Encouraging criminality

The United States incarcerates an absolutely staggering amount of its citizens for crimes so committed, most of which serves no real good purpose, akin to the endless and futile "drug war", which keeps on keeping on.  Those that are dim-witted, but apparently not cognizant of such, are the very ones, that keep doubling-down on more and more punishment for that which keeps on ever expanding, encouraging therefore the powers-to-be to add on even more dubious so-called crimes into their punishment book, so as to stay ever busy.

It is regrettable, that the United States does not seem to recognize the truth, that higher crime rates, to a very large extent, occurs in those societies that are inherently unequal in the quality of life, so provided to its citizens; and of which, those that have little or no opportunity, are invariably caught within a cycle of despair and poverty, of which because they are given little or no hope to ever successfully extricate themselves from, are going to therefore breed citizens that aren't going to be adherents to the orthodoxy so imposed upon them, because they know the hypocrisy of such.

So too, when quotas, official or non-official, are imposed upon the policing arm of the state, and thereby are part and parcel of that justice system so enabled, than all those that enforce the muscle of that policing, are going to, more times than not, flex their muscle not against those that have the means to fight back, through money, connections, power, and cleverness; but rather will instead inflict their dominance against those that are effectively powerless, voiceless, and do not fit the traditional depiction of what visually is considered to be a good citizen.

Not too surprisingly, none of this ever works in either bringing fair justice to society, nor in eradicating criminal activity, for all those that have nothing and thereby have nothing to lose, will often have a very strong inclination to fight back against the very system, which has criminalize their behavior, which to a very large extent, could be considered to be explainable and even rational, due to the unjust circumstances so imposed upon them.  In fact, all of this combined, strongly suggests that in order for those that govern this nation, to maintain their constant surveillance of the population, and thereby their continuous and routine violation of Constitutional rights of its citizens, need to impress upon that population, over and over again, just how dangerous civil society is, and thereby to make that public to believe that some loss of freedom and autonomy, is well worth sacrificing, in order to be safe -- thereby essentially sanctifying law and order.

For those that would like to see a more civil society, and hence far less crime, the most obvious way to do such, is to rightly return to all of its citizens, their unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; in addition to structuring that society in which a fair and progressive tax system would be successfully imposed upon the wealthy so that they would subsequently contribute their fair share to that society which help to make them, wealthy; and of which, each citizen, no matter their place of residence, would be fairly entitled to a good education, good healthcare, equal justice, and fair opportunity.  That would be called good governance, and good governance drives out crime.

Home mortgages back then as compared to now

Back in the 1930s, a home mortgage was structured in a completely different manner, than the mortgages so issued in today's market, of which, back then, a typical mortgage required a significant down payment of 50%, of which usually an interest-only mortgage was thereupon issued, for a length of time of just five years, in which, in order to complete the purchase of that home, a balloon payment of that other 50% was so paid, upon that date.  As might be expected, mortgage terms such as that, pretty much closed out from the owning a home for those that were middle income and lower; but this also meant that overly exuberant speculation on homes, was absolutely minimal, as the wherewithal to purchase a home, necessitated both wealth as well as a serious investment of equity in such.

The government, in order to make homes more affordable to the general public, eventually became the primary source of guaranteeing mortgages to its citizens, via the creation of both the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp as well as the Federal National Mortgage Association, which along with more lenient terms in regards to a down payment so required, as well as mortgages encompassing a far greater length of time to amortized such, as in a typical time span of 30 years, so provided an opportunity for a far larger percentage of Americans to purchase their own home, as the affordability of such, accomplished through these mortgages, was a quantum improvement over previous terms so issued.

Of course, as in just about anything, there are pluses and minuses; of which, the biggest plus in this revamping of the mortgage market thus created the real opportunity for more Americans to be personally invested into what for a wide swath of those Americans became their most important and abiding asset, which is their own home.  On the other hand, when down payments are a very low percentage of a commodity which is quite expensive, and of which, takes a considerable period of time, to own free and clear, this does lend itself to those situations in which some people ultimately are unable to make their payments, because of illness, because of lost of income, or various other reasons, and hence subjecting those people to the foreclosure of that property.  Additionally, in any program, in which mortgages are in essence being backed or being bankrolled by the government, loans so being initiated may be or have the tendency to be of more questionable quality, because those so originating those loans, are more concerned about their own personal profit, as compared to the soundness or sensibility of such.

While America would like to be the industry leader in home ownership, as a percentage of its citizenry, so owning, it is ultimately disappointing to note that in 1990, for instance, as reported by urban.org, Italy and the USA had about the same home ownership rate of 64.2% and 64%, respectively; whereas in 2015 those rates were 72.9% and 63.7%, respectively.  This so seems to signify that America which prides itself upon the attainment of that American dream for all of its citizens, has not been able to successfully accomplish such, by virtue of that fact that home ownership has stagnated in recent years.  While, the government has done its good part to help its citizens in the financing of their homes, what it has failed to do, though, is to effectively see that more of those citizens have the financial means, wherewithal, and opportunity, via their income and wealth, to actually successfully do so.

The American military worldwide empire

There was a time, as it was heard, that the "sun never set" upon the British empire; but that was back in the 19th century, and since that time, Great Britain as the preeminent power has seen its sun set, and except by grabbing upon the coattails of America, that island nation, is no longer an empire, and will never again be one.  That, for Great Britain, is probably just fine, for at least Great Britain still exists as a viable nation, still has relevancy, and there are advantages in Great Britain not having to directly concern itself about foreign nations and those territories, that were once under their domain, especially when they can have the United States act as their proxy, in so many different ways for them as well as for others.

The United States, has no contiguous enemies, but for whatever reason, as reported by politico.com, "…maintains nearly 800 military bases in more than 70 countries and territories abroad," of which this can only be described as an empire; so that it is far more appropriate to describe the United States as being an empire, for that clearly is why it has all of these military bases so as to protect and serve the monetary interests of its military-industrial-technology base that thereby runs this empire for that very purpose. 

Of course, with all of these bases and with America having international relations and international concerns with just about every sovereign nation that so exists, that military serves as the muscle for the United States to get other countries to submit, one way or another, to their needs, demands and desires, as the military in order to somewhat justify the gargantuan amount of funding it receives by its government each individual year, has to exert itself against offending countries, that often cannot hope to offer any semblance of a practical defense and therefore must suffer the indignity of their infrastructure being bombed out of existence, the lost of businesses as well as any semblance of a ordinary life, along with the considerable civilian deaths so suffered, that is the byproduct of American military muscle so exerted.

The downside, though, of any empire is how extended that empire gets, and thereby how much money and resources that are necessary to sustain such an empire, of which, no matter how much effort is extended for such, complications and unforeseen events always arise; in addition to the inevitable resistance so created so as to attempt subversion of that empire, both internal as well as external.  All of this combined, necessitates eternal vigilance, which also necessitates in more ways that one, an oppressive surveillance state, both domestically as well as internationally, which quite obviously breeds both contempt and resentment by the people, being directed against that land of liberty, for subverting its own reason for being.

Make no mistake about it, 800 military bases, is only necessary for that which is an empire and none other.  Quite obviously, that empire benefits a very, very few at the expense of the many; and in addition, is the very reason why the world as we know it, is less free today, then it was yesterday, for empire demands obeisance, obedience and tribute, more than anything.  All those then that support that empire or actuate such, are therefore by definition, not patriots; but the very opposite of such, for they mean to take away our life, our liberty, and our pursuit of happiness-- and to forge upon us -- chains.

The American Aristocracy

From the beginning, America was meant to be a land that would have no titles, no nobility, and therefore no aristocracy; but rather would be a land based on meritocracy and the equality of opportunity.  In fact, America's founding documents are clearly supportive of this very concept, but not too surprisingly, when it comes to power and especially in regards to the power of wealth and position, those that achieve wealth, have a very strong tendency to desire to hold onto that wealth, and further are usually very determined to pass on that wealth and their position to primarily those that are an integral part of their organization and family, therefore obtaining for them an enduring legacy, that essentially permits a special class of people to be born into privilege, and thereupon reap all the benefits of that which they personally have never sown.

This government of the people, have a responsibility to tax wealth, and to especially to tax excess wealth, so accumulated, by one person, one family, and one organization; of which while hard working people are fairly entitled to the fruits of their labor, this must be knowingly balanced by the fact that too much accumulation of wealth into too few hands, is destructive of any enduring or meaningful democracy.  Therefore, governance, must enact appropriate taxation upon compensation gained through employment, as well as that accumulated through passive income investments such as equities, bonds, and real estate, in addition to a general wealth tax so initiated against those that have assets of, for instance, 100 times the median wealth of that country's respective residents, and finally through an estate tax, when that person so departs this world.

Those countries that do not tax wealth in the present, appropriately; and further do not subsequently tax that wealth, when that person is no longer among the living, have by virtue of doing little or nothing, thereby have permitted that wealth to be placed into the hands of those that are functionally going to represent an American Aristocracy, of which, through the power of that money and frequently of that position, this aristocracy will not only be able to hold onto that wealth, but have a very strong tendency to augment such, thereby depleting from the hands of the general population, opportunity and income; for remember well that a given person or family, can only spend so much of their money in a given year, and thereby the balance of such, simply is saved and passively invested, ever accumulating to the benefit of those that already have far more than enough, even more.

Life typically isn't fair, no matter the governance of any particular country, of which, the purpose of good governance is to see that the bulk of the population is given, to the degree so possible, a fair opportunity to make something of value in their own lives, and of which, this often necessitates a re-balancing of the wealth of that nation, to effect such, by the appropriate taxation of those that are exceedingly wealthy and privileged, so as to redistribute those monies into the hands of those that have little or nothing, but clearly have the innate desire to make a good life, if only the infrastructure and construct of such, fairly reflects such an opportunity so being justly provided for them. 

Our government and our unalienable rights

The Declaration of Independence, not only contains an incredibly powerful Declaration of that independence, but is absolutely revolutionary in what it so claimed at that time and still so represents --that each of us has unalienable rights, of which these rights do not come to us by any governmental decree, though governments can augment and support such; but instead are gifted to us by our Creator, of which, among these rights, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Additionally, unalienable rights also imply the right to our ownership of private property, the right to the fruits of our labor, the right to worship or to not worship as per our inclination, the right to think our own thoughts, the right to move along public roadways without undue interference by governmental authorities, and the right to be secure in our own person.  Each of these are our unalienable rights, of which that government, of, for, and by the people is not the source of those rights, but rather these rights are our God granted rights, of which, no legitimate government of the people has the right to wrest away from us any of these unalienable rights.

Yet, regrettably we live in a time, in which, in actuality and demonstrated by the evidence that we see all around us, and the construct that we live in, that those unalienable rights, are consistently trampled upon, run over, ignored, suspended and superseded by that government, which has taken upon itself, to essentially own us, in a manner in which, those that wish to assert their God-given liberties, either have to bargain with governmental authorities to retain such, or pay obeisance to, or basically have to in one form or another, buy back their unalienable rights from that government. 

For example, all of the victimless crimes that people are arrested upon, convicted upon, and thereby have their freedom taken away from them, are crimes so manufactured by that government, that wrest away from individuals, their free choice to do what they will or won't will with their own bodies, their own mind, and the decisions that they make one adult to another, which has little or nothing to do with appropriate governance.  So too, the people are entitled to peacefully assembly, in order to demonstrate for a redress of grievances, find themselves, depending upon the arbitrariness of that government, subject to basically being intimidated, and sometimes violently attacked and assaulted by that government.

Additionally, in far too many aspects, public avenues that the people utilize day-by-day, are an ever present danger for certain segments of that public, who are subject to intimidation, violence, stoppage, arrest, and the forceful removal of their liberty, by authorized governmental authorities, without any real recourse to preclude such.  This is further compounded, by governmental authorities somehow being consistently sanctioned to conduct "no knock" raids with overwhelming firepower upon the private property of sovereign citizens, demonstrating in action, that this government need not respect people and their property rights.

In short, a country of liberty is only that country that places front and center the unalienable rights that each of its citizens has; and thereby makes it their point to protect and to defend specifically those very rights.  All those governments that do not do this are functionally and fundamentally misguided and wrong, and therefore, until such are corrected, illegitimate.

Mutual aid and mutual destruction

Those that are relatively simple-minded want to believe, somehow, that life is really a battle between them and everyone else, so to speak, and therefore a survival of who thereof is the fittest.  If, indeed life is truly a survival of the fittest, then this would imply that life is ever evolving in a direction in which humankind is thereby constantly advancing and therefore consistently building successfully upon that which has come before, because, it so follows, it is getting ever fitter; but the world as it really is, is not indicative that the fittest have survived and that the weak have been conquered, or even that the fittest are actually in charge.  While it might seem to make sense, that the fittest should be the exclusive winners, this discounts how complicated as well as how nuanced, life really is, so that one's survival or even advancement is based far more  often upon the interplay that is generated day-by-day with other people, then just one's own skill set.

Additionally, it is a mistake to believe that a bunch of superstars, somehow always make for a better team, such that they are superior to a diverse group of people that though less talented in aggregate, are able thereof to work together and to meld over time into one solid assembly; for the former typically have prima donnas within their domain and prima donnas usually don't want to bother doing what needs to be done to work well together as a winning team; whereas the later is all about doing what needs to be done, for the betterment of the team, which ultimately benefits each member of.

So then, those that are simply about their own self are essentially undercutting one another, in order to get ahead, thereby sowing the seeds of their ultimate mutual destruction, for each personage has their own separate agenda, and thereby they conflict one with another.  On the other hand, those that are able to bond together, are the ones that understand that being of service one to another, and thereby creating unity through that voluntary mutual aid, are the very people that are going to be successful, more times than not, because each person entwined together, makes for a very strong bond, that is well nigh unbreakable, against even the strongest of gales. 

So in fairness, it can be said that the biggest survivors aren't necessarily the fittest, but rather are often those that have the perception and the wherewithal to recognize that having found a purpose worth living for, or even that worth dying for, provides the motivation and thereby the important goal to focus upon that actuates people to really get things done.  This signifies that a simple belief in the survival of the fittest, is belied by the fact that in reality, those that make the most progress in life and for society are actually those that understand the necessity as well as the importance of finding something in their own lives, that is bigger than just their own self, and thereupon make the effort, typically with others of like-mindedness to create the change that is needed for the betterment of not only their own self, but indeed, for humankind.

The Bible was made for humankind, not humankind so made for the Bible

There are considered to be many reasons why the Bible exists and why it was so created, of which the main reason a multitude of people believe that this is so, consists of the rather straightforward viewpoint that humankind has access to the Bible so as to avail themselves of it and to thereby to take in the sacred word of God for their betterment and for wisdom.  While this is certainly true, it is important to note that the primary purpose of the Bible is to fundamentally create for humankind a roadmap so that we can find ourselves returning in good faith, back to that which created us in the first place.  Therefore, the Bible exists not only as the word of God, for our betterment and thereby the betterment of society, but also as the means for us to know God, and to thereby to have us to understand that God wants us to search for Him, in the conscious recognition, that God also has a sacred duty, in turn, to search diligently for each one of us, so as to make a noble quest for each one of us, to see that all of his lost sheep, successfully find their way back to the fold and sanctuary that only God is so able to provide for all.

None of us are ever alone, and none us, no matter how abandoned we may feel, or the emptiness thereof, are ever actually outside of the domain of God.  Further to the point, no matter how harsh we are in our own judgment of what we have done to our own destruction or to others, God never abandons a single soul and never will.  Remember this well, that God has gifted each one of us with free will, so that we can freely pursue whatever it is that we so desire to pursue, and of which, God knows, that by providing us with this gracious gift, that we are susceptible to all sorts of questionable enticements; yet, also knowing that we are well able to do all sorts of noble and good deeds by virtue of having that free will, in our freely exercising of it. 

So too, no matter how lost we may feel, or how confused we may be, the Light that so represents God, is ever eternal, and ever to be fully ours, if we only sincerely turn to it.  Yet, even those that are despairing of their own salvation should recognize that God, does not rest, and will never rest, until each soul so created by God reposes in God, once again.  This thus signifies, that though some of us joyfully play hide and go seek with God, whereas others do so, not so playfully; that God never tires of this game, for all that God has created is for our edification, but also for our amusement, our amazement, and the adventures, thereof.  Therefore, at the end of the day, as God measures time, the game will end, for God will have found us, and having found us, we will rest securely, forever, in God's eternal heaven.

Property taxes as a form of discrimination

The American dream is to own one's home, which does not formally occur until such has been successfully paid to the lender of such in full, usually over an extended period of time; still, yet, despite this, it seems that owners don't fully own their home, even when they no longer have a mortgage; for no matter their age, no matter their income, no matter when they first bought their home, they are always going to be -- whether or not  they are living in their personal residence or renting such, subject to being assessed yearly property taxes, for in absence of being able to avail themselves of tax set asides, such as for being a church,  or such as for being a school, or such as for being a favored business, they then must pay yearly mandated property taxes.  And, of those property taxes, such payment to the taxing authorities is not optional, for those that do not pay their property taxes, will, given enough delinquent time -- be subject to liens upon their home, penalties, , interest, and even the possible seizure of such, should they not pay attention to mandatory court appearances, and whatnot.

It would be one thing, if property taxes were always uniformly applied to each home, in the exact same percentage and via a consistent proportion thereof, along with such being in conjunction with the present value of the home, or as in cases in which Propositions were so passed, subject to that appropriate legislation; but in actuality, in far too many cases, the property taxes so being assessed are not consistent neighborhood to neighborhood.  In point of fact, numerous studies have been made, which show that those that are privileged and thereby well connected to the power structures of governance, have historically had their homes, under assessed as compared to all those that lack those connections, who are typically people of far more modest means.  Critically, those that suffer the most from this are often communities of color, of which, their properties have historically been assessed at a higher market rate than these properties are actually worth, as demonstrated per recent sales in conjunction with historical values; whereas those properties own primarily by whites, are under assessed, as demonstrated per recent sales in conjunction with historical values.

When it comes to homes, the assessment of the present day value of homes, is both an art as well as a science, for typically no two homes are exactly the same, of which, the best determinate of the value of a home, is comparable sales within the same neighborhood, of which, those sales need to be robust enough, that the valuation of other homes is not simply based upon just one sale; and further to the point, the sale of similar homes needs to be properly adjusted to the accouterments so of, age of, and condition of one home to another, which is not the easiest task to accomplish in a competent manner.  Alas, far too often, what has occurred, is in the lust to bring in governmental revenue, so needed for schools and for infrastructure, and in the conscious accordance that governmental authorities do not so desire to bite the hand that feeds them, is those that are least able to fight back, are typically assessed higher rates, thereby signifying that within counties, subject to the same taxing authority, neighborhoods are not consistently assessed uniform property tax rates.

The only entity, that can ameliorate such, is for the Federal Government, to bring suit against the worst offenders of this practice, so as to turn the tide, and at least at a minimum, indicate that the Federal Government will take action, where necessary, to assure that property taxes are both consistent and uniform, for all of its citizens, irrespective of race or creed.

Fouls in the NBA

All major sports have rules, of which, the primary purpose of those rules is to see that those that do not adhere to them, are correctly penalized for having done such, whether advertently or inadvertently.   Not too surprisingly, when it comes to rules, there are always going to be players and coaches that desire to work the angles of those rules, so as to "game" them in a manner in which the team so committing the fouls, are actually doing so in a manner in which they will, in one way or another, gain a perceived advantage over their opponent.  For instance, with time running out in a basketball game, the team that is currently losing, may deliberately foul one of the other team's players in the hopes that by fouling a specific player, that they will come out ahead, by that player, for instance, not being able to make their free throws, and also by the stoppage of the game clock.

In order to correct a scenario in which some teams enact a strategy intended to unfairly benefit them in a basketball game, by essentially utilizing rules that are meant to make the game fairer, and thereby circumventing such, the NBA should enact within their rule book, a concept that is used in soccer, which is the "advantage rule."   The advantage rule is one in which the team that presently has the soccer ball, though fouled by the opposing team, does not necessitate in always having the game stopped at that point, but is given the "advantage" of the play continuing, if in the referee's viewpoint, it is perceived that the flow of play being terminated right then and there would be detrimental to the team so having been fouled, and thereby by the calling of that foul commence to actually cause more harm than good.  The same sort of concept could be utilized in basketball games, so that obvious fouls meant to stop the game and to foul a specific player, could simply be ignored by the referee, when the team so being fouled, is better off in retaining the ball, which typically would have been passed on to another player, who possibly would then be in the position of making an easy basket.

Additionally, part of the strategy of fouling players, is for the opposing team to foul a player that is not particularly good at shooting free throws, of which, whether this is done as per a deliberate strategy or not, need not be taken into consideration of, if when a player is fouled, the team so fouled, is given the option to either shoot free throws or to take the ball out of bounds in the opposing teams' end of the court.  After all, fouling players should not be seen as a way to work around the intent of a given rule, but should be seen as being inimical to the integrity of the way the game should be fairly played, which is that basketball is not meant to be a free throw shooting contest, and if it so comes down to that, at least give the team so being fouled, the option to shoot free throws or to take the ball out of bounds, per their volition.  Were these changes to be implemented, the integrity of NBA games would be far better than what it so presently represents.

New is not always better

The marketing of products for sale in America, is an industry that does a remarkably effective job in getting people to buy all sorts of things, of which, part of the reason why consumers buy such, is the belief, that something newer, or "improved" has to be better than that which came before, thereafter known as being "old" or being outdated.  Yet, in point of fact, that which is newer is not always going to be better for a lot of valid reasons.  For instance, many good products end up being replaced with something new that notably uses inferior materials of a cheaper construction in order for that manufacturer to stay competitive or to be more profitable or both.  That is to say, for instance, robust toys previously made out of wood or metal, have been replaced in modern times with plastic, not because plastic is superior to wood or metal, for it is not, but rather because plastic is both cheaper and more malleable to utilize.  So too, processed food, is not typically going to be healthier than whole foods; of which the real reason why there is so much more processed food being marketed today, is because processed food, has a far greater shelf life, lends itself to be transported of far greater distances, and is, ultimately, significantly cheaper to manufacture than whole food.

Additionally, one of the things that new products, almost by definition, do not represent, is that they have not yet stood the test of time, of which, sometimes that testing of time, needs to be conducted over a very long period of time, so as to accurately ascertain the long term effects of such, good or bad.  It logically so follows that products that have been created generations ago, which are still relevant, are therefore prime examples of products that have stood the test of time, and are therefore known thoroughly for what they are, hence, such as being marketed and sold represents truth in marketing.  So then, that which is new needs to be far more often weighed fairly against that which has proven its value and merit, and has endured the real world, as compared to the often meek acceptance by the public, that new always somehow trumps over that which is old.

It is often a mistake to simply throw out the old for the new, especially when the cost effectiveness of the old as well as the utility of such, is quite good; of which, anytime such is basically done for no other real reason other than the opportunity for "new" profits to be made by private enterprise; this signifies, in effect, that what has been presently created for the general public is typically a lesser good to replace that which was already functionally sound.  In fact, part of the problem with so many of today's new products, is that those that have created them, have deliberately done so, in an attempt to create and to corner new markets, by thereby patenting something that has been earmarked as being new, though in substance, it really is not; so that additional profits can be extracted from the general public, under the illusion that what is now being sold, is newer and therefore better, when in reality, it is not.

America and the inception of its Tower of Babel

America, is a nation divided, of which incivility and divisiveness is disappointingly high and seems to be rising all that much higher in the 21st century; all of this occurring in this a nation that prides itself upon being a melting pot of different races, creeds, politics, and languages -- as well as having the understanding that each of us has been gifted with the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; of which, we the people, are living in a country that has proclaimed itself to be the United States of America, so created to assure our domestic tranquility.  When such a country, founded upon liberty, and that has provided the right of each of its citizens to be represented in its governance through the fair and equal voice that each of its citizens so has, finds itself devolving into a cacophony of voices and actions of its own people making essentially war against one another, signifying that each of us seems to be speaking in a different language, and of which nobody seems to be listening to the other or even really caring to, this thereby leads to even that great beacon of symbolic liberty, our Statue of Liberty, shedding tears upon this celebrated land, in the knowledge that great gifts so given, can be destroyed from within, from carelessness, unconcern, and ignorance.

The seminal document of this nation, is its Declaration of Independence, of which, the correct interpretation of this Declaration is that we, as a people, are meant to join together into one body politic, for the betterment and the advancement of those people, so as to assure the safety and happiness of that people.  To the degree, that any politician, or any legislature representative, or laws so passed, and those institutions so created, have a tendency to exist and thereby to promote the general welfare of the people, then we are thereby living in harmony with that stated Declaration; whereas to the degree, that we live within a construct in which there is enmity expressed wholeheartedly between one people to another, as well as outright hatred and contempt, in which that people spend an inordinate amount of time talking pass one another, and essentially attacking one another, then within that nation, there were will be no peace, no justice, and no equality of opportunity.

There is such a thing as a discussion, or even a reasoned argument, and then there is the divisiveness so expressed by small minded people that have clearly lost touch with the fact that each of us, is equally entitled to the same promises of this land; to wit, we are all equally entitled to have a fair hearing, a fair say, and a fair forum to express such, all done in a manner that encourages civil discourse as opposed to discouraging such.  The very things and issues that seem to divide us and of which so many put such great import into, are often found to be, in calmer waters, something in which common ground and common bonds could be initiated.  So that, those that insist upon dividing us into ever smaller tribes are the very ones that when given enough time and space, will eventually cause us to not be able to understand or to comprehend a word that we each are saying, for it will be, as if we are all senselessly babbling, in a wide and vast ocean filled with fools.

"Love is at the root of everything"

Fred Rodgers, he of the masterful television program, Mister Rodgers' Neighborhood, tells us that, “Love is at the root of everything—all learning, all relationships—love, or the lack of it.”  Of this, Mr. Rodgers is absolutely right, and each of us would do well to remember that what each one of our communities requires more than anything, when it comes to necessary resources, is truly love, first and foremost.  That is to say, as much as we need good parenting, good educational system, good cohesion, fairness, justice, and liberty; at the foundation of all that is good and worthwhile has to be, our expressed love one to another, that we so demonstrate thereby by being a good neighbor, to one another.

Our world is full of an awful lot of sound and fury, of which, it must be said, much material success has come from this; but in reality, though, despite all of the wonderful creations, discoveries, and inventions of this modern day age, those that live in the richest and wealthiest nations in the world, aren't necessarily happier and more fulfilled over those that live within realms of  far more modest means; for material things, no matter how pretty, intricate, or valuable that they may appear to our eyes, ultimately do not bring happiness or love, but rather are far too often, through the lust and greed to obtain such, a source of much disappointment and divisiveness that breaks us apart, and therefore does not bind us into something of lasting meaning and merit.

All that we are, and all that we ever will be, is summed by the actions and deeds that we have done, day-by-day, one to another, and when those actions and deeds are nothing much more than an unrelenting course of gratifying our own selfish desires, come what may, then the end result of such is always going to be a construct that lacks love and empathy for the other and this world.  On the other hand, when we take the time to truly comprehend that we are all equally created and are thereby equally valued by our Creator, and that each one of us has the very same unalienable rights, of which, therefore this thereby signifies that we are all one big global interrelated family, which thereby does not define itself by the limitations of creed, race or sex;  then it becomes far easier to picture, that doing right and performing good deeds, one to another, is going to be conducive to a more loving and caring world, along with it being the only way forward to make such, sustainable and of true value, now and into the future.

Those that do not value love, are those that have lost sight of the only thing that truly matters; for a life without love, is a life which has turned away from the illuminating Light of God, to the darkness of utter despair.  All of us need to be more loving, for our very creation was an act of divine love, meant to give us the opportunity as free-will beings to freely express that love from one to another, and therefore as united beings to reflect in devotion our love back to that Perfect Being that first created us.

We all need friends and love

Some people think that they don't necessarily need friends, or that they don't necessarily need love, or pretty much don't believe in either one, because friends and love can disappoint a person, and even worse can hurt a person, so typically after having suffered so, they thereby emotionally remove themselves from others, so as to not be hurt or damaged, ever again.  In point of fact, life without love or friends is not going to be a wonderful life, because human beings are meant to share their joy with others, and further are meant to be friendly, neighborly, and loving one to another.

This thus signifies, that we actually do need friends and love, of which, no doubt, in order to have these valuable things, necessitates commitment on our part to others, as well as the taking on of risk, and thereby exposing some degree of vulnerability one to another.  Far too many people are far too concerned, with protecting their feelings from ever getting hurt, that they do not give themselves a fair chance, to take in the friendliness and love of another person, because they fear that by doing so, that they will be subsequently hurt and therefore they are therefore overly guarded with their feelings. 

No doubt, some friends will disappoint us, at least from time-to-time, and no doubt, some that profess their love for us will be false in what they have professed to us, but that doesn't mean, that we should thereby shut the door on all others, because of the faults and the mistakes of the few.  Further to the point, each one of us, is regrettably, an imperfect human being, filled with human frailties and error, of which, because it is so difficult to self-evaluate oneself, we often do not recognize that part of the issues that we have with others in regards to love and friendliness, lies really at our own feet, and therefore with our own errors and mistakes, which we honestly have not completely own up to.

Those that wish to live within a construct, in which every friend is true, no matter what comes; and everyone that represents love to us, expresses that love unconditionally, and with no expectation in return, are clearly desiring what so represents the ideal friendliness and love.  To therefore only accept that and none other, will surely represent a lonely life, for few, if any, are able to demonstrate such, on an irrevocable basis, one to another.  Rather, we should be far more accommodating of all those that are friendly and loving, and should be that way also in return; in the recognition that though we might well desire perfect friends and perfect love, that it is in the trying, that we still are able to find good friends, and by being a good friend in return, makes for a better life that is well worth living. 

Those that truly want joy in their life, have to find someone and something outside of their own ego, that they are able to appreciate and to accept as they are.  From that, all sorts of good thereby occurs, in which, by being good one to another, we become that which we were meant to become, when we were first created, by Love.

Towards mandatory national service

It was not all that long ago, when President Kennedy, proclaimed: "… ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country."  Yet, we find that very few people feel compelled whatsoever to do anything at all for their country, specifically, in service to it, but rather prefer to appreciate the benefits of this land of liberty, freedom, and opportunity, as if these very things all have come to us without some real sacrifice having been made, especially from those that have preceded us.  Regrettably, those that don't appreciate what has cost so many, so much, aren't going to be the best guardians of what America at its best, so represents, if they never have skin in the game of their country, and care not to change that.

As it has been said, freedom is not free, but what we find is that millions of Americans apparently don't believe that, because they are only too willing, rich or poor, to believe that they need not do a thing in order to contribute their part to the betterment of this country.   So that, in order to change that entitled mindset, it would behoove America, to pass a national legislative act, that mandates that each American is required to serve their country for a period of ninety days, within the ages of eighteen to twenty-six, which would seem thereof to be a small enough length of time, that it would not disrupt those that are set to go to college, or to other activities, so planned, or anticipated; yet, a long enough period of time that some good service to that country would be made.

It almost goes without saying, that there is plenty of work that needs to be done throughout this country in regards to its infrastructure and its people, of which, that work thereby being performed, would be a material aid to that country, and would be of material benefit to its people.  Those that have never been mandated to make a sacrifice, should feel what actual sacrifice consists of; so that, they would thereby have a better understanding of that which they have previously pledged their sacred allegiance to.

The dysfunction and trouble that we see so much of in present day America, is part and parcel of a country and its countrymen that are not united in much of anything; and a country of which its people are not united in their collective purpose and in their belief, is not going to be a country that will forever stand; for an unstable structure that fails to take the steps so needed to stabilize itself and to properly take whatever precautions and actions that are so needed to strengthen itself, is that country which will unravel to its own destruction.

If our present day generation will not buy into mandatory national service, then it is not thereby possible to call those young people, patriotic.  For united we stand, and divided we fall; of which, the least anyone that is a citizen of this country should do, is to willingly provide some degree of service to that country, or if not, ask nothing of that country, for having done nothing for it, that country surely owes that individual, nothing in return.

Gratitude

For any one of us to show gratitude is something that typically doesn't cost us a thing, except the voluntary effort to do so, and of which, the person showing that gratitude, has done this deed as a form of appreciation to the person of whom that gratitude is given to.  We read in Holy Scripture in Luke 11 that ten lepers approached the Messiah, desiring to be cleansed of such, of which, Jesus the Christ, dutifully healed them all. And then we read "He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.  Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" (Luke 11: 16-17)  This so signifies that what had occurred is that though all ten lepers had been healed, only one of them had bothered to return and to thank Jesus the Christ who healed him; whereas the other nine, for whatever reason or reasons, did not bother to take the time to give that same thankfulness, in person.

It isn't so much that the other nine, were wrong for not showing that gratitude, but it certainly can be said, that they ended up not bothering to do so, perhaps because of their excitement, or perhaps because of their astonishment; and thereby were unable to find the wherewithal, to give appropriate thanks to He who healed them, though, undoubtedly they were thankful.  Again, that doesn't make them wrong for their apparent lack of visible gratitude, but it certainly doesn't make them look good, either.  Still, how many of us, who have been provided with a gift, large or small, have also failed to show our gratitude to that person, or organization that aided and abetted us?  Fortunately, gifts so made by the giver, in order to be a true gift, are done without the need or even the expectation that such will be reciprocated, or even necessarily appreciated, for those that give, get their joy from knowing that they did the right thing at the right time, to make things right for that person so receiving that gift.

Returning though to that one leper, that did take the time to turn back and to show his humble appreciation to Jesus, one must give him credit for his recognition that those that receive great gifts, have much to be thankful for.  And it is the people such as that, that keeps those that are the gift givers, in sync with the continuation of that giving, because each time that a gift is so recognized, it recharges the batteries of those givers, to keep them doing what they are doing, in the treasured knowledge that we are all on this good earth, together -- with therefore an obligation to be a good neighbor, one to another, with the implicit understanding that by doing so, we all will get to where we really need to get to, a whole lot quicker, when we are united in our purpose, then  when we are separated by our divisiveness.

So then, each of us needs to be more appreciative of the good, especially that unearned good that comes our way, and rather than keeping those thankful thoughts to ourselves, we should, as best as we can, show our gratitude to those that have done right by us, and then go out and do likewise.

Judicial fiat and Amendments to the Constitution

The United States Constitution was ratified in 1788, and since that time, only 27 Amendments have been made to it.  Perhaps that is a good thing, perhaps that is not, but it certainly demonstrates that making Amendments to that Constitution, is fairly prohibitive.  Yet, during all of those ensuing years, all sorts of meaningful changes have been made to the real world application of that Constitution in regards to its citizens, of which a significant amount of those changes have been made by essentially judicial fiat.  That is to say, rather than amending the Constitution to cover such salient things such as the legal definition of marriage, or of abortion, or of many other important issues, the Supreme Court has rendered their decision upon questions of great merit, that subsequently takes on the aura of Constitutional law, without said Amendment apparently ever being required or necessary.

The most fundamental problem with any activist court, is that when that tribunal believes it has the power to effectively amend the Constitution, through its own interpretation of such, then the law so created, has more to do with the opinions and viewpoints of that time, and less to do with what has been written down, legislated, and certified to be the highest law of this land.  In other words, it is the responsibility of legislatures to enact laws, and of the judicial courts to determine the Constitutionality of such laws, but what has effectively occurred, in recent times, is that the judicial branch has by their court decisions, effectively enacted laws, without legislative oversight or approval, and all of this is occurring, without the people having a true voice or say upon the matter, of which this government theoretically derives its just powers, from the consent of those so governed.

The more activist any court is, and the more that court simply does what it so desires to do, with the notion that they are essentially making new law, with the incumbent belief that they are performing their duties in a positive way, the less that Constitution as written is relevant to the law as it is effectively exercised upon the people that are subject to it.  So that, what we find that occurs is that rather than the people being governed by Constitutional law, the people are governed instead by a tribunal that interprets however that it so desires that Constitution to be interpreted, of which the net result is to favor some at the expense of the many; and to invariably favor those that are the actuators of those eminent judicial personages.

There is a Constitution, of which, as the highest law of this land, it can be utilized as the law; or it can be circumvented by those that through their judicial opinions become in essence, the new living law.  Further to the point, the more laws that are created by the judicial branch, through the proclivities of that branch, thereby creates what is effectively an alternate constitution, of which that constitution, becomes in effect, whatever that judicial branch, so desires it to be, so that equality under the law, equally applied, has morphed instead into specific favoritism for those that have influence, at the expense of all those, that do not.

God's parental love

We are all children of the same God, of which, God loves all of us as the perfect parent, for God is inerrable perfection.  This thus signifies that when it comes to God's justice for each one of us, that such justice as exercised is done so in a manner for the betterment of us; and any punishment so exercised through God, is done with the objective of helping to correct us from the error of our ways, and never as a means for God to exact some sort of vindictive harm upon us.

So then, those that believe that there exists some simplistic dimension in which some are granted access to Heaven, whereas others are consigned to an eternal hell, have it fundamentally wrong, for those actions so done by us that are wrong and in error, would never necessitate a God that would exact an unending chastisement upon us, for the very objective of any punishment so issued is for the correction of, the learning of, and the betterment of the individual so involved, and nothing else.

This thus signifies that it is more appropriate to see God as a parent that knows what is best for us, wishes good upon us, and will do whatever that can be done without infringing upon our free will so as to re-direct us onto a path that will produce a far more satisfying and productive life for us.  That is to say, the decisions that we make and therefore the consequences so of, are solely ours to own, and of which, because God cares for us, avenues are thereby always available for us, to extricate ourselves from what we have done, so as to provide fair and lasting sanctuary for us.  Nevertheless, sins and errors so made, need to, in the skeins of time, be made good upon, for every wrong step so taken, must be amended by a right step so made, or else, that which is just, no longer fully represents that justice with complete integrity.

There is nothing better to draw upon, than wise parental advise; subsequently listened to attentively and then acted upon with wholesale obedience.  The trouble that mankind gets into, is the trouble of their own making, and of which, such bad decisions, can be compounded by those others, friend or foe, that do not have our best interests in mind, as well as those that unwittingly have us to lean into the direction that we need not enter.    Yet, through it all, good or bad, rich or poor, God stands by our side, and thereby pings our conscience, again and again, so as to bring to our mind, that our best purpose in life is to make this world a better place for our having been here; and therefore such disciplining so involved, is made to awaken our conscience to the comprehension that justice cannot ever be circumvented, but must always be met forthrightly and fairly.

God is our great parent, and because God knows for a certainty, what is right and what is wrong, then as our parent, God has a moral obligation to do what can be done to help us to improve our character, so that the better angels of our nature, can come to full fruition, and thereby make us better, so that we thereby fairly become what we were always meant to be.

A government, of, by, and for the middle class

There are all sorts of governments instituted amongst mankind, of which the most common throughout history are those that are aristocratic, monarchical, dictatorial, communistic, republican, democratic, or some sort of basic combination of these.  Yet, even the most cursory of digging through the practical governmental policies of virtually any country in this world, unearths the plain truth, that governments are primarily run by the rich, well positioned, well armed, and privileged at the expense of all those that are outside that entitled elite.  In other words, despite what governmental form so enacted through written constitutions or similar, and the voting so made on issues of import, as well as legislation so passed and the legislatures so of, the end result is that those that effectively run a given nation, are the few and powerful, and that therefore the democratic choices so given to the population at large, are often no real choice, signifying the tangible lack of the offering of any fundamental change for the people at all -- that would be of expressed benefit to the people.

The bottom line is that those that are at the highest echelons of power, often have no real intention of sharing such power with the people, and to the contrary, often work hard and long, to consolidate within their own elite hands, even more of that power.  As for the poor, ill-educated, and disenfranchised, they lack any of the necessary accouterments or meaningful activism to actually make any sort of impact upon government policy, whatsoever; and have not the wherewithal, in addition to essentially being far short of the necessary wisdom and experience, that even if they were to be somehow provided with the opportunity to obtain such power to conceivably take -- would lack the ready capacity to do anything of real merit or of benefit for the people, with it.

The only class of people that could ever effectively administer government policy in a fair and even handed manner, are those that are the hard working and dedicated middle class, that by their sound education and hard labor have thereby achieved a foothold upon those accouterments that they have fairly earned and are so necessary to becoming established in any given country;  which consists of accomplishments such as home ownership, successful small business enterprises, as well as having a good stake and a meaningful involvement in the community that they live in.  The reason that the middle class is so relevant to good governance, is that unlike those born with a silver spoon in their mouth, the middle class have had to exert and to apply themselves to the tasks at hand to rightly become what they are.  Further, because they lack all of the excess material goods of the privileged, as well as the dissipation that excess wealth so often represents, and all the other unearned privileges so granted to those of the highest class; they have, on the other hand, remained grounded in their comprehension of what the common man actually really needs and of what makes for a land of true domestic tranquility.

The best government is that which is consistently equable, fair, and just and thereby no respecter of persons, of which in order for that government to successfully exist, those that are leaders of such need to be those that have fairly toiled to earn by their equity sweat, the bread of their means.

Teamwork and problem solving

Far too many movies and books, for that matter, emphasize courageous individual achievement over the most daunting of odds, and while it may well resonate with certain people, that it so follows that each of us, on our own, has the capability to overcome that which is causing us and the world thereof, trouble; what seems to be forgotten is that we are all fellow sojourners upon this world, of which, it is our moral responsibility to not just to save our own self and our own interests, but also to be of an ever present aid in helping to save others.  That is to say, to look upon the world as only a series of individual endeavors to thereby overcome that of which hinders us, personally and nothing else, is to read the world and its problems, incorrectly.

In point of fact, mankind has always been a social creature, and forever always will be, so that our objective, then, is to demonstrate the wherewithal to work well with others, despite our apparent differences, so that each of us, in our own way, has a good opportunity to be part of the process of overcoming those problems which need to be successfully resolved.  This thus signifies, that it often is a very poor usage of time as well as a wrong mindset, when we see a given problem, as being essentially of one person against another, rather than taking the time to really fundamentally understand the nature of the problem of which, many a time, the tables can be turned in such a way, so that the problem is more appropriately understood to necessitate people joining together against the problem, and thereby our duty becomes to overcome such, together as a team.

Because this world is far too complicated for any one person to deal with, it does not lend itself to its being broken down into a series of just individual acts to address such, and therefore through that sheer individual effort resolving successfully the biggest challenges of our age.  Instead, we need to draw upon the skill-sets of those that we congregate with, of which, by doing so, we join together into one body politic, in order to form a more perfect union, and thereby to resolve successfully that which must be resolved, so that we as a people, are therefore able to more forward and to actually live lives that reflect our unalienable rights of liberty, and positive self-determination.

The whole point of why there are problems in the first place is for us as a people, to rise up and to conquer them; and thereby to prove to our Creator, that we have successfully used our God-given capacity to do so, in tribute to that which has actuated our being, in the first place.  When we correctly look upon problems as really being a test so given to us from Above and thereby a worthy proving ground of who and what we really are, we have then taken the most vital step in confronting and thereby overcoming such, of which, the lesson to be learned is that we are not all supposed to be "lone wolves," but rather we are a tribe of people, united in our quest to safely find our way back to that sanctuary of sanctuaries, and rest ourselves in that which forever cradles us.

The highest good for science is truth revealed

Mankind has developed the good ability to understand its own world, and continues to make progress along those lines, throughout the skeins of time.  To the degree that scientific knowledge and scientific knowhow can help to explain the nature of this world, both of the seen and the unseen, the more that this can be to the benefit of mankind, for knowledge properly utilized, is most definitely one of those essential building blocks that makes for the betterment and further enlightenment of mankind.

All those that are scientists have, first and foremost, the utmost obligation to their field and to society to follow the trail that is before them, and to prudently reveal such that is discovered in a forthright manner, of which, that which has become fully known, should and must be fully disclosed.  Unfortunately, what occurs, more times than it ever should, is that in the field of science, as in so many other fields, that which does not fit well into the conventional standards of that time, or is not consistent with those that are the financiers of those institutions or are the powers-to-be behind such, oftentimes are precluded from a fair disclosure and find what they have discovered is earmarked as an inconvenient truth, and therefore that which has been revealed to scientists in truth, is subsequently distorted in service to those other purposes and principalities.

Every scientist has a moral duty to stand first for truth, and thereby to disclose such truth; for those that do not do so, are then aiders and abettors to that which is false.  This has absolutely nothing to do with theories so made, or theorems surmised, then end up being false in some construct, of which, the very process of discovery is typically going to be a road in which mistakes and misinterpretations will be made, of which, the duty of that good scientist is to make adjustments to that which was thought to be sound, and thereby to correct such to fairly reflect the truth of the matter, as such is learned or experienced.

The scientific search that each scientist must be true to is the knowing that the primary objective of science is ultimately to see that truth previously unknown or undiscovered be revealed in a manner in which such is done for the overall benefit and in the service to their fellow sojourners upon this earth.  That is to say, knowledge so known can be dangerous, and therefore that knowledge must be handled in a manner in which it is sensibly kept out of the hands of those that would abuse such, for the giving of knowledge to those that have evil intent or are not worthy of such, serves no good purpose, whatsoever.  

Nevertheless, while discretion with scientific truth has its place, outright deception and misdirection, seldom does.  This is why those that are our superiors or that are in positions of power, must themselves be held to account for what they do and say on behalf of all those that they are obligated to represent, of which, their lack of integrity in doing so, wreaks havoc upon those meaningful revelations so made, by good scientists that have done their principled part as well as their moral duty.