The superrich trio that owns it all

America should be greatly shamed that just three individuals, as reported by the Institute of Policy Studies, own more collectively in monetary assets than the bottom half of America's population.  This signifies, that 160 million Americans combined, in this the country of egalitarian principles, of equality and fairness for all, are superseded by just three individuals that basically own it all and then some.  This is proof positive that the current tax system as exercised does not accomplish what it is supposed to accomplished, for that tax system is obviously not progressive, and does not appropriate tax wealth effectively from the superrich, and in particular, allows those assets of the superrich to blithely compound upon itself, over and over again.

It would be one thing, if even the poorest of the poor in America, own their own home or at least had safe housing of some sort, as well as had a reliable means or reasonable access to transportation, and were provided with a quality free education, healthy living conditions, a living wage, and additionally had fair access to quality healthcare that did not bankrupt them -- but in reality, this isn't true.    In point of fact, there is an underclass in America, of significant size, that doesn't own much of anything, of which their prospects are bleak and they live lives that are in many respects, insufferable.  Further, the great middle class of America is often stressed, because in order to maintain their status, they have to juggle so many duties and obligations that it seems like they never will be able to ever truly stop running, just to maintain their place.

There isn't any good point in knowing our Declaration of Independence, because a significant mass of Americans, unlike the superrich, aren't actually independent, but are in reality, dependent upon their own government to provide material aid to them, and of this aid, it often isn't enough.  Additionally, too many Americans are far too often overly dependent upon monopolistic institutions that employ them at wages, which are typically unfair, un-negotiated, and unsecure.  Further, there isn't any good point in knowing our Constitution, because this country rather than being of, for, and by the people, is actually of, for and by those that are superrich at the expense of the people.

The pursuit of life, liberty and happiness, cannot truly occur when three individuals own it all, leaving but breadcrumbs for half of the population.  This signifies that despite the fact that the people have the vote, that clearly those that are the representatives of, the members of, and the lawmakers and interpreters of the law, are in fit, form, and function servants of the only class that effectively matters, which is the superrich.

If America was fair, there would not now be, and never would there be, a trio of men, that own more in wealth, than 160 million Americans, combined.  This means that the system is clearly broken, and the dream of America being a beacon of opportunity and hope, for those that have little or nothing is effectively a nightmare and has been negated by those that own it all, of which this government, apparently will not ever assert itself to take what needs to be taken and to thereby prove the self-evident truth that all of mankind is equal, and equally deserving of the right to a fair chance and to a fair opportunity.

Electricity is mandatory, whereas a governmental police force is not

For the average person, that doesn't really think through things as much as they should, when it comes down to the question as to whether something like electricity is more important than having a policing arm of the state, they may well feel that societies would not be civil without that policing force, and therefore policing is of more importance.  In point of fact, hands down, electricity is by its very nature is of far more civilizing influence upon societies and therefore is of far more value than policing, and always will be.

First, it is important to note, that no civilization could be considered to be modern, if it did not have electricity, for we utilize electricity for just about everything of real merit, such as for the power that we need to power up all our devices that run or need to be recharged.  Further to the point, electricity itself is something that can come from a variety of power sources, such as wind, solar, nuclear, coal, and further electricity can thereby be stored so it is available to be utilized at any time of the day or night.  So too, electricity gives us the ability to have light, whenever we desire such, so that we are not limited to just the light that our sun gives out; as well as the salient fact that all the other parts of modern day civilizations, such as the cleanliness of drinking water, sewage, gas, security, food, clothing, buildings, housing, hospitals, communication, computers, phones, transportation, and so on and so forth, rely either directly or indirectly on the need for a reliable means of electricity.  We are so dependent upon electricity that civilizations begin to quickly collapse and erode, when electricity is suddenly gone, such as through a blackout, and thereby every possible means to restore electricity as quickly as possible to the population is generated.

On the other hand, as much as some people desire to believe that it is only the active presence of the police that are preventing us from devolving into some sort of dire chaos, the fact of the matter is that police as they currently exist, is a rather modern invention, and that further, for the unenlightened, that the policing arm of the state is primarily there not really to protect and to serve the general population as a whole, but rather to protect and to serve those that are the power brokers within those communities.  In fact, rather than seeing police, as being entities that equally and fairly apply the law against miscreants, it would be far more realistic to see them as being instruments of and beholden to their superior civilian authorities, utilized to keep those that have little or nothing in line, so that the privileged elites are never in harm's way.

Truth be told, police are not now, and never have been mandatory, for those that are in neighborhoods, and communities, are well able to handle their business in a way in which they are able to protect those that make up their community as well as to apply justice as they see fit, and have done exactly that in the past.  In contrast, electricity is absolute mandatory, because without such, neighborhoods and communities would soon revert to far more uncivil and primitive times.

Fat, fatter, fattest

America has a significant weight problem.  According to healthline.com, "In the United States 36.5 percent of adults are obese. Another 32.5 percent of American adults are overweight."  That is a staggering statistic, and one that is readily easy to see, when we simply look around at our fellow Americans.  It would be thing if all of this weight gain was strictly cosmetic, that is to say, that though Americans were heavier, they were still essentially healthy. Unfortunately, that isn't true as those that carry a lot of excess weight most definitely suffer the woes of such, by thereby suffering far more frequently from diabetes and heart disease, which is a major contributing factor to increased healthcare expenditures as well as the shortening of people's lives and in particular, the quality of such. 

What has changed in America is that Americans overall, eat far more sugar based products and highly processed foods then they ever have in the history of America. These particular foods are typically convenient, competitively price, and often taste good.  The fundamental problem with these foods, however, is the fact that the body treats these less dense calories far differently than it does for those that ingest meats, fruits, and vegetables, and the like, so that processed foods, are basically too easily digested and thereby leaves the eater of such, feeling far less satiated, then eating whole foods that contain fiber, and thus slows down the digestion and metabolism of such.

While America could spend a lot of time and effort, trying to educate the public about the dangers of sugars and highly processed food, another way to address this very real problem is to place a national excise tax upon those foods that are highly processed so as to raise their cost to the consumer; while, on the other hand, subsidizing foods that are more wholesome, by providing a tax subsidy to them, thereby making foods that are better for the body, more competitive in price.

Another very important avenue to address this very real problem is the recognition that good habits that are developed at an early age can be beneficial for changing bad eating habits into much better ones.  So that, in consideration that schoolnutrition.org, states that "Nearly 100,000 schools/institutions serve school lunches to 29.8 million students each day," it is thereby incumbent upon the government as the provider of these educational facilities, to not be contributing to the problem of obesity, but rather instead being pro-active and thereby becoming part of making the diet of our American children, better, by not providing highly processed foods as an option for school lunches or for breakfast.

The bodies of Americans are getting fatter, not really because Americans don't walk as much as they use to, or have more sedentary activities, in general, but rather it comes down to the salient fact that Americans consume more calories than their body needs to on a given day, and by doing this day in and day out, they pick up weight.  Not too surprisingly, the food that we eat, good or bad, will be reflected in the bodies and the weight of those bodies that we have, in which, based upon the fact that never have so many been so overweight or obese, America needs to make a concerted effort to right the ship, for in truth, this weight gain, and thereby the poor health that accompanies such, is a very real health crisis.

Corporate taxes and corporate gifts

Obviously, corporate taxes are not the same thing as corporate gifts; so that to the degree that corporations are under taxed, this thus gives them the flexibility to allocate more of their money towards corporate gifts, of which, those that provide gifts to educational institutions and the like, know that those monies well spent can have an enormous positive impact upon not only the perception of the corporation so giving, but can also serve to be quite beneficial for corporate recognition.

When corporations pay taxes, that money is thereupon utilized in basically whatever manner that the taxing authorities are authorized to spend it.  While those taxing authorities do appreciate the value of those taxes so collected, they do not typically bother to send out a thank you note, or a general acknowledge of such appreciation, but see the collection of those taxes as the duty those corporations owe to a good society and good governance.

On the other hand, corporate gifts, especially sizeable ones, often have the recipient of those gifts, not only sending out a thank you card, and not only expressing their appreciation, but in many instances, those institutions, such as educational facilities, will make sure to give appropriate credit to that corporation so providing that gift, by, for instance, acceptance of branding materials donated to those institutions, or even accepting discreet advertisements or propaganda that promotes the vision and worthiness of those corporations.  In addition, as anyone that has ever received a gift knows, the recipient of that gift, and especially of a gift of real monetary worth, will invariably show favoritism towards the gift giver, either directly or indirectly.

This thus signifies, that when the taxing authorities do not appropriately tax large corporations, that those savvy corporations, with their found money, so to speak, will look to take those monies that were not taxed, and thereby use such often in a sophisticated manner, in which, there is either an explicit or implicit quid pro quo, of which, these corporate entities will negotiate the terms and conditions of their gift giving in a manner in which it will not only provide a real service to the recipient of such, but will also provide a real benefit to that corporation.

While some people will argue, that none of this should be seen as a big deal, as to whether these institutions are the beneficiaries of largesse through either taxation or through gifts; it is of importance to recognize that there is a massive chasm between the two.  That is to say, the payment of fair taxation is a duty, and in general, no corporation is singled out as being better than another.  On the other hand, when corporations make gifts of sizeable amounts, those gifts are in many respects, able to be a corrupting influence upon the recipient of such, which may well result in that receiving institution's overall integrity being compromised, especially for those that are anticipating further generosity, and believe therefore that by cuddling up to a particular corporation, that they will be the intended recipient of such future largesse.

The bottom line is that education facilities, and institutions of all types, have a real need for money or its equivalency and when that money comes from individuals or corporations, they will, more times than not, at a minimum, surely not bite the hand that feeds them.

Any foundation built upon lies will not stand the test of time

The most basic reason why this world is not a world of peace, harmony, and mutual respect, really comes down to the fact that far too many people, lie far too often.  That is to say, though lying often serves the purpose of deception, the truth of the matter is, that most people avail themselves of lies, not so much for deception purposes, though they do, but typically as a ways and means to take inappropriate shortcuts in life, so that by doing so, they subsequently will not have to face the music of that which they should face for those actions and deeds accomplished through the art of lying.  This thus means that by lying they are attempting to divert having appropriate justice be served upon them.

While some will say, that people that lie, will eventually get caught up in their lies, in the scheme of things, life actually teaches us that in this world, lying, for an inordinate amount of people, can actually work out quite well for them.  The fact that some of those that lie, seemingly, get away with it, is a contributing factor towards other people, justifying their own lies, so as to hopefully get the same sort of positive result.  In other words, as much as we might wish that our justice system both socially as well as in a court of law, would be absolutely perfect and thorough, the reality of the situation is that ultimately in many cases, those that lie, are going to have to be the ones to correct their own behavior, for the proverbial watchtower can only catch so much of mankind's sins, lies, and follies.

To understand better why it is so important within society, that we are honest with one another, it must be recognized that virtually every crime as well as virtually every stupidity that people do, is based upon the action of lying in some way, form, or manner.  This signifies that honest people, do not commit crimes, except those crimes of conscience, or of ignorance, and in all cases, have the integrity to own up to what and who they really are.  As for those that lie, far too often, the truth from their own lips, never emerges, for liars, typically veer so far off the straight and narrow, that they have absolutely no intention of ever getting back onto the right path, for they are completely unwilling to own up to who and what they are, because they do not desire to ever face the fair consequences of their bad acts.

All of the above means that those that are parents should definitely be concerned about the lies that their children tell them, and should not dismiss even little lies, that have little consequence, of being of no real concern, for those that first get away with a little lie, are often those that are emboldened to pursue yet a bigger and then a bigger lie, until they become a person, that lacks true integrity though they might be quite skilled as acting as if they have such.  A person of real principle, does not tell lies, because they do not desire to become something that is un-pure, dirty and hypocritical, but rather will make their stand in the here and now, and thereby suffer what must be suffered, rather than postpone and let fester and grow that which destroys them from within.

"No State shall… make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts"

The above clause comes from Article 1, Section 10 of our Constitution, in which, quite obviously it makes it clear that the representatives of the various States, believed strongly that it was necessary and proper to restrict all of the individual States to a sound monetary policy.  The main reason that this was so, was because during the revolutionary period, continental currency was notorious for not being worth its value as printed on that currency, and a country without stability or control of its currency is often going to be a country that will find it hard to conduct business locally, as well as across State lines, net alone internationally.

Today, however, the currency of the realm in the United States, known as Federal Reserve notes, are not back by specie, such as gold or silver, nor are those dollars backed by anything of real value or substance, except for such inchoate concepts as being backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.  Not too surprisingly, since the United States completely left the gold standard in 1971 the inflation or the worth of our currency has plummeted drastically, in which it takes in the present day, as calculated by in2013dollars.com, around $6.37 to equal what $1.00 was in 1971, or the worth of $1 today, is the equivalency of 15 cents, back in 1971.

The whole point of attaching specie to paper money is to help to not only stabilize paper currency, but also to prevent the national government from forgoing their duty to keep their fiscal house in order.  The bottom line is that paper currencies that are backed by essentially nothing, eventually reach the point where the confidence in the value of that paper currency, disintegrates to such a degree, that governments, have to thereby replace or revalue that currency to reflect its true worth on a national, as well as on an international scale.

Those that wrote the U.S. Constitution and ratified such, were no fools, and understood well that sound money and fiscal responsibility were part and parcel of what nations' needed in order to establish and to maintain a firm monetary foundation.  This so signifies that America, clearly is on the pathway to some sort of monetary upheaval of truly epic proportions, for when any currency is stripped of its stabilizing value given through specie or something of that equivalency, and replaced  instead with essentially nothing of lasting substance, than all sorts of trouble will thereby ensue. 

This does not mean that all is lost, but what it does mean is that there will most definitely be losers when the current monetary system is replaced with something that will be based upon restraining prudently the monetary printing press, which currently seems to operate in America, 24/7.  No country can simply print fiat money as its way to keep its fiscal house in order, without at some future point, having to face the true consequences of their actions.   That reckoning will surely come, and those monetary houses built upon foundations of sand, will not well stand the towering terrible storms that will inevitably come their way.

True freedom necessitates full emancipation and full equality

In January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, thereby freeing all those that were slaves in those States that were in active rebellion against the Union of the States.  Upon the successful conclusion of our civil war, the 13th through 15th Amendments were passed, which signified that on a national level, slavery was eradicated, and further that all those that were born or naturalized within this country were thereby citizens of it, and additionally that those previously disenfranchised from voting by virtue of their race, or previous condition of servitude, were thereby enfranchised to vote.  Each of these measures, demonstrated the true greatness and vision of America, but as in everything, there is the law, and then there is the application of the law in reality, and these are often two entirely different things, of which the aftereffects of this, still are quite relevant, today.

In point of fact, though slavery is no longer legal in America, and therefore all people in America, are by definition, free; in actuality, the face of America, though it is changing, is a face that favors in particular, the white race, as well as favoring those that are connected to the right people, and in many cases, favors those that have money and know how to use such to influence things, all at the expense of those that do not.

This country has an ethical and sacred duty to live up to the very words of its own Declaration of Independence, that tells us that "all men are created equal", so that the proof of whether this country lives up to those most noble words, comes down to taking a very careful  and comprehensive look at the reality of those that live within this country, as to whether therefore the mankind in this country, are thereby judged by the content of their character, or whether they are prejudged by something other than their character, such as their creed, their race, or their gender.

The reason that Lady Justice is so often portrayed with a blindfold across her eyes is because justice is supposed to be impartial and to the degree that it is, the laws therefore are being equally applied and equally enforced.  However, clearly, our modern day age, tells the story of what America really is; in which, those that were previously enslaved, and have been Americans for generations upon generations, are far too often, the poorest and the most illiterate amongst us, which could only be the case through the misapplication of justice, substandard education facilities, and lack of opportunity.

It is one thing to not know the right thing to do, and it is entirely a different thing to know the right thing to do, and then not follow through on seeing it so be done, thoroughly.   So then, the sin of America is not its lack of knowledge, nor its lack of vision, but rather its inability to follow through on that which separates those that mean well but fail to do well, as compared to those that make it their point, to mean well, and will not ever quit until they have done well.

A world with profits, above all, is a world with its values misaligned

In this capitalistic society, there are many true believers, that believe strongly that whatever the market will bear, should be the true price of just about any product being sold; and that further those that are the employers, should seldom be mandated by a government agency to be compelled thereby to pay some sort of living or even a minimum wage; but rather, the marketplace as whole, through some sort of self regulation as well as by competition, will come to an equilibrium of what the prevailing wages shall be.

It all sounds kind of nice in theory, but the reality of the situation is that not everything that is priced is actually priced fairly.  That is to say, in a truly competitive marketplace in which literally everything conceivable that is for sale or rent, contains a multitude of competitors, and further no single competitor is dominant within a given industry, nor is there in existence some sort of consortium of similar vendors all working together as if one, directly or indirectly, then in all probability, the pricing of such goods will be fairly close to truly being what the market will bear.  However, the nature of the capitalistic system, is for the big fish to eat the small fish, so as to sooner or later, thereby reduce the choices that consumers have to a few really gargantuan players, that thereby are able to control the pricing of their products for sale, by virtue of having economics of scale that cannot easily be matched by anyone else still left standing, and/or by receiving favoritism by government entities, including tax authorities, so that,  these companies effectively are able to not only extract additional profits from consumers, but are essentially subsidized by governmental entities in doing so. 

In regards to labor, only a fool believes that someone that is not part of a labor union, can ever really be in the position of having a true and equal seat at the table of negotiation in regards to their given salary, and therefore vast amounts of people, are placed into the unenviable position of having to accept the pay so being offered to them, because they actually don't have as much choice, as certain people believe. While it is true that they do have choices and that they do have options, these are, almost without exception, still leaving those individuals in a very vulnerable negotiating position.

So then, when it comes to products being sold, or the prevailing wages of those that make up the labor force -- to a very large extent, those that are in control of their marketplace, are able to charge a price that permits them to make a greater profit, because any company or group of companies that effectively are unassailable and monopolistic in structure, are in position to do just that.  Further, without the power of unions, corporations are able to quite easily set labor conditions which are beneficial primarily for those corporations and at the expense of those that are in need of work.

It is one thing for a business to make a profit, it is an entirely different thing, when that profit, is the be-all and end-all of their existence.  In the scheme of things, money and thereby profits should not be of more value, then the very humans that make up societies.  This thus means that those that are clever enough, through whatever means, to make excessive profits and proceed to do so; have their values misaligned, for successful and sustainable societies are built upon human cooperation as opposed to human exploitation.

On being deliberately ignorant of the effect of one's actions

Each of us engages in activities, throughout a given day, of which many of those activities, directly or indirectly, have some sort of effect upon other people.  Those that are enlightened, strongly desire to know the effect that they have upon others, so as to better understand the consequences of such; for good or for bad, and subsequently with that newfound knowledge, can consciously amend their actions so as to better accommodate their effect upon others.  That is to say, if one has a habit of being dismissive to others, it is possible to correct such an action, by simply being less dismissive, and therefore more open to the value of others, and to thereby accommodate those others more readily.

This signifies, that those that really do pay conscious attention to what they say and do, and how this impacts other people, thereby make a  more concerted effort to conduct themselves in a manner which is of a more accommodating nature and thereby a more positive influence upon others, which subsequently improves their own character, day by day.  On the other hand, those deliberately not paying much attention to the effect of their actions, and therefore are essentially ignorant or unconcern about the consequences of their actions, have taken upon themselves the mantle that other people and how they are affected, is something that is of no or little concern to them.

The problem with being purposefully ignorant about caring about how one affects other people is that this is clearly selfish, and a society consisting of nothing but selfish people is always going to be a society that is going to be untenable.  Rather, it is in human nature, for people to be both sociable as well as to congregate into voluntary societies, for the betterment of those people, in whole.  This means that those that are entirely selfish, and do not pay attention to their actions and thereby the consequences of their actions, are in implicit violation of their duty that they owe to that society of which they are a member of.

So then, in order to properly learn to become good members of society, as well as to become mature individuals, it is imperative that we learn how to interact with other people in a manner in which we see other people as having the same basic worth that we have.  So that, as much as we might not appreciate meaningful constructive criticism or the pointing out of errors that we have made with other people, purposeful or not, these are the very things that we need to be aware of, because ignorance of such, is surely not bliss.

Those that closed their ears to that which they should and ought to be heard, are doing nobody a favor, for to deliberately be ignorant of that which we should be knowledgeable of, is a severe character flaw, that needs to be correctly, forthrightly.  Each of us is gifted with the art of communication, in which one of the purposes of that communication is to pass on relevant information, for the benefit of ourselves as well as to others.  Those then, that will not listen to that which is for their own good as well as for the benefit of society, at large, have discarded and disregarded that which needs to be properly addressed.

Reconstruction and the abandonment of the freedman

While the winner of our Civil War, was unequivocal, this victory for the North and of the Union, came at the cost of millions upon millions of dollars spent, as well as the wholesale destruction of vast amounts of valuable property, and the unfortunate lost of the lives of thousands upon thousands of soldiers on either side of the conflict, of which the end result was that the Union thereupon did become united; and that further, time has proven that the United States of America has essentially become in fit, form, and function, truly united, though the southern States, still are laggards in asserting and enforcing progressive rights for those that were formerly enslaved.  So too, the 13th-15th Amendments, made it federal law, that the abomination of slavery was eradicated, once and forever, and further that the freedman were granted citizenship, while also winning their enfranchisement of the vote.

Unfortunately, the great tragedy of the reconstruction period is that the federal government did not do what it should and ought to have done in order to materially aid in the uplifting of the black race, for to merely grant freedom to a people that for the most part, own nothing, were illiterate, and had marketable skills that primarily could only be successfully utilized for somebody else that had both the capital and property, meant that blacks, though free, were stuck in an endless cycle of still being subservient and thereby vulnerable to those that held those very things, which just so happened to be, their former slave masters.  Further to the point, one of the most crucial ways to rise up from poverty for those that have little or no material assets, is through the value of a good education, which thereupon opens up additional doors and opportunities; for those that are educated do not necessarily have to have capital in order to achieve something of substance, because their knowledge, is an asset in and of itself which can be through their labor, converted essentially into money, and thereby a ready means for their livelihood.

So then, essentially, the promise of reconstruction for the black race, was a promissory note that has never fully been paid; and while the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s, the Great Society programs and other programs of this sort in general, as well as Affirmative Action, were most definitely important and vital steps in righting this wrong, the economic conditions for the black race, as well as the justice or lack thereof that they receive, in addition to the fair opportunities that should be provided to them, has not been ever fully rectified.  This signifies, that this country still has a moral and ethical duty to right those wrongs that slavery did wrought, and through the power and breadth of this present day federal government, needs thereby to make a concerted effort to do that very thing, for those that have no or little property, inferior educational facilities, and are targeted far more often for judicial punishments, are not fully free, and thereby are not truly freedmen.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…"

Those above words come from the most seminal document in America's history -- which is its Declaration of Independence, of which that Declaration was the inspirational rallying point for the colonists to rise up against their oppressive English governance, and to thereby ultimately create a government, of the people, by the people, and for the people.  This thus means that the only real reason why America represents itself as being the last best hope of mankind is the fact that its Declaration made it clear that America truly believes that all of humankind has been created equally and further that our birthright into this world, consists of unalienable rights, which no legitimate nation can ever take away from its people.

Of course, many nations and most civilizations have been ostensibly built upon noble words and noble thoughts, of which, quite unfortunately, the actual practice of these underlying principles, have often been found wanting.  Regrettably, America is one of those nations, that both claims as well as professes lovely sentiments, but the reality of the situation which is demonstrated through its executive actions, legislative acts, and judicial decisions, proves that America does not come even close to being what it was founded to actually become.

For instance, one's status in America most definitely matters in regards to how much equality and fairness a given person gets; so that how one is thereby treated in this country, is often dependent upon one's racial characteristics,  religious faith, income, wealth, education, gender, and family background or origin.  That is to say, rather than all American citizens being subjected equally to the same legislative acts, the same judicial decisions, as well as the same executive actions, in a manner which is consistent to the fact that all are created equally, and that all have the same unalienable rights, we find that this is violated constantly and consistently in a manner in which the few reap special benefits, whereas the masses, as well as specific un-favored people, suffer thereby the ill  or unfair consequences.

As it has been said, a house divided cannot stand, and further a house divided will ultimately be either all of one thing, or all of the other.  Clearly, an impartial and honest look into the character of America, indicates that America is most definitely not a country of egalitarian principles, though it preaches such; nor is it a country of equal opportunity, though it claims such; nor is it a country in which justice is impartial, consistent, and fair though it pretends such; but rather it is a country, that has permitted itself to devolve into something in which one's life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness are often under assault by the very government that is supposed to uphold those very principles.

When any country becomes destructive to those truths that are self-evident, then that country has lost not only its moral compass, but has foregone its right to be considered the true representatives of the people, for by its actions it has effectively lost the people's voluntary consent.  This does not mean that all is lost, but rather, it does mean that a nation that has lost its rightful purpose and its rightful direction must need to go back to its founding principles and thereby to live up to them, or else its foundation will surely give way, for it will not stand.

A God who is alive has relevancy, a dead God does not

Whether or not someone believes or professes to believe in God, is superseded by whether or not God is actually alive, immortal, just, immutable, as well as being beyond time and space; for a God that is not in existence has no real value to humankind, and a God that is finite, has limited value if any; whereas a God that is dead, pretty much is useless.  This thus means that in our sincere search for God, that our search can only be considered to be successful, if we find that God who is eternal, who therefore has no beginning and has no end.  Such a God as that is thereby a God that has relevancy to all of us, believers or non-believers alike, because a God that is immortal is most certainly a God that can be of real value to each one of us, and in a world in which all of us, will suffer some degree of trials, tears, and tribulations, knowing that there is a Supreme Creator and Administrator of it all, should be of real comfort to us.

In any life, in order for such to be lived well, as well as to be fully developed, it is incumbent upon each individual to use well all of their good skills, insights, and efforts, so that they are able to thereby successfully become a positive force to benefit themselves as well as others.  This means, that each one of us should want to take the time to actually search for God, and thereby the meaning of that one Supreme God in their respective lives, for those that do not make such a search, are surely losing something of real import; whereas those that do make that search, and further are successful in that search, have been diligent in that which is of most importance, for those that have successfully found God, are those that are true heirs to that kingdom of God.

Remember well that any good student, in order to know their subject matter thoroughly, must rise to the highest level of that subject matter, by taking the time to first build a solid foundation of the rules of the road, and then to follow that road to its ultimate destination, of which, the walking upon that path to a specific and correct endpoint, will increase dramatically their knowledge upon that subject matter, day by day, and step by step.  So too, within each of us and available to every one of us, is an arsenal of vital tools, that we have the right as well as the obligation to avail ourselves of.  One of those tools is our innate desire to examine our own lives so as to find the meaning of our life, for it is this search that creates the impetus to find or to re-connect ourselves with God.  That God, therefore, is going to be of more value and of more worth to those that honestly and sincerely seek for God, because those that seek such earnestly enough, and will not stop in their goal to achieve such, will eventually find that eternal treasure that will enlighten them, and thereby free them from those self-imposed limits which had previously blinded them.

Those that will not stand up when they really need to

People like to divide other people into various groups, with fairly simplistic titles, such as those that are good and those that are evil.  Not too surprisingly, not too many people admit to being evil or even really sinful for that matter; so that, for the most part, people categorize themselves as being basically good.  To a certain degree, this is fine, because most of the time, most people are actually fairly good, or at least if not that, aren't being directly evil.  However, there are those times, more frequently than people typically recognize, in which those that are ostensibly good, need to step up and to actually be good in action, as well as being good for something, and  thereby to stand up for that good, when being called to do that very thing.

Unfortunately, far too many people when put to the test in real life, to demonstrate how they are actually good, often slink away from that responsibility, especially when they believe that to make a stand at that point, and at that place, would cost them something that they do not wish to put at risk.  For instance, there are many people that are busy bodies in which they like to involve themselves in all sorts of trivialities, but when something of significance comes up, in which it is thereby appropriate for them to actually say something or to be active in doing something, they often zip their lips, when they believe that by speaking up this might mean risking real retribution from one of those parties.  So too, in social situations, many people in order to get along or to maintain their status within their clique, or for various other reasons, will allow something or condone something that fundamentally violates their sense of goodness, just to conform to their social peers, and thereby to not stir trouble, or to bring inconvenient notice to their own true beliefs.

In so many ways, evil things are able to be accomplished and done, because too many good people, are afraid to confront that evil, and often justify themselves from having to do so, by various dubious reasons.  This thus means that when good people do nothing, or do far less then what they should and ought to do, then evil and criminal deeds are going to be far more prevalent, because those good people, have turned their back from actively applying the good that they know that they ought to do, because they are weak, or indecisive, or excuse makers, and just won't make the stand that they really need to make.

The real reason that there is so much evil and wrong in this world is not because we are overwhelmed by very bad people, but rather because those that profess that they are good, too often won't do their part in confronting that evil where it exists, or by helping to ameliorate those conditions that are conducive to the making of evil.  This world that we live in, and the community that we are a part of, fairly reflects, the people as they really are; so that, those that won't stand up and do the right thing, even though their heart is basically right, are wrong for not having done so.

The wrong war tax

The United States Defense budget for 2020 is $738 billion, which is an astonishing amount of money, for the "defense" of the United States and its interests.  Further to the point, as in all budgets that are opaque, obscure, and functionally non-transparent, the amount of monies allocated to the defense budget for this country, in all probability will well exceed that budget of $738 billion.  It would be one thing, if all these billions upon billions of dollars spent, actually accomplished somehow in bringing forth a world of peace, justice, and safety, but apparently this is not ever the case, because year after year, huge defense budgets are approved by our congressional legislature, indicating that whatever monies that have been spent, doesn't ever resolve the issues at hand, successfully.

As might be expected, since this is a government of the people, that this so signifies that it is the people of this great nation, that must thereby foot the bill for all of our national governmental spending, including, in particular, the defense budget.  So then, excessively large defense budgets are a particular nefarious tax upon the people, of which, they are the ones  collectively responsible for the paying of the bill, in which, the return from that spending seems well nigh suspect; especially in consideration, that America has no enemies contiguous to its borders, nor does it appear to be in any imminent danger of any attack by any nation in the foreseeable future;  yet,  the military budget of the United States, is so gargantuan, that there is not a single country, with the exception of China, that spends even $100 billion on their defense, and China spends just $237 billion.

So then, what has happened is that billions upon billions of dollars have left the laboring taxpayers pockets to be spent on the national defense of this country, in which in the scheme of things, what has actually occurred is that, the defense budget has extracted a very large tax upon the people, of which, the benefits of that tax to the people, is at best, questionable; and the winners of this tax, is quite obviously the technology-military-industrial complex, that takes in therefore revenues of billions upon billions of dollars from the national government, in which those governmental contracts are exceedingly profitable and secure for those large corporations and hence the wealth of those that work tirelessly, has been transferred to these defense contractors for their profit, at the expense of the average American.

In America, there is always talk of the rightful need for the redistribution of wealth, in which, one of the ways that theoretically this occurs is through our progressive tax system, of which, those that make more income pay a higher percentage of their income via taxation.  In reality, defense companies make inordinate amounts of profits from the contracts so received via the national government, and then these massive corporations, are thereby very skilled at lobbying for, and subsequently having reduced or deferred their national tax liabilities in a manner in which their effective tax rate is often far less than what it should be, and typically is effectively far below what a middle class taxpayer so pays.  This thus means that large defense budgets suck money from the pockets of the laboring class, effectively redistributing that money and wealth into the hands of the technology-military-industrial complex.

Because we are all created equally we need to demonstrate that adage in action

It is one thing to espouse noble sentiments, it is entirely different thing to live up to them.  Mankind, for example, speaks nobly of our unalienable rights as well as each one of us being created equally by our Creator.  Now, if this really is true, than the least that mankind is obligated to do, is to see that it does all that is possible to live up to those ideals within its civilizations, that have been created, after all, for the expressed benefit of every member of mankind.

Instead, far too often, what actually happens, is that civilizations subdivide into the most basic of divisions, in which on the most fundamental level, the few and privileged become the power players within society and aggrandize onto themselves powers that the masses do not have privy to.  So then, though, we are meant to be equal in the eyes of the law, justice, and rights, the reality and practicality is that this is not the case.  

This means that all of mankind typically lives not under those conditions, which augment and protects their unalienable rights as well as demonstrating in actuality their equality under the law,but rather instead live lives under those oppressive conditions actuated by certain mankind’s actions, that undermine those very unalienable rights.  This then means that mankind suffers from having their rightful sovereignty and self-determination wrested away from them by the very civilization and laws that is supposed to be upholding them.

So then, civil institutions that are meant to be of benefit to the people, often devolve into being unjust and unequal in their application of the laws so enforced, of which those that suffer from this unfairness the most are those people that typically have the least say and the least voice in the scheme of things.  This means that far too often  the elite of mankind imposes its will upon the balance of those that make up civilizations, in order to benefit their own positions as well as to benefit select others, all at the expense of the people in whole, and thereby effectively crown their own selves  as being superior to all others.

It so appears that all these constitutions, declarations, and laws that purport to be our  bulwark as well as to serve for the common defense of mankind, and to thereby support and to secure those rights so provided to each one of us as our birthright; have been too often effectively bypassed by those that have taken control of such, as if they -- those that are our rulers, administrators, and lawgivers are somehow a special breed apart from everyone else, and they act as if this is really true.

In reality, the whole purpose of civilizations is for the people, to join together into one body politic, for the benefit and the improvement of all the people, as opposed to what currently occurs in so many civilizations, in which, a small subsection of mankind takes it upon themselves to act as if they are a god, or a demigod, and thereupon steal mankind’s unalienable rights to be thereby replaced with at best, bread and circuses, and at worse, various degrees of oppression, or both.

We must learn to make our enemies our friends

Conflict is inevitably going to occur in any civilization and within any country or series of countries.  While there are myriad ways to deal with conflict, the most positive way to deal with such, is the desire to resolve such conflict through the meeting of minds as well as a reasonable accommodation of one party to another. That is to say, conflicts are never successfully resolved, though they may appear to the unenlightened to be so, by the destruction of those that we are in conflict with, for that simply takes cares of the here and now, but does not take care of the roots of the cause of that conflict.  This signifies to the nth degree, that lasting peace will never occur through the annihilation of our enemies, nor will enemies harmed or unduly restrained, somehow become our friends.  

In reality, the whole point of civilizations has not changed since the beginnings of mankind, which is that people voluntarily come together for the specific purpose to form a civil government, for the overall benefit and common good of those people; in which the advantages of a people, united to a common cause, are both the unity as well as the strength presented by those numbers.  The trick to the successful working of this very principle, however, comes from the understanding, that we must eventually see all other peoples, especially those of different racial backgrounds, or social economic levels, or countries of origin, and so on and so forth, as equally entitled to break bread with us at the communal table of community, in recognition that all of us have the exact same unalienable rights, granted to us by our Creator, whether consciously acknowledged to or not.

As might be expected, in a world in which we appear to be so different, one from another, and in which, some of those people have demonstrated time and time again, the most uncivilized of manners, this well nigh appears impossible.  Yet, in the scheme of things, it is the most civilized among us, that have the most responsibility to lead by example; for when these people, and especially these people of those highly advanced civilizations, are unable to demonstrate in reality, that they are functionally about peace, harmony, and good neighborly behavior, then how could it ever be possible for all those that are most boorish and difficult among us, to somehow magically become better behaved?

The only possible way to successfully advanced any civilization, is to first recognize that those that live by the sword, most always and forever, pay homage to that sword, so that world will always be a world that will cycle endlessly through its periods of  violence and destruction.  Whereas all those that live by the principle, that they will rise above retribution, and will always see or try to see the other as of equal worth and value as to their self,  have begun the process of taking that which is negative and transforming that trait into a positive.  That path that must be taken, will never be smooth nor even straight, but it will step by step, bend towards that which is true and just;  for only those that walk and encourage others to walk towards good, will ever reach the only destination that really matters.

Nothing really worthwhile comes without great labor and the overcoming of obstacles

To live in a world in which everything is simply handed to a given individual, without that individual having put forth both an honest effort as well as having made the incumbent preparation behind such, is not ever going to be the perfect world.  While just about everyone appreciates a nice gift here and there, and a helping hand when such is needed, the bottom line is that most people don’t really want things simply handed to them, even when they claim that they do, for they know intuitively that the receiving of such without any corresponding contribution, often feels hollow and perhaps even undeserved.

The above signifies that in order for a life to really be lived well, that the person so living that life is going to have to prove themselves in some meaningful encounters and endeavors, in which, both their effort put forth as well as the end result from those encounters, is ultimately going to define that person as well as their life.  That is to say, the things that we work hardest at achieving, almost always are those things that are most important to us, and when those achievements come at the personal cost of considerable time, sweat, blood, and tears, such is far more highly appreciated than anything else that simply is ours for the taking, or even ours for the asking.

Too many people wrongly believe that they want to live lives of leisure as if this will, by definition, provide them with the feelings of satisfaction, happiness,and fulfillment.  Perhaps this is true for a few of those people, but in actuality,a life without conflict, and a life lacking tribulations as well as challenges, is not going to be a life that brings forth full satisfaction, for we are surely meant to be something more than mere purveyors of leisure; for rather instead we are meant to be achievers of something of real merit and importance to ourselves, as well as for our fellow sojourners.

Invariably, the things that really matter most to us, are those accomplishments in which we risked something of merit in order to achieve something of even greater merit; of which, for some of us, this means repeated battles and obstacles that have to be faced and eventually conquered.  After all, the whole point of, for example, the school experience, is to not only to learn our subjects well, but to thereupon take that knowledge and thereby apply such into the real world, for the express benefit for our self, as well as for others.

This means that all the frustrations and disappointments that we face are not meant to defeat us, but rather are there to prod us to, again and again, get back up, reload, rethink,  and to try again; for that which requires great sacrifice and dedicated persistence to achieve, is all the sweeter to the taste when we eventually rise up and accomplish such.  That which we prize most, is that which we have struggled hardest to fairly gain.  Our victory, though it need not be swift, most though come forth from our own efforts, for each of us has their own victorious race to run.

To best understand mankind, understand your community, first

Never have so many people, been so formerly educated with advanced degrees, than what we presently see in society.  If by that education, and by those people, alone, we were to live thereby in societies of peace, love, compassion, justice, and fairness, then all would truly be well; but, rather in far too many circumstances and in far too many cases, people living in the same general community, are too often vastly different from one another, so that in many aspects, it is as if they are living completely separate lives from one another, though they are within a neighborly distance of one another.

This signifies, that when a given country believes it is worthwhile to take a somewhat detailed census of its people every ten years, then it has the absolute obligation to actually do something constructively with the information so gathered from that census to thereby address those things that have made for societies that are grossly unequal and further have placed certain peoples into the seemingly hopeless position of  not being able to functionally benefit from living within a great nation, or to have the ready means or tools to actually be self-determining sovereign individuals.

So then, any country that will not take the time to first learn and thereby apply that learning about their own people, is not going to be a country that can possibly be structured in a manner in which it will be fair and equal.  Further to the point, the more unequal any society is, the more clearly that country has ignored or bypassed or exploited certain segments of society, in order to benefit the few at the expense of the many.

After all, the whole point of learning, such as in science or just about any subject manner, is to understand things in a manner in which the knowledge so gained is truthful and enlightening, for anything else is less than learning in a thorough and comprehensive manner.  This indicates that in order to be of service to our community, that we have an obligation to know the people of our community in a thorough enough fashion, that we are able to fairly understand them, and from that understanding are better able to be of valuable service to them.

So then, it can and should be said that a lot of the issues that communities have is the failure of those that lead those communities, to actually know them, as well as to actually validate the people that make up their community.  It is of far more relevance to know one’s peoples, then most of those that create and enforce social programs are seemingly aware of.  That lack of good knowledge has real repercussions, in which even those that are uninformed but have good intentions can wreak havoc upon its own citizens, and thereby keep those communities from both advancing and of being in harmony with the nation’s fine principles.  This means that a wise community knows its own, and from that wisdom, communities positively progress.

Real governmental empathy requires real governmental understanding and knowledge

In order for those that governance us, to govern well, they need to know their people, especially  the perspective of those people that come from quite different walks of life -- something that is not necessarily easy to achieve or to know.  Unfortunately, the easy road for governance, defaults far too often, into taking into salient account primarily one’s own social milieu, in which the expectations there and the laws so written within such, are thereby consistent to those that are the masters of that domain, consistent with the belief that all others, thereby, should adhere to it as a matter of course, of which, though this might seem fair for those that make and interpret those laws; it is, for all those in particular that are outside such orthodoxy, typically not so.

In any government, its legislators, and those that implement such, it is functionally important that these people come from a variety of backgrounds, a variety of education achievements, and a variety of perspectives, not because such will make the implementation of good governance easier for those that are part of it, but expressly because it is necessary in order for all those that have had their voices so often been ignored or marginalized, to be able to have a voice within that governance. After all, those that do not have an effective voice, are often the very ones that suffer from the most discrimination and injustice, for the laws have not been implemented and enforced in order to properly and fairly include them.

In actuality, within any nation, its people are going to come from all walks of life, of which, some of those walks, are not going to be ones that certain, privileged people have ever experienced, or even are familiar with, or even really care about.  It is that very lack of knowledge and personal experience that makes it difficult for those that claim that they desire to be fair, just, and equal to be able to do this successfully and thereby fairly govern people, that come from all walks of life, as well as from different experiences, effectively and fairly.

This is why it is important for those that wish to govern well, that they actually take not only the time to learn of and to know all of their people, but that as much as it is possible, they experience such themselves or at least are visibly cognizant of all of their peoples, that form their nation, rather than to deliberately ignore such; for those that come from different milieus and different social conditions, are going to behave, differently, and differently does not necessarily mean that such is wrong.

This means that great nations are those nations that do not pretend that injustice, unfairness, poverty, ill-education, and discrimination do not exist, but rather make it their point to do all that is reasonably possible to ameliorate such, and this is more readily accomplished by those that are empathetic to that cause.  A great nation cares about its people, and those that really care, take both the time and put forth the effort to forthrightly do right by those people; by valuing them as being of merit, by listening to them, and by getting to know them at the level that they are at;  for a nation that respects its citizens is far superior to that which treats certain of those citizens with that overbearing condensation which often borders on just plain disrespect

The Federal Reserve Bank is not a national bank of the United States

Despite the very title of the Federal Reserve Bank, it is not the national bank of the United States, but rather is a consortium of private banking members that thereby make up what is collectively known as the Federal Reserve Bank. So though, the United States once did have a national bank it does not any longer have a national bank and has not had a national bank for a considerable amount of years.  This means that rather than the United States government, being in charge of its banking interests and needs, it works rather in conjunction with non-governmental banks, for better or for worse, to provide or to be of assistance for the funding that this national government needs to draw upon in order to properly function.

While there may be room for debate as to whether or not the United States should have a national bank or a consortium of banks acting as the de facto national bank, the fact of the matter is, that is already the case; so the only real question is whether or not the United States should effectively have its own national bank that handles the financial considerations of the national government, and therewith would mean the elimination of the Federal Reserve Bank.

This question should probably have been answered during the 2007-2009 national banking crisis, which would have been an opportune time to have effectively addressed this very issue, and thereby an appropriate time for the nationalization of those banks that had become systemically destabilizing to this country, and subsequently had to be rescued by the national government, performing the role as their lender of last resort, in order to bail out these irresponsible banks.

In the scheme of things, those that handle the financial affairs of national governments are powerful entities, for whoever is effectively in charge of the coin of the realm, has immense power, that can be used for the express advantage of those entities that have control of the money that is utilized in order to transact business of all sorts.  Further to the point, countries have a real need for their currency to be stable, for the destabilization of currency or the inability of currency to be a source of confidence for  transactions so needed, has repercussions, which are typically bad.

In an era in which this national government, pays little or no attention to the massive federal fiscal deficits that it runs on a yearly basis, a fair question to therefore ask, is whether or not this is the time for a fundamental change in regards to the coin of the realm. After all, this country has essentially been running deficits at such a massive scale, that a realistic hope for the rectification of such a deficit, has effectively been kicked down the road, forever; which has, in a perverse way, provided a real opportunity for America to reinvent itself, by taking upon itself a new and true national currency, structured in a manner in which it is created to be stable and of benefit to the people of these United States, as opposed to permitting those non-governmental banking entities that handle such currency, currently, to extract billions of dollars from the pockets of its own sovereign citizens.