“No justice, no peace”

It could be said, and it ought to be known, that there are no truer words than “no justice, no peace.”  In the skeins of time, it is an absolute certainty that there will be justice, for without that justice reigning throughout the entirety of conscious existence, then it is not conceivable that there will be lasting peace, because true peace necessitates truth, consideration, fairness, harmony, and justice.

 To believe, somehow, that through the sword, there will come lasting and harmonious peace, is to believe that through violence we will have a satisfactory peace, which has never been true and never will be true.  While there may well be a time when force is required, that force, in order to be justified, must be exercised within appropriate constraints and must also fully answer to universal ethics, or else that force will contribute to injustice and not to peace.

 There are far too many people that believe that peace without justice is fine, because the object of the exercise, for these misguided and unenlightened people as well as their government, is to silence or to eradicate what is disturbing that peace -- but just as the mythical phoenix will continually rise from the ashes, so thought to be dead and buried, that phoenix will come back again and again, until such a time as there is justice, for all, which has been lastingly established.

 Each of us has been created for a purpose. That purpose is to do our fair part to uphold the attributes of our immaculate Creator, which signifies that where there is no justice, we need to diligently apply ourselves -- for what needs to be resolved for the betterment of all has yet to be resolved, so then it is our collective duty to see that it is resolved. That resolution necessitates fair justice, which will thus bring peace and harmony for all.

 The test then for all those who have incarnated here, is whether or not we are on the right side of history, which signifies that those that are driven by selfishness, lies, ego, lust, and greed are the same that have clearly lost their way, for they are in continual conflict with those that are caring, truthful, sacrificial, charitable, and determined to do their good part to make society better for their valued contribution to it, which begins with seeing that justice is equally applied to all, and where there is no justice, that they will do their part to tirelessly rectify such, step by step.

 In truth, this world is our proving ground, in which we have the responsibility to think and to thereby act in a way that is consistent with good attributes such as fairness and justice one to another, and when we are unfair and unjust, we need to not just to recognize our error but we also need to amend such, for that is the only way that we will faithfully progress to the only destination that matters in which that destination is peaceful, serene, and eternally loving because it is just.

Procedural fairness

Look, part of the promise of the United States is the fact that we are led to believe that there is equality under the law, and if this was true, this nation would be in a lot better place and would truly represent not only a blessed sanctuary for those that immigrate here, but would be a bastion of fairness for all those who are citizens of this nation.

 It is one thing when there is a distinct and obvious trendline that brings us ever closer to equal justice and equality for all, as contrasted to a trendline that is moving in the opposite direction or is stagnant. That said, it has to be acknowledged that in a lot of respects, the United States is a more inclusive nation than it has historically been known for.  Still, that said, it is the last mile that is the most difficult mile, of which it doesn’t seem that presently the United States is making progress where it needs to make progress, and that is disappointing especially to all those who believe in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, as our founding documents that should not just represent our guiding light, but also critically, the spirit of such, must be adhered to.

 In truth, we understand our true status in life by how we are treated, fairly or unfairly, of which that treatment ought to be about fairness for all, as opposed to some being favored and others being clearly unfavored.  The way that we determine whether there is procedural fairness is not just whether it is consistent day by day, but whether that fairness consists of the appropriate respect and consideration that we owe one to another, of which the state should be the epitome of how best to conduct our relationships by conducting itself in a manner that demonstrates equality and fairness for all, and thereby is no respecter of persons.

 The fact is that our eyes do not deceive us, and further to the point, those who suffer from procedural unfairness know that they thereby are not respected equally within their community, and because their standing within that community is inferior to others, that reflects that they aren’t fully benefiting from the laws of the land, because they receive less consideration than other people do, which is unfair.

 The least that this country owes its citizenry, is to be fair to all, and to thereby do what that nation does based upon the merits of a particular situation, as opposed to prejudging others, or purposely making it essentially public policy that some who have certain physical characteristics, or have a wealth of money, or are well connected, thus hold over all others and are thereby treated with the upmost respect and consideration.

 Of course, many of us do desire favoritism, for the obvious reason that the corresponding result for us is going to be more favorable, but that isn’t fair and that isn’t right, which means that it is the governmental responsibility to step in and do its part to treat all with the same degree of respect, or else that government has betrayed its good purpose by failing to uphold our unalienable rights and failing to acknowledge that all are created equal, without exception.

This is why OxyContin became so huge

Painkilling drugs such as OxyContin were originally prescribed for patients who were at the end of their lives, such as those with terminal cancer.   The obvious problem for a pharmaceutical company that provides a painkilling drug to those who have a terminal condition is that these are the very same patients who, by definition, aren’t going to be around in this world for very much longer, which signifies that the drugs so sold aren’t going to represent any sort of growth market.

 We fairly think that pharmaceutical companies have an obligation to provide drugs that are beneficial for patients or will serve a true need for them, such as in reducing their discomfort and pain of which, providing that service should be seen as something that has its place. That said, it seems in this capitalistic system that making a profit in a market that doesn’t experience any meaningful growth is not the place for an ambitious pharmaceutical company to be, and because of that, those seeking an avenue for more profit and more revenue took OxyContin to the next level, rightly or wrongly.

 There are indeed a fair number of Americans who suffer pain, who believe that the pain they are suffering is chronic, and thus have an abiding interest in seeing that their pain is relieved.  This doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request by those suffering such pain, and in acknowledgment that chronic pain is something that should be addressed, the makers of OxyContin believed that they could successfully address such, which, in truth, they efficaciously did, because OxyContin does indeed relieve pain for patients, and does it exceedingly well.  However, the fair-minded question would then need to be asked: at what cost?

 The thing about the treatment of pain through the usage of a drug such as OxyContin is that the relief is only temporary, and further to the point, the drug does little or nothing to constructively resolve the pain that the patient is experiencing, so that therefore the patient is going to have to continually take that drug in which there could well be negative consequences for the repeated usage of OxyContin, which indeed there were. 

 The most meaningful problem with OxyContin is that it is highly addictive, in which patients not only build up a tolerance to that drug, but find that they can not function without it, thereby signifying for the makers of OxyContin that the prescription of OxyContin for those claiming to be suffering from chronic pain provided them with a massive market, because not only is the experience of pain somewhat subjective, but there are also numerous Americans that suffer from pain for one reason or another, and to have a drug that was marketed as not being addictive seemed to be a godsend for everyone.

 Yet, at the end of the day, the fact is that OxyContin is quite addictive and can, through constant use, create cardiac and respiratory issues, along with the very serious addiction issue itself, and of which there were a multitude of Americans who had no business being prescribed OxyContin in the first place but desired such, because of the euphoric feelings they received, all pretty much done under the misimpression that OxyContin was not addictive and was considered to be safe, even though we now know that the usage and misusage of OxyContin lead to many thousands of deaths.

The real significance of a multinational corporation

The United States is the richest nation in the world.  However, when we look at the world, the amount of business and population outside the United States is far larger than the amount of business that can be conducted exclusively within the borders of the United States.  This signifies that for the largest and most aggressive companies in this nation, that they aren’t really interested in just being a great national company, but they desire to do business all over the world, as a multinational corporation, with their headquarters and origin residing in the United States.  So then, it is very important for these multinational companies that as many nations as possible are open for their business, and even more importantly, once open for business that none of these countries have the temerity to preclude or to eliminate such business continuing, which is one of the main reasons why the United States devotes so much time and money to its armed forces, because quite frankly, they aren’t really there to make the world safer, but rather our military forces are there to make sure that other nations that are not currently fully aligned with the United States are obedient to its corporate dictates, because apparently what is good for these multinational corporations, is in theory, good for the United States.

 There is no doubt that trade is extremely important for nations for their continued resiliency and power.  Not to mention that once a domestic market has essentially been conquered, there isn’t going to be a whole lot of room to impressively increase revenues and profits, when domestically that nation has already been pretty much saturated with such, and because stockholders and the executive offices of corporations typically have the same desire, which is ever more profit and ever more revenue, then corporations are pretty much mandated to make this happen by doing business overseas, which should not only keep the growth curve looking quite healthy, but also will require years upon years, or many decades, before the entire world can be completely saturated with their respective business footprint, thus signifying that the outlook of future projections of profit and revenue will appear to be robustly strong.

 So too, businesses are not interested in laws being contemplated that would take away any of their avenues for revenue and profit, which signifies that to preclude this very thing, necessitates an understanding at the highest levels of governance that a government that governs best, is that government that works hand-in-glove with the biggest and most important domestic corporations for the collective perceived benefit of nation and corporations -- though truth be told, it is the population in whole that ends up suffering whenever the governance of this nation turns it back from doing something constructive about pollution, environmental destruction, special tax benefits and favoritism earmarked for corporations, and the government backstopping of certain multinational corporations that have come upon rough times at the overall expense of all those that lack that same sort of power and connections.

 To be a multinational corporation is to be in the position of power that, at its best, for those multinational corporations signifies that the laws and legislation so written are in conformance with the multinational corporation's desires, and that business overseas is faithfully supported by the big stick that America is wont to use, as influenced by those same multinational corporations.

Black police officers who became mayors

We find that there are some very big cities in which black police officers were duly elected mayor, of which two of those cities, Los Angeles and New York City, are two of the biggest and most important cities in America, where Tom Brady was mayor of Los Angeles, and Eric Adams was mayor of New York City.  Similarly, there are other black police officers who have become mayors, such as Nathaniel Trives of Santa Monica, as well as Reginald Burgess of North Charleston.

 The thing about policing is that policing is built around law and order, so that those that were formerly police officers, typically, are the very same that were part and parcel of imposing that law and order, which to a large extent, is something that those that are prominent within cities in the sense of not only power and influence, but also businesses and the like, are prone to favor those that implement policies that serve to protect well their assets and property, which signifies that they don’t care for a whole lot of protest, nonsense, or anything that will cause havoc within the city.

 This signifies that because optics counts, it makes sense, therefore, to be seen as being a progressive city by having the major of such, be a person of color, which seems to suggest that prejudices and racism within that city are not a real issue, mainly because the person so democratically elected is a person of color.  However, just because a person of color is the mayor of a given city, it needs to be acknowledged that to get to that position, or even be considered for that position, often necessitates that the nominee be in harmony with those that are the true power brokers of that city, which means, that the most salient reason why some cities elect black mayors that come from a policing background, has a lot to do with those mayors previously proving in action that they are able to toe the law and order line, as their sworn duty, which dovetails well with those that are the elites of cities, because their objective is to not only maintain what they already have, but also to enhance such, and riots, chaos, protests, and the like are typically not good for business or the image of a city.

 While former black police officers who have subsequently been elected mayor are probably for the most part good and decent people, it needs to be acknowledged that as a former police officer, they understand authority and further to the point, they understand the supposed need for the citizenry of that community to adhere to that authority and because that is so, those in the know, are going to support such for mayor, because the optics look good, as in the perception that the community is progressive and fair, while also understanding well that where order needs to be imposed, that these former police officers will likely impose that order, all for the supposed good of the community and community safety.

The Twenty Negro Law

The thing about war is that in every era and in every age, it always seems to be a poor man’s fight and a rich man’s war.  This was certainly true of the Southern rebellion of our Civil War, in which the Confederates enacted a law that stipulated that the white plantation owner would be exempt from military service if his plantation had at least twenty enslaved people, under the theory that the white man needed to be on a given plantation so as to maintain law and order upon it. Indeed, to a certain degree, this policy made sense because somebody in authority needed to still be on the plantation, especially during a Civil War and a possible slave rebellion. That said, it doesn’t seem to take into account that the same important personages who insisted that secession was necessary had provided themselves a law that would keep them safe from the fight to come.

 So too, there were plenty of white people in the South, who were not plantation owners, and owned little or nothing of their own, who were obviously not exempt from having to serve the Confederate cause, because those whites that volunteered were not enough men so needed for the Southern armed forces, and thus conscription became the law of the land, signifying that unless a white male of fighting age could find some sort of legal excuse, they were subject to that draft and to a fight that they may or may not have wanted to make, especially in consideration, that for the South, the fight was about defending the institution of slavery and the value of those slaves so held, of which, those that didn’t own slaves, weren’t going to gain much of anything, no matter how the battle turned out.

 Indeed, in any war, no matter the results thereof, there are going to be winners, and there are going to be losers, of which those who ended up dead or maimed would obviously be on the losing side. In contrast, those who benefited would not only be those who maintained their status but would also be those who were still alive and well.  This indicates that the least that those who advocated for rebellion, secession, and the like needed to do was to put their own lives at risk, and not have had hidden behind laws that permitted them not to fight, such as the Twenty Negro Law, which shouldn’t even have been needed to have been passed, if those that who were so hellbent on the protection of and the need of enslaving people, actually risk their own lives, and spilled their own blood, when insisting that secession was the right thing to do, come hell or high water.

 The thing about war is that it is hell, but those who really experience that hell are the ones who are putting something tangible on the line, such as their very lives; whereas, those who rant and rave about the need to fight, but don’t place themselves in a personal position of jeopardy, are fair-weather instigators that ought to have aligned their true intentions with their fighting words.

The illicit drug business in America is enormous

When it comes to illicit drugs in America, we find that the most popular drugs of choice are marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and oxycodone.  Regarding marijuana, we read at cannabis.lacity.gov that “…legal sales in the U.S. totaled $30.1 billion in 2024,” and we know for a certainty that the black market sales of marijuana far exceeded that total.  So, it then makes sense when we read at therecovergyvillage.com that illegal drugs are estimated to be a $200-$750 billion a year market in America, which really does seem conceivable.  Whether or not we take the low estimate of $200 billion or something even higher, it needs to be acknowledged that $200 billion which is approximately the amount of sales that Chevron had in 2024, represents an absolutely massive amount of revenue, and thereby we need to understand that just like a regular corporation, those that are in illicit drug business need accountants, banks, transportation, insurance, buildings, employees, logistics, executives, managers, security, armaments, and an overall structure that makes these entities to be efficient and effective at what they do.

 This thus indicates with an absolute certainty that there would not even be close to the amount of illicit drugs in America if those in that business did not have firm alliances with certain police officers, immigration officers, politicians, banking officers, real estate firms, and other important personages. because this is way too much money and way too much drug flow for this not to be the case.  This means that the reason why the so-called “war on drugs” has essentially been an unmitigated failure has an awful lot to do with the fact that those who are most benefiting from the illicit drug business are the very same who are not going to give up easily what empowers them and puts bucketloads of money into their pockets, come what may.

 To believe, somehow that there is an actual war between drug traffickers against the policing arm of the state in which year after year, America comes up short on seriously interdicting illicit drugs signifies that there are powerful players intimately involved in the business, of which because of their connections and the usage of their power, this not only protects the illicit drug business but enhances such, in which, despite the original plan that the illicit drug market was supposed to be directed exclusively to the underclass of America, they have not only lost control of that, but at this juncture, they don’t seem to really care, because lots of money is pretty much the only thing that matters to them.

 So then, all the dog and pony shows, demonstrating the interdiction of this illicit drug and that illicit drug really doesn’t count for all that much, because each year, more and more illicit drug business is accomplished in America and this will continue to be the way that it is, until such a time as this nation, redirects its purpose to takedown the top players of these illicit drug organizations, in conjunction with those that are the enablers of such, of which, until this is done with a determined purpose behind such, we will find that the illicit drug business in America not only is not going to go away anytime soon, but will continue on the same destructive course that it has been on, for over fifty years, because money and power trumps empty words and lackluster efforts.

…To whomever much is given, of him will much be required…”

We read in Holy Scripture the following: …To whomever much is given, of him will much be required; and to whom much was entrusted, of him more will be asked. (Luke 12: 48)  Indeed, to believe that we all start at the same place when we incarnate onto earth is to believe in an obvious misread.  The bottom line is that some of us are born into very favorable circumstances, including good parents, quality education, strong connections, and a wealth of opportunities.  Then there are those that are born into very difficult and imposing circumstances, and thereby to believe that those born into privilege should be adjudged the same as contrasted to those that have been born into rather dire circumstances is to suffer from not recognizing that which is clearly evident.

 Those who are gifted with opportunity have an incumbent duty to do something of substance with the advantages that have come their way. When they, despite their advantages, end up failing, they should not just suffer the opprobrium of their contemporaries, but also need to be cognizant of their personal failure. This signifies that they should be adjudged harshly for their failure to uphold the advantages that they were privileged to be granted, so structured for the expressed purpose of achieving something of merit, meant for not only their personal betterment but also that of the society that they represent.  After all, when those that have been given much, that have not done what they ought to have done to make their community a better place for their good participation in it, this signifies that not only have they let their own self down, but they have let their community down, because when gifted with the talent to do great and good things, they did not.

 So too, those that are placed in positions of great power and are entrusted with doing right by the people -- thereby have an innate responsibility to do exactly that, for those that are entrusted to do good things for the people have an inherent obligation to make good on that.  In truth, those who have been entrusted to do good deeds but don’t end up doing anything of that kind have made the people to suffer, and should be held accountable for that, because it was their responsibility and their duty to do right, and they have instead done wrong.

 Each of us will be judged, and judged according not just to what we have done, but also what we could and ought to have done, and have thus failed to do.  Those who have great talents and have had grand opportunities bestowed upon them also have an incumbent obligation to do right by these gifts, because not everyone has these gifts, and when these are misused, misapplied, or simply never activated, then society as a whole is the domain that suffers the most.

 So then, to those who have been given much, we find that they are required to do much with their given talents, for these are the very same that have been tasked with doing great things on behalf of the society in which they are an active member, for the greater good, and for the necessary progress of humanity.

Taxation and the judgment of one’s country

The rallying cry of those who rebelled against the United Kingdom was “no taxation without representation.”  This was true back then, but we now fortunately live in a nation where those who are taxed have representation.  The thing is, though, the second part of the equation is whether or not the taxation is being spent on behalf of its constituents responsibly and constructively.  That is to say, while nobody really likes paying taxes, people are fine with paying their fair share if they are the beneficiaries of those taxes being utilized for the betterment of the community that they are an integral part of.

 When we examine the case of the United States, we see that the national government's fiscal budget is substantial, which would be acceptable if we believed that those funds were well spent. Fortunately, for Americans, the budget of those monies as spent is fairly transparent, though because this country’s representatives believe that there are areas of the budget that should be secret, it is not fully divulged.  Still, at the end of the day, the budget does demonstrate where the money has been allocated, and thus, in fairness to those who are responsible for how that money has been divvied up, we can fairly judge America by where it spends its money.

 This signifies based on that budget, that America believes first and foremost that nothing is more important than its military, because it spends a gargantuan amount of money on its armed forces, who are positioned all over the world, as if to say, the world is a very dangerous place and it is America’s responsibility to impose law and order all over the world.  So too, the upshot of having all that money spent on the military is that it’s going to be awfully hard to continue to justify such unless America gets involved in wars and conflicts all over the world, which thus serves to justify that expense continuously, as long as America can find something to fight about and believe that it serves the American taxpayer’s interest.

 Additionally, because American governance believes it has no responsibility to the people to operate under some reasonable fiscal restraint, it thus runs a massive deficit, which means that those that own that debt, insist upon “tribute” or interest payments to that debt, of which, America devotes an enormous amount of money to service that debt, but gets no closer to paying off that debt, year after year, but rather that debt keeps on increasing.  This seems to say that it’s good for this nation to be in debt, but it has to be recognized that many a person who is deeply in debt ends up in bankruptcy, which seems to imply that nations that do not keep their fiscal house in order are the same that will have to eventually debase their currency, restructure, or default.

 In sum, the people have a right to weigh in as to whether or not their tax money is being spent not only responsibly but also whether there is an overall vision that makes sense and is sustainable, because when that is found to be lacking, the judgment of the people will fairly reflect their dismay.

This is why you don’t know your neighbor

So often in America, we live in our own insular world, in which we don’t know our neighbors because we have everything that we need right here at home.  That is to say, we have the internet, we have electricity, and we have television. Similarly, the things we don’t have directly with us are readily available online, at a grocery store, or at a gas station. In other words, we don’t know our neighbor because we don’t break bread with our neighbor, because so many of us are in an urban setting, which precludes us from the necessity of drawing water from the same well, or grazing our farm animals, or gardening, and so on.

 Of course, if we want to know our neighbor, we have that option, especially if they are open to being a good neighbor to us, but for the most part, we keep what we consider to be our respectful distance from one another, so that it just seems that the only time that we really get to interact with our neighbor is when we are collectively facing trouble, such as in a war which requires some degree of civic engagement, neighbor interaction, and sacrifice.  So too, when we lose electricity, or there is a natural disaster, we are going to reach out to one another, not only because there are fewer things that we can avail ourselves of within our home, but also because it’s easier to be resilient when we team up, as compared to doing it all alone.  Additionally, with no electricity within our residency, we have a stronger tendency to step outside our domain and interrelate with one another in cooperation and to be of mutual aid.

 Indeed, those who have it good are the very same who often feel that they don’t need to reach out to their neighbor because they believe they won’t ever need them, so why do so?  This signifies that, to a certain extent that the type of people who know their neighbors better are people who are in one form or another, struggling, and because of that struggle, they believe in knowing their neighbor because collectively they are able to lean on and to help one another and thereby to keep going what needs to be kept going.

 So too, those that are lacking in material assets and the luxuries of the day, are the same that, because they have fewer options, are more available to be a good neighbor, because they aren’t caught up in all the toys that they possess, because what they have isn’t all that much.  Additionally, people that lack the distractions of modern day accouterments are the same that seem to have more time that is available to be a people person and thus valued their neighborhoodlike friendships because it is human interaction that ultimately makes for a more satisfying life, for we are social creatures, that though we may forget, or discount, or ignore this fact, will, especially when the chips are down, remember that we truly do need our good neighbor, after all.

Digital cash, cashless transactions, and the end of freedom

The first thing to remember is that money in any of its myriad forms is a form of power.  That is to say, in many respects, those who have the money call the shots.  This thus basically signifies that those who lack money are the same who lack power, and because of that lack of power, they often lack good access to basic freedoms, because those without good access to money or who don’t have enough money, are going to find that their options are also limited within the construct of the society that they are a part of.  Of course, those with limited money still have their mind and their free will, but the issue that they are dealing with is the fact that they are often restricted in what they can accomplish or take care of because of that lack of money.

 There was a time, not so long ago, when the transactions, both personal as well as business, were conducted with the actual coins of the realm, be that coinage or the representation of such, as seen through banknotes.  Those days are behind us, and while cash transactions still occur and are commonplace in some of our interactions, we do so find that most transactions are done electronically through digital representations of money, which, for the most part, though not always, are seamless, convenient, and safe.

 The problem though with cashless transactions and digital cash, in whole, is the fact that these transactions are recorded in one form or another, which for many a person, doesn’t seem to present a problem, but there needs to be a general understanding that whenever governments as well as other organizations have invasive access to all of our digital transactions they then have the capability of exposing specific transactions, should they be inclined to do so, in order therefore to embarrass or to compromise us, because all of what we have done, which we may well have forgotten about, has been recorded.  Additionally, the control of our digital cash is really not entirely in our hands, but rather it is controlled by the institution that has provided us with the means to have that digital cash, which means, fair or not, our digital cash and our digital assets could be “frozen” or they could be lost or misplaced, or because of a data breach, or electronic blackout, it might not be available to us.  This signifies that because digital cash is not tangible that our access to such can be taken away, legitimately, inconveniently, wrongly, or not.

 The bottom line when it comes to monetary assets is that what we have physically in hand differs from that which is digitally stored.  So that, those who have cash and utilize such are typically able to go about their business and take care of business because that cash is not only readily accepted as a medium of exchange but also provides a way to transact such business discreetly, and therefore is preferred by many a person or organization that does not desire to have everything that they do be recorded.  As they say, cash is king, and while it appears that its kingdom is being circumvented or assaulted, those who do not properly value what cash actually is may be the very same who will rue that decision, so made.

“A beautiful mosaic”

On October 27, 1976, President Jimmy Carter stated in his speech in Pittsburgh, that “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” Regrettably, at present, it seems like America is regressing from what this nation is supposed to represent and appears to desire that each American instead be a cookie-cutter cutout of an image that is not a true representation of what being an American actually is, but rather seems to prefer surface characteristics that only some are born with, thus to the exclusion of many.

 To believe that a great nation needs to be all of the same race, all of the same religion, and all on the same page is to believe that redundancy should be the primary focus of that nation, under the misguided belief that if everybody looked the same, thought the same, and did things the same, that this would thus represent some sort of paradise; whereas, in actuality, we find just through the family dynamic, that even those related by the same bloodline are frequently unable to get along swimmingly, all of the time, and indeed family disputes can not only be ugly but can also be quite destructive, which is why those that yearn for a nation in which we all look the same, are not only yearning for that which will never come to fruition, but clearly are the very same type which care not for the content of one’s character, but rather embrace those that simply look like they do, as if that would thus bring forth peace and justice.

 In life, we will be challenged and part of having to face those challenges is the sure recognition that how we overcome such, defines who and what we really are, which is one of the reasons why there are differences between us, not so much as to separate us, but rather as a fair opportunity to see if we can find a way to achieve common ground, from one to another.  The basis in America for the coming together of those with different backgrounds resides in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence of this land, which emphasizes that we have not only sovereignty within our own person, but that we have been graced by our Creator with free will, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which thereby means that we are meant to take that which we have been gifted with, and create something good out of it, especially by reaching out to others so that together we can accomplish better and more impressive achievements in the recognition that each of us has our own individual talents that can be buttressed by others that complement what we are trying to achieve for the greater good.

 The contrast between light and dark, between good and bad, between right and wrong, is there to clearly delineate that what we do makes a difference. So then, those who recognize that we are meant to work together for the common good are those who are on the same page and are astute enough to comprehend that our differences make for the opportunity to create a collaborative mosaic that is inclusive because of that diversity of different ideas and thoughts, which thereby provides equity for all, because each has their own say which is thus imprinted in that most beautiful of mosaics.

No nation pops more pills than the United States

It is very disappointing that the richest nation in the world does not correspondingly have the highest life expectancy, as well, which seems to suggest that money can’t buy everything.  We find that the United States spends an incredible amount of money each year on pharmaceutical products, far exceeding any other nation, of which commonly prescribed drugs are for ailments such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, pain, and diabetes.  Yet, despite taking these very drugs, which theoretically are supposed to be of benefit to the patients, it doesn’t seem to accomplish the objective, which is to help these patients live lengthy and quality lives.

 While prescription drugs may very well have a good purpose behind them, it has to be recognized that America seems to represent a nation that believes that in everything, there is a shortcut.  So then, for instance, people who eat the wrong foods, don’t exercise, and don’t follow whatever directives that they have been given that would help them to right their ship, somehow believe that taking a prescription pill will mitigate all the things that they have been doing that are unhealthy and wrong. 

 The bottom line is that bad habits that aren’t rectified have consequences, which is one reason why, despite all the pill taking, Americans don’t live as long as comparable other Western nations, who are more cognizant that simply taking a pill isn’t going to be good enough to actually have good health.  This signifies that a far more wholesome approach when it comes to any sort of medication is the basic understanding that for a positive result, it’s going to necessitate a two-way street in which the patient does their good part to change what needs to be changed, so that they can reverse previous bad habits and take on better habits that knowingly comprehend that a physical body needs to be treated with proper respect and maintenance, or else, it will trend to a undesirable result consistent with those that have not done right by their body.

 While there are plenty of drugs that are powerful enough to bring relief and aid to the body, to just rely on these drugs and nothing else is pretty much going to result in a delay of the inevitable, and could be, in some cases, a contributing factor to why bad things get even worse.  Look, it has to be said, if prescription drugs, in and of themselves, were the answer to people’s health concerns, then Americans would have the longest longevity, along with being amongst the healthiest of nations, but this isn’t the case.  So then, to believe, somehow, that more prescription drugs, or better and more innovative prescription drugs, will somehow resolve the problem gets it all wrong.  Rather, there needs to be a reckoning that says there is something seriously wrong with American health, and the resolution for this has got to be something that takes into account that how we feed our bodies and exercise our bodies is our responsibility, which we need to take agency over and be responsible for.

Law and order are specifically applicable to the common people and not to the elites

Those who open their eyes know for a certainty that the law is not equally applied now, and never has been in this country.  This thus signifies that while there are plenty of good and sensible laws which are necessary for public order and safety – we also find that there are way too many laws or exercises so performed by the policing arm of the state which are at best, an inconvenience to the general public that are being stopped, frisked, and possibly arrested, and at worse can be something far more troubling and tragic.

 Those who are the elites of this nation don’t really care what the law does or does not say because they know for a certainty that the law will not be equally applied against them, unless they have somehow lost their favoritism or position, and thus have become vulnerable to that which was never meant to inconvenience them.  In truth, those with money and connections are almost always handled differently than those that are without those very things, which is why when there is trouble in the streets which is bad for business, we find that the elites of this nation are quick to call for more law and order, because at the end of the day all they really care about is that they are not subject to being in any sort of danger in addition to the fact that they do not willingly wish to have anything happening that would negatively affect their investment interests.

 In reality, no matter how straightforward a given law is structured and thereby understood, for those who are the privileged, they are going to find a way that will let them be treated differently from all those who are the unprivileged.  So too, even when there are clever attorneys who are working to defend the defenseless, the object of the exercise is to see that these do-gooder attorneys and their clients are only permitted to have a victory or two, but are never permitted to upset the general structure and purpose of what these laws represent and when that is the case, the law is restructured to clamp down on this type of inconvenience and misapplication.

 To have a perpetual “get out of jail” card is the type of privilege that all wish they could avail themselves of, because the fact of the matter is that even good citizens may find themselves or their progeny in the type of situation that takes away that person’s freedom, and further to the point, it is both embarrassing and annoying.  This signifies that those in the know are going to avail themselves of all the tools that the need to rectify what they need to have rectified or else the law as applied is going to have to be changed, because those that are the elites of this nation, are not going to tolerate being treated as if they are just some sort of common citizen, because the law as enforced is meant to be applied only upon them, and never upon thee.

Conscription of wealth

While it is true that today’s America has an all-volunteer military, this has definitely not been the case for lengthy periods of its history; and it could also be said that the all-volunteer military that we have has an awful lot to do with the fact that because there are so many areas of America that represent poverty and lack of opportunity, that for those in these situations, enlisting into one of the military branches seems to make eminent sense for them.  That said, because America is the world’s policeman and has seemingly an unlimited appetite to essentially war with just about anybody, it does seem quite possible that there will be a conscription draft of eligible persons implemented in this country sometime in the future so as to keep our armed forces at full strength.

 When it comes to the concept of the conscription of wealth, this has a lot to do with the fact that in many cases it is those with the least amount of power that are compelled to fight in wars in which those that are in the battle are the very same susceptible to being killed, maimed, or damaged to such an extent that they aren’t able to when they have completed their service to adequately and sanely adjust to civil society.  On the other hand, it’s a fact that wars can be extremely profitable not just for armament manufacturers of all sorts, but also for those that bankroll the war effort, so that regrettably, while we might think that all of us sacrifice something of substance during a war, in actuality, there are a few well-positioned people and corporations that make out like bandits which is certainly one of the more significant reasons why America has so many wars. 

 This thus signifies that when this government determines that it will not take the profit out of war, and it will thus not conscript the wealth so created, held, or obtained during such a war, then those who should have done their fair part to sacrifice something of value for the war effort, have essentially gotten off not only scot-free but it could be argued that in many a case they have profited from such, which is why there needs to be a conscription of wealth.

 Indeed, we need to recognize that, besides the regrettable loss of life, limbs, and minds that war entails, it doesn’t seem fair or right that those with a plentitude of wealth are somehow exempt from having to pay their due for the blood sacrifice so made by fellow Americans.  This is why there needs to be a conscription of wealth, which if so implemented, might well make a material difference in regards to all the warfare and things of this ilk, generated by America, in which, it could be argued in a lot of cases, war isn’t even necessary and could be readily replaced by diplomacy instead, of which diplomacy clearly has fallen out of favor in these modern times.

 In sum, to change a given behavior, the construct needs to be changed, and should there come that time when there truly is a conscription of wealth, there will also be a corresponding reduction in American warfare.

The North’s failure to destroy the planter aristocracy

The South made the cardinal error of bringing war upon the North, without taking into full consideration that the elected President had made it abundantly clear that he did not believe that he had the Constitutional authority to eradicate slavery where slavery already existed.  To the South’s discredit, they either did not believe that Lincoln’s words were true or, perhaps looking forward, they believed that it was only a matter of time, that the more populous North, containing the majority of the electoral votes, would put the sword to the institution of slavery; and thus, the South ended up rebelling.

 When it came to the Southern rebellion, it needs to be recognized, that the general population did not make this decision, but rather it was made by the upper echelons of the respective Southern State governments, which typically consisted of men that were themselves members of the planter aristocracy and thereby dependent upon slave labor, along with those that were associated with such, because of the benefits that they were able to incur, by kowtowing, submitting, or just plain joining up with that planter aristocracy. 

 The thing about war is that, as hellish as it typically is, at the end of the day, oftentimes there will be a winner, and to the winner go the spoils.  This thus meant that when the South was defeated, that the time was right to put a permanent end to the planter aristocracy, once and for all, and of which there were definitely legislators that were all for this, but they were regrettably outnumbered by those that believed that Amendments and other important actions, such as reconstruction and Northern troops would be good enough to get those that formerly were part of this Union of States, to get back in conformance with such.

 The thing about power is that power seldom willingly gives up what it has, in addition to the salient fact that those who have the connections that formerly helped secure that power are going to avail themselves of that very thing so as to get back in control of what was previously in their control.  So that, while the planter aristocracy was badly hurt, and seemingly defeated by that civil war, they were not, in virtually all cases, hanged as traitors, nor banned from this nation, and were not punished by having to vacate land property that was owned by them.  This thus signified that the planter aristocracy though humbled, was not eradicated, and because of this failure to eradicate that planter aristocracy, they over a period of time, were right back in the saddle of power again, and because the South became equal members of the United States again, it thus meant on a national level, that legislation so being contemplated and subsequently ratified, would have to have the approval of Southern representatives, which in many respects were those that had been part of the planter aristocracy or if not, were their progeny.

 All of this basically meant that while it is true that not only were the slaves freed, and that they theoretically had the ballot and thus were part and parcel of democracy, that the upshot was because the planter aristocracy weren’t banished from this nation in one form or another, and thereby their assets were not nationalized by these United States, that the freed black man was not all that better off than they were before, which is to the great shame of this nation and its history.

Welfare capitalism

The very system of capitalism, by definition, entails risk.  Therefore, whenever a so-called capitalist is in a situation in which they are being deliberately backstopped by the government, then they aren’t a true capitalist at all, but rather they are experiencing welfare capitalism.  This thus signifies that though the vast majority of corporations sink or swim based upon their merits and business conditions, that there are certain corporations, that are big enough, or considered to be important enough, that when they get things all wrong, and therefore should be subject to going out of business or being insolvent, or perhaps being bought out or nationalized, that instead for certain particular favored corporations, they are bailed out.

 Bailing out a given corporation is not only anathema to what capitalism stands for, but it is also quite frankly unfair to all those other companies that are not eligible for such bailouts.  Indeed, for this government to put its thumb on the scale, so that a select few are subsidized, protected, and valued, whereas the vast majority receives none of this favoritism, is just plain wrong.  In actuality, any company coming to the government, hat in hand, requesting favorable terms or to be bailed out for whatever reason, should either be put to the sword, or they should become nationalized.  There should be no exceptions to this rule, because this government should not be in the business of which there are those “special” corporations that are coddled and saved, no matter the structure of the deal, so ultimately done. After all, at the end of the day, that isn’t capitalism.

 Whenever we read that there are specific corporations that are “too big to fail”, we need to comprehend that if this is true, then this government should have never gotten to the stage in which it permitted that any one company became so big or so important, that the failure of such a company would be devastating to this nation and its people.  Rather, it is the governmental responsibility to see that corporations must not only compete, but that monopolies or duopolies and the like, need to be reduced to an absolute minimum, and that whenever there is a business of which it makes practical sense that they have a monopoly, such as in utilities like water or electrical, then these need to be regulated by the government, in exchange for this natural monopoly being legislated into existence.

 A free-market economy demands competition, of which that competition thereby helps to bring innovation and improvements to the general public. Indeed, it has to be admitted that without competition, then companies are going to have a strong tendency to concentrate their efforts on maximizing their profit in conjunction with lowering their risk, because they don’t have any real incentive to take a chance since they are quite satisfied with the way that things are and therefore their main concern is to see that this is the way that they remain now and into the future.

 In sum, welfare capitalism is inherently unfair because it serves to save some while letting others fail, signifying that the government plays favorites, as opposed to its duty to see that the rules are equally applied to all.

“…the communism of combined wealth and capital…”

The great thing about political speeches by Presidents is that they are recorded for posterity, so that, as good and informed citizens of this nation, we have the opportunity to look at and examine what Presidents have said and determine what these words meant to our nation, back then and today.  In 1888, President Grover Cleveland stated, “Communism is a hateful thing and a menace to peace and organized government; but the communism of combined wealth and capital, the outgrowth of overweening cupidity and selfishness, which insidiously undermines the justice and integrity of free institutions, is not less dangerous than the communism of oppressed poverty and toil…”  In other words, what President Cleveland was saying is that concentrated wealth is a danger to this nation and is not only inimical to such, but that the very freedoms so granted to us by our Constitution will not long stand when up against concentrated wealth, which undermines opportunity as well as equal and fair justice under the law, by favoring the elite over the people.

 Indeed, when a significant portion of the people find that they have little or no security in their employment, and are inundated with debts of all sorts, then they aren’t really free, because their options are quite limited and the upside for them seems rather bleak.  So too, when the wealth of this nation is garnered into ever fewer hands, then the laws of this nation and the principles of this nation have taken a backseat to those that care not for anything other than to accumulate even more wealth and thereby more influence and control of this government, by making sure that the henhouse is guarded by the fox, so that the people essentially have an illusion of a government of, for, and by the people, when in actuality that government has been captured by concentrated capital and the legislators that populate that government answer not to the people, but to that wealth.

 The bottom line is that America is a nation that is dividing itself into two separate and distinct groups, of which one is those who have it all, and the other is those who have nothing at all.  This stark division is the proximate reason why there is that clarion call for more law and order, for when those who are oppressed and therefore are not getting a fair deal, yet live in the richest nation that the world has ever known, are for a certainty not going to go down quietly, even when they are provided with plenty of bread and circuses, because at the end of the day, it doesn’t sit well within their soul, especially when they realize that as bad as it is for them presently, it isn’t going to get any better for the progeny, and because they see no good future, they will therefore not go down without a fight.

 The America of today is not a level playing field and never has been, but the greatest crime being perpetrated against the people is the fact that the present government, has essentially ceded all its power and authority to the elites of America, which means that the trendline is thus heading inexorably in the direction of even more disparity and therein lies the rub -- because the people recognize that not only are things not getting better, but they are never going to get better, because no positive change is on the agenda. So then, there will be a reckoning as to whether this government belongs to the people, in whole, or whether it has degenerated into merely being a façade and thus a betrayal of what our country was founded upon.

Practice mindfulness

It definitely matters what we think and contemplate upon, for those who direct their thoughts in the general direction of mindless domains or simply let their thoughts roam about without any real purpose behind them aren’t going to be the type of people that are going to progress and make society a better place for their participation in it, but will for a certainty, find themselves having aimed their sights upon something that is way too low and of little purpose.  In fact, each of us has been gifted with a free will mind to think the thoughts that we are totally sovereign of, and those who recognize that great power are the very same who are well positioned to do something of merit in their life for themselves as well as for others.

 We need to be mindful because so many of us can get distracted through the everyday things that are going on around us, or simply are people that prefer to let themselves go with the flow, without understanding correctly that the purpose of life is to fight against that which is worth fighting against, while also understanding the time and place to uphold that which is worth upholding and in order to do that, we need to be mindful and thus lead lives of purpose or else we will not get to the destination that we need to get to.

 In this modern world, there are a multitude of things and activities that can easily get us off track, of which, for those who are thinking we need to recognize that not everything that comes to our mind is something that we need to dwell on or address.  That is to say, those who are mindful are able to push aside that which would serve to take their eye off the prize, and therefore to concentrate on that which is worth concentrating upon, and thereby to get done those necessary things, as opposed to getting done what really isn’t necessary or important at all.

 In truth, since we can’t think about everything, we ought therefore not to permit our consciousness to wander about without good direction, for when we do, we find that we are no longer making progress, but are at best, merely cycling through the same darn things, again and again, ultimately to not get much beyond the starting line.

 It isn’t so much that we are what we think, but that what we think and ponder upon creates the domain that we operate within. So then, it is definitely true that what is foremost in our mind and what we therefore concentrate our greatest efforts on, defines what we are all about, and those who waste such in the pursuit of that which isn’t worth pursuing, or mindlessly wander about without any rhyme or reason, are the same that desperately need mindfulness, because at the end of the day, those that are not mindful and thereby purpose-driven are the same that are lost, and need mindfulness to have any realistic hope to get back on the only path that will bring them both peace as well as enlightenment.

Paying employees in arrears should necessitate an interest payment to the employee

While there are those jobs, which typically consist of gig jobs or cash jobs in which the person so doing the work does gets paid the same day, that isn’t the way that it is for most regular employees, of which very few of those get paid same day’s wages for same day’s work. Rather, they are on a schedule to be paid, which, depending on the company, might be weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly, and the pay is made after the labor has been accomplished.  In other words, for those who are paid weekly, they are typically receiving their paycheck for the previous workweek and not the current workweek, which means that their pay is in arrears.  This, in itself, is not illegal; it simply is the way that business is conducted in America.

 Nevertheless, we read in Holy Scripture, “‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.” (Leviticus 19:13)  It would seem that back in biblical times servants were paid their wages at the completion of their day’s work, and so it does seem like we have regressed where employees have to wait days or even weeks to be paid their wages, as if American corporations can’t figure out how to pay what they owe to their employees promptly, or perhaps it’s this way because it’s been this way for so long, that they don’t even give any thought to it.

 When it comes to money, it has to be recognized that plenty of institutions make it their business to take money that is in their hands and to invest it in things such as equities, bonds, CDs, and the like.  The bottom line is that corporations have an abiding drive to take the money that they have on hand and do something constructive with it, so that the cash is effectively put to work, in order to make additional money, by, for instance, interest payments on short-term CDs or via money market funds.  This so indicates that there is a reason why companies prefer to pay employees in arrears, which is as straightforward as the fact that money makes money.  So too, it has to be recognized that in the era of inflation, money of today is worth more than money in two weeks' time. In short, employees, in aggregate, are getting the short end of the stick whenever they aren’t paid at the completion of a day’s work, or very soon thereafter.  The fair solution to such would seem to be something in which wages in arrears are entitled to interest being paid, because in a sense, the employee is loaning their labor pay to the employer and ought to be compensated for so doing.

 A fair structure, therefore, would be for a company of one hundred employees or more, being mandated by law that those employees be entitled to an interest payment for the monies so held in arrears for their labor, of which that interest rate would be calculated based upon the prevailing Federal Funds rate or something similar to such.  This then would be fair and appreciated by those who have done their part and should therefore be fully compensated for such.