The Bible is not meant to be taken literally

There is a segment of the people that believe that the Bible should be seen as the inerrant word of God, and that the reading of that Bible should be taken in a literal sense, but this belief is fundamentally flawed and quite obviously does a grand disservice to those that believe and have those beliefs, for once you make the proclamation that what is written in the Bible is literally true, you will find, that the contradictions within the Bible, the anthropomorphic attributes given to God in the Bible, and examples that scientifically could not be true such as the sun standing still, will make the belief that the Bible is literal, look stupid and incredibly foolish.

The most fundamental problem that the Bible has in today's world, is that those of a scientific bent, and/or intellectual outlook, are the common voices that we listen to and read in our books that we learn from as students, so that, these voices are typically written and spoken in a format of facts, and true observances, that impart the information that they are trying to get across straightforwardly.  In other words, scientific treatises are not written in allegory, and they are not written as a myth, but rather as factual observances, or theories built upon logic, that have been verified by others.  So too, mathematics and languages, have specific rules attached to them, that necessitate the students' adherence to such, in order to master these, in which, again these are not taught in allegory or myth.

This then so means, that having been taught to learn in a manner in which true statements are made and core principles must be adhered to, thereby most see the world as a world of certain laws and principles that should be taken as literally being true in their outlook, especially in order to function and to grow within that society.  On the other hand, that is not the way that the words have been written into the Bible.  While the Bible does indeed have factual statements contained within it, it is not exclusively a book of factual statements, but rather it is often a book that is written in allegory and has many passages that have a surface meaning, but also contained with them, a deeper meaning, that is at first hidden from the reader of such, until that reader has garnered the knowledge to reach that level of additional insight, which they may never actually achieve.

This then does signify that the world was not literally created in six days, nor does it mean that our God is a "jealous" God.  In fact, the English language, or other languages for that matter, are at a loss to adequately and succinctly express who and what God really is, for just as people are at a loss of words in regards to what exactly they are trying to get across to another, so then, humans are often unable, to comprehend in its totality exactly what God is actually saying, meaning, or signifying.  This is the very reason why the most important lessons and information contained within the Bible are told in allegory, as well as the reason that Christ spoke in parables, for the human mind is often not capable of handling the truth built into just words, for it is beyond its grasp, yet, given enough time and dedicated effort, perceptions and knowledge can be obtained that allows humans to decipher and to better understand their relationship to their God in this world.

The Bible is our multi-dimensional roadmap, of which, the mastery of such wisdom, can never be obtained via a cursory reading, nor even many readings, unless the mind seeks diligently for the treasure of all treasures, finding its satisfaction only when  the otherworldly doors of perception envelope us entirely. 

True freedom is not of this world

We are born with unalienable rights, for these rights come from our Creator, and not from any government, or manmade institution, yet, so many forget this fundamental point, which frustrates them no end, for day after day, example after example, and incident after incident, it is demonstrated time and time again, that our freedom is limited in this world; by other people, by our government, and by the limits of our mortal flesh, signifying that as long as we self-identify with our mortal body than we will be continually frustrated in our lack of freedom along with the fact that mortality, by definition, can only lead ultimately to physical death.

This doesn't mean that we shouldn't aspire to live free lives, for we should, because that is the nature of our spirit, which is free, and making the world better for ourselves and others is a noble goal and worthy of emulation by all, but the peace that we truly seek, can only come about when we wake up from the delusion that we are simply a mortal body, for we need to recognize instead, that we are all immortal souls, that no government can chain, and that no person can kill.

This then means that we must aspire, if we are truly seeking for truth and knowledge, to recognize who and what we really are, immortal beings that have no beginning and have no end, for that is the nature of who and what we really are, for this physical form and body that we have, is but for a moment of time, and the circumstances that we deal with daily, are but a little ripple in the vast ocean of time, in which, if we truly desire to be wise, we should desire to drink from that living water which is everlasting, rather than returning like a dog to the same water that replenishes us just for a minute, but not for all time.

This signifies that instead of concentrating so much upon our physical form, we should begin to realize that what really actuates us is actually our mind, and the thoughts that come to us, if we are able to concentrate them, correctly, and to focus them well, will allow us to perceive a dimension that is available to all, but is invisible to our sight and tactile touch.  In this dimension, the limits of time and space have been removed, almost the equivalency of the dream stage that each of us goes into every night, where, dreams aren't perceived in a linear fashion, and the stories that enfold before us, defy physical laws such as gravity and time, because in this dream stage we are free of the self-imposed limitations of this world, and free of being solely identified with our physical body.

From this, you might ask or contemplate why you are even here, in this physical vessel to begin with.  That question is the very first question that will lead you to wisdom, for by searching for that answer, you will begin your search for your Creator and by doing so, you will break free from the binding cords of physical limitations and aspire to recognize who and what you really are, immortal spirit, for the frustrations that you feel in the here and now, are the raison d'être for your search for true freedom and for immortality, of which, these never left you, but rather are limited within this earthly plane, only waiting to be re-discovered by your mind correctly attuned to its Creator.

Virtue, Ethics, and Education

The education of students should teach those students how to think, in addition to providing information and substance that will allow them to learn, and finally to complete the total process, these students, our future generations, must learn the value of living ethical and virtuous lives, for if all education really does is to help in the creation of very smart and adept students, but does not competently  address their moral structure on this path, than it  has sown the seeds of its own destruction, for super-smart minds without a good moral compass, can and do create all sorts of havoc that will destroy civilized society from within.

This country has an obligation to bring up its citizenry in the right way, so that each citizen has a formal understanding of the values and history of this country in regards to its Declaration of Independence, its Constitution, what these documents stand for, and especially how they are applicable to the living of their own lives within that nation, for the very freedom that so many profess to love, necessitates an incumbent responsibility to that freedom, so that a meaningful structure of how citizens interrelate with their nation and their people is understood and acted upon.

We live in an age in which the firepower of the weapons that our national defense has, have never been more powerful and have never been more destructive.  Further, adding to the potential horror of these weapons, is that we are well removed from the age of hand-to-hand combat and are now incredibly adept at being able to kill people and destroy infrastructure through the usage of machines, that are programmed to do as we so desire, at the push of a button, or the implementation of an action that once initiated will not stop until that mission is completed.  Those that have responsibility for this awesome power must have an ethical standard that they clearly adhere to, or the very same tools that are currently used to protect and defend our country, can easily be misused so as to take away our freedoms and to thereby enchain us.

The purpose of America is to live up to the principle of America, which is that we are all in this together, with unalienable rights, in which, implicit within those rights, is an understanding that the people must be virtuous and true, thereby living the fundamental creed of doing onto others what we thereby would wish to be done unto ourselves.   In the absence of such a belief, and in the absence of not believing that all have been created equally, nations and its people lose their focus and their raison d'être, and hence ultimately lose their freedom, to the iron hand of a government that will master and control them for the benefit of those with that power.

It is for us, a living free-will people, that the First Amendment was written for, for these people have no federally established religion, therefore they are permitted to worship or not in their own desired way, nor does it abridge the freedom of their speech or of their press to express their ideas, criticisms, and information, and finally it does not prevent the people from addressing this government for a petition of its grievances.  In order for this country to remain vibrant and relevant it needs a virtuous people, so therefore its educational system must promulgate this, for that is the very essence of this incipient nation that declared its independence from the oppression of another, back at our brave inception.

Our civil war and European non-intervention

At the time of America's civil war, America as a nation was already clearly on the rise, its GDP was in comparison to all the other European nations, second only to the United Kingdom, and because of America's railroads, shipping, industrial revolution, natural resources, ingenuity, and industrious peoples, there was little doubt that America would soon surpass the relatively small island-state of the United Kingdom.  

This would seem to imply that when the confederate States declared war against the Federal Union, that Europe probably was, no doubt, piqued about the possibility of exploiting such a revolution for its own benefit.  However, the confederacy made a fatal error within their constitution and their raison d'être by setting their foundation for independence as a proposed separate nation entitled to their own destiny by making their cornerstone of such a revolution, the eternal institution of slavery.  This sort of fundamental error, could have probably been avoided, if the confederacy rather than jumping the gun and seceding from the Union, had first made informal inquiries of their desires to European powers in a manner in which an accommodation or acquiescence of some sort of modified form of slavery could have possibly been made, that would have kept that peculiar institution viable, without upsetting European powers or southern plantation owners, especially in consideration that the United Kingdom, was the nation that led the crusade to abolish slavery in not only England but in all of its British empire.

The above did not preclude, that other countries, such as France, could not back the confederacy cause, or even the United Kingdom, for wars and politics do often make rather strange bedfellows, but this was mitigated by the fact at the time of America's civil war, that the modern world was still young, and there were therefore other countries and territories for the European powers yet to exploit, conquer, or control, without getting involved with a nation, that was an ocean away, and capable of exacting a rather high price of revenge at some future juncture.  Rather, the better part of valor, was to let both sides in the America civil war to go at it, and perhaps at the conclusion of such a war, America in its weakened state, might have to turn to European banks and European ingenuity for loans, aid, and such, thereby creating a rather easy path for profit and foreign ownership of the means of a renewed American production, thus siphoning wealth off of the productivity of the American people.

Still, the south did mightily try to get the European powers on their side, and meanwhile the Union did make some diplomatic blunders, in addition to their failure to win many battles at the onset of the war, so that European nations were tempted to intervene, in one way or another, but Lincoln's cabinet was incredibly strong, silky smooth, and brilliant, especially in its acumen in handling European sensitivities and their arrogance in just the right way, so that Europe ultimately did not intervene.

In the end, the southern rebellion was put down, and this country was re-united, free of any foreign entanglements and in control of its own destiny, in addition, to becoming a stronger nation more in tune and in harmony with its declaratory creed that "all men are created equal", signifying a new birth of freedom for all.

To truly give back

America and its people have done a wonderful and generous job in so many ways and means, of providing food, shelter, education, advice, employment, and support to so many other people within their own country and without.  Those that gift their time, money, and talents to the better good of humankind surely understand that this is the greatest service that one can provide for another, that indeed this is living proof of being that good neighbor.

While some of us have more talent than others in regards to mental fortitude and imagination, or brawn, or ability to be positively persuasive and to thereby work well with others, each of us, has some useful talent, awaiting only the actuation of it by our dedicated and consistent motivation to do so. 

These talents that we have, can be used for all sorts of purposes, of which some of those purposes are positive and beneficial for the greater good of society, whereas others are clearly selfish in their implementation and exploitative of taking advantage of one's own cleverness against another, so as to directly benefit themselves.

The decision about what to do with our talents is our own, as each of us has been gifted with free will and therefore we are not automatons but people that hold the ultimate responsibility of what we do or don't do with our lives.  While, truth be told, our individual circumstances are different, sometimes diametrically so, there does come a time when we have to stand upon our own two legs and take full responsibility for our actions, and if these actions are not in conformance of being beneficial or positive, than those initiating those actions must take to heart, the blame for having failed to have done better, for those choices made came from them and not from another.

This then does mean that each day, we have the opportunity to demonstrate in word and in action what we are really about, for this is the very definition of our life.  Further, those that claim a religious moniker, or classify themselves as a good person, must live up to those tenets or they have deceived themselves as to whom and what they really are.

This means that those that are gifted with certain talents, and specific skill sets, have an absolute responsibility to develop those talents and those skills further, with the purpose of having done so, if they are true to their faith or true to desiring to be a force of good, to take such and to thereby benefit their fellow humankind for either this Is a nation united, of peoples from many different backgrounds,  working together in order to bring forth a better nation, united, or this is a nation of individuals, all after getting their own.

When we do our best, it can only really be our best, if we took the time and made the effort to develop these gifts fully, in order to improve ourselves as well as to help others.  We must therefore live in accordance and in harmony with justice, love, truth, kindness, and the diligence in seeing that our actions have come to successful fruition, for if we truly want to show our appreciation to our parents, and to our neighbors, and to our country, than we will wisely use our talents well, for this is our living testimony to others.

Cryptocurrency and day trading

The match between cryptocurrency and day trading seems to be that perfect storm, for cryptocurrency offers both insane volatility as well as being virtually unregulated, so this makes it a particular wild "investment" for those that believe that they can read correctly the dynamic charts and the tea leaves, thereby making themselves money by trading cryptocurrency. 

While, on the one hand, day trading is the complete opposite of the buy and hold strategy of a prudent investment philosophy, day trading does represent for adrenaline junkies a great vehicle to try their luck at the casino of cryptocurrency, and unlike penny stocks, or thinly traded stocks, or most stocks in general, cryptocurrency is volatile, liquid, and trades 24/7, which is exactly what a trader needs if he is hoping to have any sort of success in day trading.

The fact that cryptocurrencies can and do trade in double-digit moves on a given day, represents a fabulous opportunity to trade in and out of a particular currency and provides all the action that any day trader could possibly dream of, creating the opportunity to make real money from the timing of moves done just right.  So, truth be told, cryptocurrencies and day trading do go together, whether that is a good thing or not for those that indulge in such is, though, an entirely different matter.

There is that old saying that: "Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know," which updated to the crypto world, means that those that really don't know create and write all sorts of blog posts and cut and paste all sorts of charts, indicating when and where you should trade and highlighting where the buy points are, as if, they really know what they are talking about, when, logically, if they knew so much, wouldn't they actually just be trading hand over fist, and minting their own cryptocurrency fortunes?

Of course, there is a more cynical and sinister viewpoint of blog posts, charts, crypto insider advisers, and so forth, which is that, because cryptocurrency is unregulated, this allows particularly unscrupulous people to post things that will aid them in the pumping up or dumping of a cryptocurrency price so that these advisers can secretly trade to take advantage of price movements that they setup to exploit by essentially front running such advice to their own selfish advantage.

Still, anytime an investment is both liquid and makes significant price moves of a few percent or more on a given day, there is that dream opportunity for day traders to make money, subject to their skill set, in which the dividing line between the winners and losers of such trading will be demonstrated by the proof of their profits or lack thereof.

Cryptocurrency and day trading is not for the faint of heart, and quite frankly typically appeals to anybody that is hoping to get rich quick, whereas, in all actuality, the success of such, necessitates the gifted hand of a supreme artist, of which, many have little or no talent, while precious few are actually truly gifted virtuosos.  Still, billions have been made by quantitative analysts exploiting small inefficiencies in the global financial marketplaces, which would seem to suggest in the wild west of cryptocurrencies, that there is real money to be made.

Healthcare and restricted enrollment dates

When it comes to insurance, healthcare does no credit to those seeking such care, by limiting the enrollment period to a specific date, and thereby all those that do not make their healthcare choice by that date are effectively frozen out of healthcare.  As in anything, there are notable exceptions to the rule, and States can also make their own exceptions, however, Nevada represents the only State in the Union that actually permits their consumers to purchase insurance at any time, though their policy is that, those signing up outside the normal enrollment period, may have to go through a ninety-day waiting period, before such enrollment takes effect, obviously so as to mitigate those seeking healthcare, only because they are now sick.

When you look at auto insurance or home insurance, or most every other type of insurance, that insurance is not limited to enrollment restrictions of a calendar year, nor is it limited to a specific date that a consumer must sign up for that service, so then, the healthcare restrictions on signups are the exception to the general rule and should not be the rule.  First, having a fixed enrollment period unnecessarily discriminates against those that don't pay careful attention to dates, of which there are legions of those, in addition, it discriminates against people that are procrastinators, of which these procrastinators actually want to follow the rules, but simply don't get around to it, until it's too late.

The argument for having fixed enrollment dates, seems to be based around people either not bothering to sign up for healthcare until they get sick, which could be mitigated by enrollment probation periods, as well as apparently preferring the convenience of registering everyone in the same pool for the beginning of the calendar year, but the counter argument to that is simply, by creating rules, especially rules that aren't really necessary, there are many consumers of healthcare that simply won't ever get around to signing up, because they are no longer permitted to do so. 

It would be far better, then, to simply have an open enrollment period with specific rules addressing when healthcare comes into effect for people, that don't enroll in the government recommended time periods, and such enrollment could be set up with deductibles and so forth, being on a rolling 365-day period, representing a year, and not therefore being fixed to a given calendar year.

If the expressed purpose of universal healthcare is that this government wants as many people as possible to sign up for it, then it would behoove that government to have rules that accommodates those that are unable to, for whatever reason, to follow the present day guidelines which are unnecessarily too limiting in regards to an enrollment period, that closes for many people on December 15 of the previous year, for coverage that will be for the entire calendar year of the subsequent year.  That type of sign up restriction isn't necessary, and there should be workarounds to accommodate those that are less diligent in following directions or conforming to rules, because the purpose of such healthcare should be to provide the most benefit for the most people, in all ways and manners, rather than to effectively lock them out.

Christ, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Christ is eternal, which means, though Jesus was born into this material world, made His ministry of lasting import, and was later crucified to His physical death, that in actuality Christ never died, for Christ, never was born.  That is to say, there is the body, and there is Christ the eternal, and these are not one and the same in substance, of which, we should at least get a hint of this, by the fact that as Christ promised, He raised His temple in three days, proving that there is a dimension that supersedes physical laws, and therefore is beyond time and space as humans perceive such.  So that, it is fair to say, that Jesus the person was actuated by Christ the soul, and there never was a time when the divine Christ did not exist for God is immutable, unchangeable, and all truth.

This then so means that those that celebrate Christ's birth and Christ's resurrection, as well as His ascension, as if these events are in the past, have it both right and wrong, for history is written in a linear perspective, but this perspective is limiting and does not tell the full and complete story, for each day, each one of us has the opportunity, to allow Christ to be born anew within them, and each day, each one of us has the opportunity to receive Christ's second coming, if they will only open the door of their soul and let Christ come in.

It is important to recognize, whether you acknowledge it or not, that Christ is here, right now, and your ability to see and to comprehend this, comes down to your ability to focus your attention wholly upon this, for a mind divided, is a mind that is not fully in connection with God, and that lack of connection to God creates the interference which precludes you from seeing and knowing what is already here, for if you seek, you will re-discover Christ, for there never was time when Christ was not already here, waiting for you to realize Him.

So that, while it is wonderful to celebrate Christ's birth, as well as to celebrate Christ's resurrection, it is a mistake to see this as something that is simply good enough to acknowledge and appreciate, but never good enough to live to or to aspire for.  If Christ, really means something of real significance to you, then wake up, and recognize that Christ must live within you, now, and if you believe that Christ will come back at a time that is akin to a thief in the night, then prepare yourself well for his return, for if you are not prepared, now, then His message has never taken root within you.

While there are many ways to read the tale of the Christ, at a minimum, it must be read as follows, that those that are non-believers in their heart will be stymied in their growth for their obtuseness and blindness, while those that are true believers in their heart, will not rest until they find the sanctuary that is perfectly represented by Christ; whereas all others that are lukewarm, are considered to be like many present day nominal Christians or believers, that appear so good from the outside, but are empty and devoid of God harmony on the inside, for everyday when Christ knocks on the door of their consciousness, they are too busy to be troubled to meaningfully answer it, for they feel they have done enough by simply donating a few coins or attending this or that, but never actually comprehend the real message, that Christ is already here, waiting, patiently, if they would only truly open up their heart to receive Him in.

Mankind and nature

So often the progress that mankind has made, has been made, by mankind applying themselves in such a manner that when looking at a given situation and rather than accepting such as being unchangeable or untamable, mankind seizes upon it as a challenge and thereby through mankind's intelligence and knowledge a plan is initiated to manipulate it, or change it, so as to utilize it for the intended benefit of mankind.  That is why, the productivity of modern man has risen to be so much higher and thereby the utilization of space and natural resources as being done today is at unprecedented efficiency levels, making America the largest food exporter of any nation in the world, because it utilizes its farmland at exceedingly high yield rates, in addition to harnessing water in a skillful manner for hydroelectric power, irrigation, and the drinking of, so that never is America suffering from any sort of sustained drought, in addition to the fact that America is essentially self-sufficient in its energy needs with its utilization of nuclear power, oil, hydro, coal, wind, solar, and natural gas.

All of these things could not have been accomplished if America had not taken the time and made the effort to look upon nature and natural resources as something to be conquered and controlled for the prosperity of mankind, as opposed to being frustrated by periodic flooding cause by massive rainfall and thereby the overflowing of rivers, or the lack of electricity, or the lack of lighting, or the lack of sensible infrastructure, or the lack of any of the modern conveniences that we now take for granted. 

These things that we now have, take make our communities and companies operate at a high efficiency, thereby creating progress for all to benefit, have come about because mankind refuses to just sit back and just assume that the way things are must be the way they should remain, and instead bends nature to the needs of mankind, representing the implementation of intelligence and creativity in order to make riches where before there was poverty, in order to bring convenience where before there was hardship, and in order to enlighten all where before there was darkness.

This does not mean that those that preach for a need to be in harmony with nature, and to treat nature with respect are wrong in their idealism, for their position does indeed have its merits, but rather it is mistaken to believe that the natural order of things is to allow nature to rule us, as oppose to mankind ruling nature.  While it is true that the wanton and careless destruction to natural phenomena, the misuse of natural resources, as well as the ills of pollution and the blowback of modern contrivances gone horribly wrong, are all true indications that progress does not always get it right, but the answer to such, is not the stoppage of that march of progress, but it is rather the amending and the monitoring of it, instead.

The nature that we have in front of us, is the nature that we are given to utilize in a manner that will aid us, of which, it isn't that mother nature gets it wrong, but rather it is for mankind to take what is here and now, and by his mastery of the elements, to become in effect, co-creators, of a world that is better for our development of it.

Lincoln's Farewell Address

When one thinks of Lincoln's farewell address, it is assumed that such, must have been his final address to congress and the people of these United States, at the conclusion of his second term in office, but Lincoln was assassinated near the beginning of his second inauguration, and thus did not finish his second term, yet, Lincoln did indeed have a farewell address.  That farewell address was given in Springfield, Illinois on February 11, 1861, and is considered a prescient farewell address for it was given by Lincoln before departing from Illinois on the presidential train onto his journey to Washington, DC, as the elected President, at a time when seven States of the Union had already voted to secede from such, and in this address, Lincoln, who was well noted for his humility stated: " I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington."

Of course, as we all know, Lincoln did not return alive to Illinois, and the awesome task put forth before him was to deal with the secession of the southern States that created the confederacy which made the task before Lincoln truly monumental and shook the very foundations of this great nation, which arguably was a greater task than the one that was confronted by Washington, for the revolutionary battle, was a battle of one domestic people uniting to become free from the bounds of English control as opposed to a war between brothers fought on this soil, of which southern States that had voluntarily agreed to the compact of the controlling law of the land, its Constitution, decided that they could, dissolve themselves of it, and further that they could attack with arms or claim as their own federal outposts and facilities, considering these as being rightfully theirs and seen as intrusions upon their sovereign State territory.

Lincoln had many attributes as a President, of which one was, especially in consideration that he was a lawyer, the firm belief that what he could or could not do as the President, was constrained by the Constitution, which was and is the controlling document of this American republic.  This made his task even more arduous for Lincoln had no desire to destroy what was the firm basis of this country, but instead he desired strongly to see that America actually lived up to its Constitution and that it would remain a country of the people, for the people, and by the people; and if this meant, that the people, must take up arms in order to put down an unlawful rebellion and to thereby defend its people and its Constitution, than this is exactly what would happen.

The decisions that Lincoln had to make to deal with this unlawful domestic insurrection were both monumental and unprecedented, in addition to the fact that Lincoln was not a military general, and had just been elected to the highest office of the land, by the people of that same country, in which, the losers of that election, decided that if they could not win at the ballot box, that they would dissolved themselves of their union with their fellow States.

All of these things, together, could have made for a different country, or two countries, or a different rule of law because of the removal  or evisceration of our present Constitution, but instead, somehow, Lincoln, as our leader was not only able to successfully put down the rebellion, to therefore keep our country stitched together, and to circumvent any foreign entanglements into our domestic affairs, but also to renew and strengthen this country in such a manner, in which the scourge of slavery was eliminated from this great land, so that, there was in this nation, under God, a new birth of freedom for all.

Real truth is often not comfortable

We are told to tell the truth and to live our lives in a truthful, upright, and honest way, but how many can actually say that without fail, they tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, in all of their interactions on a given day.  In point of fact, many people lie or are deceptive in what they say and do, big and small, all day, every day.  They do so, not necessarily because they are bad people, though some are, and not necessarily because they don’t want to tell the whole truth, yet somehow they consistently fail to actually do exactly that.

Most people, especially in their personal uncomfortable situations, do not really want to know the truth, because the knowing of such truth would upset the equilibrium that allows them to conduct their everyday life.  Others do not want to know the truth, because knowing this would necessitate fundamental character changes in their life, and they do not want to change.  Still there are others that are afraid to testify to the truth, because they fear the consequences that would happen to them for having done so, personally, and therefore they shrink away.

The fundamental problem for so many in this world, is that the whole truth, may indeed bring forth clarity, but often it does not bring forth comfort.  For the telling of truth is often very uncomfortable, for the person divulging such, as well as for the recipient of this truth, especially when they are unprepared or unwilling to accept it, even when they know in their heart, that what they have been told, is the unvarnished truth. 

None of this should be interpreted as believing that telling the truth in circumstances in which this is consciously done to hurt another person's feelings, or to belittle them, or to harm them, is really testifying to the whole truth, for in virtually all cases it is not, for actions and thoughts that cast aside discretion and the consideration of the other, are not in conformance to the whole truth, because the person speaking this is often speaking to their own agenda, and not of a considerate desire to be of a true help to the other, but rather to put the other down, often in order to appease or to please their own selfish ego.

The reason that so many shy from recognizing the whole truth, is because, acknowledging the whole truth, often means that character flaws and other weaknesses that we have must actually be addressed, forthrightly, in order to be in conformance to what your heart knows to be right in the first place, and that therefore the making of these changes, would necessitate the changing of what you do and how you behave on a given day, which often means, very uncomfortable and inconvenient changes.

The fact that so many thereby don't make those changes, indicates, that they are more comfortable not in the truth, but in their lies that they have constructed as a substitute for that truth.  This then is the reason why so often in a court of law, people lie through their teeth, and why therefore, in the court of life, people lie just the same, for few can handle or are willing to face the whole truth, for doing so, will, for all intents and purposes, expose us for what and who we really are, in which the acknowledgment of that truth really does hurt.

The flaw of the "invisible hand" of capitalism

Adam Smith first came up with the concept of the "invisible hand" in regards to the free marketplace, which would because all parties, buyers, middlemen,  as well as sellers, were following their own self-interest, lead to a general fairness and equilibrium between the supply and demand of goods which would be of benefit to all those parties, rather than any sort of government imposed social structure, that would strictly limit what goods could or could not be produced, where they were so produced, the pricing of such, and the basic control of  the business apparatus and availability of by a governmental or its equivalency entity.

Surely, in modern times, the tale has been told, that governments that control the ingress and egress of goods, that control the resources and production of goods, absolutely can't hold a candle to free enterprise, so that, countries that are capitalistic in principle are in aggregate far more productive, and are thereby far richer than other nations, probably because, appealing to one's self-interest which benefits that party directly, does indeed, increase productivity, work efficiencies, and overall labor efforts.

That said, capitalism, is a system, that though it does in aggregate benefit society as a whole, it is also a system that is quite capable of exploiting and taking advantage of others, for the benefit of the person or company that understands the value and worth of a particular product or process better than the other person or company.  For instance, any time that one good is traded for another, and one person doing such a trade is well aware of the true value of the items being traded, yet, understands that the other person does not know or comprehend that true value, than such a trade as that, is a form of exploitation.  So that, back in the day, when real beaver pelts were traded for trinkets, those that received the beaver pelts could easily grow wealthy from such trading, because they understood well the worth of these pelts, and those receiving the trinkets perhaps were happy with such, for these trinkets were not part of their culture, and there were yet plenty of beaver to catch, but in actuality, their trade was a very poor bargain.

So then, fast forward to today's world, and there are plenty of trades done through the medium of money that are fair, mainly because through experience and history, people are able to evaluate fairly well the worth of those goods being bought and sold.  Yet, there are situations that are exploited every minute of every day of the week, such as people that don't truly comprehend financial interest rates, or penalties, or fees, and those that are well versed in all of these.  So too, a free marketplace does tend towards real equilibrium, but in actually, governments, rules and regulations can and are "gamed" to favor one entity over the other, so that rather than their being a level playing field there is not, and rather than there being free enterprise, there is cronyism and favoritism that benefits those in the know as well as the connected, and siphons real resources and monies from those that have no influence in the matter or are ignorant of it.

This means that capitalism has a lot in common with trying to get over on the other person, in which, the more that you get over on someone, the more money or goods that you get, with the other person receiving in turn, far less, for having been outplayed.  Ultimately, the end result of such capitalism is what you see today, which is a very clear and wide division, between classes of people, of which the justification of those that sit in the catbird seat, is that they earned it.  Perhaps, they did earn it, maybe even fair and square in the sense that they did not compel the other to buy or trade with them, but at its heart, it is often the exploitation of others for their own selfish benefit, and the consequent suffering of others, in which the poor and exploited must carry the rich upon their shoulders, as a form of tribute

to them, and suffer the miseries of being on the wrong side of the capitalistic trade game, so that they endure it all, and those at the top, reap the benefits, believing that they do deserve their material success, when in actuality, they do deserve what will come their way in the afterlife.

The priceless treasure waiting to be discovered

People spend inordinate amounts of time, just trying to keep their head above water, or having achieved such, endeavoring to get more and more, as if more is the answered to every question, though it is not.  Our spirit will always be restless till it finds repose in the only Being that will bring forth that satiation, though people will try to find that peace through all sorts of activities and through the substitution of the ownership of things, but yet in those quiet, still moments, that occur from time to time, we implicitly recognize our yearning to find to find that lasting sanctuary.

The very treasure that actuates the human soul must be a treasure that is not of this earth, for earthly things return to their origin, sooner or later, for nothing of this earth, is eternal.  This then signifies that the very thing that we have this deep desire for, must be beyond this dimension, that it must be beyond both time and space, so that it then follows that this certain thing is therefore immortal, changeless, and is the very essence of who and what we really are.

Those that do not bother to contemplate this in their minds or do not bother to even to try to search for this hidden treasure have failed at the most basic level of finding that certain lasting peace that is freely available to all.  Yet, our Creator, along with His legions of angels, wants us to find our way back to Him, for every parent wants the best for its children, and every parent wants its children to pursue diligently to find truth, justice, happiness, and love.

That is why, great gurus and great prophets periodically come amongst us, for because so many of this world are focused with their eyes cast downward upon the ground, these prophets are thereby sent forth to show us that we are indeed blind, and that only when we collectively remove the scales from our eyes, will we see correctly for the very first time, as if all before, was nothing but dull shadows and dull shapes.  For, mankind, despite all of his many glorious achievements of modern times, still does not live in this world as if in a family of brothers and sisters, but rather prefers to see life as just a more sophisticated game of the animal kingdom, where the strong and ruthless are the winners and thereby get the winner's share, and all others fight for the scraps and are thereby the losers.

Then there are those that are sort of lukewarm, for though they might pray or regularly attend religious service, their prayer is perfunctory and by rote, or though they might think of our God, such thought isn't consistent or concentrated, and thereby only in times of total desperation do they truly turn to God, but such petitions are often the petitions of a petulant child, demanding their way.  God is always available, but to find God, you must seek Him with the commitment of one that is looking for a very valuable buried treasure of which you have been gifted with a map, that at first seems confusing or even convoluted, but the more that you are determined to find God, and the more that you focus on doing so, the closer you will come to finding and to discovering that priceless eternal treasure that is the be all and end all of everything, and the fulfillment of your holy quest.

The 16th Amendment and the progressive income tax

The 16th Amendment was ratified in 1913, which states that: "The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration."  The wording of this amendment was deliberate, so as to supersede previous taxation which limited such taxation to those taxes that were direct taxes apportioned proportionally among the several States, as well as the  eliminating the restriction of just being limited for tax revenue purposes to uniform taxes on duties, imports, and excises throughout the entire United States.  This meant, with congress having carte blanche to setup whatever they so desired to lay and collect taxes, that today's progressive income tax was built upon the foundation of this amendment.

The passage of the 16th amendment, initially only subjected a very small percentage of Americans to income taxation, and the top limit of such taxation was only seven percent, but like most taxes, that are first begun, it morphed over the years to encompass more and more Americans, as well as the inevitable addition of copycat State taxes, which most States impose upon their residents. The effect of such a progressive income tax was to in fit and function, to mandate that certain people of certain incomes, would pay more progressively as their income rose via personal taxes than other people, essentially creating a world in which some paid more, and then such monies were subsequently distributed or utilized by the government for purposes that the government so desired, indicating that such taxation would re-distribute monies in a manner in which there would be new beneficiaries of such largess, intended or not, as well as those that would find their income being squeezed for purposes that they had no real control over.

Not too surprisingly, such taxation, which perhaps was seen as an opportunity to "soak the rich" and therefore would have significant support from those that were not rich, has been corrupted to such an extent that the very rich themselves, the elite of the elite, the one percent of the one percent, have found ways to circumvent such taxation, or at least to reduce it significantly, so that they pay a vastly smaller percentage of the taxation rate of which they are, in theory, subject to,  through the myriad loopholes, specifically available for them, whereas, the great middle class of this country, are stuck paying the full freight of such taxation, because those avenues of gaming the system, are specifically not available for them.

This means, that billions upon billions of dollars are taken through taxation from the middle class each year, and this money is first used to feed, pay, and house government officials of all stripes, before being re-distributed, of which such re-distribution doesn't really go directly to those of the lowest income levels in order to help prop them up and aid them, but instead is disbursed first to all those that are connected to the government, on a quasi quid pro quo basis, and then what remains is passed on to the underclass of America, of which, such money as given to them, has all sorts of terms and conditions attached to it, so that those that are poor but don't fill out their paperwork correctly, or are poor and have violated some law, are left with the crumbs designated for the truly destitute and dregs of society.

While the concept of the progressive income tax, actually has some soundness to it, in the sense, that those that have more than enough, therefore have the monetary resources to share their wealth with those that have little or nothing, the actual execution of the progressive income tax, does not now work, and probably never has worked, for the statistics tell the tale, that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, as well as being fatefully dependent upon governmental handouts and subsidies for their meager existence, and those caught in the middle as well as those that play by the rules essentially pay for it all.

Washington's warning against "overgrown military establishments"

George Washington was one of the Founders of this great country, considered by most historians to be our greatest general, for without the heroics and masterful leadership of Washington during our revolutionary war, with his brilliant retreats and attacks, utilizing all of his wiles and resolve in order to frustrate the British opposition, while also counterpunching and making daring raids when necessary, before finally trapping the British at Yorktown, which brought forth the reality of the independence of America as a nation, there would not be an America.

So too, George Washington was twice elected President, unanimously, though even then at the infancy of this republican country, there was a strong division between the federalists and the anti-federalists. In addition, the first signature on our law of the land, the Constitution, was from George Washington, the President of that Constitutional convention.  Though, Washington, did not sign our Declaration of Independence, he could not do so because he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, busily defending New York from the British, and to the eternal credit of the character of George Washington, he did not and would not run for a third term, and voluntarily walked away from the temporal power willingly placed by the people into his capable hands.

George Washington's farewell message, printed in September of 1796, addressed many issues, of which one of tremendous pertinence for today's generation, urges that we must: "….avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty", and which despite Washington's prescient warning, is exactly what has transpired and exists in America today.

The fact that such a warning comes from he who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, as well as being our first President of the United States, reflects for a certainty, that Washington knew personally, how when one is both President of the land and a man that has commanded its military forces at the highest possible level, that such a man with such control, can effectively negate the people's liberty for with both the military might in one hand as well as the executive power of our civil government in the other, he is in effect, a king.

That said, those respective powers are not equivalent, for even when the executive is not from the highest echelon of the military, we find that the military establishment, itself, is still so powerful, still so ubiquitous, still so pervasive, and still so entangled in foreign adventures and misadventures, that such an executive, that such legislative power, and that such republican power, is effectively emasculated by the sheer size and strength of such a military establishment, which has, for all intents and purposes, co-opted wide swaths of the power within all branches of the government, so that those that are inimical to such a military establishment, are not afforded the opportunity to be part of those branches, which is why, that this present-day military establishment, has a budget for 2018 as reported by usgovernmentspending.com which taking into account our military spending, veterans affairs, and foreign policy aid is of a staggering total of $886.80 billion dollars, at a time, when America has no congressional declared war with any other nation, and is under no clear and present threat by any other country, or any other organization, foreign or domestic, in any meaningful sense.

This effectively means, that republican liberty no longer exists in this great nation, and hasn't existed for quite a number of years, that, instead, we are led by a shadow government that does not answer to the people, but does what benefits the military establishment, which enriches those that have sold their souls to that establishment, actively aiding and abetting such a military establishment to such an extent, that the good welfare and freedom of this country for all, has been trumped by that unelected military establishment.

The decline of labor's share of income

While the stock market has marched higher and higher, with some of those public companies making unprecedented profits and taking greater market share, there has been no or little trickledown effect for those that labor in our workforce.  In fact, as reported by hbr.org, the labor's share of income has fallen from "… nearly 65% in the mid-1970s to below 57% in 2017," which succinctly reflects exactly what so many are suffering from, which is effectively the decline and stagnation of labor wages for many of those that are not highly placed within corporations, or skilled in the most lucrative fields of labor. 

In addition, a significant part of this downfall, comes from the fact that private sector labor unions have declined precipitously since the 1970s, in which because there is strength in numbers, having no voice at the management table, means in principle, that wage demands will be effectively ignored by that management.  This is why, laborers cannot do much of anything when they are laid off through the cutting of payrolls, or having their hours reduced for whatever reason at the convenience of such management, having their pay frozen and their benefits reduced, or directly suffering from the consequences of outsourcing of labor, the hiring of temporary labor that undercuts directly employed labor, and the subcontracting of jobs to outside agencies or other countries, in which the cost of that labor, is lower than maintaining workers already employed in that capacity.

All of these things add up, so that those that do not have money or assets which allows them to make money from investments such as the stock market, or housing, or by virtue of owning their own viable business, or other similar avenues, one can only make money through wage labor, and in absence of labor unions, or the ability to negotiate a reasonable pay package, will often mean settling for the prevailing wage in that sector, and thereby hope for the best.

One might think, that with unemployment being so low, that such would put pressure on wages in the sense that a shortage of laborers, typically necessitates an increase in compensation, since more companies must battle for the same employee base, but recent history has demonstrated that the correlation between low unemployment and thereby higher wages has disappeared.  While there are many theories why this might be so, the most obvious reason is that a massive swath of Americans have no seat at the table of their employer, hence, they will acquiesce to a lower something, rather than a whole lot of nothing.

Since the mid-1970s, labor's share of income has fallen, which means, that management's share of income has risen, which is great for the profitability and bonuses of those most highly placed and favored within corporations but in aggregate, it is very bad for those that labor paycheck to paycheck, so that, what you see in America, is exactly what one would expect, a greater and greater division, between those that have and are connected to those that have, and those have not, and have no connections and no power. 

Those that do not have a seat at the table of management, are unable to successfully negotiate better hours, better pay, better pay packages, better benefits, better job security, or much of better anything, and are in the unenviable position of simply, keeping their head down, questioning nothing, and staying out of trouble, just for the pleasure of having some gainful work and the very few dollars that come with it.

Religion and irreligion

In America, by Constitutional law, as per our First Amendment, there is no national imposed established religion, however, this did not originally mean, nor should it mean currently, that the individual States are precluded of having an established religion, State-supported as legislated by the State, as all of the original thirteen States had either an official religion or God belief as part of their State charter, at the time of the ratification of the Constitution.  However, as time went on, most of the States voluntarily waived the established religion and religious requirements within their State, and with the passage of the 14th Amendment, and in particular its due process law, this has been interpreted by the Supreme Court in the years since, as meaning that no State of this union, shall be permitted to establish a religion, even though the establishment clause was to protect the States from the national government imposing a religion upon the people, not to preclude the States from having an established religion or a God belief within their State, which was the actuality at the time of the passage of the Constitution by these very same States.

In any event, notable Supreme Court rulings such as the Everson v. the Board of Education, has changed the context of religion in the public square, religion in governmental arenas, and religion in public schools, over the ensuring years, in such a manner, that the governmental court decisions and the implementation of them has in many ways, replaced religion, religious instruction, religious history, with secular and humanistic beliefs, or essentially irreligion, so that the end result, is that the United States has effectively made irreligion the established religion of this national government.  That is to say, the courts and the national government have in many ways; in its fit and function prefer that students of public tax supported schools, as well as governmental facilities of all types, replace religion with irreligion, and to replace religious faith with secularism.

All of the above is supposedly done in a religiously neutral way, which means, in theory, that public schooling does not encourage religious belief or religious unbelief, but wants to keep religion, so to speak, out of the public marketplace.  However, when religion is removed from the public sphere, when it cannot be discussed in a meaningful way or when the prism of history, or philosophy, or of everything that religion, ethics, and morality should have a say upon, has been negated, and thereby replaced by non-belief, and basic non-religion, such indoctrination of students and the public is functionally irreligious, untruthful, and dishonest.

To take God and religion out of the public sphere and out of public schools obviously creates a vacuum, which must of a certainty be replaced by something else.  On the one hand, God and basic religious tenets teaches one the responsibility that we do not live to ourselves, that there is a greater power than us, that this power is our Creator, and from such we learn of appropriate ethics, morals, and of seeing all as our brothers and sisters.  All of this is to the good of the individual, to the good of society, and  to the good of civil government, but when God is forcibly removed from the public sphere, and replaced instead by irreligion and secularism, than it truly must be said, that anything goes, and that everything therefore is permitted, for laws are no longer created in conformance and recognition of natural law as universally provided to all through God, but are simply manmade laws, subject to the whims and tides of the time.  This is the country that we now live in, once seen as a beacon for those seeking religious freedom, but now effectively replaced by irreligion and the destruction of a true moral compass.

Indoctrination v. Thinking

Each of us has been gifted with our own mind, and the highest usage of such a mind, is the search for truth and meaning, especially when such a search is actuated by that particular person's mind, as opposed to simply absorbing information as if everything is true that a given person says, or a teacher states, or that an advertisement suggests to us. 

When we are young and vulnerable, we must believe that those that are bigger than us, such as our parents, or teachers, or other authoritarian figures, are right in what they say, for to question everything, when our minds and bodies are just developing, would endanger us too often, for to experience the full power of electricity could electrocute us, or to trust a stranger could severely harm us, as well as to run blindly across a busy street, could kill us.

However, there comes a point, when a reasonable and a maturing person, desiring to verify things that they have been taught, should if they are prudent, begin to question and to independently verify some things, such as scientists do, when they take the same given conditions, and demonstrate the accuracy of theories and methodologies, for to just accept things without ever questioning them, or investigating such, does a disservice to one's independent mind and curiosity.

Those that refuse to think, that thereby forswear to or don't desire to improve their mind, are basically those people that don't really learn and grow, but instead are indoctrinated into the prevailing mindset of whomever their teacher is, and are thereby inculcated by such.  The danger of such an indoctrination is that these people believe things without having really studied or learned them, so that, they have essentially been molded into certain beliefs, that will inevitably favor those that have placed such beliefs into their minds, and consequently are thereby easily capable of being duped into performing actions that aren't right, and can even be inimical to their own life or livelihood.

Instead, great minds are thinking minds that will view things from a different and more enlightened perspective, or are able to take knowledge and develop further from that foundation so as to benefit mankind more.  Of course, from a selfish governmental state perspective, those that think can endanger the state if those thoughts are outside the orthodox state beliefs of the day, and thereby the state makes it their point, to impress upon its citizenship, that each person has a higher and patriotic duty to do right by the state, as defined by that state and therein lies the rub, for what if the state is wrong, and not slightly wrong, but wrong fundamentally, what then?

This then comes back to the very first postulate, which is to do right, and that viewpoint of what is right and wrong, should come from the understanding and the comprehension of the wisdom of others, moral ethics, and the usage of one's mind to sort things out, correctly.  This means, that a man that cannot get beyond mere indoctrination, is a tool of that indoctrination mindset, whereas he that can think, has the power to stand strong in the face of adversity or demagoguery, so as to not violate their conscience, and to be worthy of emulation for having used well their freedom and strong development of their mind.

Forgetting your true essence

According to gallup.com, "89% of Americans say they believe in God," but this belief in God seems to be a belief that for many people treats God as a Supreme Being to petition to only in times of trouble or for a simple grace at meal time, and rather as an afterthought when all is going well, though, truth be told, there really are a significant amount of people that do take the tenets of brotherly love and loving God as the foundation of their life and live lives that reflect this in their interactions with society. 

The test of any true belief is in whether the actions that people take on an everyday basis, fundamentally are different from those that do not believe, and for many so-called God believing people, the difference from those that believe as compared to those that do not believe are rather cursory, so that if in an angelic court of law, with all those accused of being a God believer being judged, how many, really, would be convicted of such, by a truly neutral court, which while reviewing all the evidence of a given person's life, would find that their belief in God, especially considering their interactions with others, as well as their thought processes, whether they would have demonstrated a true positive impact for having been a God believer.

The very first issue that all those that believe in God must assert to is the recognition that material things and material appetites are temporal, and thereby because these are worldly, cannot now and will never be the foundation that God believing people should consider as their primary purpose or focus in life.  Instead, those that believe in God, in their actions and in their thoughts, will concentrate instead on the attributes that reflect well of eternity which consist of: faith, hope, generosity, love, fortitude, justice, prudence, and temperance.

While it is true that we are humans and that as humans we have a human body, of which, that body in order to function properly, requires food, water, and rest to maintain its physical health, those that put the needs or the perceived needs of the body as if it is the be-all and end-all have made an error in judgment.  For it follows that those that see their body as their true essence, when it is not, are the very same people, that will concentrate wholly on seeing that their creature comforts as well as their material desires are met, believing that by doing so, that they will be happy and find joy, which they very well might, for a period of finite time.

The problem with this mindset though, is that it is never ending, for those desires and those comforts, become the controlling influence upon one's life, never completely satiated, but only just for a while, so that the physical and the ego comes to dominate the spiritual, continually lured in by the physical gifts, pleasures, gratifications, and treasures on this earthly plane.  Yet, those that have the wherewithal and wisdom to rise above the carnal plane, recognize that there is a world well beyond this world, of which, the very false sugary fruits that so many lust so heavily for have been replaced, instead, by the true treasure freely available to all by God, if only we would concentrate fully and still ourselves long enough, to comprehend the immensity and brilliance of our God, and thereby recognize wholly the purity of His water, that quenches fully the thirst that actuates us.

Appreciate your little victories

Many people wrongly assume that in order for their life to have been a success, they need to have accomplished great things on a great scale, but that opportunity is seldom even available in the first place, and often is not realistic for most individuals.  Instead, it behooves a given individual to simply concentrate on doing right, in the things that they do day-by-day, for in their interactions with those who are big and small, will define who and what they really are, and ultimately it is in these interactions that will create the opportunity to produce the good that will make life better for those within your sphere.

This means that the best ministry for anybody is really in how you treat your fellow compatriots in your everyday interactions.  So that those that are considerate, caring, and compassionate in their demeanor with others, are actually achieving little victories, step-by-step, for really it is the love that we have for others, that caring concern for others that helps to bring a smile to another's face, or our comfort to them, that provides a vital helping hand, that demonstrates our devotion to their well being.

We do not need to unnecessarily complicate life, for in modern society, it is complicated enough, instead, we need to remember that we are all in this world, together, and that each of us has made errors of judgment, of commission and omission, so that, first, by being more forgiving to the other, we thereby show a proper appreciation that we aren't above it all, and with this humility, it helps to keep us focused on being more accepting of others, recognizing that in the aiding and helping of another, everyone thereby makes progress, together.

When you reflect on some of your finest moments in life, you will find, that seldom are these moments ones of selfish celebration, of which others fell down to their knees in appreciation of you, but instead we value the little acts that brought that sincere smile and words of appreciation from another, that brought joy and comfort for someone that was suffering through a particularly difficult moment, for that is what actually makes your heart grow bigger, because it feels so good to be a force of good, to be that ever present help in a sea of trouble.

Those that are able to show patience in times when doing so, requires great patience, or restraint in times when restraining oneself requires strong control, or love to another, when loving seems almost impossible to do, are performing the very actions that make for a better character, a stronger will, and a renewed sense of real purpose, for the more often you are able to do good when circumstances are somewhat trying, the more indomitable your will and your persona will be, for good habits, done well, enhances you as a person.

Recognize always, that even the greatest works of art, start with the very first stroke, and even a path of a thousand miles, starts with that very first step, so that, take solace in knowing that every step that you take in the right direction, every deed that you do big or small that is of value, vitally helps to shine light upon darkness, and those that carry and spread such light, are the ones that brighten this world, and help to enlighten many hearts.