Housing for all

Although America is capitalistic in structure, it also has governmental interests known as public utilities that are socialistic in structure.  That is to say, things that we take for granted, such as water and electricity are typically provided to us via a public utility, which is regulated on behalf of the people, for the expressed benefit of those people.  Obviously when it comes to water and electricity, there is a necessary large monetary investment in infrastructure, in order to best accomplish such; of which, if this was instead, solely in the hands of private enterprise, those private enterprise operators would subsequently then have the power to charge,in essence, whatever price that they so desired, for having control of that market, to the detriment of all those that essentially need water and electricity in order to have some semblance of a decent life.

When it comes to housing, and ultimately the affordability of housing, there are a fair amount of options and programs, public as well as private, so available, of which, people with enough money and/or good credit, can purchase their own home, or those with fair credit and a decent income stream, are pretty much unrestricted in the renting of or even the possible purchase of a home; but then, when we ultimately get down to those that are our most vulnerable, of which, these people are often not credit worthy, and typically are also income impoverished, we thus have this construct in which these people, numbering in the millions, do not have the ready means to even afford to rent anything of decent quality, and therefore are dependent upon governmental resources in regards to rent subsidies or vouchers, or for their access to public housing, or else they will end up being reduced to or left to catching what catch can, with dilapidated and undesirable housing choices, if that.

For those that truly believe that the government has already done more than enough, in regards to housing, for the most disadvantaged, then it need not change a thing; for in reality, America seems to be on a pathway of less individual ownership of housing structures, and more ownership by private enterprise, for the express purpose of those so investing in such, to make a profit, and thereby to extract more money from those that must rent their place of residence. In consideration, though, of fellow Americans, the only responsible action that this government should take, is to make a conscious choice, that a significant amount of housing stock in this nation, should best be seen as a public resource that needs to be regulated, and therefore affordable, for the very people, that do not have the individual resources to buy their own.

Any nation of any real means, that does not take care of its own people, in regards to seeing that each of its people, is backstopped by its government, so as to have fair access to food, healthcare, clean water, employment, education, and a home to live in, is a government that has failed to be a good servant and a good steward to its people.  Therefore, this government, needs to stand up, and to do the right thing, by treating the housing market that it has a responsibility for, as a national utility that needs to be properly regulated, and of acceptable quality, so that those that are its most vulnerable and needful, actually, have a decent place to call home.

Senseless killings and humankind's continual lack of civility

Those that live in western nations, believe fully that they hold the moral high ground, and can list all sorts of reasons of why this is so; such as, in regards to their social programs, modern healthcare, upholding of individual human rights, arts, freedom, education, charity, opportunity, as well as equal justice, under the law.  No doubt, there is a lot of justifiable truth for this sort of belief and sentiment, for there are plenty of good organizations, good people, and good governance, that humankind should rightly be proud to be an integral part of.  That said, though, there are fundamental flaws in the belief that humankind is so civilized, demonstrated in the actions, so taken by people as well as their governance that displays anything but that civility, time and time, again.

While we might want to believe that all disputes, domestic as well as foreign, between individuals as well as governments, are always successfully resolved through treaties, trials, civil discussions and conversations; the fact of the matter is, that far too often, disputes are dealt with through various forms of injustice, of which, most of those forms, involve some degree of violence so done upon the person or the infrastructure of the other.

In truth, that nation, that prides itself as being the "leader of the free world," is quite obviously on a moral scale, anything but.  Rather, America can be, and is often, a very hostile nation, to its own people, to immigrants, to the poor and dispossessed, and is especially ill-disposed when dealing with any recalcitrant nation, that will not bend to America's desires.  The peace that America offers, is consistently only that peace that comes at the edge of their very sharp sword; of which, beyond the niceties so avowed, the reality is that America is best described as having the cloak of humanity, with the striking power of a very powerful and violent savage.

So then, we only need to look at the history of the United States, to learn its true character, of which, its diplomacy, both domestically as well as internationally, is to talk a pretty good game, and then when things do not go per its dictates, to resolve to hurt, kill, cheat, disown, and to destroy that which has the temerity to block its "manifest destiny."  Those that believe that we are all so civilized, seem to have rather conveniently forgotten that the harming, the destroying, and the killing of others that we do not agree with or hate, is clearly not a civilized or responsible response, but rather is in keeping with those from a more barbaric age.

If humankind truly desires to advance to an actual civilized age, the very first thing that they need to do, is to put down all of their weapons, so as to truly turn their swords into plowshares; as opposed to some sick belief that somehow might makes right, which is basically the law of the jungle or of primitive man.   While humankind has progressed in so many ways, the contradiction of that progress, is visible to every one of us.  Those then, that insist that the only solution to a particular thorny problem is to keep on killing one another, are by those bad actions, suppressing their humanity, in order to feed their barbarism, which is why this world is in the mess that it is in. This thus signifies that we are worlds away from living a true peace on earth, and thereby goodwill to all.

Hurting people often end up hurting other people

There are a lot of people that get hurt in one way or another by someone else or some institution, whether physically, emotionally, or through myriad other means of abuse. Whether or not someone deserves to be hurt, is situation specific; but in general, hurting another person, whether emotionally or physically, is something that should be sparingly used against another person, and only to the degree that it is necessary; because to go further than that is a form of cruelty, that typically breeds resentment, revenge, and retribution, in one form or another.

Each one of us, carries some degree of hurt or disappointment within our psyche, of which, some of these hurting people, can never successfully shake themselves free of that shame and hurt; whereas, others, who are, for instance, gifted at compartmentalizing such, or negating such, through various activities and via good control of their mind and their emotions, are able to keep that which disappoints them or hurts them, at bay.  Regrettably, there are those people that when hurt, that almost without thinking, strike back, instantly; as compared to those others, that though hurt, will shake it off and put it aside, and thereby go back to their tasks at hand; of which, at some latter point, they may or may not address that hurt that they have felt.

As in most things in life, it is always easier to be destructive as compared to being constructive; for it is much easier to knock something or somebody down, as compared to building something or somebody up.  So too, the problem with hurting another, is that seldom does the person doing that hurting, actually care to think through what the consequence of that hurtful action will mean to the other person.  That is to say, hurtful actions, do not simply end, but rather they have a strong tendency to create a downhill cascading effect; in which, the person so hurt, will often seek out somebody or something vulnerable to hurt in return, in order to regain for themselves, some degree of sovereignty, as well as of self-respect.

This thus signifies that in most actions, that there is going to be some sort of corresponding reaction; and when the initial action so taken is hurtful, we so find, that people that have been hurt, are often going to end up hurting somebody else, and then that somebody is going to hurt somebody else, and so on and so forth.  So too, most people while growing up and maturing, typically learn things of significance from those that that are their elders, or those that are their mentors, or from people of respect; and when those very people do hurtful things, then the lesson so learned logically is that it’s okay to hurt somebody else, as opposed to trying to reason things out, or having a discussion or a conversation, or simply to let something that could be let go, let go.

This world is full of hurting people, of which, we can add to that hurt by unnecessarily hurting others, as well, or we can help to ameliorate that hurt, by taking into consideration that none of us are perfect, that all of us have erred, and that to be the bigger person, sometimes does necessitate walking away or ignoring those things that don’t really necessitate a negative response to; for rather, it’s better to help a person that is hurting, than to add to or to create more woes, instead.

The reason why God created us

There are a lot of questions that we should desire to know the answer to; of which, some of those questions are going to be of the nature, that we can't even begin to formulate them, until we have reached a certain stage of maturity and wisdom.  So too, when those questions come to us, if we are observant and conscientious, we are going to do our level best to not only find the answer to such, but to also make sure to diligently apply that answer to that which we so do in our life.

One of those questions, that we need the answer to, is not only the why of our existence, but, in particular, the why of the reason of our creation by God.  Perhaps that question cannot be answer in its totality, because of the limitations of our mind that thereby precludes us from a full comprehension of God; but nevertheless, this is a question, that deserves our serious contemplation of.

So then, with the understanding that we can't know for a certainty of that answer, in its totality, we can still logically speculate, that God created humankind partly for the purpose of testing the character of such creation in a free will environment; in which, in a sense, God cheated a bit, by making sure to place within the essence of each one of us, the innate desire to not only remember that we are God's good creation, but also to have inside of us an instinct to know that our souls would never find complete rest and solace until we were once again re-joined in harmony with our Creator.

That is why, therefore, that so many of us, are unsatisifed and dissatisfied with some aspect of our lives, because we know that somehow that no matter how satisfying we may so feel on a given day, that often that sense of whole satisfaction is fleeting, as if we are forever trying to catch mercury; whereas, what we really should be trying to catch, is something that is always going to be there and specifically be there for us, through thick and thin -- because this essential essence was always meant for just us.

So then, we each have a precious treasure map, contained within our psyche, that thereby pings us day in and day out, to search for that treasure, so available to each one of us, of which, we must, in order to succeed in that search, tellingly readdress our minds so as to meaningfully turn away from those constant distractions of modern life, to thereby hear the still, small voice within.  That voice, never yells, but it is persistent, because that voice cares about us, and will never relinquish its desire to see that which was freely created by its hand, joyfully returned to the bosom of its Creator.

This world that we currently live in, seems to be so real to us; but it truly only exists as a valued proving ground for those that exist here, to thus challenge the character of God's creation, to therby prove its mettle, and by succesfully doing so, to become that which they were always meant to be, God's co-creators,worthy therefore of being an integral part of the light that never goes out.

“We and They”

The above is the title of a famous poem by the incomparable, Rudyard Kipling, of which, the significance and the meaning of this poem, back when it was written, in the era of colonialism by Western European powers, is just as apt in its message and form as it was back then.  For, far too often, we are inclined as a people to devolve into a version of tribalism, in which, those that are of the same sort of milieu and mindset are the “we;” whereas, those others that would appear to be so different, or unfavored, or unpopular, are therefore the “they;” of which, never shall the twain ever meet, so as to join together into one body politic, or one community.

So then, in a mindset in which the world, or a nation, or a city, or a community, or even a family, is subdivided into two opposing sides, of which, those on the one side believe that they hold the moral high ground and are entitled; whereas, those on the other side, feel either equally entitled to such as well, or believe that they are misunderstood or marginalized, then the only possible result is going to be one of conflict, discord, and disharmony.  This thus signifies, to a very meaningful extent, why there is so much war; whether that be between one nation against another, or a civil war within a given nation -- as well as the salient fact that in long established countries, such as America, that there is at the present time a disappointingly high number of domestic disturbances, civil unrest, and crime.

Those then, that cannot get pass their own self-imposed tribal identity to become more inclusive to others, or at least have the courtesy and maturity to be more tolerant of the right of other people to live their lives via the autonomy of their own being, as well as of their own self-determination, don’t seem to understand that a us vs. them type of mentality, is never going to make for a just and satisfying community.  Each of us needs to do a better job, as well as to be more determined, that we will not be destructive and hurtful in what we so say and do, but rather we should take it upon our shoulders, to step up to the plate, and to thereby be the “repairer of the breach,” so that each of us can thus better see the unalienable rights of the other, and hence our collective duty to be part of the process, to make out of many, one.

All of the troubles of this world, can be laid at the feet of all those, that are unable to see or to believe that each one of us has been gifted with the same unalienable rights; of which, in essence, no one person is superior or inferior to the other.  Further, we need to take to heart, that we actually are all in this together, and therefore that there never was a they, for we are all equal creations of the One, and not of the many.

“Face the sunshine, and your shadow will fall behind you”

While the above quotation, with slightly different wording, has been attributed to Walt Whitman, as well as to Helen Keller, it seems to be from a newspaper in West Virginia, from 1862.  No matter the origin, though, its sentiment, is profound; for each of us, is going to invariably have some dark days in our life, of which, those that are made up of the right stuff, are going to have the right perspective along with the wherewithal to overcome such, or if not, to deal with such in a manner that is forthright; whereas, those that are made of lesser stuff, will be subject to being overwhelmed, or will find themselves unable to navigate successfully on what should be their next move, for that lack of good light.

Remember this well, those that operate in the shadows, typically are those that are up to no good, for that which necessitates shadows in order to accomplish what they are up to, are those, that do not wish to be exposed or to be cleansed by the powerful disinfectant of natural sunlight.   Further, we do so find, that some people see the glass as half full and some see that same glass as being half empty; while, in truth, they are both right, and perhaps too, each is justified in their outlook; the truth of the matter is that those that are more optimistic are the same people that are inclined to face the sunshine, and thereby to put their problems, doubts, and troubles, behind them, or at least not allowed such to overwhelmed them or to compromise them, and those that are not so optimistic, are more inclined not to.

What we so find, is that within any given situation, no matter how apparently bleak or dangerous it so appears, there is almost always a pathway of escape, or a way to resolve such; or if not, each of us has the capacity to deal with what so has to be dealt with in a way and manner that upholds us as free will individuals, that are sovereign agents in our own life.  Indeed, not everything is going to go our way, and not every rosy outlook is actually justified; but then again, not everything that appears to be impossible, immovable, or insolvable, is actually that way, either.  Those then, that face the sunshine, so as to better see what puzzles them be illuminated by that good light, are going to be in a far better position to overcome that which needs to be overcome, then those that despair of such, in darkness.

Each of us is gifted with mind, body, and spirit; of which, it is important that our mind be developed in a way and manner in which we have the right mindset so as to best deal with the complexities and nuances of our life, as well as to interact competently and positively with the society that we live within.  Those then, that step out of the darkness of their doubts, to thereby embrace the situation and the scenario as it so presents itself, are those that will put that which should be left behind, in its proper place, which is behind them, or off to the side.

The big fish swallow the smaller fish

There are plenty of things that the governance of America could or should do, to help as well as to encourage smaller business enterprises in their activities, sales, and development; of which, the very first thing would simply be the conscious recognition that a smaller size as well as a more diverse base of business enterprises would be beneficial for the country, and its people at large.  That is to say, mega-corporations, that have sales of billions upon billions of dollars, don't really need any further assistance or aid by this government; yet, it is these same behemoth corporations that consistently get favorable treatment by the United States government, in just about every pertinent area of interest, all for the expressed benefit of these mega-corporations; so done, often at the expense of other smaller and innovative corporations, that do not themselves have comparable valuable connections, political capital, or favoritism, to draw upon.

In truth, just about any business enterprise, of any notable size, desires to or has a need to increase their sales and profits, each and every year.  The pressure, then, especially for public corporations, to conform to what is so expected of them, is absolutely immense; and because of that, these corporations are going to be prone in taking those actions that will, in a lot of cases, help them to “game” the system, so that they can continue to be successful.  This thus signifies, that many big corporations are going to try to get passed all the legislation that they can get passed, that favors them, and to a lesser extent, that hinders their rivals.  Additionally, for those corporations, that are susceptible to losing their market share, via competition and other fair means, they are going to be inclined to try to negate their competitors, through whatever means that they feel is most appropriate, including but not limited to, buying out the competitor, or by influencing legislatures to change the rules of the road to hinder their competitor, or lawsuits, or by undercutting their competitors for a period of time that will thereby serve to hurt or damage that competitor's business model.

What we so find, in a meaningful amount of cases, is that the bigger corporations are the corporations that will also typically have the better profit and gross margins, overall; so accomplished, by virtue of those corporate entities being relentless in their pursuit of profit, by all such means available to them; of which, they typically have considerably more options that they can avail themselves of, which smaller companies are usually precluded from.  This basically signifies that without a strong labor union component within the biggest corporations of America, then it thus follows that an ever-bigger percentage of corporate profits will go to those that are its executives, its stockholders, as well as its well-placed employees within those mega-corporation, and hence an ever-greater increase of inequality in income and wealth, will occur, between those few that benefit, to the detriment of the many.

It needs to be taken into consideration, that the primary reason for corporate entities to exist in the first place, is to make money for those that are its owners or its actuators.  This so means that corporations are forever looking for the best value for their investment, and when they so see innovative companies, or new business enterprises which are successful or well setup for future success, the very big fish are going to want to swallow the smaller fish, of which, this government, seems to consistently favor those same big fish.

Property ownership and powerlessness

The very first thing that each person is the true property owner of, is their own self; for those that do not own such, are slaves, and slaves are, by definition, without individual sovereignty. That said, we live in a day and age, in which slavery has been abolished; though, truth be told, there are many people that live in conditions, which are akin to peonage, perpetual servitude, and basically, slavery.

What we so find is that once we get beyond the foundation of our ownership of our own personhood, the next most fundamental thing that we should desire to own is our own home, or its equivalency; this is especially necessary in any nation that is not socialized, of which, in those non-socialized nations, property by definition is either private property, that is thereby own by individual(s) or corporate entities, or else such is own or managed by some governmental agency.

The reason why home ownership is so important for each of us, is that those that lack home ownership are, in effect, always at the mercy of their landlord in regards to what they can or cannot do within that property, as well as to what they have to pay in order to rent such, in addition to their legal obligations to that landlord, and so on and so forth. Sure, there are plenty of tenant laws, that protect and uphold the tenant, and certainly not every landlord is a bad landlord, but the landlord is the owner, and to ever believe that tenants and landlords are truly equal in the eyes of the law, is fallacious.

Further to the point, those that own the home property, are thereby the people that receive the money so being paid for that home so being rented, and therefore those that rent such a home, are those that are committed to making that payment, without ever being afforded the opportunity of themselves building any equity within the home that they so occupy, and further, we find that tenants, typically do not have any meaningful say as to what or what not will occur within that home, but such decisions in regards to that is basically exclusively in the hands of the landlord. That is to say, those that rent, are essentially paying for the privilege to stay where they stay, without ever being the owner or the true beneficiary of such.

There are plenty of ways to make money, and one of the simplest of those ways, is through the renting of homes, in which, month after month, the money comes in, and of which, such property typically also appreciates monetarily in value; and also, tellingly, many landlords do not personally fix or repair anything of that home, but usually designate someone else or some organization to do so, or incredibly, make it part of the rental deal that the tenant thereby has the personal responsibility for. So then, on a time scale, long enough, what so occurs, is that the landlord gets ever wealthier, whereas the tenant, merely treads water, thereby invariably increasing the inequality between one and the other, of which, those that own the property, in a way, own those that do not.

War bonds, rationing, and war taxes

America is a country that is continually at war, though, it likes to spin such, as something other than war, through the use of semantics such as “fighting terrorism”, “counterterrorism”, “conflict”, or “combat.” Nevertheless, whether such is or is not called war, and whether such is or is not a Congressional declared war, the truth of the matter is, that America is at war, typically on multiple fronts, which necessitates the active involvement of the war industry, alongside necessary arm forces personnel.

There was a time, when America did battle in which the general population had to make sacrifices during a war, such as in the rationing of sugar, coffee, gasoline, tires, and the like: as well as being obligated to purchase war bonds to help financially support that war as well as to demonstrate their patriotism. In today’s America, with its all-volunteer force, the call for rationing, and the call for men or for women to enlist, as well as the buying of war bonds, pretty much doesn’t exist, which thereby makes it far easier for the average American, to not be especially concerned about such warfare engaged in by America; along with the salient fact that because those that the United States so does battle with, are located far overseas without the necessary means to inflict any meaningful or consistent damage upon the continental United States, those wars, thereby, seem remote and distant.

Yet, the one thing that seems to be missing from the equation, is that wars are very costly, of which, it would seem that this government, rather than making those that are amongst the living today, pay the debt and the expense of such wars in real-time, has instead a rather bad habit of passing such a debt onto posterity; so then, for its failure to properly tax the living, in the here and now, future generations are instead, unfairly burdened with this huge war expense. It would seem, therefore, that the best and fairest proposal to be made in order to pay that war debt, should be to add such onto the payroll expense of each person so working, as well as onto each employer so employing; thereby, to be designated as a temporary war tax, which would be in its effect, the equivalency to the mandatory social security tax, that each so pays at the present day. The percentage of such a tax would be up for debate, of which, as a reference point, it is estimated that in fiscal year 2020, with a social security tax of 6.2% on employees as well as 6.2% on employers, that a total of $1.24 trillion was collected by tax authorities.

No doubt, if such a tax was mandated, the hue and cry about it, would be absolutely tremendous. But what of it? For if this is indeed the necessary cost to bring perpetual safety for all those that are American, then such a war tax should best be seen as the appropriate cost of the defense of this nation. Of course, it might well be successfully argued, that perhaps all the wars that America insists upon involving itself in, aren’t all that necessary, and further that these wars need not be fought at all, for those wars seemingly have little or nothing to do with the proper defense of this nation, and a heck of a lot more to do, with empire, instead.

Involuntary immigration to America

There are plenty of people that complain vociferously about all of the illegal immigration that America so has, of which, their complaints about such illegal and illicit immigration ranges from being legitimate to just plain “sour grapes” as well as racism. The fact of the matter is that in today’s America, the two main types of immigration that we predominately receive, involve either legitimate immigration in which the persons so applying have gone through the legal procedures thereby to come to or to remain in the United States, or involves those that have illegally crossed the border; in addition to all those others that have extended their visas to remain here, without appropriate governmental authorization. There is, though, through the history of the United States, a third form of immigration that should be appropriately acknowledged by this government, of which, the descendants of that third form, would seem to be good candidates to be eligible for special consideration from this, the richest nation that the world has ever known.

The third classification of immigrants to America, involves those that came here that were enslaved peoples, as well as those that came here, that were convicted of crimes in England and subsequently banished here to the States, as well as those that were sent to America as indentured servants. Though each of these cases is different, they do have some commonality, in which, those that ended up in America, were either compelled to do so, by having been sold, or were as a form of punishment sent here, or were basically coerced into indentured servanthood.

It would seem that all those that did not voluntarily come to America, yet, remained in America, through their progeny, deserve to have some sort of consideration by this government, of, for, and by the people in order to help rectify the fact that they were essentially not sovereign individuals when they were forcefully taken to America. Additionally, these people, were for a certainty exploited, for the purpose of essentially profit, as well as being compelled to labor for no compensation, of which, any disobedience by them, could easily have led to their bodily harm, punitive penalties, or even death. Further, these immigrants, unlike most illegal immigrants, had few viable options on their own, to ameliorate their conditions, and most of those options that would be so available to them, were also against the law.

The services so provided by these involuntary immigrants, helped to build this country into a great nation, but such service so provided, has never been fully or appropriately acknowledged by this government, of which, while past misdeeds can never in themselves be corrected, they can, should this government so desire to do so, be ameliorated in the present. This thus signifies that all those that are descendants of involuntary immigrants, are thereby fully deserving of the consideration that a courageous and just government owes to those that have been done wrong. So that, fairly stated, a nation should always be judged, by what it has or has not done for those that have been denied for the longest, what should have been theirs by their birthright, of liberty, justice, and happiness.

Third party success and the cult of one

In America, there are only two significant parties, unlike most other western nations which have the democratic vote, which are known as the Democratic party and the Republican party.  All the other parties in America, have zero national influence upon the nation and therefore those that are part and parcel of those third parties, no matter how much effort that they and their party members put forth to grow in significance, find such to basically be futile on a national scale at the present time.

The fact that there are so many third parties, and the fact that these third parties, despite often having a low budget as well as poor press and media coverage, are still able to secure some votes, is to their credit; for they prove the point that the two major parties aren’t necessarily always the preferred choice of Americans, especially for those Americans that feel that their issues, concerns, and agendas are effectively being ignored.

For the most part, about the only time that third-party candidates achieve any success, whatsoever, is when those candidates either have very deep pockets, or are a very well-known personage, or both.  For instance, New York City is the most important city in the United States, of which, typically the only person that could win that election would either be the Democratic or the Republican candidate, and often in recent years, just based upon the demographics of New York City, this would typically be the Democratic candidate, since registered Democrats in New York City, are massively higher in number than Republicans.

Not so long ago, but long enough ago, John Lindsay of NYC, was running for re-election as Mayor in 1969, under the Republican ticket, of which, Lindsay was proud to represent himself as a liberal Republican, which in today’s America, sounds like an oxymoron; but liberal he was.  However, because he was running on the Republican ticket, he was defeated in the 1969 Republican primary, by a fellow Republican who essentially ran under the law-and-order ticket, which resonated with enough Republicans of NYC that he defeated Lindsay for the Republican nomination.  One would think, then, that in a two-party system, that therefore all was lost for Lindsay, but it has to be remembered, that Lindsay was still the current Mayor, and therefore had all incumbent powers as well as the recognition of being that, Mayor; in addition to the fact, that his liberal credentials, which helped get him elected in the first place, basically trumped his party affiliation.  So then, Lindsay, received the funding, the endorsements, and thereby ran as a third-party candidate under the “Liberal” party platform ticket, in which, he secured enough votes from disaffected Democrats as well as liberal Republicans to thereby get re-elected as Mayor.

All of the above serves to point out that the few times that third parties are successful in America, has an awful lot to do with that particular person so running, having thereby the name recognition, the money, as well as the appropriate connections with powerful organizations, to overcome the massive handicap of being on a third-party ticket to begin with.  So then, the success of third-party candidates, has typically not a lot to do with a particular third-party platform, and just about everything to do with the actual person so running and the cult of following just that one.

The need for sovereignty as well as social support

For those that are born into privileged circumstances, life is entirely different for them, as compared to just about everyone else; for most people have to deal with the fact that they do not have full sovereignty over their own lives as well as also having a real need and desire to have a good social structure to draw upon in order to deal better with trying or difficult times. 

The reason that we live in communities, isn’t just happenstance, but rather serves the purpose for those that congregate together, to be of material aid one to another; for each of us has those days when a helping hand, or a good word, most definitely has its proper place.  So too, in our modern day and age, we expect for our government, to do its fair part to see that those that are its most vulnerable are provided with the way and means to help make their way through life, through the necessary aid and assistance to help overcome and to deal forthrightly with troubling circumstances.

It is vital that appropriate infrastructure be readily available to the general public, so that they can avail themselves of such, especially when they feel the need or urgency to do so.  After all, when a people or the governance of that people, fail their people, by ignoring them, or silencing them, or forgetting about them, as if they don’t really matter, then those very things that could be dealt with in a meaningful and comprehensive way, are only going to end up festering and thereby becoming even more problematic.

The vast majority of American citizens, do not own, operate, or manage their own business enterprise, thereby signifying that most Americans are employees of corporations or governmental agencies.  The fact that so many are classified as employees, makes for a scenario which necessitates that those that employ such, should do their level best to see that each employee has a fair amount of predictability as well as some meaningful input in regards to the security of their wage, their benefits, and their career path.  That is to say, those that are employees that feel that they have a voice, while also believing that they have some degree of control of the trajectory of their career, are invariably going to be far more satisfied and far more productive for that agency, than employees that have little or no say, and are essentially treated by management as moveable parts.

So then, to live a life in which a given person is seen as nothing much more than a cog in some massive machine, is not all that much of an improvement over being treated as some sort of beast of burden.  Human beings, have a need not only for social contact and social engagement, that thereby gives them a voice and a say within their community; but they also need to work within a structure that values their contribution, provides them therefore with the means of self-respect, as well as compensates them with a fair wage which will thereby enable them to have the means to live a good and satisfactory life.

Those institutions that cannot fail, crowd out those that would succeed

The United States is supposed to be the exemplar of free markets, but by any reasonable investigation of such, we see demonstrated in actuality that this is not a nation of free markets, but rather consists of far too many situations in which some well positioned companies are backstopped by being “too big to fail,” in addition to those other well-placed corporations which are monopolies, near-monopolies, duopolies, or essentially cartels in everything, but in name.

Perhaps the general population doesn’t mind this, in the sense, that those mega-corporations that essentially own this country and thereby boss this country around, do, for the most part, a fairly able job in providing the basic needs and accouterments that we as the general public, are so accustomed to and are desirous of.  So too, some of these mega-corporations are truly innovative, with strong research and development departments, of which, they consistently as well as reliably put forth better products at price-points that are to a great extent, reasonable.

There are, however, a lot of problems with a structure that permits these institutions to never fail, while also providing them as well as others with carte blanche to buy out and to assimilate those companies that are much smaller, nimbler, and innovative, than they actually are, which thereby serves to cheat the public of actually experiencing free markets in some of the most important areas of interest for them.  Additionally, when certain markets are controlled by essentially only one player or a group of players that act in concert with one another, as in a cartel, then when things go horribly wrong for these entities, this government has proven that it will clearly protect, serve, and reinvigorate those favored industries and companies at the expense of everyone else, of which, the governmental outcasts, on the other hand, must thereby continue to sink or swim, on their own, without such valuable aid being available to them, ever.

That is to say, when a government has favorites in the corporate world that it will do any and everything for, this means that those privileged companies are thereby protected from the vagaries as well as from the true competition of the free enterprise system, so that their inevitable mistakes, missteps, and greed, are covered by the government, on their behalf.  This signifies that these fortunate companies are truly in the catbird seat, thereby not having to worry about failure, for they cannot failed; which means that on the flip side, those that are nobly trying to compete and to make their way in the world, consequently have to deal with a more limited upside, because what they so find is that the pie of prosperity has already been pre-allocated to those that are protected and favored, as opposed to those that are not.

A vigorous and vibrant free enterprise system, should have winners and losers, which should invariably change as well as to adjust over time, of which, the whole point of the exercise is for those that are too inefficient, too incompetent, and too complacent, should thereby be rightly surpassed by all those that are better managed, better organized, and better in aggregate for both the public as well as the company, which is what the free enterprise system is supposed to actually represent, in action.

“Chance only favors the mind which is prepared”

The above quotation comes from the esteemed scientist and microbiologist, Louis Pasteur, who brought us pasteurization, as well as other important breakthroughs in regards to vaccination, studies of molecular asymmetry, as well as of microorganisms.  Pasteur was a giant in his field, who was absolutely brilliant, mainly because he was prepared, relentless, and diligent in trying to piece puzzling and perplexing things together for the advancement of humankind, which he so adeptly accomplished.

The very point of Pasteur’s view in regards to a mind so needing to be prepared, is that none of us really knows for a certainty, when we will be called upon to do our part to be of valued assistance to society, in one form or another; but when such a time as that so arrives, those that have prepared themselves for such a time as that, are those then that will be best prepared and therefore most apt to be successful with that opportunity so presented to them.

This thus signifies that each of us needs to do our level best to understand the fundamentals of life, as well as of our livelihood, making sure to never just sit upon our laurels, as if there is no room for improvement or growth, for there is always something new to learn, or to understand, or to add to our quiver of arrows.  So then, we find that those that will not trouble to prepare themselves, are the type of people, that often will not be ready to do their fair part to help make society a better place for their participation in it; in direct contrast to all those that make it their point, to ask the right questions, and then to understand the answers to such, so as to evolve into becoming more accomplished, and that therefore are ever ready to make their good mark, when such a chance opportunity occurs.

The future is always uncertain, for experts about this and about that, simply aren’t able to absorb into one gigantic general formula, what will or will not occur because of not only the complexities as well as the nuances of life, itself, but also because humans are free will creatures, who do not always do what some agency believes that they will do, even when it appears fairly obvious what they should do, but then they simply don’t or won’t.

That is why each one of us must remain forever diligent and alert, for cataclysmic changes can occur suddenly and almost without notice; of which, we may well be presented with an opportunity in which we feel as if this is our place and our time, to answer such a call, and when we reach down and find that we fundamentally do not have the characteristics to answer such a call, successfully, then clearly, we have failed to have prepared ourselves for that which was ours to own.

So then, the more that we know about certain subjects of compelling interest to us, and the more that we are able to activate that knowledge in a meaningful way, the better prepared we thereby are to use that knowledge, when that time comes to do such; of which, whether such be subsequently called chance or destiny, those that are properly prepared are those that more times than not, will therefore rise up to that occasion, anticipated or not, with a favorable result.

The insidious distraction of cell phones

There are plenty of people, that truly believe that they are the exception to the rule; of which, the rule in question, is the distraction of cell phones, in which, many a person believes that their cell phone, and its incumbent text messaging, phone calls, social media alerts, and emails, does not serve as much of a distraction to them, at all, for they are multi-tasking savants.  This type of belief is pretty much a fallacy, for that which overly occupies our brain, or entices our brain, our serves as an interruption to our brain, in a manner in which our concentration flags on the task on hand, is, by definition, a distraction.

Imagine this for a poignant example, the world’s most esteemed heart surgeon is demonstrating their prowess by allowing a multitude of people to watch them actually perform their surgery in real-time on an especially complicated case, literally involving the life or death of that patient, of which, within the ear of that surgeon, there is a Bluetooth earpiece attached to her ear, and somewhat incredibly, during the most intricate stage of that surgery, that surgeon answers a phone call and animatedly begins speaking to that caller.  Would this seem to be prudent behavior, or would this appear to be something that should be properly considered to be wholly unacceptable?

The fact of the matter is, in the most important areas of our life, whether this is something that we are performing ourselves, or whether it is somebody else doing the work, we know for a certainty, that those that are fully engaged in the activity at hand, are going to, more times than not, be able to successfully accomplish in a competent manner what needs to be so done; as compared to somebody that is distracted by whatever that it may so be, including, for instance, the obvious distraction of a cell phone, that keeps ringing, or beeping, or buzzing.

The problem with cell phones is not just all of the activity that a cell phone is capable of receiving, but also the fact that the cell phone is often within our grasp, or within our field of vision, or even just on our mind, which all serves to distract us from the necessary things that we need to do as well as to accomplish at a given time.  That sort of distraction is definitely not good for those that should and need to be concentrating on the task at hand, and serves thereby as something that in the scheme of things, makes us far less efficient, and far less effective, than what we should or could be, all for something, that isn’t worthy of our actual attention, all of the time.

The most insidious thing about cell phones is the fact that while the vast majority of messages and notifications aren’t typically of any real relevancy or importance to us, there are going to be those exceptions in which the message or notification is something that is highly important to us, which signifies, that because we don’t know whether or not such a notification is going to be meaningful or not, this serves to keep us always attentive to that cell phone, because that message so received, but unknown, might well be the one, that means everything to us.  So then, the fact that at any time, our cell phone may provide us with some actionable information, makes us overly attentive to it, and thereby means that whatever that we are supposed to be doing, will suffer for that always-on, cell phone distraction.

The decline in trust in government

We read at gallup.com/poll that as of 2021, in regards to the general public’s trust in their federal government when it comes to handling international problems and domestic problems, that only 8% of the general population thought that government, of, for, and by the people was doing a “great job;” whereas, 60% of the respondents stated that their trust in their federal government was “not very much,” or “none at all.”  We must recognize this very important point, which is when the mightiest nation that the world has ever known, which has had the democratic vote since its inception as a nation, over two hundred years ago, has a population in which 60% of that population doesn’t trust their own government, then that government, has on a fundamental level, failed its people.  For instance, back in 1972, when the same basic question was asked, the response was that only 22% of the people felt in regards to international problems that their trust in their federal government was “not very much,” or “none at all,” and 31% felt the same, domestically.  That result is somewhat puzzling, in the sense that in 1972, America was still fighting a divisive war in Vietnam, and was still dealing with the aftereffects of the seismic changes of the 1960s.

There isn’t any doubt that the Gallup poll is an accurate reflection of the feelings of the American public at the present time, for the disappointment, discord, and strife that we see so often in the civil discourse around us is clearly in evidence by our everyday observations.   The majority of American citizens, are upset, about what is so occurring to them or on their behalf by their government, as well as to what isn’t being done to ameliorate such, and quite rightly they subsequently have put a significant amount of the blame for their distress upon that federal government, which is supposed to be the champion of the people, but has proven in recent times, not to be the people’s champion at all.

America is supposed to be the land of opportunity, fairness, equality, meritocracy, and the like, of which, it is obvious to the American people that this is indeed the land of plenty; but so too, it is just as obvious that the plenty that America so has, is really just in hands of the few, the connected, and the powerful; and thereby not reasonably distributed to deserving others that are just trying to have some sort of semblance of the American dream in their life, along with having the necessary confidence that their livelihood and therefore their existence is not always going to be perpetually on the razor’s edge.

One knows that a country is on the decline, when people, wistfully look at the past, as being the better days of a nation, because in those days, people had more self-respect, more assurance of job security as well as job advancement, and thereby an overall feeling that they had at least one foot, firmly planted in the abundance that America so best represents.  Therefore, it so follows, that the trust of the people in regards to the government to do the right thing which has eroded in America, is a true reflection that something is fundamentally wrong; and that something has a lot to do with the fundamentals of a civil society, decaying, which we so see by virtue of an educational system that doesn’t educate very well, a housing crisis in the sense of affordability as well as the continual persistence of enclaves of poverty and neglect, the decline of the traditional family unit, as well as too often the lack of not only a fair pay for a fair day’s work, but the treatment as well of laborers as nothing much more than cogs in a relentless and uncaring profit machine.

All of this points to the continual dissatisfaction in one’s government, because that government, is the only force big enough and powerful enough to do what needs to be done to right the wrongs, which the people, unduly suffer from.

To reduce crime this is what needs to occur

There are all sorts of complaints and concerns about the amount of crime that occurs in America, of which, considering that this is the richest nation that the world has ever known, one might thereby expect that the crime rate of this western nation, would be amongst the lowest in the world, but in fact, crime in America, is disappointingly high and doesn’t seem to be on track to lower itself to some sort of reasonable or sensible rate, anytime soon.

The first thing that must be acknowledged about crime, is that crime is not ever anything that occurs within a vacuum, but, in fact, has a lot of to do with the conditions that people grow up in, as well as the education achieved or the lack thereof, poverty, fairness, justice, employment, prejudice, and in addition, to how policing is conducted throughout America.  That is to say, there are circumstances as well as conditions, that lend itself to the prevalence of crime in society, of which, for instance, it is a material fact, that in upper income neighborhoods and enclaves, crime is significantly lower, than in those neighborhoods, that are ghettos of poverty, which are lacking in opportunity as well as lacking in the appropriate accouterments that would lend itself to ever being perceived as a desirable neighborhood to live in.

Those that live in dead-end neighborhoods, with dead-end schools, with, in addition, the only jobs being available nearby also being dead-end, as well as having the police that patrol that neighborhood, treating those that are residents of such, in a manner in which the police see those people that live and congregate there, as being essentially enemies of the state, and thereby valid targets to intimidate, abuse, and to arrest, then the end result for those residents is often going to be rather criminally tragic. Those then, that are without opportunity and without hope, yet, obviously still have the need for food, shelter, and some semblance of a reasonable life, are invariably going to do what they need to do for their own survival, as well as to also prove that they are worthy of some sort of self-respect, often initiated via means and actions that are not state sanctioned.

The only conceivable workaround to meaningfully reduce crime on behalf of that governance, is for the youth of America, and especially the most disadvantaged of such, to be provided with a clear pathway which will afford them with the means of a stable job, of a living wage, as well as the security of that continual employment, for those that are diligent and dedicated to a good work ethic.  That is to say, the hours of each day, are available equally to every one of us, and when those hours, are not filled with something that productively engages the mind and the body, as well as also not requiring responsibility, or consistency of effort, then the result subsequently for that failure to provide such, will often be something lawless or unruly.

So then, the answer to high crime levels, is to take those that are currently on the streets, and to place them instead into steady employment that offers them the means to make a satisfactory living, and thereby by virtue of that work, they will thereby buy into the American dream, for they will, for the very first time, on some level, at that point, actually be a part of it.

Big government and big corporations and the control of America

While it is true that we no longer live in a simpler time, in which, for instance, we frequented our neighborhood store for groceries as well as sundry items, and ate at our local family restaurant; what has replaced such, often with impressive efficiencies, which while clearly offering some great advantages for the average consumer, also represents some significant disadvantages along with some incumbent dangers to society and to America, in whole.  To wit, when long established retail stores, are replaced by behemoths, such as Amazon, that ship everything to everybody, the local tax base as well as local employment of certain communities is typically decimated.  So too, when the banking system gets so large and are permitted to make outrageous gambles in derivatives and financial instruments that are not easily comprehended by regular citizens, of which, inevitably these so-called investing geniuses make mistakes or get too caught up in greed and thereby fail, it is the American government that thereby determines that these banking institutions are “too big to fail,” seemingly not understanding that a business that is too big to fail, is by definition, a structure which is outside capitalism, and is, instead, an artificial construction specifically set up to privatize its profits for the benefit of its executives and shareholders, while socializing its failures onto the general public.

So too, we live in a world in which, the revolving door of those that are at the pinnacle of private enterprise employment and position, are under this government, somehow permitted to mind the henhouse and thereby, become governmental employees at the highest level, permitted to thereby “regulate” the very business enterprise that they so came from.  What could be better for a very large corporation, than having the person that oversees a given business, from the governmental standpoint, be someone that is actually a former employee of high standing of that particular business?  Yet, in fact, time and time again, this is what exactly so happens, and of which, legislation, along with rules and regulations are subsequently so passed, specifically favoring those enterprises and therefore making those companies even more profitable, and far less susceptible to the vagaries of the business world, because the game has been pretty much fixed in their perpetual favor.

Nowadays, big government and big corporate enterprises are basically able to join together, so that those huge corporations are provided with carte blanche to do whatever that they so desire to do, at a price and via the means that suits them, and of which, the government makes sure on their behalf, that they will not only not stand in their way, but will often smooth the way for them, of which, further we find that this government, is often so generous that it will either pay for such, or subsidy it, as well.

Corporations primarily are in the business of making profits, of which, they have an obligation to their shareholders to do so, quarter after quarter, forever.  That would be fine, if this government, would perform its function on behalf of the general welfare of the people, by imposing what so needs to be imposed upon these corporations which would fairly tax such, as well as making sure that the regular folk that work for these corporations were paid a living wage, and further that the trading and the business so done by these corporations, was always done so on an actual level playing field.

The United Socialist States of America and the military

Most people believe that socialism is anathema to our capitalistic system, and therefore those that are socialists or socialist sympathizers are by definition, not good Americans, and further perhaps aren’t deserving of citizenship or at a minimum, governmental employment.  Yet, an honest look at the biggest employer that the United States has, is its own Department of Defense, which employs in excess of three million peoples, which is greater than any other corporation or enterprise, headquartered in America.  Further to the point, in regards to the American military, we should note that those that serve our nation are provided with housing at an affordable price, as well as healthcare, food, education, and entertainment; in addition to the fact that the pay scale for those so employed, is based upon the pay grade of that person, along with their years of service, and of which, the pay thereof, is public knowledge.

That is to say, within the military, each person so enlisted has a job to do, with a specific job description, and they therefore go out and perform that work, per the criteria of that service.  There is no profit motive in the military and the decisions so made are done by the government, and fulfilled by those that are part of the military on behalf of that government, for the greater good of that government and its society.

The above seems to fit into what would be best described as socialistic, and certainly has nothing to do with a capitalistic system, or really has much to do with free will, except for the fact that in theory, those that sign up for the military, have voluntarily done so; of which, once that commitment has been made, those so signing up, are required to fulfill their enlistment obligations, or faced the punishment so meted out for such failure.  Additionally, there is a known hierarchical structure within the military, of which, the structure of that military, means that those that are part of it answer exclusively to the military as opposed to such being adjudicated in an open court of our judicial system.  That is to say, what goes on in the military, with a few exceptions here and there, pretty much stays within the military realm, which signifies that the structure of the military is in essence, answerable only to that military, and none else, which again speaks of socialism, more than anything.

So too, in a socialist society, that state, demands from its citizens, more than anything, simple obedience.  Those then that are socialistic in structure, have a necessary hierarchy, in order to maintain order and discipline, of which, all those that are part of that socialistic system, have an inherent duty to answer to that hierarchy, so done, for the greater good of that establishment.  In other words, it is one for all, and all for one, so demonstrated in action by the fact that the military to the degree that it can do so, is very transparent about the duties and obligations of each of its members and thereby follows a specific protocol at all times, that is meant to be consistent in its application throughout the military.

So then, for those that are curious about socialism, and how it would work, and what therefore is the upside as well as the downside of such, look no further than our military, and that then will provide the answer as to the desirability or danger of such.

Obesity and bad genes

The one thing about Americans is that they often don’t want to blame themselves for much of anything, that goes wrong, even when it has to do with their own body.  In today’s America, our eyes do not deceive us, as never have so many been so obese, of which, as reported by usafacts.org, “Obesity hasn’t doubled. It’s nearly tripled in the United States over the last fifty years.”  Perhaps that might be okay, if obesity, didn’t often lend itself to a variety of health problems, for, in fact, people that are obese, are prone to also developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, ambulatory issues, and assorted other bodily malfunctions.

For those that like to watch old movies, from decades upon decades ago, the biggest disconnect for those watching such, is the fact that those people acting in the movies, seem far smaller and thinner than what we so see represented in the here and now.  Perhaps this is the case, because as a nation we do far less labor with pure brawn and much more through office work and the like, or perhaps it’s because we exercise less, or perhaps because of automobiles and things of that sort we no longer are required to walk to get to where we desire to go, or perhaps those bad fat genes have led us to a propensity to becoming fat, or perhaps it’s because grocery and convenience stores are so prevalent and well stocked, with something for everyone at a price-point that meets a given person’s budget, that we simply have more food to eat and to enjoy.

While each of those things certainly have merit, and may well be contributing to the cause of obesity; the elephant in the room, is the fact that our eating habits, as well as the foods so provided to us, have materially changed over the ensuing decades.  The biggest change we now face has been the increase in the amount of junk and pre-processed foods and soda, which are so prevalent in our stores and often are at a price that is very affordable.  That is to say, there is loads upon loads of food items, or items that are labeled as food or considered to be so, that are cheap, and require no or minimal cooking or preparation from the consumer’s part, and are simply consumed by us, far too often, which is the biggest contributing factor to our obesity.  

Of course, it has to be understood, that those big conglomerates that sell junk and pre-processed food, are multibillion dollar enterprises, and certainly are not going to desire to do anything to sabotage their own very profitable business enterprise; so then, they try to obfuscate the obvious by misdirection and by stating somewhere that moderation in the consumption of what they are so selling is recommended.  That though, hasn’t change a thing, for when food is constructed, that looks appealing, and tastes good, many a consumer can’t resist eating much more than they should eat of it, nor does it ever occur to many a person, that what they are so eating, is harmful to their body, though they might so admit, that perhaps it isn’t the best thing for them.

The obesity that we so have in America, has an awful lot to do with the food that we so eat, and those that consume far too many calories that have no good nutritional purpose for their body, are going to ultimately pay the price, first by the sheer weight that they gain, and secondly by the inevitable health problems that they will thereby eventually suffer from.