Zoning laws and control of the population

One might have a tendency to believe that the person so owning the land underneath their feet, has therefore a reasonable right to do what they so desire to do with that land, subject to fair rules and regulations as specified by governmental legislation.  Some rules and regulations that certainly would be considered reasonable, would be the regulation of those businesses that are chemical pollutants and the like, as well as housing structures being limited in height, so as to not obscure views of other property owners in the immediate area, and the sensibility to segregate business zone districts from residential areas, along with other practical things of that sort.

So, the fact that there are zoning laws certainty makes sense, but the application of those zoning laws as currently practiced in way too many jurisdictions, puts a lie to any real sensibility or consistency of what is actually going on. For instance, zoning laws seem to take into account, way more than necessary and way more than appropriate, what the residents within certain jurisdictions want to occur in “their” neighborhood. Not too surprisingly, nice neighborhoods are loath to welcome liquor stores, dense apartment structures, low-income housing, housing which permits short term rentals, and pretty much anything that would be accommodative of people that are not the “right” type of people, as defined by that neighborhood.  In other words, far too many neighborhoods, want and desire to be exclusive, for they feel that is the best way to protect as well as to augment the value of their property, which means that they need to force those that are not of their ilk, to live and essentially to congregate somewhere else.  Those other neighborhoods, though, that have no effective representation, and no political power or connections, are the very neighborhoods thereby targeted and susceptible to having to accommodate the riffraff and the fallen of society, for the un-championed have to be housed somewhere, of which, it seems to be the norm within America, that those without a voice, are destined to be compacted together into ghettos of neglect, abandonment, and hopelessness.

Further to the point, signifying how corrupt, zoning laws are in actuality, is the fact that just because land is designated and zoned for industrial businesses, or residential, or apartments, or even as non-development open space; those with money, connections, and influence, are often able to get land that was zoned for one use, to be zoned for an entirely different use, which, none too surprisingly, means a significant difference in the value of that land, and of which, those privy to such favorable zoning changes, are the beneficiaries of such. 

This government has made its point as in its rule of law, that separate is not equal; but America is nothing but separateness and segregation, of which, those with the money and power, live in beautiful enclaves of privilege; and those without, suffer the ill effects of living a lot of times not only in places of real neglect, danger, and misery, but also in places of which they unduly suffer the harm from pernicious pollutants.  This thus signifies that effectively zoning as applied is really a means to curtail the masses from bothering or even being seen by the rich and powerful, and hence zoning is practiced as a means to round up and to control the population, so that each knows their proper place.

There is unseen order

Some people for whatever reason want to believe that life itself, this world, and everything within it, is just random.   That belief may be a convenience for some, but it is an absolute falsity, as well as being a delusion.  In fact, there is an unseen order to everything that we are involved with, and our highest obligation is to find and to know that unseen order, and to thereby be in harmony with it.  Those that do this, will find the ultimate answer to all of their questions, and those that do not, might just do okay; then again, in whole, they will not.  In truth, all of the problems in this world, are a true reflection that the ignorance of that unseen order, is the basic substance of all that troubles and ails us.

There cannot conceivably be any higher calling than to find the truth of who and what we are, and thereby the why of our existence.  Those therefore that will not trouble their mind to actually contemplate upon this, are at best, simple-minded, and at worse, fools.  In just about every civilization, even those that have legally eliminated God, there is a deep and abiding desire of the people to find truth and meaning in their lives, so done through the reasonable belief that there is a God or something so representing such, and that this God is immutable, omnipotent, perfect, and prescient.  That is the reason why there is religion and religious organizations in just about every society, of which, the best of these religions remains those that are truly interested in the good welfare of their congregation, as well as society in general.

All that humankind discovers is to keep them engaged so as to continue their good search for that which first created it all.  So too, the advancements so made by humankind for the betterment of such, should be seen as a meaningful tribute not only to the human family, in general; but also, as a tribute to God.  On the other hand, those that purposefully ignore the truth, of this unseen order, or actively work against such, are making the error of putting that which was created as if it supersedes that which created such.  So too, those that place humankind upon the pedestal as if the measure of humankind is by humankind, are attempting to create their peculiar order, by ignoring that unseen order.

Here is the thing, this world should be seen as what it so represents, a proving ground.  Those that make the effort to become in harmony with that unseen order, are on the pathway to that which will bring the good ending to all of their sorrows, and enlightenment to their soul.  Those that do not, or care not to, are consigned to live within a construct in which whatever that they believe is their desire is perpetually to be like trying to secure liquid mercury, and therefore again and again, the satisfaction that they so need, will not ever be successfully held, for that which is really needed, is that unseen order, and none else. 

Why things always go down faster than they go up

Whether it’s specifically about the stock market, or about businesses, or life in general, when the times are good, it seems like those good days are going to never end, but they do so eventually end; and when those times begin to turn bad and then subsequently turn very, very bad, most of those that were on board to begin with, make it their point to change their mindset from being money hungry or greedy to just plain survival.  That is the essence of why things always go down a whole lot faster than up, because while just about everybody enjoys being part of the winning team, nobody ever wants to be the last person holding the bag on what has now become the losing team.

For instance, when a given company loses the confidence of its customer base, that relationship has fundamentally changed from one in which deals are made, honored and respected, to the very opposite of such.  Those that seemingly smell “blood in the water” now look at contracts with a jaundiced eye and will do everything possible to sabotage agreements that are cut and dry, by basically taking actions to preclude the agreement from being honored by the terms, that were previously agreed to in good conscience.  

Once one party no longer has an interest in continuing a relationship, even a relationship so done “for better or for worse,” then everything that was once considered to be the norm is subject to arbitrary change by that one party that no longer has a vested interest in continuing with it.  In truth, no matter how ironclad a given contract is, or the guarantees behind such, or promises so made; in actuality, a lot of what really goes on in relationships and businesses, is built upon mutual trust and the belief that being connected one to the other, is done so on a continuous basis, and once that belief is gone, or it has been irreplaceably damaged, it all begins to fall part; first slowly, and then very, very fast.

Most people aren’t stupid, rather, they are practical.  This thus signifies that when the dynamic changes, people are often perceptive enough, to make those adjustments so needed to keep their head at a minimum, above water, or even better, to excel whereas others might just hesitate or do nothing of substance.  Those that simply believe that a particular object in motion, will always continue that same motion, seem to have dismissed the reality that once that object meets another unanticipated object or something unstable that affects their object, then things will and must change.

Once confidence is irreparably breached, that relationship has changed.  Additionally, once one party determines that they are not in it for the long term and further that there isn’t any perceived downside to their taking particular actions which are detrimental to the other party, then such is probably going to happen.  As they say, nothing goes up forever, and the bigger that they are, truly, the harder that they do fall.

Defining sin

Lots of people like to define sin, so done, via different definitions, such as, for instance, in the disobeying of societies’ laws, or the disobeying of what humankind has defined as God’s law, or the disobedience to Natural law, and even of not doing what should be done in a particular situation; of which, all these are readily defined as sin, along with many other things of this sort.  Most people have a pretty good understanding of what sin is and pretty much know when they have sinned or not, though there are always going to be those people that are just plain ignorant or pretend to be such, even when they have done something wrong that is pretty unequivocal, when viewed fairly by outside parties.

Yet, there is another way to define sin, which while having similarities to the orthodox way of looking at sin, is different and profound in its own way. In point of fact, sin, is best defined as anything that breaks us from or has the effect of breaking our connection to, and thereby losing our friendship with God.  So basically, anything that separates us from God and therefore the good attributes of God, which thereby places us outside of our proper harmony with God, is that which is sin, big or small.

God should be our best friend, for God always gets it right, and God will never let us down; so then, to the degree so possible in our relationships with others, we find that those relationships are true, to the extent that each party represents in action -- love, forgiveness, justice, and faithfulness.  Anything less than that, doesn’t mean that our relationships have no value, but rather represents that there are improvements that need to be made to our character so that we can be of better temperate and by the virtue of being better, this means that we are therefore sinning less and less.

The first fundamental step in reducing our sinfulness, is to keep front and center in our mind’s eye, that in each and every interaction that we have with anybody, that we always will the good of that other person or entity.  That is to say, to not will the good of the other, is, by definition, sin; because when we do not wish for the best for somebody else, or actively make sure that the other person will be “cheated” through our actions or our inaction in some respect, then we have willfully made a decision that is meant to harm, hurt, or to damage another, which is wrong.

So too, any and everything that takes us away from God, because we know that act is wrong, which thereby infringes upon our good relationship with God, is sin.  It should be noted that it isn’t that our relationships with others in this world is somehow always going to be in enmity with our relationship with God, but rather, those personal relationships should serve to strengthen our friendship with God, so demonstrated by our good and righteous behavior one with another.  We are, always, in every minute of every day, representatives of God, so meant to prove to ourselves as well as to others, as to whether or not we are good stewards of the responsibilities so vested in us, or whether we are irresponsible, confused, and purposefully ignorant of who and what we really are, as children of God.

We are meant to stand up for those that are hurting

Life can be easy, life can be hard; of which, the reality of life for a significant swath of people, is that life too often is difficult, bleak, and harsh.  So then, each day we are provided with a fresh choice as to whether we will ignore those that are suffering and hurting, or whether we will do our fair part to help relieve some of that suffering and hurt by being a good and giving neighbor to our fellow brethren.

It isn’t so much that we shouldn’t be permitted to enjoy a good life ourselves, or that we should feel guilty for having a good time, but rather it is important to recognize that we should be driven, at least some of the time, to do our good part to make society a better place for our involvement within it.  This thus signifies, that those that are perhaps enjoying a little bit too much of the “good life” themselves, need to step down from their pedestal, from time-to-time, so as to willingly, not begrudgingly, engage with the greater world, which subsists of a fair number of people that need a helping hand, a willing ear, and some good company.

Each one of us should want to know how life really is for those that are struggling, so as to better appreciate not only where they are coming from, but also to have some insight into these particular troubles within society, which thereby provides us with a better perspective on our own favorable circumstances. So too, life isn’t necessarily always going to be a smooth ride for anybody, of which, those that have been blessed with good experiences, can after an unfortunate event, see their own lives decline into mediocrity and subsequently into far, far worse.   So then, it behooves everyone to recognize that we should really appreciate the good times and good circumstances as they come to us, for the future is uncertain, and thereby subject to the vicissitudes of life.

One would think that the most generous people in the terms of caring, empathy, and sympathy would have to be the most successful people, for they knowing how good life can really be, thereby show their appreciation for this by standing up for those that are hurting and thereby proactively do what they can to help alleviate sorrow and injustice for those that are forlorn.  In reality, this isn’t typically true, for a significant amount of the most generous and giving people, are actually those that themselves have personally suffered tragedy, setbacks, and hurt; who because they have been there, want to do their part to lend a helping hand to those that really need such.

To identify with only those that are the winners of society, and to stand by them, is the easiest of tasks to accomplish, for anyone can simply go with the winning flow.  However, those then, that are true to that higher calling, which is to bring healing to those that are hurt, to see justice for those that have been unjustly dealt with, and to bring joy to those that are in sorrow, may indeed have the more difficult path, one of perhaps some unappreciation and frustration, but for all those that see such out by giving their best, they have done such to the glory of that which first created them.

The Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938

While most people consider flying via an airline to be a pretty routine experience, such was not the case, when passengers first began to travel from city to city back at the inception of commercial airline passenger travel.  Not too surprisingly, the government made it a point to regulate this nascent business and therefore passed a considerable number of rules and regulations to address this form of travel.  One of those legislative acts so passed, was the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, of which, it is important to consider, that traveling in America, meant flying over various States, and into the various cities of those States, in which, some of those cities and States were located in the segregationist South.  In a time, in which “separate but equal” was the implicit law of the land, and of which, those of color, were doomed to take the back seats of the bus, or to stand, when such a bus was fully occupied; this thus signified that the airline industry, could ill afford to take a wrong step, as their business model, depended upon being accommodative to all those that had the money to afford such travel and to therefore not to be discriminatory or to get caught up in Southern practices and traditions which meant little to nothing to these airlines and clearly represented no material advantage to their business.  So too, in consideration of the fact that the Southern States were outnumbered by all the other States, this made such an Act eminently sensible, along with the salient fact that the administration so led by FDR was progressive and not regressive.

As much credit as we give to those that wrote, debated upon, and passed the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, it is important to take to heart, that the people so traveling through commercial airlines at that point of time, were almost exclusively people from the business world, or of some real material success, education, and means; because airline travel back then was not for those on some sort of strict budget.  This therefore meant that to a very large extent, the people so traveling on domestic airlines weren’t people of color, and quite obviously those of color on the airlines in that day and age, were for the most part, primarily going to be representatives of the so-called “better” type.

So then, those airports in the South, were pretty much out of luck in regards to segregating those of color from the privileged race on the actual flights, though they did what they could do to make the Southern airport terminals, segregated and uncomfortable for those that were not white; but were at the same time somewhat cognizant that the “times were a-changing,” along with the somewhat ominous fear that the Federal government seemed on the pathway to trumped more and more of so-called State’s rights.  Indeed, the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 proved the point that with a fresh start on a new form of transportation that America was forward enough looking to discard that which was not in keeping with equality and opportunity, so as to embrace that which was in harmony with that of a meritocratic country, representing fairness, liberty, and hope, for all.

Pharmaceutical products and sales are to a high degree, parasitic upon the population

We read at statista.com, that “pharma revenues worldwide totaled 1.27 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020.”  Additionally, an article at nih.gov, tells us that “approximately 80% of antimicrobial, cardiovascular, immunosuppressive, and anticancer drugs are of plant origin.”  The bottom line is that way before the modern pharmaceutical industry came to age, medicines that were provided for the general welfare of the people, primarily were those that involved the utilization of plant species and other natural remedies so provided to us by Mother Nature for the healing of various ills.

While, no doubt, modern pharmaceuticals have done an outstanding job of providing critical and valuable medicine so needed for the health and repair of human bodies, this has come though at a very great monetary cost to that general public, for not all those pharmaceuticals are even that innovative, for they often rely instead in the taking of that which is free from Mother Nature, and then essentially manipulating such in a manner in which a patent is created for that medicine, thereby providing to that pharmaceutical entity, healthy profits, so made upon the ill health of those patients so needing that medicine.

In America, the pharmaceutical industry is primarily profit-based, thereby leading to the dichotomy of those that while providing medicine for the benefit of those so needing such, are doing so in a manner in which they extract profit from those ill patients, and deliberately are retaining and therefore privatizing such medical knowledge so as to obtain more profit, at the expense of the general public, so done deliberately and primarily for the benefit of that corporation and its shareholders.

The argument could be made and should be made as to whether or not, for-profit pharmaceutical companies are beneficial for the general public in whole, or whether they are in fact, parasitic in their structure; thereby making their money upon those patients that are placed in the unenviable position of needing medicine for their good health, and so therefore paying whatever so needs to be paid to the piper of that medicine so provided.

After all, any company of which its highest mission is to make money and profits for its shareholders is almost by definition, not going to be the appropriate company to provide safe, reliable, and fair priced pharmaceuticals to those that need such, for one mission battles against the other, of which, the winner, thereof, is the billions upon billions of profits so made by those pharmaceutical companies, extracted essentially from the pockets of those that are sickly.

In truth, the more worthy objective for those that are in the healthcare business, should be to actually provide that healthcare in a manner in which the people are most benefited by the knowhow and breakthroughs of that industry, as opposed to some players within that industry seeing those that are ill, as an opportunity to extract whatever profit that they can from them, knowing that those that are sick, don’t typically have a lot of good or viable alternatives. 

Finally, the fact that so many products provided by the pharmaceutical industry are actually derivatives of what is so found in Mother Nature, should bring great shame to many of those that are the purveyors of such, for their purposeful greed and their misuse of expertise for their own personal benefit, at the expense of those in no good position to effectively fight back.

Jacob’s Ladder

We read in Holy Scripture, in regards to Jacob, that “He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it” (Genesis 28:12). The symbolism of this dream is very important, for it tells us that rather than believing that we simply “go to Heaven” or that, on the other hand, we somehow become unconnected to God, because of our bad behavior; that, in fact, what exists for each one of us, is a ladder, so created for our benefit and for our good use.  Those then that step up that ladder and therefore ascend, are those that are performing good deeds in this world, as well as keeping God foremost in their mind.  These same steps that lead down should not though be interpreted as a reversal of our good work, but rather to indicate that God’s angels are ever here to descend down to us, so as to assist us in finding our proper place and therefore our proper destination for our being.

So too, it should be recognized, that those that contemplate the greatness of our God, are those that look up to that which created us, and in order for us to get to where we need to go, it cannot be accomplished by those that simply drop to their knees and do nothing; but rather it necessitates our taking appropriate actions for the good of societies, so that therefore step by step by our good deeds, we get ever closer to where we need and ought to be.  Additionally, life can be seen as a battleground, of which that ladder in which angels descend to us, are our fellow companions to keep us focused upon that of which really matters, indicating to us, at all times, that God to His creation is never a one-way pathway, but necessitates an open-door policy, which provides us forthwith with free will, of which by that freedom comes inherent responsibility and further to that, our sacred obligation to that which breathed us into existence, at the beginning.

So then, first off, we need to find that ladder, and second to that, we need to get our mind right so that we can successfully perform those necessary things to begin our ascent up that ladder.  Those then, that unfortunately are too earthly bound are caught within the construct of that which is an endless repetition of what this earth so represents for them, a continuous merry-go-round that neither progresses nor regresses, but simply goes around in the same ceaseless circle, forever. 

Each of us has been blessed with a thinking mind, and those then that take the time to contemplate the why of our existence will surely find the answer to that question should they persistently search for such hard enough.  We are meant to find our destiny, and that destiny lies above not below.  Jacob’s ladder is God’s perpetual gift to us, providing us with the stairway that will not only bring us enlightenment, but also eternal sanctuary, along with the renewed knowledge that out of many we are meant always to be just One.

“The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground”

The above quotation comes from the brilliant mind of Thomas Jefferson, way back in 1788.  As true as these words were back then, so written at the inception of these United States; for a certainty we live and feel its truth even more so today, for that government which is ostensibly of, for, and by the people has wrested away from the people significant swaths of its liberty and replaced such with such dubious things in return such as safety and security, if even that.

This government knows everything about us, but in return has provided us with a minimal number of benefits for us having ceded such knowledge and therefore power to that government.  The liberty that this country once so nobly represented, has been replaced by, at best, a benign police state, and at worse, for those that are particularly unfavored and unprivileged, an oppressive police state, that steals liberty from its citizens, and puts them effectively in chains; for the United States has no place for the poor and un-championed, other than to keep them intimidated, at bay, and under its forceful control.

So too, the liberty to be about one’s business and simply to travel along the streets of this powerful nation, is problematic for all those that are not immune to the perils of being out in the public, susceptible to being pulled over, questioned, searched, and harassed, for often no real good or valid reason, other than to put the fear of this authoritarian government into the hearts and minds of all those that have the audacity to believe that they are free agents, when in reality, they are not.

The reason that liberty so often yields to government, is that governments and the actuators of those governments, not only enjoy having the awesome privilege and power so placed into their hands to effect this or that, but they allow that power to subsequently seduce and to addle their minds in a way in which they forget that the power that they have is so provided and is authorized to them, by the people, for the good of those people; but somehow this government and its representatives thereby twist and turn that into a belief that a citizenry with liberty, choice, and freedom, is an ever present danger to the stability of that government, and because of that belief, therefore these governmental representatives consistently make those decisions that will yield the people’s liberty to that government.

The problem with this government, is that it doesn’t actually care for any sort of meaningful dissent, and to circumvent such, the political parties of this day and age, that ostensibly represent the people’s interests, are in reality, more akin to two sides of the same coin, of which, that very coinage is always in the full control of that government.  Anytime that a government is not properly restrained by its Constitution and/or the elected representatives of such, then that government will keep on taking what it so can take, knowing that there is no other source or power that has the ability to pushback upon them, and so therefore, the people yield.

Governmental secrets

This is supposed to be a government of, for, and by the people, but that is not conceivable when that government has literally millions of documents created each and every year that are classified and therefore are not available to the general public for any sort of proper and appropriate scrutiny.  It would be one thing if that government was a well-oiled machine, of which, everything that it did was right, just, and aboveboard, but that isn’t the case at all, and this government knows that for a certainty.

While governments the world over, will proclaim over and over again how they need to keep this or that secret, for the general protection of the people, as well as to keep such secrets from getting into enemy hands; this simply represents no more than the excuse of why so many documents are kept secret and confidential, but this is not the truth of why they are primarily kept secret and confidential.  Logic, itself tells us, that those that insist, again and again, that they need to keep something secret, are doing so, not for our protection, though, occasionally that might just be true; but primarily to keep what they are doing private, because they do not desire for it to be exposed, for they fear the consequences of such exposure so coming to light in a timely and a meaningful manner.

The main problem when any government insists that it needs to keep millions upon millions of documents, secret, is that those that have been elected into office, have a responsibility to be transparent to the people, so that those people can therefore determine as to whether those elected officials are actually being good stewards of the people’s resources, so held in the hands of those representatives to that government.  After all, those that are up to no good, see the absolute value in that which they do, being kept secret, and even if such is later revealed, often by the time that revelation comes to light, it is far too late for anything of meaning to be done about what so has already transpired.

Human nature has a strong tendency to want to keep under wraps, all those things that do not hold up well to public scrutiny, for they do not want to feel the heat of those that are disappointed or feel betrayed by all those that should have the public interests foremost in their mind.  Further to the point, it is far easier to sell as well as to control a narrative, when documents that would hurt the cause, are secret, thereby coloring the story in such a way, that decisions so being made may appear to be right, even though, if the full truth was so known, they would be seen as being wrong.

It could be said, that the more documents that a government keeps secret, the more that government should not only be rightly feared, but also the more that government is being deceptive to its people.  Those governments, then, that are run upon an inordinate number of secrets, answer not to the people, but are instead clearly marching to the drumbeat of those that are the true actuators of that government.

Foreign countries, labor unions, and Walmart

No non-governmental company has more employees in America, than Walmart.  Yet, somehow, despite the fact that many of its employees aren’t compensated very well, and of which a significant amount of those employees could certainly use more income, better benefits, and improved overall working conditions, Walmart has successfully fended off all union activity, in America.  The reality is that Walmart has thoroughly conquered America, so the amount of growth so left in this the richest nation in the world is both known and is minimal; whereas the amount of growth worldwide looks quite good and is therefore definitely the sensible pathway required to keep Walmart relevant so that it can continue growing its business at a desirable rate. In consideration, then, Walmart has expanded its stores outside of America, though, not always with success, along with sometimes doing so through the merging of or the buying out of a competitor in order to have the economies of scale to successfully conduct their business, on foreign land.

Of course, labor laws vary from country to country, of which, one might think that Walmart would only consider locating their stores in those countries that don’t permit unions or have minimize such to an irrelevancy, but that isn’t the case at all.  After all, Walmart knows for a certainty, that its business model will actually work with strong union representation, as well as without.  This signifies that it is mainly greed, as well as their continuous lust to improve their bottom line, that makes Walmart so anti-union in their mindset; but Walmart knows, that union or not, they are going to make money, all of the same; though, perhaps not as much when dealing with a strong and vibrant labor component. 

For instance, in Brazil, China, Mexico, and South Africa, a portion of those Walmart employees are unionized and the chance of Walmart somehow being able to “break” those unions are minimal.  Rather, Walmart recognizes that the labor laws in different countries and the costs so of, are part and parcel of doing business in those nations, and subsequently makes adjustments to their business model in order to accommodate this.  The great shame, though, is that there is no country that Walmart has more employees in than America, and yet, Walmart refuses to countenance union representation, by doing everything within their very extensive arsenal to preclude such.  This is indicative of a deliberate corporate policy which does not play fair with the people of the very nation, which provided Walmart with the avenue to become the most successful retail store conglomerate, ever.

So, what we have is a situation in which Walmart employs over 2 million people, worldwide, and, of which a significant amount of them, are doing no better than treading water; whereas, on the other hand, the progeny of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, have a worth on paper, that is in the neighborhood of a staggering $250 billion.  Clearly, when it comes to Walmart, there is no true lack of money or of capital, it just prefers to funnel it primarily to its prime stockholders at the expense of its employees; though, that said, as proven by its foreign locations, Walmart, will pay the union piper, when it so has to.

Governmental interference into parental authority

Life consists of lots of different people, some well-meaning and some not; as well as governments and their agencies which can provide true benefits for those people, or not.  Some of those people, are by nature, busybodies, of which, even when a particular busybody is right about something, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they should therefore have the authority to do something about a particular troublesome thing which is not really their business in the first place.  So too, certain government agencies can behave as a busybody so does, of which, the problem when this so occurs, is that the government often has the power and authority to act upon their busybody inclinations, which does not necessarily mean that they should or ought to.

Not all parents are good parents, though most are good, most of the time; however, there are also those parents which often because their own life is a mess, aren’t particularly good at parenting, and some are downright mean and ugly.  Obviously, nobody wants to see a child abused, neglected, or in a place which is of danger to them, but the correct response to such a troubling situation is not always to remove the children from their parents, as a protective service; but rather it should be for those agencies involving themselves in such, to better understand the peculiarities and reasons why this is happening in the first place, and then materially help to rectify it.

In virtually every case, the biological parents of a child, have a vested interest in seeing that their child has a good life and a good upbringing, and will got to extraordinary efforts to do the right thing for their child.  That said, some situations for children, are precarious from day one, because their parents don’t have the appropriate skillset to manage children well, or the maturity, or the income, or the stability, and so on and so forth.  This so signifies that the most reasoned response by a government agency to a situation in which a child is considered to be in a problematic place is to do their part to address the main reasons for such a questionable construct, as opposed to forcefully taking the child from their parents.

Lots of people, as well as government agencies think that they know best, when it comes to child rearing, but knowing is never the same thing as doing right; and further to the point, in most instances, a child’s biological parents are going to be the best place for a child to be.  So then, all those that complain about how incompetent a given parent is, or how impoverished that they are, or how disorganized they well may be, should rather than decrying the obvious, do something of merit to ameliorate such, for the good of that child and its parents. 

Governments and busybodies have a very clear choice, they can simply take charge of a situation in which it is perceived that by doing so they will be of benefit to that child, or they can take the time to understand that families consist of parents as well as their children, and to thereby remove the children from such, undercuts and destroys the family, while doing nothing to rectify the conditions that brought about these sad situations to begin with.   It would behoove those government agencies then, to see the bigger picture, and desire therefore to be of material aid in support of families, rather than tearing them apart, for the supposed good of the child.

Racism within one’s own race

Most people have a tendency to believe that racism, can only occur when one race, mistreats or despises another race which does not match their own.  While that is the most common form of racism, it does not take into proper account that people of the same race, can behave in a deliberate manner which is racist against their own race.  For instance, while it use to be that police officers were almost exclusively white, throughout America, of which those white officers, invariably patrolled certain areas of the city, that were predominately black, and were often racist in how they dealt with those people of color -- the fact that today’s police force has a significant amount of black officers out in the field as well as in prominent authority positions, has not brought about a paramount change in how those of the black race, are dealt with by black police officers.  The issue for why some, though certainly not all black police officers, are racist against those of the same color, has a lot to do with the fact that these officers, see themselves, at least while wearing the uniform, as primarily a cohesive law enforcement unit, and they therefore seek out and arrest what they perceive to be those that are the biggest menace to society, of which the face of street crime as exercised and policed in America, is predominately the underclass, represented in many instances, by those that are black.

Additionally, what most people do not take into account when it comes to racism, is that they don’t look deep enough at the core issue of what appears to be racism; for beneath the color of a given person’s skin, is something that is not discussed and debated upon often enough, which is that a lot of what appears to be racism, is in reality, a form of class discrimination.  In other words, those that are white, can easily despise and even hate, those that are considered to be “trailer trash”, or skinheads, or all those that are uncultured and uncouth, as being beneath them, and therefore dismissing them of any import; as well, of course, we find that poor white simple folk, are themselves often despising those over-educated bleeding-heart white people that think that they know so much.  So too, a similar dividing line exists for other individual races, for instance, of those that are successful, who come from favorable backgrounds and believe wholeheartedly that they represent their minority race well, who thereupon look down upon those of their same race, that are ill-educated, lazy, violent, deviant, and are considered to be a social embarrassment or worse. 

The truth of the matter is that people of the very same color can and do hate one another; which thereby signifies that what they see in their respective mirrors has less to do with the color of their skin and has a lot more to do, with their perceived view of who and what they believe that they so represent in the world that they live in.  it would seem to be, that those that are successful, no matter the color of their skin, have a strong tendency to want to associate with others that are of the same sort of success, of which, though they might still have a strong preference for those others to be of the same color, they seemingly draw a very distinct line, that deliberately separates them from all others of that race, that do not measure up to the standards that they so expect from them.

The “letter of the law” and the “spirit of the law”

They say that we are a nation of laws, but those laws, though clearly written down and typically written in a manner that purports to be clear and precise, do not always fit securely into the circumstances of an alleged violation of the law.  Further, even those laws that seem to be cut and dry, are far too often able to be manipulated, stretched, pulled and distorted, by adroit attorneys that are exceedingly clever and highly intelligent, recognizing that in order for them to make a good living, they must therefore see themselves as being obligated to thinking outside the limiting box of the “letter of the law”, by circumventing successfully both that letter as well as the “spirt of the law.”

As much as people, want to believe that laws are equally enforced and applied fairly to all alike, the reality is that the law is quite unequally enforced, of which the typically dividing line between those that must so suffer unduly under the letter of the law and those that do not, is having money, connections, and highly competent legal counsel.  On the other hand, if the spirit of the law, was truly treated as paramount in a court of law, then all those working the angles of the letter of the law, would find to their dismay that their tricks of the trade, would not so easily bear the tasty fruit that they had previously been accustomed to. 

It would be sensible for humankind to remember that the fundamental purpose of laws, is never to attempt to cover every single contingency that could ever be so encountered for every interaction that could ever possibly occur; but rather to provide a fair roadmap of what behaviors are considered to be orthodox, encouraged, and thereby authorized by civil society, and which misbehaviors are considered to be unorthodox, discouraged, and thereby subject to appropriate punishment by that civil society.

As it is, there are way too many laws on the books, and it seems that each year, even more laws are legislated and thereby passed into existence; of which, correspondingly, the previous laws that have been written into existence, seldom seem to ever become defunct; so what happens, in effect, is humankind’s book of laws gets ever thicker, and thereby correspondingly they are in aggregate subject to even more avenues for clever attorneys to find ways to circumvent those good laws, written for the good of societies, but unfairly overcome by the very few, at the expense of the many.

In reality, intuitively, most people are pretty sure about what is right and what is wrong, and understand well what fairness exemplifies.  The true purpose of any good law so written, is for that law to be applied universally, to all; of which, the objective of that law is to see to it that society in whole, benefits, from its equal application and the people’s adherence to it. For a certainty, not all written law is just, right, or appropriate; signifying that the highest obedience to law, is always going to be to the spirit of the law, which itself, must be in harmony with that which is known as natural law. 

A new Federal Homestead Act is needed, today

The United States, is a country that primarily grew from the east coast to the west coast.  Not too surprisingly, in an era in which traveling was not very easy, and travel was also fraught with all sorts of dangers and inconveniences, many people had a strong tendency to remain in the general locale of where they were so born and raised.  Yet, having purchased an incredible amount of acreage through the Louisiana Purchase, as well as through the Mexican cession to America of a staggering amount of additional acreage, these lands needed to be developed by Americans, for the benefit of not just intrepid Americans, but to provide cohesion and vibrancy for the entire United States.  Therefore, the progressive Lincoln Administration passed the Homestead Act of 1862, providing acreage for citizens to develop with nothing much more required from them initially but a minimal filing fee, and of which, if those residents were therefore able to improve that land by building upon such and improving upon its previous condition, they were then permitted to purchase such land from the government for a very reasonable amount of money.

The success of the Homestead Act led to the vibrant expansion of the west, while also providing for those that had little or nothing, a foothold into the American dream.  Disappointedly, this legislation was eventually formerly repealed in 1976, and while it makes sense for the Federal government to have some sort of meaningful control over the usage of federal lands, so held in its stewardship, it also makes sense for those that have not been provided with a fair opportunity to have a reasonable opportunity to create something of value, in this the richest nation that the world has ever known.

While it use to be that the mere ownership of lots of land, in and of itself, had immense potential and value; we find that in today’s world, the amount of land so needed for ownership for a specific building, or a home, does not often necessitate a lot of acreage, but rather more than anything, what is needed to augment and to improve upon such, so as to make viable progress for those that have so little, is a helping and willing hand from that government, of, for, and by the people, especially for those previously precluded from having the fair chance to have a fair stake in this the fairest of lands.  In this country remains millions of acres, so held on behalf of those people, and of which, a progressive Homestead Act so created in the present, would be beneficial for those with the pluck, to make something of themselves, with a head start so provided by that forward looking government.

It is a total waste of human talent, when those that could be something are provided with no reasonable outlet to be something of substance, and therefore for lack of that requisite nourishment, fail to grow.  This government needs to provide today’s generation with a fair deal to replace the raw deal that so many duly suffer from.  That is why a new Federal Homestead Act is so sorely needed, to provide a way and a means for those that have been unfairly denied the American dream, to have a fair chance to obtain that which will not only better their lives, but better this the last best hope of humankind.

Formal house and business addresses have not always existed

One of the illusions with living in this modern world, is just assuming that the way things are currently, must be how things were in the past, or if not an exact match, somewhat close to it.   Yet, formal addresses with street numbers and street names did not exist at the inception of the United States.  Back in those days, people readily found other people, because first off, they mainly congregated close to their homes or businesses as well as social places, and further they knew where they lived by the specific hills, trees, streams, ravines and other artifacts that were part and parcel of their community; which they knew intimately, akin to the back of their respective hands.  To a very large extent, this worked out quite well in communities for the people that lived there, because they knew everyone that needed to be known as well as how to get around; which thereby meant that any strangers or visitors into that neighborhood were pretty much obligated to have to ask for directions in order to find a particular person, or to conduct business, which made for a safer but also a more closed community.

The thing about governments, is that they have a real interest in knowing their subjects, which of course can be beneficial, but it also can be harmful and even dangerous.  For instance, when a government knows who you and your family are, by virtue of a census, informal or not, and then connects that with a known address, an identity card, and things of that ilk, this allows that government to readily ascertain whether there are members of that family so eligible to be drafted for military service or other civil duties, a place and a person to tax, along with an address to send officers of the law to, if so needed.  On the other hand, when a government knows where their citizens are located, they can more easily provide beneficial services, such as food, water, work, healthcare, money, and shelter, but to a very large extent when those services are primarily provided by the government as compared to It being provided by the members of that specific community as the main source, then the government has become more powerful at the expense of that community, through the very use of that communities’ money extracted through the various forms of taxation.

So then, while today’s society typical doesn’t think for a second, that there is any downside to having an address, there actually can definitely be some.  Further to the point, those that are so impoverished or are in some sort of desperate flux that they don’t even have a formal address, are stuck in a construct in which the services that they may well need, aren’t readily available without some sort of address being provided to those governmental organizations.

Modern societies have formal addresses, of which most people don’t think twice about why an address even exists, and for the most part they appreciate the sensibility and convenience that addresses that are well structured, so represent.  Still, it’s important to recognize that information is a definite form of knowledge along with its corresponding power so often obtained, and those that have that information, should be held accountable for how it is so utilized.

Capital punishment has no legitimate place in American jurisprudence

America wants to be the industry leader and the exemplar of what a great nation so represents, but when that country continues to insist that certain criminal acts are deserving of state sanctioned “murder”, this clearly proves that it has no wisdom of interest to impart when it comes to justice, fairness, mitigation, and any semblance of state responsibility or correctness.  Those that truly think that the way to end all war is by war, are grossly mistaken.  Those that believe that the correct punishment for those that have committed certain despicable acts is their cold-blooded calculated death, in response by the state, clearly don’t understand life or its meaning.

Remember this well, those that will not learn their lessons well, and apply such thereby in their everyday life, are consigned to repeating what will be so repeated, until the lesson is learnt and applied, correctly, till the end of time, if it so be necessary.  Those crimes so committed that are hateful, hurtful, despicable, cowardly, and wrong, deserve a reasoned and responsible response, from those that are held in high respect for their wisdom, no more and no less.  What they do not deserve is simplistic rules and laws, which stipulate that he who wrongly takes away one person’s life, or purse, or this or that, must suffer in turn, the exact same fate, which puts justice into some sort of simplistic binary decision making, as if this is enlightenment, when it most certainly is not.

Those that believe in the killing of the other, as a just and sure punishment for a duly convicted capital punishment crime, believe such wholeheartedly, primarily because they think that this thus ends the story, but it never does.  Life… and death, for that matter, is not that simple.  The natural order of anything which is physical is that it will meet its demise, sooner or later, which thus signifies that immortality can never exist for that which is mortal by its very inception.  So then, the premeditated killing of that which is physical, ends just that physical life, but it does not end, the troubles, so of, that created the situation to begin with, and it never will.  So then, this then is what needs to be rectified, one way or another, one time or another, one place or another, somewhere at some point, or the lesson has not been learned, and until that lesson is learnt, the lesson continues.

The correct response to someone that disrespects another, is to still give respect to that person, for to follow disrespect with disrespect, impugns upon that own person’s character.  To end the madness, one must remain sane.  To make it to the next level and to evolve, means that what has not worked in the past, cannot possibly be the answer to the question; so therefore, the intent should be to find the correct answer and to subsequently apply such.  To take the life of another, deliberately, and sanctioned by the state, is a crime against humanity, and each time that it is done, humanity takes yet another step backward, to its own collective disgrace.

Chicken farmers are the new sharecropping

Consumers are each year, eating more and more chicken, of which, the price to purchase chicken for those consumers, especially in comparison to other poultry, meat, and pork, is quite reasonable.   One would think then, that there would therefore be plenty of money to be made as a chicken farmer, of which, while there is plenty of money so being made, it is not being made by the chicken farmers, but rather it is being made by the big corporate chicken processors, almost exclusively. 

The first inkling, that not everything is on the up and up is the salient fact that many chicken farmers, in order to have a producer to sell their mature chickens to, are required to buy their baby chickens from that producer, as well as the feed, and medication, while also adhering to whatever requirements, inspections, and upgrades that are so needed to their chicken house enclosures, as determined by that big corporate chicken producer.  This would seem to clearly indicate that the chicken producer has an incredible amount of leverage and power over the chicken farmer, and in fact, they do. They then use such to their full advantage, so that the profits so being made is pretty much all in the producer’s hands, and the chicken farmer, who while working incredibly hard, and trying to make a decent living, often finds themselves, in an untenable situation that doesn’t ever permit them to ever get out of debt, nor to make any real money to live or to build upon.

The other giveaway that all is not fair, is the fact that the chicken producers, essentially control everything in the process from cradle to grave, except the actual monetary expenses for the chicken house and its associated equipment, along with the labor of those that are bringing up those baby chickens into their chicken adulthood -- so that these chickens can subsequently thereby be processed into chicken products of all types for consumers and restaurants.  In other words, there doesn’t seem to be any good reason, why the chicken producers wouldn’t just want to produce their chickens from babyhood to adulthood, except for the explanation, that by not doing so, the chicken producers save valuable capital expense, as well as the inconvenience of labor, without giving up much of anything in value, in return; except the illusion that chicken farmers can actually have a fair chance to make a decent living from what they are so doing on the chicken producers behalf.

In sharecropping, the land owner allows the tenant to use his land, in exchange for some valued portion of the product so produced, of which, the bottom line is that those that do the sharecropping, though working very hard, typically find at the end of the harvest season, that they always get the short end of the stick, in perpetuity, never to get ahead, and never to outright own any of the land that they labor so hard upon.  So then, with today’s chicken farmers, there is a lot of capital needed to purchase the land along with the housing and the infrastructure to successfully raise chickens, of which, these chicken farmers are typically forever in debt, never seeming to be in a position to ever get out of it, despite their hard work, and despite giving their full and best effort to that business.  Rather, the money being made and most of the benefit ends up going to the big corporate chicken producers, which reflects that contract or no contract, legal or not, what is going on, is sure the heck deceptive and most definitely unfair.

Understanding love, better

Love is one of those very special words that is utilized by all types of people in a lot of different ways, of which, quite frankly, there are way too many people that claim that they “love” someone but really haven’t a clue as to what real love actually necessitates and represents.  So then, while love can be defined in a lot of different ways, it is important to comprehend that when it comes to our relationships with others, that those that really love someone, must want for that person, what is the best for them.  That means that those that love another, are not jealous, they are not vindictive, their love is not conditional, their love is not dependent on some sort of quid pro quo, or time, or anything.  True love is timeless, and asks for nothing in return or expects such.  We love another because we see who they are in essence, we know them for who and what they truly are, and because of that, our love will not ever fade or go away.

To appreciate someone is not necessarily love, to be thankful for someone’s affection for us is probably not love, either.  To belittle what love really is by claiming to love this or to love that, without true and complete sincerity, doesn’t do the person so expressing that love any favors, for those that can love today and have such love evaporate tomorrow, aren’t in love.  The very foundation of love is God, and because God is love, we need not worry about upsetting God so as to lose that love, and fearing that God’s actions towards us will ever be capricious -- for God is immutable, eternal, and flawless.  Our God is the ultimate perfect parent, that permits us the freedom to do whatever that we so do, without ever running out of patience or love for us, and the fact that we have the liberty to be whatever that we so desire to be, provides us with that special pathway, of which, no matter how circuitous our steps among the pathway become, no matter how meandering, so of -- all routes will ultimately bring us back to God, as if we were never actually gone, for that which is love, cannot ever be successfully substituted by anything else, satisfactorily.

Those that love, always want what is best for the person that they are interacting with, and will not ever falsely encourage or agree to help implement those things and actions that will not be beneficial or suitable for that person, because to do so would not be love.  This does not indicate that those that love are themselves, perfect, it is a reflection though that to love someone means to be true to being an instrument that will help that person, and when required, to re-direct that person to where they ought to be; yet, it also always respects that person as a free agent, as well as being cognizant that even those in love and that love, are not all wise, and will themselves err and make mistakes. 

Those that love you, love you because they see the real you, the higher you, the you that you are in actuality, and of which you, in return, are meant to reflect as much as possible that love in this incarnation. 

“For you always have the poor with you…”

We read in Holy Scripture, “For you always have the poor with you…” (Matthew 26: 11).   Yet, despite the fact that millions of Americans live in abject poverty, devoid of hope, devoid of opportunity, devoid of good educational facilities, devoid of good healthcare, devoid of fair justice, and devoid of any semblance of what an acceptable life actually should be in America; this is absolutely ignored, by a huge swath of the population, who believe literally in the adage that what is out of sight, is out of mind.

The bottom line in America, is that the poor and disadvantaged to the degree so possible, are consistently segregated into enclaves of poverty and neglect, and subsequently kept as far as possible away from those that have money and power, so that those with all the accouterments of material success, will not have to ever stumble upon these impoverished people, ever; for those that are the superrich and privileged do not desire to have anything happen in their field of vision that would upset their distorted view of what they believe their worldview represents, and do not ever wish to have their family or good friends, to see something that they need not be seen or even commented upon.

Not only are the poor, completely out of sight for all those that have lots and lots of money, but to a very large extent, the poor do not infringe into the domain of the successful middle class, as well.  Basically, those that are desperately poor, are deliberately placed into dilapidated places that nobody in the right mind, ever visits for there isn’t any good or valid reason to go there, and hence these poor people are effectively ignored as if they don’t exist, and to the degree that the government or other private charitable agencies provide aid and help to them – they do so to a very large extent by these organizations, deliberately or not, making it a point to remind those that have nothing that they are effectively, nothing.

There will never come a time when poverty is eradicated in America, not because America doesn’t have the ways and means to do so, for it most definitely does; but rather it has everything to do with the fact that the government is an enabler of those policies that create as well as those policies that separate the poor and disadvantaged from the mainstream population, and until there comes a time when the poor are fairly entitled to actually become part of the established population these disadvantaged people will not progress.  In fact, if communities were actually built that were inclusive as compared to being deliberated designed as exclusive, of which, the impoverished were instead fairly entitled to some fair portion of that community, those good members of that community, would take it upon themselves to provide what was so needed to uplift the community in whole, so that those previously not provided with any fair chance, would actually have the infrastructure to lift themselves up, which they would therefore gladly embrace. 

In America, the poor typically live amongst the poor; hidden away and ignored as if they don’t exist, but they very well do.  The least that we should do is to bring the poor inside the gates of opportunity, hope, and equality, thereby permitting them to become an integral part of the multi-color fabric of American life.