Life is meant to be lived

So many of us, live lives of quiet desperation, of dissatisfaction, of hurt, as well as of emptiness, in which the things that we most deeply desire, don't seem to occur or to happen in the way that we have envisioned them occurring -- and even when those events do happen, they often don't seem to bring the lasting happiness so desired, but instead appear to be fleeting and hence become just a temporary way-stop, so that, in short,  we are often dissatisfied in many aspects and respects in our lives so lived. 

It must be recognized therefore that the very first thing that is needed in order to lead a quality life is to take control of one's own life, to the degree that such can be done.  This means, that those that are not of age, are going to live within a construct in which they often are order takers, as opposed to being self-determinative; yet, even at this stage, the motivated person is already contemplating what they will or will not accomplish, when they do eventually obtain their own sovereignty within their own person, rather than simply allowing themselves to always go with the flow.  So too, those that are of age, need to at some point, remove themselves from all others, except perhaps those that are of the highest wisdom, or are their mentors, so as to look carefully at their life, and where that life is and where that life is heading, so as to examine such, as thoroughly as can be done; because if one does not know who they are, and what their objectives are, and why they have these objectives in the first place, then their life is far too much on auto-pilot, rather than be demonstrative of true strength of character and self-determination, by having carefully considered who and what they are currently, and who and what they wish to be in the future, and thereby how they are going to get there.

In western nations, far too many people, get caught up in the rat race of life, and are competitive in all sorts of things, in which that winner-take-all mentality, consumes them to the degree that they become someone that buys into the material aspects of living; and  then benignly, at best, abandon their spiritual aspects to the wayside.  This decision is the type of decision, that needs to be carefully considered, for while that is a way of living, it may not be the best way to live, and further to the point, often leads to the compromise and the endurance of those things, in which the character of the person, so suffers, in order to achieve that which is temporal, at the ultimate sacrifice of that which is right.

Rather, see life as a proving ground, and of a place in which the test of such, is the test of one's character to stand up for that which is right, and to turn away from that which is wrong; as opposed to seeing life as a game of obtaining as many toys as possible, or even as the escaping of such through drugs and drink.  See life as an opportunity, and whatever may be your given circumstances, do what can be done, to focus and to concentrate your mind, your actions and your deeds upon that which is good and true, and forsake that which is evil and false, and your life will have been thereby lived well.

We are all in this together

No man is an island, but rather each of us is called to be a member in good standing in civil society, of which each one of us has the fair obligation to be of service to their fellow members. In today's modern world, of welfare and relief, we find that one of the those things that will bother or upset certain members of society, are those able body people of age, that are able to benefit from governmental largesse without putting forth any corresponding effort to be of service to their fellow members.  In those cases, there may well be extenuating circumstances, that precludes such, but in a situation in which that is not the case, it is beneficial for all parties involved, that some sort of labor or effort be activated by those that are in receipt of benefits, to the degree that such is possible or reasonably achievable.

So too, lost in the noise, especially of many of those that complain that others are not pulling their weight, is the unfortunate fact that certain institutions and people, are privy to a construct that permits them to take advantage of, to exploit, or to use such things to their unfair advantage, in which they effectively take more from society at large, than they put forth into it, even though they may indeed be making some sort of worthwhile contribution.  That is to say, while it is relatively easy to take shots at those that labor not, but could and should; far less time is spent taking shots at those that utilize the system in a manner in which they benefit far more than they really should because of favoritism shown their way from governmental largesse, which is often masked under euphemistic terms that effectively act the same as welfare giveaways, but are not readily noted as such.

The bottom line, is free loading, is something not done exclusively by those that have little of material assets; but rather is also done by those that are able to manipulate as well as to construct selfish benefits within the system, in a manner in which they are treated far more favorably, than the common citizen; so that the weight so carried by the bulk of the members of society, is thereupon heavier than what it should be, from not only those that do not carry their own weight, though they could, but also by those that through gaming the system, have passed some of their weight onto others, knowing that they need not do so.

In any civil society, there are going to be cheats within that society, of which, the responsibility of those members of such, is to see that justice is served for all members of that society, so that all are treated equally and fairly.  In any good society, there are always going to be things that need to be done, of which, it is our responsibility to recognize that we need to do those very things; and those that are capable of doing work but skirt such, are in the very same boat, as those that work but do so in a manner in which they slough off what should be their work onto others, of which neither of these parties is doing their fair share for that society of which they are members of.

None inherit good deeds, yet some inherit great wealth

While it certainly makes sense that those that achieve material substance in this life, would want to make it their point, to thereby provide to their progeny as well as to causes of merit, some of that material substance for their benefit; it would also be sensible to state, that wealth provided to those that are not responsible in the usage of such, or even worthy of such, is imprudent.  After all, those having labored hard and having been both prudent and diligent in their life, while also having been fortunate enough to have been compensated fairly for having done so, have an innate responsibility to see that the wealth so created by the sweat of their brow, is ultimately provided as an aid to others of merit, as opposed to being simply handed forth to those that are unprepared, or wastrels or spendthrifts.

Another way to look upon such is to recognize that all the good that we do, and all the good deeds that we perform, come forth from our conscious effort and desire to do so.  This thus means that  good deeds primarily emanate from those that have made it their principle to perform good deeds, and that therefore there is no such thing as being able to inherit good deeds, for good deeds are done by the living, and cannot be performed by the dead or by those that are not yet born.  So too, the honors that good people, rightly earn, are earned by their diligence and throughput, typically performed over an extended period of time, of which this honor is characteristically recognized by one's peers as their due that is deserved by that person for having gone above and beyond, for the benefit of others, and in recognition that what has been accomplished is of significant merit.

So that, while it is fair to stipulate that providing some wealth to others has its place, it is also fair to state, that providing an abundance of wealth to those that have proved nothing, accomplished nothing, and from the granting of such wealth, will in all likelihood, erode their desire to make or do something positive with their life, is probably misguided, more often than not.  This signifies, that those that have gained great wealth, should by all means, utilize such wealth, per their inclination when they are amongst the living; and that excess wealth, not utilized, should be primarily passed onto worthy institutions and worthy people, for the benefit of the people as a whole, as compared to providing such abundantly or nearly exclusively to those that have done little or nothing to merit having such.

Again, one cannot inherit good deeds, yet, great wealth is inherited, all of the time.  The problem with this construct is that good deeds are of real value to society, at large; whereas great wealth while being something that is quite capable of being of help to or in the providing of aid in the creation of good things, can also regrettably be selfishly used or squandered by the recipient of such; indicating that wealth inherited by those that are irresponsible or unprepared, is wealth often misallocated, which weakens societies, as well as weakening the impact of those good deeds so done.

Concentrated power and the decline of the American people

America is supposed to be a republic; in which that republic thereby utilizes democratic principles in order for the people to have proper representation in all spheres of the public domain.  This means, that it is the people that are supposed to be represented in the legislative offices, the judicial branch, as well as in the executive office, for those that are empowered in America, are in theory, those that have been granted those powers, by the consent of the governed, for the express benefit of those so governed.

In point of fact, America's governance, whether local or national, is in so many ways, seemingly removed from the people having a real voice and say in the matters of most importance; so that, laws and institutions are created and enforced, far too often in a manner, that favors the few and well placed, while disadvantaging the general public as a whole.  Further to the point, never have such a small concentration of behemoth multinational corporations had such enormous power as they do so, today. 

This power of those corporations, allows such, in many respects, to control the pricing, the availability, and the quality of the products that are sold or utilized in which the people in whole, are placed into the position of having lost to a very large extent, their bargaining power in regards to purchases so made.

This thus means, in so many ways and facets, that the government has ceded their role as being of, by, and for the people, in order to combine in an unholy alliance with the biggest corporate entities that the world has ever known.  This combination signifies that there isn't anything or anybody that is willing to stop or to meaningfully regulate or to breakup these giant corporations; so that, in the scheme of things, these mighty corporations, are operating their businesses in a manner in which labor unions are increasingly a non-factor, and tax favoritism as well as tax reduction for these corporations is a fait accompli, and therefore the unfair burden of taxation for governmental programs, as well as safety nets, falls unfairly and thereby is a heavy weight upon those that are its citizens, and to its future generations yet, unborn.

So too, when money and power are welded into one, than the voice of the people is effectively silenced, for when that government of the people, has been co-opted by corporate interests and laws circumvented, corrupted, or marginalized, than it is the people, in whole, that suffer for that.  This is why, never have so few in number have now so much in real assets and power in America; and never have so many been so indebted and so emasculated in power as now then in today's America. 

To the degree that this present government will not exercise its right, on behalf of the people, to effectively promote the public interest and to thereby fully be cognitive of and to consequently rise up and to deal forcefully with the real menace of concentrated and non-competitive corporate power, then the people will suffer more and more from their lack of opportunity, their lack of justice, and their lack of sovereignty, for their fate will become more and more one of servitude to those corporate interests, that are fully protected, favored, and coddled by today's current government.

Behind the door of hate

Behind the door of hate, we often find, a soul that is hurting, and rather than dealing directly with their pain, by addressing that pain and hurt in a meaningful way, they seemingly prefer to strike out at others with hateful words, hateful actions, and a hateful spirit.  While those that hate seem to believe that they have justification for that hate, in the sense that the other is deserving of their disdain and loathing, the reality of the situation is that their hateful actions is actually masking the real pain that they are unwilling to address within their psyche.

That is to say, far too many people, do not desire to constructively deal with their own sins and wrongs, by therefore resolving to make the concentrated effort to be a better person, and thereby working diligently on getting to where they need to be.  Their preference, seems to be, to ignore their imperfections and errors, and instead to concentrate on attacking others as the reason that their life is unsatisfactory, under the mistaken notion that these others are somehow precluding them from having a happy and satisfying life. Yet, all this hate, that hurts others, and brings harm to others, does not, at the end of the day, bring either lasting happiness or satisfaction to the person inflicting that hate, though such may for a moment or two, receive a boost to their self-respect, but such is fleeting and temporary, for the roots of the cause of this hate has not been successfully addressed.

People hate, not necessarily because they are hateful, but they hate because hating is that easy road to take, of which, by lashing out at others, and especially those others, that make for an easy target, appears to be something that is both accomplishable as well as being something that appears to satiate that perceived need for hate.  However, the deep well of hate, once drawn upon, is found to be a well that is endless and further it is a well that demands obeisance -- so that many that start with just the seeds of hate find that they ultimately reap that unrestrained whirlwind of hate that thereupon consumes them, but does not ever quench their thirst.

Those that hate, seldom have just one solitary target in mind for their hate, but rather are able to morph that hate into all sorts of targets and subjects, because they do not wish to ever relent from that hate, for they do not desire to deal constructively with the root cause of their hate.  This signifies, that those that hate, hold onto that hate, in order to preclude themselves from facing who and what they really are, for without that hate, they will be forced to look within, and to recognize that the primary fuel of that hate, has always been the pain, hurt, and frustration of their own life.  So that, without that hate, they will have to face the music, and the song so played, will be the song of the hurts and responsibilities abandoned within their life, that they have failed to addressed in a constructive and meaningful manner, leaving them bereft and alone, and thereby suffering with that pain that will not seemingly ever go away.

The denial of God's law, never negates it

We live in an age in which those that do not desire to believe in, or to worship their Creator, have that choice, for better or for worse.  However, it must be stated, that those that deny an immutable truth in a manner in which thereby their behavior and mindset are adversely impacted, have done so to their own destruction; for God needs no acknowledgement that God exists from anyone or any source, because God's existence, preeminence, omnipresence, omnipotence, and immortality, is that undeniable truth, whether certain members of mankind wish to recognize or corrupt such or not.

Further to the point, while there are plenty of people that claim that they do not believe in or purposefully fail to recognize the sovereignty of God, this does not in any way, form, or manner negate their being subject to God's law.  So that, for instance, mankind need not acknowledge that gravity exists, yet gravity does so exist, signifying that the laws of gravity apply, whether consciously admitted to or not.

As mankind increases its knowledge, its technological knowhow, and its capacity to create breakthroughs in so many subject areas of interest, previously unaccomplished in the eons of time; this would seem to imply that mankind would be more cognizant that this world has a Master Designer behind it, and therefore to know that Master Designer, would better allow mankind to know its own self as well as this world.  But, in actuality, far too many intelligent representatives of mankind aggrandize onto their own minds and thoughts, that they are, in their own way, gods, and need not thereby concern themselves with the recognition or the acknowledgement that they are instruments of the One God.

To not recognize God, is an error, but it need not be a fatal error, if the behavior and actions by those that profess no belief, are consistent with them being good people, one to another, and thereby the accomplishments of those people being of benefit and of improvement for society, in whole.  That is to say, those that conduct their affairs with their fellow sojourners on earth with the conscious and abiding recognition that all are equal, and thereby all are equally entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are behaving in a manner which is consistent with universal truth.  In addition, all those that demonstrate in their interaction with others that we should treat one another in the manner that we so desire to be treated by another, are in harmony with that universal truth.

On the other hand, all those who deny God's law, whether because they do or do not believe that God exists, are still subject to God's law, regardless of their belief or lack of belief, therewith.   Each one of us is gifted with a free will and thereby has the free choice to do whatever that it is that we so desire, subject to the constraints that operate upon this planet.  But just as every action has a reaction, so too, everything that that we do, think, and accomplish, has consequences so attached to it, of which, denial that this law exists, does not negate that which must be own up to, sooner or later.  Therefore, ignorance or denial of that which is -- will not ever liberate us from that universal law which is equally applicable to all.

Unrestrained power, injustice and social inequality

The whole point of any civilization is for that civilization in whole, to be of benefit to the people, in whole.  That is to say, each of us willingly sacrifices some personal and economic freedoms in order to live within a construct in which people from diverse backgrounds as well as diverse objectives, are able to thereupon come together into one vibrant body politic, for the greater good of the people.  After all, the greatest accomplishments in any society come forth, from people working together that have different skill sets and capabilities in which those people work hard and are diligent, so as to create things of benefit and of improvement for society.  This is why we have, for instance, public roads, public utilities, public parks, and public schools, because each of these is a real need for a given family or individual, in which, by our joint efforts, these infrastructure elements are accomplished.

Because each of us is different in our skills, in our background, in our outlook, and in our throughput, the results from our efforts are going to be materially different.  This thus means that in a capitalistic society some will have more than others, which is fine to a certain extent, because each of us have different motivations in our lives.  However, when any country over a long period of time, devolves into the very opposite of what it is supposed to be in principle; and further to the point, there are those that are in highly favorable positions, that bend the rules to favor a specific subset of those people, at the expense of the people, in whole; then this country has ceded control of what should be for the common good, to those privileged few that take far more than their rightful share.

In America, there is a massive chasm separating the richest of the rich, combined with the most powerful players in this country, from the unfortunate underclass, which is so often systemically oppressed, ill-educated, as well as lacking in hope and opportunity; all indicative that an elite minority rules with their power, exploitation and injustice over those that simply have never had a fair chance to make something of themselves.  Further, America's middle class so suffers from being placed in the unenviable position of being unable to feel, more often than not, completely secure in their own employment, or their assets, or in their future retirement, because the American middle class edifice has developed structural cracks in its foundation., that should and does worry America's middle class.

In actuality, as much as America prides itself on being a country that is egalitarian in principle; in actuality, it isn't, for virtually every statistic of merit demonstrates that the very few have the lion's share of not only the real material wealth of America, but also are seemingly immune to police or justice harassment, and essentially are invulnerable of ever being in jeopardy of life, limb, or the curtailment of their freedom.  On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of America's citizens are now living in a world, in which it would appear that literally everything that they do, say, or travel to, is being monitored as well as being stored into a vast database, so that the few and powerful, are able to, at their command, compromise or control those that would think of taking from them, the power that they have, so that they can continue to lord it over the people, and to enjoy the really good life, at their  collective expense.

Black, white and the failure of LBJ's Great Society

FDR is known for bringing to the American public, the "New Deal."  So too, LBJ is known as bringing to the American people in 1964-1965 his vision of the "Great Society," in which the objective was both to eliminate poverty and to eradicate racial injustice in America.  While each of these programs were successful in some meaningful as well as lasting ways; they also, were disappointing as well.  In particular, the Great Society as envisioned by President Johnson is not now and never has become that Great Society that America should really represent, especially for all those that have historically been disenfranchised, and are still disenfranchised, today.

For instance, incarceration rates per 100,000 adult citizens, began to skyrocket in the 1980s, so that never has such a high percentage of Americans been either incarcerated, or suffer from some form of constraint upon their freedom as today's citizens so suffer.  It would be one thing, if such incarceration was fairly balanced between all races, but, in fact, as reported by journeys.dartmouth.edu, "In 1920, 35.2% of male prisoners were black, although they only made up 9.2% of the male population. In 2010, 53.6% of male prisoners were black, although they only made up 10.4% of the male population."  This so signifies that despite whatever laws that have been passed to reduce or to ameliorate or to eliminate racial discrimination, that America still persists upon viewing and targeting blacks in a deliberate discriminating manner and thereupon criminalizing a large subsection of the black male population; so that the American incarceration rate for black males, hasn't actually gone down over recent decades, but rather is even higher today, then it was back when America was deliberately segregated in so many ways and forms.

Additionally, money matters in America, so that, in an age in which discrimination against those that are non-white is supposed to be have been completely eradicated, and in which educational systems are supposed to be integrated and fully equal, what we find is that as reported by qz.com, "… in 1953, four-fifths of white families made more than the typical black household. Now, closer to nine-tenths do."  This signifies that the income of black households has not improved since the Great Society was passed into federal law, but rather has actually regressed.  Further to the point, brookings.edu, tells us that "The median average white family in the U.S. has approximately $171,000 in net wealth, while the median African American family has approximately $17,000," which is proof positive, that whites clearly are still in the boss seat of money and wealth, especially over their counterparts that are black, even though and despite all the laws so passed since 1964, that in theory were meant to narrow the income and wealth gap between black and white, but in actuality have not made any headway, in actually doing so.

What the above signifies, is that within America, there is a controlling faction that is extremely skilled at holding onto their power and even aggrandizing unto itself even more power, so that, good laws and rights that are passed for the overall benefit of mankind and in particular to help the most vulnerable amongst us, are successfully circumvented by those powers, time and time again.  This means, that good laws and good intentions are not good enough to effect and to actuate change.  Rather, the only conceivable way to help even an historical score that has been unfair since its inception, is to tax those entities that have the money in a manner in which they cannot escape such taxation.  So too, the only way to resolve systemic incarceration practices that unfairly target minorities and the impoverished is to eradicate such, by far less incarceration and with far more social programs that provide meaningful help, aid, remediation, and direction to those that most need such.

If America, truly wants a better world for all Americans, it needs to do a far more efficient job of taking from the ultra rich and giving to the poor; while also providing fair liberty, justice, and opportunity for all.

Of, by, and for the people

We are told in our very own Declaration of Independence, that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," and further, "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…"  These very words are the words that those that signed such, pledged their lives, and their sacred honor upon.  So too, these were the words that led to the resolve of those people to make revolution against the empire of Great Britain, so as to tear apart those cords that bound those men to that monarchy that did not afford those men, the right to their own self determination and their right to a fair return of the labor so made.

Yet, the government as currently exercised and practiced within the United States, appears to be a government that answers not to the people, but rather is in fit, form, and function, a government that favors the elite and well placed, at the expense of the people.  For instance, in what is supposed to be an egalitarian society, one would suspect that the disparity in income and wealth so accumulated, would be on a path in which the wealthiest and the most powerful of Americans would be ceding ground to the population as a whole.  In other words, through the form of progressive taxation, estate taxation, and antitrust legislation, those that have created wealth, would in the course of events, ultimately pay a fair share of that wealth back to the people of this country in order to provide those people of that government of the people, with the fair foundation for their own wealth creation.  Yet, never in the history of America, have so very few had so much.  In fact, as reported by politifact.com, just three individuals, have more wealth than the bottom 50%, or 160 million Americans, combined.  That, is proof positive, that the government is not now, nor has it been, a government of, by, and for the people, but rather that this is a government that clearly aids and abets those that are the richest of the rich at the expense of the people.

Additionally, this country, use to have an incarceration rate, that was less than 100 persons per 100,000 adult residents, which was basically consistent with other western European nations; yet in the twentieth century that rate went first above 100 persons per 100,000 in the 1930s, and then really took off in the 1980s, of which the United States reached an incarceration rate of an astonishing 716 per 100,000 adult residents in 2013.  This startling and unprecedented growth rate in incarceration for an advanced nation was built around the concept of criminalizing those that were impoverished as well as those that were involved in some capacity in illicit drug usage or possession.  In other words, the United States found it more beneficial to lock up its own people, rather than to constructively deal with systemic problems within its domain.

So then, America as demonstrated by those that hold the highest governmental offices, as well as by those that are the most powerful corporations, is a country that is built for, of, and by those that are both powerful as well as rich, and in no way, form or manner is it a country, of, by, and for the people.  This, in substance, is the very reason, why this country which was birthed as a bastion of freedom, has morphed itself instead into a country that double-speaks all of the time, for the rich get richer, the powerful get more powerful, and the people lose, each and every day, more of their liberty and their freedom.

Guns and butter

The federal government of any country can only allocate so much money for welfare programs as well as other vital programs, because governments do not have an unlimited amount of money to draw upon.  In fact, the wealth that nations spend on its military, infrastructure, social programs, and the like are limited to the productivity of its citizens; so that, decisions must be made by governmental representatives as to how best allocate the money so collected, to programs, that are most beneficial to the people, in whole.

According to statista.com the United States spent a total of $649 billion on its military spending in 2018, in which China spent an estimated total of $250 billion, and Russia a total of a mere $64.1 billion.  China has a population that is four times the amount of people that the United States has, yet China, spends $450 billion less on its military than America does.  In regards to Russia, which the United States insisted upon for decades as being a real and present danger to America, Russia's spending on their defense budget, is only 10% of what America spends.  So too, it must be well acknowledged that America has no contiguous enemies; in fact, America's relationship with both Canada and Mexico is quite sound and stable.  The only country within the western hemisphere that in recent memory, has posed any threat whatsoever to America, was the tiny island state of Cuba, in which Russia used such as a proxy back in the early 1960s.  But recognize this, Cuba's most vital bay, known as Guantanamo Bay, has been in the control and thereby occupied by the United States since 1898,  so that it is fair to state that a country that has its most important bay, legally occupied by the United States is not a country that could ever be a serious threat to America. 

America spends an inordinate amount of money on its military, of which those tens of billions upon tens of billions of dollars that are spent, are to a very large extent, the taking of money from the people, or even of generations yet born, to build armaments, munitions, and the infrastructure that goes along with such, that has no real productive value, but rather is the spending of tens of billions of monies on the making of that which is destructive in its design and in its purpose.  So that, tens of billions upon tens of billions of dollars, have been taken from the people that live in this the richest of all countries in the history of the world; so that the net result is that the underclass of America will continue to suffer and continue to exist under quite dire and troubling circumstances, that need not occur, but does occur, because America cares much more about the destroying and the endless pursuit of inchoate enemies, than it does about creating a nation in which each citizen is rightfully entitled to a good education, good housing, good healthcare, and good opportunity.

That which will right the good ship of America, has been in its hands and in its control, for generations, but America does not have the moral courage to do the right thing by its citizens, but rather prefers to flex its muscles, and thereby to create havoc throughout the world, making this world a far more dangerous place than it ever need be.  America has deliberately left behind the most vulnerable of its citizens, for it cares not for them, but rather cares far more for the lure of the glory of war and the lust for empire.

Love and the lack of love

All sorts of people have all sorts of ideas about what life or what the meaning of life really is all about, of which some of those theories and opinions certainly make good sense.  The thing is, in the great skeins of time, there isn't any real good reason to over-think what you should or shouldn't be doing on a daily basis, because at its essence, life is about love and the acceptance of others, with love.  For, if you do just that, which seems to be something that all are capable of, you thereby are true to that which is the truth.

In point of fact, life consists mainly of our interactions with others, of which some of those interactions are deliberate and by design, whereas some are required per the dictates of our circumstances.  Those that are able to keep foremost in their mind and thereby by their words and actions, that each person that they are connected to has value, and should consequently always be seen as being valued; and further are able to see that each one of us has been created equally with an equal right to the same unalienable rights, are subsequently going to be the type of people that treat others with the inherent respect and accord, that all are equally entitled to.  On the other hand, those that see others, as things to be used and/or exploited, that effectively ignore the humanity of another, especially when circumstances favor them in doing so for their own personal advantage, are not loving, but rather are those that play unfairly, in order to primarily benefit themselves or those that mean the most to them.

We see that in all the various games that people play, too many of them, that are playing these games, have not bothered to take the time to actually read closely that the same fundamental rules actually apply to every single game, without exception.  For, to believe, that that which is unjust can ever successfully rule over that which is just is mistaken; or to believe that war of whatever stripe or color, will bring forth a good and lasting peace is misguided; or that those that fail to recognize the validity of their neighbor, because they refuse to take into account the innate substance of all others as actually being the same, is wrong.    In all of this, mankind has deliberately walked away from love, to replace such with something that is lesser, in the wrong belief that by doing so, that they will ultimately be happier, wealthier, or more satisfied.

The love that everyone needs cannot be bought, for it never is for sale; yet, this gift of love to each one of us, is priceless, though far too many are far too quick to trade that love for that which is transient and ultimately harmful.  If a world without love or a world that is lacking in love, seems to be the world that you desire, then look around at all the troubles in this world, and recognize that the root of those troubles stems forth because too many do not love and lack love within their mindset.  The purpose of life for mankind on this world is as straightforward as this: to rise above the limits of an animal kingdom mentality, and to recognize in truth that only those that love and are love are in actual accordance to that which is both eternal and timeless.

The state desires your passive obedience

All those that are in power, do not typically countenance any threat to that power.  This means, that those that are the rulers of the people, no matter how they achieved that power, or what they have promised to do or not do with such power, are often beholden first to that power, and secondly to the people that they have responsibility to, by virtue of having that power.  This indicates that people should, as much as possible, hold those that have power, responsible to how that power is applied and utilized; for if not, power has a way of taking onto itself, even more power at the expense of the people; though there are exceptions to that general rule, for some in power, are, in fact, great representatives of the people.

In general, though, those that are in power don't often wish to have that power challenged or even questioned by the people.  So that when those in authority, offer a forum in which the people have a voice, such is often done more as a ritual, then of something that will in the scheme of things, have substance in subsequent action so taken -- though words may indeed be written, and even promises committed to; but it is in the follow through, that determines whether the people's voice has actually been listened to and thereby adhered to. 

In reality, the vast majority of those that are in power, simply desire that the people, passively obey them in all that they enact and do.  We find that for a minority of those in power, they believe that they alone truly know best, and therefore, desire that the people adhere to their commands, because they consider their dictates to actually be in the people's overall best interest.  Those of the more cynical and selfish nature, want passive obedience from the people, primarily to benefit and to consolidate their own power, as well as to enhance and to placate those powers-to-be that are behind the scenes, who will make sure to reward copiously those that consciously benefit those hidden powers.

The thing about rulers and those that are ruled is that the rulers are always in the minority in numbers and those that are ruled are always in the majority, so that a general public, that is independent, free thinking, and actively engaged, is always going to be a bit troubling or even more so for governments; not because the people don't have good ideas and not because their heart is not in the right place, but primarily because they do have good ideas and their heart is in the right place, for most rulers are in it for themselves, and aren't interested in any form of government, that actually enacts in principle laws and governance that is of, for, and by the people.

So then, in order for those in power to hold onto that power, when such clearly is demonstrated to be prejudicial and favorable primarily for the elite, whereas, on the other hand, such is clearly detrimental and destructive to the people as a whole; the state must have the means therefore to distract as much as possible the people from the reality of their situation by making sure to provide to all of the people plenty of mindless entertainment, as well as having in abundance a steady supply of substances that will fog their mind, while also making sure to keep them well fed; for a population that has good wine, women, and song, has a much stronger tendency to passively obey its rulers.

Opportunity and location

The United States prides itself on being an egalitarian society, of which, if this was wholly true, then the society that America represents, would in the scheme of things, be more equal in all those things that matter such as income, wealth, opportunity, living standards, health, and one's overall quality of life.  Unfortunately, statistics as well as our own eyes tells us, that America is an incredibly unequal society, of which in modern times, that inequality has not been decreasing, but rather has been increasing, all at a disturbingly high rate, so that the richest of the rich, are increasingly living lives in which they do not in the normal course of events, interrelate with any of those that are not part of their milieu, and certainly have nothing personally to do with those that are in the lower socio-economic class.  This thus makes it far easier for those of that wealth, to effectively ignore and to thereby trivialize those that are the underclass of America, as well as to not feel viscerally the underclass's pain, their disappointment, and their lack of hope.

While, a huge swath of Americans, want to desperately believe that this is a merit based country, in which those that apply themselves, and are diligent, are thereby accorded the fruits of their hard work; it really isn't that way at all, because the fact of the matter is that the physical location of where a given person is birthed and thereby the overall environment of where a given person grows up, has a very meaningful impact upon the quality and the opportunities of life that will be fairly presented to that person.

That is to say, that the nuclear family within a person's domain, most definitely has a very significant impact upon that person's life; but so too, does the environment that surrounds that person, as to whether they reside in an area of the country in which public space is both freely available, as well as being safe; in addition to the need and the immense value of good schools with teachers that are of high quality, as well as the parents of the household having employment which is not only stable but of good remuneration. 

In other words, those fortunate enough to grow up in a milieu, of which they are surrounded by successful people as well as having accouterments readily available for them that mesh well with that success, make for a desirable living condition, and ultimately better opportunities for them.  Those, though that live in economically deprived areas, in which parents struggle to not only make the money necessary to survive, but also typically have little or no say in their wages or even the hours that they work -- and are exposed and vulnerable to the ill effects of bad health, unreliable transportation, police and state harassment, and myriad other injustices and hassles that are commonplace within their community, are not going to be able to  provide much more than a place to lay one's head down at the end of the day, in which good opportunities are short, and positive role models, non-existent.

This thus means that all those that live in communities where the conditions are bleak; that, no matter their innate ability, are typically going to be subject to their light of opportunity and their career advancement being turned off at a very young age; in which, by the happenstance of their very location, they are precluded from ever being able to have a good life, vibrant liberty, or a real opportunity to fairly pursue their own happiness.

James Madison and the necessary Constitutional Amendment

Most people are aware that the ratification of our written Constitution contained Ten Amendments to it, of which these Ten Amendments are commonly designated as the Bill of Rights. The issuance of those Bill of Rights, though, was not a given, as those that opposed such on its merit, opposed it basically from the standpoint, that the Constitution was a Constitution of enumerated rights, and therefore by definition, those rights not specifically granted to the government, were retained by the States, or by the people, respectively.  In any event, history has clearly demonstrated, that the Bill of Rights has been of immense importance to the people of this country, for governments, over time, aggrandize their power, granting to that government even more power then so stipulated within their Constitutional authority.

One of the most important concepts of this Constitution, was the distinct and deliberate separation of powers, between the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches, thereby making it far more difficult for any one branch to become predominant over the others, and thereby providing the prudent counterbalance to the prevention of any one branch, having too much power. Yet, over time, that separation no longer appears in full force, so that, for instance, the Executive branch, exercises legislative powers, as does the Judicial branch, doing the very same thing; so that the end effect of this additional aggrandizing of power, is to trivialize the power and relevancy of the legislative branch, and to thereby consolidate more power into the unelected and lifetime tenured Judicial branch, as well as to the Executive office, which though subject to a popular vote in order to be elected, is able to thereupon take on and make more and more important decisions through its Executive orders, that thereby makes today's Presidency take on the aura of a monarch.

James Madison recommended the following Amendment be added to the Constitution which states: "The powers delegated by this Constitution are appropriated to the departments to which they are respectively distributed: so that the Legislative Department shall never exercise the powers vested in the Executive or Judicial, nor the Executive exercise the powers vested in the Legislative or Judicial, nor the Judicial exercise the powers vested in the Legislative or Executive Departments."  This Amendment, is apropos for today's America, in order to rein in those departments that have taken on responsibilities that are not within their orbit and domain, and thereupon have made decisions that are not consistent with their original Constitutional powers as envisioned.

In other words, just as the Bill of Rights, was amended to that Constitution, in order to protect and defend the people of that the Constitution, specifically written and created under their consent as well as for their benefit of the people; it is just as important today that the Constitution be amended to thereby defend and to protect the concept and exercise of the separation of powers, so that not one branch becomes predominate over another.  Yet, that predomination and lack of restraint of power within a given department, appears to be being violated, today, indicating that James Madison's proposed Amendment is needed in order to rectify this exact problem.

The purpose of any good Amendment is to correct, to clarify, and to augment the Constitution, so that by that Amendment, the people are more properly vested in their government, by virtue of that government, representing the people in a manner that reflects that they are ultimately the sovereign instruments of their country.

When the police don't answer to all of the people, then they are a power controlled by another

A significant portion of the population believes that the more police that a given community has, the safer such a community will be; yet with today's modernized militarized police, such a presence in certain communities, exacerbates relations between the police and the people, for the sheer amount of police thereof and their tactics leads not to better and safer communities, but rather leads quite often to the oppression and harassment of certain segments of that society.

In point of fact, the police in so many ways represent not a force that is there to protect and to serve the people as a whole, but rather is best seen as a force that specifically is present to protect and to serve a designated section of that population, to the exclusion of all others.  This means, that police officers, routinely deal with certain segments of the population in a diametrically different way than they treat other segments of the population, in which, those that are movers and shakers of the community, are almost always the ones that have an undue influence upon how and where and what a given police force will do, for police agencies should be correctly seen, as obedient to the authority that runs the show, and that authority is typically the most influential and powerful people within the community.

So then, those that are the most vociferous in their praise of and in their strong belief of the need for the community to have a strong and vibrant police force, are those that are in control of such, so as to augment, to enhance, and to protect their own power and assets; as well as those that are typically part of the milieu that the police would typically see as segments of society that they should treat in a manner that shows and accords those people, the general respect and the courtesy of acknowledging their Constitutional rights. On the other hand, all those that are not of that milieu, and specifically those parts of communities that have been designated as troubled spots, or those people that do not act or look or behave in a manner that matches or conforms to the community standards as promulgated from above, are going to be dealt with in a manner in which they will suffer far more from police intimidation, police violence, arrests, incarceration, and freedoms curtailed.

It must be recognized, that the police in one part of the community, may be rightly seen as protectors of the people, and that their duties are often performed in a professional and just manner.  Then there are those other parts of the community, in which, the people of those communities, rightly perceived the police as, more often than not, dangerous elements to that community and specifically a threatening menace to the people of that community, in which the police exercise their power with almost limitless impunity and vengeance directed in a way, that justice is first served by those police in the streets.

All of the above means what it appears to mean, that the police behave and perform their functions in a manner, absolutely consistent to the powers that control them; of which those powers, are careful not to upset the designated good people of that community.  On the other hand, those powers need to and want to control and to thereby suppress the perceived bad people of their community, by utilizing the strong arm of the police to keep order, per the instructions so given.

Mandatory minimums are a form of cruel and unusual punishment

The Eighth Amendment to our Constitution reads as follows: "… nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."  Yet, somehow American jurisprudence permits and thereby utilizes sentencing guidelines that impose mandatory minimums on certain classified crimes, in which specific Class A felonies, Class B felonies, Class C felonies, and Class D felonies, in addition to other high crimes and misdemeanors, are subject to mandated minimum incarceration penalties.  

The fundamental problem with mandatory minimums is that, by definition, this means that crimes, in and of themselves, or activities which have been classified as crimes by legislative authority, have seen expressed by that legislation to not perceive the humanity of the person that is the perpetrator of the crime, but rather, instead, simply boxes in human beings into nice, neat, and organized categories -- without taking into account, the fully relevant aspects of a given person's life history and the circumstances surrounding each one of these crimes, on an individual level, and thereby taking into consideration all of the pertinent facts in regards to the merits of a given case, therein.

It is cruel to deny any human being, their unalienable right to have their part of the story fully recognized; in which, such is marginalized and thereby superseded by the law, which simply states: "if this is so, then this is the minimum penalty that must be paid, no matter any extenuating or mitigating circumstances, involved."  Further to the point, justice in America as practiced, is practiced in a manner in which the sentencing of those that have money, or good access to outstanding attorneys, will, in and of themselves, virtually always be able to circumvent minimum penalties, or the worse of minimum penalties, by either the combative negotiation of charges so made, thereupon subsequently agreed upon by both parties, or by all the usual strategies and appeals that good attorneys are able to do, to deny justice having even the hint of being equally applied, for all those accused of the very same crime.

The bottom line is that most mandatory minimums are really just another form of oppressing those that have little or nothing, so that, essentially those that are poor and ill-educated are subject to mandatory minimums; whereas all those with money, and the right connections, need not worry about suffering through the same sort of dire fate, because they are often able to negotiate a successful plea deal which while subjecting them to some sort of penalty, it will subsequently be a penalty which is often significantly less than what a mandatory minimum would have been;  yet this option is not available for the underclass of Americans.

So too, mandatory minimums are unusual, because it is unusual when any just court of law, predetermines in every circumstance, without exception, that a certain specific penalty must be paid, without taking into full account, whether such a penalty, given all the facts and information provided:  is fair, is reasoned, is humane, and is consistent with the principles of the country which contends that it is the epitome of a great republic, with life, liberty, and justice for all.  For when such a country specifically creates jurisprudence which is anathema to its founding Constitutional principles, that is both unusual, as well as being cruel.

The best way to serve God

There are plenty of people that confess to the belief that they desire to serve God in any of the myriad ways that one can do so.  That sort of mindset is the very first step to actually being of service to God, but it is in the necessary follow through that either that service is rendered or it is not.

For instance, in this modern era, unlike times of old, virtually everyone is aware that making sacrifices to God, of unblemished animals or similar, is not doing anything for God, and isn't doing anything for one's fellow mankind, either.  It then so follows, that any of the symbolic tributes made to God, are at best, a tradition which has its place in the orthodoxy of a given religion, and at worse, a sideshow that skirts around what should actually be addressed in a meaningful way.

In point of fact, the greatest tribute that a given person can provide to God is to be a good person, by actually demonstrating by their word and in their actions, the abiding affection that we should have for our fellow human beings, by doing right by them, in all ways, large and small.  That is to say, that each of us in order to really serve God, can conform to such, by righteously serving our fellow human beings, with the type of respect, concern, and positive action that makes for a better community and increases our good connection one with another.

After all, we are, without exception, all children of the very same God; so that as one family, with just one Creator, it is our greatest obligation to do our part in making that family, both good and whole.  This signifies that all those that believe, that not until Heaven, when all things will be made right and are right, that those believing such, have missed the forest for the trees, for Heaven should not appropriately be seen as some sort of reward for some, but rather should be seen as something that needs to be accomplished, right here on earth; for the Good Shepherd has told us, distinctly, that He will out of moral duty, leave, if necessary, the ninety-nine, in order to rescue just one. 

All this essentially means that because our lives are interconnected, one with another, that we must do our part, to see that those interconnections are tight enough, and that we are bounded enough, that we are able to see in each individual, no matter how lost that they may appear, that they are still and always will be, a child of our Most High God.  It then becomes our duty in our service to God, to be the eyes, ears, and feet of God in our current material existence, so that we are that meaningful and spiritual aid to others, for those that are most vulnerable, are most in need of mankind's good and steady hand.

All those that truly wish to serve God, are able to do so, day-by-day, by simply being good and just to all; for in that good service to their fellow sojourners here on earth, they have both served mankind as well as served well their God.

The war-making power is not constitutionally in the President's hands

The United States Constitution is supposed to be the highest law of the land, and further the interpretation of that Constitution is supposed to be consistent with the principles and words of that same Constitution.  However, when it comes to war, which would seem to be one of those things, that should concern all Americans -- somehow, the Executive office has, over time, morphed into being the alternative power to declare war, and this is done, without even the need to consult with the congress, even though the Constitution through Article 1, Section 8, declares that "…Congress shall have the power… to declare War…"

The United States, through the Executive office, believes that simply through creative use of semantics that acts of war, as long as they are not specifically designated as being a war are therefore considered to be a power rightfully in the hands of the Executive office.  This thus means, that wars against Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Vietnam, and so on, are somehow perceived as being something other than war, though they are described by the media and other countries as wars, are perceived by the combatants to be war, and contain all the elements of war; yet, somehow they are not war, for only Congress has the constitutional power to declare war.

The reality of the situation is that America, since the conclusion of World War II, has made a conscious choice to become a worldwide empire.  This thus means, that the duties of an empire, cannot afford the luxury of being hindered or impugned by Congress, in which those that are members of the Congress, are simply too numerous to be fully controlled, 100 percent of the time, by the powers that insist upon their exclusive right to wage war, in order to thereby profit and to defend large multinational corporations, bankers, and the technology-industrial-military complex. 

This signifies that America has devolved into the very thing, it was never suppose to become, in which, through Executive orders and the war power as exercised by the Executive office, this republic behaves as like monarchies of old, in which Kings and Queens, declared war, and the citizens, obeyed.  All of this is successfully accomplished, by administration after administration, with the general public, and the Congress, never seeming to have any real relevancy upon the matter, because neither the people, nor the Congress, nor the judicial branch, will actually assert their own Constitutional powers against the Executive office.

Yet, the Constitution is the highest law of the land, of which, even the Executive office has sworn to preserve, protect and to defend that Constitution.  This thus means that the only way out of these endless wars that are sold to the general public as necessary to defend American citizens, from terrorists, or bad guys, or to supposedly propagate fine American values, is for the people, the congress, and the judicial branch, to rise up and to actually assert that our Constitution needs to be adhered to; or that in absence of this being done, that the Constitution, needs to be Constitutionally amended to reflect that the Executive office can declare war, on whomever or whatever that office so desires, without debate, vote, or discussion.

As it is, the Executive office does not have the Constitutional power to declare war; yet, somehow that office consistently behaves and thereby commits those corresponding actions, as if it does.  

The insanity of allowing the richest of the rich to get even richer

The United States is effectively run by both individuals as well as behemoth corporations that will not countenance anything that will preclude them from aggrandizing unto them more and more influence, exploitation, and power.  For a certainty, money is a form of power, and even those that ostensibly are powerful people in their positions and/or influence, are often, perhaps even unwittingly, move to do things and make decisions that are partly or fully influenced by those that use the effectiveness of money in any and all of its myriad ways and forms, in order to get its specific way.

The only entity that is significantly bigger than today's multinational corporations in which companies such as Walmart had sales of over $500 billion in revenue, in 2018, is the national government.  Yet, again and again, large corporations such as Amazon, which had sales of over $200 billion in revenue, did not pay any federal taxes, whatsoever, in their fiscal year, of2018.  This signifies that these companies are experts at creating influence in public policy that permits them to escape the taxman, even though these are exactly the entities that have an overabundance of monies that should be performing their part, and even more than their part, to contribute to the good welfare of the people, and to the necessary infrastructure of society.

The purpose of the national government is to represent the common man, and to the extent that it is possible, to help level the playing field for the benefit of the common man.   This means that a strong national government protects and defends the common man, so that he is not fodder for colossus corporations or even to rich individuals that effectively dictate to that common man, the terms and conditions of their employment.  Further to the point, the reason for a progressive income tax, as well as corporate taxes, in the first place, is for those superrich individuals and super successful corporations to be subject to a fair taxation rate, which thereby provides the necessary funds and means for the national government to keep its fiscal house in order and to serve best, the public, and the public, interests.

Unfortunately, what is only too obvious in American society in the 21st century, is that, embarrassingly, and unacceptably, both the richest corporations as well as the richest individuals, are increasing their wealth collected into their greedy hands at a rate, that is not only unseemly, but unfathomable, in the sense that it is actually occurring, out in the open, and seemingly unopposed.  The reason that this is happening, falls to a very large extent, at the feet of this national government, which, in significant ways, aids and augments the richest of the rich so that they can become even richer and even more powerful, by virtue of those governmental taxes, as well as governmental rules and regulations being apparently vacated or gutted in their effect and in their intent, upon those entities.

In the historical scheme of things, the people voluntarily joined together into one body politic, in order to propagate and to formulate a national government which would be beneficial for the people; by providing those people with the necessary means of obtaining their happiness -- consisting of freedom, liberty, justice, and opportunity, equally applied to all.  Instead, we presently have a national government that is of, by, and for the superrich for the benefit of the superrich, of which, consequently, so many of the people are unfairly deprived of justice, liberty, and opportunity.  

So then, we are seemingly stuck with the rich getting even richer, and even more privileged, because the only entity that can stop such, which is our national government, has effectively been compromised, or even worse, actively aids and augments those superrich; in which, as long as this continues, the less the common man will have, and the more the few will have wrongly taken and wrested away from them.

The vital importance of the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to our Constitution

The Ninth Amendment to our Constitution states as follows: "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people." The Tenth Amendment to our Constitution states as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." The very purpose behind these vital Amendments was meant to put in writing and in action the principle that this republic would always and forever be a republic of the people, by the people, and of the people.  Yet, today's government incessantly acts and behaves in a manner in which, it has become for all intents and purposes, answerable not to the people, but to an agenda hidden from the public view, which makes this a government, not of the people.

In so many respects, this government by its actions is the principle oppressor of the people.  For instance, this government takes away the people's freedom, by the incarceration of so many of them who have been convicted of crimes, of which a significant number of those crimes are essentially victimless or the predictable result of systemic poverty, ill-education, and forced segregation.  So too, the people's right to peaceably assemble, is far too often met with a militarized police force, ready to arrest and to harass good citizens for no ostensible good reason, other than to silence and to subjugate them.  Additionally, the ability of the people to be about their business, without excessive, unnecessary and intrusive surveillance of their location, their communications, and a detailed dossier of whom and what they are, is the de facto standard operating procedure of this governmental state.

In everything that this government does in which the people's rights have been perverted into being effectively turned into no longer being unalienable rights; but instead are considered to be no more than governmental privileges, which may or may not be granted, depending upon circumstances as to how the government perceives such; is indicative that all is not well with how this government goes about serving and representing the people.  Rather, this national government has become the super-government, effectively rising above the Constitution that it is required to serve and to defend, and those that are the powers behind this government, see the people not as a resource, to aid and abet, as necessary; but rather as a resource to exploit, extract, and to control, for the purposes of those powers that control the government.

The rights and the powers of the people, are supposed to be the very rights and powers that this government, is meant to protect, to serve, and to augment.  That is to say, the very fight for our independence from Great Britain was never done under the auspices that the denizens of this country, simply wished to change from one master across the sea, to the same sort of master upon its own shores, but rather to eliminate, once and for all, tyranny upon the people.  This thus signifies, that all judicial decisions reached, as well as all legislation passed, in addition to Executive orders so promulgated, that are not in accordance with, or in harmony with the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to this Constitution and the principles of that Constitution, thereof, are of themselves, unconstitutional, for they are clearly inimical to the people and to this republic.