The ultimate union

People search for love and meaning in all sorts of places, activities, and things, as well as in their relationship and their interaction with their fellow human beings.   Some of those people, for instance, do find that love and meaning through the uniting of their cause with something that matches their calling, or some find it with their love of spouse and family, or some through their love of country, and some through the meaning of the work that they so do.  Still, there are many people that don't really find any of those things to be completely satisfactory; or, find that within that union of love for job, or family, or activity, that though there is much good in such, they also find disappointment, loss, hurt, and even rejection.  Further there are those, that aren't able to find much of anything in this world that provides them with any lasting happiness or meaning.  In short, many people want to love and to be loved, and want to find meaning and real purpose in life, but are not fully successful in such.

It isn't so much that people are searching for that love and meaning in all of the wrong places, but rather it is that the characteristics of that of which we desire to unite with, is typically itself, imperfect; and in consideration that we too are imperfect, this often results thereby in the frustration of mankind's best laid plans, not coming to that desired fruition, thereof.  This signifies, that the fundamental flaw with one's desire to unite fully with someone else or to some cause, is the fact that our aim in such, is not as high as it really should and ought to be.  In other words, there is only one being that is perfect, inerrant, omniscient, and immutable, and that is God.

This indicates that those that are sincerely searching for truth, love, and meaning, need to direct their eyes upon the prize that is beyond all other prizes, and therefore through that unity with that one prize they will thereby end all of their sorrows.  Yet, so many people though professing their love or appreciation of God, are reluctant to wholeheartedly actually demonstrate in their thoughts and in their actions their adherence to what that so entails; perhaps because they are too enchanted in this present world with one thing or another, or devoted, or enthralled, or loyal, or addicted to such; and thereby have no desire to let go of that of which they already have in order to find that lasting union that will bring peace and wholeness. 

It isn't that our love for one another or our devotion to this or that is necessarily wrong or misguided, for in truth, that which is beneficial for one another, as well as those activities so done for the benefit of mankind are right, necessary, and good.  Rather, as good as this may be, it is incorrect to see such as the end of the story, but rather this should more properly be seen as the pathway that thereby provides the impetus for our enlightenment so that we will subsequently find our way to our unification with that which actuated us in the first place, and who has been patiently awaiting since then for our triumphant return.

Justice is not served by bribes

Justice should be about telling "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," and that truth telling should apply to both sides of the law, so that true justice can therefore be rendered.  One can guess that it almost goes without saying that the defendant in a criminal case, along with witnesses selected for the defense, are probably not going to tell the whole truth.  However, it must be said, that the prosecution side typically does not disclose the whole truth, itself; and the prosecution, is specifically suppose to represent not only the state, as well as the people, but also fair justice, applied.

In regards to the prosecution, the most problematic part of their truth telling often comes down quite tellingly to the real motivation of some of the witnesses so presented.  For instance, any testimony in which the person testifying has been explicitly or implicitly threatened by the prosecution, then such testimony as that, is surely not the whole truth, but rather something that has been coerced or coached, or both.  Additionally, those that testify in which as a condition of their testimony they will receive leniency so as to preclude incarceration, or the length of such, or the threat of such occurring, are obviously going to testify in a manner in which they are going to say what they say that favors their own personal interests in conjunction with those that they are obviously beholden to.  Finally, there are plenty of people that are provided with monetary funds from the government or its authorized agencies or personnel in one form or another, in order to entrap, corrupt, instigate, inform, or anything else along that same some of line, so as to get the desired ultimate result, which clearly cannot conceivably be: justice.

While the United States judicial system prides itself that it never bribes anyone in any way, at any time, the fact of the matter is, that the United States does exactly that, in far more cases than it so desires to own up to; for every time that testimony is purchased on behalf of favoritism so shown to a particular person so as to produce that necessary testimony, that is, in essence, bribery.  Additionally, in a fair judicial system, all deals so agreed to with witnesses for the prosecution, should be transparent as well as being fully vetted and thereby disclosed to the other side, along with such being disclosed to the jury, so that such testimony can thereby be appropriately weighed, or alternatively to that, such testimony which has been purchased, directly or indirectly, in order to assist the prosecution, should be subject to an outright ban.

After all, people that are employed, are paid for their work; and all those in the judicial system that are paid in one form or another, for their work, or for their work to come, are going to, typically, do what they need to do in order to justify having been paid.  So, it can be said, that all the games that prosecutors play, in order to secure a conviction, of which the prevailing attitude is often one of whatever it takes to get that conviction, is never going to be justice served, but rather will always be justice denied.

The truth behind no layoffs

There is a subsection of companies that are only too proud to point out that they have never had a layoff within their corporate history, and of which, in an era of which good job security is seemingly at new lows, this policy of having no layoffs is definitely something that rightly deserves appreciation as demonstrating good stewardship and good corporate policy. Yet, nevertheless, this also deserves to be rightly scrutinized, just to make sure that all that needs to be known, is so known, and is thereby transparent to the public eye.

That is to say, the simplistic definition of a no layoff policy for most people is pretty much, that nobody gets laid off; but the reality of the situation has far more layers of investigation to it.  For instance, some companies typically hire a significant portion of those that work for them, not as direct employees to the company, but rather through a recognized temporary agency, that places these "temp employees" on a "needs" basis with them.  Further to the point, these temporary employees are not part of the payroll of the subject company, but are instead paid by the temporary agency that so placed them; signifying that these are not direct employees of said corporation, so that when a temp employee is subsequently let go, or basically laid off, so to speak, they are not categorized as have been a direct employee of that corporation, thereby meaning that they are not part and parcel of anyone having been laid off by that company, even though from an individual standpoint, they have lost their job, just the same as someone that was officially laid off.

Additionally, there are those that work with corporations, as subcontractors to that corporation, of which that corporation is represented as being the contractor, and therefore these subcontractor workers are, by definition, not direct employees of the company that contracted them, but rather are direct or even are temp employees of the subcontractor.  Therefore, when a given subcontractor loses their subcontracted job with the contractor, or has that work reduced or delayed, any layoffs so ensuing from such, are going to be layoffs subject only to that subcontractor, and therefore has nothing to do with the contractor's policy towards layoffs; yet, those so losing those jobs with that subcontractor, are laid off all the same.

 So too, within a corporation that espouses a no layoff policy, when times are tough, they may turn to other avenues to maintain employment, but such will necessitate, for instance, a reduction in the pay rate of employees, or a reduction in the hours so being worked, or the necessity of a furlough of workers, in which those workers so being furloughed, are no longer receiving any income at all, during that furlough period.  In all of these cases, technically, nobody has been laid off, yet, the effect of those so being employed is that their income stream that they count upon in order to budget their life and to pay their bills and whatnot, has been disrupted to their disadvantage. 

So then, while a no layoff policy sounds like an absolute win for those that are directly employed by that company, in actual fact, this is not the same thing as a guaranteed salary, and never will be.

"God created man in his own image"

We read in Holy Scripture that "God created man in his own image" (Genesis 1: 27).  When we contemplate upon this, our only reasoned understanding of this scripture is that mankind was created in God's image, in order for mankind through its own effort, free-will, and desire would one day, recognize that its highest calling, was to live up to in every aspect, so of, of being true to that image, and none else.  This so signifies, that everything that we think, do, and contemplate upon, that is not consistent with the attributes of God, are failures of our character, that we are meant to overcome.  

We are specifically not automatons, because God does not need nor does God so desire, to have that which has no free-will be obedient to God, for that which has not consciousness, thereby has no choice to make.  Rather, mankind has been gifted by God with consciousness, and thereby the decisions to be made, are ours to own, and none other.  So then, in fairness to mankind, this earthly plane was so created, to provide the place and the time for mankind to prove or disprove who and what they so represent; so done, by our thoughts, actions, and deeds, of which, to the degree that we comprehend who and what we really are, the sooner that we will thereby faithfully reflect that which actuated us in the first place.

After all, to be made in the image of anything, means to be made of the same substance, and therefore those that are not true to that image are clearly not qualified as being descendants in good standing of God.  Our purpose in life is to actually rise up and to thereby through our enlightenment understand that we are meant not to just be perpetual children of God, but rather that we are intended to mature to such an extent, that we are thereby able to eventually be co-creators with God, for there is no greater honor that is due to that which created us, then to become One with that which breathed us into existence.

This clearly signifies that all the ills that mankind so suffers from, stem from the errors and misunderstandings that mankind has created unto itself.  The problems of this world, therefore, and the struggles, thereof, are meant to wake our consciousness up from the slumber that so many suffer from -- as well as for us to understand intimately what it really is to suffer disappointment, loss, regret, tragedy and the like.  For, after all, those not tested thoroughly in the boiling cauldron of life, will thereby lack the needed exposure to fight valiantly against the evil that assails us, and thereby are ill prepared to deal with such constructively when subsequently so faced.

This planet represents for each one of us, the proving ground, that will make us to be that which we were always meant to be; so that, when put to the test, we will never fail, for that which has become the spitting image of God, is in it substance, inerrant, enlightened, and thereby complete.

The value of the right type of teasing

Teasing has its place, of which there are those times when it is pretty much welcomed, and then there are those times when that teasing is more so done as a means to provoke another.  The whole point of good teasing, though, is to test the other person in a way to understand them better, done so in a manner which is not direct, or directly confrontational, or of a too serious tone, in order to better ascertain if there is some commonality or rapport between one to another.  After all, most people fear personal rejection of someone that they respect, admire, or like, and often are a bit reluctant to expose themselves for who and what they really are or how they actually feel to that other person, without first getting a better sense of where they appear to currently stand with that person, of which, their workaround to this sort of conundrum, is often some playful banter, known as teasing.

So that, teasing in personal relationships, though it does have a fair amount in common with flirting, isn't really the same; because teasing is actually more sincere in its application, because it is meant as a means to test the waters, between one to another, as contrasted to flirting, which may have more to do, with simply trying to be manipulative or to get over on another.

In a polite society, it doesn't behoove anyone to be absolutely direct all of the time, or to not take into account and of consideration the other person and their perspective, along with it also being prudent to take into deliberation the other person's status, and therefore the better part of valor, is typically to be discreet and one of the best ways to be discreet without being direct, is to tease one another.  For, after all, when somebody teases another, they usually have a fair escape hatch available for them; of which, then, if the reaction by the other party is decidedly negative, they can thereby quickly state that they were, "just kidding."

Additionally, in order to get to know anybody better, some form of two-way communication, must occur, and of which, in order to continue that conversation, this so necessitates that nothing too stupid, nothing too blunt, or nothing too insulting, happens; so therefore, teasing has its necessary place, because those that tease are often able to effortlessly cross a line, that directness would typically not be able to successfully accomplish.

So too, most people, enjoy being teased, when such is done in a manner that brings out a characteristic of theirs that they like, but are heretofore been reluctant to express, themselves.  In other words, teasing can be seen as a pathway of liberation for both parties, because it is a way to open up avenues that previously have been left unexplored.   So then, the right type of teasing is something that is welcomed, because in its own way it helps to clarify things that were previously left unsaid, or unknown.  Those then, that tease, in that good way, are those that care to know more about the other.

Private wealth for generations

There are all sorts of financial advisors for those that have sizeable assets of which one of the selling points of those advisors is the coming up with a sound strategy so as to successfully pass on one's assets to family members in such a manner that the taxation of those assets is absolutely minimized.  Not too surprisingly, those that are considered by their clients to be the best financial advisors are the ones that are able to navigate those treacherous tax waters in such a manner so as to maximize the legacy so left to one's heirs.

While it certainly makes sense for all those that have assets to want to pass on at least some portion of such to their offspring, as well as to notable others and organizations; when this becomes instead, an  overarching mission to do all that is possible to circumvent fair tax laws in a manner in which fairness is subsequently left at the door, and, of which, thereby we discover that the sole objective of such is to "game" the system in a manner in which, those that have, need not worry about giving up much of anything of their assets, than in short, the American public is ultimately unfairly short changed.

After all, while a given person is alive, the monies that they have earned, invested, inherited, and kept, is typically theirs to do with, whatsoever that they so desire.  However, once that person's physical life has ended, it would seem that in fairness to that country that thereby provided the structure and the infrastructure to aid in its own way that individual's success, that that country should be entitled to reap in monies of an appropriate portion from the demise of that person, of that which is their assets. 

Therefore, the failure of the state apparatus in extracting a fair portion of the money from those that have become exceedingly wealthy, through the means of an estate tax, is thereby the failure to preclude that country which was specifically created with no hereditary titles, from creating its own type of special inheritance privileged class of all those that have done nothing of merit, but to have been born into this land with all the advantages and accouterments of those so born with that proverbial silver spoon in their mouth.

This land has great public wealth, of which the purpose of that wealth being in the hands of the government and its agencies is for the expressed benefit and welfare of the people.  On the other hand, whenever great wealth is in the hands of private people, that wealth is controlled by those people, and often is utilized in a manner specifically to favor their own people, their own interests, and their own desires; but even when such is thereby devoted or diverted to public means, the decision of where, when and how those monies are thereby divvied up, is essentially left in the control of that person or institution that has control of those assets.

Private wealth is not the same and never will be the same as public wealth.  This thus signifies that great private wealth, which is thereby permitted to seamlessly pass on from generation to generation, will invariably lead to a country that will represent in action the great battle of the very few that have, against the very many that have not, and should those very few prevailed, than the mass of people that have lost, will be left with just the table scraps.

Worth dying for

There is a price for everything that we so encounter, though not everything has a monetary price so attached to it.  Further to the point, the value of things is never going to be the same person-to-person; not to mention the fact that things don't necessarily even have the same value, day-by-day for the very same person.  Still, the actions that we do are in aggregate a true reflection of who and what we really are, and therefore fairly reflect by those actions that of which we stand for.  So that, those that state that this is not the case, or that this viewpoint misunderstands them or misconstrues their actions, are often barking up the wrong tree, for that which we do, is what we really are.

So then, those that speak of their courage, but never do a courageous thing are by definition, not courageous.  So too, those that speak up strongly about the importance of this or the importance of that, but when tested on that very thing, find therefore that their voice once so loud, has thereby become silent; so need to question their integrity, for those that only stand tall for what they claim matters dearly to them, when the conditions are favorable for that particular position; yet, run and hide when those conditions have turned decidedly unfavorable, are those that are lacking in good principle.

For life to have any meaning for anyone there has to be something that actuates a given person's life in a manner in which they have found something worth living to, or worth living up to.  Perhaps that is one's family, or friends, or country, or even one's employment, it so varies depending upon the individual, for it is within that sense of purpose that gives that person their meaning in life.  Still, it must be acknowledged, that each day brings us some trouble, or a hint of such, of which, that of which we live so strongly for, will invariably be challenged to some degree by something that will take that which means so much to us, away from us.

This thus signifies, that which we live for, is often going to be the very same thing, that we are also willing to sacrifice ourselves to, and, if need be, to die for, when such is threatened to be unjustly wrested away from us.  After all, if we are unwilling to fight righteously for that which we have valued so highly, when we are called in service to that value to do exactly that, then we are not honoring that which we previously had cherished so dearly.

So then, we find that there is going to come that time, for every single one of us, in which we have a sacred call of duty, and of which, that duty is to risk possibly everything in order to defend and to protect that for which we have lived our lives for, and of which, we may or may not succeed in that battle, but battle we must so do.  When tested, thereof, those then that have integrity will prove such, and will give their last full measure in order to do so, and those that do not -- have failed that which they purported to have been true believers of.

Opinions and the desire for dominance

As they say, everybody has an opinion, and most people desire to express such.  The problem though thereupon comes when certain people get so attached to their opinion that they have expressed, that they don't want to ever give ground on it, and then when someone else, has an opinion that so differs from theirs, this may so present a war of dominance of one versus the other.  To a certain degree, that is to be expected, but when we get to those times when it gets all so serious, in which each party, is thereby determined at all costs that they are right, this thus creates a lot of friction and possibly lasting resentment.  Further, though, the person that believes that their opinion is right, and typically each party so does, often also has a very strong tendency to not desire to actually listen to the other side, because they aren't interested in engaging with the other party, let alone even considering their opinion as possibly have some validity or possibly even being right.

So then, those that have strong opinions are typically the very same people that have closed minds, and closed minds do not listen to what other people have to say, because they feel that they don't need to, for they perceive their mind as being correct.  While there is something to be said, about being consistent, and true to  one's own word, there is also something to be said, about the need to actually have an open discussion with another person who is entitled to state their own opinion, of which, common courtesy and fair play should encourage one another to hear the other person out, which when so done, could lead to some give and take between those parties, leading to a better situation, of which, there would then exist some sort of common ground, that can thereby create a possibility of collaboration rather than of dominance.

In those situations, in which, people aren't willing to listen to reason, because they aren't even going to bother with the listening; then opinions so expressed really come down to finding those other people, that are in lockstep with one's own opinion, and leaving therefore all those that are in opposition, behind.  While there is merit in unity, there is also merit in diversity, along with the fact that those that will not broker any dissent or honest feedback or open communication are essentially know-it-alls that might not actually know it all.

Each of us is unique as an individual, and in large communities, there can be an incredibly diverse amount of backgrounds, interests, and achievements within that community.  Yet, we have an inherent obligation to not only to be of assistance to our family and to our friends, but also to be of assistance to the community that we are members of, of which, we are therefore obligated as a good neighbor to do our part in helping to make that community a better place for our being a part of it.  This thus signifies that those that insist that it is their way or the highway, so that they therefore are the dominant one, are often the very people that are not repairers of the breach, but rather are the ones that create the breach to begin with. 

Truth is eternally immutable

We find ourselves seemingly living within a construct in which each person, is able to freely proclaim their version of truth, of which, we are led to believe, thereof, that their truth therefore is as valid as any other person's truth.  This type of nonsense brings no good benefit to anyone, for if truth is subjective, or if truth is mutable, depending upon the time of the day, or era, or person, or opinion, then there is, in fact, nothing that could ever be truly defined as truth.

Truth, by definition, is that which does not change its nature, or its tune, upon the winds of time; but rather truth is just as true today, as it was yesterday, and will be tomorrow.  So then, only that which is immutable has the necessary characteristic of truth, and therefore all that which is mutable though it may at times take upon the aura of truth, or may be true within the context of that time and place, it is not, though, in totality, true.

It is important to understand the nature of truth, for if we do not understand truth from a fundamental basis, than we are susceptible to believing all sorts of things that are not foundationally true, and that, thereof, is a very slippery slope.  Each of us has an inherent obligation, to search for truth, and those that do not, or care not to do so, are those that are too lazy of mind, to understand that any endeavor that does not at its heart have the search for and the desire for truth as its abiding principle -- is a venture which is flawed in its concept.

After all, to fight doggedly for that which is false, is always going to be a fight which will bring forth neither lasting peace, nor lasting satisfaction.  This so signifies that the only fight worth fighting for, is always on behalf of that which is good, right, and true; for these together, are eternal and therefore are properly worthy of our time and effort.

So too, because truth is immutable, this signifies that it cannot be contained within a vessel which is susceptible to error or mistakes of perception.  So then, truth, lies outside of our own person, but not outside of our purview of finding such, of which, part of the actuation of any human life, is that innate desire to discover who and what we really are, and therefore the purpose thereof, of our being.

In many ways, life consists of facades upon facades, not necessarily in order to confuse us or to entrap us, but rather such exists as a means of encouraging us to look behind those facades in order to discover the truth of the matter.  It is our curiosity, more than anything, that pushes us to keep on peeling back the layers in order to know that which we must for a certainty know; and when we know the truth, we will be free from that which we thought was true, but was in actuality, a mirage -- so created as a means to test us and to challenge us, but never as a deceit to us.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) and the importance of non-discriminatory labor contracts

While the automobiles so being manufactured today have never relied as much as they currently do upon machinery and sophisticated robotics, that was not the case when it came to the original inception of automobile manufacturing, which when this first began, necessitated a lot of repetitious work, that required a stable workforce willing to buy into that monotonous routine in exchange for decent wages and the stability of having a steady job.  To a large extent, the wages so being paid were progressive for its era, but there came that time when the sheer amount of those being employed, and the power that management had in regards to who got hired, along with the pay thereof, and the consistency of that work and of the hours so worked, led to auto workers recognizing that there was indeed meaningful strength in numbers, that could be best expressed through the efforts of a union, that was united, therefore, as the voice of those workers.

The most salient reasons for auto manufacturers such as Ford Motor Company and General Motors, to see the usefulness of negotiating with the UAW, was to basically preclude "wildcat" strikes, sabotage, violence, and the like within the manufacturing of those automobiles; yet, for instance, Ford Motor was initially quite reluctant to actually sit down at the table to negotiate with the UAW, until they came to the realization of the value of eliminating disruptions to the production of automobiles, as well as the value of staying ahead of the curve in regards to their public image, along with the usefulness of being able to retain their competent employees, which would in summary, make for a more productive and therefore a more profitable corporation.

So then, to the credit of Ford Motor, of which they signed their first union contract with UAW in 1941, this thus formalized the seniority system so created, which meant that black workers, who often were the last so hired, and therefore the first so fired, would because of their work at Ford Motor during the war years, be therefore able to in many significant areas to secure seniority over those white workers, that previously of which would have expected that those jobs would be awaiting their white hands upon their return from having served their nation, overseas.  Instead, the UAW, made the hiring and the firing process, as well as the seniority, thereof, far more transparent; and therefore that union truly did represent a fair union of those workers, so creating the solidarity of its workers, done so in a manner which was far more equable, progressive and fair, than was the case, previously.

The bottom line is that when it comes to labor fairness, that does not discriminate, union organizers, such as the UAW, were on the forefront of doing exactly that, which not only helped to create a vibrant middle class of people, previously so exploited, but also enabled those same people to have a firm foundation to build a decent life upon, as well as demonstrating that when those previously so denigrated by societal elements are provided with a fair and equable chance to make something of their lives, that they will readily accomplish that.

Self-incrimination

Per Constitutional law, no individual of this country is ever compelled by any legitimate force, to essentially be a witness against their own self.  This is the way that it should be, for the state should always have the burden to prove what it is that they are trying to prove, without coercing or forcing the accused to confess to or to make statements that are self- incriminating.  Yet, despite this Constitutional law, the application of justice within this country has situation upon situation, in which those so accused are essentially being convicted not upon the evidence, or of forensics, thereof; but often find instead that their own words, coerced or not, are the main source of their ultimate conviction.

When that government of, for, and by the people, behaves in the manner in which their objective of justice, is to trick, deceive, or to play upon the emotions of a given person, that has been placed into the vulnerable position of having had their freedom wrested away from them, by virtue of their being arrested or stopped, and further of which these persons are thereupon susceptible to all sorts of enticements or promises, forceful or not, or truthful or not; in addition of which they are suffering from the intense stress of their present incapacitation, of which, that lack of counsel, that lack of rest, that lack of perspective, that lack of freedom, and that lack of a fair playing field, are all conductive to the breaking down of such an individual, then it should come as no real surprise, that incriminating statements, true or not, coached or not, come forth.

It is never justice, anytime that a justice system or the process thereof, decides that it has the right to circumvent the fairness of justice, by working the angles that they have in play in order to simply get to the resolution that the state so wants to have, irrespective of whether it is just or not, right or not, or fair or not.  Far too often, the government rather than seeking, first and foremost, to uphold fair justice, in a given situation, are instead looking for that easy way to get a conviction and in their hastiness to do so, therefore prefer the deliberate absence of allowing the other party to have their fair say, thereby precluding that the justice as so enacted is actually on some basic level, a fair and equable process.

Those justice systems that have meaningful laws put into place so as to uphold Constitutional standards for all of the people, but in application, thereof, effectively ignore such, have by their actions, shown the upmost disrespect for their own Constitution.  When the point of the exercise appears to be to get convictions at any cost, so long as such is done in a manner in which there doesn’t appear to be any blowback to that system -- that isn't justice.  Further to the point, when those that should and ought to know better, behave in a manner that reflects that they surely do know better but refuse to abide by their own lawfully applicable rules and regulations, then those that are disobedient to that, which is highest law of the land, should thereby be fairly punished for it.

The etymology of the word "religion"

There are plenty of people that are religious, or claim to be religious, so therefore it makes sense to understand the origin of the world religion.  In Latin, we derive the word religion, through the word religare, which means "to bind" as well as the word religio, which means "obligation, bond, and reverence."  So that, in short, those that are religious, are by definition, those that have a reverential bond to bind one to another in the understanding that those that are religious, thereby comprehend that they are therefore meant to be devoted in unity to something beyond them, that necessitates the adherence to the structure and rules of that religion, so by that common purpose, they have created out of many, one.

So then, while the pathway to religion, or a particular religion, or a belief in a religion, while being to a certain degree a journey that is solo in that it comes from the will of that one person desiring to know truth; it so too, also invites that person to bind together with those other believers in order that they become united, in which, therefore, that religion, can be of greater benefit to the whole.  It is important to note that religion is not to be a blind belief, but rather it is supposed to be liberating for those that are lost, so as to find that which will enlighten them.

All of this signifies, that the purpose of those that are therefore religious, is to therefore, have that religion make not only their own life, one of more purpose, one of more focus, and one of more reverence; but also to join together with others of like-mindedness, so as to bind together into that which makes those that are united, stronger and more vibrant, not only to one another, but to be of more benefit for their community.

It is vital to remember that for all those that are religious, that a true religious call, is always going to require a corresponding commitment upon the person so becoming religious, to value not only the religious vows, mandated by that religion, so as be in harmony with those other believers who are of the same faith, but also that such a faith is never one that is blind, but rather one that is liberating for the person of that faith, because the very purpose of religion is to replace darkness with light.

This thus signifies, that those that bind together, and are bound to the religion of that faith, while becoming united one with another, must make it their point of principle, to thereby see that their most appropriate calling is to be one of uplifting their fellow sojourners, so as to be of the greater benefit for their community, in thereby fulfilling their dedicated calling to be a good neighbor, which is thereby actively displayed in the good deeds so done day-by-day, and with the foreknowledge that those that are most appropriately religious are always those that show their respect to that religion, by helping to make the world a better place for their having  and living that belief.

Religion and age

When it comes to the people that actually attend church regularly, our eyes do not deceive us, as time and time again, the representation of many a given church, skews markedly older than the given population demographic of that community.  In other words, older people are more diligent and spend more time and also make a greater effort to attend church services then younger folks.  While, no doubt, there are a multitude of reasons of why this is so, of which, one reason is as straightforward as the fact that senior citizens typically have more time on their hands, and perhaps less other social obligations that they are obligated to; however, the most salient reason though, would have to be that senior citizens are expressing by their attendance the fact that religious services means something of significance to them.

In truth, those that are young, have a lot of things on their minds, of which the meaning of life and the consideration of mortality typically isn’t front and center of what is upon their minds, though it may indeed come up, from time-to-time.  Rather, many younger people are trying to live life and to work diligently upon achieving their goals and aspirations, while also spending time socializing, and basically trying to obtain those good things of what life so offers to them; thereby, leaving them far less time to spend in activities such as quiet reflection and church attendance.  On the other hand, many older people have often achieved whatever that it is that they were going to achieved, and along the way they have picked up all sorts of experience and knowledge in all sorts of areas, and now at this later stage in life, actually do want to get answered some of the most fundamental questions in life; such as the purpose thereof, and whether, for instance, that they have done enough for others with their given talents or not.

So too, in church, unlike in the material world, there isn't any debate about whether God exists or not, for it is a given, that worshiping in any church, necessitates an eternal omniscient God.  Further to the point, those that feel that their mind is fatigued or wavering, or that their body is beginning to betray them, or both, are going to have a tendency to spend some time thereupon contemplating the inevitable, which is that there will come that point when their physical form will no longer be part of this living world.  This thus signifies, that what is left to ponder, is the eternal destiny of one's soul and those that are old, are going to in many cases, want to place their immortal soul into the most favorable position that they can, because the stakes that are being played for, are exceedingly high.

So then, older people are most cognizant that the bell will toll, soon enough, and therefore they are hoping that within their attendance at church, something of merit will occur that will enlighten them, benefit them, inspire them, direct them, comfort them, or help them.  After all, people are prone to worry about all sorts of things, of which a lot of that worry is over that which is relatively trivial, but that which worries those that are nearing their end, is probably that worry which is eminently worth worrying about, for when one light goes out, surely most people would prefer that a brighter one instead takes its place.

Love requires sacrifice

Far too many people believe that life owes them something, or that they are by their birth or by their circumstance, entitled to something, without having to put forth any attendant effort to legitimately own it.  That really isn't the way that life works and it isn't the way that life operates.  What is important to recognize is that each one of us has to, sooner or later, stand up and to be recognized for something, and that something needs to demonstrate love outside of that particular person's self; for each of us is called forth to the very same thing, which is to find something beyond ourselves, which necessitates sacrifice and that therefore is worth living for, and if it comes down to it, worth dying for.

In today's world, love has been discounted in a manner in which when it is now being expressed represents, oftentimes, something that is rather trite and blasé -- for words said, without understanding what true love really represents is a very cheap version of love; whereas that which is true to love, necessitates always a real commitment and then the necessary follow through to do what needs to be done, in order to do what is right on behalf of that love.

Unfortunately, many people are only too willing to express love one to another, when everything is going well, and especially when things are going their particular way; yet, they are far less reluctant to express that love or to ever consider that their love should somehow be unconditional, when things are most certainly not going their way, or as planned.  That is to say, conditional love, basically means what it so implies, which is as long as that other person is doing what the lover of that person so desires, then they are loved; whereas, when they do not, that type of love may find itself morphing into something more in tune with negative emotions, such as rage, anger, betrayal, hatred, or revenge.

That said, there are plenty of people, that have examples in their life, of sacrificial love, without necessarily being conscious of it, such as parents that go to extraordinary lengths to do right and to thereby sacrifice their sleep, hobbies, interests and many other things In order to be there for their children; or a spouse that accepts the faults of their significant other, or looks pass such, because they care intimately about being together with that other person, for that connection that they have, is seen as a sacred vow, and therefore for better or for worse, they are there for them, come what may. 

So then, when it comes to sacrifice and love, it doesn't necessarily have to be on the big stage, where a given person, for example, takes a bullet meant for someone else, though, of course, that qualifies; but rather it has more to do with those decisions made day-by-day where a given person's ego takes a backseat to what really needs to be done in order to help make things better for a friend, or for an acquaintance, or for a family member, or for a neighborhood, or for a community, or for a country, or for the world, in which that person doesn't have to do the right thing, but chooses  though to voluntarily to do the right thing, as a willing sacrifice to the greater good.  That then, is love.

Hatred

Hatred is not something that anyone should ever want to voluntarily cultivate, and it certainly is not an emotion to embrace; for hatred pretty much always brings out the worse in us, and through that hatred, though we may for a moment, seem to have successfully vanquished our opponent; this does not end the story, for we will invariably find that hatred so engaged, will bring us personal suffering at some point, for having expressed it.  The very first thing to understand about hatred, is that a lot of the time, when people express hatred, they are essentially expressing in essence the fact that they are not getting their way, and because they are frustrated by being denied that which they so desire, they thereupon take that disappointment and frustration out upon others, unconcerned as to whether the other party is fairly guilty of some real infringement or not.

Life should ideally be about letting go of hate, and trying to find common ground, one person to another, one society to another, one country to another, so that through that common ground we therefore have those different individuals, different societies, and different countries working to that good purpose to become united in that which is beneficial for the people as a whole.  This doesn't mean that we need to see eye-to-eye on everything, for unity isn't about everyone having the exact same mindset, but instead has everything to do with seeing that there is a grand purpose in life, of which that purpose is superior to our own individual ego, and that therefore, by living to that purpose, people, societies, and nations, unite together, one with another.

Those that believe that we can silence others, by literally killing them, are mistaken; for the very problems that created that divisiveness and anger, have not been eliminated, but ultimately still need to be addressed in a more sustainable and in a more considerate manner, for that which necessitates the destruction of the other, will not ever bring about lasting peace or fair justice.  This signifies that the issues that we have one with another, need to be dealt with in a manner, in which, we still respect that each individual is sovereign within their own self, and thereupon have the same self-determination that we are also entitled to, and that each individual has the exact same unalienable rights that we do, of which, our objective should therefore be, to see that we are fair and just, one to another, as opposed to ignoring civil discourse, and simply following the corrupt mantra, that "might makes right".

To hate another, is both the facile and the childish way to go about one's business, for those that hate don't actually care about validating the other, but rather just want their way, no matter the cost; and the result thereof we find in the reality of the world as it presently is.  For, humankind has warred upon one another for eons upon eons, and still has not found peace, justice, and fairness; because hatred and destruction that is part and parcel of war, is the pathway which has no good ending conceivable to it.  Rather, for all those that profess that they desire peace and justice, they must first throw down their weapons of war and hate, and thereupon have the courage to understand that e pluribus Unum, only makes sense when we correctly understand that from many there can be a union of one, if and only if, we are each focused upon becoming an integral part of that one.

"Every thing secret degenerates"

The above quote comes from the inestimable, Lord Acton, in which the full quote reads as follows: "Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show it can bear discussion and publicity." As true as this was back when it was first written, we find that in this hi-tech era of our intrusive government and its agencies being able to watch and to document with what seems to be virtual impunity, all that is occurring within its own domestic borders and therefore such being directed against its own citizens, and subsequently of which that government is reluctant to divulge such to the full extent of, and thereby hides behind what has been classified as being secret, so as to therefore conceal its intrusive actions behind the door of national security, we are thereby left to suffer the inherent dangers, thereof, of secrets so hidden.

As Lord Acton, so wrote, nothing truly is safe, if that which is being done, even ostensibly for the benefit of the people, is not subject to public discussion and thereby publicized for what it really is.  Sure, no doubt, there are those things and areas that the government is involved in, which legitimately necessitates some degree of secrecy and discretion, but this has over time, relentlessly become bastardized into becoming a government in which the salient point of all these secrets, as well as their outright deceptions and misdirection, is to preclude the public from really knowing what is actually going on, and to quite obviously suppress the full disclosure of actions so taken that are of questionable merit, of questionable legality, and of questionable purpose, so as to protect those government officials and their actions from being held accountable to such.

When any government, is permitted to hide what it is really doing, so as to essentially do what it is not permitted to do by any reasonable interpretation of its own Constitution, than that government is quite clearly no longer a government of, for, and by the people; but rather it is a government that marches instead to its own desires, rules, and interpretations that protects what it is doing, under the cover of a secrecy, which is unpublicized, un-divulged, and un-debated.

So too, the more that is gathered and then secreted away from the public purview, the more such is going to involve that which is clearly wrong and at odds with what this country should really represent; for those that are devilish in their desires are the very ones that know that in order to keep doing what they so do, they need to keep it secret.   This thus signifies, that almost by definition, the more secretive a government is, the more it is up to no good; and further to the point the more that a government insists that it needs to keep things secret so as to uphold national security, means almost for a certainty, that it is up to no good.

The bottom line is that while discretion and secrecy have their necessary place; there never has been a time when there should be less secrecy than today, because in this hi-tech world of massive amounts of data information so being accumulated, sorted and analyzed, the citizens of this country have a right to know what is being done to them and supposedly for them on their behalf, and thereby to see that those that spend so much time and energy watching and monitoring them, are in turn, answerable in full to those citizens, who are the ones who instituted that government in the first place.

The false freedom that so many believe in

Many of those that profess the loudest of the importance and the value of freedom, really don't know what freedom at its core, actually encompasses, means and signifies.  For those, that believe that ultimate freedom, is the freedom to do whatever that a given person so desires to do, limited only by not infringing upon that same concept of freedom of another, they will find themselves to understand, sooner or later, that this is foundationally wrong.  That is to say, true freedom is not doing whatever a given person so desires to do, as if this is the highest possible calling of humankind, but rather true freedom first involves the comprehension that by being gifted by our Creator with free will and thereby the freedom of thought and movement, that therefore our abiding desire of being granted thus with this gift, is not to thereby to abuse it in self-aggrandizement, or ego fulfillment, but rather to control it for our own good, and for the good of all those that we interact with.

Of course, as in many a thing, when we are children, we are going to have a strong tendency to indulge upon great gifts in childish ways, and thereby to push our freedom in ways and manners that test the waters of the value of doing whatever that is what we so are please to do, and occasionally suffering the full consequences so of.   The point, though, of such an exercise, is to develop our mind and our being in such a manner that when we do become an adult, that we understand the corresponding responsibility so thrust upon us, and those that have learned their lessons well, are going to understand the nuances and obligations that we have to that which provides us with a power that could be used for that which is right, or for what which is wrong.

So then, our freedom signifies that we are not automatons, that we are indeed, freely able to be that which we so desire to be, subject to those others that are also freely able to act upon their desires, limited only by the skill-set each has developed, of which the upshot of all this, is invariably that we will find others that through their own unrestrained freedom will actively oppose us or work against us, for freedom without appropriate restraint, necessitates the collision, sooner or later, of two or more parties, exerting that freedom one against the other.  This then unfailingly means that freedom without its attendant responsibility creates unending conflict, of which the only successful way to end such a conflict, is not to wage endless war against one another, but rather to find that common ground, that enables each of us to do what we ought to do, by volunteering subsuming that freedom into that which is beneficial and right for the greater good.

Because we are free, we are never compelled to give up that freedom, or even to restrain such, but those that do not do what they should ethically do, will find themselves trapped within an unending cycle, of misery, occasional happiness, and a drama that begins to wear on one's weary soul, until such truthfully surrenders to that which is Wisdom, and thereby frees itself from the delusion and the chains of having bought into that false freedom to begin with. 

The unintended consequences of price controls

In mature and stable nations, such as the United States, price controls are typically anathema to that government and thereby its desired rules and regulations.  After all, the United States, likes to pride itself on being an open market, and thereby that through those market forces, competition, and the like, that there isn't any real reason for the government to impose price controls over much of anything unless under the most extreme of conditions, such as might occur during a war or a pandemic.  Of course, this assumes, that the marketplace in regards to its current structure is open, honest, fair, and truly competitive, at all times, of which, the truth of the matter is, that there are significant areas of the economy in which there is either no meaningful competition, or that the market is effectively controlled by just a few dominant players who basically whether implicit or not, collude one with another, in order to boost up the price of their goods and services, so as to undeservedly obtain more profit.

So then, there are cases in which the government does have its place in the implementation of price controls, because of the absence of a truly free market, or of competition, or the active collusion, thereof; so as to step in for the good of the people.  That said, price controls, should be truly seen as a last resort, for anytime, the give and take of the market in regards to what should be produced, what is being produced, and therefore what is being bought and consumed, and the price thereof, is disrupted by governmental fiat in regards to what the price has to be, then the market will suffer, sooner or later, from the ill effects of that government interference, no matter the good intent, thereof.

That is to say, when businesses are not able to obtain the price so needed or so expected from the products that they are producing to sell, then they quite obviously are going to have to make some adjustments to that product, of which, one of the simplest adjustments to make is to simply produce less of that product, thereby leading possibly to layoffs, and/or the reduction of the quality of those products, so of.  Another, workaround, is that those that are driven by profit and the lust for money, so of, will have a tendency when facing perceived to be unreasonable price controls, to risk taking actions, of debatable legality, in order to circumvent such price controls, and thereby they will take their chances, therewith, utilizing their legal staff and the like to ameliorate any adverse reaction from the government, if it so comes to that.

In other words, when companies do not get the monetary rewards of what they expect to get from their sales, due to the government imposing unexpected rules and regulations, they often are not going to accept such, lying down, but rather will typically do everything within their power, to find exceptions to such, workarounds to such, circumvention to  such, ignoring of such, and will make adjustments as needed to their business model so as to obtain the monies that they feel that they are unjustly losing from those unsolicited imposed price controls.   So that, while government officials can often point to simple charts with simple mathematics, of how much the public will save and how fair that all the above is for the general public, what is happening behind the scenes will typically erode a lot of that good, so expected.

Organized crime can only flourish in a corrupt environment

Organized crime exists in one form or another, all over the world; in which the disappearance of such does not seem to be in cards because there are too many people, companies, police and justice officials, as well as players within the state apparatus that personally benefit from the existence of organized crime or have been intimidated into the countenance of organized crime, and therefore do not do their necessary courageous part to eradicate such.  So too, some of the decisions that ostensibly have been made by governmental decree to reduce criminal activity or to improve the character of one's citizens, have instead, paradoxically been the impetus for the strengthening of organized crime; such as what occurred during prohibition, in which, by making liquor illegal, this did little or nothing to stop those that still wished to imbibe in alcohol, but rather forced the sales and distribution of such, underground and thereby controlled to a large extent, by organized crime.  So too, America's "war on drugs" so initiated in 1971, did little or nothing to stop the usage and distribution of illicit drugs, but rather emboldened those already in the business, to be more sophisticated as well as to become more connected with those others in strategic positions, in order to thereby stay successful and to ultimately boost the sales of their illegal business.

The fact of the matter is that when laws are so written in which the proclivities of a given population, have now been rendered illegal or forbidden, this does little or nothing to change what the people already have a strong inclination for, but rather simply creates an alternative world, in which, that which the people want, is readily available, but the price to get such, has risen in order to cover things such as the enforcement of "street law" throughout the sphere of influence of organized crime, as well as to cover the price to "grease" the palms of all those that are only too willing to look the other way, or to acquiesce to that business being so conducted.  This thus signifies, that organized crime, needs two conditions in order for it to flourish, of which, the first one is that there must be a desire from the people for that which has been so designated as being "forbidden," and the second is that some of those that are responsible to enforce the law, thereby march instead to the corrupt beat of that "easy money" so provided to them.

While the media wastes an inordinate amount of time, reporting on the news events of drug busts and other illicit businesses being taken down and thus justice so being served; it does a very poor job of actually following up as to why at the end of the day, all the illicit activities so supported by organized crime, never actually goes away, but ever keeps on standing and even strengthening its hand.    That is because, regrettably, organized crime is entwined with those important others that make and enforce the laws, so that because those that make those laws are corrupt or, at best, possibly indifferent, organized crime exists and will continue to exist until such a time as those that are responsible for the equal application of law, enforce such, while also recognizing that "victimless crimes," are not a legitimate interest of the state.

Income, bills, bills, bills, and misery

The bottom line is that it takes income in order to pay or to try to stay current on bills -- as well as all those other responsibilities that adults have to successfully address, of which, whether that money is there to do so or not, those bills and incumbent responsibilities never seem to ever disappear or go away.  One of the biggest bills, if not the biggest bill for most people, is the rent, or the mortgage (for those that own a home), which has to be attended to on a monthly basis.  In recent years, home prices, have steadily been rising, typically making the home affordability index, less and less affordable and consequently problematic for many, but with historically low interest rates for those with good credit, this is somewhat mitigated.  On the other hand, for those that choose to rent, or pretty much have to rent, as reported by cbpp.org, from 2001-2018, the median rent (including utilizes) when taken into account inflation rose 13%, whereas the median household income when taken into account inflation, has essentially been flat, with just a minute increase of .5% during that same time period.  This so indicates that in a construct in which educational costs have skyrocketed within this same trim frame, as well as the same steady increase so occurring in healthcare, that the upshot is that a significant swath of the population are currently faced with trying to find some way to make ends meet, and must attempt to do this with income that has not materially improved.

Thus, what is happening for millions of households in America is that they are struggling mightily to make ends meet, because the wages that they are currently making, aren't in actuality, living wages; but in reality are just enough to give them the illusion that it is enough to perhaps make ends meet, when it really is not.  Further to the point, when a multitude of households are teetering on the edge of insolvency, it only takes one unexpected negative event, to turn things from bad to much, much worse.  This then creates the misery that should not be occurring all that often, for all those good people that are doing their part by laboring hard to have a piece of the American dream, but just aren’t able to achieve any sureness or stability to securely obtain such.

This is the richest nation that the world has ever known, but far too much of that wealth is tightly held in far too few hands, thereby leaving millions of Americans, without; and subsequently vulnerable to the misery of broken dreams, unpaid bills, evictions, bad health, and the like.  While countries can be evaluated and measured by a multitude of scales, one of those measurements, should be how the average family is actually doing in the present day, and how much security that family has in regards to their income and especially in consideration of their debt obligations and bills that they are responsible to pay.  In truth, all is not well in America, which is reflected in the divisiveness, fear, and incivility so often reflected in this modern age,  which is indicative that too many good people are struggling to make ends meet, and are feeling the palpable hopelessness that it won't get better for them, anytime soon.