An activist court and the rule of law

The three branches of government in the United States are the Executive, Legislative, and the Judicial.  The Legislative branch is the branch that makes the laws in accordance with the highest law of this land, which is its Constitution.  The Executive branch is the branch that sees that the laws as propagated are executed faithfully throughout this land.  And the Judicial branch is that which interprets the laws so passed and propagated throughout this country.

While the Constitution itself, is a document that can be easily read within one hour, the laws so passed and enforced within this nation, including local, county, State, and Federal laws are typically so lengthy and so convoluted, that all of these laws so written probably could not be read within a ten year period, or perhaps even within a given person's lifetime.  Yet, in recognition that all laws passed must be in conformance with the Constitution of this land, and that this is the controlling document of this nation, it would seem to imply that judicial decisions should always take into fair consideration as to whether a particular law is actually Constitutional or not, to begin with.

Further to the point, since the Judicial branch is responsible for the interpretation of the laws so propagated within this nation, that Judicial branch must take their responsibility to be the bastion that more than any other branch, should stand up to those that are trying to add to or have accomplished adding on to their power, at the expense of the people.  In other words, power, is something that never seems to satiate certain people as well as certain organizations to the extent that they will not relent until they have all the power that they so desire, and that desire seems to be well-nigh insatiable.  If, then, the Judicial branch of this country will not take a principled stance against overwhelming power, especially when that power is held in the hands of the few and the privileged for the very benefit of the few and the privileged, then this country, despite its many laws, and despite its Constitution, will not stand for the very principles upon which it was founded.

This signifies that an activist court in all judicial affairs has its place, rather than the courts and judicial decisions being solely reactionary in their decisions.  In other words, time and time again, it is the judicial branch, that has risen up to the occasion, to make that principled stand that certain specific laws as enacted and enforced at the present time are wrong, and that there is a fair remedy to correct such.  After all, it is human tendency, even when unintentional, for well placed people to push and to augment their power, without necessarily consciously acknowledging such; especially when they have not taken into proper consideration that power that is concentrated into the hands of the few, is going to be highly susceptible to being abused, if it hasn't already been designed to be exactly that.

So then it must be acknowledged that the highest power in this land that stands against concentrated and arbitrary power is the Constitution, and the very people that understand that Constitution best, are primarily judicial, in which it is that judicial branch, that must thereby do its patriotic duty to preserve, to protect, and to defend that Constitution, against all enemies, foreign and domestic

Keeping the people down by the strategy of "divide and conquer"

In order for any country to be ruled by a special elite group of select people, that are not held accountable to all the relevant laws that are propagated to the people in whole, and to get away with such, necessitates strategic initiatives to protect and to augment the power of those elite people, against the population in whole.  First, quite obviously, those in power, are quick to make sure that the guns and policing force of the state are under their sure hands; for those with the guns at their beck and call, need not be overly worry about certain upsetting legislative acts so passed, or inconvenient judicial decisions so reached, if the implementation of any of these, are effectively stymied by the strength of the policing arm of the state.

So too, before it even gets to the point, where the people rise up in unity, to assert their unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; those repressive governments, make it their point to infiltrate into the people's business by placing agents within their groups, to monitor and then report all actionable information back to those corrupt rulers, as well as to threaten or to compromise such as is possible, or to provide bribes or their equivalency to those that lust for money, or, on the other hand, to assert immense pressure to fire those that are especially annoying from their jobs; while also, again and again, using every psychological strategy proven to be effective, to negate, to raise suspicions of, and to seed dissent within the ranks of those that are trying to unite under one grand purpose for the betterment of the people, as a whole.

That is to say, no group that is uniting for the betterment of the people is a group that has not already been infiltrated by dastardly agents of the state to do everything within their power to see that the group ends up not being effective in its stated mission.  Such an attack upon groups is done on a multi-front basis, of which one of the objectives is to successfully foment controversy and argument between the top leaders of these groups, so that, they effectively undercut one another; while another effective strategy, is to make sure that disparate elements that do not normally unite, become aware of that salient fact, by appealing to known historic racial stereotypes, to each person's country of origin, to their difference in language, or creed, or economic status, or their historical place in the pecking order.

All of this is of vital importance for those that are the rulers of the country, because being outnumbered, they know that they can never maintain their status in a country that is truly open and democratic, unless they fix the system to serve their purposes and divide those that can be divided, while bribing those that can be bribed, and compromising all those that can be compromised, so that each person sees themselves as individuals, and never as a group united under the flag of a noble purpose. 

This thus signifies that the only way that the people can truly have a government of, by, and for the people is for those people to be truthful and transparent one with another, in which, they stay focused upon their overriding objective and further that they have the courage to maintain the course, no matter the cost, because doing what is right, can never be bought, for it is above all, priceless.

Is there anything else that you would like to really say or talk about?

There are all sorts of conversations in this world, of which the most basic point of any good conversation is for each party to connect with the other, and thereby to impart information that is of meaning one to another.  While many conversations are relatively routine, it is important to note that just about any conversation, does have a purpose, and therefore it is important for that person initiating such, if not for both people, to see that the under-riding purpose of that conversation is actually attended to.

Somewhat surprisingly, people can have conversations that last a considerable amount of time, but within that conversation, never actually does it get around to the real issue at hand.  The reason that this is so, depends upon the personalities and circumstances of that conversation, but a lot of times this has a lot to do with the comfort level of one person to another, of which people, even people that know each other very well, are afraid of bringing up the real agenda or what is really on their mind, because they essentially fear the judgment of the other, or feel they might be exposed to looking stupid or even of being embarrassed.

That is why it is important in the art of conversation, to be open-minded and receptive to actually hearing and listening to the other person.  Additionally, there is the need to acknowledge the understanding that most people do not really need to be judged, more than they feel that they are already judged by others to begin with, but rather need and desire to have more support, empathy, and compassion from the other.  That is to say, those having characteristics that are non-judgmental or are not prone to little putdowns and other negative responses, are going to be, more times than not, a better person to communicate with, because most people are more comfortable with those that are more nurturing than those that are unnecessarily critical.

So too, people that have something to confess or wish to get something of importance off of their chest, are going to be more inclined to speak with someone that they trust and that have won their confidence in the fair belief that such a conversation will not be divulged to anyone else.  After all, those things that make us feel especially vulnerable are difficult to discuss with others, unless we are safely assured that such a conversation will remain confidential and discreet.

So then, there are those times, even between very close friends or family members, when a conversation is happening, in which, one party to the other, must ask of the other, as to whether there is anything else that they might like to say or talk about; and when asking that question, they must also give the responder an appropriate amount of time to actually think about such, because a significant amount of people, that have something really on their mind, debate internally, as to whether or not, it is really the time to bring that real subject matter up.  Those that ask that question, though, at the appropriate time, may well find, that the real conversation does thus start, and from there, the opportunity to be of real assistance thereby occurs.

Fiat justitia ruat caelum

The above Latin phrase when translated says:  "Let justice be done though the heavens fall."  While, this maxim is found in various courts of law, as well as upon the frame of paintings of various famous jurists, and the like, seldom are these words actually taken to heart, and even less so, seldom are they practiced in an actual court of law.

In life as in court, the true test of any genuine belief is whether or not the person expressing such or having the power to implement such has the integrity to actually do what should be done, especially when they are aware that in so doing, they may indeed make a real material impact upon a matter of real material importance.  Even more telling, are those times when people are prominently positioned, such as in a court of law, in which decisions so made, will directly or indirectly, make impact upon powerful people of powerful societies that will most certainly displease those powerful people.

Yet, the very reason why it appears that life is circular for mankind is fundamentally because when provided the opportunity again and again, to change what needs to be changed, mankind fails to do what needs to be done, because mankind lacks the courage and follow through to do exactly that.  There are very few people and very few societies that are willing to keep the faith, and to do what should be done, when their own safety, or their family's safety, or their nation's safety, or their reputation is put to the test in which they do not desire to risk that which means everything to them, even at the cost of compromising their own integrity.

To be just, when everyone around is unjust, is a very difficult thing to do.  To do the right thing, when everyone else is doing the wrong thing, is a very difficult thing to do.  Yet, when we are unjust and when we are wrong, we are not progressing mankind, rather we are hindering mankind, for that which is unjust and wrong, is not just and is not right. This signifies that all those that ought to know better but still insist upon doing that which is not right, for expediency purposes, or in the false belief, that just this one injustice, won't a habit make, are false to their own self.

When we find that a given country, or a given society, or a given person, consciously chooses not to be just, the end result will never be justice, but rather it will always be even more injustice.  The very choices that each of us make, day by day, define who and what we really are, and every time we turn our back upon justice, in order, for example, to benefit our own self, or to cheat the system, or because we fear this or that, we have written in stone as to what we truly are.

If it must be so, then let the heavens fall, for we can never possibly hope to break through what needs to be broken through, until we actually face squarely what needs to be faced.  In doing so, we might just find that rather than the heavens so falling, a great and illimitable light will shine upon us, for that which separates us from that Light is ever only our own personal darkness.

Non-lead bullets

Firearms are extremely lethal at what they are designed to do, but what many people are not quite aware of, is that the ammunition of the bullets used in a lot of firearms as well as other armaments, contains within its core, lead.  No doubt, lead is utilized because of its density and hardness which makes it quite effective in its power and why it is the inner core of most bullets; however, lead in the environment is very toxic to humans, and lead when used in armament ranges or the like, will over a period of time, begin to leak out and into the surrounding environment, in which such lead getting into wetlands and waterways is inimical to the health of humans.  So too, game that is killed with lead-based bullets can be detrimental to the health of humans that consume such because of this leakage, as well as lead debris in the wild, is a present danger for scavenger wildlife.

In consideration of all the armaments that currently utilize lead based bullets, and the sheer number of bullets as well as other armaments fired each and every day, the amount of unnecessary lead in the environment is not beneficial to that environment or to humans.  So too, a novel attorney, might be able to bring forth a successful lawsuit, even in a case in which a shooting of another human being was justified, by successfully arguing that the shooter did not have the inherent right to "poison" the victim by shooting into the body of another a substance that is extremely toxic to the body.

In any event, the construction of bullets without lead has been successfully done in other countries, and even States such as California, have banned leaded bullets in regards to the hunting of wildlife.  Further to the point, while there once was a time when the gasoline of choice was lead, this was completed phased out for on-road vehicles by 1996, with no ill effects upon the usage of vehicles, and a quite obvious benefit to the environment and to the health of humans.

While there are many that decry the sheer amount of firearms in America, and additionally, wish to see some sort of robust gun control so passed, what has not been considered so much is the ammunition that is being discharged as being seen as a dangerous pollutant and therefore the necessity of regulating such as a pollutant for being a menace to society at large. So then, this signifies that civil society should desire to see the regulation of ammunition handled proactively by and thereby regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Again, it cannot be emphasized highly enough, that lead is a very toxic and a very dangerous substance to humans as well as to animals and to the environment, whether we are exposed to it directly or indirectly, and the fact that today's bullets as well as other munitions still have at their core, this dangerous element, should not be; and therefore it must be phased out, for the safety and for the good of our society, of which, ready alternatives to lead-based ammunition and armaments are freely available.

Banking as a public utility

In America, citizens are provided the opportunity to bank, or not, with whatever institution that so suits them, of which, they are able to thereby utilize internet banks, credit unions, regional banks or interstate banks for their banking needs.  Whereas, there use to be governmental restrictions, that limited banks to doing business only within one particular State, that restriction was lifted in 1997, and this then is the very reason that, through mergers, acquisitions, consolidation, and growth, that the four biggest banks headquartered in America, as reported by thebalance.com, are "…reportedly holding 45 percent of deposits in the United States."

This concentration of deposits into so few hands is both good news as well as bad news, for those that utilize and that deal with these banks.  The good news is that when so much capital is concentrated into just four behemoth corporations, it becomes a lot easier to justify passing a national governmental comprehensive banking law, which will have the effect to regulate and to nationalize these biggest banks into a public utility, since their influence upon the nation has such massive implications, and to nationalize such would thereby help to stabilize and to protect the economy.  The bad news is that by virtue of their considerable size and the power of these banks, that these banks will do everything within their power to preclude, co-opt and prevent the nationalization of these institutions.

Yet, the Constitution of this country, gives the specific power to Congress that they are "… To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof…" as opposed to some other entity.  Further, to the point, this nation has public utilities of all types in regards to things such as our natural gas and electricity, our water, our sewage, our street lights, and so on and so forth.  The reason that these are public utilities is because they are essential necessities for the public at large that should not be in the hands of unregulated for-profit companies that could thereby squeeze the public for every dollar in their pocket for those utilities which are part and parcel of what is needed to live a decent life. 

This signifies that something as important as the coin of the realm, of which monetary transactions, whether done with physical dollar bills, checks, or through the internet, should be a public utility; especially in consideration that the stability and thereby the value of the dollar, is of upmost importance for the subsequent savings and investment by businesses and the public, at large.  When on the other hand, the coin of the realm, is controlled by for-profit enterprises, that somehow have been designated by governmental forces that they are "too big to fail", then the cardinal error so being made, when a government will not permit dysfunctional businesses to rightly go out of business, is that they must thereby be nationalized and hence become a public benefit to the people as a public utility.

It is hard to argue against something as important as the national currency and the banking of it, not being a public utility, regulated and run by the national government, for the well-being of the people, of which, that government would have a vested interest in seeing that such a public utility would serve the public weal; rather than the current situation in which specific segments of the public are far too often, exploited by these banks for their private benefit.

The legacy of slavery must be rectified

There are very few people that believe in the present age that it is right and ethical to forcefully steal people from another sovereign nation, and thereby to trade and to sell those people into a foreign land, of which the buyers of such are given the inviolable right to deal with these bought human beings as their chattel slaves, and to thereby do whatever that they want with them, as if they were not human, and were instead, nothing but their personal property , own by, and in the complete control of their new masters.

Yet, these are the very circumstances of what happened previously in the United States of America, as well as other western nations and islands, that took what was not theirs to own, and thereby owned these people, as their own personal property to do with them as they so wished.    But, as in many cases, the times will and do change, so that which is built upon a foundation of greed, incivility, cruelty, injustice and inequality will ultimately come crashing down, for that which is wrong, does not ever, and will not ever, stand the true test of time.

The fact that it took a bloody and lengthy civil war to correct what had to be corrected in the United States was the beginning of the freedom so deserved for those formerly oppressed, but the mere governmental issuance of freedom, as well as those additional Constitutional rights later ratified to augment and protect such, does not mean a whole lot when those laws are not enforced to rightly protect those that these laws were expressly passed for.  Further to the point, to not take properly into account that those that have and own nothing, and are in a high percentage of such cases, illiterate or functionally illiterate, and that cannot count on the governmental infrastructure to assert their rights as equal citizens that are entitled to a fair opportunity to make something of their lives, cannot be considered to be truly free.

That is to say, to free people from their former enslavement, that are not natives to the country that they now see as their home, and to provide them with no fair opportunity to subsequently make a living, or to hold onto or to own land, as well as to permit those that formerly enslaved them, to still have control of local politics, local justice, and local application of such, means that those that have been freed, are not really free, but are trapped within a construct in which they have been promised much but delivered very little.

This thus signifies that to say to anyone that has formerly been enslaved, that they are now freed, but to not follow up and see that they have the proper accouterments, support, and groundwork to effectively be free agents; is to have basically provided a good ship to a people without any proper sailing equipment or even a rudder, which thereby means such ship will drift wherever the wind shall take it, which could easily mean the missing of a good harbor of a land that holds promise, and instead into its dangerous shoals.

So that, those that have stolen the freedom from another, need as a people and as a nation, to recognize that the mere unshackling of chains, does not and will not complete the job of providing freedom, but is rather, just the very first necessary step in doing so.

Government and the privatization of governmental services

There is a belief held by many people, that private enterprise, because it is incentivized via the profit agenda, are a far more efficient way to take care of tasks that previously were the domain of governmental agencies.  So then, there are some governmental tasks as in prisons, schools, military support, and utilities that have subsequently been outsourced to private companies, with varying degrees of success and failure.

On the surface, it does indeed seem to make sense, that those that have "skin in the game", by virtue of the fact that their profit and the sustainability of their business depends upon providing their service in a cost-efficient and effective way seems logical and sound. However, this is belied by the very fact, that profits are the siphoning off of what could be the public's money, into the hands of private enterprise.  Further to the point, and of upmost importance, is that when governmental functions are transferred to profit making enterprises, we often find that the very first thing that these private companies take a real good look at, is their expenses, and how therefore they can reduce such so as to aid their bottom line.  If, this thus means, that in prisons, for example, that nutritional food is replaced with cheaper and unhealthy alternatives, that heating and the cooling of the facility is changed so as to reduce energy expenditure at the expense of those so incarcerated, or that prison personnel are reduced in order to cut down on labor costs, or that medical needs and medicines are regulated in a manner that hurts those that have a legitimate need of such, that therefore signifies that the service so being provided by private enterprise is not equivalent to that which it replaced. 

Additionally, when roadwork is done, in which inferior materials are utilized to make, replace, or fix roads, which will not stand the test of time, but in the short term will appear to be just fine, then those that have used inferior grade products have increased their profit at the expense of the safety of the general public.  In fact, again and again, when private companies are allowed to do what formerly was done by governmental services, often their lust for profit, will force their hand in so many ways, that even those companies with the best of intentions, will find that they cannot resist doing things that will boost their profit at the expense of good service.

While there isn't any doubt, that private enterprise can be very, very good at achieving notable success in many areas of business, even in those fields, that the government has historically run; it must be noted that any time a business, is placed into a position in which doing the right thing, is up against making that necessary profit, the greed for money, more times than not, wins out.  That is why, the only possible way to permit private enterprise to operate that which was previously governmental functions, is to regulate those private companies in a manner in which certain standards are maintained and achieved, and penalties so imposed for failure to adhere to such.

So too, it must be recognized that governmental services are created in order to act for the public good and for the social weal; whereas, for-profit private enterprise, operates in order to make money, above all; and hence seldom is fully aligned with the public good or the social weal, but rather private enterprise, is all about primarily satisfying their stockholders and executives, which often time means, private money over the social good.

The wages of labor in the aftermath of World War II

In a war, that demanded sacrifices from the American people in order for our troops and thereby the Allies to become victorious over the Axis forces, certain governmental laws were put into place to help effect such.  It would seem that the intent of those laws was for the greater good of America, but in reality, the result of some of these laws, was in many aspects, the cheating of a fair wage for those that labored, and thereby more profit for those industries employing such.

For instance, the Stabilization Act of 1942 was enacted in October 2, 1942, so as to fix wages and salaries in order to preclude inflation during the World War.  This meant in effect, that unions would no longer be able to negotiate for greater wages for their employees, nor would they be permitted to strike for such wage increases, but rather would have to settle for the pay that they were earning per the conditions of the Stabilization Act of 1942.

Not too surprisingly, in light of the fact that the Allies won the war, and that those that labored worked very hard and for long hours under stressful conditions and stagnant wages, all this good work was done in anticipation, that now that the world was safe for democracy -- that such a world would thereby require plenty of additional labor and work to rebuild what had been destroyed worldwide during that destructive war, and that America was well positioned to be the preeminent exporter of those goods and services, bar none.  So that those that had been denied the benefits of union power, turned back to that power in order to receive what was their just due.

Unfortunately, a significant swath of those corporations, that were plenty busy during the war years, preferred to take the stance, that rather than share the good profits and growth to come, that they would not give in to labor and their wage demands, and hence strikes were initiated by petroleum workers, automobile workers, electrical workers, meatpackers, steel workers, and coal miners, in order to get what they had been denied during those war years, so as to be able to provide for their family and their future.

The labor strikes were effective, so effective in fact that the government threatened to seize the railroads and to utilize the army as strikebreakers in order to get the railroad workers to come to heel, which they subsequently did.  So too, the congressional elections of 1946, changed the makeup of the Congress, so that they were able to thereby pass the Taft-Hartley Act which struck directly at the power of unions, in order for the government to have more power to control and to eviscerate the strength of unions, all essentially for the benefit of corporate power and corporate profits at the expense of the laboring class.

While labor unions, would continue to grow in numbers as well as in the percentage of the workforce so utilized, that was far more of a function of the aftermath of World War II, which was an era of strong economic growth and thereby vast economic benefits, but when that economic growth subsequently slowed down, it was the labor class that suffered the ill effects of such, for corporations recognized that offshore operations would allow them to utilize foreign labor at a much lower expense, thereby providing them with a far greater profit, and domestic unions had not the power to stop them.

Multinational corporations and economic domination

The United States is home to a significant portion of the largest multinational corporations in the world, that thus do considerable business in countries outside its home territory, of which, the most basic definition of a multinational corporation, is provided by Wikipedia.org, "…if it derives 25% or more of its revenue from out-of-home-country operations," as well as it also can be defined as "a firm that owns and controls 51% of a foreign subsidiary."  In the scheme of things, there are not that many multinational corporations headquartered in America, in the sense of quantity, rather, there are a very few multinational corporations based in America that are gargantuan behemoths in the global economy and are typically  the most dominant players in their industry.

The reason that this matters, is that America is essentially a land that is in the business of doing business, and in recognition that there is a lot more business to be made and to have, outside of its own domestic borders, multinational corporations were created to take advantage of those opportunities, which they most definitely have done to a very considerable extent.  That is why we see that the market capitalizations of all the biggest corporations in America consist entirely of multinationals, with market capitalizations of these public stock multinationals reaching upwards to $1 trillion or thereabouts, and even beyond.

Not too surprisingly, money has a way of influencing public policy, so that what is good for those multinationals, is something that politicians throughout America, as well as the laws so passed, are going to, far more times than not, be demonstrated by strong support for those multinationals, even though many of these multinationals are exceedingly gifted in avoiding the payment of their fair share of corporate income taxes, as well as corporate property taxes, and basically are quite successful in avoiding carrying upon their bottom line, their fair amount of societal responsibility, all under the guise that since they employ so many people, that this, in and of itself, proves their worth.

Further to the point, sovereign countries throughout the world, have their own internal difficulties, whether that be their rule of law, civil war, poverty, mineral extraction, and so on and so forth, of which, multinationals, are wont to call on the military might of their own country, to protect and to augment their interests in those other countries, rightly or wrongly, so as to increase their revenues and corresponding profit.  That is to say, wars, or proxies to war, or interference, whether overt or covert, is part and parcel of what the United States does on behalf of its multinationals, for these multinationals are in their own right, powerful economic forces, that are able to exert such force onto principalities through the "big stick" that America so represents, and/or through the corruption of these other countries' political policies, by subverting such through economic deals, that benefit a very, very few, at the expense of the people of those respective nations.

All of the above, signifies, that to a very great extent, that America is primarily run not by its own people, through its democratic institutions, but rather it is actually governed to benefit, in particular, those multinational corporations, under the guise that profit for those multinationals, above all, is good for America, when, in fact, it's actually really only good for specifically those that are the elite of those multinationals.

Stop whining and start doing

It's fairly easy to complain about this or to complain about that, of which some of these complaints, most definitely have justification.  But what of it; for if simply complaining about something would resolve those very issues, than complaining would appear to be a very valid thing to do for just about anything that bothers us.  However, for the most part, complaining doesn't resolve much of anything, though, in fairness, bringing issues to light has its place, and has its time.  That said, unless such complaining is brought to the fore, in order to deal with the root of the issue in some sort of comprehensive and mature method, the mere act of complaining just isn’t going to typically resolve what is bothering or ailing a particular person.

So then, for those that perhaps complain too much, without ever seeming to get a resolution to what bothers them, perhaps it is time to look at another conceivable way to resolve the issue, which doesn't depend upon others, listening to us, and then obeying us, but rather is completely in our own control.  For instance, there is an awful lot to say about setting a good example for others to emulate, so that, the very act of doing the things that you wish were being done for you, by doing them for another, may by your actions, actually, sooner or later, get what you really want, in return.

That is to say, people learn from the actions and deeds from those that they most respect; in which, their hope is that by following suit in their own life, they too might have the type of respect and success of those that they emulate.  This thus means that we lead by example, and by that example, people that respect us or look up to us, are going to, more times than not, want to do something along the same lines, because they too want that same sort of respect. 

It thus follows, that the things that we want most to be done for us, are easier to achieve, if we first do those very things for other people, for if it is good enough for us to do for them, then it surely must be something worth them doing for us, as well.  Of course, no doubt, some people believe strongly that there are always going to be those that prefer to just receive the benefits of our good deeds and good actions, without any reciprocal action on their own part.  While that may well be true, it is also true to say that if we aren't willing to do the very things that we are expecting others to do for us, than perhaps what we desire and wish for is not nearly as reasonable and sound as we first surmised.

The bottom line is that unless whining and complaining is somehow producing the desired results from such an action; that it therefore behooves each one of us, to simply let that go, and prove by our own good actions and by our own good deeds, that behaving and doing things for others in the way that we think that they should be done, without our own complaining or whining about such, is going to ultimately produce a better and more productive result.

Money and wealth is created through hard work and diligence

As much as some of us might wish for us to be handed money, position, and power, without having to lift our own hand to do much of anything, this is never going to be sustainable, and certainly is not going to be healthy for societies and nations.  This thus signifies that while each of us may have legitimate needs, to thereby believe that somehow the state, or society, has an infinite supply of all that we may need is short-sighted and fundamentally flawed, for all of value that ever was, and ever will be, requires effort and work, and simply cannot be created out of mere wish fulfillment.

So then, societies are created with the members that make up that society, for the greater good of that society, of which, each of those good members are obligated to do their part to improve and to benefit that society, in which, this is successfully accomplished through education, the instilling of good values, hard work, teamwork, and throughput, by those very members.  So too, it must be said, that the fruits of that labor so being produced by a collection of individuals, are not often equally distributed throughout societies, but rather are unequal, for those through individual efforts that create more or earn more or do more, typically collect more than those that do not. 

Yet, this inequality is okay, for the more that is produced, the wealthier that society will ultimately be, and in fairness to all those that labor hard and increase that wealth, they should thus be rewarded with that which they have fairly earned.  However, to the degree in which enclaves are constructed in which some take advantage of their position, favoritism, connections and the like, to exploit others so as to benefit themselves at the expense of those others, as well as society at large, this necessitates, governmental protection and affirmative action for all those that have been denied a fair opportunity to better themselves.

Still, the answer to such, is seldom to simply take from one party and then to hand such to the other party, but rather, a far better and sustainable response is to see that those that have been previously denied opportunity, as well as the conditions that help to create good opportunity, must fairly be provided with the means and foundation to be more productive in the utilization and the development of their own minds and their subsequent skill sets. 

After all, countries and societies, become richer and wealthier, based on the diligence of their population, and not only just their hard work, but specifically, labor that is both focused and dedicated to the creation of that which has lasting and real value for the benefit of those that are members of that society.  So then, the purpose of any good governance, is to aid in the development of the conditions that will best aid in the creation of that wealth, engaging as much of the population as possible, and seeing that as many as possible are provided with the fair means to be not only truly self-sufficient and thereby to earn a living wage, but recognizes that it is the good cooperation between those peoples that helps to produce a greater prosperity for all of them.

You are responsible for yourself

Each of us is born with a need to be nurtured and loved by those that are our parents, of which we are dependent upon them for our sustenance.  There does come a time, though, when we are old enough, to take responsibility for our own self, of which some people, are quite adept at doing just that, whereas there are numerous others, that are slow to take the reins of what is essentially their own life.  In any event, while one can credit or blame their parents, or their circumstances, for this or that, the bottom line, is that the thoughts that we have and the corresponding decisions that we make which comes forth from the actions that we generate, are our responsibility, and something that each one us must own up to.

Further to the point, those that take on the responsibility for who and what they really are, and therefore take control of the trajectory of their life, in which they do so willingly with the foreknowledge that such demonstrates their social and personal responsibility, are often going to be far more effective in the achievement of those things that mean something to them.  On the other hand, those that hide from their inherent responsibility to stand up on their own two feet and thereby insist upon taking refuge behind their parents, or societal circumstances, or this or that, are merely putting off what cannot be put off, as if they actually aren't responsible for what they think, do, and say, though they are.

It is absolutely imperative, that children be taught, at a very young age, that they are responsible for their thoughts and corresponding actions, and it is the parental responsibility to do what they can in aiding their children in making good decisions that are well thought out and sensible.  So that, good habits begun at a young age are obviously going to be beneficial and fruitful for those that make these their attributes to live by; whereas bad habits and sorry excuses are going to be a barrier to those that wish to successfully become someone of merit and accomplishment.

All of the things that we think and do are our responsibility, and while there may indeed be relevant and pertinent circumstances that help explain why we thought this as opposed to that, and while we did this as opposed to that, it must always be recognized that the deeds so done, are done with our signature put upon it, and none other.  This thus signifies that the sooner that we recognize that we are what we think and accomplish, thereby signifying that we are indeed responsible for our own self, the sooner that we will realize that the harm and erroneous actions that we do, are harming our own self in particular and are detrimental to us as well as to others.

We are responsible for our own self, and while there are others, that may indeed strongly influence us, for better or for worse, as to what we say and do, those words that we speak are our words, and those actions that we take, are our actions.   This thus means that the only one that can fairly answer for our own self is us, and we ought to want to have the right answer, and have performed in a noble manner, for we stand or fall depending upon those very things.

Civilization requires commitment

Most everyone lives in some semblance of what is known as civilization, in which the very principle point of that civilization is for its people to voluntary gather together into one body politic, in order to create the rules, regulations, and commitments that are required by those people so as to effect prosperity, safety, and liberty, for those people.  What we then find is that some of those people will be wonderful and productive members of that civilization, doing far more than asked or required of them, whereas many will do about what is expected of them, and then there are those that don't carry their own weight, for whatever reason, justified or not, and even worse, there are those few that actively work against the good of that civilization.

It is incumbent upon each member of that civilization, to understand their duty to that civilization, in the recognition that liberty, freedom, and choice, require a construct in which each member of that civilization, has an innate responsibility to be an integral part of that civilization and therefore has an obligation to do their part for their civilization; for without a stable and fair civilization, the freedom to pursue what one desires, falls apart.  Further to the point, civilizations are required therefore to have the power to assert its governance upon the people, so as to require them to each do their part to be members in good standing of that civilization, of which fines, penalties, restrictions, obligations, and taxation are part and parcel of what civilizations mandate from their people.

So that, to be born American, for example, does not, in and of itself actually make that person, truly American, though, far too many people, believe that this is so. Rather, a good American, is one that not only lives to the principles of what that country so represents, but fulfills their duty and commitment to that country by doing their part, to fulfill their fair obligations to that country, which may include, civil service duties, taxation, and a basic understanding of its Constitution.

This does not indicate that citizens should blindly follow the dictates of those that are their governmental representatives, without ever questioning that authority and its right to be obeyed; but rather it must be recognized that in a society in which the people have democratically elected representatives and the law is fairly and equally applied, that such represents a civil society that deserves their respect.  After all, a government, of, for, and by the people is thereby a government built upon a firm and true foundation, which necessitates that its citizens have real commitments to that governance in order to form a more perfect union, and to promote the general welfare of those people.

All of the above, indicates that each of us has a commitment to our civilization, and to believe that somehow some of us do not, or are unwilling to do our part, or cheat in that which we are obligated to do, are in effect, uncivilized; for either we are all equally in this civilization together, with obligations one to another, under the proper aegis of our government, or we are false to ourselves, and to our fellow countrymen.

True justice requires great wisdom

Any laws propagated upon the people, in which, that law as practiced, does not take into account that each and every case brought before the justice of the law, is unique and therefore has not only a story that must be told, but also entails circumstances that must be suitably divulged, will find it exceedingly problematic to come to a good and just decision, for that which does not take into account what fully needs to be taken into account, in order to render proper justice, is despite even good intentions, often unjust.

It is never easy to govern well, and certainly it is no easy task to render good justice, especially when those that are doing the judging, are dealing with, sometimes exclusively, a milieu of the people that they are not familiar with in the sense of having any true social commonality, in regards to the family structure, the education, the income, the habits, and other relevant conditions that influence how society perceives us, such as race, creed, and family reputation.

That is to say, when justice is being determined by any entity, that never has walked a mile in that other person's shoes, in which there are unequivocal fundamental differences between the one who is being judged as compared to the one who is doing the judging, then the justice so being determined, is going to have a very strong tendency to be wrong fully, or in some important aspect of it, unless the personage doing the judging is gifted in grasping the true and full comprehension of that which the judge has not ever experienced; for when the prism that views right and wrong, is incapable or handicapped greatly in the seeing of the world from the perspective of the person so being judged, it becomes quite difficult to be fair in that application of justice, even despite such an intent to do so.

This surely signifies that in every aspect of governance, including the laws and the application of law in the halls of justice, that the people that have been selected to be an integral part of that governance, must come from all walks of life, for all those others that are summarily precluded from being part of that governance, are effectively having their voices silenced, and a voice so silenced is indicative that the application of fair justice for all, is not part of that governance.

So then, as much as those at the top and are our leaders, might dismiss those that seem irrelevant and are often considered to be part of the problem; the truth of the matter is, that any fair and equal government, must see and relate to the people as they are, rather than pretend that they are something that they are not, and therefore must do its best to understand and to comprehend that all those that have nothing, and are denied fair and equal opportunity to be something, are not going to behave in a manner that is consistent with those that come from privilege, and have been privileged with everything.  This thus truly means, that true justice must always take into account, who and what really stands before them, for it they do not, that justice is more times than not, going to be flawed.

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable"

Surprisingly, this quotation, does not come from some second rate want-to-be revolutionary of a third-world country, but rather comes instead, almost incredibly, from President John F. Kennedy, in 1962.   Further, the thought so expressed by Kennedy, seems to be indicative that countries that will not allow its citizens to peacefully assemble, so as to reasonably petition their government for a redress of grievances should expect that the inevitable violent revolution will be the natural outcome from having oppressed the people's voice and having oppressed the people; often methodically done, so as to allow the ruling class to enjoy their very good life at the expense of those people.

So then, a vibrant and strong democracy, will as a matter of course, permit public dissent as part and parcel of its Constitution and of its values; for to not allow such, or to determine to silence or compromise such, and to do so in a manner, in which those that have reasonable viewpoints are not permitted a forum to express those viewpoints, but are instead, dealt with in a manner in which peaceful dissent is silenced or terminated, breeds the very seeds of what once was peaceful into something of disruption and violence.

For instance, America's own revolution was not peaceful, though it could have been; but Great Britain wanted to bring its America colonies to heel, and the colonists, reluctantly at first, but vigorously in time, would not submit to that imperial power, and by and by, the revolution was fought not just with words, but with bullets, blood, and bedlam.  So that, this violent American revolution, beget then, the republic that America so represents, culminating with the creation and ratification of its Constitution which represents the highest law of this land.

For any good society to survive as well as it to be of benefit for those people of that society, the voices and actions within that society must not be solely controlled by an elite and select group of people, that thereby set themselves up in a construct in which they are not subject to the very laws that apply to the balance of people.  So that, artificial control of any society, will inevitably fail, for what which is built upon injustice, unfairness, inequality and deceit, is an edifice that has been built upon a foundation of sand, and this will not ever stand the test of time.

So, despite the belief of those that appear to be so powerful, that none could ever take their power from them; they continually worry about that very thing, feeling an unease as to whether such an attack or assault will come from the inside or from the outside, in which therefore in order to ease their mind, they insist upon the control, monitoring, and infiltration of everything within that society.  This invariably means that in this artificial and double-dealing structure, that a peaceful and fair resolution with the people is not ever going to be conceivable or even possible, and hence those that have been denied everything, while being promised everything, will be absolutely determined that they will not be denied that which is their birthright, by that which never had the legitimate right to take such from them.

Towards a living wage

America's capitalistic society has proven that in so many aspects, to be a construct, in which the labor component of that industry is seen far too often as just an expense to the company, and in light of the fact, that reducing expenses, appears to be a fundamental objective of many of these companies, this thus signifies that many of America's finest and most powerful corporations are fixated on that mindset to reduce such expenditures.  Unfortunately, these corporations have been mightily successful in doing exactly that, so that the progress of the labor class, often led through collective action, as in unions, has been essentially eviscerated in recent times, and therefore it is left up to governmental agencies to step in and to help its own citizens, that are unable to find gainful employment at a wage high enough, to actually sustain their livelihood, without such material aid.

It seems a real shame that far too many America corporations have regressed so much, that they have forgotten that it was more than one hundred years ago, when the Ford Motor Company, in 1914, decided that it was worth more to that company to see that their employees were paid a living wage. Such a wage helped to maintain a motivated workforce, as well as helped the community, in addition to creating such a loyal workforce that even those assembly workers at Ford, would with the wages so earned, be able to afford and thereby buy a Ford Motor vehicle.  This signified that Ford Motor Company, without being compelled by governmental fiat, made the conscious decision that a living wage was fundamentally a principle that would be beneficial for that corporation as well being beneficial for those employees, and proved that this was indeed true, by becoming more productive in its output.

All corporations and employers of people should have within their business mindset, that the deliberate exploitation of human labor, so as to make more profit and thereby to pay more money and bonuses to those that are in the executive office, at the expense of the working man, because they have the power and force to do exactly that, should be sanctioned.  In point of fact, corporations should make it a principle within their business plan, that a sustainable and ethical business plan must be a policy that includes a living wage being so paid to all of their employees, and hence by doing so, can establish a abiding principle, that all that are integrally involved with that particular business, are entitled to earn enough income so as to become viable members of their society.

While there might well be a legitimate reason for establishing a minimum wage beneath that of a living wage, perhaps for those that are in training, or those that have skill sets that have not been developed enough, or are youthful or inexperienced; this does not so indicate that wages that are so low and hours that are so few, that thereby compels responsible people to juggle multiple jobs, and hence does not ever allow them to make a living, should be part and parcel of what this country represents.  Rather, it should be the objective of all corporations and employers, to gladly pay a living wage, because that should be seen not only as a duty that these corporations and employers have to their society, at large, but also should be seen as the apogee of true patriotism to that country of, by, and for the people.

Who should rightly pay when speculative bubbles burst?

The above question seems to be fairly easy to answer, for in fairness, those that create speculative bubbles and profit during the good times, should by all rights, be the same ones that should directly suffer when the bubble invariably bursts; but more times than not, that isn't the case, in reality.  For instance, all those questionable subprime mortgage loans primarily created in the 2006-2008 time-span, were put together into nice and neat packages to be sold as safe investments and were rated as such, to non-suspecting clients; but were, at the end of day, actually highly speculative, and destined to fail on a massive and catastrophic scale, in which those doing the biggest suffering were to a large extent, those that unwittingly bought them.

So too, anytime any industry, such as banks, are allowed to scale up in size so that they are thereby classified as "too big to fail" , in which then the government puts together a comprehensive program upon the backs of the taxpayers to salvage these banks from their egregious and greedy speculative bets gone horribly wrong, and to thereby make them whole, without proper punishment, or by holding them accountable for the damage that has been wrought upon society, and upon those that have fairly paid into the system, as its taxpayers, then surely that is a blatant injustice.

In truth, speculation good amok, is going to hurt somebody or some institution, and the people and institutions that should be most punished, are those that are the enablers and implementers of such.  Further to the point, checks and balances are the necessary force that needs to be utilized by the government and its appropriate agencies in order to keep those that allow their greed to get ahead of their common sense, to be put into their place, before the speculative frenzy ever takes place.  After all, in a capitalistic society, there is always going to be people and companies, that when allowed access to unduly speculate, are going to do exactly that, and more so, when they believe, that they will not subsequently have their feet held to the fire.

Again and again, those creating financial chaos, in which the taxpayers end up being the suckers in having to suffer for such, indicates that something is clearly fundamentally wrong.  What is especially galling is all those companies that pay inordinate amounts of bonuses or salaries when times are good, and then when the speculative crash comes, are not held accountable for those excess monies that were wrongly given out for overly risky plays, gone all so wrong, in which those monies were never appropriately returned or compensated to those unduly hurt by such, especially in consideration that they were improperly "earned", in the first place, by those that unsoundly speculated.

The reason that there is so much speculation in America has an awful lot to do with the fact that America is the largest economy in the world, while also having very liquid markets, as well as its monetary unit, being the de facto default currency for the world.  All this, encourages rogues to ply their trade, and when those creating speculative bubbles end up hurting the common man, they and not the common man, should have to pay dearly for having done so.

Debt peonage is enslavement

Much of the foundation of America was built upon the backs of slaves, as well as many others that were exploited so that some would become immensely wealthy and powerful at the expense of the people as a whole.  While slavery has been outlawed for a considerable amount of time in America, and while laws have in theory, banned imprisonment for monetary debt; in point of fact, America day-by-day, is regressing to a country of the few that own and rule everything, whereas the many, are either incarcerated, or left hopeless, or seemingly permanently in debt.

There are a lot of ways to control the masses, of which, the combination of the law as dictated by those elites that run the show, in conjunction with the boots on the ground that enforce such, is part and parcel of what is done in many developing countries around the world.  Because, America is in theory, a vibrant democracy, as well as the exemplar to the world, they must mask what is actually happening to the people by successfully selling the illusion that this is a country of freedom, opportunity, and liberty, of which those propagating such do a somewhat admirable job in that achievement, for many believe exactly that, even when their personal situation, belies such.

So then, the tricks of the trade as practiced in America, really comes down to using access to wages, income, and assets as a cudgel to keep the people in their place.  For instance, as unions for private enterprise in America have become eviscerated, those jobs are replaced with far inferior wages and weakened benefits that don't come close to providing the income and security needed for a middle class family to vibrantly exist, in which the carrot is always just in front of those employees, telling them that given enough time, and enough corresponding profit and market share, that their wages will improve, as long as they are sufficiently patient.  So too, the government insists that the good paying jobs, necessitate an education that is beyond free public schooling, and hence requires that individuals pay for their own higher education, out of their own pocket, of which, the monetary credit so extended to these credulous students is ever and ever higher, and the debt so created for that education, which may not even result in a graduate degree or a degree of any value, results in a staggering amount of debt to thus be carried, at a very young age.

So too, whereas it use to be, in order to get a loan, one had to prove that they had a steady job, and solid roots within their community; nowadays credit cards are issued to just about anyone, in which proof of income, seems to be an afterthought, of which those issuing the credit cards, have sophisticated models, in which, they are able to make an exceedingly handsome profit off of those high interest rates charged to their customers, when the cost of money for those providing that credit has never been lower; along with penalties, and fees so charged for those that violate their terms, in which the end result is that those receiving that credit, suffer greatly from that debt load, which never lightens.

The end result is that millions upon millions of Americans are greatly indebted, and hence are in debt peonage to those that own and control that debt, never to get ahead, never to actually own much of anything, and caught within a construct in which they are perpetually chained to those that are their masters, who essentially own them and their labor, which enriches and continues to empower them at the debtors' expense.

That which is not yours, is not yours to control

Life, for most people, contains a significant amount of frustration and disappointment; in particular, to those important things that will not conform to our desires and needs at that time and place. For instance, we are nonplussed when we are nice and considerate to someone that is our friend, in which we do not receive the same sort of reciprocal response in return.  Further, our patience often wears thin, when other people do not appear to react in a way that is either logical or consistent to our viewpoint, and hence we have to change our direction in order to accommodate their needless and apparent mistake.    Again and again, people that we know, as well as our interplay with various elements of society seems to constantly entail interactions that do not go to plan, and certainly do not conform to what we believe should be happening in the here and now.

Not too surprisingly, in a construct in which we are constantly disappointed in our fellow compatriots, and in which that society seems, in general, to be in error, or clueless, we develop a habit of feeling disappointment and the frustration that thereby comes upon us by virtue of our desires and needs being thwarted again and again.  Yet, this should really not be all that unexpected, because in a world in which each of us is created with free will, and in which each of us has different needs and different desires, and where many of us come from backgrounds that can be quite fundamentally different, than the outcome of all of this when each of us meets in our social interactions, is going to be something far less than harmonious, especially when each individual believes that they should be the master controller of all that is happening around and to them.

It must therefore be recognized, that the only real things that we can control are those things which are entirely of our own making, as well as recognizing the correlating thought that it is only our reactions and thoughts to what is occurring in and around us that are actually in our control.  This thus means that rather than being upset that what is happening, is not happening per our desires and preferences, we must let go of our frustration and anger, to resolve instead to find the common ground, that allows us to function in a manner in which our connection to others is beneficial for all that are intertwined.

That is to say, the belief that things should be our way, only because we want things to be our way, is a mindset that is neither positive nor successfully resolves a thing.  Rather, it must be acknowledged that first the change that we wish to have in this world, must start with our own self, and thereupon to the degree that we can engage others in a conversation that involves a true meeting of the minds, change is initiated.  Thereby, by understanding the other better, this becomes more conducive towards building a coalition of both commonality and purpose, for when two or more are joined together, especially for a cause or purpose that is worthwhile, then we are on the right road of human progress, and no longer stymied by the blindness of our selfish ego.