Free speech and the politically correct

America deservedly so, prides itself on its First Amendment, which stipulates that "Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech," which if it is to mean anything, means that all citizens within America are allowed to say and to write whatever that they should desire to say and to write, even to those that are high up in influence, or in politics, or in status, or in business.  Now, of course, just because you have the right to say something doesn't mean by doing so, that there will not be consequences in what has been said, for some words are "fighting words" and some words are not.  This then signifies that just because our freedom of speech exists, doesn't necessarily mean that we should just say anything that comes to mind, or even to purposely provoke or to antagonize another person.  Rather, freedom of speech follows clearly from each of us having the unalienable right of the freedom of conscience, and the best usage of that conscience as well as the words that are so spoken, should be to be of benefit to our fellow citizens and countrymen, as opposed to being ugly and vindictive, of which, there is an oversupply of that already.

However, it should be noted, that there are times when the opposing viewpoint needs to be expressed, or criticism of what someone is saying or espousing is absolutely warranted, of which, many people when faced with criticism or viewpoints that are diametrically different than their own, typically get rather defensive about such a response, and use all sorts of reasons as to why such criticism or counterpoints shouldn't even be vocalized.  This is unfortunate, for a world in which everyone nods their heads obediently in agreement, is a world of sheep, and if the shepherd of those sheep isn't right in their head in the first place, or in their decision making, then it will be very bad indeed for those sheep.  Instead, we need to remind ourselves that each of us are gifted with our own minds and our own thoughts which should be expressed, ideally, in a polite and respectful manner, but nevertheless, when appropriate, they must be expressed; for there are times when that expression necessitates being done in a more forceful and forthright manner or the right time for that action will simply pass by.

In any country, there is a status quo, of which the members and the beliefs of that status quo do not typically desire to give quarter to the other side, especially if that side is vocal, determined, and possibly right.  This means, that members of a status quo will go to great lengths to more or less control as much as is in their power to control and to silence, because it is their belief, basically correct, that an opposing voice and opposing words that are silenced or neutralized, helps keep them in control and in power.  Yet, it is exactly that status quo, or any organization, for that matter, that must be opposed, especially when they are either wrong in their beliefs, or have traded our freedom of conscience and freedom of speech, for their indoctrination and narrow-mindedness. 

Those that would stifle free speech and freedom of conscience, because they do not like what they are reading or hearing, have aggrandized onto themselves, a godlike power, that makes them above the people of this great country, as if they are better and more superior, but in actuality, they are wrong for that; for all are equally created, and all have the same unalienable rights, which no government or organization has the right to ever take away or to silence.

The Failed European uprisings of 1848 and our Civil War

The United States deliberately did not become a Monarchy, such as the United Kingdom, or of many of the other European nations, but instead, wrote and passed a Constitution that made this country into a Republican form of government, and thereby the vote to elect representatives as well as the President, was placed into the hands of the democratic vote.  The success of America, and its reputation of having plentitude of available land, as well as opportunity, was intoxicating for a significant amount of Europeans, that had little or no opportunity, and were oppressed not only economically but also in regards to their faith.

Those that came from Europe, predominantly migrated not into the Southern States, but rather into the Northern states, which was not random, but absolutely deliberate by those so immigrating to America.  While history books have written their viewpoint on the Civil War, and the reasons behind such a Civil War; a significant amount of people and even historians believe that the war was primarily about slavery and the freeing of those so enslaved, which is to a large extent, a partial truth but not the whole truth, for rather, the Civil war had many different levels and dimensions behind it, of which one of the primary ones simply came down to the prescient fact, that those that legitimately lose at the ballot box, have no legitimate recourse to thereupon take up arms and assert their right to independence; which is essentially what the Southern rebels so did, for all States that voluntarily became part of the Union, became part of an indissoluble union, which can never be torn asunder, yet the Southern rebel States did exactly that.

Further to the point, the economies of the Northern States as contrasted to the Southern States were fundamentally different.  In the North, there were cities, as well as transportation via railroad and canal, industry, manufacturing, and fair opportunity for personal l ownership of land or an enterprise, via the merits of hard work, no matter, one's individual background.  In the South, the riches so generated were agriculturally based, as well as being heavily dependent upon the backs of slaves, with a small elite of very wealthy owners controlling the means of agricultural production as well as the ownership of the most impressive and productive lands, in which this elite upper class, essentially ruled their domain via their political or proxy power, as well as their control of the justice and legal systems. 

In European nations, in 1848, as reported by brittanica.com, there was a "….series of republican revolts against European monarchies, beginning in Sicily, and spreading to France, Germany, Italy, and the Austrian Empire. They all ended in failure and repression…"   In fact, there was many a man that took up arms in the North that was a recent immigrant to America, and thereupon saw the fight against the South, as a continuation of the revolution that had previously been fought before, or had been fought by their forebears, in which they had been defeated and suffered greatly for having been defeated.  This thus meant that those European immigrants that were either familiar or sympathetic to those failed European uprisings of 1848, were extremely motivated to see that the United States did not, and would not, degenerate into a corrupt Monarchy, in which, the rich plantation elite, would continue to rule the roost, by utilizing their money and wealth so generated by their exploitation and enslavement of human labor.  So too, this was a fight to liberate the underclass of poor, white, ill-educated people, that did the dirty work for the plantation owners, in return of which these poor disenfranchised southerners often received nothing more than a worthless badge of honor, of being the ones that died trying to keep the white race, as seen by the Southern elite, pure and undefiled.

Without knowledge, you cannot ever be free

As reported by the huffingtonpost.com, "… 32 million adults in the U.S. can’t read."  This in a country that not only has the best university system in the world, by far, but is also the richest nation in the world, by far, and somehow is able to pride itself on being egalitarian in its governance.   The importance of literacy is to know well how to read and write, as well as being able to know well basic mathematical skills, which are absolutely mandatory unless such a person actually desires to be dependent upon others, because of these handicaps, forever.  Additionally, literacy and learning, has historically been so important to civilizations and nations, that learning, and being literate, was something left, until the most modern times, exclusively in the domain of the ruling class, in conjunction with the priestly class, so as to quite obviously, keep the people as a whole, ignorant and exploitable.

This present age, is supposed to be an age in which all are educated, but quite obviously that is not the case; and the fact that it isn't the case, can only logically be attributed to the fact that those in power, desire to see that there is a permanent underclass always present in this country that can be utilized and controlled by the power brokers, so that, at their will, they can incarcerate such when there are no clear and present danger from enemies within or without, and to indoctrinate and to train such, so as to fight enemies whether within or without, when so necessary.   The reason why that underclass is so important is because, all wars, domestic or not, no matter how sophisticated or powerful the weapons may be, necessitate on some level, boots on the ground, and those boots on the ground are the very ones that are most in danger of losing their lives or limbs, of which, the desire of the ruling class, is to have the underclass be the ones that are doing the dying, for it is always going to be a rich man's war, and a poor man's fight.

While it can be stated that knowledge does not necessarily require literacy, in point of fact, for all practical purposes, it does.  So too, knowledge to come about for anybody at any level, is going to require self-effort by the person so being taught, which means, that the teacher, herself, needs to be competent in being able to actually teach as well as to keep their pupils, engaged.  Additionally, no subject can ever be mastered, unless that given person makes a concerted effort to master it, which necessitates good source materials, good teachers, and the application of that knowledge so being obtain, being proved by the demonstration of passing tests, other skill based exams, and real world experience.

Those that are ignorant, are for the most part, enthralled to those that are not, because without knowledge, that person is not independent, but rather dependent upon others, and there are many people that do not truly have the best interests of the person that knows very little in mind.  So too, those that are knowledgeable often don't feel a need to play fair or to be charitable, because the sad fact of the matter is great civilizations, again and again, are actually built, almost always, upon the backs of those that have been yoked, so that those that are in the ruling class, deliberately exploit the poor and ignorant, to support their riches and pleasures. 

Thus, those without knowledge, are never free, and never will be.

Parole is a privilege and never a right

The United States imprisons an unprecedented amount of its own citizens, each and every year, at incarceration rates no other western nation, even approaches, and has been doing so, since the 1980s, and while the incarceration rate per 100,000 residents has been coming down in recent years, the numbers are still extraordinarily high.   The one thing, though, that perhaps some people have a tendency to forget, is that unless the person so incarcerated dies in prison, then one day, sooner or later, that prisoner will be released into the general population.

Most prisoners, though not all, when released from prison, are released under a condition known as parole.  Incredibly, federal prisoners are no longer paroled, unless they were convicted before1984, and thereby when released, are released under the terms and conditions of a "supervised release," which seems to be kind of similar to being paroled, but is no longer called that.  In regards to those prisoners incarcerated in State prisons, the State, itself, not the federal government, determines the rules and regulations of how parole will be served by the parolee. As might be expected, those convicted of a crime, and are later eligible for parole, are in absolutely no position to amend the terms and conditions of their parole.  So that, in effect, those that are eligible for parole, accept the conditions of that parole, in order to be paroled.

Since there are fifty States of the union, there are consequently fifty different abiding rules in regards to parole, and while there is a lot of commonality between those rules and regulations, different States have different rules, so that, some States are more restrictive and limiting, whereas others are more liberal, at least, on paper.  Further to the point, the rules and regulations of parole, are in essentially every State, setup in such a manner, that for virtually every parolee, excepting those choir angels, that the conditions imposed upon the parolee are so restrictive and so limiting, that to live a life on the outside without violating one of those conditions, ever, is well-nigh impossible.

For example, the most basic and common parole violations would include breaking curfew, failing a drug or alcohol test, being arrested, associating with other ex-convicts, changing one's residence without notification and permission, as well as failing to make a timely payment of one's court costs and fines, just to name a notable few.  In some States, the rules are even more restrictive, such as not being permitted to even enter a bar, or to have an internet connection, or the use of a computer, and so on and so forth.  Whatever that the rules are, not too surprisingly, the people being paroled, typically do not have the resources, the monetary means, or the legal help, to try to fight the legitimacy of at least some of their parole terms, thereby, effectively, for far too many parolees, making their life on the outside, subject to the whims of how restrictive their parole contact or State parole board wishes to be, which is pretty much the cardinal definition of law arbitrarily and unequally applied.

In short, those being released from prison on parole, are never being released as full fledge citizens of their country with full Constitutional rights, but are rather released as second-class citizens, if even that.

Speculating on money, money, money

Money comes in all sorts of forms from cash, to checks, to debit cards, and to all the other representations of money that are commonly used in electronic transactions.  When it comes to money, the actual amount of cash that is physically printed is a very small subset of the amount of money that is circulating around the world.  Additionally, money, for the most part, doesn't recognize borders, so American dollars aren't just for use for people in the United States, but are actually in many instances commonly accepted as currency worldwide, and typically is the currency that all other currencies issued by other countries, are measured by.

In general, people are somewhat familiar, that in today's world, the value of a given currency, actually fluctuates, in which Americans most noticeably can see that fluctuation by comparing the value of the American dollar vs. the Canadian dollar or the Mexican peso.  What most people don't seem to recognize, is not only does currency fluctuate, but in actuality, banks and other institutions, speculate in literally billions of dollars every day in regards to currencies, and bet big money as to whether a particular currency is going to go up or to go down in value.

The thing about the speculation on money, is that such speculation, in and of itself, as a way to "make" or to "earn" money is not only a zero-sum game, in which some will be losers and some will be winners, but it doesn't actually add to any nation's productivity, although it does so make a material difference to those banks and institutions that are speculating on currency.  For instance, as reported by, theguardian.com, "… in 2011 only 0.6% of foreign exchange could be traced to genuine international trade in goods and services. Of the rest, a minimum of 80% was directly attributable to exchange rate speculation."

The problem with all of this speculation, is that enormous resources, analytics, and algorithms, are utilized in order to benefit from speculation for that particular institution's trading desk, at the expense of those that are either unable to compete at what is often a currency game that favors certain players, but also at the expense of nations, that are at the mercy of the currency speculation game in which these typically much smaller countries do not have the capacity to prop up their currencies, or to protect their currencies, or even to stabilize their currencies, and ultimately lack the ability to opt out of having their currency being speculated upon.

Another problem with currency speculation as done at the level and size it is performed at today, is that rather than seeing this currency trading as inherently keeping currencies within nations at a fair market value, it instead, creates a measurable increase in the velocity of how much a given currency within a country, moves up or down in value, which is clearly destabilizing.  Additionally, all sustainable businesses, in order to make correct business decisions, need to be able to forecast reasonably correctly things such as future interest rates, the value of their currency, and the value of their debt; because if the value of the currency that is being utilized, has significant movement and volatility in either direction, this again, is destabilizing to those businesses.

Finally, currency speculation in a nutshell, favors the few, powerful and connected, at the expense of the many, in which not only is it a game of exploitation, but it also utilizes considerable financial resources for something that produces nothing of value for the people as a whole.  In point of fact, this excessive worldwide currency speculation is a tinderbox to worldwide currency stability, so that, without change, it will eventually implode with devastating human consequences.

The vital importance of understanding others

Those people that are self-centered, egotistical, selfish, greedy, and all about their own self, often don't develop very many close relationships, even if they are powerful and have a certain amount of charisma, because human relationships in order to be viable and healthy, necessitate a certain degree of reciprocity.  This so indicates the true importance of a good rapport with others, and that good people understand the relationship value of understanding others.

In point of fact, the things and events that make up a given person, along with the motivations and disinterests that a particular individual has, varies considerably from person to person, and while it is true that those from the same family often have similar traits, so too, they also have differences, of which, some of those differences can be quite significant.  This means, that while it is truly beneficial to know one own self, and quite frankly it is an obligation to do so, not all things that one knows about their own self, is particularly relevant to someone else's situation and what motivates them.

This means, that in order to really understand someone else, that most people need to put away their preconceived notions, and instead make it their point to actually try consciously to learn what they can about someone else.  In addition, communication involves much more than verbal interplay, and should also ideally encompass eye contact, body language, and nuances, and from there to then take the entire process and try to assimilate such in a coherent way, and even then, it still might not even be fundamentally correct.

This signifies that even in those relationships of long standing, that rather than believing that quite obviously each person knows each other intimately, one should instead apply a healthy dose of humility and humbleness.  For instance, asking questions about whether or not you understand something about another person, and then coming to an agreement about that understanding is of vital importance.  So too, addressing questions about the relationship in which items such as in knowing the others' meaningful goals, as well as what is important to them, and then making it clear that you are there to be of help and of aid to them, especially when they are in most need of such, is the very stuff that makes for a very good relationship.

Far too often, people talk pass each other, in which neither party is really actively listening to the other, because basically they are eager to say what they want to say, believing in its overriding importance. However, these communication errors can be fairly readily rectified, by having the other person, sum up what has been said by that person that has been talking and not to continue the discussion until each party is assured that they have been successfully listened to. 

Finally, there usually are plenty of people that will say that they love you, or that they respect you, but if they really don't understand you or know you on the level of whom and what you really are, than such love and respect, is at best, shallow.  If, on the other hand, one makes the effort to know the other person, especially the things that are of the most importance to them, and makes sure to touch base and connect with them on a consistent basis, then that is caring, emphatic, and the very essence of agape love.

The original war on drugs

Our modern day war on drugs started during the Nixon administration in 1971, and these laws, nearly fifty years later, unequally applied, has truly in effect, incarcerated and disrupted the lives of millions upon millions of Americans, with absolutely no end or no success in sight.  Yet, as bad as this present day war on drugs is, this was not the first big war on drugs that America impressed upon its people.  While many people are quite aware that prohibition of alcohol transportation and alcohol importation passed via the 18th Amendment in 1919, which subsequently was later repealed   in 1933, most people are quite unaware that thirty three States of the Union, before the passage of the 18th Amendment, were dry States at some time before the 18th Amendment came into national effect.

This meant in the majority of the States prior to the 18th Amendment, the consumption and manufacture of alcohol was banned on either a State wide initiative or through a county initiative.  Not too surprisingly, within those States and counties, Statewide or local law enforcement theoretically concentrated their resources on their attempt to eliminate this scourge of mankind, represented by the distilled liquors of all types.   Further to the point, similar to today's war on drugs, the resources of law enforcement types within States and counties, concentrated their animus not on the actual major producers and distributors of the alcohol, but rather on the poor and disadvantaged that distilled their own liquors for their own consumption, or to a minor extent, produce their own liquors for small time sell and distribution within their community.

As might be expected, the original war on drugs didn't fare any better than today's war on drugs, for two main reasons.  The first reason is that there is a significant amount of people, that have a strong desire to consume alcohol and liquor, of which, the illegality of doing so, just changes the logistics of purchasing that liquor, but doesn't eliminate the desire or the availability of liquors, because liquor is one of those things, that isn't all that difficult to manufacture, because all of the materials needed to do so, are often readily available.  In addition, those in charge of enforcing the State or local prohibition laws, are often themselves aiders and abettors of circumventing the law, because as in any illicit business, there is money to be had by simply turning the other way, especially, if arrests and convictions are concentrated against the disenfranchised poor, of which, those in power well know make easy targets to demonstrate the appearance of enforcing laws, while in effect, only enforcing them selectively.

These wars on drugs, whether alcohol, or the present day war against illicit drugs, are deliberately not authorized against pharmaceutical drugs which are unquestionably too often overprescribed and often debilitating and addicting, but far too profitable of a legitimate industry to persecute, but rather the government creates laws that are selectively enforced against the huddled masses, so that the elite and connected can exploit, benefit from, and when necessary, fine and incarcerate those that have no voice. So that, in reality, this is a war to protect the favored class, at the expense of the people, all under the guise for the betterment of mankind, when in actuality drug and alcohol abuse, can best be addressed as seeing such as a sick patient needing legitimate medical aid, rather than being treated as a crime and punishment issue, selectively enforced.

There has never been a better time to be a stalker

There use to be a time that a stalker of their intended victim had to put forth some real sweat effort in order to successfully pursue that stalking. Nowadays, stalkers more times than not, don't have to actively pursue their victims by physically following them on their feet or via a vehicle, or many other things of that basic sort; but instead, they can do all of their tracking and thereby their stalking, essentially by utilizing information that is available via social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram, or by a google search, SMS tracking, GPS, or similar, and in many of these instances, often, by basically taking on the guise of being a friend, the information flow to the stalker becomes readily available.

The massive advantage that today's stalker has is that the information that they are essentially able to freely procure is extremely accurate, and because it is so pertinent, this allows the stalker to get a very accurate picture of what their victim is or isn't doing, even in the present time, and often times pretty much to receive advance knowledge of where that victim is going. The stalker often has all of the Facebook information, the cell phone number, make and license number of the car being driven, background criminal information, knowledge of the current family situation, as well as the location of both work and home address, and so on and so forth.

All of this information, pretty much seems to be sort of legally okay for a given stalker to have, especially if it is considered to be essentially in the public domain. Of course, as always, actions taken by a stalker against an intended victim, are in many cases illegal, but that doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent to those that wish to commit those crimes, so that, if the stalker is able to commit what offenses that they are intending to commit, the victim will be the one to suffer from it.

It is well to remember also, that most stalkers know that with all of the hi-tech tools that are available, that if they are persistent enough and thorough enough, pretty much they will find vulnerabilities that will allow them to successfully exploit their victim. The problem that all of the potential victims have is that even if they are diligent in protecting their social media as well as other accounts, the very fact that they have those social media accounts makes them vulnerable, and the fact that publicly available information for individuals has been collated and processed by third party companies, all means that such is now available to just about anyone for a trivial price.

The reality is that we live in a hi-tech world, in which there are certain people that for whatever reason, do not have good intentions towards other people, that is, their intended victims; and basically through apps, their initiative, social media sites, and publicly available information, are able to stalk other people exceedingly well, often aided by the fact that they can assume the guise of a “friend” or a picture that doesn't represent them, and thereby ingratiate themselves further with the intended victim. This makes for a rather dangerous situation for the intended victim, caught between their usage of social media sites and smart phones, and too often unaware that those with evil intent are so easily able to stalk and to thereby harm them.

Where are all the obese really old people?

How much excess weight a given individual carries on their body and how long they have carried that excess weight is most definitely one of those pertinent factors affecting lifespans for individuals. While there are all sorts of studies dealing with one's weight, one's Body Mass Index (BMI), age, health, and various other factors, scientific studies aren't always able to clearly see through all of the various and myriad factors to come to definitive conclusions.

Yet, because it is well accepted that excess weight carries with it the higher risk of heart disease, gout, stroke, diabetes, higher blood pressure, the wear and tear of excess body weight on body parts, as well as often contributing to mental depression, in addition to many other ill health factors, quite clearly, all of this indicates that excess body weight is not healthy, and clearly is detrimental to general health.

In order for anyone to live to a very old age, they are almost without exception, going to have to lead a life of general moderation, as well as making sensible decisions in regards to their diet, exercise, and state-of-mind. That is to say, those that do the opposite, and have lead lives of immoderation, poor dietary choices, failure to exercise, and have minds that are discombobulated or stressed out, are going to see that those character traits and character failings will, if done long enough, and persistently enough, take their inevitable toll upon the physical body.

Again, it is very important to note that obese people suffer a much higher percentage of debilitating diseases and illnesses that can be either directly applicable to that excess weight or indirectly be a factor from that excess weight. This means, rather obviously, that those that are obese, are not going to be the ones that are going to live exceedingly long natural lives. All of this makes eminent sense, for when the body is physically overtaxed day in and day out, for years upon years, then the result will often be a body that wears out and has more repairs then a body that lives stress free.

While there are all sorts of theories and reasons that have been given as to why mankind has within such a short period of time seen the incidence of obesity increase at rates, previously unknown, the most obvious reason is that more and more people are consuming more calories than they need to actually consume to maintain their body weight and therefore the consequence of having done so is the increase in body weight. This increase in body weight has negative consequences demonstrated by the higher incidence of certain diseases and ailments that obese people have, without even taking into consideration, the lower quality of life, many obese people suffer from.

The real reason why there aren't any really old people that are obese is that obesity in and of itself, is not the natural state of what a human body is conditioned to be at. For those that don't believe that this is so, they should take the time to look around and to observe the animals that live within the natural domains of the animal world, and in particular, those animals that lived with a minimal amount of interference from humanity and they will soon observe that there are no obese animals, and the closest thing to obesity in the wild kingdom is those animals that must bulk up in order to hibernate, during the bleak winter season. Human beings on the other hand, do not hibernate, and obesity clearly cuts down on their lifespan.

Contempt destroys relationships

While there are all sorts of abuses that can absolutely wreak havoc in any relationship; one of the most abusive signs which may or may not include physical violence, is the contempt that one party gives to another, or even both parties do to one another. When there is contempt, basically what is happening, is that one party is dismissive in a condescending manner towards the other party; basically treating the other person as if they are beneath them, or trivial to them, or as an entity that has little value or worth. That type of behavior, is obviously unhealthy, and even if this contempt occurs on only an occasional moment of weakness or frustration, it is quite emotionally devastating for the recipient of that condescension.

So too, when one party exercises contempt, there often is a tit-for-tat response, of which, the offended party, strikes back, and therefore, each party ends up taking shots at the other, and because they know each other so well, often will indirectly or even directly attack one another at their weakest and most vulnerable spots. The thing about these attacks is that once the no-hold bar contemptuous attack has occurred, there really isn't any good way to, after the fact, when things have seemingly calmed down, to take back what has occurred, for to destroy can take only a moment, but to rebuild can take ages.

This so signifies, that while apologies have their place, and the symbols of apologies such as in gifts, also has their place as well as their purpose, the fact of the matter is, that the damage has been done, and it cannot be undone. Further to the point, those that are contemptuous in thought, need to think thoroughly about their coming actions, before expressing such contempt in their words of action and thereby making the situation worse for having acted upon it, because once done, it cannot be undone, and it surely is in the doing that relationships are often irreparably damaged or seriously harmed.

The thing that makes contempt so devastatingly brutal to the other person that it is directed against, is that it can often be correctly seen as a violation of the most sacred trust that one person has given to another person. That is to say, when someone who knows your vulnerabilities and weaknesses deliberately makes a conscious choice to exploit such in a manner in which it essentially eviscerates the very things that define who you are as a person, that is contemptuous, as well as being extremely hurtful.

In a nutshell, contempt of another person, indicates that the other person receiving such, somehow is unworthy of receiving instead the love, empathy, concern, patience, and compassion necessary in order to have and to maintain a healthy and wholesome relationship. Instead, they behave in a manner that demonstrates that they care more about being “right”, then in finding common ground. This means that those that are contemptuous in their demeanor lack the very attributes of what a good friend should and must be.

The long journey into the great unknown

While it is a truism, yet though, it is still very true, that America is fundamentally a nation of immigrants. So then, in an age in which traveling across the Atlantic ocean from America to Europe can be done via airplane and takes around seven to eight hours at a very reasonable cost; recognize, that the heyday of massive immigration into America from 1850-1930, not only didn't offer air travel, but also meant that all those departing from their given lands, didn't even have a visa, and they often didn't have a guarantee of a job or even a standing offer of employment, of which, many of those so departing for lands unknown, were also short of capital.

What these immigrants to America did have, though, was an awful lot of pluck and a deep desire to make something of themselves in a country that was basically considered to be a fresh land of fair opportunity. Still, as in most everything, that basically is unknown, a significant amount of those people so traveling, did so, under the belief, that America represented the promise land, but without really knowing if this was true.

This really meant that the millions upon millions of immigrants to this nation, were big risk takers. Not only were they risk takers, but their journey into the great unknown, was the type of journey that in effect, was a make or break journey, for failure was not an option, for whatever welfare state existed during those years, was marginal, at best.

Yet, these immigrants did come. They came because when a people, any people, are living in the reality of deliberate persecution, food shortages, and a distinct lack of opportunity within their native land, then, such a people will grasp at whatever straws and hopes are left to them, and thereby they will take and make their chances. America, though flawed in many respects, represented at that time, especially for those of European ancestry, the promised land. So then, even with the overcrowding, even with the exploitation, and even with overseas recruiting that cheated immigrants, these immigrants came because America represented hope and a version of meritocracy that validated such a hope.

These millions of immigrants that came here, were courageous and brave, and quite obviously were willing to die in a new undiscovered country, if it came to that, then die without having fought for what they believed that they had an inalienable right to, for the reality of their own land, was bleak, desperate, and brutal.

So then, all those that immigrated here and still today, immigrate here, almost without exception, are not coming here to pick up some sort of welfare check, or welfare benefits, or anything of that sort, but rather, instead, they are willing to suffer incredibly indignities as well as injustices, just for the fair opportunity to prove themselves in the cauldron of opportunity. These people, then, personify, and thereby truly do represent the spirit and heart of what it means to be a true American.

Understanding Omniscience

In regards to God, it must be stated, that omniscience literally means “all knowing”. This means, that despite our individual or collective brilliance and efforts, there literally is absolutely nothing new under the sun, and thereby no new knowledge for God to newly comprehend or to absorb. This signifies exactly what is implied, that God knows everything, and further that there never was a time or place when God was not omniscience, personified; further signifying that there never will be a time when God will not be omniscient.

Quite obviously, from a mortal perspective, the concept that God is omniscient is well-nigh impossible to actually comprehend, but there is fundamentally a massive dimensional chasm between that which is immortal from that which is mortal. This then, surely represents, that all those that concentrate to its exclusion, on things that are mortal, and dismiss all that which is immortal, are barking up the wrong tree. For, in actuality, the most important knowledge isn't knowledge of the mortal kind, which, has its place and purpose, but rather, knowledge and the tools of the trade of the immortal kind which can only come from a secure and unpolluted connection to that which is immortal, and nothing else.

God knows everything, which by definition, means that not only is God no longer learning, but that there was never a time when God did not already know it all, and forthwith that there never was a time when God was a pupil to anybody or anything. This means, from our limited viewpoint, and egotistical outlook, that no matter how clever and creative we are in this mortal plane, we are unable to add a whit of knowledge to God's absolutely complete arsenal.

So too, the fact that God is omniscience signifies that everything that we are searching for, and in particular, that of knowledge, is contained within the presence of God, so then, our highest duty is to seek that knowledge from the Source; for why settle for anything less than what is ours, by our birthright?

Of course, some would argue, that if God is omniscient, then we must not have free will, for if God knows everything, then God already knows the result, before we have even made our “free” choice. This then is one of those perplexing puzzles, that seems to present a paradox, signifying that we aren't as free as we believe and thereby, it so follows, not actually personally responsible, for the decisions that we make. Yet, the decisions that we make, day by day and moment by moment, must definitely has an impact upon our lives, as well as on others, so that the ramifications and permutations from such, seem unlimited and in total, appear ultimately unknowable in advance.

Yet, the answer to this omniscience and our apparent free will paradox, is as simple as this, the present reality that we are so focused and obsessed upon, is itself, an elaborate illusion, in fact, a dreamlike state, of which, when we finally pierce through the unreality of this material life, we will find that we never once left the bosom of our God.

Still exploiting cheap and vulnerable labor

Although the estimates vary in regards to how many illegal and unauthorized immigrants are residing in the United States, at the present time, it is fair to state, that there are at least 11 million undocumented workers in this country, and that number doesn't include those that were formerly undocumented or unauthorized that were able in one way or another to receive authorized documentation or amnesty to reside in America, and to even to get their citizenship.

The very first thing to remember is that America, has been dependent upon cheap labor almost since the inception of this country, of which, back in its founding days, slavery was legal, and therefore the cost of cheap labor for those procuring such, was fundamentally about buying peoples that had been forcefully extracted from other countries, to slave for plantation owners and similar, without those laboring having recourse to wages, or basically as Supreme Court Chief Justice Taney stated, that blacks had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect."

In today's society, there isn't any slavery, for not only are there no more slave auctions, but slavery has been Constitutionally banned from this nation. However, as in most countries, laws are not equally and equably applied, and further to the point, those that are not citizens within a nation, are absolutely susceptible to exploitation of the highest order, especially when those so hiring the undocumented workers, are well aware that those being hired, do not have equal or effective access to justice or the laws, and purposely make it their policy to take advantage of all those that have little or no ability to fight back.

This indicates something that most Americans seem rather clueless about, which is virtually all of the illegal and undocumented workers that are here in America, are actually here under the aegis, more or less, of industries that are dependent upon having ready access to cheap labor that can be exploited in order to make profits within their businesses, such as back breaking agricultural labor of all kinds, industrialized meat and poultry plants, hospitality services, landscaping, construction, and so on.

This signifies, especially in smaller and more insular communities, that the justice and policing arms of those communities are clearly aware of the presence of illegal workers within their communities, but will not interfere with the very labor that is necessary for the community and the businesses to prosper and benefit from; because without that labor, those businesses would effectively cease to exist and would no longer be profitable at a sustainable level, because their business model is specifically built around continuous cheap exploitable labor.

This means that the real reason that millions upon millions of undocumented workers are within America, is because it is very, very good for the business interests of America. Further to the point, those businesses aren't interested in changing anything within the current construct that they are working within, because it is the money maker for them. This so means, that while slavery is gone, its replacement, is built upon the purposeful and deliberation exploitation of undocumented laborers, and more than that, thrives in a nation that has the audacity to label itself as the beacon of liberty, justice, and freedom for all.

Moral weakness and alcoholism

There are all sorts of things that have been labeled as a disease, of which, some of those things so labeled, are not actually a disease.  Further to the point, the incorrectly labeling something as a disease, as opposed to correctly labeling it as a moral weakness, for instance, obfuscates the troubles of something as significant as alcoholism.  So that, there was a time in the United States, when the cause against alcohol, was not a cause of trying to fight alcohol as a disease, but rather fighting alcohol, for what it really represents, which is character weakness, and subsequently it was the belief of those that pressed hard for Prohibition to see alcohol as the burden that it so often represents in real life: which is family issues due to its nefarious influence, wasted money, expenses, and time, fights, illicit actions and wrongly reasoned actions done under the influence of alcohol, damage to bodily health and mind, tardiness and mal-performance at work, and damage to the moral character.

The main reason why today's society so often wants to label something as significant and as prevalent as alcoholism as a disease, is that by doing so, it removes the stigma that the person so suffering from alcoholism from being the responsible party of being an alcoholic, and replacing such with the rather dubious distinction that instead that are suffering from a disease.  A true disease, as reported by thecleanstate.org, is when "… some part of the body is in a state of abnormal physiological functioning," of which, alcoholism, is the deliberate abuse and dependency upon alcohol, that certain people become enthralled to; yet, certain other people, through the help of others, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, or through the help of esteemed friends and family, or through their own will power and desire to break free from the bonds that hold them, are able to overcome through their efforts and desires.

So then, if alcoholism, was a disease, then sheer will power and desire to remove alcoholism from one's dependency, would not and could not occur; just as if cancer is a disease, then sheer will power and the desire to remove cancer from one's body, would not and could not occur, which it does not.  In point of fact, the curing of actual diseases, comes from appropriate medical procedures and pharmaceuticals that are able to rectify and to remove those diseases; whereas if alcohol was a disease, the same basic procedures would apply, but, in fact, the programs that are utilized for alcoholism, are fundamentally different than what they are for those that are suffering from a body part in a state of abnormal physiological functioning.

The reason that it is so important to see alcoholism as a moral failing or as a character flaw, rather than as a disease, is that, by doing so, the primary responsibility of correcting such, lies within one's own hands, and hence the chances of a successful resolution to anything that is debilitating or difficult, is always going to have a better result when the root cause of the problem is dealt with in a forthright manner.

No doubt, there are plenty of reasons of why people turn to alcohol, of which, some of those reasons, are quite heart wrenching and very unfortunate, but no matter how a given person got there, it ultimately is their responsibility to extricate themselves from that problem.  Fortunately, with alcohol, because it is so common, there are plenty of organizations that will aid those that want such aid; so that, in the battle of any moral weakness, ultimately, the result lies within the sovereignty and will power of that individual, which is why so much praise and credit is given to those that overcome alcoholism, as compared to something like cancer, in which the credit is typically given only to the medical professionals, and not to the individual.

Material things and self-worth

Most prominently In western nations, there is a very high correlation for a fair amount of people, that their perceived happiness is related to their financial worth in conjunction with their job status, which is thereby centered around their material assets and knickknacks, as opposed to recognizing their worth as a good human being with a personality and traits that are beneficial for themselves as well as to others.  In other words, there are plenty of people that willingly participate in the "rat race", so to speak, or try to "keep up with the Joneses", of which, since, to a certain extent, the material game, is often a zero-sum one, means inevitably that the pursuit of those material assets, is going to lead to some degree of disappointment, for a significant amount of people.

Additionally, even those that achieve all of the material wealth that they have been hankering for, do not, in having made that achievement; which may have necessitated a determined personage, drive, determination, and throughput, necessarily become all that happy.  That is to say, if, money or status was the sole determinate of happiness, than quite obviously, those with the most, would be happiest and those with the least would be the saddest.  Yet, that isn't true, at least, not to the extent that someone that has one thousand times the material assets of someone else, is one thousand times happier.  In most cases, the degree of happiness between people of widely divergent incomes, of which, the person with the lower income is still able to procure the necessities of a decent material life, often demonstrates that money and bigger toys, does not make for the happier person.

It can be said, and it has been said, that those that believe that they will be the happiest if they own this, or have that, or go get this, will often find, those objects and material things are, in reality, overvalued.  What is undervalued for these particular people is the value of their own true self worth in the sense not of monetary value, but of character.  That is to say, the character of a given individual is the greatest gift that can be utilize for the benefit of others, especially if that character is of high integrity, and is by far the most precious asset to pass on from one individual to another and from one generation to another.

Further to the point, if everybody was selfish, of which, everyone exclusively was about their own self, this world would be a tragedy of the highest order.  The fact that this world, to a very large extent, is a tragedy, in which, so many suffer so much, clearly signifies that far too many people are about their own selves, and far too many, value material things over character, and consciously make that same choice, day by day, again and again.  This so creates a world of disillusionment and disappointment, of which, the losers of this game far outnumber the winners, because the winners are unable to ever find satiation because they live with the false belief that ever more, will bring that lasting happiness that they so long for.  In reality, true happiness begins within the psyche of each one of us, in which, if more people were to truly comprehend that it is in the giving, of our good advice, of our compassion, and of our mercy, that this is only time that we truly do increase sustainable worth, then the world would become more harmonious, and far less of the tragedy it presently represents.  

666

There are few people, if any, that aren't at least vaguely aware that the number 666 brings to mind the  very essence of satanic connotations, or perhaps even Satan, himself, and to be associated or branded with such a number, is to be marked as a very bad person, indeed.  The number 666 comes from Holy Scripture in which we read: "Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six." (Revelation 13: 18)

Entire books, theses, articles, commentaries, movies, and documentaries of all sorts have dealt with various interpretations as to what the number 666 actually means, but it is important to note, that Revelation, itself, is highly symbolic Scripture, and anyone that takes the reading of Revelation, or dare say, a significant amount of Holy Scripture as being meant to be interpreted literally, are pretty much barking up the wrong tree, and specifically to Revelation, most definitely are doing so.

This signifies that people that like to take the most evil personages in history or even of the present time, and declare that these people are the embodiment of the number 666, clearly don't comprehend Revelation, correctly.  A far more meaningful way to understand the number 666, is to first to contemplate upon the entire chapter, and then to allow the words so written to cogitate within one's mind; further, one can do some research in regards to what esteemed and inspired Biblical authorities have to say, and then through these various means, begin to formulate an opinion.

So that, a far better way of looking at the number, 666, is not that such applies to just one such beast, but rather that mankind, without its eternal soul, and when lacking the spirit of God that breathed life into mankind, is, when stripped of those very things, basically, just a beast.  That is to say, those of mankind that have willfully turned their back on God, by their actions, by their decisions, and by their mindset, are themselves, in many, though not all cases, become the embodiment of the number 666.

In reality, the number 666 can be applied to any of us, and this scriptural passage is supposed to be seen as both a fair warning while also being prophetic.  It does so signify, that those that live to their body, caring only of material things, and deliberately leading lives of selfishness, self-centeredness, greed, and lust, are the epitome of those that have sold their eternal and inalienable attributes of agape love, compassion, generosity, and justice for material gain, in the here and now.

Too often, mankind wants to point out the errors of others, while according their own selves, a free passage from condemnation, but it doesn't really work that way.  In actuality, the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, should be seen for what it really was; Jesus as the sacrificial lamb, of which this is meant to be an object lesson to all of us, which is when the purest amongst us, is disrespected like a common criminal, and thereupon beaten and crucified, without having done any wrong, that it would therefore behoove our fallen selves to get our lives in order, by putting forth the effort to acquire worthwhile knowledge, and then to apply ourselves diligently to the greater good.   For, there are no free pathways back to God, so that, until we are able to see ourselves as well as to see all others as the embodiment of God, temporarily housed within a material form on earth, and thereby to make the sacrifice to treat our neighbors right, then all of us are in material danger of becoming that number, 666.

The color of His skin: Jesus

There are all sorts of depictions and paintings of Jesus the Christ, of which, the complexion and look of Jesus varies considerably depending upon the artist, the country, the time period, and assorted other factors.  The one thing though, is that, perhaps as might be expected, countries that are predominantly Christian in their faith, no matter what sect that Christianity is, have been primarily countries that are western nations, with the predominant power structure within those nations, resting most prominently in the hands of those that are considered to be Caucasian, and self-identify themselves as Caucasian.  So then, not too surprisingly, since religion is an awful big deal to a lot of people, those at the highest realms of power, are going to have a very strong preference to want to see the symbols of the de facto religion of their nation, personalized as looking similar to those that are in power.

This means, to the general disgrace of those that respect the Christian religion, in conjunction with all those purveyors of mass media of all sorts, such as movies, magazines, and television; all these for the most part, have predominantly portrayed Jesus as a white man, and very Caucasian looking.  Yet, there isn't any historical doubt that Jesus was born, raised, and died in the Middle East, of which, the most common complexion within the Middle East, involves some degree of swarthiness, so that, to see Jesus as whiter than white, especially within a time period when sunscreen was unheard of, and of which Jesus was known to have spent some time out in the sun, seems highly improbable.

So too, Holy Scripture, spends not an iota describing the looks of Jesus, whatsoever; although there are a few passages, that reference His looks, somewhat, such as in Isaiah 53:2, and perhaps Revelation 1: 14-15.  The fact that no time is spent on the looks of Jesus, should register very deeply within the psyche of each individual that respects the Christian religion, for the point of the fact that no description is offered, signifies that what Christ represents to each of us, is not the physical look, but the message, the spirit, the hope, the resurrection, and the wisdom.

While we are instructed not to worship idols, there is, in a world, in which, our eyes see so much, something to be said, to having a touchstone if not physically in front of us, at least in our mind, to sooth and to comfort us, especially in times of trouble.  This signifies that each of us that respects or are of the Christian faith should, as per our inclination, see Jesus in a personal way that will hold meaning to us.  This could thereby mean, that if we are black, we should and it could be argued, that we must see Jesus as black; so too, if we are brown, we should and it could be argued, that we must see Jesus as brown; and so on and so forth.  Additionally, for all those that are female, we should and it could be argued, that we must see Jesus as a kindred spirit of having the highest feminine qualities, which was best exemplified by His healing, His kindness, His consideration, and His love for everyone, especially the poor, vulnerable, lost and forsaken, and most especially of the little children.

All of the above signifies that if the symbols within your Church are not inclusive, of portraying our Jesus, as every man, and in harmony with every woman, then that Church needs to seriously consider amending its ways, for a pure white Jesus is a counterfeit Jesus, for Jesus is every color and none.

Those in high positions and their crimes

The American jurisprudence system absolutely loves incarcerating its own citizens, and does so to such a large extent, that there is no other western nation, that has even a close approximation to the amount of incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, and convicted felons of all sorts that America has.  It would be one thing if all that jurisprudence applied so stringently somehow thereby made America a safer and more secure nation, having taught those criminals that crime does not pay in America, but that simply is not the case.

In point of fact, crime as dealt with by the jurisprudence system of America is basically divided into a classification, by social class, and further by whether such a crime is a white collar crime or a blue collar crime.  That is to say that first of all, poor and disadvantaged people, that are ill educated, poorly housed, and often are brought up in dysfunctional homes are seen by the prosecutorial authorities and the policing apparatus as being very easy targets to arrest, convict, and put away; which is essentially what is done with scores upon scores of them.  On the other hand, those with clever but devious minds, having a strong susceptibility to greed or a deep desire for undeserved shortcuts in life, are, as long as they are not violent people, in which they fraudulently manipulate, or forge, or deceive, or embezzle, are often accorded the benefit of good counsel, good negotiation, favorable terms, and light sentences, with monetary damages often being assessed in lieu of a harsh and unforgiving incarceration.

What this basically means is that if you are poor and are busted for burglarizing a house, that person will probably have to plea to a deal that will involve incarceration of possibly a few years or more, depending upon their record, as well as their ability to competently negotiate a plea deal from a very weak position with the prosecuting agency.  Whereas, white collar criminals that embezzle thousands or even millions of dollars, are often able to procure themselves a strong advocate for their defense, that allows them to avoid any incarceration whatsoever, subject only to a monetary fine, community service, and the loss of employment in that industry as being part of the deal, so constructed.

Clearly, crimes in America are divided into categories in which people that have trouble controlling their emotions and temper, or have sticky fingers with bad judgment, or are involved in what essentially are victimless crimes, or wish to transact business with illicit substances such as drugs, are punished rather severely.  On the other hand, the people that are the kingpins within illicit businesses, corrupt officials of all sorts, and those that exploit others in underhanded ways, are dealt with as if what they have done is wrong, but not wrong enough to actually involve much incarceration at all.

The jurisprudence system as currently constructed has it wrong.  Rather, when it comes to crime, the higher the position of the criminal in society, or the greater in power that the criminal is, or the more impact and negative influence those crimes have on society at large, should be the very basis of how much punishment is indeed meted out.   So that, the little fish needs to be thrown back into sea, and the big fish needs to be caught, cleaned, and professionally filleted.   Those that have power and position who have abused and misused their authority, should and must truly pay for their crimes, for in their abuse of their power and position, they must face their reckoning, for the bigger they are, the harder they must fall.

The criminal lynching of black veterans

One could make a very strong argument, that though black soldiers have nobly fought in all of the American wars, beginning at the beginning with our revolutionary war; that their treatment by their fellow countrymen and by their country, itself, has clearly never been equal or truly appreciated, except, possibly within the last few years, and even that, is highly debatable.  In point of fact, despite the fact that blacks have historically been underrepresented in all the pinnacles of power, governmental or private; and have often been disenfranchised from voting, discriminated against in regards to employment, education, housing, opportunity and justice; free blacks have been, since the very beginning, patriotic, courageous, and loyal, to a government and a people that have way too often done them wrong, time and time again.

There is an awful lot of blame to be laid at the feet of the southern mentality of honor, with its long history of systemic racism, injustice, and violence; all done to keep those that were of a different color, subservient and in their place.  As bad as that was, and it was very, very bad, as well as most definitely being a pox upon America and its claim of freedom, liberty and justice for all --what is especially galling and foundationally unacceptable, is the lynching of patriotic black soldiers that had the audacity to wear their uniform after honorably completing their service, or while on furlough in the southern States.

It is to the great shame of America, and in particular, to the great shame of the South, the extrajudicial lynching that thousands of blacks suffered by the oppressive hands of the southern white man, for crimes that in virtually every case were never committed by those so lynched, but instead were pinned upon these innocent victims, so that the southern honor bloodlust could be satiated, as well as to send a very definitive message to all blacks in residence, that not a single black man in the South, not one, could guarantee to anyone of their family, and of their residence, that they were ever safe, from being lynched themselves.

To make matters even worse, the southern white man, had no respect for its National government, proven by their deliberate targeting of black men in uniform by the South, of which, time and time again, these good servicemen, were lynched, in their uniform, by southern rebels, solely on the basis that a black man in uniform in the South, was considered to be a form of disrespect, a clear violation of a lack of subservience, and  adjudged to be an overt form of contempt, all stemming from these soldiers' failure to adhere to their proper place in the South, as dictated by the southern man.

So then, it must be clearly stated, that this National government has the highest moral obligation, to make good on every single military man so lynched in the South, from the very first serviceman to the very last serviceman lynched.   While it is too late to prosecute the miscreants and instigators of this gross injustice, it is not too late, to properly identify most of the men that were lynched, and see that their descendents receive a death gratuity commensurate with the injustice and suffering that these men, that so nobly gave their all to their country, justly deserve, so that their unjust death should not have been completely in vain.

Those who are clever but clearly are not clever enough

Just about everyone hates and despises a "know-it-all", for basically two distinctive reasons, of which the first one is that the person that thinks that they know-it-all, fundamentally and conclusively does not; and the other reason is that those that think they know-it-all, actually do appear to pretty much know-it-all, but their arrogance and pride negates a lot of the value that others might get from their knowledge.

When it comes to the belief in God, there are all sorts of know-it-alls, of which by far, the worst of them all, is the person, typically of some intelligence, that just "knows" that God doesn't exist, and proceeds to pontificate on and on about why the existence of God is a delusion, or an opiate for the lazy and disenfranchised, and is prepared to do battle, on their terms, for any that dare to differ in opinion.  There is always something extremely unsettling when intelligent people that really ought to know better, and really ought to investigate a lot further, instead, purposefully dismiss things of substantial substance as being a myth or a phantasm. 

What makes it particularly unsettling, is that intelligent and very clever people, especially those that have self-serving morals and ethics, often do very well in rising up the ladder of business success, governmental success, political success, and material leadership of all sorts.  Those that have a silver tongue and the Midas touch typically are going to be the ones that are the leaders in many a society, especially if their ambition is unbounded.  So then, when those that are already in a position of authority, and are considered by most people to be credible, intelligent, and wise, then what they have to say and expound upon, can definitely make an influential difference in the lives of others.

So, quite frankly, the inconvenient problem with the belief in God, especially for those of blind ambition, is that God presupposes a moral universe, with natural law that is unvarying, and inalienable rights that all are gifted with, of which all of these things, explicitly mean that the measure of mankind is measured by an omniscient God, not by mankind.   This means, that belief in God, necessitates that all of mankind is held to the very  same invariable standard without an exception for anybody; as opposed to mankind, which like the changing of the wind, decides what shall go, and what shall be permitted; and what shall not go, and what shall not be permitted.

Those that are clever want to take the place of God, because that puts them in control, and will often provide to them the privileged ability to exploit all others in service to their specific needs and desires.  Additionally, the power structure of many a modern nation wants to negate god, so that, that nation state in its structure becomes the replacement for God, or, in effect, supersedes and marginalizes God.  Yet, again and again, no matter how clever the privileged few are that rail against the delusion of God; mankind, not now, not ever, will ever be able to kill God off, because all that ever is, and all that will ever be, is of God.

The vanity of vanities is the wrong headed belief that mankind made mankind, or, that mankind is just some sort of primordial happenstance.  Those clever ones that claim that they know that this is true suffer from the darkest arrogance, which has made them delusional.