Freedom and shadows of freedom

There probably exists not a single country in the entire world that is totally free in the sense that its population is allowed to freely express their views, unpopular or not, inconvenient or not, whenever and  wherever that they so desire, without any sort of penalty whatsoever for expressing such; though countries such as the United States appear to ostensibly offer exactly that freedom in its Constitutional statue but in effect, history has demonstrated, again and again, that the freedom to express oneself in the most momentous and trying times of America's existence, that the press and the freedom of speech of organizations and individuals is almost always stymied, compromised, or eliminated.

For instance, the socialist Eugene Debs was arrested and convicted for essentially protesting against America's involvement in World War I, of which the National Government successfully argued that Debs was committing treason by his opposition to the drafting of American citizens into their mandated military service. Again and again, through court decisions, laws, arrests, incarceration, intimidation, and violence, the United States government and its equivalencies on local and State levels, has trampled upon the rights of American citizens to voice their Constitutional right to freedom of speech, of which, there is always given a somewhat convincing prevailing reason, that typically rests upon national or local interests and national or local security, that mandates that such freedom needs to bow to our governmental overseers.

In point of fact, the most important time that the right of freedom of speech rests upon, is those times of war or rumors of war, or civil rights abuses, or religious bigotry, or any of the myriad gross injustices that affects a community and a country, of which, if the people are not permitted to voice their viewpoint at those critical junctures, than that community and therefore that people don't have any real freedom of voice, but have only a pale shadow of what that freedom so represents.

Real freedom is uncomfortable for any government, because most governments though they talk about representing the people, and being of the people and for the people, aren't typically any of those things, whatsoever.  Instead, far too many governments are really about taking care of themselves and their favored industries and peoples that those governments work hand in glove with, to the exclusion of all those that are not part and parcel of that system in action; therefore they have little interest in real protest, or in anything that will unnecessarily upset the status quo, because they are quite satisfied with the way that things already are.

The process of change, necessitates freedom of movement and assembly, the freedom to protest, the freedom of the press and the freedom to voice whatever that it is that means something to those so voicing it.  When those freedoms are suppressed or compromised or neutralized, than what has occurred is that the state apparatus, in conjunction with the policing arm and justice departments, are strong arming the people from freely expressing themselves, when such an expression, is actually their Constitutional right, and should not be subjected to permissions from a government that is built upon their just powers coming from the free consent of those so governed.

To live correctly, necessitates our preparation to die -- having lived right

There are a lot of questions that a given individual should want to ask and that they should want to know the correct answer to. One of those important questions has got to involve the very purpose of life, because if we do not know the purpose of life, than we are to a large extent, living our lives without truly knowing whether what we are doing is the most appropriate thing to do or not, and because we don't know that, our decision making will be worse for that lack of specific knowledge.  

Further to the point, it is a foolish mistake to pretend that we will not die, when by nature's infallible law, all things physical, without exception, will meet their demise; so then, knowing that physical death is absolutely certain, should indicate to us, that the only possible part of us that will be eternal is not ever going to be our physical body, but must be our spirit and/or our mind.  This then makes it quite clear, that whether or not a given person believes in a Higher Power or not, isn't quite as important as their recognition that their energy and their emphasis should be placed upon what is eternal rather than what is temporal.

That is to say, part and parcel of a lot of troubles in this world comes from people that are so trapped within their physicality, that they are not able to recognize that the physical body merely houses the spirit and the mind, signifying that therefore by expending their energy, decisions, and thoughts upon the physical to the exclusion or near exclusion of all else, cannot possibly be the correct way to live a good life.

In point of fact, the only possible way to live a life correctly is to recognize that you are not the physical body that you see in the mirror, but are in fact, something far greater, far more complete, and eternal in substance as compared to just your physical body.  Once you are able to see yourself as you really are, life and its mysteries begin to make much more logical sense, and therefore, there is a comprehensive understanding that the challenges that we face in life are there so as to make us better able to perceive that it is in the living that we create the undiscovered country that we will reside in upon our physical death.

This means, step by step and day by day, how we live and how we behave in our interactions with others, as well as in the deeds and actions that we perform, creates the very structure of the death experience that we will face, and those that have done right while living to the living, will also die right for having done so.  Whereas, all those that have done wrong, will not somehow escape having to face their injustice they have done to themselves as well as to others, but will be obliged to face that injustice until such a time that they have overcome such by doing right to make amends.

To live here in this world, necessitates our recognition that we must not only keep our own house in proper order but that we have an inherent obligation to help our neighbor in accomplishing such also by our interactions with them , including our aid, wisdom, advice, and sweat labor, that we so provide.

Mercy, justice, and sacrifice

It really doesn't seem right that Jesus was crucified upon the cross, but indeed He was.  One way to understand this from a different perspective is to recognize the incredible strength of character that is necessitated by sacrificial love; as well as the true liberty of being released from human ego and embracing instead the correct concept that there is an Eternal Justice that ultimately rules all things with impartiality.  This would therefore indicate that those that demonstrate mercy and compassion in their actions are closer to understanding what true justice represents than those that believe only in the letter of the law and never the spirit of the law that stands behind it.

In one way, the basic reason why so much of the Old Testament involves sacrificial animals in religious rites is for mankind to try to make peace with its Maker for their mistakes and missteps; so that the whole point of physical sacrifice of animals is to be a representation as well as the precursor of the actual physical/spiritual sacrifice, done so dramatically through Jesus the Christ.  This should not though be interpreted so as to believe that it follows that each one of us needs to literally be crucified in service to their fellow mankind, but instead that each us must follow Christ by figuratively crucifying our own ego and selfish desires and thereby becoming reborn into expressing love, joy, kindness, goodness, steadfastness, and self-control in all our interactions with our fellow brethren.

The old law of an eye-for-an-eye may sound like justice to some people; even some people feel this exact way at the present time, but ultimately this is very much a zero sum game that resolves nothing of valued substance.  In point of fact, in order to get beyond tit-for-tat philosophies, necessitates that one of the parties so involved, must relinquish its right for like-for-like, and replace such instead, by the virtue of love and mercy for the other, for nothing else will provide the necessary closure that allows mankind to advance to a higher level, rather than remaining grounded in the mud and mire of a lower life form.

If we truly see Christ as the exemplar of our faith, then we must learn our lessons well, and because Christ did not take revenge or vengeance upon those that wronged Him, obviously, this demonstrates in action, that there is a pathway that we need to follow that is over and above our normal perception, which is that the law of mercy and forgiveness trumps the foibles and errors of human injustice, so often masking itself on some level as justice, when it clearly is not.

Again and again, so many people get so caught up in their physicality that they fail to recognize that more than anything our earthly lives are in actuality, a proving ground.  If more people were to recognize implicitly as well as explicitly that the real tests in life are actually a test of our true character, they would soon learn to see things and situations in a manner, of which that correct perspective would keep them in focus, and therefore would they be just in their actions, merciful in their treatment, and sacrificial for their people.

The California Consumer Privacy Act

Not everything that glitters like gold is gold, of which the very powerful initiative which had received double the amount of signatures needed to be certified for a democratic vote in California in regards to the right of privacy for consumers in today's hi-technology digital world, was circumvented by a hastily put together alternative to such, known as the Consumer Right to Privacy Act which was passed by the legislature of California in 2018, thereby in its effect, signified as part of this quid pro quo, that the sponsors of the initiative, would withdrew their ballot initiative, before the statutory ballot initiative deadline, which they so did.

As might be expected, the sponsors of the initiative, believe that their withdrawal was done upon having received in effect, the very things that they so desired from the legislative action that passed this alternative privacy act, in addition to also receiving some added privacy protections not specifically addressed in their initiative.  On the other hand, the sponsors do admit that in the area of consumer lawsuits, that there was a definite trade-off, of which those consumer lawsuits are legally limited to data breaches only, with the rest of law  “...subject to enforcement by the California Attorney General.”

It doesn't take a genius to recognize, that when the biggest and most important hi-technology companies in the world are located in the State of California, and that these companies do billions upon billions of dollars worth of business, as well as profit to the tune of billions upon billions of dollars from the consumers of their products and their usage, that these companies will not risk in any way, form or substance, the very basis of their profitability and growth.  This thus signifies, that despite what this legislated privacy act so stipulates or purports to stipulate, that these companies are both confident and comfortable that it will essentially be business as usual, especially in consideration that the Attorney General will not under virtually any circumstances do anything that will endanger the very businesses that California's economy depends so heavily upon.

The bottom line is the best lawyers are going to be working hand-in-hand with the hi-technology companies, so that, whatever words are written into legislation, they are written in a manner that may say one thing to the layperson, but clearly says something materially different to those that understand implicitly and explicitly how the law will work in its implementation.  That said, such a privacy act is still a step in the right direction, for it serves notice to those big businesses that as much as it may appear that most Americans are nothing more than mindless sheep, there are still a few Americans that at least have one eye open and are aware of their right to privacy as well as its essential importance to their freedom and their right to just be left alone.  So too, it must be stated as an axiom, that when the people's democratic initiative is circumvented by a suddenly awoken legislature, seldom will the alternative, be anything more than fool's gold.

Drivers that are too close to their airbag

Not every safety feature that we deal with is going to be safe under any and all circumstances.  A case in point, is the driver's seat airbag, which when deployed, is deployed at an estimated speed of 100 to 220 miles per hour.  In addition, the distance from that deployment to the breastbone of the driver should be no less than a minimum of ten inches.  The problem therefore comes from those that are typically either elderly in which they drive while bent over the steering wheel, because of vision problems or posture problems or just general old age fatigue, as well as those that are short in stature, that thereby need to be close to the steering wheel not necessarily because they want to be that close but in order to comfortably reach the brake and acceleration pedals to the car.  In addition, some people sit quite close to the steering wheel for visibility purposes, or for the reaching of certain controls on the dashboard.

In virtually all cases, the people that drive in which they are closer than ten inches to the steering wheel airbag, are not cognizant of the danger of their driving position, but they surely need to be aware of it, for not every accident that necessitates in the deployment of an airbag is the type of accident that needed an airbag deployment; indicating that some car accidents at relatively minor speeds can create catastrophic injuries, such as a broken neck or even death because of the speed, impact, and force of that airbag being deployed, in which the driver, often because of their unsafe close proximity to that airbag as well as the body part being impacted by it, have been hit by that airbag while such was still accelerating in its force.

It's unfortunate, that so many people that should be aware of their driving position and therefore the danger of an airbag deployment seriously hurting them aren't actually aware of it.  This would imply strongly that in the purchasing of a vehicle, that this safety feature of the car, should be something that the manufacturer or the dealer of such, should be mandated to provide to the purchaser with both written as well as video instruction to the buyer, before they are permitted authorization to drive the vehicle as the owner of it.

So too, insurance companies as well as governmental services, should be mandated to provide occasional public service announcements reminding and instructing drivers on their appropriate positioning in regards to the driving of vehicles, especially considering that airbags are mandatory on all vehicles.  This is the least that should be done for the safety of drivers, for airbags are one of those safety devices, that has a significant downside when drivers are not properly positioned within their vehicle, that can result in horrific injuries, of which, the prevention of such, typically comes down to the distance of the steering wheel to the breastbone of the driver; in addition to recognizing that the driver's posture in regards to the steering wheel should never involve the driver's neck being in line with that steering wheel. 

Progressive dividend tax

The United States current tax system, exempts qualified dividends from being taxed as ordinary income, and therefore allows those qualified dividends to be taxed at the tax rate for qualified dividends which maxes out at 20%, whereas the progressive income tax currently maxes out at 39.6%.  Basically, for stock dividends to qualify at this reduced tax rate for the individual, the recipient of such, need only essentially receive dividends of which the underlying stock of that dividend payer has been owned at least 60 days, and further that the dividend is from a U.S. publicly traded stock.

In point of fact, those that currently receive dividends at the reduced tax rate for owning those stocks, are taxed substantially less than those that are earning their money through wage income, which doesn't seem fair.  While it is true, that there are plenty of people that make their money from wage income along with making additional money through qualified dividends, that isn't the same thing as someone that makes exclusively or nearly exclusively all of their income from passive investments.  The fundamental issue with dividends being taxed at a reduced tax rate, is that the person that is physically laboring for their wages pays at a higher tax rate, than the person that is living off of the extra money earned that they have accumulated through their investments, such as in dividends from stock ownership.

It would seem to be the case that people that are actively working for their wages, should not have to pay a higher tax rate than someone that doesn't do anything other than to place their money into certain dividend paying stocks, yet that is the current situation in America.  While it is true, that most people are not eager to pay more than what they owe in taxes, the fact of the matter is that those that labor for their income are paying more than they really should, because essentially those that should pay more at a higher rate, are not.

It also doesn't make sense, that qualified dividends are not taxed at the progressive tax rates as in ordinary income; especially if the whole purpose of the progressive income tax is actually to have those that can afford to pay more, to pay more.  When, as is the situation today, that those that are multi-millionaires or billionaires, are able to pay taxes on their passive income at a very reasonable rate which has a ceiling placed upon it, than quite obviously, those that are superrich are going to increase their net worth, at the expense of all those that have so much less.

What is or isn't taxed, and how much that taxation is, along with how it is structured and who pays what, makes a significant difference as to how families and individuals are able to conduct their lives and to pay their bills.  The larger the income, from whatever source or sources, that a person has, the more that they will be inclined to use every avenue to reduce that taxation, because to a very large degree, it isn't so much what your gross income is, but rather, what your net income becomes.  As it stands, those receiving dividends are living large vis-a-vis those that live upon their wages, of which, this is a very meaningful reason as to why the superrich and therefore the wealth and income disparity, has grown substantially in America over the last fifteen years.

Incarcerate every single one of those people

Until the 1970s, the incarceration rate in United States while higher than other western nations, was within a reasonable band of their rates, but beginning in 1972, as reported by nap.edu 161 American residents were incarcerated per 100,000 population, and by 2007 it had “more than quintupled to a peak of 767 per 100,000.” Wikipedia.com indicates that in 2016 the incarceration rate in America was still at very elevated levels as in “655 per 100,000”, whereas countries such as Germany and Italy were both under 100 per 100,000 in 2016.

As many people are quite aware, the United States leads the world in incarceration rates and its percentage of residents incarcerated is not only a very high percentage but the sheer numbers of those incarcerated are absolutely astonishing in number, with 2.2 million people that are currently incarcerated in America, and with nearly 5 million more that are either on probation or parole.

While there are all sorts of theories, reasons, and studies as to why there are so many that are incarcerated in America for so long, the bottom line is that rather than seeing America and its residents as being some serious outliers in the sense of criminality; the real reason why so many are incarcerated in America, primarily comes from a runaway justice department in a significant amount of our cities and counties, of which, that justice department, along with the infrastructure of those courts, those jails, those prisons, their law enforcement personnel, their prison industry, as well as all others that do service for that justice department, directly or indirectly, essentially manufacture criminals.

In point of fact, when there are so many criminal laws upon the books that cover ever conceivable unlawful contingency, of real merit or not, and when 94% to 97% of State and federal crimes are actually plea bargained and hence do not afford the accused of a trial by their peers, than the justice department as a whole has carte blanche along with an uninterrupted green light to arrest whomever that they choose to arrest, under whatever dubious reasons or laws that are on the books, so as to get those so accused to plea bargain to something that will force their incarceration or cooperation.

Of course, it goes without saying, that the people that are most susceptible to being arrested and doing time are going to be those that are least able to fight the system; which are going to be the poor, the ignorant, the jobless, the weak, and the forsaken. Thus this means that in a country of such a great disparity in income, as well as in education, as well as in opportunity, and has historically oppressed those of the wrong color, as well as those of the wrong religion, and other assorted undesired people, it therefore follows that focusing on all those without a voice will enable the incarceration business to boom through any and all economic cycles.

The real reason why the incarceration business skyrocketed over the last forty-odd years is because those in power, wanted it to skyrocket, and by selecting and concentrating on all those that have little power and little of substance, they have succeeded in profiting upon the least of those amongst us, rather than addressing the systemic problems that create the seeds of criminal activities which are specifically enforced against those that have nothing to begin with.

To protect and serve, and social media

The very problem with the term "social media" is that it doesn't fully disclose just how social these sites are, of which, truth be told, those that believe that they have full control of who sees what of their content on social media, seldom have much real control of it at all; especially if they are a "person of interest" or are part of a protest group that the police or other governmental agencies wish to monitor, or their views are controversial or they associate with people, or seem to associate with people, that do not have a good reputation. Basically, social media, when distilled to its essence, is what appears to be the voluntary posting of all sorts of personal things and viewpoints that are the equivalency of exposing those that post such to a 24/7 surveillance world that will document, analyze, cogitate, and track those members of society that are a priority of those agencies to take an active interest in, so that those that perhaps claim that they value privacy, have actually openly traded their privacy, discretion, and prudence, for Big Brother surveillance, and all this they have done by their own volition, and for free.

Police and justice departments need good and reliable information in order to perform their jobs well, of which, social media sites, have essentially provided them an incredible treasure trove of information about real persons with their real identifies that is not only actionable, but current, relevant, and with seemingly endless ties from one person to another and then to another. Not only that, none of this appears to require a warrant, or a wire tap, or much of anything, other than the assistance of skilled practitioners in the art of collating social media posts so as to pick up trends, patterns, and information, that allow the police to focus more carefully upon the areas that interest those departments. In addition, undercover police agents now know exactly how to work so much better the angles and their sting operations, because so much information has been posted or alluded to, that their ability to infiltrate such becomes a quantum leap easier; not to mention the fact that because of all the social posting and personal information that is so easily and readily retrievable, that the ability to compromise specific individuals in order to take down a group or negate it, has never been better.

While, law and order types are probably delighted that law enforcement is able to mine so successfully those that make public posts in all of the myriad social forums, this should not be looked upon by the general public as wholly an unmitigated good. The reason why, we should shudder at this newfound power is because the law and the justice departments are now through social media very familiar with the intimacies of real individuals; so then, even though there are lots of individuals that are generally considered to be good people, the government as a force of power, could easily create and manufacture evidence that would appear to be quite convincing, against any of them, should they be so inclined, to essentially damage or to manipulate them. That, my friends, is the advantage that the party that has the information, alongside the power already granted to them, can do at any time, on nearly anyone.

Federal government borrowing and its unintended impact

The federal government cannot get its fiscal house in order, and quite frankly doesn't appear to have an interest in getting its fiscal house in order. So that, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimated that the Federal deficit for FY 2016 was $585 billion, which further increased in FY 2017 to $666 billion, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget believes the deficit in FY 2018 will be $800 billion, and in FY 2019 they believe it will rise to $1.2 trillion. That is just the deficit per year, which doesn't take into account the aggregate fiscal deficit that the Federal government has which is over a staggering $21 trillion dollars.

Still, somehow, Moody's maintains its AAA credit rating on United States debt, which signifies that foreign and domestic buyers of that debt believe that the United States is good for the money. This also signifies that when it comes time to borrow money, because the United States monetary needs are so massive, in addition to their credit rating being so stellar, that the sheer size of the debt being required by this government basically crowds out other borrowers that are seeking personal and corporate loans. That is to say, the government in its need to borrow money competes against individuals and corporations that also have a need to borrow money. So then, not too surprisingly, loans are typically structured in a manner in which the most credit worthy consumers of those loans get the very best deals and the smoothest access to money, as opposed to all those that have less than stellar credit. In other words, the greater the amount of money that any government has to borrow in order to sustain itself, contributes to the reduction of aggregate economic growth within that country, because there is only so much money to go around, and hence those borrowers of money with less than exceptional credit ratings, are either not going to get the loan that they need to expand their business, or will have to pay a higher rate for that loan, either of which impacts the sustainability and profitability of that business, and consequently lowers economic growth.

On the other hand, if the government had its fiscal house in order, this would free up billions upon billions of dollars to be reinvested into companies and businesses within America, and would contribute to a better economy and higher growth, especially in consideration that big governments are incredibly inefficient in the expenditure of the money and resources that they have so allocated to them. Additionally, governments have a strong tendency to play favorites, of which those that are qualified to be those favorites, must also be industry leaders, for nobody else has the necessary impact, other than the biggest corporations, because only the biggest corporations have the ready resources and qualifications to perform the tasks and work needed by big government; leaving the little guy, as nothing much more than an afterthought and pretty much out of luck.

United States multinational corporations and employment

The United States has the biggest economy in the world, and the top five multinational corporations in the world, are all United States based, in fact, in looking at the market capitalization of all the biggest corporate players in the world, the United States dominates that list, and it isn't even really close.  There is, as might be expected, a downside to what appears to be so very good for America, which is, that essentially what is good for American-based corporations, its executive offices and its stockholders, does not trickle down as much as it should to the taxpayers of this country.  That is to say, as disclosed in the book, "The Betrayal of the American Dream", "between 1999 and 2008 … foreign affiliates of U.S. parent corporations increased their employment abroad by 2.4million jobs, or 30 percent. During the same period, they slashed their employment in the United States by 1.9 million."

What this essentially means is that multinational corporations have deliberately outsourced millions of jobs to foreign affiliates of these multinational corporations, at the expense of domestic employment.  Obviously, the main reason why this has been done, is that the cost of labor overseas, along with other associated costs, are less expensive than they are domestically, which is wonderful for a given company's gross margin as well as its profitability, but it is not of any benefit for those that are capable of doing the same job, domestically, that have thereby had their jobs reduced considerably or even eliminated.  In addition, the fact that wages overseas are lower exerts price pressure amongst domestic workers, for there are ready alternatives for these multinational corporations to turn to, which they readily do.

In point of fact, if the rules of the road, seem to stipulate, that multinational corporations are not compelled by law, to favor domestic labor and domestic manufacturing, then it doesn't take a genius to understand, that this trend of outsourcing jobs to foreign affiliates is just going to get greater and greater, which is why the percentage of the underclass in America stays stubbornly high, and why the middle class in America is becoming hollowed out; whereas the rich have never been richer, and the overall income inequality in America, is now reaching all-time highs, all this in an era, that has the progressive income tax, and all sorts of laws that in theory, are leveling the playing field.

Rather, it appears that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, of which, the multinationals essentially have structured their businesses in such a manner, that their greed for profit and their intense desire for reduced taxation, trumps over fairness and their inherent obligations that they owe their mother country, and in particular the people that populate it.  While we should be cognizant that it is a competitive world and that the production of products and the export of them is a critical component in regards to our balance of trade; it is a massive misstep to not acknowledge that how governmental policies are enacted and enforced in actuality, appear to be quite good for the biggest multinationals, as if the multinationals are America, but the multinationals are definitely not America, because the true direct beneficiary of the multinational's success, is always going to be those multinationals, and for the most part, it is not going to be the domestic workers that are out of the opportunity of a domestic job, or have seen their wages and careers stagnate.

Those that want and those that have

The world is not even close to be evenly divided between those that want, as opposed to those that have.  In fact, those that have, in regards to material assets, respect, power, and prestige, are seriously outnumbered by those that for the most part want most or some of those very same things, but don't actually have it, and in all likelihood, will never have it.  This then begs the question, as to how do those few that have, maintain what they do have, at the expense of all those that want?

The basic answer to that question is that the structure of many countries is erringly similar one to another in the actual functionality of that government in relationship to the people.  That is to say, the selected few in number in almost every country dominates the majority of their country, by utilizing their wealth, power, propaganda, taxation, property, justice, and force in a manner that protects that ruling class over all others that might contend against them, despite whatever Constitution or system that may be the prevailing document of that country.

In point of fact, in just about any country, at its core, the police and military work for the ruling class. So too, the justice and legal system is structured in a way to keep in power the ruling class and to keep down the population as a whole.  When it comes to the political system, the choices that are provided, often aren't real choices at all, and in any event, are carefully vetted so as to assure the ruling class that these politicians are in lockstep as much as possible with that class. Additionally, banks and companies, primarily try to sell the illusion to the general public that all is fair and square in regards to credit loans and wage income, but those institutions are structured in a manner to exploit consumers in regards to usurious interest rates and penalties, as well as to cheat as many laborers as possible from a fair income, with the cream of the profits directed almost exclusively to the executive room.

Sure, some countries have developed a middle class, but for the most part, those people as a middle class, are a necessary function in order to basically support the ruling class and the accouterments that they so richly desire and subsequently have in abundance.  In point of fact, there is a glass ceiling, between all those that want, and all those that already have, and breaking through that ceiling for a huge swath of the population is not only inconceivable, it is well-nigh impossible. So that, year after year, nothing much seems to change, for the rich plunder more and get richer, and everyone else must share what is left, effectively and unfairly cheated out of what they should really have.

The more unequal a society is as demonstrated by the assets and income of its population, the less those that want actually have, and more those that have actually have.  For instance, as reported by forbes.com, the collective wealth of the 400 individuals on the Forbes 400 list is actually equivalent to the wealth of 64% of all the households in America, combined!    Thus, this means in the eternal battle between the haves and the have-nots, that despite the fact that the haves are significantly outnumbered by a very considerable amount, they actually sleep quite soundly at night, for they not only have everything conceivable in their pockets, but they also have a stranglehold upon everything else that could possibly mount an effective assault upon them.

True success and true failure

There are a lot of people that measure their success by the amount of the wealth that they have; then there are others that measure their success by the respect that they are accorded, but by whatever measure that you do so use, unless it actually takes into account others, and thereby your positive influence upon those others, than your viewpoint of success is fundamentally flawed; especially for trapping yourself into not taking into consideration that it is your inclusiveness and fairness with others, that pretty much trumps everything else.

That is to say, living in a capitalistic society, of incredibly uneven familial situations, of uneven public educational facilities, of uneven housing and uneven healthcare, and all the other attendant prejudices based more upon where you are born, or the status of your family, or the color of your skin, or of your creed, doesn't do a good job of actually separating the wheat from the chaff.  Which basically means the true test of any person's character, is what they do with what has been given to them, and those that are gifted with much more than others, have an incumbent responsibility to do all so much more for others, than those that are gifted with very ,very little.

So too, it is a rather sad state of affairs, when so many get so much pleasure, from exploiting their fellow man, believing incorrectly that because a given transaction gives off the aura of fairness and is non-compulsory that it is just fine and dandy to take advantage of situations that primarily are very beneficial for the one that finds a weakness or vulnerability in another, and is thereby able to mine such for their own profit.

In point of fact, no matter how it is painted in the minds of individuals, all those that justify their actions under the false pretense that they are fair, believing that because all is apparently above board and declared legal by a system that too often favors the few over the many, doesn't invalidate the fact that those that live in a construct in which everything is really about their own self, are creating by their very actions the seeds of their very own negative trauma.  The bottom line is that in actuality you cannot outrun justice, and those actions that are selfish in their benefits and accouterments are not now and never will be right in their execution.

Those that dedicate their lives to making the world and society a better place, by being just and fair in their time, demeanor, and actions are doing exactly what a fellow compatriot should be doing.  On the other hand, those that do their personal business in order to benefit themselves and a few select others, may look set to finish the race as champions, only to find out, to their dismay, that they never really understood what the rulebook said, and ultimately will suffer the fate that they have written by their self-centered actions, which is the realization that those that are selfish have failed at the most important test of their life, of which, truth be told, this was the only true test to begin with.

The more secrets, the more lies

Although this is supposed to be, and should be, a government of the people, for the people, and by the people, on a macro level, for an absolute certainty, it isn’t that at all.  In fact, as this country has modernized and become bigger and bigger, it has created layers upon layers of governmental departments and security clearances that more than anything, serves to separate the people from their governmental overseers.  This means, that there are square miles upon square miles of governmental land that private citizens of this country are not permitted to visit or enter upon.  In addition, there are governmental buildings, agencies, and departments, which are pretty much completely hidden, and therefore out of sight from the general public.  So too, there are seemingly endless documents that are classified, or are labeled as secret, or top secret, which private citizens are not permitted access to.

All of the above makes it fairly clear that in absence of the public knowing what its government is or isn't actually doing on behalf of its citizenry, than any trust that is given to that government by its citizenry, is not based upon anything much more, than a hope that their government is doing the right thing.  The fact, though, is that the more transparent a person or an organization is, almost always means the more open that person or organization is; and whereas, there most definitely is a place for discretion and privacy, the default of governmental actions and documentation, should be transparency, rather than opaqueness or outright deceit.

Further to the point, individuals have a fundamental right to privacy, but the servants to the people, that is, their government, should not hide their actions behind an impenetrable wall of privacy, which essentially is what this government does today, of which, they have set themselves apart, and uplifted themselves, so that only those that have been preapproved by the government have access to what the government is actually doing, and all others are left in perpetual darkness. 

One of the most troubling aspects of today's government is how often they hide their actions, behind a wall of national security, under the guise that secrecy helps in protecting the country, whereas, for the most part, it allows the government to perform actions that are not subject to a real public debate or to fair scrutiny.  All of this just serves to emphasize, that a government that is not subject to full disclosure, will have an inherent tendency to hide all those things that are of questionable worth, or are outright failures, or are inimical to the principles of America, under the cloak of secrecy.

In point of fact, when those in the know will not disclose openly what is really going on, they are, in matters large and small, naturally going to lie and deceive the public in a way, that they give the appearance that all that they are doing are for the benefit of the people; whereas the real winners are those on the inside and the real losers are all those that are sold this fraudulent bag of goods,  of which, the public is all the poorer, for getting fleeced by its own government that too often says one thing, and does in fit, form, and function, something other.

The dark side of globalization

There are obvious advantages to globalization in the sense that the products that so many of us buy and utilize each and every day are significantly less expensive because they have been produced overseas.  While that savings does, in general, make a material difference to the pocketbook of American consumers; in point of fact, not too surprisingly, the real main beneficiary of globalization is never going to be the consumer of those products, but actually the manufacturer and owner of those products.  The reason that this is so, is that multi-national corporations are quite cognizant of the importance of reducing their costs for materials, their costs for labor, and their costs for infrastructure so as to stay competitive and to say relevant; of which, globalization allows those corporations to be very efficient, and therefore not only to maintain their gross margins, but actually to increase them, which benefits directly the executive management of those corporations, as well as the stockholders of the company.

It then follows that domestic labor and domestic infrastructure will often not be able to compete against globalization, because their cost structure is fundamentally appreciably higher; so then, these former jobs are essentially exported overseas to foreign workers, as well as there being less of a need for specific infrastructure to build these products domestically, since it has been outsourced from America.  All of this essentially is deflationary for wage appreciation in America, especially as unions in private industry are in exceedingly steep decline, so that, the prime beneficiaries of such globalization is often going to be, only those that are the owners of the products so being produced.

In addition, it should be clarified that in America, there are labor laws that must be adhered to in regards to the working conditions, such as for the safety and comfort of the workers, along with rules in regards to overtime, break time, unemployment, social security, and Medicare that employers are obligated to provide to their employees; whereas in other countries, such laws may be quite lax, non-existent, or are overcome relatively easily, by, for instance, simply subcontracting out jobs, so that these foreign employees are not directly employed by the true beneficiary of that labor.  This also means that all the laws that have been passed in regards to the environment, such as clean air, and clean water, zoning laws, and community commitments are circumvented by simply having a given company's factories located outside of the United States.

The bottom line is that companies that are strictly domestic, cannot hope to compete against globalization, because the cost structure of those foreign countries are structured in a much more favorable way.  In other words, the playing field isn't level and it also isn't fair.  Again, while consumers in America might indeed benefit somewhat from globalization, the actual only real meaningful beneficiary is the multi-national corporations that take advantage of labor, environment, legal and infrastructure systems overseas in a manner which allows them to make a lot more money while passing a bit of those savings onto consumers.   This simply means that the rich are getting a lot richer; while more and more valued domestic jobs are vanishing, and unions are left high, dry, and irrelevant.

Transitory and eternal

A significant amount of people are so caught up in their lives, that they believe that all that they are is contained within their physical sphere and resides nowhere else.  A belief such as that would essentially mean that life has no meaning, since nothing that is physical, no matter what games are played, can be sustainable in perpetuity.  Not only that, but we read in Holy Scripture from our Messiah: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away" (Matthew 24; 35).  Clearly, that passage, indicates that there is a dimension that is not only beyond time and space, but is eternal, of which, the most appropriate understanding of this, is that the greatest good that any of us can do at any particular time, is to devote ourselves exclusively to those things that are eternal, as contrasted, to those things which are temporary, though some of these things may appear to be exceeding long in time to us, and/or seem of real value.

This should not be taken to mean that the advancement of mankind has little or no purpose or value, so that each of us, should therefore in lieu of doing the actual laboring of work, simply sit in quiet contemplation, each and every day; but rather to give us the appropriate perspective as to what really matters.  For what matters is our relationship one to another, that is to say, how we treat each other, what we do for one another, and the wisdom and good advice that we impart to one another.  This does mean that a dog-eat-dog world is fundamentally flawed, so too is a world that demands an eye-for-an-eye, for these worlds are not progressive but regressive.  Indeed, if we are unable to get along and work together productively here on earth, than there isn't any good reason, why any other dimension should therefore become for us a dimension of peace and harmony, as if in the dying of our physical body, somehow brings us into an eternal Paradise.

In point of fact, those that aren't ready for Heaven, so to speak, while they are here on earth, are going to be precluded from reaching the dimension of utter peace and harmony, because they are not those very attributes, themselves.  On the other hand, those that live their life in a way in which they see their neighbor as their own self, and their characteristics contain such as joy, peace, goodness, integrity, and steadfastness, have by their very deeds open up the portal of fulfillment in the eternal dimension which they have manifested in their lives here on earth.

The things that pass away are not us, and never will be us.  On the other hand, all that we do to better ourselves as well as to better our fellow sojourners are the very things that pass on from person to person and from generation to generation, for they do not ever come to an end, for our consciousness has no ending to it, though its form and shape may change as the dimension that we exist in, changes.  Therefore, what we do, what we say, and what we become, is who we really are, of which, to be truly eternal, we must be totally One with the Eternal, and this life on earth is for the very purpose of being tested in the crucible of Truth, and thereby burning off all the dross, that distorts the very thing that matters, which is our eternal bond to God.

Breach of Promise

People make promises all of the time, of which, some promises are of such a serious nature, that because a verbal agreement can be legally binding that the party that believes that the promised has been breached, has the right to sue the offending party.  In the case of a breach of promise, the substance of this is actually the promise of marriage, in which the fiancé that gets cold feet or decides that they do not wish to get marry after all, or was deceptive in their desire of marriage, of which, all of these, are subject to and are known as the breach of contract to marry.  It is important to realize, that historically women did not have the income opportunities as well as educational opportunities that they are so provided with today, so that, an actual promise of marriage, was a serious commitment meant to indicate that the man making the promise would be taking care of his wife-to-be for life.  So too, this meant as a matter of course, that the bride-to-be would quite obviously no longer be considered  as single and thereby available, but rather would be  clearly seen as committed and therefore unavailable.  In addition, since both parties would have made a binding commitment to one another, the woman would be somewhat vulnerable to relaxing her sexual mores with her husband-to-be.

Nowadays, a breach of promise, in regards to marriage, is no longer considered a legal offense, at least in most States, or with States, which still have this statute on its books that this is seldom enforced or taken seriously.  This does mean, in effect, that those asking for a woman's hand in marriage, can simply walk away from that commitment, at any time, even on the day of the nuptials, itself, with little or no legal liability.  However, there are some States that are still enforcing the statute, of which a woman can actually still sue for breach of promise to marry.

The fact that this statute has fallen out of favor, reflects that the law no longer sees a promise of marriage as a legally binding contract, probably because the law does not have a compelling interest to intervene into personal relationship commitments between two adults; in addition to the fact, that many States have no fault divorces, which basically allows either party to walk away from matrimony, for no reason, at all, other than that being their prerogative to do so. 

All of the above basically means that a man's word when it comes to marriage proposals is something that in today's world, is apparently retractable, and at the man's volition.   All of this signifies that the institution and the formalities of marriage, is far less secure today than it was back in the day.   To a certain extent that is quite unfortunate, of which, there appears to be a high correlation that with the appreciably higher degree of freedom, suffrage, and opportunity that women now have, that the less secure and protected marriage proposals and marriages have become; of which the male rascals that mouth promises but don't commit to them, don't seem to mind this much at all.

Wonder, Amazement and Perception

There are plenty of people that see the wonders of nature and are deeply appreciative of its beauty, as they well should be.  Unfortunately, for some of these same people, their wonder of such, supersedes the true recognition that the greatest wonder of them all, isn't really the landscapes and natural phenomena that enchants us, which rightly has its place, but rather is, the fact that our mind is able to see this as being the wonder that it is.

That is to say, without our ability to process and to perceive the things that we see or things that we touch or the things that we hear, this would essentially mean that all these beautiful scenes that surround us, would not be able to be appreciated or even really rightly recognized.  So then, those that are so enraptured about mother earth, while well meaning, should recognize that the greater miracle is actually the fact that they are able to perceive such as magnificent as it is.

This means that the most important frontier is not in all probability something that is tangible to our five senses, but rather what is intangible, of which, the portal for that door of perception is the mind that we are all gifted with.  So then, it follows that we should want to look behind the curtain to actually discover how our mind really works and thereby to perhaps truly to see as if for the very first time.

They say that none are so blind as those that will not see, who then wrongly believe that the images, beautiful or not, that are in front of them, are the be all and end all of everything, as opposed to the perception of that beauty, that truly comes not from the eyes, but from the mind, itself.    So then, while it is intriguing to see the wonders of the world as they are and what they might become, of far more worth, is to delve into the mind within, and to unravel the layers upon layers of our awareness; that for many people is unfortunately, too often left to run on autopilot or just ignored.

That is not to say, that the world, especially of its beauty, is not something worthy of our respect, admiration and appreciation, but rather that those very things that appear to be all so real to us, may not in the skeins of time, be as real or nearly as permanent as their appearance may suggest.  So that, we might just find, that it is our mind that is in actuality the essential part of our being, and it is with this mind that we able to cross into dimensions, far beyond our natural senses and their inherent limitations.

So then, when we see the beauty of natural phenomena, as great as it can be, those wonder of wonders, as incredible as they are, they must be recognized for what they really are, which is just a wonderful enticement and tease for us to thereby find the Ultimate Source of this beauty, recognizing that the search to end all searches, comes through the portal of our mind.

Giving and growth

Many of us live in big urban cities, which because of their sheer size, means that a lot of our day-by-day interactions are with people that we really don't know or hardly know at all; and because of that, there is a strong tendency to develop a more selfish nature, mainly because in our minds, we believe that since they don't really know us and we don't really know them, that these people are thereby more often seen as a means to benefit ourselves at perhaps their expense.  That is unfortunate, for in small communities, and in nuclear families, as a matter of course, there is more sharing, because each person has a strong tendency to acknowledge their responsibility to the other, for there is a more intuitive recognition, that none lives to their own self, and that we therefore are all in this together, so that those that do all of the receiving, and none of the giving, will in one form or another, receive their upbraiding and reprimand.

In point of fact, each day, we are provided choices, as to whether to be a giver or to be a receiver, of which, if we don't put any thought into it at all, we all might well conclude that we would strongly prefer to be just receivers, because receiving seems to make more logical sense.  The thing is while most of us do have a strong desire for nice material things and for good experiences, the receiving of all of these items doesn't feel satisfying when it is done in a vacuum, or unfairly, for we are all in the scheme of things, part of the same human family and the same human experience, of which, there is much more joy in being able to share our lives in all of its aspects with others.

This would seem to strongly indicate that part of a successful life must involve some actual interchange with others, which obviously would necessitate giving of ourselves to those others.  In fact, it is in the giving, especially to those that are not in the position to reciprocate, such as a newborn baby, or a hapless individual, or someone down on their selves, that demonstrates that we are able to look beyond the mirror in front of us and see instead the vision of our unity with one another.

So too, the most surprising thing about giving to others, whether that be our time, or material goods, or advice, or material aid, is that in most cases, rather than feeling that we have sacrificed ourselves to another, that we instead feel an inner joy in having helped someone in a manner in which their sincerity of appreciation for that help is felt to be priceless.  While not all giving involves thankfulness, just knowing that we are doing our part to make society or a given situation a little better, helps us to feel more involved as well as the validation, that our actions and our deeds, really does matter, for we are touching and influencing others in a positive manner.

Truly, it is in the giving that we grow, for we are all in this together, for the race is not finished, until all do finish that race, and that does require teamwork, and faithful giving to all those others, that are sojourning or should be sojourning along side of us.

Getting God all so very wrong

In so many ways and in so many circumstances, God gets an incredibly bad name from essentially ignorant human beings that really ought to know better.  For instance, one of the greatest lies and misconceptions about God is that God allows bad things to happen to us as well as to others, as if God somehow gets a perverse delight in our misery.  So too, there are many people that believe that their cause or their righteousness is so strong that when something tragic happens to them or a loved one, that this more or less proves the point that God either doesn't really care, or doesn't exist, or is powerless.  That credulous belief is fundamentally wrong, for this world, is exactly the world that we have made, based upon our own sovereignty and free will.  So then, when bad things happen, or when bad things occur that we do not like or that we do not desire, this is all part and parcel of living in a world of bad actors and bad actions.  This then means that the trouble that we face, is the trouble that we have brought about us, whether directly or indirectly through our actions, happenstance, or through poor fortune and seemingly bad luck.

This then means that it is a complete waste of time and breath to rail at God, for our tragic or troubling circumstances, rather than finding the real source of our troubles, which often times rests at the feet of mankind, and no other place.  It therefore is wrong on every conceivable level to blame God for a life filled with injustice, hatred, cruelty, unfairness, misery, and tragedy, for that blame is squarely on the shoulders of mankind, itself.  This signifies that the change that so many yearn for, must come from mankind in changing its heart and its ways so as to help manifest a better world, for all of us.

God has made it very clear to all those that will study His Word, and contemplate upon His Magnificence, that "… with God all things are possible," (Matthew 19: 26).  These are not empty words but are the Truth, itself, of which, in every conceivable way, and in all times, there is always that avenue available for mankind to avail itself of, if only mankind would clearly recognize that the only way to get to where they innately desire to go, is to forego wrong, and thereby to take it upon themselves to dedicate their lives to doing only what is right.

It is a privilege for each of us to have been gifted with free will and freedom, of which, the wisest amongst us, recognize implicitly that free will, is a godlike power that demands to be understood and must be controlled extremely well, for it is this free will, that can create absolute wonders, as well as when used incorrectly, creating horrible horrors.  Unfortunately, far too often, mankind misuses its free will in such a way, that life becomes death, liberty becomes imprisonment, and the pursuit of happiness, becomes the pursuit of misery.  So then, in abject anguish, mankind conveniently blames God for their ills, whereas all those ills really come from a lack of an appropriate mature perception and habitual godlessness. 

Those that are saved but aren't really

Religion and faith in one way or another, plays an important role in most people's lives, even of those that do not claim that they consciously believe in a Higher Power.  The reason that this is so is because each of us is intuitively drawn to something that is far larger and greater than ourselves, even if we are unaware of exactly what that Force is.  While it is true, that many people distract themselves from God consciousness through wine, ambition, money, or all sorts of material things and desires that steals our attention, such distractions does not preclude the channel to God knowledge from being forever open and available to each one of us.

Then there are those of us that profess to believe, and further that feel that by reciting a few religious words from rote are able somehow to be in harmony with the all seeing God, and thereby to have space set aside for them in some sort of eternal and blissful Heaven.  So too, there are others, of good repute and good deeds, that work hard on doing right for their neighbors and their fellow sojourners, that feel that by doing so, they too will find their eternal rewards in Heaven.  Additionally, there are those real laggards and procrastinators that feel if they can ask for some sort of absolution upon their death bed, that this will be good enough for eternal Glory.

While all of these things have their place, to be really saved, is actually something that necessitates effort, consistency, knowledge, concentration, correctness, and humility.  All of this requires much labor and not only that but labor that is generated over an extended period of time, for the very thing that so many deeply desire of, while freely available to all, is only attainable by those that put their plow to the ground, and run their lines on the straight and narrow, while never once looking back to check on what could have been.

There are no shortcuts to Heaven, for Heaven is something that is rightly earned.  So too, a soul that is truly saved, is a soul that not only knows right from wrong, but creates deeds that demonstrates that knowledge in action.  It is not now, nor has it ever been, that a Sunday Christian is going to get very far at all, for to have one personality while inside a church or a place of sanctuary, but a different personality for everyday activities is not consistent with faithfulness and is quite obviously hypocritical.

For those that truly want to find God, than that wanting must be translated into actual action, so that, the individual choices that are made day by day, will be in accordance to the realization that God is the God of all, and never will this be compromised or trivialized.  God cannot be bought; so too, God realization cannot simply be handed over to an individual, for God knowledge is something that requires the studious attention and the effective diligence of an apt pupil that is not satisfied until they come face-to-face with the God that is love, and will settle for nothing else but that.