The desire for security often comes at the expense of liberty

The most common way for any governmental institution to aggrandize onto itself ever more power is to convince the general public that such power is necessary in order to best protect them – therefore, the people must relinquish some of their liberty for the security which the government thus provides for them.  Oftentimes, this is structured in a way and manner in which the government sells the story that these liberties so being sacrificed are not only for the greater good but that such a sacrifice is only for a finite amount of time; however, experience tells us that liberties that have been forfeited seldom come back to the fore, and even when they do, those liberties have effectively been hollowed out.  This thus signifies that there must be a reasonable balance between security and liberty, for that government that has the power to provide lock-tight safety, is the very same government that has then in its hands firm control of our most precious liberties.

There needs to be a fair balance between security and liberty, for governments have a habit of enacting more and more measures that are meant to be for the citizen’s safety, of which, those measures so taken are in many a case, far more intrusive, than what reasonableness requires.  After all, when the powers that be are above the law, it doesn’t matter much to them, how much liberty is thereupon left to the general public, for those who are the power brokers, have what they desire to have, typically at the expense of the people.  Further to the point, to have strong security in place necessitates, therefore, the people being monitored and those that are in power, decide then what is best to activate that security, per what they envision, which probably will not be in harmonic conformance with enumerated Constitutional powers.

The crux of the problem with sacrificing some degree of liberty for security is that this often becomes a slippery slope, of which, in the beginning, such sacrifice doesn’t appear to be any real big deal, but as time goes on, the erosion of liberties gets even worse, and slowly those that are the people, that are supposed to have a government, of, for, and by the people, find themselves no longer being governed by the consent of the governed, but rather are perceived as nothing much more than subjects, for the government to thereby do with them, as that unanswerable government best sees fit.

So too, when the government knows everything about us, but that same government is opaque to the general public, then the balance between the government and the people is out of whack; thereupon leading to all sorts of abuses, for by the lack of liberty, the people no longer have recourse to justice, for that has essentially been sacrificed to safety, of which, that security having been unequally applied, benefits not really the people, but rather benefits those that are its actuators, so that these elite entities, have gained the security to know that they cannot be successfully assailed, and the people have not the liberty anymore to prevent such.

“Laws against freedom and dignity”

The esteemed thinker and author Thomas Szasz believes that laws that protect an individual from their self, should be called “laws against freedom and dignity”  -- which whenever enacted by legislators thereby creates victims without any real crime.  While the government can legislate all sorts of laws on behalf of public safety and order, it has to be acknowledged, that if we are indeed sovereign within our own personhood, that we therefore should have the right to do with our personhood whatever that it is that we so desire, as long as it not harming other societal members.  In other words, those who are inclined to recreational drug use, or are in possession of illicit drugs, or are gambling at unsanctioned venues, or have engaged with consensual sex with another individual for a monetary price or its equivalency, aren’t actually hurting the public by that behavior, and therefore should not be recognized as lawbreakers.

There are indeed lots of decisions that people make every day, that are not seemingly of benefit to that person, yet, these same people have or should have the volition to still make those decisions.  Further to the point, things that certain people do, may not meet with our individual approval, but the freedom that each of us has to conduct our business in the way and manner that we best see fit, should and ought to be ours to own.  That is to say, what we say and do, is our freedom; whereas, those who desire to conform to the prevailing norms of the day, are entitled to do so, but should not have the right to coerce others to conform to those societal norms.

To live in a “Nanny state” is to live in a state, in which it is the government’s business what we do in private, in addition to what we do in public, and the more laws that are legislated and pass, that infringe upon our individual sovereignty, the more freedom that we have sacrificed to the state.   Those things that are currently classified as “victimless crimes,” which thereby means that those committing those crimes, will duly suffer the penalty for doing so, need to be revoked or overturned, because all crimes so classified against one’s self, or regarding voluntary actions between two or more adults, should not be seen as criminal behavior, whatsoever.

To believe that we need the state to protect us from possibly harming ourselves, may be in its intent, a good thing, but it should be admitted, that adults need to have the agency to make their own decisions, to which, they are entitled to make decisions that may or may not meet with orthodox societal approval.  To believe somehow that this nation would be better off if we all thought and behaved the same is thereby a belief that conformity is the highest order and therefore the most desirable of things; whereas, the truth of the matter is that those that actually utilize their brains to think, recognize that free will is a gift to us by our Creator,  and to exercise such, is our unalienable right.

Censorship online and our freedom of speech

Somehow, our government seems slow in understanding that just because something is written or shown as a post or video online, that this is considered to be different than our First Amendment right to free speech.  In other words, those who use social media or things of that general ilk, have in recent times been subject to having their free speech removed from the public square, such as we have seen done with Facebook posts, (Twitter)X, and also with Google products.  The government has taken the attitude that those, for example, that have a different theory of the origin of COVID-19, or in regards to “stop the steal,” or other areas of import to the general public, have the right to determine what is or isn’t legitimate, and therefore that government through the pressure that it exerts on corporate entities, or in conjunction to a quid pro quo, censor certain posts on the internet, which is a violation of free speech.

We read at ncsu.edu that “Freedom of speech is the right of a person to articulate opinions and ideas without interference, retaliation or punishment from the government.” Yet, this government has shown in recent years that it will interfere, it will retaliate, and it will punish those exercising their free speech through the Internet, again and again.  Look, it has to be recognized that those who desire to express their opinion or have the belief that the origin of COVID-19 actually came from a “gain of function” laboratory in Wuhan, China, that accidentally or irresponsibly released the coronavirus are permitted to express that in conversations with one another but have been subject to that viewpoint being censored when doing so on social media.

All those who believe that for the good of this nation, we need to censor more words and videos that some people find to be uncomfortable or the orthodox government finds to be an inconvenience, or that are considered to be outside the narrative that mass media wishes to propagate -- is thereby a form of censorship and should be clearly seen as a violation of the First Amendment of our freedom of speech.  The fact that some of the biggest and most powerful social media companies routinely kowtow to the government is a reflection that their pursuit of profit is their main concern, and when the government makes it clear to these companies that their disobedience to their dictates or preferences has not been taken seriously, these corporations are quick to recognize that their bottom line may well be negatively impacted, which would come to the dismay of their principal stockholders and corporate executives.

We live in a hi-technology age, in which the immediacy of social media posts or videos posted online, is a preferred method of getting across to one’s followers, what is desired to be expressed, per a given entity’s wishes, and to have that suppressed and censored by the government is a disservice to what this nation is supposed to represent, because posts online that do not violate any of the narrow conditions of our First Amendment Rights, should not ever be censored and the fact that they are being censored reflects that this government has aggrandized onto itself, powers that are not legitimately theirs at the expense of the people and their freedom of speech.

Humankind’s biggest loss

There are many things that humankind could do to help make this world a better place but somehow they fail to do so, time and time again.  The proximate reason why this is so is basically that often those who are in the most influential and powerful positions in society, are the very same, who consistently ignore that small, still voice within, and instead believe and thereby behave in a manner that all that really matters, is this material existence, and therefore have just an ordinary consciousness, and thereby ignore or put to the side, that their real origin is divine.

Indeed, either we have been created as spiritual beings by our Creator, temporarily housed within a physical body, to thereby allow us to prove our loyalty and wisdom to that which created us by doing good one to another; or we can fundamentally ignore that, and pretty much see this world any way that we so see fit, because as free-will beings we are permitted to do that very thing.  However, those who turn away or turn off the voice of God, and therefore exist solely upon their own consciousness, have made a decision that could have serious consequences for them and those that they interact with.

Certainly, one of the main objectives that we should have here on earth is to search for truth, and in that search, we need to thus honor that truth, and by doing this diligently, we will re-open the door that permits us to comprehend that our true existence should strive to be in harmony with that which created us, thereby signifying that all that we say and do that’s in conformance with our Creator, is good, and that which is not, is going to be primarily in error and will present us with troubles, that must at some point, be successfully dealt with.

There are far too many people that are enamored of this world, but spend little time, contemplating the Creator of such, and thereby the purpose of such.  In this world, we will be tested, and tested thoroughly, and those that are cognizant of this and wish to pass such a test will thereby conduct themselves in a way and manner that will be beneficial to not only their own self but to society, at large.  On the other hand, those that consistently ignore this, or prefer to not pay close attention are going to be prone to making the types of errors, which will be of consequence to them, which is their loss, for the avenue of enlightenment is freely available to all.

We live in a world, in which, those who overly identify with the physical and the enticements that gravitate them to certain behaviors, are going to lose, because they are concentrating on the wrong thing, for humankind, too often, has through their own volition or ignorance, chosen to fall into ordinary consciousness, and thereby have forsaken that which is eternal, in preference to that which is temporal, and many of those, will only recognize their error near the end of their earthly existence or not at all.  It is to our lasting loss when we don’t recognize who and what we really are, for that of which we are made, is eternal and has an everlasting innate desire to re-align itself consciously with its immaculate Creator.

The continued exploitation of humankind

The world is often an unfair and unequal place, of which, there are some that proselytize that this is the way that it has to be, especially in consideration that what we get out of life, is not only what we put into life, but also that in capitalistic societies that there are going to always be unequal outcomes, for such is necessary in order to incentivize those that are the innovators and entrepreneurial, over those that do not have the same sort of mindset, or are content with their basic lot in life or just don’t have the right stuff.

In actuality, few would quibble with some getting more and others getting less, if the overall societal pie, was constantly growing, and the table that humankind thereby eats at, was basically inclusive, and not exclusive.  Yet, when we take a good look at society, we readily comprehend that the fairness, and equality expected under the law as well as opportunity, does not, in the biggest matters of importance, actually exist.

We find that there are those who are quite adept at exploiting humankind, and apparently have no real issue in doing so, despite the fact that all of us are equally created by the very same Creator, and therefore one would think, deserving therefore of our fair consideration.  Rather, the exploitation that goes on, starts firstly, by what humankind has relied upon, again and again, which is not great ideas who time has come, but rather force, done through the state or corporate interests of such, through the aegis of the military, the police, private security, and things of that general ilk.  In other words, when the people are rising up in protest against, for example, their work conditions, or overall fairness, the response far too often is not really to listen to their complaints and thereby come to some reasonable accommodation, but the preference is to sustain the exploitation and force those that will not conform to conform.

Additionally, we live in a day and time in which the coin of the realm, is money, as issued by the government, and those who have fair access to such, are best able to live decent lives; whereas, those who do not have fair access to such, or are constantly short, are left in a highly vulnerable position, which makes them much easier to exploit and to take advantage of, because half a loaf, is always going to be better than no loaf at all.

Finally, humankind suffers from all sorts of foibles, of which, those who through the modern-day usage of social surveillance or who just pay close attention to the habits of others, are best able to exploit those weaknesses, so that if distraction is the preferred method of disengaging someone from complaining or protesting, then mindless entertainment of all sorts is provided to them, at a very cheap price.  When that isn’t enough then governance makes sure that licit and illicit substances are readily available that will capably addle the mind, thereby providing those that are weak with that which will, placate or neutralize them and therefore preclude them from rising up.

Indeed, until the exploitation of the other is legislated out of existence, or reduced considerably, those seeking life, liberty, and happiness, will invariably come up short, again and again.

“It is an old strategy of tyrants to delude their victims into fighting their battles for them”

The above quotation comes not from some revolutionary radical but rather is part of the address so made by President Roosevelt at Madison Square Garden on October 31, 1936.  The reason why FDR said what he said, was because of the pushback that he was getting from certain segments of corporate interests in regards to the Social Security payroll plan, so formulated to support workers in their retirement years, and of which, the employers of those workers were thus obligated by federal law to pay their monetary payroll portion to the Social Security Administration.

Indeed, a significant amount of working people, in general, don’t really know their rights or understand necessarily the legislative laws so proposed and passed, therefore signifying that those corporate interests that could proselytize that monies being withheld from an employee’s paycheck were actually detrimental to that employee, could thus get that employee to help fight their battle.  So too, employers that could convince their workers that Social Security was un-American in the sense that it seems to reflect some degree of socialism within this nation, would also help to sell the narrative that the employers desired to push.

Anytime there is something new and innovative, that hasn’t previously been part and parcel of the employees' positive experience, it is vital that this government provide the necessary information so that those that would benefit the most from having a robust Social Security, would understand that the benefits of such, would far outweigh its negatives. This means that as the President and in considering that it was the administration policy to see that legislation so passed and subsequently enacted, should not, therefore, be undermined or counteracted by corporate agitators, that it would behoove that President to have his say, so that those that would be the intended beneficiaries, would subsequently understand the importance of reaping the security of having monies provided to them, calculated on their work history, which would serve to support them in their retirement years.

It has to be admitted that in a capitalistic system, that those with the capital have an immense advantage over those who are employed to work for the capital holders, so that it is this government’s obligation to help level the playing field by supporting the working people of this nation, for the greater good of this nation -- which signifies that it is in the best interests of this country to see that those that are gainfully employed are entitled to a wage of substance, and further to the point, for their years of labor, are entitled to Social Security benefits, to be of material aid to them in their retirement years.

Those then that are fixated upon profit above all else, are the very same, who are not only reluctant to fairly share the spoils of success, but regrettably have the attitude that once a worker’s utility has been used up, they don’t have a real interest in seeing that they contribute to their welfare.  FDR recognized this sentiment for what it was and made it his point, then, to fight for the common man in the sure knowledge that wealth concentrated solely in the hands of the few, leads to the tyranny of those few, at the expense of the workers that they so employ.

“Justice being taken away, then, what are kingdoms but great robberies?”

The above quotation comes to us by the incomparable Saint Augustine, and the meaning behind these sage words, is that when principalities and kingdoms conduct their business without justice, that because of their scale and size, these should be seen as great robberies upon the people, of which, further compounding this injustice, that principality or kingdom typically does such, with total impunity.

A given nation is only as good as its governance and when that governance is consistently unfair, unequal, unjust, and discriminatory, in which certain peoples and personages are the favored few -- as contrasted to the majority of the people who are the unfavored many, then this is in its effect, a great robbery on the people, made worse by the fact that those who are persecuted and subsequently incarcerated or punished, are seldom the biggest robbers, but rather are robbers on a much lesser scale.

No country deserves the moniker of being great if it is not fair, just, and equal to those who are the citizens of that nation.  Indeed, whenever our government lies to us, deceives, us, keeps unnecessary secrets, and hides what it is doing supposedly on behalf of the people, by saying that it cannot disclose necessary information to the general public or an independent agency, because of its need to protect the national security and therefore is not forthcoming to its citizens, this then is a country that is operating not under the consent of the governed, but rather is operative under the consent of those that are its true actuators -- typically accomplished for the benefit of well-connected individuals, entities, agencies, and corporations.

That nation that truly desires to be great, must recognize intuitively that it needs to be a nation of justice, and when it is clear to the citizenry that there is no justice for them, there will not be any lasting peace, because when a people know that not all is right, they will chafe at the chains that have been unjustly foisted upon them.

The more unjust a nation is the more dissent, disunion, and incivility there will be, and no matter how disciplinary that nation’s governance is, we find that a people who are oppressed, cannot rest until they see that there will be justice.  So too, the hypocrisy of “don’t do the crime, if you can’t do the time” is demonstrated by governments that commit injustices upon the people, again and again, but hold themselves above the law; whereas, the people are left to feel the full fury of that same law upon them.

That government that governs best, is that government that is most just and most transparent in the words and actions so taken on behalf of the people, that they are meant to dutifully serve.  Those who are good stewards of the people’s needs are the foundation of what a proper government should be, for in actuality a nation is only as good as those who are its leaders, who are first and foremost, diligent in their duty to do right by those that they serve, by being just, by being fair, and by being accountable and open to the people.

James Madison on the “loss of liberty at home”

The future 4th President of the United States wrote to the future 3rd President of the United States that “Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to provisions against. danger real or pretended from abroad.”  Indeed, our founding fathers of this nation were incredibly prescient and knew not only human nature, but also understood the inner workings of the national governance and did not wish to see the United States of America devolve into being an oppressor of the people, but rather desired to see that this nation was in fair conformance to being a nation of, for, and by the people, so as to protect best the citizen’s unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We live in a day and age, in which, those who are our leaders, are far too prone to sell to us the same tired story again and again, that there are enemies abroad that are so dangerous to our way of life and democracy, that we need to address them forthrightly in their foreign lands through sanctions or war, or both; and in order to best protect our citizenry at home, our government needs more and more robust governmental powers, thereby signifying that the people need to sacrifice some of their liberties for the security of this nation as well as for the protection of their own personhood.

We are told by our government that we should trust that they always have the peoples’ best interests in mind, and therefore the legislative laws and Executive Orders that are actuated, are prudent and for our own good, as well as necessary for our security, of which, some of these laws are subsequently sold to the general public as being for a finite amount of time, or until the crisis has passed, but often are re-purposed in a way and manner, that these laws and Executive Orders are never repealed or to suffer expiration, at all.

We want to believe that our government has our best interests in mind, but because so much of what the government does is secretive and therefore not for purview or review to the general public, it is therefore impossible to know as whether or not our government is being forthright and honest with us;  because as it stands this type of governance lends itself to the people sacrificing more and more of their liberties and freedom, under the guise that this is necessary for homeland security, without the people knowing how true or untrue that this actually is.

To place trust in any government or any personage in which that trust is not warranted is the same as giving up some portion of our freedom, and the more that we cede what has been gifted to us by our Creator to that which deserves it not, the more that we become less citizens with a democratic vote, with fair representation, and more that we devolve into becoming subjects, that are meant to serve the interests of those that are in authority, with the attendant sacrifice of our Constitutional liberty

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.