“To amass military power without regard to our economic capacity would be to defend ourselves against one kind of disaster by inviting another.”

In President Eisenhower’s 1953 State of the Union address, he stated, the quotation seen above.  Recognize, as well, that Eisenhower was both the former Supreme Allied Commander during World War II, in addition to being an esteemed five-star general; so then, for an absolute certainty he understood the military at its deepest possible level, which signified that his words absolutely were germane as well as being absolutely relevant.  Yet, here we stand, decades upon decades later, and the military-industrial-technology complex has never had more monies allocated to it, despite the fact that America has not had a Congressional declared war since World War II.  It would be one thing, if America had subsequently become a country in which every single citizen lived above the poverty level, in safe neighborhoods, with good public educational systems, and adequate healthcare, but that isn’t the case, at all.  Indeed, America runs incredibly high national government deficits, of which, the military-industrial-technology complex has clearly been allocated billions upon billions of dollars, that have essentially been siphoned away from the necessary infrastructure and the needs of its own citizenry in order to feather the beds of those of that complex, at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable of Americans.

The disaster that Eisenhower warned us of, is upon us, of which this is the salient reason why America trails so many of its contemporaries in regards to a fair and more equitable distribution of income and wealth; along with America consistently ranking no better than mediocre in testing scores of its high school students, which is further compounded by the rather inconvenient fact, that America’s functional illiteracy rate is embarrassingly high.  So too, the good health and life expectancy of the citizens in America -- which is the exact same nation that represents the breadbasket of the world, is extremely disappointing in comparison to other western nations.  Further, America in comparison to those other western nations, suffers from significantly higher rates of violent crime as well as incarceration. 

America seems to live by the motto of “might is right,” which while being good business for the military-industrial-technology complex, does nothing of substance to help to ameliorate, let alone eliminate poverty from this nation.  While there is absolutely no doubt that America’s military power and prowess is second to none; what has not occurred is what should have occurred, which is America should lead the world in being the greatest nation that the world has ever seen in regards to the standard of living of all of its citizens, which it clearly does not successfully represent.

Every armament so made and subsequently utilized is an armament that is in essence, used for a destructive and not a constructive purpose.   No civilization of merit could conceivably be built up by exclusively destructive acts, for clearly what is needed instead is well planned out constructive acts to be performed, in order for that civilization to thereupon have a fair opportunity to grow and to improve itself.    In America, it seems to be that those that run it, prefer for America to be a feared nation, as opposed to it being a fair and just nation.  Those, though, that reject justice and fairness, for might, as if such is right, are doomed to ultimately reap the bitter fruits of such a short-sighted and misguided philosophy.

The continual betrayal of the 14th and 15th Amendments

Upon the conclusion of the War Between the States, the 13th-15th Amendments were ratified; of which the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th Amendment defined citizenship, therefore permitting those that were previously enslaved to become citizens, and the 15th Amendment codified the enfranchisement of blacks, previously denied the power and privilege of voting.  This subsequent change was profound, for those blacks so living in the Southern States, were many in numbers, and those franchised numbers meant for the first time that blacks actually got local, county, State, and Federal representation, and of which the first black so elected to the House of Representatives was Hiram Rhodes Revels in 1870; yet, only 32 years later, George H. White became the last black congressman in that body; until Oscar DePriest in 1928, was elected, but not to a Southern congressional district, but instead to a district, dominated by blacks in Chicago. 

So, in effect, though the Civil War ostensibly freed blacks, and gave blacks both citizenship as well as voting rights; the Southern white infrastructure, though defeated, ultimately were able to snatch back everything that they had lost in the Civil War and basically returned the black man to a condition of abject peonage, in those re-constituted Southern States, and it was not until 1971, when the District of Columbia was allowed Congressional representation, that any black man from the South was part, once again, of the House of Representatives, through the special election of Walter Fauntroy, of which Representative Fauntroy was a non-voting delegate to that body.

This thus signifies that the blood, sweat, and tears so devoted in good measure so as to defeat those that seceded from this Union of States, with these rebels also drawing first blood in that Civil War, that cost the lives of so many, were, in essence, never put out of business, but only temporarily did they have to cede some of their power, which they ultimately claimed with a vengeance, right back.  So what of those of color, that were clearly not represented in this national government, as well as local, State, and county governments for decades upon decades, and of which, the racial gerrymandering within States, as now in effect in the present day, still diminishes their fair representation?

This country is supposed to be a country of meritocracy, justice, fairness, and opportunity, yet it has historically closed the door upon all those that do not match the color of those that are the power brokers of it, and even when those of color are able to get some sort of representation, it appears that that representation is always to be a subset of their actual franchised or should-be franchised numbers.  This is indicative of a systemic problem which has not been robustly resolved through Constitutional Amendments or even through strong Civil Rights laws, but remains until this day, an ever-present thorn in the side of those that are still on the receiving end of suffering through this perpetual raw deal.

All that said, at least American governance deserves some credit for attempting to be a "melting pot" of different creeds, nationalities and opinions; but alas attempting is not the same thing as accomplishing, and any governance that fails to live by the spirit of the law, is that governance which has betrayed its liberty and justice for all.

“The soul that is within me no man can degrade”

The above quotation comes from the inestimable Frederick Douglass and is as apropos now as it was back when it was first stated.  The dilemma that we have is that so many of us living in this material world, are unable to disassociate ourselves from our five senses, alongside of our ego that pretty much acts as if it is captain of the ship; but that mindset isn't correct, as that which is physical is not eternal, and that which we so often treat as being permanent actually is not.  In reality, we are our soul, and that soul, is eternal, unchanging, and perfect.  All the human errors that we make, as well as the good that we do, are part and parcel of the adventure that incarnating into human form onto this earth, so provides; but that which limits and hinders us in this world, does not exist in our soul, it never has and it never will.

We are born into this world to take on the identity that we agreed to incarnate in, and once brought into this dimension, we while being masters of our own thoughts, our decisions, as well as the deeds so done, are not though able to ever make this world bend to our desires, for we have not the power, and never will.  Once here, we have to play by the rules that this planet represents, fair or foul, and within this dimension, all sorts of things are going to happen, of which we are merely the players within a grand play.  This does not indicate that what we do or say, here, does not matter, for it most certainly does; but rather that what so happens here, affects not our soul, but rather the aura of what we believe that we so represent and of which we are ultimately the ones solely responsible in the re-aligning of ourselves to the universal law of Godliness, or if we insist, to exist instead in a void, outside of pure blissfulness.

While we should shed tears for injustices so done, of which humanity spends and exerts far too much energy in such negativity; it is wise to also recognize, what Frederick Douglass know for a certainty, that no other human being or institution of this world, can take away or degrade our soul, for our soul is God, and God is immutable, unchangeable, and perfection.   Those that believe, that Christ crucified, was indicative of a game in which Christ was the loser; know not what they are talking about.  That which is eternal, cannot ever be vanquished; Christ's visible resurrection was proof of that; and those that get so caught up in worldly affairs so as to believe that there is no other existence beyond what they can see in the mirror, are delusional, for the physical is never the master of the eternal.

This world is a proving ground, so provided for each one of us, to demonstrate in action, as to whether our existence here, helped to make society better for our efforts, or not.  Those that have failed in that task, have not degraded their soul, but they have stepped away from that which is the necessary part for their needed advancement, and that, thereof, is the challenge that all must eventually successfully pass.

The Commander in Chief is pretty much a paper tiger

The President of the United States, who is statutorily limited to no more than two terms, or eight years, is per Constitutional law, the Commander in Chief of the armed forces; of that there is no issue, but recognize this, that unlike a given monarch or a dictator, the President of the United States, because of term limits, is functionally only going to be in charge of those armed forces for a relatively short period of time; as opposed to generals, who though seemingly under the President’s command, can literally serve for decades.  Further to the point, the United States is a global empire, with a defense budget, which is absolutely gargantuan, so to believe that somehow, the President, is in effect, the Commander in Chief, in any real meaningful sense, is disingenuous.

In point of fact, it would be truer to state, that Presidents, whether a Democrat or a Republican, come and go, but those that run the military-industrial-technology complex, seemingly keep on serving, continuously, irrespective of whether a Democrat or a Republican is elected as President.  One would think, that upon election, that a given President, might want to change who and who not were the generals that the President would like to see serve under that Presidency; something more in line with the fact that the President seldom keeps any former cabinet members from the previous party’s administration, but typically appoints their own; yet with a few exceptions, here and there, pretty much generals keep on keeping on, regardless of who the Commander in Chief is.

All this basically signifies that despite the title of Commander in Chief, the military-industrial-technology complex, bows to no President, but rather trains that President in the way that things actually are, as compared to perhaps how things were meant to be.  So then, when pliant mass media outlets talk about this President’s war or that President’s war, they are not being forthright, for they know that such wars, engagements, battles, and strikes against foreign enemies and targets are actually determined by that military-industrial-complex without any meaningful input or much debate from the Commander in Chief.

Again, logic tells us that any outsider, such as a President, has absolutely no hope of impressing their demands upon any institution, let alone the biggest and mightiest institution, if that outsider, does not control all the underlings of significance that are necessitated in order to therefore have their specific demands and desires so met.  The President is essentially working with career military officers, who know for a certainty that the President simply does not have the working knowledge, let alone the insider secret knowledge, to impact or even to influence much of anything that these generals are involved with.  This basically means that the wars and engagements that this nation involves itself in, come almost exclusively from the military-industrial-technology complex, for Congress ceded its power to “declare war” decades ago to that same complex, and hence the President for all intents and purposes, is reduced to the simple role of being the Chief Cheerleader.

Those that wonder why America insists upon being a global empire and thereby putting its nose into everybody else’s business time and time again, are barking up the wrong tree when they blame the President for such; as opposed to blaming the military-industrial-technology complex, though that is an unelected power that answers not to the people.

Your best necessitates harmony with the attributes of God

We are instructed throughout our life from all sorts of people and institutions, to do our best; but seldom discussed is the foundation that needs to be so created, so that each one of us, can actually perform at our absolute best.  After all, if the foundation is wrong, of which, it is, for instance, ever shifting, as if built upon sand, then our performances are going to not only be uneven and unbalanced, but they are ultimately not going to be our best, even when we are “so-called” giving it our best.  All those that truly want to achieve great accomplishments, must know for a certainty, that first we must not only master the basics so of, but we also need to have good core principles, that we stand securely upon, of which, these principles are not only correct, but strong and sturdy enough, that such can steadily withstand the strong and violent winds of adversity, jealousy, and hate.

In society, there are plenty of clever people, but mere cleverness is not often actually of any real benefit for humankind; so too, there are plenty of studious and smart people, but those that have learned well, do not by definition, necessarily know how to properly apply that knowledge for the overall good of society.  The very first thing to understand is that we are all in this together, and therefore any mindset that requires for its success some degree of exploitation of the other, is not going to be correct, for if in our getting ahead, we have to take advantage of the other, this is ethically wrong.  Further to the point, all those that put their ambitions ahead of morality and ethics, through their actions, directly or indirectly, are absolutely blind to being their best, for that pathway that they are on is clearly crooked, and is thereby not straight.

When we look for guidance through our intuition, prayer, worship, study, or reflection, it is important to comprehend fully that those that truly wish to be at their best, must be in harmony with the attributes of God; which are known by characteristics, such as selflessness, giving, patience, determination, forgiveness, fairness, temperance, prudence, and faith.  Ideally, we want to take on the aura of all those attributes that are most admirable as well as being necessary in order to help thereby to build and to create valued friendships, good neighborhoods, and to bring out the best in ourselves, as well as to contribute to doing so in others.

Most people wish for good things, but wishing is never the same thing as doing.  Additionally, those that wish for this or that, but have not taken the necessary and fundamental steps so needed to develop the core good characteristics to consistently be their best, are not going to find the lasting success that they so are wishing for.  First things come first, and this thus means that each one of us, needs to firstly recognize that all that which is not in harmony with God’s attributes is harmful not only for our own development, but for others, as well.  So then, make it your point to be that which you were always meant to be, by having the discipline and determination to be a true child of God, by being in harmony with that which knows right from wrong, and then, do your best to do right, always.

“…the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them, and the social conditions that cripple them…”

Back in 1959, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. expressed his viewpoint that any religion, let alone its government, that permits or does nothing to ameliorate or to correct the conditions that damns, cripples, and strangles the common man, is a religion which is moribund, and by implication, a government that has lost its justification, its integrity and its purpose.  Yet, decades later, while on the one hand, we can see that some meaningful progress has indeed been made, it must also be noted, that the same slums, and the same poor economic and social conditions are still eviscerating the opportunity and advancement of far too many Americans to the degree that their situation is well-nigh hopeless; and that is not the way that it should be, especially in consideration that America has all of the resources so needed to do the right thing, but not the will power or the follow through to actually accomplish such.

Every American deserves a fair chance to become something of merit, and the best way for that to occur is to see to it, that each American is provided with a good education, proper healthcare, safe housing, and nutritional food.   That is the minimum structure so needed to help out those that lack those very accouterments at the present time.  Further to the point, in order to have good citizens, each citizen needs to feel that they are an integral part and parcel of the great fabric that makes up this country, of which, part of achieving that goal comes down to the salient fact that all people that labor need to be properly compensated with a living wage; for all those that don’t make a living wage are thereby placed in the unenviable position of being both vulnerable as well as unstable in regards to their livelihood and their adequate existence.

There are far too many Americans that are impoverished, and none of this will improve, if the conditions that create this impoverishment are not fundamentally corrected to deal with what is all so visible, for anyone that cares enough to see it.  America has proven again and again that it can achieve incredible goals with remarkable speed, when it puts its head to the grindstone, is funded properly, and works with purpose to achieve those goals.  The fact that poverty and poor infrastructure is so systemic in America, is a true reflection that those that are the decision makers in this country, do not care to address what should be addressed in a meaningful manner.

One can measure and value a nation in any number of different ways, of which, one fair way, is how that country treats its poorest and most vulnerable of its citizens, for that, then, reflects fairly the soul of that nation.  In that regard, America should properly receive a failing grade, made all the more telling by the inconvenient fact that despite all of its resources and all of its strengths, it still has the same slums, and the poor economic and social conditions, that existed decades upon decades ago, with absolutely no prospect that any of this will change for the better, ever.

The hypocrisy of this a nation of immigrants

There are times, depending to a significant degree, on who is or who is not controlling the narrative, that some American are most vociferous in their belief, that this nation, the United States of America, is not now and never has been a nation of immigrants.  This is a lie, because those that founded what became the United States of America, were primarily Europeans that immigrated to this land, of which, this land, was not their own. Additionally, those people brought here against their will, as in enslavement, are themselves, immigrants, as well.  

Somewhat disappointingly, a lot of the desire to protect our borders from illegal immigration and the like, has more than a hint of hypocrisy to it; for there seems to be a belief, that it was fine for certain people to immigrate here, but that was back then, but this is now, and therefore there should be steps that must be adhered to for those now desiring to immigrate here, and illegal immigration is therefore both wrong and inimical to the integrity of the United States.

As true as that might be, and in understanding that there are sensible reasons why any country, should and needs to have sensible immigration policies to adhere to, what seems to be missing from the discussion is that if America really believes that what it so represents is the best form of governance in the world, which is thereby second to none; then one would logically think that America would thereby highly desire to see more immigration to this land, in order to take in all those that want to be part of the American experience as well as this land of opportunity, so as to therefore strengthen the fabric of this country, as opposed to locking them out.

There are a lot of reasons why some people are so bent on being against immigration, of which, a lot of that resentment, really comes down to the fact that people mistakenly believe that the more people that immigrate here, that aren’t the “right” people, then the less goods and benefits that there will be available for those that are already here.  If that was true, that would make sense; in fact, if more immigration meant less jobs for those that were born here, that would also make sense; but the reality of the situation is that humankind’s limits are limited only by its imagination, work ethic, and ingenuity.

Further to the point, it takes a whole lot of gall, for those that have been fortunate enough to be born here and to thereby become citizens by the simple virtue of that birthplace to somehow forget that their ancestors immigrated from a foreign land, for this then, is hypocrisy.  America is a very large nation in the sense of landmass, and while its population is fairly large, it pales in comparison to both China and India, so there is definitely plenty of room to grow; and it should also be acknowledged that America still represents the breadbasket of the world, along with having the strongest university system in the world, as well. Finally, there would be less illegal immigration to this country, if the policies put in place by governmental officials was far more accommodating and well-nigh encouraging for those desiring legal immigration by therefore increasing substantially the amount as well as the complexion of those so being permitted to immigrate here.  That then, would be consistent with a nation of immigrants, and would do justice to those immigrants that put forth the noble effort to build this nation into what it is today.

America has way too many low-wage paying jobs

According to brookings.edu “….53 million Americans between the ages of 18 to 64—accounting for 44% of all workers—qualify as “low-wage.” Their median hourly wages are $10.22.”  The sheer number of Americans that have low-wage jobs, is the very reason why the government needs to do far more to provide material assistance to those low-wage workers, along with making it a top priority to see that the minimum wage for employed workers is raised substantially for them, and as soon as possible.  The fact that there are so many low-wage workers in America with incomes that clearly don’t represent a living wage, is indicative that labor unions are no longer a material factor in America, and in absence of vibrant and effective labor unions, the national government has itself a duty to step in and see to it, that those that work, should receive compensation which is commensurate with a living wage.

The fact of the matter is that a significant swath of Americans is lacking in the power to negotiate the wages that they are going to be paid, and in absence of any meaningful regulations that will provide such to those that need it, they thus find themselves falling ever further behind, by virtue of the fact that the minimum wage over the years has neither kept in step with inflation, or productivity growth. In this same time, it is quite obvious that the superrich have themselves gotten ever richer, which is the direct consequence of taxing policies which are ineffective, as well as the fact that the government favors the elite, over the regular people; which probably has a lot to do with those that have lots and lots of money having both power and influence to boss their way, so as to get what they want.

When FDR was President, a new deal was legislated into place, which was very influential in the creation of the vibrant American middle class and of providing the safety net so needed for those that were the least and most vulnerable.  Decades later, America is still the wealthiest nation that the world has ever known, which signifies that America should be embarrassed and ashamed that it has such a huge portion of its population that is ill educated, ill fed, with poor healthcare, and are living in environments that aren’t healthy or all that safe. Because of this massive American wealth disparity which increases by the day, those that have it all have never had it any better; as contrasted to all those that have nothing, and are provided with a deal so rotten, that their dilapidated infrastructure provides them with no reasonable chance to extricate themselves from a very poor situation.

If this really is a government, of, for, and by the people; then it is high time for that government to utilize effectively its power to help level the playing field, so that those that are at the short end of the stick, at least get a little something of value from the American dream -- rather than those that have more than enough wealth for generations upon generations to come, getting ever more, at the expense of all those that have never even been provided with a fair chance or a stable base to build their own foundation upon.

“For your own protection” and other lies

One could say that semantics absolutely matter, and they seem to really matter when we hear things that are being done to us or for us, “for our own protection.”  It would be one thing, if that statement was actually true, in which a good Samaritan, for instance, interjected their self into a situation in which they actually protected us from some harm, of which, that does occasionally occur.  However, for the most part, when we hear things that are being done to us “for our own protection,” that typically is code for our freedom being taken away or our being denied something that we really want.

That is to say, for example, people use credit cards every single day, of which, a lot of times, the process of using such is seamless but there are also those other times when our credit card has been put on hold or frozen by the issuer and therefore that credit card is precluded from being used for a given transaction, in which, we as consumers, actually really needed that particular credit card charge to go through, right then and there.  Those that are bold enough or angry enough, to call up their credit card company about such a charge being declined, invariably find after going through the seemingly endless process of verifying who they are, that their credit card charge was denied “for their own protection,” which absolutely makes no sense when the person so calling is holding the very credit card with their name on it.  In truth, when credit card companies tell us that they have declined our credit card for our own protection, they are typically being disingenuous, for they aren’t actually protecting us, they are, in fact, protecting themselves; of which, typically, that particular credit card transaction has been flagged by some algorithm as being suspicious or fraudulent and because these credit card companies don’t want to be caught “holding the bag” of those charges so being made, they therefore declined what has been flagged as fraudulent or suspicious, for their safety comes before our convenience.

So too, those that are authority figures, such as parents or law enforcement officers, have a habit of saying that whatever is happening in which our freedom is being taken away from us, that this is “for our own protection;” but in reality, oftentimes these words are just used as an excuse to control us for the authoritarian figures’ benefit, and seldom for our own. In reality, most people know for a certainty when they need protection and when they do not, and more times than not, the times that we most critically need protection, there is no protection to be found; whereas, those times when we really don’t need protection, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by people that say they want to protect us and then proceed to do so in a manner in which we don’t really have a choice, which typically is not protection, but rather is the equivalency to constraint through coercion. 

In life, the least that we deserve is for people to say what they mean, and mean what they say, and most of those that claim that they want to protect us, really want to take our freedom away, in one form of another, which isn’t protection, at all.

The Martinsville Seven and government sanctioned lynching

In 1949, a white woman accused multiple black men of raping her at night, in Martinsville, Virginia, and of which, seven young black men, were subsequently put on trial, of which, no doubt, their "confessions" were an integral part of getting each of them convicted of rape, by an all-male and all-white jury.  All this occurred way before the day of DNA evidence and other typical forensic evidence that we would typically see in a rape trial of today.  The ultimate penalty for these seven young black men, was for each one of them to be executed by the state, through electrocution which was duly performed in 1953.  So then, in so many words, through the testimony of one white woman, essentially, seven black men were lynched by the state.

The actual events of the evening in question, may not ever be known for a certainty; what is certainly known, though, is that seven young black men were executed, which seems clearly to be a gross injustice, especially in consideration that a black woman, under similar circumstances, would not even get a hint of a trial of seven young white men so accused of raping her, and for a certainty none of those would ever be up for a possible death penalty, if somehow tried and convicted.  This signifies, what pretty much anybody of any reasonably sound mind, should know, that in America, back then, as well as America right now, that race plays an integral part in justice so served, and therefore justice is, in effect, not blind in American jurisprudence.

Further to the point, when law so being enforced, is clearly racist, and of which, this type of racism, can readily be proven, by simply looking at court records in detail, taking into account decisions so made by a jury consisting exclusively of the favored race, against the convictions so of, of the unfavored race, the only reasonable conclusion to reach is that those that are unfavored, are at a distinct material disadvantage to those that are favored.  Additionally, it would be one thing if such favoritism, consisted solely of better seats on a bus, better drinking fountains, better service at restaurants, and so on and so forth, but, in reality, that to a certain extent is just a symptom of a corrupt system, when taken into consideration the material fact, that those of color who are in the wrong place at the wrong time, or placed there by the authorities, licit or illicit, are in imminent danger of forfeiting their life, not only through extrajudicial justice which is one thing, but also through the facade of state sanctioned fair justice, which is an entirely different thing.

The state has the highest of duties to abide by Constitutional law, and seven black men being executed in cold blood, for the alleged rape of one white woman, is never going to be just.  Justice such as that, is the very reason why so many blacks were terrorized and lynched, back in the day, because those so serving that veneer of impartial court justice, were themselves, often racists of the highest order, who utilized the power of the state to effectively "lynch" those that needed to be taught a permanent lesson, so done, through the sanction of governmental law, grossly misapplied.

Neville Chamberlain: “Peace for our Time “

In 1938, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, had the unenviable task of somehow appeasing Hitler's Germany in such a way that a bloody European war would not be necessary between Germany with its allies, such as Italy, versus Great Britain with its allies, such as France.  At that point in time, Chamberlain was successful in getting Hitler to come to an agreement which appeared to be just what was needed to avert a war, which was the very purpose of his diplomacy.  Unfortunately, as history tells us, Hitler broke that treaty and his commitment to it, and eventually World War II, was the result.

History has not been kind to Chamberlain, who is often been portrayed as being manipulated and outplayed by Hitler, or just a plain fool.  Yet, history as written is always going to be 20:20, which isn't fair to the times as they happened, and in this particular case, does not seem to correctly understand that the very purpose of good diplomacy is to having a meeting of minds in which terrible catastrophes, such as war, are given the proper consideration and space so as to be avoided.  Those that try to achieve peace, even when they ultimately fail, have at least tried to do what they could to avert that which brings terrible destruction and death.

When Chamberlain met Hitler, he had an absolute obligation to at a minimum, delay such a war, and specifically to the best of his ability, to do what could be done to avert war, even at the cost of some degree of appeasement.  It must be said, that those that will not attempt to be peacemakers are not good diplomats, for humankind has too often shown a propensity to take the low road when it would be better for humankind to take the high road, and which, if that so means to give a little more to the other side in negotiations to avoid a terrible conflict, so be it.

So, Chamberlain did not achieve peace, but had he been dealing with somebody that was honorable, peace could well have been obtained; unfortunately, instead we got another World War, which somehow became known as the “good war”, though, war, is seldom, if ever, good.   Further to the point, to believe, somehow, that conflicts between nations should best be resolved with essentially the philosophy that “might makes right” is the very reason why so many nations are so prone to spending such gargantuan amounts of money on armaments and killing machines, as opposed to spending such money on things that would be beneficial and of material worth for the people, at large.  This is why it makes sense to try to make peace, and those that put forth the effort to do so, should be accorded respect.

Perhaps, Neville Chamberlain deserves to be remembered the way that history has portrayed him, as a weak-willed credulous Prime Minister, lacking even in integrity.  It would be better though, to remember Chamberlain as a man that did what he could to bring peace, knowing that if he failed in doing so, that there would be a terrible world war; of which, it must be said, that all those that insist upon the correct answer to conflict always being the use of the sword, represents the very reason why wars continue to this very day.

The Department of Homeland Security and the coming police state

The United States of America, has extensive military departments, including a National Guard, and within each locality, there is also law enforcement, of which, the expressed purpose of all these agencies, together, is for the defense of America and for the protection of its citizens.  Yet, when the Department of Homeland Security was created in 2002, this signified a new chapter in citizen safety, for its very creation, implied that the citizens of the United States, needed to be secure.

The most basic problem with Homeland Security, really begins with its name.  That name, seems to denote that this country, has an important obligation to see that this nation is both secured as well as protected; which begs the question, as to why it took this nation over 200 years to determine, that this specific department was needed for the security and protection of its people.  So too, this presupposes that in order for the people to be fully secured, that they must do their patriotic duty and therefore sacrifice some of their freedoms and precious liberty in order for that security to be truly effective.

Life in America, currently consists of the fact that the population is being constantly monitored through all sorts of agencies and devices, of which some of this is of an individual's own making as in social media, internet activity, and by virtue of the use of  one's cell phone; and some of this is the constant accumulation of all of the actionable information so being provided to various governmental agencies as a requirement to receive social benefits, or of employment, or of housing, or of healthcare, and the like.  A lot of this monitoring of the population, is something that is not only often covert, but it is invasive, along with it also being opaque, and of which, these government agencies appear to be a law of their own, with nobody actually representing the people being in a position to thereby independently monitor those that are ostensibly protecting the citizens from some real and present danger.

It is not an especially difficult task to sell the story that homeland security is necessary in order to protect the population, especially when the narrative so being propagated, is confirmed by pliant mega-media companies, who benefit by toeing the governmental line, while receiving their own benefits, in return.  Additionally, many citizens are only too willing to do their part to help keep this country safe, and therefore they are obedient to the state, in their apparent credulous belief that this is always the right thing to do.  The problem, though, is that when one's own government, knows absolutely everything about its own citizenry, it is the shortest of steps for that government to become unnecessarily oppressive in its own right, especially when that governmental security agency has all of the tools to assert itself, in a targeted way against those citizens who appear to be difficult and unyielding.

Homeland security's true function is to convince the vast majority of the population that they should trade their freedom for the protection of the state, of which most of those people do not seem to realize that once traded, freedom is a very hard thing to ever get back; for make no mistake about it, the government has all of the force and a significant amount of the law on its side, which means that they are no longer the people's servant, but are and mean to be a repressive master.

How bad do you want to be good?

Nobody is going to be perfect, even if they are trying to be perfect, and really want to be perfect, they just aren't going to be perfect; for it isn't possible, not even for one day, to attain that perfection.    Still, we can accomplish pretty much the same goal by simply being good one to another, by demonstrating patience, concern, generosity, caring, fairness, justice, and compassion in our interactions with those that we collaborate with day-by-day.  The thing is though, knowing what is the right thing to do, and thereupon executing upon it, consistently, is something that most of us need to improve upon, for we often fall short of that noblest of goals.

Most of the trouble that we get ourselves into, really involves our not being able to have the strength of character to hold the line in being good, but rather we give into weakness by letting our pride or our ego or our bad behavior to just get the better of us and therefore to subsequently do bad, rather than good.  Further to the point, it isn't good enough to be good, twenty-three hours out of the day, if that other hour, is one in which we are absolutely horrible in our behavior, for those bad deeds so done, can wipe absolutely clean the slate of the good cheer that we previously so spread.

So then, in consideration that since we aren't going to be perfect, the next best thing to aim to accomplish is to make those decisions that are beneficial for us as well as for those that we interact with, which therefore collectively serves to fairly define us as human beings.  So too, since it is inevitable that each one of us is going to fall somewhat short of what we really need to so attain, the important thing is to not only keep dusting ourselves off when we fall down, but to make it our point, to do better, day-by-day, so that therefore when we get to that fork in the road, we definitively take the right turn, and vow therefore to never look back, again.

Further, it is fair to state, just knowing what is right and knowing what is wrong, does not make a person's character good; for it is in the actual practice of the discipline to consistently do the right thing, that defines whether someone is in reality, good.  In truth, those that are good, are the type of people that have the self-respect and wisdom to not negatively react to situations, that a lesser person, by their poor judgment, would typically fall victim to.  Those of good character are willing to make a personal sacrifice, if need be, in order to maintain their focus on doing the right thing, by therefore keeping their ego and poor judgment under their control.

Ultimately, we are only as good as what we actually do, for the choice of being good is ours to make; for as free will beings, the only real question is actually how bad do we want to be good. The answer to that question, will be result of our life, fairly weighed through the impartial scales of wise justice, and of which ultimately those scales will favor one side or the other.

Employment: Separate and so unequal

When it comes to the labor force in America, their collective power in absence of strong and robust unions, that do the right thing by all of their constituents, grows ever weaker by the day.  The most insidious of things that some employers do is essentially to create separate classes of workers, in which the favored class of laborers are full-time workers, with designated benefits, and some sort of secured employment.  For them, life appears to be really good.  However, for certain newly hired employees, or employees who are classified in jobs in which the skill level so needed is less, those same employers do not provide the same sort of benefits to these lesser employees, and additionally the job security so desired by them is nearly entirely absent.  What has effectively happened is that the employer has deliberately created two classes of employees, those that are privileged and those that are not; of which, the privileged employees when it comes to their salary and the like, are often aligned and beholden to their employer, and pretty much as long as they are kept satisfied, they don't really concern themselves about that other separate and unequal class of employees.

So then, while there are all sorts of tricks of the trade of eliminating, breaking and eviscerating unions, certainly one of the more effective ones, is to divide and to conquer; in which thereby the employees that are considered to be of more material value, are treated differently, than those that are perceived to be more readily replaceable and therefore those privileged employees don't see the upside of being unionized.  That is why it is so important for unions, when they represent workers, to represent well all of the workers, as opposed to only some of them, because once certain employees decide that they don't need or don't desire union representation because they find that cooperation with the boss is the apparent better deal for them, the balance of the workforce is pretty much left high and dry -- without power and without representation.

The bottom line is that employers are very savvy about doing what is best for them and their pocketbook, and if that means treating some employees in a manner in which they are disposable, underpaid, and replaceable, they are going to have a strong tendency to do exactly that; especially when there is no pushback from their core employees.  The problem though for those that think they have it so good as an employee in the privileged class, is that employment needs as well as the changes in today's high-paced world are very fluid, and when it comes to the greed of employers, such is never satiated over the long term, but only in the short term, which means that all those employees that considered themselves to be "irreplaceable" today, may yet wake up to face a very rude day.

In short, when the employer has all of the power, and the labor force, has none, except for those that believe that they are essential; recognize this truth, that the most aggressive of employers see those that they employ as always being an expense, and therefore they are always looking for a way to lower those expenses, and they won't ever stop their relentless search to do that, because, for them, making more money always trumps a mere employee, every day of every week.

FDR's Economic Bill of Rights

In January of 1944, President Roosevelt's message to Congress on the state of the union, was a speech that many citizens in today's America are completely unaware of; and of which, the rights for the  economic improvement,  especially for the most vulnerable of American people, so expressed in this speech, have not even come close to ever coming to fruition  What the President so desired to see was that in recognition that America was the premier economic nation in the world, that therefore it was time to recognize and to validate that every American has the equal right to a good education, a decent home, adequate protection from economic fears, adequate medical care, freedom from unfair competition, freedom from domination by monopolies, and the right to earn enough income so as to obtain adequate food, clothing, and recreation for one's own household.

All of items in the above list should still be carefully looked at and studied, for the truth of the matter is, that not one of these economic rights, as propagated by the President, all the way back in 1944, not a single one of them has been fulfilled as of today; this over a period of time of over seventy-five years, and in fact, not a single one of these rights is even close to actually becoming part and parcel of the American experience, in this the richest nation that the world has ever known. 

The most important question to therefore ask, is why?  Why is it that America, with all of its riches, is still unable to fulfill these most sensible of economic rights, in this period of time, in which, America has been at the absolute top of its game, and yet has economically devolved into becoming a country of the haves that have it all, and the have nots, that have not a thing.  This is not the way that it should be, especially in consideration that the very purpose of having a national income tax in the first place -- which is progressive in nature -- is for the fair re-distribution to the people of the wealth so created. So too, the very point of estate taxes is to see that those that have had it all when so alive, are at the time of their physical death, compelled by governmental fiat to pass on a fair percentage of their wealth to those that are of the living, so that these seemingly forgotten citizens therefore have then their fair chance of opportunity.  Finally, the corporate titans that seem to run this country, should as a matter of course, be paying a much higher tax rate than the common man so does, rather than so often avoiding their responsible duties to that government which permits their perpetual artificial existence, in the first place.

The bottom line is that America really ought to stand for something of real merit, and what that should really be is an America which provides for each one of its citizens, a fair opportunity to be a home owner, to have a stable job, and basically to have all the accouterments that demonstrate that this nation really is the greatest nation that the world has ever known, by virtue of the fact, that even the least amongst us, has a place to call their own, good healthcare, money in their pocket, and the luxury of having the extra time to actually enjoy the best of America.

The age of majority

In the United States, the age of majority back in the 19th century was 21 years of age, and of which, those that were under the age of 21, were therefore effectively in the care of their parents, who thereby controlled their earnings, their income, and essentially their freedom.  It was not until the 21st century, that the age of majority for both male and female, was lowered to the age of 18, yet since that time, the United States for certain activities, such as in the buying of cigarettes, or in the drinking of alcohol, has raised the age back to 21, therefore providing what appears to be a situation, in which people at the age of 18, while being franchised to vote, as well as being subject to signing up for the military and therefore dying for their country in the service to it, somehow aren't considered worthy to legally smoke or drink, despite their majority age.

The age of majority is of critical importance for all those that desire the fruits of their labor, of which, not every parent so made, is a good parent for a given child, and hence some children are denied that which they fairly labored for by their parents who have the legal right to that labor, simply on the basis of their child's age, and not upon the content of that child's character or any fair consideration of the effort put forth to earn that money, by the person so making it.

The fact that the age of majority was lowered to the age of 18, should be something that is absolutely consistent throughout every avenue of those that have therefore become the age of majority; this is so needed so that there are not, in effect, two classes of adults -- which is a bastardization of what being an adult actually is, and makes for extremely poor law, along with it being absolutely inconsistent; for either the age of majority is 18 or it is 21, or some other age, but it should not be one age for this and another age for that.

Those that are adults often enjoy being in the catbird seat, and so, some of these are selfishly not all that interested in sharing power, or in ceding power; but rather they seem to prefer to spend inordinate amounts of time, writing about and talking about, how they need to protect our youth, or see to it that our youth are not subject to that which is inimical to them, which perhaps demonstrates the best of intentions, but such intentions often seem to serve a much more underhanded purpose, which is the turning back of the clock to those days when patriarchy was the iron law of the land.

People are defined by the decisions that they make, good or bad, and right or wrong, of which to believe that somehow, mere age, brings wisdom, is insulting to all those that have intelligence, sensibility, maturity, and discernment, but aren't old.  To believe, that somehow, father knows best, is belied by all the fathers that don't know best; and further to believe that the government of supposed do-gooders knows what is best is fundamentally flawed for their governmental actions seem to indicate the very opposite. Those that that have reached the age of majority are entitled to all of their rights, not some sort of subset to such, for true liberty deserves no less than 100% of it, or it isn't liberty.

“…the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today…”

The above quotation comes from the incomparable Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1967, in his speech known as “Beyond Vietnam.” Quite regrettably, one year exactly from this date, he was assassinated. The answer as given to the question as to who is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world as of 1967, was as stated by Dr. King, the United States of America. Of course, during this time, the United States was in its escalation phase on its war to “liberate” Vietnam from communist insurgents, even though this war was more accurately, a civil war, and of which, Vietnam is in no close proximity to the United States. Sadly, over fifty years later, one could make the very same argument that the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today, is still the United States, for it likes to bring war onto country after country, and prefers to do so by bombing, mining, and pretty much doing all that can be done to make life miserable for those that are unfortunate enough to live within the borders of a country, that the United States, feels must be both “shocked and awed.” For all those, that don’t believe this statement is true, one must wonder, with America having the largest annual military budget by over $500 billion over any other nation, how it could possibly be conceivable that some other country brings even more violence.

Additionally, the violence within the domestic borders of this the land of the free, is absolutely staggering in the consideration that this is supposed to be the land of opportunity, egalitarianism, racial equality, and justice. But, in actuality the ever-growing disparity between the haves and have nots, alongside of a bifurcated America which while having the best of best in regards to education, healthcare, and income for the fortunate – is also the very same country that has ghettos of despair, in which hope, opportunity, and fairness, is virtually completely absent for the unfortunate. So too, the ill health of America is shown by its entertainment industry which too often glorifies gratuitous violence, loveless sex, and amoral stories, in order to provide a looking glass, for those that have nothing to really look forward to and no good driven purpose in life.

We learn from those that are around us, and through the behavior good and bad, of those that would lead us. When the richest nation that the world has ever known, insists that “…Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists…” this is indicative of a nation that has clearly lost its way and has abandoned its moral compass as apparently being too confining. It is extremely disappointing, that the military-industrial-technology complex of today is arguably far more dangerous than it was at the height of the misbegotten Vietnam war. The fact that this efficient military killing machine has mastered how to kill and to destroy without having to necessarily put many boots on the ground; so done by utilizing drones, robots, and sophisticated computer technology to track, target and to eradicate whatever it so desires, with a pliant press that hears and sees nothing amiss, and pretty much says nothing to rock the boat, is reflective that the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today, has only gotten appreciatively better at this the most disappointing of trades.

Good governance and the necessary restraint of the majority

While there is something to be said about majority rule; recognize that there are different degrees of majorities; of which clearly when a proposition or candidate wins, the plurality of that vote and the count so of, should be considered to be relevant, and especially so, when the vote is very close. After all, if 49.99% of the population, is on the losing side, their voice, should not be silenced, as if they had no validity, but rather, if anything, because the vote was so close, their voice deserves to be heard as having actual legitimacy, as that seems intuitively to be fair. But even in those cases in which one side wins by a landslide, the majority should not by virtue of that mandate, ever be in the position in which unalienable rights as well as Constitutional rights are revoked from that side which lost, for to do so, essentially affirms that governments should be permitted to be majority tyrannical, via some deviant sort of majority rule philosophy, so that the majority should therefore do all of the ruling, and the minority or the losing side, just has to accept it as being democratically valid.

For a certainty, those that are in the majority of this or that, are rightfully entitled to the fruits of their victory, but not so in a manner which revokes or takes away sovereign rights of the people, in whole. That is to say, that Constitutions are constructed so that nations are thereby ruled by a set of laws, adjudicated as necessary in a court of law, with the ability to add or modify laws as properly legislated, of which, the constraint so of is that the Constitution is the highest law of that land and that the people, majority or not, are the beneficiaries of that Constitution, so created for their good welfare.

In any system of governance, one of the purposes of such, is to see to it that the most vulnerable amongst that nation, that is, the people without an effective voice, the ill, the infirmed, the poor, the aged, and the disenfranchised, are provided with the robust protection of that government to preclude them from being thereby exploited, abused, or treated as something less than their full rights of being a citizen of the very same nation entitle them to. After all, in America, there are not different classes of citizens, and to thereby believe, that the majority are the de facto higher class, whereas, the minority is the implicit lower class, are the very seeds that create trouble, division, and dissent.

Those that are the representatives of the people, have a hallowed obligation to represent all of the people, and to be fair to those people -- as opposed to falling into the trap of just serving factions, and hence taking care of only those that they believe they have an obligation to, or feel beholden to, in order to continue to secure their favor or vote -- which while seeming just fine for the majority, this does a disservice to the minority, who in turn, should be dealt with, fairly.

Our true value

There a lot of people that believe that their worth is in the possessions that they have and the accomplishments that they have achieved, and while those things may indeed have merit, while also seeming to matter quite a lot to other people, to believe somehow that this represents therefore our ultimate value is fundamentally flawed. Rather, a better perspective is to understand that to the degree that our possessions have utility, and to the degree that our accomplishments contribute value to the betterment of society, that is to the good; however, our true value should not be measured by just that, but should instead be measured by who we are, in essence.

A game in which our constant focus is to keep up with the Joneses, should be seen for the distraction and the misstep that it so represents. So too, those that are overly concerned about how they are perceived by others, as if our validity should come through those others, are clearly barking up the wrong tree. Additionally, while one must give credit where credit is due, for those that have put their nose to the grindstone and have achieved through their perseverance and drive, achievements of real worth; to do so, while losing track of family obligations, or of friends, or of our Creator, though, is to value more, what should rightly be valued less.

In order to understand our true value, we first need to understand who and what we really are; for in knowing that, we therefore comprehend what we need to aspire to. Unfortunately, what so many people do, is that they don’t raise their sight, high enough; often getting so caught up in this material world, that they lose sight of the fact that they would be far better served and far more satisfied by improving their character so as to demonstrate in action to others, their empathy, their patience, their good advice, and their caring, one person to another, as opposed to just plain working hard. Ultimately, so many things in this world, are simply transitory, as well as being endlessly repeatable, of which, we don’t need then to overly participate in that which doesn’t make us a better person or a better neighbor but rather serves to distract us from the big picture and thereby the path that we need to be on.

If this life was really all about how much that we have or how powerful that we are, it would clearly be a construct in which there would never be any lasting happiness, especially because of the fear that we have of losing such. So then, anytime we are intimately involved in a situation, in which at least part of our success depends upon our exploitation or our taking advantage of others that aren’t as sharp, or savvy, that is going to be a society which will clearly divide into those that have, against those that have not; thereby sustaining the belief that this world is an ever-going battle of oppositional forces and not ever one of mutual cooperation. That mindset is fundamentally wrong, for that which we really are, implicitly understands that there is no limit in that which is limitless, and there is no division in that which is indivisible; signifying that this world is meant for us to search inside to thereby become that which enlightens us and to subsequently pass that knowledge on to those that are in a self-imposed darkness.

Rent Control?

In an era in which inflation appears to be distinctly on the rise and of which housing prices along with rental prices are at all-time highs, the question has to be asked about whether rent control is something that would be beneficial for that significant swath of the population that rents. The main problem for those that pay rent is that when their rent so being paid increases year after year, without any corresponding increase in their income to match that, this thereupon necessitates an ever-higher percentage of their income being devoted to that rent. Further to the point, those that own their own residence, of which they have, for instance, a fixed mortgage rate so set for thirty years, know for a certainty how much they are going to have to pay for their home, monthly, by those set mortgage payments, which for them, are absolutely consistent month by month, and year by year. Additionally, mortgage interest so paid, is deductible when it comes time for taxes, along with its corresponding property taxes; whereas, for those that rent, the payment of such, on a federal basis is not deductible.

If the landlord business was absolutely concentrated, such as, for instance, in the days of the company town, there would be an absolute need for there to be rent control; but unlike a significant number of businesses and corporations in America, today, those that rent properties, whether it be apartments, condos, or homes, is a very fragmented business with a good amount of true competition for those that so rent such. This means, that to a very great extent, the rent so being charged, is in fair accordance to what the market will bear. Obviously, in those cities and towns in which the amount of rental property is limited, but the desire or need to rent is high, then rental prices are going to be higher. So, a fair argument could be made, that for those that desire rent control, the same general result that they are looking for, would be better achieved, by more affordable property rentals being built in communities, so lacking in the appropriate number of rental properties to be had. In absence of this being done, a better alternative to rent control, would be some sort of subsidy being provided by the federal government for those so renting, based upon the income of the person and the rent percentage so being paid to such.

Those that are the biggest proponents of rent control, prefer not to take into account, that businesses and people that own rental property are not stupid; so to the degree that they can circumvent rent control, by simply not building in communities with rent control, they will have a strong tendency to do that; additionally, if an apartment unit can be converted to condos, they may well be tempted to do that; and in absence of good options, and thereby when facing a diminishing return on their investment, one would expect logically that rental maintenance and upkeep will be reduced significantly in its efficiency, because of rent control.

Finally, rent control from a renters’ perspective always favor those are currently inside the rental property as a given renter; at the expense of all those that will eventually need a rental place of their own, but now won’t be able to get an affordable one because those that know that they have a below market deal, aren’t readily going to give that up. As for rental investment, those with money, have something that is fungible, by definition, so that, if a particular community has rent control, they will simply find another area to invest in, that does not.