intrigue and interest those same fans.

The biggest change that the UFL should consider is getting rid of four downs to make ten yards in order to achieve a first down and replacing such with just three downs to make ten yards to achieve a first down.  This, quite obviously, would reduce running plays and would increase passing plays. This would also mean that instead of one team seemingly having the ball for an incredibly long period of time, and thus literally running down the game clock, that the turnover of the ball from one team to the other, because of their failure to get a first down, would make the game not only to be more fast-paced, but advantageous for a team that is behind so that they could conceivably catch up.  The other big change would be to provide more points to a team that scores a touchdown, from more than 25 years away from the goal line, so that in doing so, this would be an eight-point touchdown, instead of just six.  Again, this would change the strategy for those teams trying to catch up, and would therefore make the game more exciting to know that instead of possibly needing two scores to tie or take the lead, that it could conceivably be done with just one score.

Whether or not the UFL cares to carefully curate their rules and amend such is up to the management of the league, but simply trying to be a copycat of the NFL, seems to lack both innovation and imagination, thereby signifying that those that understand that risk has its place, ought to risk more to gain more.

Learn to value virtue

Western societies, seem to have far too often their priorities all wrong, of which, the crux of the problem is how much time, energy, and space is spent appreciating those that are the richest and the most powerful, as opposed to appreciating those that demonstrate good virtue and selflessness.  It would seem that rich or poor, many people gravitate to admiring those who are super successful, in the mistaken belief, oftentimes, that those who are the best entrepreneurs, or athletes, or actors, are somehow the best people, as well, and that we should therefore listen attentively to what they have to say as if these are very wise personages that are worth our time to listen to.

Look, it has to be said, success has its own merits, but to somehow believe that the rich and well-placed deserve our admiration, without any real consideration as to who and what they honestly are, and how they got to the place that they are currently are at, is a mistake.  Those then, that celebrate celebrities of all types, as akin to some sort of hero worship, are worshipping at the wrong temple.  Rather, we would be far better served to concentrate our appreciation and our admiration upon those of great moral value, who provide us with important lessons that we should learn from, and encourage us to become strong moral agents of virtue because it is those who work for the true betterment of society, that are exhibiting high moral virtue for the benefit of that society.

What we do or do not respect, reflects fairly upon our own personality, and all those who respect power mainly because they wish for that sort of power for themselves, are not thinking correctly.  Indeed, our objective in life, should not be to be rich and powerful, so that we can “boss” our way in society, so as to therefore receive accolades from those who need to appreciate us, but rather we need to drop those sorts of fantasies and pretensions and see such as being seriously misguided, in the recognition that what we should concentrate our efforts upon, are in the being of the best person that we can be with the objective of doing our fair part to help make society a better place for our participation in it.

All those who judge a person’s success primarily based upon the accouterments that a given person has are failing to understand that a person’s true success should be measured by how much or how little that they have done for others, along with the wisdom that they have so imparted not only by their deeds but by their words so spoken for the improvement and betterment of others.  When we take an honest look at who and what we truly admire, oftentimes that person is someone very close to us, who has shown and provided to us, unconditional love, which we appreciate, because on our merits, we may not have deserved such, but they have been able to recognize the good and the value that we have within our character, which will, in due time and through our good effort, exhibit itself, through our virtuous deeds

Does right and wrong ever change?

The laws that we are subject to are written down and in theory, enforced upon the people in an equal and fair way.  Yet, the problem with laws, no matter how carefully written, and no matter how brilliant these laws are in conceptualizing all of the possible contingencies, thereof, is that a law that does not or cannot take into fair consideration, all of the situations, intentions, or the general consciousness of those so accused of being on the wrong side of the law, is indicative that the justice that we expect in a court of law, may not be just, at all.

That is to say, we tend to want to believe that the best laws are those laws that are unequivocal, but the problem with the belief in that type of law, is that those who are adherents of believing such are the very type that will ignore the spirit of the law, to conform only to the letter of the law, of which, because of that belief, injustice may well occur.  In any judicial decision in which there are two or even more sides to a story, it is vital to get as much of the full story as possible, because only in obtaining that full story, is it truly conceivable that a just decision can be made, for when we do not care or take the time to live in the other person’s shoes, we then do not know the consciousness of that person, and in not knowing that or in not considering that, we cannot then reasonably come up with a fair decision, though via the law as written, we can however simply follow the law.

There are lots of things in life, which depending upon the prism in which such is viewed, can be seen as being justified and subsequently viewed as being legal; whereas, when viewed through a different prism, are considered to be unjustified and therefore illegal.  Indeed, for example, the perception that a given person has pulled the trigger of their gun in self-defense will often render a judgment that is completely the opposite of the pulling of the trigger of a gun which is considered to have been done as an aggressive and unnecessary act.

When we see what we believe to be a crime, but do not know the beginning of what occurred for that crime to have happened, and do not know the intention of the supposed perpetrator or do not care to investigate such, then we haven’t done justice to what has so occurred.  To believe then that right is always right, and wrong is always wrong, is to simplify what happens in life to such a degree that we don’t take into account all of the nuances and other factors that should be considered before a person has been adjudged to be guilty or not.  Those then who believe that justice is always cut and dry, are the very same, that can’t seem to remember all the times in their life, when they felt that their parents or other authority figures misinterpreted their actions and then they duly suffered for that which they considered to be unfair, which is why it is so important that we provide each party to a dispute, the fair opportunity, to state their case in detail, formal or not.

“Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration”

In the reading of the above quotation, most students of history, would quickly discern that this quotation and thus this sentiment so of, must have come from the mind of Karl Marx, but it did not.  In fact, it might seem incredible to Americans, but this quote came forth from the President of the United States in that President’s First Annual Message to Congress.  The name of that President was Abraham Lincoln.

As they say, history is written by the victors, of which, it is fair enough to state that capitalism in America, and therefore capital in America seems to clearly be the superior of labor and not the other way around.  So then, to modern ears, a belief that labor should be the superior of capital, would appear to be a sentiment that would have more in common with someone that is communistic or socialistic in nature and hence is anathema to America, and what it so stands for.  However, in consideration that these words were spoken by the very wise Abraham Lincoln, should give those of an open mind some serious pause.

In fact, that which becomes capital must have, at some point, the need for labor to have created that capital.  In other words, it is the blood, sweat, and tears of those who labor that creates the basis for the goods and capital so subsequently created.  Therefore, labor is indeed prior to capital, and those who labor diligently deserve a fair share of what they so have created through their effort, and thus the value of that labor should not be shunned.  Yet, in the present day, those who are clever, understand well, that to have capital or access to such, permits those who are the capital holders, to extract in many a situation, more than their fair share from those who labor for them, so that those with capital, are thus able to make a profit to their advantage, without having to put forth even close to their fair amount of personal labor to accomplish such.

We live in a day and age in which taxation is commonplace, whether that taxation is attached to our labor, or through an excise tax, or a sales tax, or a property tax, and so on.  This then would reflect that our current governance seems not to comprehend that when it comes to taxation, those who should pay their fair share should primarily be those who are the capital holders, for it is those with capital, that not only have the better capacity to pay taxes but surely are the ones that should pay a higher percentage of their wealth or assets through those taxes, because capital uses the pathway to make money, without necessarily much personal labor.

Indeed, it is the working person, that should be held in the highest esteem, and not the fat cat, that seemingly makes all the profits, for it is because of that labor that things get built and get done, of which, the capital should best be seen then as the tool that helps to accomplish such, but should never to be seen as superior to the hands that have done the actual work.

The 6th Amendment to our Constitution is effectively null and void

Our 6th Amendment states in part: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury….”  Yet, in the United States, it is estimated that more than 95 percent of Federal and State convictions are the result of a plea bargain, of which, those that give up their 6th Amendment rights, whether effectively coerced or not, have done so, without ever having the opportunity, or the fairness, of seeing that their case was actually heard by an impartial jury, in which they had their fair say.

There is, in essence, very little criminal justice before a jury in America, of which it would appear that the only people who are accused of crimes that actually go to a trial, are those who have the assets to engage an attorney of merit to defend them, or are those that simply will not plea bargain, because they don’t think it is right to make a plea without having had their case heard by an impartial jury.  At this point in American jurisprudence, the criminal justice system, could not function without such an exceedingly high percentage of those accused of a crime, plea bargaining to something that would appear to be lesser, because this criminal justice system does not have even close to the capacity to handle an increase of nineteen times more cases, going through the complete process of a jury trial.  So then, in recognition that the prosecuting arm of the state knows that they don’t have the resources to take case after case to trial, and have little interest in seeing that this is accomplished, they deliberately and with foreknowledge have a strong tendency to “trump-up” charges on those so accused of crimes, to thereby make their bargaining position stronger when it comes to plea bargains, so that the bargain, is seldom a fair bargain, for those so accused of criminal activity.

It has to be said, that perhaps every criminal law on the books is a just law, and perhaps every penalty so associated with those criminal laws is fair and well-reasoned, which would thereby signify that if this is true, there shouldn’t be any plea bargaining at all.  Rather, those who commit the crime, should thereby duly face what they have to face as their fate, and if that so means that even more people would be incarcerated for ever lengthier periods of time, so let it be.  The reason that this doesn’t occur, is not only because we do not have the capacity for all these criminals to be incarcerated, but also the perceived injustice of it, would make this supposed land of liberty and justice for all, appear to other nations to be nothing much more than a modern apartheid state, in which the poor, disadvantaged, and ill-educated are thus rounded up and dispose of in prisons throughout the nation.

In point of fact, those who are the biggest proponents of the necessity of plea bargaining, are the very same, who have little or no interest in justice being served, but rather they just want to take off of the streets, those that annoy them, or are perceived as being an inconvenience, as if these unfortunates are the wretched refuse, which have invaded our pristine shores.  To those then who think and act this way, they represent thus the mantle of injustice and falsehood, to their lasting shame

ATM fees should be lower and progressive

The fact that there are so many Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) would seem to indicate that the general public has a need to extract cash from time to time and desires to be able to do so without having to interact with a physical teller.  This would appear to be a win-win, because consumers that do not take up the labor of a human being is in the scheme of things, more cost effective than those customers that have to go into the banking facility or engage in such through the drive-through window. This signifies that banking institutions could see ATMs as just being the cost of doing business, but it has to be said, that the structure of fees associated with ATMs would strongly imply that ATM fees are, in fact, predatory in nature.  For instance, while many a banking customer understands that when they utilize their own banks’ ATM or a bank that is within their network, or have a relationship with their bank that permits them to be reimbursed for any ATM fees, means that for them, they will not be charged an ATM fee – which for these particular banking customers reflects that their ATM banking experience has all the advantages of being able to conveniently extract cash, without having to pay a noxious fee.  On the other hand, there are plenty of other folks, who typically aren’t as savvy or as knowledgeable, who often are not as organized, and further to the point, typically are far less cash-rich, and also they don’t seem to understand the fee structure of a given ATM, except to understand that they will be charged for the usage of an out-of-network ATM, as well as often being charged by their own bank, for having used an out-of-network ATM, signifying that for them to take out as little as $40 or $60 could be costing them $6 or $7 or possibly more in fees.

When it comes to fees, penalties, and other financial charges, banks seem to well understand that for their customers who have financial assets, that the banks aren’t fixated on “nickel and diming” them because they hope that when these same customers desire to get a home mortgage or a car loan, that the opportunity to make some money will be there for them.  Those though who lack monetary assets and aren’t the type of credit risk that banks care for are seen then as an entity to exploit, which is why the ATM fee structure is the way that it is so that the poor and unenlightened subsidize those that have money and are knowledgeable.

It would seem that a far better way for ATM fees to be structured would be to be fairer to those who utilize such, in which, the best method of being fair, would be to have a progressive ATM fee structure, in which, quite simply, the more that a person withdraws from the ATM, the higher the overall fee, though the percentage of that fee, would still be considerably lower than someone withdrawing just $40.  That way, the person who needs to get a little bit of cash for a planned transaction isn’t charged a fee which amounts to something like 20%, but would instead pay no more than 5%; whereas somebody taking out a larger sum, such as $300 would pay a much larger monetary fee, though the percentage would only amount to something like 1.5%, which seems not only to be fair to all parties, but would still permit the banking institution to get fees from that ATM, but at a far more reasonable level