Your papers, please

There are plenty of people that believe that all of the papers that we are required to have such as a birth certificate, driver's license, and social security number are a very good thing.  Further, they believe that such documentation that shows where we live and our age is necessary for the functioning of any modern society.  Perhaps this is true, but such documentation, in the hands of the state, allows that state, to not only fully identify us; but further allows that state the opportunity to create rules that only those that properly identify themselves and are subsequently fully vetted, are permitted to get goods such as food benefits, or housing benefits, or medical benefits, or school benefits or tax benefits, and so on, which typically means that only people that fall within the construct that the state finds to be acceptable, are eligible for those benefits.

Additionally, once the state knows exactly who, what, and where a given person is at, the state, at its discretion, can change the rules of the road, so that traveling domestically from one place to another, for instance, is restricted, because perhaps of some arbitrary security alert, and those that are traveling are thereupon required to have the proper papers to do so, and those that do not have those papers, are then subject to being held by the state policing agency for violation of the law. So too, having to identify oneself is something, as in most laws, which is often unfairly applied, so those that are above the law will not have to suffer the indignity of being restricted from travel or other such things, whereas all those that lack such status, will have to conform to the dictates of the state, so that the state can maintain their control over the masses.

Not only does the state want to know everything about us, but the state knows that having that information allows them to be the controlling party in regards to benefits, courtesies, and privileges so provided; so that the population as a whole is going to have to cooperate with the state or will surely suffer the consequences of their disobedience. That is to say, the government wants to know where to find everyone and further doesn't want to have to waste a lot of time discovering who and what a given individual is, but merely wants to confirm what it already knows, and further to confirm that all is in order.

All of this pretty much signifies that governments want to be able to herd their people in the direction of the choice so chosen by that apparatus, and in order to do so in a competent and efficient manner, that government needs to know its population, and there isn't any better way to do so, then knowing everybody's identification, their employment, their residence, their history, and pretty much having the population as a whole being transparent to the government, while the government, on the other hand, remains opaque.

A country that has the power to stop free employment, to stop free movement, to stop, frisk, and to identify its population with impunity, is tyranny.  That tyranny does not have to be overtly cruel, for often it need not be, but having reams of accurate individual information at the government's beck and call is a form of power, enabling such to crush all those that do not conform to its dictates.

This is God's world, but we have made a mess of it

Although it may well seem at times, as if God is not part of this world, God, by definition, is omnipresent, and therefore everything in this world, of this world, and by this world, is in one way or another, part of God.  This means that all the trouble that mankind goes through to deny God, or to misinterpret God, or to ignore God, does not somehow negate God.

Foundationally, the main problem with this world, is never going to be God, but the exact opposite of that; which means the absence of God, and thereby the replacement of God's perfect love as well as God's perfect justice, with mankind's often pathetic attempt to do better or to simply just ignore what should not be ignored. 

Of course, many will rightly point out that a lot of the problems and issues in this world can be laid down at the feet of certain religious people or certain religious institutions, and especially those fanatical zealots that harm, persecute, and kill those that do not believe in what they believe, and justify all that are doing by stating that such is "God's will."  That said, God's voice is actually a still, small voice, that errs not, and God is never the one to utilize a sword in order to somehow bring peace, for God knows that lasting peace can only come from a construct in which fairness, justice, sacrifice, and love reign supreme.

This world and the problems within this world, come primarily from the misuse of free will by human beings, as well as the purposeful ignorance or non-desire to conduct one's personal life in accordance with God's law.  While God's law can be stated in a multitude of ways, it distilled to its very essence means giving due respect and consideration to God; as well as being able to see all other people, without exception, as equally created children of God, and thereby to treat everyone with the consideration and concern that one would devote to someone that they dearly love.

The more that in our interactions and in our deeds, we live in accordance to God's law, the better our societies and our neighborhoods are; and the more we live in discordance to God's law, the worse our societies and our neighborhoods are.  It is important to recognize that in this world that all of the chaos, injustice, and hurt that we are and do experience as elements of this world, are not because God does not exist or not because God does not care, but because wrong decisions are made by mankind's free will that are inimical to the benefit of mankind, though such decisions may selfishly benefit a few at the expense of the many.

Those that do not want God to be in their lives, have already achieved that wish, for this is the world as it is, so reflected. Those that truly want God to be in their lives must ever keep that in their focus and make sure to keep their pathway straight for it is those people that will lead the lost into the world as it should be which will be God's world, actualized.

Be the light in other people's lives

The decisions and actions that we take on any given day, define who and what we really are; and while virtually all of us are going to have those bad days along with regretful decisions, the objective for anybody with a good purpose in their life, should be to help be a force of good, rather than being a force of trouble and hatred.  If more people made it their point to be of a more positive influence and thereby set a better example for others, then the world and society that we live in, would be a better place for more of us, for the reality is that this world reflects back to us truly the decisions and actions so made.

Additionally, the greatest benefit that anyone can provide to anyone else, is to be positive, as often as possible, in our interactions with one another, for to add to hatred, frustration and despair, isn't going to be of any real benefit to anyone; whereas to see other people, as being important enough to take the time to be patient, kind, and considerate to -- has a value that is well-nigh priceless, for to shine a light into the darkness that all have experienced, provides both the clarity and pathway to move onto and into a better place.

To speak in platitudes is relatively easy, whereas actually making a commitment to spend the time and resources in becoming an ever present help in a sea of sorrow to someone else, takes a person, that is dedicated to the proposition that we are indeed one another's brothers and sisters, and therefore gets beyond mere scriptural words into the doing of the activities that provide real aid to another.  

In far too many cases, a soul is lost, not because that person is so bad, but rather because that person was not helped by another at a critical juncture, that had that help occurred, would have placed them into a better situation and thereby a likely better outcome.  There are many that have been pushed to the brink, that are brought back, by acts of kindness and caring, of which, these acts serve to reinvigorate what has been depleted, and encourages those that were lost, to find their real selves again.

We live within a construct in which destruction is the easy road, for to destroy is to allow one's behavior to become unchecked and unconstrained, making it the ultimate act of selfishness.  On the other hand, to construct anything of value, takes knowledge, consistency, persistency, drive, and often the willingness to check one's behavior to conform to a vision that is larger than just one person, for many people working together, will typically make what is created, stronger than what it would be, alone.

Each of us has talent, some of us use it, exceedingly well, some of us have yet to discovered it, some of us have yet to develop it fully, and some of us are aware of it, but keep it hidden away.   That talent for all of us is our light, of which, the more that utilize their light, together, the more light that is seen, and those that help to increase the brightness of that light, diminish the darkness, and light without any corresponding darkness, is the epitome of paradise.

Behind every door is a human being

Behind every door is a human being, for houses, buildings, and other structures are ultimately created by human beings for the benefit of human beings.  This does mean that when bombs are dropped on buildings or missiles are shot at other ships or airplanes, and when a fusillade of bullets are shot at some target, that, in essence, these bombs and missiles and bullets are always being directed against human beings; and it is therefore disingenuous to believe or to attest to that bombs, missiles, and bullets are somehow just taking out buildings, ships, and targets, without on the very same hand, admitting the obvious, which is that they are harming and killing human beings.

Those that direct military affairs do not really wish to state the obvious, which is that wars, insurrections, and uprisings, that involve the military are affairs in which because military force is involved, people are going to die, and the side with the better and more sophisticated firepower is often going to be the side that does most of the killing, along with being far more efficient about it.  As much as the military uses semantics and all sorts of words that skirt around the issue, the military kills people that have been earmarked for death, because those people are on the wrong side of the dispute.

If, it was really true that the military took out other military installations, other military facilities, other military armaments, and simply was in the business of neutralizing the other side's capability to wage war, in some sort of calculated conceived mission, that would be one thing, but the fact of the matter is, no matter how surgical air strikes can be, or missile strikes can be, or gunfire can be, in point of fact, war is a very messy business which besides all of the terrible destruction that is occurring, has intended consequences, unintended consequences, and a whole lot of human beings, armed or not, that are in harm's way which will end up getting hurt or killed.

The American military punches very, very hard, and likes to believe that they take care of business in a professional manner, of which, the greater the physical distance is from those so targeted, as well as not wanting to really know who and what is behind the door, or inside the building, the easier it is to keep on keeping on.   As the weapons continue to get more and more sophisticated, and as the military gets even more skilled at accomplishing their missions, especially without having to risk unnecessary "boots on the ground," the easier it is to keep doing it, because as long as our military personnel aren't dying, then the apparent overall criticism from outsiders will remain fairly muted.

In point of fact, when the military diminishes the deaths of our enemies as well as their families and other innocent civilians, in addition to ignoring the devastating destruction so reigned upon those communities, there is absolutely never going to be a time when the American military will conceivably be satiated, because too many people within that military establishment, don't seem to consciously recognize that behind every door is a human being, and that further, every human being has value, friend or foe, like it or not.

European Tournament of Champions

The biggest sport by far in Europe, is football, better known as soccer to Americans, which is both well followed and well loved.  This is the sport that gets the biggest TV ratings as well as paying the biggest salaries, and while there are already tournaments galore in Europe, surrounding their football, there is almost certainly room for one more. 

In particular, European clubs often suffer from a lack of competition within their league or have competition from only a small subset within their league, mainly because the biggest clubs, by virtue of having the best players, almost always top the table.  These teams at the top are literally the best of the best, but the proving of how good they really are can only be tested in a format in which these great teams face off against other European juggernauts.  To a large degree, this is already done through what is known as the UEFA Champions League, but this tournament consists of thirty-two teams, and takes months upon months to determine a champion, of which many of the clubs competing, have no real legitimate chance of raising the trophy.

Additionally, the top teams are always dreaming of ways of drumming of additional revenue, of which, the biggest and best clubs, constantly saber rattle about setting up a separate competition, colloquially known as the European Super League, in which a new tournament would be created, of which only the best of the best European clubs would play against each other, for this is what the public wants, this is what the players want, and this is most certainly what those owners want.

However, it is possible, and even conceivable to come up with a reasonable alternative to the Super League, which is to take the winner of each of the respective top five European leagues, which are currently located in Spain, England, France, Italy, and Germany and then have those respective winners of that season face off against each other at the immediate conclusion of their regular season.  Further, the winners of each of the five respective leagues would be ranked, according to their respective league coefficient, as determined by an independent agency or UEFA, which currently would place these countries in the order of best to worse as Spain, England, Italy, Germany, and France.  Then the top team from Germany and France would play each other to earn a shot to take on the champion of Spain; whereas the champion of England would take on the champion of Italy.  Finally, in the championship game, the winners of the semi-finals would take on each other, and the winner of that game, would be the winner of the European Tournament of Champions.

If, such a competition was agreed upon, properly advertised and written about, along with being seen as a legitimate tournament of champions, then the ratings as well as the validity of such a competition would be embraced by the public at large.  The amount of time devoted to such a tournament in which each game would be single elimination would not necessitate more than ten days, for a total of only four games would be played.  Additionally, this would be the only competition in which only the winners of the top five European leagues would face off against each other, making it a very compelling contest, indeed.

Our new Confederate government

The Confederacy was defeated in the Civil War, but the South, even till this very day, never fully bought into that defeat, and did a remarkable job in essentially returning to their old order of business, by creating a new kind of slavery; and through the thorough exploitation of those that were formerly slaves, they were able to use the very same labor, so as to persist in the wringing of bread from the sweat of other men's faces, and in particular, by those former slaves and their progeny.   

At the present day, as reported by dqydj.com, as of 2016, the top .1% of all taxpayers has a yearly household income of $1,135,421.00, and the top .1% of all taxpayers has a net worth of a staggering $43,090,281.00.  Back in the antebellum days, as reported by lumenlearning.com, just .1% of the white class structure owned 100+ slaves, and it was the owners of these massive plantations, thoroughly dependent upon that slave labor, that were first and foremost the very people that ran the political institutions and power structures of their respective States, and it was these people that were able to make the argument when confronted by a democratic Presidential election that they lost, that in order to protect and to augment their business of slavery, that they would rebel against the Union, which they did.

While slavery no longer exists in America, the gross inequality of the distribution of income, as well as a tax system that rather than being progressive, soaks the middle class and the uninitiated, indicates that the very, very few have become very skilled at making their money from their exploitation of labor within the United States and even the borders beyond such, and are firmly and clearly in the driver's seat of all relevant policies that would affect their power, their money, and their livelihood.

We live in an age in which mergers between equals of behemoth corporations are routinely granted, so that business industry after business industry are now effectively monopolies, duopolies, are competitors in name, but not in actuality.  Quite obviously, the easiest path to insane riches is to milk the American public as well as the world for a few extra bucks from software, licenses, rents, loans, commodities, and other associated goods and apps, that people have an abiding desire for, in which all that extra money coming in, is by virtue of the fact that these corporations have effectively little or no competition, provides them with huge gross margins, in which, they are then able to well protect and even augment those assets in tax dodges of all stripes, which effectively drains from the people what is rightfully theirs and is given to a select few, instead.

The revolutionary war was fought to give the people of this great nation, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The civil war was fought so as to prove that all men are indeed created equally, as well as to maintain this magnificent union of the people, by the people, and for the people.  A fair view, though, indicates that all those that gave their lives for those causes, have seen that nobleness betrayed, and the unraveling of what once was the last best hope of mankind.

Posturing and illusion

It has been said that not all that glitters is gold, of which this is surely true, for there are many things that look like and even glitter like gold, but are not, in fact, gold.  So too, not everything that people say, or every body language so produced -- are the words that need worry us, or the body language that need unnecessarily scare us, for people will posture all sorts of actions that those people have little intention of following through on; in order to save face, in order to show they are not a pushover, in order to produce fear, and for all sorts of other reasons, legitimate or not.

This world is full of all sorts of exaggerations, of which, exaggerations often are resorted to, in order to get, for instance, a point across, or in order to get attention, or to just make for a better story.  So too, if every time that someone said that they were going to kill someone, in which, subsequently, they actually went ahead and did so; then this world, would have an absolute epidemic of murders -- for people use words just like that, all of the time, or posture those words, but in virtually all of the cases, those people actually had no intent to kill anyone, though, they may be legitimately upset about something, or thoroughly embarrassed about something, or just be in a really foul mood.

The main reason why there is so much posturing as opposed to a lot more actual physical aggression occurring is the fact that posturing allows people to "act the role" without actually doing something that would be harmful to another person.  That is to say, when someone hurls an insult against another, in which, this insult is purposely done in front of a lot of people, the person so insulted, is almost required to respond to that insult, or they will lose face in the eyes of their peers.  How and what that response is, depends upon the skill of the person so insulted, because the correct art of posturing is not to escalate something into actual blows, but to respond in a way that indicates that they won't permit someone to just walk all over them, or to be taken for a fool.

Then there are those that claim that they don't ever posture, but rather, that they keep it real, 100% of the time.  In point of fact, most people can't keep it real for even one day, let alone, all of the time, because social situations almost preclude giving answers and responses that don't take properly into account the other person, meaning that those that are being "brutally honest" with someone, are actually pretty much just being brutal. 

The very point of all this posturing is to demonstrate that one is self-respecting enough, that they will respond as necessary in a posturing mode to demonstrate to the other person that they are willing to do battle, though, with the hope that cooler heads ultimately will prevail; so that, just as in dueling back in day, which was all about honor and respect; the hope is that the posturing will safely discontinue on both ends, and therefore though neither side will win, more importantly, neither side will lose.

Super Bowl Saturday

As most people are well aware, the Super Bowl is always held on Sundays, which matches up with the fact that most NFL games are played on Sunday.  What seems to have been forgotten though is that the real reason that NFL games are scheduled for Sunday as compared to Saturday is that the NFL does not want to compete or to undercut collegiate football, and quite obviously it is better for both sporting events, that they are held on different days.  However, by the time the Super Bowl is played, collegiate football is over, and for anyone that is a fight fan, such as the MMA, UFC, and premier boxing events, they recognize that these marquee events are always held on Saturdays, of which Saturday is the obvious choice, since Sunday is considered to be a day of rest for most Americans.

The NFL is a fairly conservative organization that does not like to rock the boat, whatsoever, and with nine of the ten highest TV ratings of all time in America, being the Super Bowl, the Commissioner seems to be correct in believing that having the Super Bowl on Sunday is the right move, and points out somewhat disingenuously that Saturday TV ratings from major broadcasters are traditionally lower than those of Sunday evening.  However, that fact is mitigated by the understanding that the biggest movie night in America, is Saturday night, and that Saturday night is also the biggest night to go out, with the quite obvious exception, when a big event is planned for that Saturday night, in which case, most Americans plan around that big event.

Quite logically, more Super Bowl parties would be planned and of a longer duration, if the Super Bowl was on a Saturday as opposed to a Sunday.  Additionally, continental America is in three time zones, of which, the eastern time zone starts three hours later than the Pacific, so the actual beginning and ending of a Super Bowl makes a difference especially to those on the East Coast because Monday, is a work day, so that those people, would be somewhat conflicted about the Super Bowl, recognizing that they have work as well as family responsibilities which must be attended to.

The reality of the situation really is, that those that run the NFL, do not know, how well or how poorly moving the Super Bowl to a Saturday would be, and while how many people watching the game is somewhat dependent upon the teams playing, for the most part, the Super Bowl is an event, that people are going to participate in regardless of what teams are playing and where they are playing at.  So then, just as the NFL implements rule changes from time-to-time, the NFL should make it a point to at least vote upon moving the game to a Saturday, in which, if voted in the affirmative, then those TV ratings, as well as the feedback from the fan base, would probably prove the point as to whether Saturday is the best day for the Super Bowl or whether to keep it as it is, on Sunday. 

The bottom line is that revenues do matter to the NFL, and due diligence, alone, would demand that the NFL has a Super Bowl Saturday, of which, in all probability, it would initially be the most watched TV program in American history.

Be constructive, not destructive

Each of us is given choices each day, and within those choices, is the opportunity to be of aid to mankind, or to be harmful.  Quite obviously, most people would prefer to be of help to others, and many of those people believe that is exactly what they are doing, but in actuality, when we take a unvarnished look at the world as it is, we can see that more times than desired, mankind is destructive, self-serving, and harmful in ways big and small to others, and thereby our world, reflects this.

Those that clamor most for change, that is, change that will make society and the world better, have an absolute obligation to be that change, themselves.  That is to say, the most important person to change for the better is our own self, for in our own life, we have if not total control, at least, captaincy of our lives.  Then, to prove that we are consistent with our beliefs about being constructive and of aid to our fellow mankind, our lives must live up to that high standard, as often as we can achieve such.

In this world, far too many people, allow far too often, their ego and their selfish desires to get the better of them, so that, when provided with the opportunity to do right with another, those that lack appropriate self-discipline, maturity, and wisdom, will make decisions that are inimical to the other, while seems then to provide their own self with a short or even a long-term benefit. Those sorts of actions are not good, because anytime that in order for an individual to benefit, it is at the expense of another, then the world in whole, has gotten no better.  Rather, the primary objective should be to conduct our life in a manner in which we see ourselves in the other, and therefore we are fair minded, as opposed to being opportunistic at the other's expense.

If more of us lived under the motto that "first, we do no harm to the other," then for a certainty, this world would be better for having such a motto, followed.  So too, if more of us were transparent in our actions, as compared to being deceptive and two-faced, there would consequently be more openness and honesty in our interactions with other people.  In general, the world reflects like for like, so that if the world is perceived as a zero sum society, in which each has to get theirs at the expense of the other, then such a world, will never have and will never achieve a lasting peace, or justice, or fairness.

We are obligated to do no more than the best that we know how, but if our societal viewpoint is distorted or wrong to begin with, than our result will consist in part of confusion and harm.  In order to do better, we must make it our point and principle to be better ourselves, and thereby to strive to do right in all our interactions with others, and never to be the one that wrongly mistreats another, remembering well that we are gifted and blessed with a free will that definitively defines what we really are, in which our actions, right or wrong, are fully ours to own up to.

Join the military and learn how to kill people

The vast majority of those that sign up for service in any of the American military service branches are in the age bracket of 18-24, of which most of those recruits, are male, in which, history has repeatedly demonstrated that males are far more aggressive than females in regards to violence and taking violent action.  That said the respective military branches aren't looking for recruits that have previously been convicted of murder or manslaughter, for though that demonstrates their killing ability, those kills have been accomplished without appropriate state sanction. Still, no doubt, there probably are a very minute percentage of recruits that have actually killed another human being, but have done that in legitimate self-defense.  So then, it is fair to state, that those that join the military have in virtually every instance, never killed another human being, though there probably are a significant percentage of military recruits that have killed animals, such as in hunting activities or similar.

This does mean that military recruits are completely unfamiliar with the killing of human beings, before joining the military. Warfare, however, in and of itself, when looked at in its essence, is the government-sanctioned killing of other human beings, of which, those other human beings, are often demonized, re-branded as sub-human, defined as enemies, and seen as a clear and present danger to the state so that they must be killed. So too, the enemy is seldom regarded as actually being human and as being created equally by God, but rather are subject to semantic word changes, which designates them as targets, which should be engaged; when in reality it is really about the deliberate killing of other human beings, designated as the enemy.

Not too surprisingly, the average human being, does not have a natural affinity towards killing other human beings, especially when doing so, is not in the defense of their family, or their property, or their self, or has come about through "crimes of passion" or similar.  Those that run the military establishment are well aware of this, and further are well aware that the physical distance from an intended human target is highly relevant, in addition to the known fact that those under orders to an established authority are typically obedient to that authority, that therefore enables soldiers to circumvent whatever personal moral qualms that a given soldier may have when it comes to the killing.

So too, the military is very good about telling bombardiers as well as all those soldiers that are operating mortars, cannons, and other long range weaponry that they are specifically shooting at other ships, or bombing buildings, or destroying infrastructure, without bothering to discuss that within those ships, buildings, and infrastructures are actual human beings.  Additionally, the greater the distance between a soldier and the human being that has been targeted to be killed, the less visceral and real the feel is, especially if in order to accomplish the killing, this merely requires the pressing of a trigger or a button, in which, therefore the weapon provides the actual killing power, as opposed to the soldier actually having to physical penetrate another human being's body with a weapon such as a knife or saber.

The military does a lot of things, some beneficial and some not, but none should be surprised, that when you train a soldier to kill another human being, which is an unnatural act, that the returning solder ends up, so often, not being right in their head, for they know, at the end of day, the difference between wrong and right.

"Equal rights for all, special privileges for none"

While Thomas Jefferson is credited for the above quote, it was most notably used as the progressive Democratic platform slogan in 1908, by Williams Jennings Bryan, who was subsequently defeated by the Republican candidate Taft in that same year.  It is fair to say, that one hundred years after Jefferson, was the time of Bryan, and one hundred years after that, is the present age, so that, this noble search for equal rights for all, and special privileges for none, has been part and parcel of the great American experiment since the inception of this nation, and still has not been successfully resolved.

In point of fact, while there has been notable progress in equal rights, for those of color and of the sexes, this is still a nation that is clearly biased in the favor of white males, though what once use to be an institution, that was exclusively all white and all male, has evolved over the years to become more inclusive.  In regards to special privileges, it is difficult not to state that never have there been so few that have so much, at the expense of those that have so little; despite the fact, that the aggregate wealth on America dwarfs all other countries, with the notable exception of China, which is still far behind America in wealth, despite having a population that is four times greater than America.

It would be one thing if those that were superrich fairly earned their money, of which, no doubt, there probably are some that could be classified as such, but the fact that the superrich are able to not only to create that wealth, fairly or not, but to also set up dynastic wealth, that subsequently undermines democratic institutions is the reason why this is a country that may speak very eloquently of equality but provides, often behind closed doors, special privileges to special people as well as special institutions that allows those people and institutions to unfairly increase their wealth, influence, and power at the expense of the people.

The Constitution is the highest law of this land, but mere words on a piece of paper, no matter how sacred or important, mean nothing, if those very laws and principals can be circumvented, overturned, ignored, or become irrelevant.  The United States political mouthpieces too often profess to believe that the opportunity to make money, the making of money, the business of money, and business itself, is somehow the be-all and end-all of American existence, and that therefore a rising tide lifts all boats.  This is the same tired rhetoric that has been used since time immemorial, and simply isn't true, and is less true today than in the previous two generations.

America is clearly a nation that has an elite upper class, of so much wealth and power, that the three richest individuals in America collectively hold more wealth than the bottom 50% of that same population, so to honestly believe that somehow that wealth came to those three individuals without them personally receiving or the corporations that they are a part of receiving special privileges in order to get that wealth is to also believe that Santa Claus really does exist. 

If America, truly lived the credo of equal rights for all, and special privileges for none, and really was a country of equal opportunity and meritocracy, the end result would not be an elite few having all of the wealth and power, but rather a far more equal distribution of wealth, liberty, fairness, justice, and happiness.

Insurance, risks, and risky behavior

Most Americans have become normalized towards insurance, not only because mandated insurance is required, for instance, for healthcare, automobiles, and homes; but because society as a rule has bought into the belief that managing risk is prudent and in order to do so, they are willing to pay a premium to a licensed party so that an unanticipated catastrophic affair, should it occur, will not financially devastate them.

On the surface, the above makes sense, as people, pay premiums to obtain insurance so as to protect themselves in case of an adverse life event.  However, having insurance in and of itself, just as in the simple observation of a particular phenomenon in physics or similar, can change the nature of that phenomenon, by virtue of it so being view, or in the case of insurance, by virtue of that insurance so being issued.  So that, it is logical to believe, that the reason that more and more homes are being built within flood zones, is because the buyers of those homes, are able to obtain insurance; but not only that, in many cases, the insurers themselves, when they are explicitly or implicitly backed by government agencies, adjust to that meaningful fact.  This would seem to strongly imply that people, companies, and insurers are more willing to engage in risky behavior, if, at the end of the day, they believe that they will be covered by some other entity that will actually bear the real cost.

This signifies, for instance, that insurance companies, that have their bonus and profit incentives misaligned, may find themselves being subtly or not so subtly encouraged to take on riskier insurance policies, in order to receive those higher premiums, and to therefore meet bonus and profit objectives, because they believe that at the end of the day, if things actually go amiss, that they will be bailed out by a third party or a governmental agency.

Additionally, people are more likely to engage in riskier behavior, if by engaging in such, they are safeguarded in their decisions, by having healthcare or automobile insurance that will protect them from having to suffer the full effects of those riskier decisions.  That is to say, those that are lacking insurance are going to, if they are prudent and sensible, be more careful about what they actually do, knowing that they don't have a safety net to cover them from a very bad fall.

The biggest problem with insurance and risks, is that some sophisticated companies have made it their policy to game the system, so that, they purposefully take risks, including specifically risks that are short sighted and imprudent, knowing that or believing that when those risks go horribly wrong, that they will be backed by governmental agencies that will thereby declare they these corporations are "too big to fail" or too vital to the nation or some other dubious reason, which allows these companies to thereby benefit greatly on the people's dime, but never suffer the fair consequences of paying the full price for their gambles gone horribly wrong.

The concept of insurance, in which pools of money from individual premiums are utilized to take care of paying a given legitimate claim is a sound one; but when some of the players within that game, are able to engage in unnecessary risks, when they should be actually reducing or properly classifying risks, will invariably lead to bad outcomes, of which the availability of that insurance, itself, has led to riskier behavior.  

Rigid moral precepts and proper judgment

For any society to function well there is a requirement that constructive rules, regulations, laws, and morals must be utilized, effectively.  The problem that so many modern societies have created is that they act as if they believe that the more laws, rules, and regulations that are legislated into existence and thereupon put into effect, the better that society will function and will be.  Unfortunately, if laws, rules, and regulations in and of themselves would or could transform mankind into something better, than the world that we live under would already be some sort of paradise, or approaching such, but sadly it is not.

So too, it just isn't possible to write laws, rules, and regulations in such a detailed and even handed manner, that those laws cover every single possible contingency and that the justice thereby rendered from those laws is always therefore just and fair -- simply by following the rules of the road so agreed upon.  That is why, legislated statues such as "three strikes," in which the third time that a particular person commits a certain "serious violent felony" in conjunction with having two other convictions, of which one of those has been defined as a serious violent felony, thereby mandating life imprisonment, cannot possibly be just or fair, because it does not take into account, that all crime, no matter how similar or mundane, has its own peculiar circumstances that precludes such from harsh cookie-cutter judgments with no wiggle room, whatsoever.  Additionally, this is why "mandatory minimums", in and of themselves, are a very poor excuse as well as being very poor justice to enact upon people, because what is not apparently taken into consideration is the pertinent information that is not only germane to the case, but also the fact that each case has its own mitigating circumstances, and thereby to legislate that certain offenses must always be subject to a mandated minimum is therefore a gross injustice.

Those that are simple minded or act as such, and do not like to think, appreciate simple solutions that anyone can follow in which by adhering to some sort of preset justice chart, justice will be rendered in a swift and certain way, but that is not justice; it is at best, following rigid moral or legal precepts, without availing oneself of one's brain and thereby failing to properly use discretion and proper judgment.

Those that do not like to think, are the very same people that desire to follow rigid rules and regulations, perhaps because they like order, or consistency within their own life.  On the other hand, those that like to think, are appalled at any institution that simply indoctrinates people in a manner in which certain things have to be done in certain ways, because those thinking people, know that they are far greater beings than being wrongly classified as simple automatons, for they are quite cognizant of having been gifted with a free will and a free mind, and that gift, necessitates the proper usage of judgment, which is best demonstrated in those situations in which it really matters, such as in a court of law, or the important day-to-day interactions that people have with one another.

The superrich and their superrich luxury boxes

The superrich are completely different than the average American.  In fact, it can be said, that the superrich are completely different from the mere rich, for the superrich live within a construct that separates them as a class from the people, for their own prudent protection, of which this is by their own volition and by their preference.   

The sporting industry is a very big business in America, and it is a basic truism that the owners of these teams, actually don't even care about the sport, itself.  Rather, what they care about is making even more money and/or using the ownership of sporting teams as a means to protect and to augment their assets.  What also matters to these sports owners is being able to provide to their clients an appropriate atmosphere for those business contacts and associates that will match well their high expectations and desires, of which, those expectations would include being properly served by obsequious personnel as well as not being interrupted or having to deal with people of the wrong social or business class.

This so means that the superrich aren't going to enter the stadium through the same entrance as your typical fan, they aren't going to be searched, they aren't going to be touched, and they aren't going to be bothered.  Rather, they are going to have their own separate entrance, their own separate elevator, their own separate and exclusive luxury box, and all of this will come with all the accouterments that superrich people expect to have at their disposal.

While the average fan truly cares about the game and the result of the game, the superrich aren't really there to even watch the game, and while the superrich are competitive, they are first and foremost business people, that care only that their sporting investment and the decisions that they make are favorable for them, and what thereupon happens on the field is pretty much an irrelevancy.

The most disturbing fact isn't so much that these luxury boxes exist, though that clearly demonstrates the wide division between the average fan and those luxury box occupants, but instead it is the fact that so many of these stadiums and arenas are actually built with the taxpayers' money, of which, it is the taxpayers that are stuck paying the bill, but never being able to luxuriate in the facility, like the owners are able to.  To make matters even worse for taxpayers and tax collectors, the owners and occupants of these luxury boxes, are able in most cases to write off monies spent as being business entertainment expenses or categories of this sort, whereas the fan, isn't able to write off anything.

Why so many communities, towns, and cities, use taxpayer monies to build stadiums and arenas for superrich owners that can actually afford to on their own to pay for or find the financing for to build their own, is well-nigh incomprehensible; but typical for the way business is so often constructed in America, for the superrich are experts at using other people's money and other people's labor and other people's ideas, to their exclusive advantage, so that they can live their very best life, at everyone else's expense.

Few employers are prosecuted for hiring illegal aliens

In America, it is always about the money and the power structure, whereas on the other hand, it is seldom about justice and fairness.  There is an awful lot of talk in America about illegal immigration, in which some people of this nation spend inordinate amounts of time decrying all of the illegal aliens that have invaded our sovereign land, and demand thereby that something be done about it.  When you have, as estimated by Pew Research Center, as of 2016, 10.6 million undocumented immigrants in America, quite clearly, something fundamentally is going on, that demands a reasoned explanation.

In point of fact, the real reason why there are so many illegal aliens in America, has absolutely everything to do with the employers of such, desiring to employ illegal aliens of which at best, they do so, because they are unable to find documented workers, that will work competently under the same wages and conditions; and at worse, the real reason is for outright exploitation, so as to increase their profits at the expense of illegal aliens deliberately exploited out of their sweat labor for the benefit of those so employing them.

It is unfathomable, why so much time and energy is wasted rounding up illegal aliens, as if America is just now discovering them, when they have been amongst us for generations.  Additionally, it's disingenuous to believe that America as it stands right now, can't secure their border with the very resources that they have currently have, unless there is an explicit acknowledgment that some of those securing those borders are essentially in on the game and thereby personally benefiting from those crossing it.

But all of this is really to miss seeing the forest for the trees, because America would not be a destination and a beacon for illegal aliens to try to attempt to cross into, unless there were jobs available for them, that would gainfully employed them, as well as there being real genuine opportunity for those willing to work hard in America.  Further to the point, America is a capitalistic society, in which, the cost of labor is almost always a very meaningful cost in regards to whether a given company is profitable or not, and if profitable, how much it is profitable. Even more to the point, America is competitive, so that, those that are in competition with one other recognize that their growth is dependent upon that profitability, and therefore having lower yet reliable labor costs is quite germane to the success of their business model.

So too, even on a small scale, being able to avail oneself of labor that is not legal, and therefore has limited legal resources to appeal against labor violations as well as personal violations of all stripes, is exploitable by just about anyone that is legal.  So then, the real reason why so many employers are hiding in plain sight in regards to their illegal aliens working for them, and are with the exception of a few well publicized raids, left alone, is that these forces combined are a powerful political force, that will not sacrifice their money to have their labor taken from them, and all the rhetoric in Washington or wherever, isn't going to change a thing, because money and connections make very sure that nothing ever changes, and therefore this is why there are millions of illegal aliens in America, often exploited, and why the employers of them are pretty much untouchable.

Spirit is the only true reality

There are so many people that believe that everything that they see and that everything that they touch, and that everything that is happening all around of them is an absolute reality.  To those people that believe in this material world as being an absolute reality, this belief is so obvious, that therefore all those that don't believe that this material form is the only reality, must be obtuse, stupid, or just plain fools.

The thing about material reality is that it isn't as real as our senses perceive.  For instance, something as solid as a brick, is not in actuality all that solid, for given enough time, the very elements that make up a brick, will eventually but inexorably disintegrate, for all material matter, no matter its size and grandeur are not stable for eternity, and never will be. 

Additionally, the dreams that we have in our mind, when we are sleeping, appear to be reality to those that are dreaming them, but upon the consciousness awakening, our minds perceive such as merely being dreams.  This dream state should be our first clue that all that we perceive cannot possibly be real, for our perceptions come from our mind itself, and that mind through those dreams, is indicative that the mind is not subject to space and time limitations, and because that is true, it therefore follows that the very things that so many of us are absolutely convinced of as being real, are in all probability, transient and illusory, though they appear to be real to those senses that we most often utilize.

In point of fact, the only possible reality is a reality that is eternal, that has therefore no beginning and subsequently has no end; for those things that did not first exist, are by definition, transitory illusions, and those things and attributes that have always existed, are by definition, spirit and reality.  Our spirit is our only reality, and because of that spirit, we can experience other dimensions for our own amusement, for our own testing, and for our own adventures, knowing that at the end of such, we will return to being all that we were in the beginning; for just as water can take on a multitude of shapes and forms, such as ice, liquid, and mist, it is in its essence, always maintaining the same chemical composition of water.

The frustration that so many feel on this material plane is so often cause by those that exclusively try to find satisfaction and happiness in this transitory material world, in which worldly things are forever changing, of which the life cycle and eventually decay and destruction of the physical form cannot ever be stymied, for the physical within this material world is finite, and ever will be.  Those that get so caught up in their physicality, stressing that all is so real that they experience, in regards to things such as pain and happiness, as well as feelings such as love and hate, are caught up within a construct that they believe to be real, because it feels real to them; not seeming to comprehend, that the physical is merely temporarily housing the mind and the spirit, and that those that are enraptured by their physical senses, have willfully lost sight of their spirit, and therefore have lost sight of the only true reality, leaving them  bereft until such time as they truly wake up.

The return of company towns

Back in the heyday of the industrial age, company towns as well as company scrip were created in small communities that essentially were built around one industry, such as coal mining, with those laboring at these mines, getting paid often in company scrip which could only be utilized to pay rent, and to buy all of their household goods from the company that effectively own all the land and ran all the stores.  This does mean that those laboring within those mines were stuck within a construct in which they could never ever escape from being exploited and thereby utilized up until the day that they passed away.  So too, within those company towns of which there was just one main corporate employer, it wasn't necessary that the company use company scrip to pay their employees, mainly because they were such an outsized influence upon that community that the justice, policing, and taxing within that community were always performed in accordance with the company desires.

While for the most part, company towns don't now exist, though there are still small communities in which one employer has an outsized influence upon that town; the new company town is almost exclusively one that for those that aren't paying a lot of attention to is located within the hi-technology sphere.  That is to say, there are hi-tech companies that make it their point to provide to their employees, food, entertainment, exercise facilities, healthcare, daycare, and even sleeping pods.  While to the uninitiated, this might seem to be an unmitigated joy, and it very well might be, for some people; it can, on the other hand, present to those working there, an insular existence, that distorts their view of the real world, by providing them an artificial world in which all of their needs are met, never seeming to recognize that the reason behind why the company is being so accommodating may not quite be as benign as such an appearance so seems.

There are cult like religions, of which, those that enter into it voluntarily, later, find out that it is extremely difficult to extricate themselves, should they become disengaged; so too, these hi-tech companies are, in their own way, selling their own cult like existence, and are especially gifted in getting those that are employed there, especially the impressionable young, to believe that they are invaluable and special.  The thing about cages and enclosures, is that some of these cages and enclosures may well be created to be very pleasant, but they are, at the end of day, still cages and enclosures, in which those that spend inordinate amounts of time with the same people, having the same mindset, with the same sort of goals, all for the betterment of the company and the company goals don't seem to recognize that they have become a very important cog into a machine, a machine which does not want to let them go, and because of that they have vacated their independence as well as their mind to that machine.

The thing is, when someone never takes a step outside to breathe in the outside air, as well as to take in the world as it really is, but are instead living within a pleasant construct that supposedly provides them with everything that they really need, they have effectively sold their soul to the company; so that they then have sold their very essence which is priceless, for a price.

The CIA Assassination manual

This government creates all sorts of documentation and has all sorts of rules and regulations, and because America insists upon being the world's policeman, then it so follows, that there must be written instructions about how to best police other countries, insurgencies, and so forth, all contained somewhere within that government and its agencies, of which, since the CIA is responsible for foreign intelligence, it would seem logical to conclude that a competent and comprehensive department such as the CIA, would have at least one manual dealing with the assassination of those that represent a clear and present danger to the United States, in one form or another.

Not too surprisingly, there are documents purported to be legitimate USA documents in which, one is circa 1953, and entitled "A Study of Assassination" and another was obtained by wikileaks.com entitled  "Best Practices in Counterinsurgency:  Marking High-value Targeting Operations an Effective Counterinsurgency Tool" dated from 2009.   Not only do these publications appear to be legitimate but the one dated from 2009, clearly shows at the top of the document that it is a publication of the Central Intelligence Agency.  In addition, as they say, where there is smoke, there is fire, so, no doubt, there are in all likelihood even more documents dealing specifically with the assassination of foreign targets, by the CIA.

Perhaps for some people, all of the above might seem legitimate, as well as necessary, so that they do not question the need for assassinations and thereby implicitly accept such as the prerogative of their government.  However, it must be recognized that the assassination of anyone or the deliberately harming of any target, by governmental forces so authorized by some national authority with the supposed power to legitimately do so, is questionable, at best, and morally wrong in virtually every possible case.  For, if any government decides on their own volition that they have the right to assassinate any foreign national, then they have taken as an irrelevancy any international agreements that they are party to and have simply ignored such, or twisted such, in a manner which permits such assassinations, to be justified, and unimpeachable by any international consortium of member countries.

Further to the point, any document that is created that specifically deals with how to target and kill someone or to assassinate someone is, by its creation, setting the foundation for its usage, by the very creation of such.  Additionally, those that are aware of how to best professionally conduct an assassination, and have hired specific people or devices to perform such assassinations, have thereby created assassins, in which, to believe that an assassin so created, is something that will be always controllable by that government, is misguided.

Rather, assassinations are a very dirty business, and should not be the legitimate business of any government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  This country, has, quite unfortunately, created departments and the personnel within those departments that utilize all sorts of legalese to justify what is assassination, by calling it by different names, such as the targeting of enemy belligerents, with the belief that this government has the right to do whatever it finds necessary to do to defend itself, by using whatever force that they so chose, including assassinations, and have apparently written manuals so as to instruct their personnel on how to do exactly that. 

All of this is true.

Postal mail and email are not the same when it comes to privacy and rights

The government through the United States Postal Service (USPS) delivers millions upon millions of letters and packages throughout the United States each business day, in which those letters and packages are subject to federal laws and regulations in regards to the right of the government to open up or to record the cover of letters and packages so shipped.  For the most part, this means that the average American can mail and receive letters and packages in which the contents of those letters and packages are not known and have not been copied or tampered with by the government. 

Then there is email, something that people in this modern world utilized routinely on a daily basis, and quite frankly, something that can have a treasure trove of private information discussed in regards to social security numbers, credit card numbers, names, birthdates, tax information, gossip, pictures, videos, and all sorts of information that most people believe is secure and private and that is specifically meant to be shared with one intended party to another.  However, the fundamental difference between email and USPS mail is that the former is pretty much under the control of the terms and conditions of that particular provider's email policies, in which those that utilize that email platform have implicitly agreed to, as opposed to the later being subject to federal laws and regulations.

This does mean that some email providers have not only the right to look at your email but actually make it their policy to do so, not so much because they desire to be "peeping Toms" into your private life, but rather so that they can scrub, analyze, and extract actionable data that is relevant for the creation of targeted ads, of which third party providers are desirous of providing.   That said, once an email is opened by any machine or human for that matter, even if such is done for the express purpose of marketing or advertising, it still exposes those that believe that their emails are private and secure to the very opposite of those things, of which, most people would not readily want that to be the case, though, for many email providers, that is actually the case, indeed.

One of the things that so many people forget, is that for the most part it is their responsibility to understand what they are signing up for, when they open up an email account, and if they are unhappy with the terms and conditions of such, to thereby find an alternative email provider, whose terms and conditions, for instance, explicitly protect the privacy and security of those communications.  Another thing to consider is that in this hi technology world, when programs and apps are provided to users so often at no charge, that there must therefore be some sort of catch, and that catch usually has a lot to do, with the provider having the right to build a profile on its users, by collecting and aggregating the users' information and thereupon selling it to third parties that have a desire for it.

It should be seen as disconcerting that one's "private" emails are actually being read by outside parties, but that is exactly what is happening in so many instances, today.

What footprints are you leaving behind for those to follow?

People learn in various ways, on which, one of the more common ways, is that they learn from imitation and from following the example of people that they admire, look up to, or respect.  This does mean that what we do on any given day has some sort of influence over others, and can have a considerable amount of influence upon certain people, especially if we are in positions of respect, power, and authority.  If we wonder why certain family members have similar traits, good as well as bad, such often comes from the emulation of one person to another, of which that emulation typically supersedes words of caution, or other words, that contradicts the actions so often seen.  This means, that many people learn from the actions and deeds of another, rather than mere words of advice, without that corresponding action, because we imitate what we see from those we respect, for better or for worse.

The things that we do on any given day, will invariably leave lasting footprints, of which the most lasting of those footprints are the ones that truly represent who and what we really are.  So too, every step that we take is in some sort of direction, of which, many a person will literally meander around aimlessly, whereas others will make continual circles, and still others, will go way off course and become hopelessly lost.  These then are our footprints, of which these are not only our responsibility for having taken those steps, but because we live within cultures and societies, a reflection of our contribution to that society.

If, more people were to consciously reflect upon their responsibility to live up to and to be the best that they can be per their abilities, then the footprints so left, by those people, would be far more purposeful.  That indeed is the mindset that more people need to adhere to, because the better and more true that our actions are, the better and more true other people's actions will therefore be, because so many learn so much from others.

Remember well, that it isn't just politeness that makes so many people give due credit to others, in regards to their success and achievements in life, for in many cases, those people so acknowledged, did indeed provide meaningful guidance and assistance, either directly or indirectly.   If, today, we shudder at the thought that someone is actually trying to emulate us, we ought to therefore know that our footsteps are clearly not right, for if it is just good for the goose, but not good for the gander, then the reality of it is it probably isn't good at all. 

It is important to understand, that in order to make the right and purposeful footsteps, a well developed and well reasoned plan must be foremost in our minds, and every step that we thereby take, should be a step in which we consciously acknowledge whether that step is taking us closer to where we need to be or taking us further away; and the more that we stay in tune and in harmony to what is purposeful and right, the truer will be our footsteps, and the better therefore will be our guidance for others that so follow our steps.