“The great enemy of that tremendous force of freedom is… imperialism”

One might think that the quote above must have come from some disgruntled third world power, some tinhorn dictator, but in actuality it came from Senator John F. Kennedy, in 1957, of which, those words as viewed today we would not expect to hear from the executive office, except perhaps as a form of misdirection, for America, and make no doubt about it, is the world’s preeminent imperial power.  This therefore begs the question as to where did America go wrong, so that it has forsaken freedom as the be-all and end-all for other nations to embrace, thereby replacing such, with imperialism, above all.

The basic answer has got to be not so much about the lust for power, though that is part of it, but rather has almost everything to do with money and the desire to make as much money as possible for our multinational corporations and banking institutions – so accomplished via those nations that simply don’t have the strength of character or aren’t in a position strong enough, to do much more than accept the terms of business so desired by America.  Further to the point, imperialism has little or no interest in fostering democracy in other nations, and thereby cares not a whit about freedom for other countries, but prefers instead to deal with autocratic nations, that have plenty of internal firepower, because that construct is more conducive to the making of money as well as the paying off of who so needs their pockets filled with cash as their compensation.

So then, the American governmental viewpoint is that what is good for the goose is not good for the gander, because freedom of choice, free will, unalienable rights and the like, are inconvenient annoyances for those that want to exert control and mastery over other communities and nations so as to extract as much profit from them, as possible; as well as to thereby negotiate the best deal for those multinationals and banks in order to “develop” natural resources and infrastructure within nations.

A nation that is imperialistic essentially wants all other countries to pay tribute to them, of which, for those that are allied with that imperialistic country, deals are structured that at least bear some sort of semblance of fairness, of mutual respect and of consideration; whereas, those vulnerable nations that are not allied to that imperialistic power, are going to give up what they have to give up, or find themselves at the highest governmental or military level, susceptible to being overthrown and thereby losers of everything.

In theory, America stands for freedom and liberty, but in actuality the prevailing reason why this world is as unfree as it currently is, lays at the very feet of the imperialistic United States.  Senator Kennedy had it right in promulgating the belief that the great enemy of freedom is imperialism, because imperialism, takes away unalienable rights, and replaces such with only those human rights that do not interfere with imperialistic dictates.  This makes for a world of frustration, dreams denied, opportunities revoked, and people oppressed, all so that the privileged few can make more money from those that have been cheated from that which they have an unalienable right to.

The Constitution and majority rule

A lot of people believe in their heart, that propositions so fairly voted upon, in which one side of that proposition receives more votes than the other, means that the proposition has passed and therefore that proposition has become the law of the land and should subsequently be adhered to.  Although that might seem to make perfect sense, it must be properly understood that just because a majority has passed some specific legislation does not mean that the proposition, itself, is Constitutional in its application or in its effect.  In other words, not every law passed or the interpretation of such, is Constitutional; which is an extremely important point to understand, for it must be recognized that the only thing that really separates good people that are in vulnerable positions of a given minority viewpoint from the tyranny of the majority, is the fact that highest law of the land is the Constitution, and all laws that violate the Constitution are null and void.

While majority rule, certainly seems sensible, it is not going to be sensible all of the time, if that majority is not held under Constitutional restraints, of which those restraints as adjudicated are thereby superior to whatever a given majority so desires to have happen.  For instance, if the majority simply voted that they should have their particular taxes reduced based on some prejudicial criteria that favored that majority, while a specific minority of people should have their particular taxes increased or other things of that sort; then what would essentially have occurred is that this country would have devolved into a construct in which the powerless, or those on the minority side, would have to serve the powerful, or those on the winning side.  That wouldn’t be fair and that wouldn’t be right; so that, it must be said that the founding principle behind the Constitution, is that each of us is accorded rights, that are there to protect us from a misguided or unenlightened majority.

Further to the point, we are provided with the responsibility of voting for our elected representatives of which it is the people’s duty to first and foremost to hold those representatives accountable for their actions taken, and additionally to see that what those representatives do on a given day, is as transparent and as open as possible for the citizenry to therefore be able to stay fairly informed of what is so occurring under their name by those representatives.   That is to say, it seems as if few people are all that happy about the governance in their nation as well as governance in their community, of which, if this be the truth, then it is up to the people, to construct something of meaning in order to effect positive change by holding their representatives responsible or else the people will continue to be marginalized.

This is supposed to be a Constitutional government, of, for, and by the people, of which, the simplistic viewpoint that the majority rules -- is superseded by the highest law of this land which trumps that which is not in harmony with that Constitution.  Further, though we are all entitled to vote our self-interest and even to promote such, that self-interest must be in adherence to Constitutional law, for good governance is meant to take our initial selfish desires and to mold such into one nation, united.

The internet and freedom of expression

People have a natural inclination to desire to socialize with others of the human race.  The beauty of the internet is it allows people to communicate seamlessly with people all over the world, of which, unfortunately, when those communications are subject to eavesdropping by governmental or corporate interests, this stifles the openness of such communication.  Additionally, those that are not directly part of any communication, may not be correct in their personal interpretation of words so spoken or written; as well as the fact that conversations which are taken out of context often taint the understanding of such.

When everything that we say and show online, is thereby subject to governmental purview, review and censorship, people are obviously less free, as well as their being thereby susceptible and vulnerable to manipulation and to being compromised by governmental agencies as well as their hidden actuators, as applicable. 

A world society that freely and responsibly shares one to another is going to be a healthier world, that intuitively understands our commonality, which thereby helps us to overcome any long held ingrained prejudices and makes for a better and safer world; but when that domain is upset by the powers that be, in which, we are afraid to express who we really are, and of which we are punished for not being compliant to that which monitors us -- we have created the seeds of our own miserable and terrible world, and what will be reaped will definitely be an oppressive state of limited unalienable rights.

The internet deserves better than to have been co-opted by governmental and corporate interests, to therefore be used against the people, so as to manipulate, control and to harm them, all in obedient service to these undeserving overseers.  The words that we write, the social media that we post, and the back and forth of our communications should not be overseen by anyone or any authority without our expressed and authorized permission.

Governments will tell us, every day, all day, that for the good of society and for the defense of society, that we need to give up some of our freedoms in order to have good protection and security; but this is a false construct, for those that do the watching, almost without exception, do themselves not desire to be watched.  This signifies, that those that claim that what they are doing is for the betterment and for the safety of our community, but are not completely and fully transparent in all that they say and do, are deceptive, they are liars, and they are wrong for what they stand upon.

The internet should be a legitimate forum dedicated to the freedom of expression with very limited and circumscribed government and corporate oversight.  No doubt, there are going to be bad actors that use the internet; then again, there are bad actors that are in government, as well as there being bad actors in the highest echelons of corporate offices.  Humankind does not need constant monitoring by those that claim to have our best interests in mind but really don’t; they never have, and they never will.

Each of us has been gifted with unalienable rights, using the internet, should reflect that, no more and no less.

Impressment was involuntary servitude

Great Britain is an island and the only way that there came a time when the “sun did not set upon the British empire” is the fact that in its heyday, Great Britain had the most formidable navy in the world, bar none.  While it is probably true that conscripted soldiers aren’t treated all that well in the best of times, it therefore pretty much follows that conscripted sailors stationed in the vast wide ocean on a ship, of which unquestioned discipline is part and parcel of how navy ships are able to get things done, are going to find that insubordination is not going to work out well for those so inclined to speak up about their rights, real or imagined.  This pretty much signifies that service in the Navy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries was the type of job that most people of sound mind would not willingly desire to take, and therefore the British Royal Navy found itself many a time, with a serious labor shortage of sailors.

One way utilized so as to get a given quota of sailors for a naval ship was to basically kidnap or coerce the drunk and disreputable from taverns and things of that sort; though, of course, the quality of the man so snatched from there was typically rather suspect.  A far better way, though, to add sailors was to reclaim those that were said to have deserted the service, of which in a day and age, in which identification of who and what a given person represented -- being somewhat hard to verify, one way or another, this so provided the reasoning to question sailors on other ships, and therefore when, for instance, merchant ships, were boarded by the British Royal Navy, the Royal Navy took it upon themselves to take those that they claimed to have deserted them, and thereby “impressed” them back into service with the British Navy. 

All of the above sounds rather eerily similar to the fugitive slave law, in which those that were alleged fugitives of the law, and considered by those in the business of capturing such, to be by their rights to catch them, of which, upon so being caught, then that person would be returned or “impressed” back into slavery.  So then, in that day and age in which Britain ruled the seas, it was Britain, that acted as judge, jury, and executioner, and if Britain decided that certain sailors of a United States merchant ship or even of a frigate, were in their viewpoint, really British subjects -- that had wrongfully abandoned their duty to Britain, then Britain would claim them as their own, and impress them back into service with Great Britain.

Not too surprisingly, sovereign nations don’t take too kindly to their citizens being manhandled and kidnapped by any foreign nation, especially one that they had to previously fight so as to gain their own liberated freedom.  Yet, at a time, in which the United States Navy and military power were really not a match to Great Britain, America thereby swallowed its pride and permitted that which they did not desire to see permitted, to be done.  Still, there did come that time, as in the War of 1812, in which part of the reason for that war, was that America was sick and tired of being treated as a cat’s paw by Great Britain, and therefore they went to battle, to demonstrate that America was the wrong nation to be tread upon, so as to do right by those that were personally suffering from having been so wronged.

The deliberate policy of the ghettoization of America

In a nation as rich as the United States, ghettos would seem to be something that should not actually exist, but exist they so do.  First and foremost, there is the continuing lie of this country being an actual melting pot, in which we are led to believe that we are on a pathway of the amalgamation of different ethnicities, different creeds, and different classes, but America does not come close to practicing or even making meaningful progress to that which it so nobly preaches.  Even the most cursory of looks indicates that in most major cities, races are predominantly segregated one from another, as well as there being the purposeful separation of unfavored creeds from the mainstream creed, in addition to the fact that high-income people deliberately segregate themselves from those that are impoverished.  Rather than this being a nation united, this is clearly a nation divided, of which the greatest shame so of, is reflected by the multitudes of people corralled into impoverished ghettos that demonstrate fairly that America is really the land of exploitation, unfairness, and injustice.

So too, it must be stated that there is nothing random about the separateness and segregation in America, and therefore nothing random about American ghettos consisting primarily as centers of despair for those that are minorities and are of color.  America professes some of the most inspiring and meaningful sentiments so ever written or so heard, but the follow through by that country and its countrymen demonstrates in living color that this is not an egalitarian nation, nor one of equal opportunity, and that clearly its justice halls are definitely respecters of connected persons, of which, the most powerful and propertied people of this nation far too often live the belief of “not in my backyard,” and in this they have been quite successful in propagating this mindset throughout our biggest metropolitan cities, in a manner in which they are protected and augmented; whereas, those in the ghetto are there for the express purpose of exploitation and control.

When blacks first began their great migration into the big industrial cities of the north, that seemed to offer them opportunity, hope and promise; they were welcomed by such under the implied if not expressed condition that they must willingly congregate into their own zones to live their lives in, with the exception of their being permitted to work wherever that they were needed to work, under the conditions of employment so dictated by those that employed them.  Yet, these same minorities in the communities that they resided in were subject to taxation, and thereby found to their dismay that their taxes so collected, were not being utilized for infrastructure so needed in their communities, by those in charge of disbursing those taxes on behalf of the public. Additionally, loans and credit needed for businesses, homes, and upkeep within minority communities, were systematically not served by banking and credit institutions, thereby precluding minorities from having the good opportunity to build businesses as well as to increase equity in their own homes -- directly leading to those communities becoming dilapidated from the lack of such investment, and the paucity of tax dollars being fairly contributed within their community.

The main reason why so many minorities find themselves in these ghettos of despair, is to make the task of controlling, manipulating, and abusing them, so much easier for the powers that be.  After all, what the general public does not see and does not visit, is often the same to them as if it doesn’t exist.  And if it doesn’t exist, then for all intents and purposes, it sure won’t be changed.

Labor wages, profits, and rentiers

The money that various people are able to make such as per their labor, or through business profit, or by virtue of being a rentier, is each a very different way of money so being made.  For a very significant amount of people, they earn their keep, by laboring at a given job, and receive the wages so agreed upon, whether or not such is an actual reflection of the true worth of the labor so having been done, or is even fair.  As for the profit that a given organization makes, the controlling entity so making that money has risked their capital in order to make that profit, as well as often additionally providing their own personal labor to do so, of which, for some organizations this works out very well, whereas for others, not so much.  Then there is the rentier, of which, rentier is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a person who lives on income from property or securities.”  Some very good examples of a rentier would be those that live off of their investments in equities, through equity appreciation and/or dividends; as well as those that rent out property that they own, be it, commercial or residential, at a rate that provides them with a profit; or those that make loans of their capital to people and organizations for a price, such as in banks or their equivalency.

To a very large extent, those that labor for their wages, are respected for their work ethic, and to the degree that they are able to make a good living from such, this is to their credit.  As for those that make their money through the profit of their particular business, the respect for such is dependent upon a lot of factors, such as fair labor wages, fair opportunity and growth for those that are part of that organization, as well as that company’s overall willingness to pay their fair share of taxes. Then there are those rentiers, of which, in short, they make their money by virtue of having money, of which many a rentier has little interest in having to actually personally labor for it, and so, no matter how they spin it, rentiers predominantly make their money, passively, which seems quasi-respectable, at best.

All those that labor for their wages are working.  Those that are in a business to make a profit, typically also are working and working hard, along with having to successfully deal with the stress of the ups and downs of the competitive business world.  Rentiers on the other hand, usually aren’t interested in working, for all they really want to have happen is to have the money that they currently have, create more money for them; and in order for that to happen, this signifies that somebody or some entity has to trade their money or something of value for what the rentier so has, of which the difference between the true value of what the rentier owns and what it thereby is sold or rented for, is the profit that the rentier so gets, simply for having ownership of it.

Typical laborers find themselves in a trying position in order to negotiate themselves a fair wage; while those that own businesses are constrained by market forces and competitors as to how much money that they can make; whereas, rentiers have something of material value, desired or needed by others, placing them in the catbird seat, to press their advantage, and thereby to get what they really want without actually having to dirty their hands by toiling for it.

The loyalty of a standing army

Revolutions are fought and won, often with armed force, and far less through a noble idea whose time has come.  As much as we might like to believe that the “good guys” always win, or that right always triumphs over wrong, the fact of the matter is that it often is the side with the greater firepower and determination that prevails.  So then, it does make sense for any country of self-worth, to be prudent and forward thinking enough to have the necessary military might to thereby protect itself, from foreign dangers.  The fundamental problem, though, is that once a country determines that it is going to have, not a militia, nor an army reserve, but a fully functional standing army, along with all the other military branches, thereof; then it has made the fateful decision to engage full-time with that institution which has the power to exert itself in a future way that may not be in accordance with its own Constitutional law.  History has shown us repeatedly that many nations have forcefully installed new governments, through violent military coups, of which those that were soldiers of that military essentially made a determination that their preference was to overthrow that which they were supposed to serve; to serve, instead, their military coup leader.

This thus indicates to believe that somehow, standing armies are forever loyal to their Constitution, and to their fellow countrymen, is belied by the historical fact that this clearly has not been the case, in country after country.  So then, standing armies, as our Founding Fathers warned us, are an ever-present danger to the liberty of its own citizens, as well as a potential menace to the stability of that government, of, for, and by the people.  Further to the point, as much as we might want to believe that our own military would never, under any circumstances, ever take up arms against its own population; we need to recognize that the police have consistently been called into domestic action, and without hesitation have willingly obeyed the powers that be.  This thus begs the question, as to whether those that make up that standing army of which they have been trained from their indoctrination into those armed forces, to obey unquestioningly the chain of command, and of which that command has done its good part by providing those soldiers with good healthcare, housing, salary, benefits, education, and provided them with stability and purpose in their personal lives, as to whether when push comes to shove, that those soldiers would then abandon their discipline and put their guns down for Constitutional reasons, when they have been commanded instead by those that they respect, to do the very opposite.

To believe that it cannot happen here, is to ignore history as well as to dismiss the wisdom of our Founding Fathers.  Further, and regrettably, even the citizens of this great nation, may not even be on the same page with each other about their government, of which, the appeal of a coup to some of those citizens, is their desire for an authoritarian government that behaves in a way in which their “yeses” means yes, and their “noes” means no.   That, combined with the fact, that wars are ugly, bloody, protracted and destructive is the reason why the question must be asked, as to where does that loyalty of our standing army actually lie, for in this, lays the tale to be told.

White poverty and black poverty are not the same

There are millions upon millions of people that live in poverty in America, of which, while there are at least twice as many blacks that live in poverty than do whites on a percentage basis; the fact that there are in total, many more whites in the actual population, signifies that in aggregate, there are more whites that suffer poverty in total, as compared to those that are black.  Yet, with the exception of some Appalachian communities, as well as in other small towns that time has passed by, there seems to be a dearth of white ghettos that are part and parcel of large metropolitan cities.  In other words, while just about anyone of a given large metropolitan area, can site the communities where the rich people live, then can also site, almost without any sort of hesitation, the communities where the poor people live, and of which within those poor communities, the residents of such are overwhelmingly people of color; as opposed to at least some of those communities being majority white and poor, which seems puzzling.

The reason why this is so, has a lot to do with the fact that the color of a given person’s skin, identifies that person as being a particular ethnicity, of which, those that are white, are just by virtue of being white, allowed presumptive entrance to just about anywhere that they so desire to go.  True, poor whites, may ultimately be limited in where they end up residing, for they may find themselves “found out” as being of a lower and inferior class, but nevertheless, they have the actual real mobility to move from one place to another, and in conjunction with that, whites are almost always provided with credible benefit of doubt, that gives them, then, the opportunity to be some place, that they, on the surface, are probably not actually suitable for.  In regards to blacks, because of their skin color, many doors and opportunities are simply not there to begin with, as they are presumed to be, by many, undesirable; additionally, blacks are most definitely limited in their mobility because so many doors are closed to them, and further to the point, blacks have historically and deliberately been segregated away from desirable areas of communities and pushed instead into orbits of separateness which have not been the equivalency to even a middling community; as well as those communities have typically lacked good, sound infrastructure, and therefore poor black communities have the worst schools, the worst job opportunities, as well as blacks being surrounded in their residences with very high concentrations of poverty.

All of the above, basically means that whites that are in poverty, still have a decent chance of extricating themselves from at a minimum, simply being surrounded by exclusively other impoverished people as well as by decaying communities.  Blacks, however, are more often than not, frustratingly trapped into ghettos of despair, of which, their opportunity to find something better is severely constrained by the fact that they are typically unwelcomed by many and their options to find something better have been significantly limited.   

To be poor and to be white is one thing, and to be poor and to be black is another thing.  They aren’t the same, though each of them may indeed be equally materially poor; yet one race has far more implicitly going in its favor to be of aid to them, whereas, the other race has far, far less to avail themselves of.

Who really owns big tech?

The largest big technology companies based in the USA, are absolutely gargantuan in terms of their market capitalization, in regards to their yearly sales so made, and in respect to their profits so generated.   In consideration, that there are governmental laws available to be utilized to force these big technology companies to diversify and to divest themselves, and of which, despite all the congressional hearings and the like, along with saber rattling so made, that nothing of substance ever seems to actually occur to force such divestment, this all seems rather curious. The only logical conclusion that one could make from this scenario is that either the government is in fit, form, and function, co-opted by big tech, or the government has deliberately allowed these big tech companies to get ever bigger and ever more powerful, because by so doing, they will in more ways than one, eventually force these companies to come to heel, if this has not already functionally occurred; because the massive amount of money so being generated and earned as well as the stock prices, thereof, necessitates those big tech companies not biting the hand that permits them to do whatsoever that they so desire to do, and thereby allows them seemingly carte blanche to keep on buying out competitors, in addition to pretty much permitting them to set the terms of the business so being done, to big tech’s constant advantage.

While one might make a very strong and convincing argument that it is those important personages in the Executive offices, as well as certain well-placed and influential stock owners, that functionally own and run a given big tech company; that can be countered by the fact that items such as local, State, and Federal taxation, tariffs, legal interpretations, legislation of all sorts, labor rules as well as environmental regulations are all absolutely pertinent to not only the continual profitability of a big tech company, but the growth thereof.  That is to say, when a government makes an absolute commitment that a given big tech company is going to be taxed at a significantly higher rate, and further that offshore profits will be taxed as if those profits were made in America, in addition to higher tariffs being imposed upon all those goods manufactured to at least some degree outside of America, along with insisting that foreign labor and environmental regulations in foreign lands, must meet a specific minimum standard as propagated by America, this can all be chillingly effective, especially when such is all tied together with the most powerful law firms so known, working hand in glove with the government – then the upshot is that those that are the putative actuators of big tech are going to do what they so need to do to preclude such actions from ever being taken.  This signifies, that if that government wants all the pertinent information that it so desires from big tech, for, as an example, “defense of the homeland” then those big tech companies are going to willingly give that information up; so that, in effect, whatever that government so demands, will be met with compliance, because such failure to be compliant and obedient to that government, could easily result in the lost of billions upon billions of dollars of not only revenue but also profit.

Sure, it looks like big tech is bossing the world, and perhaps they are.  Then again, government can at any time, and at any moment, take away the punch bowl and thereby everything changes; because the power to tax is the power to destroy, and the power to regulate is the power to control, and the power to legislate is the power to own a corporation -- lock, stock, and barrel.

Jus soli

Jus soli is Latin and is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a rule that the citizenship of a child is determined by the place of its birth.”  The 14th Amendment to our Constitution states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States…”  This thus signifies that the United States bases its citizenship of its people, upon whether or not they have been born within the United States.  Additionally, America also provides a pathway for those that have been born elsewhere to become a naturalized citizen; and finally, for those born abroad of which, at least one of their parents is a United States citizen, those children are more than likely, United States citizens, depending upon their familial circumstances and applicable legal rulings, thereof. 

The fact that being born in America, creates citizenship, is truly profound, for this is proof positive, that in America, each of its citizens, are indeed equal in class, one to another; and all therefore are entitled to the same equal rights as any other citizen of this country.  This signifies that in America, there are no Kings or Queens, no nobility, and no such special sanctioned class, ranking above all others.  Further, at its core, America is a country in which each person is entitled to exactly one individual vote, and therefore, because so many of its governmental officials, be it local, regional, State, or Federal, are voted into office, this signifies that it is the citizens, in whole, of this great nation, that select those who would be their legislative representatives for its governance.

The fact that all that are born within the United States, are citizens, and further that each has been accorded the same Constitutional rights, is indicative that America believes in the merit of an egalitarian society.  This thus signifies that the very principle, thereof, of this country, is to see that those principles so written and espoused by the highest law of this land, are lived in the everyday lives of the citizens of this country, of which this does indeed make a material difference in the quality of life, so lived.  Further to the point, because of the fact that each of us born here is a citizen, and that therefore each of us has been franchised to vote, presupposes that the people of this land are the collective captains of their own ship.

To be an equal citizen, one with another, is the grand mark of a progressive country that clearly values its people, and of which its governance therefore is held in the hands of the representatives of that nation, as a fair reflection of the people.  This is the way that good governance should be, for those that have been equally created by the very hand of God, are implicitly valued equally by that same God.  We are indeed, our citizen’s keeper, for we are all in this together, and therefore it is to our collective benefit to see and to assure that each one of us is fairly entitled to the opportunities so presented by that governance of, for, and by the people. 

To be a citizen by birth, is the conscious recognition by that government, that we are all equally entitled to the fair opportunity to become all that we can be.    So then, the objective thereof, of that governance is to do its good part of behalf of the people, to ensure justice, tranquility, good welfare, and liberty for all of its citizens.

The real reason conscription was eliminated

The Vietnam war, was probably the last American war that drew an ever increasing vociferous and vocal response by the general public, as well as some serious violent protests, that often consisted of large swaths of people, so protesting, together, that typically would not see eye-to-eye on a lot of other political issues, but on this issue, they were in one accord.  A significant reason why so many were so uneasy about the Vietnam war, really came down to the fact that conscription was not something that a lot of Americans who were now experiencing a good version of the American dream, would wish upon their male children, and thereby they were upset that their sons were eligible to be drafted, and hence the real possibility of them being hurt or dying in some far-off land for some nebulous reason seemed wrong.  Sure, there were all sorts of workarounds to avoid being drafted, but these were at best, an imperfect means to avoid such, and at worse, not something that all people, given their present circumstances, could successfully avail themselves of.

It is true that the military was at first, taken aback, at the lack of patriotism demonstrated by what would typically be considered to be law abiding citizens; especially since the military brass were of the mind, that a draft, was necessary in order to have enough personnel to take care of wars so needing to be fought at the present time, but they also took into consideration, that such would be needed in order to fight wars in the future.  Nevertheless, after a period of some time and reflection, the top military brass, believed that it was indeed possible, for the United States, to no longer require conscription, and yet still be able to successfully protect and defend America, as well as to make war upon foreign nations, when necessary, with an all-volunteer force.

Somewhat surprisingly, since 1973, no matter what has subsequently occurred, throughout the world, the United States has not brought back conscription, and has indeed, relied exclusively upon the recruitment of an all-volunteer force.  The secret for why this has so occurred, has an awful lot to do with the fact that in America, there are millions of people that live in ghettos of hopelessness and despair, and therefore, are ripe for buying into the opportunity that will provide them with the accouterments of good healthcare, shelter, employment, as well as the furthering of their education, all in return for their risking their life, if so necessary, on behalf of that country that so employs them.

In other words, those that are young and without bright or promising prospects, as well as those that are not citizens of this country but desire to become such, see their volunteering into the military as basically being their best choice, giving their dearth of good choices, so available to them.  That is to say, having a lot of disenfranchised people with poor prospects, makes for a very convenient pool of eligible people, for the military branches to recruit people from, and of which, in fairness, being in the military could well be of real benefit for those so recruited.  This signifies, that things are pretty much back to the status quo, which is war, is typically a poor man’s fight, and as long as the United States has plenty of poor people, it will remain exactly that way.

The final review

Each of us will come to that day, welcomed or not, in which we will be fairly judged upon the entirety of our life so lived.  One might have a tendency to believe that such a judgment will more or less just go over the deeds and actions that we have done, therefore played for us as something akin to a movie, of which, this life movie will basically consist of our most consequential moments.  While this is true, that is not the whole of it, for such judgments must be based upon the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth; so that extenuating circumstances, perspective, and things of that nature will also all be fairly taken into account.  Still, that isn’t the complete picture, either, for we must all remember that no one person is an island, but what one has done and said, has consequences not only for each one of us, individually, but also for those others that we have interacted with.  This so signifies, that part of our judgment, therefore, is seeing how our words and actions, have affected others, for good or for bad, of which, in a lot of cases, we probably were unaware of the degree of that impact, until provided with that window that sees and knows everything.

So then, our actions, just as in a rock so thrown that makes a skip or two across a lake, which thereby creates ripples, ever outward – signifies that our actions and deeds may extend far further out than we ever were cognizant of to begin with.  That is to say, words so spoken, perhaps in jest, perhaps to hurt, could be words that though we have completely forgotten of them, still have lasting impact, for the person so having been singled out for such, who has not forgotten, and the impact of those words, still resonates with them, perhaps even decades later.   So too, this is the same for deeds so done, of which, toes may have been stepped upon, or unfair shortcuts snatched, or credit undeserved taken, which has had impact upon those others.  Additionally, of course, there are all the inspiring words so spoken, and the deeds so done, of which we perhaps thought our impact was negligible at that time, but actually it was not, of which these then, are counted to our credit for their positive contribution so provided to others.

All of the above indicates that our final review, takes into account the outcome of our interactions, previously known as well as unknown, as it rightly should be; for our sacred duty in this world, is to help make society better for our having been a part of it  This signifies that it so follows that most of us need to be far more cognizant of the impact of all that we say and do with others, which presupposes that we need to be more thoughtful and considerate to one another; for what we actually say and do can have a meaningful influence upon others, and we should want that impact to have been beneficial as opposed to having been harmful.

Nobody is perfect, but within that imperfection, those that take the time to improve their character, to exercise self-control, to impart wisdom, to be forgiving, and to be peacemakers, are going to consequently be far less fearful of that final review that all are destined to face.

We are the new domestic pets

It seems pretty amazing that a whole generation of citizens, are voluntarily, though, perhaps unwittingly, pretty much divulging their entire personal lives, as in their financial position, their friends, their habits, their travels, their employment, and their likes and dislikes, by the virtue of their constant interaction with their social media accounts, internet browsing, as well as the usage of their cell phone, of which that smart phone, pretty much sees all and thereby knows all.  All of this seems pretty incredible, especially when we stop to consider that information is absolutely a form of power, and when that information is held in the hands of corporate players as well as governmental agencies of all stripes, then that probably signifies that our negotiating position as well as our independence is seriously compromised.

We live in a time in which a significant amount of Americans are dependent to some degree or another upon their government, for student loans, for housing vouchers or subsidies, for food, for healthcare, for unemployment, and for this and for that, of which, when that government knows an awful lot about a particular individual, then that government can make it their point, to provide what it so provides only to those that play by the rules that the government so demands and therefore those other troubling and bad people will thereby suffer the indignity of losing things of value, for their disobedience; of which this means that, for instance, hanging out with the wrong people as defined by that government is not therefore permitted, or being arrested for civil disobedience will result in the removal of benefits, and so on and so forth.

Further to the point, corporations are in the business of making profits, and as long as a given individual is willing to provide pertinent data about themselves to those corporations, directly or indirectly, then they will get in turn, some sort of perceived benefit from those corporations, but let there come that day, when those people are perceived to have little or no value to those corporations, then such favoritism will so terminate.

We should remember, that when it comes to our relationships with other people, we always have the option to forgive and to forget; but those that are our governmental masters and our corporate overseers, while having such an option, have no good reason to avail themselves of such, because our personal information, is of invaluable assistance to them, so as to therefore mold us, to manipulate us, as well as to monitor us, along with the recognition that embarrassing and inconvenient facts about our personal life, no matter how distant in time, are always there to be used against us or to compromise us.

It is by no means a stretch to believe, that our social media accounts as well as our cell phones, and internet browsing activity, has provided to the government, and corporate companies, all of the information that they could conceivably ever want, all without those entities apparently having had to actually violate any of our Constitutional rights to obtain such.  We have, in short, sold ourselves to them for a very cheap price, and thereby have forsaken our liberty, becoming then, far too vulnerable to that which has the ready capability and capacity of being a very dangerous master to us. 

“Justice is the end of government”

In Federalist Papers No. 51, James Madison, stated that “justice is the end of government,” of which what is meant by that esteem sentiment is that the very purpose of good governance is to bring forth a civil society in which those that are members of it, have the highest degree of their good potential so being fairly achieved, which makes for the betterment of that society.  Unfortunately, in today’s America, there is a massive chasm between those privileged few that are wealthy beyond belief, in contrast to a suffering underclass which is poorly served, ill-educated, and often devoid of opportunity and hope, which is proof positive, that in America, justice has not been served.

This signifies, that fundamentally, that our Constitution as implemented, and despite its lofty words and great purpose, has ultimately failed the people; for far too many of our citizens are devoid of having justice, tranquility, good welfare, and the blessings of liberty, but are instead exploited, dismissed, abused, discriminated against, and caged into ghettos and prisons of despair. 

The main problem with our government and governance at the present time, is it does not serve the people in whole, but serves instead those powerful and well-placed personages and corporations that have co-opted it for their own greed, influence, and their unending lust for ever more wealth.  This government is therefore not of, by, and for the people, but it is anything but that.  That is a most unfortunate condition, for the only entity that has the power to make fair what is foul, is the government; for without the force of government, exerted against those that have corrupted our good Constitutional principles, the battle for justice is futile and is effectively lost.

Where there is no justice, there will be no peace, and never will there be peace, no matter how many guns, shackles, and chains are so utilized by that oppressive force to maintain and to augment their own power.   The good people of this country deserve better than the counterfeit governance that they presently have to frustratingly deal with on a daily basis.  Rather, America should be the envy of the world, for its overall wealth, for its Constitution, and for all its great advancements so made, but instead it has squandered what it so has to become instead a grand façade, which fools few, and annoys many.

In so many ways and forms, America has given up on being a meritocratic and egalitarian society, but instead has devolved info factions, all fighting for an ever-decreasing slice of the pie, and thereby going at each other, tooth and nail for their entitlements, while those that are the exploiters of humankind, that have fixed the game so that it always favors them, get ever richer, upon the backs of those that they use and then callously discard to the government, for that government to take care of, when their usefulness to the corporate bottom line has been fully and completely drained away from them. 

The point of good governance is for the betterment of the people, in whole, for this is justice; and all that which hurts the people, or favors the few at the expense of the whole, is unjust.

Lead by example

This world is full of much trouble and tribulation, of which, the only hope for this planet, and societies in general, to become a more harmonious place is especially for those that know better, to behave by their words and by their actions in a manner in which more compassion, more understanding, more empathy, and more forgiveness, is generated one person to another, as contrasted to being small-minded and vengeful, for those wrongs so done against us, real or imagined.   Life is not supposed to be about getting even, but rather life should be about showing kindness to those that have been unkind, love to those that have been unloving, and concern to those that lack concern; in which, by doing so, we hope to lead by our example, to thereby show that there is a way that is a better way.

That which is of most value, is that which we will not willingly give up, easily; which rather than consisting of just material things, should be that which makes for good character, such as patience, persistence, justice, and truth.  Therefore, why should any of us, be quick to relinquish that which is the epitome of goodness through our losing our self-control because of the words and actions of someone else that is not having a good day, and therefore has apparently taken out their anger or frustration upon us.  After all, words so meanly spoken against us, we need not accept, or take to heart, for our righteous judge is not of this world, but rules above such; and those actions taken against us, even that which is harmful to our body, should be seen as being part and parcel of the suffering that each of us most so endure, in order to fairly earn the prize above all prizes.

People, throughout societies, without exception, learn things of import from the deeds of those that they respect; and when those actions by those esteemed others are wrong or in error, those that are in the process of learning, typically will end up making the same sorts of mistakes, as they have previously witnessed – until they at some point develop the wisdom to understand the futility and folly of that which does not bring lasting satisfaction or peace.  Each one of us, by our decisions so made each and every day, and by the thinking that is behind those decisions, have the choice to free ourselves from giving in to our worst impulses and snap decisions, by making it our point, instead, to desire to uphold the highest virtues of civilization, such as integrity, temperance, and charity, by demonstrating to others those very attributes, especially when hard pressed by difficult circumstances to do that very thing.

Many people do not know what they are doing, and many more know what they should be doing but lack the character and judgment to consistently do such; it therefore, falls upon those that are enlightened to illuminate the pathway for those that are lost, confused, misguided, mistaken, lazy, and weak, to thereby encourage them to take the steps so needed upon the right pathway – of which, we get their attention and subsequently help to persuade them to actually do such, by maintaining and expressing our love, when lesser beings would strike back at a wrong with retribution, whereas we, on the other hand, forgive and lend a helping hand.

America does not stand for right or wrong, but rather for obedience or disobedience

The primary principle being of America should be to follow the basic tenets of its Declaration of Independence, and its Constitutional laws; but the reality is that those that run America see virtually every law as being in gradients of gray, signifying that good laws are being daily circumvented through circuitous reasoning, which thereby serves to negate those inconvenient and well-intentioned laws that would interfere with those that run America’s empire; as well as America subverting those laws that annoy America through the outright bastardization of them; so that, in effect, America pretty much does whatever that it so desires to do, and the voice of the people, is effectively ignored, or co-opted by those powers that be. 

Therefore, we thus find that concepts about right or wrong, have been completely thrown out the window in the United States, because America doesn’t need to bother about being right, and does not care a whit if it is wrong, as long as those that run America get their way.  This signifies that more than just being the world’s foremost bully, America is an annoying spoiled brat, of which, none outside of America will dare try to correct this, by, for instance, standing up to America, for they correctly fear retribution by America.  In the present day, the truth is that America doesn’t even care whether other countries are democracies, dictatorships, or something in between, as long as those countries understand explicitly or implicitly that all those that are disobedient to what the American military-industrial-technology complex so desires and wants, will have to pay, sooner or later, directly or indirectly, for that fatal miscalculation.

In America, it is all about controlling the narrative, so that, whatsoever happens, good or bad, America is able to consistently spin such so that their desired viewpoint is accepted as being the most appropriate one.  As for what happens with the interactions between America and other countries, those that appropriately follow the leader, are rewarded with giveaways and favors thereby graciously granted, and those stupid enough or just plain slow and thereby lacking in the understanding of their given place, are punished in a manner, in which they regret their short-sightedness.

Still, it needs to be recognized that many of those that are obedient are reluctantly so, purposely keeping quiet about such, for fear of suffering bad consequences -- thereby signifying that such obedience being displayed typically has attached to it a hidden continual resentment to that which oppresses them, unjustly; of which, it so follows that many that have that aura of obedience, actually have an abiding desire to get even at some future point, and thereby plans are formulated to do that.  So then, some of those that appear to be the most obedient, are instead becoming ever more skilled at playing the game that gives the illusion of one thing, while secretly being an entirely different thing.

Those then, that demand obedience and tribute, without having properly or appropriately earned such, are sowing the seeds of their future comeuppance, for that which is unjust must at some point face the consequences of those actions; which is why in the end, it really does make a difference as to whether or not you stand for right or for wrong, for that which is wrong, will ultimately pay tribute to that which is right.

Water into wine

We read in Holy Scripture that: “When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom” (John 2: 9), of which, we had previously read that Jesus was solicited by his mother, to provide wine for that wedding feast, because this wedding celebration had sadly through ill preparedness or similar run out of such, and thereupon Jesus miraculously did produce water into wine, and created not just any wine but “good wine.”   While it is true that we can look upon this miracle and thereby simply accept it at its face value, it is of far greater value to understand it at a much deeper and more meaningful level.

That is to say, Holy Scripture has a multitude of passages involving water, and specifically the value of water, of which water is important because in order for humans as well as other animals to survive and to thrive, a good, clean, and reliable source of water is absolutely necessary for one’s continual good health.  So then, anytime we read of good water being utilized, found, or appearing as in a miracle, this represents the truth that we as humans need that good water and that further we are led to understand that on a deeper level, this water represents the worldly wisdom that is required for humankind to successfully evolve and for society to advance.  Additionally, Holy Scripture has many passages, addressing the positive value of the drinking of wine, which signifies that this drinking of good wine, will often provide the necessary means for the transformation of humankind, so as to thereby successfully rise about worldly wisdom into divine wisdom.

The point therefore of water being transformed into wine, through the hands of Jesus, is for us to clearly understand, that Jesus the Christ, is our bridge from that which is worldly into that which is divine; and further that this is the good wine that is necessary for us to imbibe of, and therefore should not be seen as that other wine which serves to intoxicate us and thereby for us to stumble our feet upon.   While good water most definitely has its place, that place is ultimately constrained by the limits so imposed by this worldly dimension; whereas those that break through the self-limiting constraints of believing that they are material objects and nothing more, are able to drink in thoroughly through that liberating wine that they are first and foremost, eternal beings, meant to exist, side by side, with their Creator, and that any existence other than that, is not our natural state.

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Each of us, has necessary steps that we must take in order to become that which we were always meant to be; and Jesus the Christ lifts us up from that which is counterfeit, into that which is truth, itself.  Whether or not we drink that good wine, is a decision left to our free will and thereby our volition; of which, those that do not drink that good wine out of fear, ignorance, ego or similar, are those that are stuck in that endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth; whereas those that imbibe of that liberating wine have become enlightened and awake.

Disrespect should not be a crime

Police have specific job duties, of which, one of the main reasons of having a police force is to successfully address criminal activities, as well as to provide the service of maintaining public safety – signifying that police are supposed to protect and to serve the general public.  To the degree that these above duties are done in a professional and fair manner, all is to the good; however, not too surprisingly, in consideration that police officers are human beings, thereby subject to human frailties, this has led to some of those police officers succumbing far too easily to misjudgment and to the lures of the power that they possess of so being able to wrest freedom from those that they do not like, do not respect, have prejudice against, or simply because they as a police officer are intolerant.

Most citizens do not wish to voluntarily engage in a confrontation with any police officer, because they know that police officers have not only the power to arrest them, to handcuff them, and to mistreat them, but they are also quite capable of killing them.  That said, though, each citizen of the United States, has exactly the same Constitutional rights as any other citizen, which presupposes that citizens should not and should never be compelled to behave in a manner in which they are intimidated or coerced into having to display respect to a police officer, while that police officer, need not show any sort of respect, in turn.  That is to say, respect should always be a two-way street, and those that are disrespected by being treated as something akin to trash, or scum, or less than human, should not suffer the indignity of being arrested for disorderly conduct, especially when the police officer has been the primary instigator of such so occurring.

Police officers, have an absolute duty to show appropriate restraint to all those that they are sworn to protect and to serve, and those police officers that do not do so, are derelict in their duty.  Sure, police officers are subject to stress and all of the common emotions and frustrations that life under trying circumstances so entails, but that does not excuse the fact that police officers are not entitled to be abusive to citizens and should not overstep their domain by taking the law into their own hands; for citizens are entitled to their right to stand for that which is right and to voice their viewpoint, so thereby to arrest those that police officers do not care for, with dubious charges such as disorderly conduct, is an abuse of power.

Anytime that the state sanctions the behavior of its policing arm to silence those that they find to be a nuisance or an inconvenience, or annoying, by arresting them through unjustified charges such as disorderly conduct and the like, so as to effectively put down the opposition, then they are upholding what is, in fact, a violation of Constitutional law.  The truth of matter is that police officers, in general, get way more respect than they have rightfully earned, mainly because people are fearful of police officers; so then, those that have the courage or boldness to actually confront a police officer and to have a civil disagreement with such, should be able to have their fair say, or else, those citizens are not actually free.

The importance of habeas corpus

Those so arrested by the policing arm of the state, seldom wish to be arrested, and therefore the arresting of virtually anyone, is essentially an act of the state of taking away one’s freedom, against that person’s will.  This thus indicates that when one’s very freedom is wrested away from them, that the state has not only the obligation to justify its actions but must be held accountable for such; for the natural state of humankind in the United States, is for people to be of liberty and thereby free to pursue what they so desire to do, per their own volition.

Habeas corpus is a Latin phrase, and is typically defined as “you have the body,” so meaning that the policing arm of the state is required by law to produce the “body” to a judge or appropriate court so as to determine as to whether or not the person so being held, against their will, is thereby considered to be legally appropriate or not.   This signifies that the state must subsequently produce the evidence that the charge against the person so being held against their will must be made to that court of law so that it can be properly investigated, and thereby a determination by that court is made as to the legitimacy of such.  That is to say, when the state is allowed or permitted to imprisoned anybody for any reason that it so desires, and is thereby not required by a court of law or writ to produce that person to be properly examined by an independent arbiter, then the state, for all intents and purposes, is functionally a police state, in which one’s freedom is determined solely by the powers that be.

There are a lot of countries that do not have habeas corpus, though, some of those countries have something that serves the same type of purpose; but there are many other countries, that simply do not have habeas corpus or its equivalency, for those countries know that the power to arrest anybody at anytime and thereby not have to ever produce that person again, or any evidence against that person, provides them with the power to effectively control, intimidate, manipulate, and to thereby essentially silence those that the government considers to be a danger to them, or that they consider to be a menace to their rule. 

The natural state of humankind is to be free, and the unnatural state therefore is to be subject to having that freedom taken away, arbitrarily; signifying that any state entity that takes away one’s freedom, must be held accountable to an independent court of law, that fairly adjudicates the appropriateness of such action so having been taken. That is why habeas corpus is so important, for the policing arm of the state must be held accountable to the Constitution of the state, and when that policing arm of the state has overstepped its bounds, wittingly or not, such needs to be rectified for the good of the people of that state; for this country was created to secure the blessings of liberty for its people as opposed to having such capriciously taken away.

Home of the unfree

America has all sorts of mottos, sentiments, great speeches and the like, but as they say, the proof is in the eating of the pudding.  The United States likes to toot its own horn about how great it is, first in this and first in that, but seems to not be so proud of the inconvenient fact that no country has more of its own citizens, incarcerated than America so does.  To wit, despite China having over four times the amount of people in its population, America has more people incarcerated in total; and despite the fact that India has over four times the amount of people in its population, America actually has over four times as many of its own people in comparison to India, incarcerated.  It would be one thing if all of this incarceration, made America the safest, most free, and most secure nation in the world, but it has not.  It would be another thing if all this incarceration was so done through a speedy and public trial, with the verdict so being decided by an impartial jury of one’s peers, but that isn’t the case either; as the overwhelming amount of people so incarcerated have often been coerced or pressured into their pleas, without ever having their actual say in a court of law.

America isn’t free and has no intention in the near future, of ever changing that.  The main reason why this is so can be attributed to the great disparity of wealth and income that the elite and privilege so have, as compared to a wide swath of the population that have nothing, are often ill-educated, exploited, used, and segregated into zones of utter poverty, despair and hopelessness.  American thereby finds it to its benefit to abuse, intimidate, and incarcerate all those that have the temerity to try to make something out of their own lives by the means so available to them, so as to in perpetuity keep those people in their place, and to serve notice to those just above them, that America will utilize whatever policing actions that are necessary to keep the population down and compliant, so that the superrich can live their lives in the lap of luxury at the expense of the people, in whole.

That which is actually the land of the free and the home of the brave, would make it their policy to show their courage and their foresightedness by demonstrating in action, that this country, knows how to take care of their own, by its forgiveness, its generosity, its care, its concern, its giving, its justice, its fairness, and its persistence in fighting the noble fight against all of that which is wrong and mistaken.  That which is actually the land of the unfree and the home of the cowards, would do all that it could possibly conceive of to do, to silence those that they will not kowtow to the power of that nation, and would demonstrate time and time again, its injustice, its unfairness, its corruption, its bullying, and its wickedness by oppressing in particular, all those that are weak and vulnerable, while also always being mindful to keep its heavy boot upon the prone necks of those that will not pay total obeisance to that state.

While America should be the land of liberty, and a liberating beacon of illuminating light for all other nations to follow; it is instead, no more than a mirage of such, and in reality, for many of those so oppressed, a literal hell on earth.