The hoarding of money

As America, has devolved into a nation in which never have so few had so much,  the issue of appropriate taxation of the estates of these rich people needs to be seriously addressed and redressed. As it stands right now, though there are taxation laws that are applicable against very large estates, those people with the greatest amounts of concentrated money, typically have unique access to the best lobbyists, legislators, and attorneys that their money and power provides them access to.  None of this is to the advantage of those without money, and all are to the advantage of those that have incredibly gargantuan amounts of money.

While an argument can be made that the money that you make is yours to keep, this assumes that such money so made was made without undue favoritism, cronyism, and outright corruption, but even if we were to cede to those superrich individuals that all their money was legitimately made, the usage of such money should be limited to the length of their lives, and upon their demise, any monies so left, should be and must be heavily taxed.  For, while living, was not this money, their own to do whatever that they so desired to do with it?  Therefore, when dead, they should not be afforded the right that the vast majority of this money lives on through foundations or charities that are controlled by their principles, thereby subverting the democratic process, or assets subsequently passed down to their children or grandchildren that have labored not a whit for it.

It is of critical importance that the concentration of money during the lifetime of those that have money, but have chosen to hold onto it without ever properly investing back into their communities with it, that this demonstrates a true reflection of their selfishness and desire for the power that such money brings by having such within their hands.  That is to say, that far too many communities and the people that populate them are starved of both opportunity as well as the beneficence of money that should be well circulated within those communities; for when an exceedingly small few, control an exceedingly high percentage of the wealth within a community, all others are at the mercy of what those superrich so command to do with their money and their allocation of it.

The money that the superrich have, is theirs to do with, whatever that they so desire to do, while they are yet alive, but upon their death, the tables should turn, and these massive estates should be subject to a progressive estate taxation so that much needed funds can be provided to the people, as allocated through the state apparatus, of which, the people have been unfairly denied such, while these superrich were hoarding their money during their lifetimes.  That is the very least that the superrich owe as their just due to society, for they have had theirs to enjoy and to spend, for life here is for those living, and those dead, need no money at their final destination, whereas the living, most definitely do, for money is, the coin of the realm, and the engine for growth and continual prosperity.

What makes a hero?

To be heroic, is one of those fantasies, that most people have had at one time or another, but for most people, it remains just a fantasy, and never comes to fruition.  In order to know what a hero is, it is best to start off with what a hero really is not, which is, pretty much most everything that you see at the movie theatres in regards to superheroes, of which, these superheroes simply do not exist in the real world.  To be a hero, you do not need to have superhuman powers, or superhuman strength, that, in of itself, kind of defeats the purpose of our viewpoint of a hero, for to be superhuman, as implied by its definition, is to be beyond mere humanity, whereas, real heroes are real human beings, subject to the same temptations and foibles as any other human being.

This means, that each of us, is capable of being a hero, and the heroic tasks that we can accomplished are not limited to mere physical acts, though the saving of a drowning person in an ocean, or the physical defense of someone being attack, are acts of heroism that are physical in nature.  For instance, to be a hero, is to go within your community that is scourged with illicit drug usage and sales, and to thereby create programs, activities, and education so that the youth that are exposed to that type of lifestyle and behavior, can have something of real value to turn to instead, so that they can have a safe sanctuary that enables them to have a real chance and a real opportunity in this world, rather than being encased into a world of poverty, neglect, and incarceration.  So too, a hero is one that enlightens those that are engaged in unethical activities, of for instance, cheating on their exams, or purposely doing poor work and in general slacking off, as well as lying to hide mistakes that they have made, in which, each of these things is morally wrong, and that each of these if continued, will have a strong tendency to lead to additional shortcuts, lies, and cheating, of which none of these are conducive towards creating and displaying good character and moral rectitude.  In addition, a hero is one that just doesn't talk the talk, but walks the walk, by conducting themselves in a manner in which their words of advice and caution, are matched by their actions, so that they live clean lives, are respectful, diligent at school and at work, are generous with their time with others, and contribute positively to their community.

All of these above people are heroes, for a hero is made by the voluntary actions that they take, that are excellent exemplars to others, of how a good life should be lived, in which, these heroes take the time to directly engage with those that they congregate with, so as to positively help and to aid in their development and growth.  These heroes help to transform others into productive and positive members of society, by demonstrating to them that their individual decisions matter, that they do indeed have choices, and that the better the choices, the better their lives will be for themselves as well as for others, in which, heroes are made, from all those that fight for justice, fairness, and opportunity, fueled by the knowledge that it is the right and most appropriate thing to do.

Moral Absolutes

It is stupefying, that as mankind has gotten more sophisticated and more intelligent over the decades, that so many different categories of human beings, but, in particular, the intelligentsia has taken upon itself, to eliminate God, as irrelevant or a myth, and to thereby to declare that man is the measure of all things.  This means, that in place of moral absolutes, we live in the time in which many societies have essentially replaced such moral absolutes with moral relativism, which basically means that the morals that we live by, are determined by man, as man so resolves, based upon their perspective at that time, and that our laws are subsequently built around that relativism.

So then, it follows, when people state that cheating is wrong, or that killing another is wrong, or that stealing is wrong, that wrong is the absolute wrong word to actually use.  None of those things in a world of moral relativism, are wrong in itself, they may be illegal under certain conditions, as legislated and adjudged by civil authority within that state, but they cannot be wrong in themselves, because without absolute morals, than morals are viewed within the prism of that society, within the perspective of that society, and most importantly, morals, if even thought about, are in their essence, individually decided upon, so that in a world of no absolute morals, there are no absolutes at all, therefore, all that is labeled as wrong, is fundamentally flawed, for nothing is absolutely wrong, for there are no absolute moral codes.

This means that the people are not subjected to absolute moral codes, instead, they are only subject to the laws of the state, and nothing else.  So that, the reason that people do not cheat, the reason that people do not kill, the reason that people do not steal, has nothing to do with morals, and everything to do with the punishment that they will receive if prosecuted and convicted by law.  This also means, that for the general population there is no escape, from the oppressive nature of the law without moral absolutes, for laws can be specifically written and are specifically written to oppress and imprison certain people, and to favor and to benefit certain other people, and this isn't wrong, for there are no moral absolutes.

In a world of no moral absolutes, anything goes, subject to the laws of the land, of which, these laws are forever shifting  as well as being deliberately manipulated in order to support and to protect the ruling class, so that they can keep themselves in power and to keep all others in their thrall.  This means, in that world of no moral absolutes, the prevailing tendency would be for the rich to get richer, the powerful to get more powerful, the poor to get poorer, and the unhealthy to get unhealthier.

When mankind is, in effect, its own god, this is the cruelest god of all, for that god is arbitrary, unjust, cruel, selfish, corrupt, and unfair.  For when mankind, or those that lead mankind, really believe that there are no moral absolutes, than there is absolutely nothing to stay the hand of those in power, who will then use that power for their own self-serving benefit, and thereby ruthlessly exploit all others for their profit and for their comfort, and think absolutely nothing of having done so.

Rebellion and Secession

The Southern States, upon the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, who would then take office March 4, 1861, took it upon themselves, to setup within each of their respective States, a special convention, of which such a convention through their State legislature, would vote upon the petition as to whether to succeed from the Union, and thereby having this petition passed, declared that each, in turn, was now a separate and independent State, and no longer part of the Union.  This so indicated, that if, for instance, South Carolina's position was legally correct, than any State, at any time, could through a special convention of their legislature, take upon themselves the question as to voting upon their secession, and if passed, simply to leave the Union.

Though the South believed it had the right to succeed, this right to succeed, had previously been addressed in the manner of whether a State could nullify a federal government law by President Andrew Jackson in 1833, in which, that State, any State, if such was permissible, would thereby have the right to nullify any such Federal law of its choosing within its borders.  President Jackson saw this nullification for what it really was, rebellion, under the guise of sovereign State rights, which no longer existed, as soon as each State became united into one supreme body politic, and Jackson was prepared to use federal troops to put down such a rebellion.

The Southern States, that than insisted that they had the right to nullify, or to secede, did so, under the false interpretation of the Constitution, and deliberately utilized the term to secede within their respective legislatures, so that they would take on the aura, of legally separating themselves from the Union that since they had previously voted to be part of, they could then at a later date, take a vote as to voluntarily leave from, and if passed, to secede.

The truth of the matter was the Southern States never seceded, for they had not the legal right to do so.  When defeated at the Presidential ballot box of 1860, of which, Lincoln won exactly zero Southern electoral votes, yet Lincoln still legally won the election for the United States by his delegate count exceeding 152 delegates with 180, the Southern States thereupon made a purposeful determination that if they could not win the Executive office, which they did not, that they had the right to secede from such. 

Lincoln, quite properly, saw the Southern secession not as secession, but as an active rebellion, in which the Southern States by firing the first shots of what would become the Civil War at the Federal soldiers inside Fort Sumter, made it a foregone conclusion that the Union would put down such a rebellion, and at no point did Lincoln ever consider, any other possible recourse, but to take up arms to defend the National Union, and to defend federal property and its outposts, and to defend the Constitution, which he as President, had been sworn to "preserve, protect, and defend." 

All this, Lincoln did, for this is a nation of fifty States, indissoluble, secession is not a legal possibility for any State, and those that think so and implement such, are traitors to the national government, and thereby are in active rebellion.

Love and Hate

There are plenty of people with good love in their hearts, that somehow find themselves hating others or other things, perhaps when they are mad, or perhaps as a matter of course, as they "hate the sin" but not the sinner, and so on and so forth.  The thing is though, those that truly love do not have any hate in their hearts, for love eliminates all hate, and there are not any exceptions to this rule.

When people do wrong, or wrong actions happen, or someone is thinking wrong, in which, all of these things are indicative of destruction and evil, if, when you ponder upon these things, hate wells up inside of you, then you need to take a careful look at yourself and who and what you really are, for hatred directed against another, will not only seldom correct a wrong, but in most cases will surely add to the negativity to all that has been created, and make you, the hater, a lesser person than what you should really be.

Of course, there are many people, that believe that righteous hatred is good, because it drives and motivates the person that has this particular hate, to strike back at those that are evil and to thereby make the world a safer and more just place, which is why there are so many that subscribe to the "eye for an eye" philosophy, but in the land of the blind, who will be left to see, except those that are absolutely convinced that they are the righteous ones, and all others are not.  This type of self-serving philosophy is especially pernicious because those that believe that their actions of good retribution through their hatred that overcomes evil is actually doing good, makes for a world, in which, forgiveness is always by the sword, and never by the heart.

If, in your heart, even without taking overt action, you hate someone or something, you are not right for having that hatred, for love and hate are not compatible, so that, those that hate, do not love, or at a minimum, do not love fully, completely, and entirely.  For, only in complete love, does hate have no place whatsoever, so that, having that love, you are able to always reason and to adjudge in a manner that bespeaks of someone that is in control of their emotional and psychological makeup, rather than someone that is overcome by the burning desire of retribution and revenge.

There isn't any good point in hating anyone or anything, for wrong is wrong, and hating that wrong, will never make it right; whereas, through love, and through the positive constructive process, one can try to channel that hate, and hateful people, into becoming better people, themselves, and this is best done by the application of compassion, empathy, and love, as opposed to punishment, retribution, and hate.

Everything here on earth, comes from the Creator of this earth, as it is the Master's handiwork, and if we hate the creation, or certain acts that those that have been created have done, then, in effect, we don't love God fully, for we hate the parts of God, so created, that we do not approve of.  Our hateful attributes are not in keeping with love, for love, has no room to hate, for any hate is not part of God, for God is entirely love, and no other, for a house divided cannot and will not stand.

The unexpected tax

We have been told that all are subject to the certainty of death and taxes, and this is true, for none can escape physical death, and none can escape economic/societal taxes.  Yet, there is that unexpected tax that many aren't aware of, but we should definitely keep in our mind, for our bodies themselves, carry a tax that must be paid upon them, for each of us though granted a physical body, are periodically sent reminders that this physical body is not who and what we are in essence, as the body provides the housing of our immortal soul, and consequently this signifies that our soul, is paramount to the physical.

Those that solely identify with the body and nothing but the body, will always live the most difficult of lives, even when they are happy and when everything is going just fine, for they know that like Damocles' sword, that their body will age, and that sooner or later their body will begin to fail them, for no matter how powerful that they may be, or the amount of money that they have in their pocketbook, eventually such a body, because it is physical, must expire.

So too, those that have great minds that they have utilized well in this life, are subject to body frailties, of which, if they believe that the body solely houses the mind, will distress them to no end, knowing that when the body completes its cycle back to dust, than the mind must surely follow.

Then there are those that are intuitively cognizant that they are not the body, yet, because the body is the form that they see themselves in, day after day, the spirit is basically forgotten, and the body is therefore concentrated upon, especially its needs and desires, so that, despite knowing that they are a soul, they act as if they are not, and hence their decisions and preferences made are often body specific and body driven.

Finally, there are a few that rightly know that they are not their body, that their origin has not ever been from this material world and that the true purpose of their earthly sojourn, is to aid others in their pursuit of the only thing that really matters, which is their rightful return to their Creator.  For the earth was created, not for the restricting placement of souls, but rather as an outlet of such, of which, when playtime is over, it is time to return to the very First Cause.

This does mean that our Creator has placed upon each physical body, a form of tax, that all are susceptible too, so that our conscience will be pricked and we will therefore not lose focus and misapply our energies and emphasis solely or mainly upon our body, but rather re-dedicate ourselves to our soul.  This tax subjects us to physical discomfort, pain, debilitations and disease of the physical body, as well as sadness, melancholy, sorrow, and grief that touches our mind, of which, these represent the eternal alarm clock that all must answer to, so as to wake up from the delusion that we are just the physical, when, in fact, we are and will forever be, the eternal and indestructible spirit.

The Social Security Program

Most non-governmental Americans that are employed as well as the employers of these Americans are subject to the Social Security payroll withholding tax which mandates that 6.2% of their paycheck for the employee as well as 6.2% matched by the employer is earmarked into the Social Security Administration for distribution at their retirement.  Not too surprisingly, this amount of money withheld equates to a very large number, in which as reported by nasi.org that "In 2016, the Social Security program received $958 billion in income." 

The money that each individual contributed to the Society Security Administration is for the most part, transferred to those that are currently retired in order to pay those people their benefits that they have accumulated during their lifetime of employment.  This also means that those that currently contribute to the Social Security Administration have no say as to how those monies or excess monies are invested while they are so employed, of which, those funds are actually invested into special Treasury issues, of which, as reported by nasi.org, "The average interest rate on the portfolio held by the Social Security trust fund was 3.2 percent in 2016."

All of the above, seems like a rather dubious way to fund each person's retirement, for social security doesn't really take each individual's social security withholding tax and then invests it on behalf of the taxpayer, so that it will grow and accumulate each year, making it something akin to what most people do with their retirement plans, but rather, the Social Security system is some strange hybrid of a "pay as you go" program, which basically means that the current generation of workers that are having their paychecks reduced by Social Security withholding, are actually having that money, more or less, directly being paid out to those that are already retired, so that the current generation of workers, are paying for the retired generation of workers.

This would indicate that those that believe that their Social Security taxes are actually being held or placed into some sort of secure account, for their future benefit are sadly mistaken, though the Social Security Administration does provide each taxpayer an accounting of their projected Social Security monthly stipend, such a payment as that, is only as good as how solvent the Social Security Administration of these monies is, at the time of that particular individuals' retirement period.

On the other hand, federal employees have a true retirement savings plan known as the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), of which, this plan allows each individual to self-direct the investment of their retirement monies into a choice of six different types of funds, of which, each of these funds offers a tradeoff of potential appreciation v. risk, and therefore includes stock index investments as well as governmental securities investment.  For the years 2008-2017, the Ten year compounded return of these funds ranged from a high of a +9.37% annual return, which is stupendous, to a low of a +2.23% annual return, of which, a given individual's overall return is based upon that individual selections of the funds so available for them.

All those that are mandated to contribute to the Social Security Program have absolutely no say as to the investment of those monies paid, because firstly those monies aren't actually set aside into their own personal account, and even if they were, the Social Security Administration invests those excess monies from the pay as you go program solely into special Treasuries.  This means, in effect,  those contributing to the Social Security Program, have no control over how their money is invested or allocated, and despite what some Social Security Administration paper stipulates that they are entitled to upon their retirement, whether they will  ever actually receive what they are anticipating in their retirement years.

Where are the inexpensive brand new cars?

Americans bought 17.2 million brand new vehicles in 2017, of which, not a single one of these vehicles were priced to sell for under $10,000.  The cheapest brand new car available in 2017 appears to have been the Nissan Versa for $11,990, but even that price is very deceptive, because it is not only the bare bones model and hence a manual transmission, but to actually finally that vehicle, available to be sold at the price, would be problematic, because so few of these models were ever manufactured.  In addition, even before considering what financing would be available for the purchase or the down payment required, those purchasing such a car would have added onto the price, depending upon the location of where they were buying that vehicle: sales tax, destination charge, documentation fee, and the title and registration fee, not to mention dealerships trying to add on fees such as: advertising fee, extended warranty, dealer preparation fee, and so on and so forth.

In point of fact, it's deceptive for consumers when a car is advertised at a price in which few, if any of those vehicles are even available, in addition to the fact, that any additional taxes or fees, that are mandated by State or Federal law as having to be applied to such a car should be part of the advertised price to begin with, excepting the sales tax, because that is the way typical consumer purchases are priced in virtually any other transaction of a material good in this country. 

While, it is true, that the price of cars have pretty much kept up with the pace of inflation, so that, cars that were available for $2,000 back in the early 1970s, with inflation would go for around $11,750 today, it also true that the manufacturing of cars is global, utilizes more lightweight materials than previous years, and that the percentage of vehicles utilizing unionized labor has plummeted over the last two decades.  All of this combined, would imply that cars should be cheaper than they currently are, and that these cars should be available for sale in America, for other countries such as India, have new cars being sold that equate to around $5,000 brand new.

One of the main reasons why they aren't any inexpensive brand new cars, is that the profit margin of the cheapest vehicles is small for the manufacturers as well as for the dealerships, and the corresponding commission rate for those cars being sold is also small, so these entities have every incentive to want the people purchasing cars to purchase more car than they really need in order to make more money on each vehicle sold, and for those dealerships or manufacturers with a financing arm, to also make more money from the loans necessary for buying a higher priced vehicle.

This government provides all sorts of incentives and tax advantages for certain manufactured things and companies, such as electrical vehicles, in which tax credits are initiated, in addition to other perks which may include vouchers and rebates.   There isn't any reason why this government cannot make it a priority, to set aside a program that rebates or initiates tax credits for consumers and/or the manufacturers of vehicles in which the price of that vehicle when it meets a governmental low-price objective, initiates a subsidy for the consumer of such, so that more vehicles would be purchased at that lower price point, of which, those vehicles would because of their lower weight and smaller form factor, create both far less pollution as well as being far more energy efficient, in addition to saving the American consumer some much needed money.

Appearance and true appearance

One of the reasons that so many people are deceived so often, is that we look at the symbols that people represent by the clothes that they wear, their general look and demeanor, the words that they speak, and the body language that they present, and believe that we know them, even though we have just met them.  So that, those that know how to act the part by their appearance which is nice and pleasant looking, in addition in speaking in a calm and considerate manner, lure us into believing that because of their looks and the words that they represent, that they must be good and trustful people.

While there are plenty of people that are good people, that do dress nicely and speak with consideration, there are other people that mimic this look and behavior in order to take advantage of us, so that, it isn't good enough to come to conclusions about people, just on their basic image and words, but rather it behooves us to actually want to engage them in a conversation and to thereby get to know the other person, before we make any sort of commitment, monetarily or other, that will take something of value of ours, such as our money or our reputation, and have it be vulnerable to someone that we do not honestly know.

It is important to develop discernment, for in this world, not everyone that appears to be of good character is of good character, and not everyone that appears to be someone that has a questionable character is actually questionable, for there are many people that do not look the part in our eyes, but perhaps their lack of the aura of authenticity is because their background is different, or we have preconceived prejudices based on how certain people look or dress and ought to look and dress, which prejudges our viewpoint and poisons our discernment.

When we only take our cues only from the surface look of someone and a few considerate words that are spoken to us, we aren't doing enough to utilize our intelligence and our experience to know this person, that we have just met and that we actually do not know much of anything about.  While there isn't anything wrong with returning politeness and consideration with the same to another, when one person clearly wants something of value from us, it is our obligation to find out more about them, for our value should not be something that is ever cheaply given away, or through tricks by the other, taken from us.

This so indicates, that those that look the part, may not actually be the right part, for they have ulterior motives in mind, that are well disguised by their being able to project themselves as something that internally they are not.  Clearly, if you want to fool someone, it is far easier to do so, when you have the accouterments and symbolism that represents goodness, but have larceny in your heart.  This means, that those that are most dangerous to us, are those that are able to lure us in, which are often people that are able to play their role in a manner, in which we drop our guard, to our own ultimate regret.

This is a world, in which not everything that glitters is gold, so it is up to us, to test those things that give off those golden rays of gold, and if is gold, to appreciate the value of such, and if is not, to expose the falseness of it.

"It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end"

The above quotation is from the incomparable, Leonardo Da Vinci, of which there are many, many people that would behoove themselves to take this advice to heart, for it is straight to the point and so very true. 

The thing is that people do all sorts of things every day, of which a portion of these things, and for some of those people, a very large portion of it, are doing things and getting involved in activities that they really shouldn't be doing, for these activities are not beneficial in the long run, nor are they even necessarily beneficial in the short run, but somehow or other, they can't resist continuing to snack, or watching mindless television, or endlessly look at one social media post after another.

The very first thing to remember is that you are sovereign over yourself, and further that your decisions do matter.  Additionally, whether consciously cognizant of this or not, people are often creatures of habit, primarily because they have time commitments to their job, to their school, to their family, to their meals, and so on and so forth, in which in order to accomplish these tasks, habits are typically formed.  It is in the structure of these habits, that people need to take more time to consider them, for habits, good or bad, once they become part of our routine or structure, are exceedingly hard to break free of.

The reason that habits are so difficult to break, is that they soon become thoroughly ingrained within us, which often allows us to free our mind and to thereby think or to dwell upon other things, yet, we still should periodically review our habits, and should consider as to whether they should or should not be our habits in the first place, and if not, to change them.

It is always easier to resist at the beginning because not only has the habit not been formed, but because at the beginning, we recognize that we have a multitude of various options, that we can avail ourselves of, in addition to the fact that we have yet to become biased in regards to confirming that having thought and made a particular decision, that such a decision must be the right one, even when the evidence being presented to us, appears to negate that view.

People, often do not want to admit to a mistake, especially when they have invested time, money, and their reputation to it, in which, that makes it even more difficult to extricate themselves from that decision, for they believe that it often makes them look foolish to make that change, even though using their willpower and determination to undo what has been done would be better, but because they are in so deep, their reluctance to do exactly that, has been weakened, considerably.

You will not need to worry or bother yourself about resisting certain undesirable deeds, if you do not begin such in the first place, for these things not being part and parcel of you, means that they do not have a hold upon you, whereas if you give in, once, and then again, and then again, the hole that you are digging, will just keep getting bigger, till you find that you are in so deep that you can't readily escape so you may as well just live with it, all because you weren't able to resist at the beginning.

Abortion and population control

There are many that are very strong advocates of a woman's choice, specifically, in regards to their body and the decisions that they are legally or should be legally able to make as to whether they can or cannot choose to abort the fetus inside of them.  The Supreme Court ruled in regards to this specific issue, in its notorious Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, in which abortion rules, previous to this decision, were left to the individual States to decide as their legislation best saw fit, but was trumped by the rules so promulgated by that Supreme Court.

As it stands, abortion is the law of the land, of which certain States have pushed back against this national law, by passing legislation in regards to waiting periods, counseling, gestational limits, as well as physician and hospital requirements, which effectively serves to limit significantly abortions conducted within their State as well as impacting their monetary cost.   This means, that a woman's fair access to abortion, or her right to choose, is clearly impacted, not only by the gestation period that her fetus is currently at, but also by her physical location, in addition to the out-of-pocket cost, in which the upshot is that many woman do not have convenient access to an abortion clinic, whatsoever.

This signifies, in effect, that different areas of the country have different rules and different regulations for abortion, pretty much negating a lot of the potency of the Roe v. Wade decision, and to a certain specific degree, placing a woman's right to choose, not as a right to privacy as dubiously argued by that Supreme Court, but instead making that choice, come down to their ready ability to travel to an abortion clinic, in order to have that service successfully performed.

This so indicates that when it comes to abortion as it does in so many other areas of American life, that the laws are different and unequally applied, depending upon where you live, your budget, your ability to safely travel as well as having the necessary time to have this procedure performed and to recuperate from, which are all wildly different depending upon your geographic location.

This means, that the location of abortion clinics matters as to who does or does not have fair access to such, in which, many more abortion clinics are located in urban areas, for the somewhat obvious reason, that there are many more people that live in urban areas than in rural ones.  This too signifies that those that live in urban areas will have far easier access to abortion clinics and hence the convenience and cost of such will be far more affordable for them.

Not especially surprising, this also indicates that those that are of color typically are able to more easily avail themselves of a woman's right to choose, simply because those of color congregate more often within urban cities, and not in rural areas.  The statistics then tell us, that those of color have significantly more abortions than white people, in fact, whites have by far the lowest amount of abortions per capita than any other color, and since abortions, by definition, kill the fetus, this means that if there was a hidden agenda within abortion, specifically, to have those of color abort far more often so there will be far less of them for future generations, and for those that are white to have far less abortions, so that there will be far more of them for future generation, that this is working out all so very well.

False freedom

The Emancipation Proclamation became into effect on January 1, 1863, so all those that had been in slavery in the Southern rebellious States, were now declared free.  After the successful conclusion of our Civil War, the 13th-15th Constitution Amendments were ratified, which abolished slavery, provided equal protection of the laws, and gave enfranchisement of the vote to all adult males.

What this freedom did not bring to those that had previously been slaves, was property, money, or opportunity. In addition, because slaves were deliberately precluded from being literate, they were ill prepared to comprehend written contractual obligations, and many times suffered from the lack of a good understanding of how to function successfully in a society in which they had been freed.  So those that previously were slaves, owned nothing, weren't literate, did not have their own shelter, and still lived within areas of the country that were run by those that had formerly enslaved them.

This meant that though slaves were now free, legally, they were not free, in principle, for they continued to suffer under the domination of white exploitation and white power, that though there may indeed had been laws on the books that stipulated this or that, in effect, little had changed in function, so that progress available for blacks in this country by taking advantage of their full Constitutional rights was often slow, halting, and uneven.

The great tragedy and lesson that should have been rather obvious, is that a conscientious government could not release into its own country, those that were formerly slaves, without also providing the preparation to accommodate such a massive release of newly freed people that had been precluded from knowing the things that they needed to be aware of in order to survive and to thrive on their own.  However, at least back in the post Civil war days, many people that labored did so with their hands and their tools, so that though slaves were ignorant of many things, they knew how to work and how to be productive, so that though cheated on their wages, trading, and just about everything, they could still make a living.

In today's world, however, those that are not functionally literate, those that lack property, as well as those that are more often subject to arrest, are miles behind those that have those things or have good access to them.  So that, though all in theory are afforded equal rights and equal justice in this country, in effect, those laws are unequally applied, so that though free, certain specific portions of Americans aren't really free at all.  For instance, as reported by calmatters.org, "75 percent of black California boys don’t meet state reading standards." In addition, as reported by naacp.org, "African Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of whites. Finally, as reported by huffingtonpost.com, "The five largest white landowners in America together own more rural land than all of black America combined."

 So they say, blacks are free in America, but far too many blacks have that false freedom of a Constitutional paper that stipulates that they are free, but way too many blacks are not free in principle; for a high percentage of black children go to rundown public schools that are inferior and that do an exceedingly poor job of educating them, in addition to being subject to a much higher percentage of arrest and unduly harassed by law enforcement officials, and far too many blacks own absolutely no land property, whatsoever.

The principle of the Emancipation Proclamation was correct, and the principle of the 13th-15th Constitutional Amendments was also correct, but this government did not and still does not do what they should have done at the beginning, which is that you cannot just free people that have nothing, without providing them with the substance and the wherewithal to become something, for blacks in this country which purports to be the land of the free, deserve a fair and equal opportunity which has never been provided, and these poor results indicate that generations later, their freedom has always been that false freedom of a system that too often perpetuates and sustains those that run this nation on the poor tired backs of those that deserve so much better.

School bus drivers

Many students that go to primary and secondary schools get there by boarding their respective school bus, of which the driver of that bus picks up all the students on their route and drops them off at school in the morning, and then in the afternoon, picks them up at school, and then drops them back off.  In order to be a school bus driver, the driver has to have a commercial driver's license, as well as a good record of driving, has to carefully pick up and drop off students, as well as to carefully navigate though neighborhoods, and somehow, that bus driver has to maintain order within the bus and not lose focus while driving the streets of that community.

Unlike school teachers, bus drivers are paid by the hour, in which, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as reported by chron.com indicates that bus drivers earned a "median annual salary of $32,660 in 2016."  Another factor to take into consideration is that when school bus drivers' drop off the students in the morning, they often have a rather lengthy unpaid break, before the afternoon run to return the students back to their homes.  For some of those drivers, that break is utilized as their own personal time, whereas others may double as a bus mechanic, or work janitorial at the school, or in the cafeteria, in which each of these jobs does compensate the school bus driver for those hours worked.

One might think, that in order to augment school bus driver's salaries and opportunities, that school districts would make it their policy to see that opportunities within the school, were structured in such a manner as to specifically try to accommodate school bus drivers in their employment and ability to make additional wages, especially to try to get them to the forty hour mark, and in particular taking in consideration that when schools are closed in the summer and on school holidays, that these school bus drivers are not being paid for work, since they are hourly employees and are not salaried.

While it is quite common for teachers to be unionized, there are far fewer school bus drivers that are, in which, being unionized would allow these drivers to negotiate better pay packages for a job that is both vital and necessary.  Additionally, healthcare packages should be designed for school bus drivers that accommodate drivers that are currently considered to be part time employees, because, through no fault of their own, they have not labored the required amount of hours to be designated as full time and therefore are denied fulltime benefits, even though they did their job, by driving the students to school, and then driving them back home.

We live in a visible and an invisible world, in which too often, those that perform tasks behind the scenes, such as cooks, janitors, maintenance people, and bus drivers, aren't recognized nor really properly appreciated for their human services so provided, yet they should be, for they are part of the overall organization that helps and benefits these students so that they can learn to be good valued citizens, themselves.

The sacred quest

As the world gets more educated, it has lost some of its sense of mystery, because as people know more about the laws of nature, and how nature works, they believe that such knowledge indicates that most everything that is knowable is tangible, or, if not tangible, can be successfully theorized about.  All of this has a very strong tendency to take away from some people a desire or a need for God, especially since the God that is so often as proselytize by others, seems judgmental, old fashion, and restrictive, in which, the absence of such, equates to more freedom with no eternal consequences.

In our life with our physical body, we have our five basic senses, which are sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, of which none of these attributes would seemingly allow us to find the immaterial God.  That is not surprising for these attributes are of our body and bodily senses are necessary in order to keep the body in good, working order.  We, though, are also actuated by our mind, which is not the same thing as our brain, for the mind is both inside and outside of our brain, but even for those, that see the brain and mind as being equivalent, the body cannot properly function without its mind, to oversee it all.

This mind, often sees the world through the body's eyes, and when we look around the objects that surround us, there is no one single object that we see, that simply is God, this then would imply that the God that we seek is hidden from us, and because God is hidden, for some people, there never is a quest made for God, because they cannot see or feel God, so thereby, they conclude that God therefore must not exist.  But, there are many things that we deal with every day, that are not visible, such as gravity, yet we are aware of it and recognize that gravity is real.

One of the reasons why God is hidden to us is that, like a treasure of immeasurable value, you do not leave such a treasure as that, out in the open, for just anybody to then grab and take; instead, you leave clues that devotees will surely recognize and thereby act upon.  In addition, within most, if not all of us, is a knowledge, that there is something that exists beyond us, that therefore compels us to search for it, and that is the most sacred quest of them all, for the search for God, a God that we are unable to simply just see, takes us beyond our five senses and thereby opens up a dimension, previously unexplored, and this undiscovered country, is everything.

A life that exists of a body, and of a mind, that will simply turn into dust, upon the body's demise, is truly a world of the cruelest dimensions, and cannot possibly be true, for it basically indicates that life has no meaning and has no purpose, for in that world, when the body dies, so does its dreams.  Rather, it is far better to recognize that the innate desire that all have for justice, fairness, and love, comes from knowing that these are our actual essence, and therefore it becomes our duty, to find the true source of such a desire, and to thereby make it our quest to find God, and those that sincerely do so, will find God, for God is already here, God is all around us, above us, and below us, for we all are part of the immortal God and always have been.

Occupational licensing and the protection of the status quo

While it obviously makes sense for medical doctors, attorneys, dentists, and many other professions to be licensed and regulated by State or Federal authorities, unfortunately, extending this sort of licensing requirement to all sorts of professions isn't good at all.  There are jobs such as florists, hair dressers, plumbers, and many, many other various professions that are required to be licensed or regulated by State authorities.  It would be one thing, indeed, if such licensing was setup along the lines of basically providing a State-sanctioned certificate that could be added to that worker's credentials, but rather, these regulations are deliberately written in a restrictive manner that precludes people working in a given profession unless they are licensed, no matter their skill-set and no matter their experience, unless they take and pass State mandated tests and coursework, they can't legally work.

Many people might think that all of this licensing and regulation is a good thing, because it assures the people utilizing such services of their safety, and indicates that these license holders are competent.  That may well be true, but often these regulations and license requirements have not been initiated at a grass roots level, that is, by the people, themselves, in an effort to do exactly that, so as to protect and to assure themselves of a minimal competency from these professionals, but rather these regulations and license requirements are typically instigated and initiated from the people already in that industry, as a way to raise the entry fee for others that wish to be a beautician or similar, and therefore as a barrier erected to preclude other people from creating additional competition in their given industry.   The reason that certain cosmetologists desire to see their profession regulated, is so that they can make more money by charging higher prices, which is basically because they have less competitors, because of these license regulations, fees, and time needed to commit to such.

In any profession, in which there is a monetary cost for entry, in addition to time commitments to be trained in such a profession, as well as educational requirements, than the more that these things cost in money and in time, the less people, overall, in general, that will apply and go through the entire exercise to get that professional degree, because they do not have access to the money needed, nor the time commitment requirement, nor are able to readily achieve the educational requirements.  While this makes logical sense for medical doctors and lawyers, that need to have high competency as a proper service to the general public, this is not really necessary for hair dressers or bartenders, or many other professions.

The upshot of all these licensing requirements, that cost money and time, in addition to some of them having  unnecessary restrictions that disqualifies people that do not have a Bachelor's degree or are not United States citizens or those convicted of crimes, is that the least amongst us, the people that are trying to be part of the American dream but lack a good educational background, money, connections, and a wealth of opportunities, are precluded from working at a profession that they may well be quite good at, simply because they don't have the money or time, and not because they are incompetent or incapable.  This type of exclusion is wrong, it often isn't even well meaning, but rather is done purposefully to protect those that have from those that want to have.

Good examples and harsh words

It is a very easy thing to tell someone what they should do, rather than having to worry about actually setting the example yourself, because setting the example yourself, actually requires that your words match your actions. That is to say, when you tell someone that they need to be more polite, or more generous, or not to curse, or to control their temper better, that is all fine and good, for these qualities in a person are good qualities to have, but those words will go a heck of a lot further when they come from someone that demonstrates consistently that they personify those very same attributes that they wish the other person to follow.

It simply isn't good enough to demand or instruct someone else how they can be better, if you are unable to exhibit those same qualities in yourself, for though the advice may be good, that advice is also hollow.  Now, it could be that the advice is presented in a way, in which one person says to the other, "please, don't drink, for I do, it has ruined my life and I can't seem to quit it," for at least there is pathos and honesty there, so that, the admission that is made from the one giving the advice is doing so from their personal experience, in which they have fallen victim to a particularly bad vice, and do not wish to see their error, compounded in another.  This then, is sound advice in which the person giving it, freely admits their weakness and tries to encourage someone else not to develop that same habit for the evident results are not desirable.

Then, there are those that consider themselves to be angels in disguise, and though there are indeed some that rightly fit this description, most people that believe this, really are not, so that their self-righteous way of instructing and correcting others, grates on another person's nerves, so that, almost out of rebellious spite, the other person that may not have been thinking about doing something that they know they really shouldn't, may find this somewhat more alluring, simply because a pompous ass is trying to instruct them otherwise.

The words that we speak are a valid and necessary form of communication, but words are not the only form of communication that we have, and those that do not understand that words and actions should actually align with each other, misunderstand this importance, because way too many people, actually know what is right, but somehow or other aren't able to actually do right, in which that failure and inconsistency is actually the visible story that is being told.

The fact that so many people know right and do wrong, indicates that proper character development is something that far too many people fall short of, in which, if there were more people that actually set a good example by living a good example, the overall result for society would be a vast improvement in character, because we are what we do and accomplish, and we learn best from those that have demonstrated such in a virtuous way, of which, apparently they are in rather short supply.

In my Father's house are many mansions

We read in Holy Scripture that "In my Father's house are many mansions…" (John 14:2) of which obviously this house with many mansions is nothing like a house on planet earth, for when we discard our earthly bodies, we become sprit, and spirit has no body, therefore this house of many mansions is actually a celestial house in which each spirit finds and gravitates to the mansion that matches well with their needs and the conditions of their spirit, so that the spirit can revive and revivify itself within a domain that encompasses all that spirit has need of.

On earth, too many people are completely identified with their body so that they think and believe that their body is all that will ever be, but everything physical, most definitely has a beginning and all beginnings most definitely have defined endings, so that the body is more appropriately seen as what it really is which is a vessel for our spirit, and therefore, if we are wise, we should concentrate on feeding correctly that which is eternal, rather than that which is temporal.

The mansion that awaits us matches to what we have or have not accomplished with our free will on this planet, for the spirit is not able to abide in rooms in which it has not yet achieved the growth needed to be in harmony with others in such rooms, of which lacking such harmony, that spirit must become what it should be in order to be able to dwell successfully in any of the mansions within God's great house, for in God, there is only perfection, all others that lack such, must become such, for untruth can never be truth, hate can never be love, and wrong can never be right.

The spirit is never punished, it isn't even precluded from all forms of movement and complete free will, what is happening, though, is that having not the full capacity, to be truth, love, and right, such a spirit is unable to access various parts of God's great house, for it has not the correct demonstrated mindset to accomplish such, and will not be able to make its entry, until that spirit is completely developed and completely in accord.

This earth is our proving ground, an opportunity to mold our body and our mind to perform deeds and actions on earth that are in conformance to the heavenly attributes of selflessness, generosity, kindness, and steadfastness, of which, the more that we accomplish such, the more doors of God's mansion are welcoming to us, for what we do, for a certainty matters, and who we really are, is clearly known by all.

What we pursue in this world creates the pathway of our actions, and those that take the time to develop and to utilize their true essence will progress, whereas those that do not, will regress, and the spirits that do regress, will when they leave their earthly body know it for a certainty, but even the least of these has a place in God's house, and will always have a mansion, for God deserts no spirit, and those closest to God, only leave God's good house as volunteers to become the prophets that wayward earthly incarnations need to emulate.

The importance of Black Freedom of movement

We live in a country in which, nowadays, one person can move quite readily from one city to another, from one State to another, and pretty much be able to freely get to where they want to go, only needing to have a vehicle, or have the capacity to pay for a bus or train ticket. However, there was a time, way before our interstate system of roads that interconnects all of the States together and thereby made vehicle transportation smooth and safe, in which, people, in order to get from the South to the North, had to walk it, or use river transportation, or a train, and in the era after the Civil War, for Blacks to simply get on a train and travel north was never that easy.

When the civil war ended, the vast majority of Blacks lived in the South, suffering through a situation in which though Constitution Amendments made them equal in the law's eyes, the actual law as applied to Blacks was segregated, discriminatory, restrictive, and wrong.  A Black man living in the South was most definitely employable, but only at the jobs that the white man wanted the Black man to work at, and only at pay rates and working conditions that satisfied those white men, so that, Blacks worked, but they worked in the same industry, doing the same sort of things, that they did before their emancipation, which was essentially farming land and being a servant, and any other employment besides those basic jobs, were not readily available for Blacks, and/or subject to an annual tax for such employment, of which the purpose of that tax was to preclude such employment.  Additionally, Blacks were often not able to freely travel, without expressed permission, and were subject to severe penalties for vagrancy, so that Blacks that could not prove that they were gainfully employed were effectively forced into plantation labor.  In all of these things, Blacks suffered through a system that was a lot like slavery, though not known by that name.

The migratory changes after the Civil war, and up until 1910, demonstrated that Blacks had not moved, for as reported by priceeconomics.com, " In 1910, 89% of African Americans lived in the South," but due to a confluence of many important factors that came together in a very short time, such as an economic depression in cotton prices, along with Northern industries going through a corresponding economic boom in which because of tensions in Europe and ultimately World War I, white immigration from Europe became limited, in addition to America's eventual entry into World War I, taking nearly five million men out of the private sector and being placed into the military, and finally with the labor unrest coming from the newfound power of labor unions, recruiters came down to the South to find, recruit, and take back to the Northern industrial States, able body Blacks at unprecedented rates, which became the very first wave of the Black great migration.

Were it not for Northern States deliberately "importing" Blacks from the south, and thereby, providing the foundation for more Blacks to follow suit as the years rolled by, in which the living and working conditions and pay in the North was fundamentally better, than the stifling suffering left back in the South; though it must be stated, laws, rules, justice, and fairness, were still prejudicial and discriminatory against Blacks in the North, then we would not have seen the real start of Blacks truly becoming someone and something within America, proper, which led to  the development of what would be, for the first time ever, the Black middle class.

The value of $100 depending upon who has it

People think that money means pretty much the same thing to everyone, but that isn't exactly true, for those that have a lot of money, spending money to them, is going to feel different than it will to someone that has little or nothing.  So too, for someone that has a lot of money, earning a little bit more money for them, is going to feel a whole lot different than someone that is barely making it, if that.

Take, for instance, a situation in which someone that is worth well over $100 million dollars, and on a blustery day, loses $100 that somehow falls from their hands and proceeds to blow far, far away, that person will not in any way, form, or manner, miss that $100, except in the sense that they might wonder where it went, but the material impact upon their wealth is negligible and not worth even a momentary thought.  That same $100 for someone that makes an average salary would probably be sorely missed, because $100 is, for example, the difference between having a really nice night out and having to stay in.  On the other hand, someone that is broke, or nearly broke, or really struggling, for that man to lose that $100 would be absolutely devastating, and they would search high and low to recover it.

So too, if you take a rich man and just hand him $100, it's questionable as to whether he would even take it, figuring that there must be strings attached, or it's some sort of setup, so he probably would just pass it by.  On the other hand, an average man would smile and take it, perhaps verifying first that it truly is a gift.  Then, for the very poor man, this $100 would represent for him, an opportunity to get some food, or clothes, or something of real value, and he would very much appreciate it and would thereby utilize it in a manner that would give him the greatest satisfaction.

In all these cases, it is the same $100, either received or taken, but the viewpoint and the effect of such is significantly magnified depending upon that person's financial status.  America is a very rich country of which, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median wage for all workers in the four quarter of 2017, for a 40-hour workweek, was $44,564 per year.  Obviously, depending upon the cost of living in the city that a given person resides in, as well as debts, health, and other assorted issues, this $44,564 may go quite far and may not go as far, but certainly, this number represents enough on a basic level, that all those people working should have sufficient food, shelter, and their preference of the accouterments that Americans like to have.

The thing is, America has as reported by census.gov, a grave situation in which "In 2016 there were 40.6 million people in poverty."  This signifies what people pretty much already know, that there is a huge disparity in wealth between the very rich and the very poor, of which, the sheer massive numbers of over 40 million people in America living in poverty in this the greatest and richest nation the world has ever known, is truly shameful. 

There are ways to rectify and for the government to assist and to aid those that are impoverished in which the obvious ones would be to tax the very rich far more, and especially to tax estates at a rate that reflects that dead people don't actually utilize money in the afterworld. Additionally, the government needs to make it a priority to provide direct aid, direct subsidies, direct money, direct housing, all that is necessary, so that everyone that labors a 40-hour workweek, receives, in effect, a living wage, and for those that will not and cannot labor, a true safety net that demonstrates the graciousness that the rich, and this government of the people, for the people, and by the people, at a minimum owe the poor.

Good and evil

Television, movies, books, schools, friends, and even philosophers often don't seem to fundamentally understand correctly good and evil.  Anyone that really believes, that good and evil are in a perpetual battle in which these forces are nearly equal, one against the other, is absolutely clueless, for evil could not exist, and does not exist, without good, thereby evil is not a power unto itself, but comes into play only as a free will corruption of good, nothing more, and nothing less.

The thing about life is that our free choices and our free decisions do matter, and that they therefore do make a material as well a spiritual difference in not only our own lives but the lives that are lived and experienced here on earth.  This means that each one of us by our behavior and by our actions affects this world, for good or for evil, for right or for wrong, for better or for worse.  So too, mankind's ingenuity can be used to make mankind's life appreciably better and it can also be used to make it appreciably worse, so the problem that mankind has, has little to do with the earth or our personalities being fundamentally flawed or evil, but everything to do with how we use our knowledge and the thinking that actuates and develops that knowledge that we so use.

The choices that we make create the world that we know, and choices made that are at odds to what our Creator represents, which is truth, justice, and love; than such wrong choices are in effect the personification and the bastardization of good, better known as evil, and the evil that we augment or manifest, is played out in the world at large, so the more efforts that are concentrated on being deceptive, unjust, and hateful, the more evil that is developed and spread throughout this world.

The end of evil, therefore, is completely within our own hands, for we are the ones that have created it within this domain, and to stop such, each individual to the best of their ability, needs to lead and conduct their lives in such a manner that their actions are good, and if all were to do exactly that, evil, would no longer exist, for the oxygen that feeds evil is in the breath of mankind, itself. This signifies that evil can never be eradicated by attempting to imprison it, or to kill it, or any other negative or restrictive action, that mankind has a tendency to gravitate to, as if war brings peace, for it does not.  The way that evil ends is to recognize that we are not infallible and that we are not gods in the first place, that, instead, as created beings, our first responsibility is to do right by our Creator, of which, we do that by emulating the perfection that God so does represent.

Evil, is the deliberate lack of true recognition and the cognizance of God, and the willful rebellion from God, as if by doing so, will somehow make those making such decisions, equivalent to a new sort of god.   That does not occur, and will never occur, for evil is never a new creation, it is instead the corruption of what has already been created, that will never become whole again until it returns to the Source of it all.