“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

The above quotation comes from the incomparable, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and each of us would do well to remember this wise sentiment so succinctly expressed.  But instead, what we so often find and especially so in these western nations, that frequently have the audacity to believe that they are so civilized, so smart, and so above it all, is that humankind seems to feel in so many ways and in so many respects, not to have a need of acknowledging its spiritual identity, and therefore it has little or no interest in what they consider to be the mythology of God.

Whether or not a given person or civilization, does or does not believe in God, or whether they believe that they are spiritual beings or not, does not change the fundamental fact that each one of us is a spiritual being; so then, those that will not consciously admit to such, or even try to suppress such, for their own reason, good or bad, are the ones thereby to suffer for dismissing that which is true for that which is false.

It would behoove each of us, to understand that first of all, we are eternal, and we are eternal because we are spiritual, and that which is spiritual, cannot be destroyed or eradicated, ever.  Our experience in this worldly realm should best be seen as the ultimate proving ground -- of being challenged to prove that when provided with the liberty and the freedom to make a given choice, without any limitations imposed against us, other than the limitations that being in a human body with a mind restricts us to, that what we so do, is in keeping with that which is consistent with justice, fairness, and agape love.

The most important number in life is one.  There is just one God, one truth, one whole spirit, and therefore we are all ultimately one.  This so signifies that our objective should always be in this human experience to see our commonality one with another, as opposed to contributing to that which serves to divide us.  This does not signify or necessitate that somehow that each of us must or should be a cookie cutter cutout of the other; but rather that we are each in our own way, different from one another, but in our substance and in our creation, we are exactly the same.

Another way at looking at our human experience, is seeing this experience as something akin to somebody that has to deal with the world, while lacking the necessary eyesight so needed to actually visualize all of that which is going on around them.  This thereby means that they have to somehow overcome that particular limitation, yet, many a person without eyesight, have subsequently been able to do such, with aplomb.  So too, our physical raiment for many a person can seemingly “blind” us from seeing that we aren’t at our core, physical at all, but spiritual.  Those that are therefore able to take off their self-imposed blinder to visualize that they are in actuality, spiritual, are the very ones that are best suited to help guide those that are lost, to that which will open their eyes.

“…. deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

Our Declaration of Independence carries a lot of importance as well as gravity, as this was the seminal document, that fifty-six delegates not only so signed, but pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to.  So too, this was the raison d’être for those colonists to go to war against the premier power in the world, at that time.   This thus signifies that these above words aren’t just words written on a piece of parchment, but that they have an absolute and perpetual significance, and therefore they are part and parcel of what that government, of, for, and by the people, so owes and needs to honor in perpetuity for its citizens.

The basic principle of good governance, is for the people to congregate together, understanding that in order to secure those rights necessary for their continual freedom, good life, and the pursuit of one’s happiness, necessitates in return not only the sacrifice of some of their individual liberty so such is thereby responsibly subsumed into their government, but also that each citizen in order to secure those rights, have incumbent duties that need to be performed on behalf of those rights, collectively and individually. 

Regrettably, over an extended period of time, it seems quite clear that government has not only relentlessly whittled away at individual rights, often in the name of security or for the defense of the state, but that the government has more and more become opaque and basically inaccessible and well-nigh unassailable to the average citizen.  So that, today’s government, in many respects, is not interested in being as transparent as possible, or even being welcoming to a thorough examination of its day-to-day operations, but wishes instead for the public to just accept that the government has their best interests in mind, and that therefore all that this government does on behalf of its citizenry, is just, fair and equitable.

So then, it is up to the general public, or it could be said its representatives, that the government in its actions and reactions, is always held accountable to being in conformance with the Constitution, but also that what is so being done under the name of the people, is done with that people’s consent.  Yet, how many citizens, truly believe that the government, cares for what they have to say or what they think, and further how many of those citizens believe that what the government is so doing is actually really by their consent, directly or indirectly?

It would seem that today’s government, is a force unto itself, and therefore that government sees itself as something separate from the people, with its own peculiar power structure, its own institutions, its own rules, and its own designs; and of which, all that government really asks or wants of its people, is acceptance that this is the way that it ought and should be.  If this be true, then what we so have is not the consent of the governed, but rather a construct in which the people are seen as a utility to be exploited, manipulated, and controlled by that government, for the expressed benefit of those that are its actuators.

The upside of gentrification

Many people are use to a certain routine and when there is change, especially when that change is unexpected along with it also making them feel that they are helpless or voiceless or both to that change, this thus can easily create stress and unease for them.   The thing about gentrification in those neighborhoods that have lacked for an extended period of time new or even sustainable investments of capital, is that, without having that upkeep and improvement, there is often the perception of that neighborhood that its best days are well behind it; so then, within such a construct as that, this typically demands some sort of new infusion of blood to help revivify that neighborhood. 

The upside of gentrification in a given neighborhood is the investment capital that so comes into that neighborhood, along with the corresponding belief that the neighborhood is worthy and of more value, then has been recently perceived by its denizens.  In other words, by virtue of that money being invested, properties being bought, and improvements being made, this signifies that the “new blood” believes in the neighborhood.  Further to the point, the infrastructure of that neighborhood is almost for a certainty going to improve, so that areas of the neighborhood that have been neglected, will typically see a marked improvement, involving not only clean up, but also new businesses coming to the general area, as well as public schools markedly doing a better job of educating.

One of the things that hurts communities more than anything, is losing the tax base of businesses, along with the fact that when property values are stagnant or even trending down, that there then just isn’t enough monies being collected to sustain even the semblance of a good and nice neighborhood.  On the other hand, when property values are going up, businesses are being added, and those that are becoming new residents of that neighborhood bring with them, vital connections to city councils and the like, then governmental services that been neglected or ignored, will become rejuvenated.

Another valid attribute of gentrification, is that improvement to neighborhoods, typically also improves the outlook of the residents that are in that neighborhood, thereby bringing back belief, when there was formerly a lack of belief.  After all, even if the motivation of those so buying into a neighborhood has a lot in common with greed so disguised as opportunity, these new buyers and their vote of confidence, makes those that are its residents, believe that where they so live must be of value.

Of course, not everything that changes because of gentrification is going to be good, of which, for those so buying in, somebody else must be selling and then moving out.  Additionally, when property values go up, and when a neighborhood thereby becomes more valuable, then correspondingly rents are also invariably going to go up.  But then again, people pay what something is worth, and that which has become worth more, demands more in payment.  So too, having a mix of residents of different backgrounds, of different income, of different colors, and so on and so forth, makes for a more integrated and vibrant society, and thereupon provides the opportunity for those that are part of that neighborhood to see the commonality that we have one to another.

Health insurance has not always existed

While in many respects, health insurance is considered to be almost mandatory for everybody in today’s world, the concept of health insurance for all has not always existed, and therefore is a relatively recent concept, that did not begin to come into fruition until 1929, or thereabouts, through the inception of Blue Cross, as envisioned by Dr. Justin Ford Kimball.  At that time, the concept was pretty straightforward, which was to offer to teachers access to health insurance for a small monthly fee, which thereupon effectively became the first successful health co-opt. 

The genius of initial health care as done through Blue Cross, was to make it dependent, upon a fairly large group of people, such as teachers, each therefore paying a monthly fee, so that through the sheer size of those numbers, the invariable ups and downs of sickness and hospital care, was mitigated by the collective amount of money received through each of those members, healthy or not, contributing their monthly financial share.  This plan, worked quite well, and was far more stable, than health insurance so provided on just an individual basis, of which, bad luck for the insurance company, in providing health insurance to someone that suffered poor health, made such insurance such as that, prone to corporate insolvency.

The advantage of health insurance for many members, benefited each side, of which, for the individual the advantage was a known monthly payment that covered their hospital stay, should such be necessary, and the treatment of their illness; whereas, for the hospital such health insurance provided a known steady stream of income and because the health insurance was subject to being periodically renewed, that premium could subsequently be adjusted upwards, if so warranted.

The impetus for that health insurance, as originally constructed, was to provide for a low cost, the security for those that fell ill, that they would not have to suffer lasting financial harm, in addition to the debilitating effect of the illness or injury that they were suffering from.  In today’s world, health insurance, in many respects, is something that is often covered through employment or through school or even through individual coverage in which, somewhere along the line, what has been sorely neglected, is that such insurance besides often being complicated, confusing, filled with red tape and bureaucracy, is that it is in many a case, also quite expensive, as well as not always meeting fairly every needful contingency.  That is to say, health insurance has its place, but rather than such being set always at a reasonable cost, that most families can meet, one way or another, it has, for a significant swath of Americans, become so expensive, or covers so little, that the availability of health insurance, is of no real assistance to those that are in the most vulnerable of positions. 

This is why it is imperative that this government come up with some sort of viable universal health insurance plan that truly is able to address the health needs of those that have effectively been left behind to suffer the indignity of health insurance that is inadequate, of little or no use, or places too much of a financial burden upon a family that cannot afford to pay the freight for good healthcare.

Prison: like father, like son

If each of us was born in America, with equal opportunity, good education facilities, safe neighborhoods, good jobs, and no systemic racism, then one would think that the chances of a given person going to prison, would truly rest on the content of a given person’s character.  No doubt, part of who ends up going to prison, is based upon the content of that person’s character, but far too much though, has an awful lot to do with the environment that children are born into and grow up in.  in other words, children of alcoholics or substance-abuse people, are going to have a strong propensity to have the same sort of issues; and children of those that have been or are currently incarcerated have a strong propensity to fall themselves, the same way, that their parent(s) did.

If America, desires to see the same sort of incarceration numbers, and in short, the same sorts of people, including fathers and then their sons and then the sons of those sons, being incarcerated, America need not change a thing; for that is exactly what we have at the present time.  So then, this would presuppose that the incarceration make up will not meaningfully change in America when it comes specifically to intergenerational incarceration until there comes a time when the poor conditions that are part and parcel of this construct, are themselves fundamentally and foundationally changed for the better.

Many of those that make up our prisons, are typically those that come from dysfunctional and failing families, who are poor, disadvantaged, ill-educated, forgotten, forsaken, and often targeted by law enforcement to be arrested because these people have no one to champion their cause or to protect them, while also making it fairly easy for the police to meet their unofficial arrest quotas, which thereby serves to prove to those that want law and order, that law enforcement is consistently serving that up, very well. 

In order to break free from this rather sad tale of son following their father into a life of crime, punishment, and incarceration, two basic things need to occur.  The first is that those that are incarcerated, especially for that which would be considered to be victimless in the sense that nobody else or any institution has been harmed, such as in substance-abuse or vagrancy, should be provided with the appropriate tools that they need instead, to turn their lives around.  Additionally, those that are incarcerated, have obvious time on their hands, of which it would behoove governance to utilize that time in order to educate or to train in a trade these prisoners in a manner in which upon their release they would thereby have skills that would aid them in finding meaningful employment.  Secondly, those children that have one parent or both that are incarcerated, are absolutely vulnerable to themselves falling into the same sad pattern, of which, therefore they should be provided with robust social services to improve their welfare as well as their outlook on life.

This pattern of intergenerational incarceration, need not continue to occur, if America would put forth a more concentrated effort to ameliorate the conditions that help create crime in the first place, as well as to take the time to do more for those that are its most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

The trouble with foster care

The governance of America likes to sell the story that they care about the children of America, by virtue of all the programs, vouchers, aid, and money so available for the care of those children, directly or indirectly.  The thing is though, that America has a foster care system, that expends billions upon billions upon that foster care and the logistics, so of; but doesn’t seem often enough to get the positive result, that is truly beneficial for those children that have become part of that foster care program.

If, in fact, the purpose of foster care, is to do what is right and therefore best for children, because their biological parents are somehow incapable of  doing it themselves, then the corresponding burden to prove that this is actually being competently accomplished, remains exclusively upon all those that make up the foster care system and the standard that those that are part and parcel of the foster care system, should be in keeping with the fact that the United States is the richest nation that the world has ever known.

That is to say, when this nation believes that for the good of a given child, that they need to remove that child from its biological parents as well as to possibly separate them from their siblings, then that nation needs to clearly demonstrate that this is far superior to any other conceivable solution; of which, that proof therefore rests in the actual results of how these children have truly fared within the foster care system, without any corresponding equivocation, excuses, or reasons for why such has fallen short of where it should justly be.  No doubt, there are some foster care children that do quite well with their foster parents, but that is always going to be case within just about any program.  In truth, the only fair evaluation of America’s foster care system, is how in aggregate, these foster care children have done.

The seminal problem with foster care is the fact that in the vast majority of cases, those that are the biological parents of those children, are the very ones that have the highest vested interest in seeing the success of their children, as well as also being those that love and are loved by their children, more than anyone else.  In regards to foster parents, these people have no biological connection to those children, whatsoever; and further to the point, a significant portion of those that desire to be a foster parent revolves around the compensation so provided to those foster parents on behalf of those foster children.  Again, there isn’t any doubt that many foster parents desire to do right by their foster children, and probably put forth a real good effort in doing so, but at the end of the day, these are not actually their biological children, and therein lies the rub.

Not every parent is a good parent, but most parents care about their children, of which it would behoove that government to put forth a more concentrated effort to lend a helping hand in regards to employment training, education, actual employment, as well as meaningful financial support to assure that each family has a fair chance at decent housing, a living wage, a decent educational foundation, and the accouterments so needed for their children to receive what they need to better themselves.  In other words, better governance, would make it a priority to fix foundational issues that stress families out and divides them, rather than separating what should be seen as a priority to preserve.

Corporate fraud

When we think of corporate fraud, companies such as Enron, WorldCom, and Wells Fargo, come easily to mind, for their respective cases involved considerable sums of corporate malfeasance and outright fraud, which led to the demise of both Enron and WorldCom because the extent of the corporate impropriety was so deep that these corporate behemoths were unable to remain solvent, thereby costing the American taxpayers, employees of each, and common stockholders, billions of dollars, collectively. 

One might well think that corporate fraud would not be possible for publicly owned corporations in the sense that they are vetted by ostensibly outside accounting agencies so as to assure the general public that all is on the up and up.  Additionally, these same corporations have the important obligation to publicly post their quarterly results, of which these quarterly reports with the corresponding notes of these major corporations are typically carefully looked at by stock analysts at reputable brokerage firms.  Yet, in short, when those at the very pinnacle of the corporate executive office, have in mind that they want to “cook the books” because corporate results are not where they need to be, and then those that serve these corporate executives, are compliant in doing their part to manipulate numbers in a way that all appears to be right, when it surely is not, but still apparently good enough to fool even the most discriminating, this thus begins the process of corporate accounting lies being built upon corporate accounting lies, with the end result often being massive corporate fraud which hurts nearly everyone involved with the corporation, directly or indirectly

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To pull off the highest degree of corporate fraud, necessitates almost for a certainty, the intimate involvement of those that are in control of the very processes so involved in the accounting numbers generated by a given corporation.  In other words, corporate fraud, is by definition, always an “inside job” in which those on the inside are really the only ones that have the power and the gumption to commit that fraud, and are able to typically do so in a manner in which such can be done over an extended period of time, because having been the ones that created the controls to preclude such from happening, this thus signifies that they are also the only ones that best know how to circumvent these same controls so made, in a manner in which the uninitiated simply aren’t able to readily discern that this has actually occurred.

Further to the point, those of which their continual employment, salary, and bonuses are absolutely dependent upon the approval of the corporate offices, are going to have a strong inclination to do what they are thereupon instructed to do by them, because the alternative, would appear to mean, the termination of their employment, either voluntarily or involuntarily.  After all, nobody really wants to be the bearer of bad corporate news, especially when that can easily be interpreted as disloyalty, and thereby virtual automatic dismissal.

The corporate fraud that occurs within America, has an awful lot to do with the combination of executive corporate malfeasance along with outright greed, combined with outside accounting firms, not being diligent enough to maintain their integrity, to always be objective, to be thorough and to do their work competently.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”

The above quotation comes from the incomparable Nelson Mandela, of which, this is a very important sentiment, that more people need to pay attention to, for the easy road is that road in which nothing is demanded of us, and no obstacles stand in our way; yet, that easy road does not permit the opportunity to prove our mettle in any meaningful way.  Each of us is obligated, whether we admit to it or not, to face that of which we most desire but are also most fearful of, which varies from person-to-person, but face it, we must so do -- for if we will not exhibit the courage or the wherewithal to fight for that which has the most meaning to us, then we have failed our own integrity to our lasting shame.

It is important to recognize, that though there are those things that we should be rightfully fearful of, and therefore to conquer such, may indeed be a daunting task for just about anyone, that isn’t always the reality of every case. In fact, far too many times, there are those things that we are scared to do or even to attempt to accomplish, which, in the scheme of things, aren’t really a big deal, after all.  In short, if we aren’t willing to address those tasks that may just have a limited amount of downside, because we are too fearful to even attempt to do so, then it is problematic that we can subsequently ever have the strength of character to tackle those tasks which are truly daunting.

To a very large extent, most people have a fear of the unknown, or if not fearful, a certain cautionary attitude to such; in addition, most people are truly fearful of those things, which are known to be formidable. That said, a reasonably motivated person, should at least take the time to break down what they are so facing with such fearful trepidation, into smaller bits and pieces, to see if that over a period of time, with skill, experience, and knowledge, whether such can be successfully overcome; rather than simply to give up, without even attempting the exercise of the mind, or fairly calling to question one’s full capabilities.

The best day for anyone, is never going to be that day in which all that person did, was simply to sit in quietude; though, that may well have its rightful place.  In truth, the best day for anyone, is that day, in which that which was thought to be highly improbable or impossible, is through an extended amount of concentrated effort and steadfastness, conquered, once and for all.  That then, is a day to be rightly celebrated, for those that crush fear by triumphing over it, have accomplished something of real merit and meaning, thereby deserving of the accolades received, so of.

We are meant to respect fear, as that which slows us down so as to consider it more carefully, for as they say, “fools rush in, where angels fear to tread;” and those then that are wise, see that which is fearful, as often a challenge to be met, recognizing that to overcome any challenge of real worth, is the substance that great souls earn and are therefore made out of.

Corporate share buybacks should be illegal

We read at hbr.org, that “…the 449 companies in the S&P 500 index that were publicly listed from 2003 through 2012…  …those companies used 54% of their earnings—a total of $2.4 trillion—to buy back their own stock.”  The fact, that over 50% of the earnings so made by these S&P corporations, was thereupon spent to buy their own corporate public stock, as compared to utilizing a more significant amount of those earnings for other things such as dividends, research and development, investments, corporate debt relief, or for compensation for staff outside of the executive office, is a real tragedy to the American people, in whole.

The bottom line is that corporate buybacks primarily benefit directly those that own or have options for that public stock, because quite frankly, it is a form of stock manipulation, so done, as a real aid and distinct help to boost the stock price.  After all, the more buyers’ money that a given stock attracts, the more that it has a tendency to rise. In truth, stock buybacks, have little or nothing to do with management believing that the investment of money so earned and subsequently used to buy the public stock is the best usage of that money, but rather it has everything to do with trying to “goose up” their own compensation packages.

Before 1982, stock buybacks were illegal, and were considered to be a form of stock manipulation, which was why they were illegal.  We now have nearly forty years of stock buyback’s history, which demonstrates that stock buybacks are beneficial specifically for the richest of the rich, and therefore of little or no merit for the general public of America; of which, probably the biggest dividing line between why the superrich are currently accumulating more and more wealth at the expense of the general public is because of all the stock wealth being specifically funneled into their hands, at the expense especially, of the middle class.

When a corporation decides to go public by issuing stock to the general public, it thereupon has a responsibility to not only their shareholders, but also to the governance which permits their corporate existence -- by not just existing to make a profit, but rather to conduct their business which is becoming of what it means to be legally sanctioned by the United States of America to do so.  Instead, too many of these corporations, are driven to a very large extent by greed as well as by gaming the system, so that those that are at the top can maximize their own income and wealth, under the illusion so sold, that all is fair and right; when in reality, a significant portion of the profits so being made is not being distributed fairly but is tilted heavily into the hands of those that are its corporate executives and biggest shareholders.

When such a high percentage of profits are being redirected into the hands of the executive officers, as opposed to more of that money being utilized for research and development, general improvement, or providing more equality and fairness in compensation for all of its employees; we have in front of us a system which is corrupt, and of which, the government has become its enabler, when rather that government should be looking out for those that deserve a fair deal, instead. 

The need to learn in order to know

When it comes to learning, different people are going to have different motivations, in which some people just naturally enjoy learning about all sorts of different things, because by that knowledge, they feel more valued, of worth, and also fulfilled as an individual.  Then there are plenty of others that enjoy learning about subjects that they find engaging on a personal or professional level, and desire to devote themselves to that knowledge; in which though, often they also consciously push to the side, other subject matter that isn’t of any real interest to them.  Finally, there are those, perhaps because they have fallen behind fundamentally on the basics of their language and mathematical skills, that disengage themselves from learning, of just about anything, because they simply have just given up and have lost heart.

It is important for any society that has agreed to educate its whole citizenry, that the effort to do so, is as successful as it is so possible to be.   It then so follows that probably the best way to get people to learn is to provide the structure and the accouterments that encourages them to want to actually learn.  After all, those that are disengaged, uninterested, disruptive, sleep deprived, stressed out, or hopelessly behind, aren’t going to learn all that much, because they aren’t in a good place to be receptive or capable enough to learn.  That is why, early intervention, in order to properly educate children is so important, not just on a student level, but also on a familial level, because the environment so needed to learn, should not be exclusively just the school system, because students typically need to have some sort of additional assistance and support from the home front, as well.

The best kind of learning environment for students is an environment that encourages them to seek out subjects that they have a natural interest in, which they then are able to learn about, by virtue of having mastered fundamental language and mathematical skills.  In other words, a good school system is one that teaches the necessary fundamentals to those students, so that they can therefore use that knowledge in order to think for themselves, so as to subsequently find subjects that are of interest for them, that they want to learn about, which helps to keep them engaged, interested, and knowledgeable.

Again, it has to be noted, it is difficult for anyone to learn if they do not have a good command of the necessary tools that are required to learn.  Further to the point, societies advance based upon a significant portion of its citizenry that are able to think and reason for themselves, so needed, in order to preclude such citizenry from being treated by its governance, as subjects that are meant to be obedient, as compared to citizens that are meant to be independent thinking, while also being cognizant that within the rights so provided to them by their government along with their unalienable rights, that they have incumbent duties so needed to be performed by them, so as to uphold and to maintain those rights for the people. 

Those then, that learn well are not only a benefit to themselves but also to their society, because having that knowledge provides them with the bedrock of what is known as liberty.

“Tear gas” is chemical warfare against civilians

Police officers continue to use “tear gas” as a form of riot control, of which, just the very name “tear gas” is a great disservice to those that have been subjected to such; for the reality of the situation is that “tear gas” is far more invasive, dangerous, debilitating, and cruel, than the belief that somehow all “tear gas” does is produce a few unwelcomed tears. In truth, those suffering from these chemical attacks, find that the chemical agent mist can create skin burns, all sorts of respiratory and gastrointestinal discomfort and pain, along with the aforementioned tearing of the eyes, itching of eyes, aching, and blurry vision; making this chemical agent far more insidious than what its street name so suggests.

The fact that chemical warfare has been banned in the field of war for a century, makes it especially cruel and somewhat ironic that somehow, it’s okay to use this substance against civilians, that in virtually all cases, have no good protection, whatsoever, such as a gas mask, against this debilitating agent.  While, no doubt, there are conditions in which, the police are far outnumbered by an upset population and of which, it is imperative that some sort of control be imposed, the go-to solution of basically indiscriminately spraying tear gas in which those within the closest proximity as well as those trapped in enclosed spaces, do especially suffer and are susceptible to real harm from this agent, is morally suspect.

There is no doubt, other ways to effectively address crowds that by their behavior are either out-of-control or veering to becoming out-of-control, and it so behooves this country, that insists upon being known, as the premier defender of freedom throughout the world, to live that creed in principle.  This thus signifies that with the billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars being spent on the nation’s military as well as the militarization of the police, that, it shouldn’t be all that difficult to come up, for instance, with a concentrated energy source, such as sound, wind, heat, or cold, that when forcefully directed at social human disturbances that need to be quelled for the safety of the public, or to prudently protect infrastructure, that in its implementation, it would be effective in that purpose, with a corresponding minimal amount of damage being inflicted upon those on the receiving end of such.

When it comes to chemical agents so being utilized today, it must be acknowledged that on the one hand, the evidence seems to point to such convincedly accomplishing its goal of crowd dispersal; but on the other hand, such crowd dispersal comes at a real cost to civilians, who typically are completely unarmed and typically merely expressing their viewpoint through the means of a group protest.  This, in a sense, means for those suffering from that chemical agent, that they are being punished in an unusually cruel way, without having been convicted of a crime, or even having been formally accused of such.  The apparatus of the state, consists of many different things, of which one of those attributes is force; and when that state uses that force indiscriminately and with nary a real concern other than silencing those that are inconvenient to it, then the state has lost is moral compass, and is in danger of losing its legitimacy, as well.

The forgotten ancient and advanced civilizations on earth

Those that control and dictate the orthodox narrative, want people to believe that humankind has slowly evolved over the eons and that today’s human race, along with the technological progress, so with, is absolutely unique amongst the annals of time, and clearly shows that humankind, slowly but inexorably advances and therefore evolves over time.  Then, there are also those that believe that humankind was a special creation by God, of which, those of the most orthodox sort, typically believe that humankind has only existed upon earth for mere thousands of years, which means that these people of faith are essentially in sync, with human evolution in the narrow sense, that today’s humankind is the apogee of such of our existence.

Nice and neat theories make for an easier way to write history, for great civilizations such as demonstrated in Atlantis, or seen by the impressive and incomparable building of the pyramids in Egypt, amongst all the other buildings so created which currently lie in various degrees of disrepair, all over the world, whether above sea or below sea, are typically manipulated in a way in which this serves not to knock down the edifice that humankind today, is the absolute peak of civilization. Yet, the evidence is all around us, that some ancient civilizations had knowledge and knowhow which have yet to be re-discovered by today’s modern humankind.

The fundamental problem with a theory such as evolution, is the belief, that humankind, as well as other things, evolve over time, to therefore become better, stronger, smarter, and more skilled.  Yet, all around us, we see that the world consists almost always of cycles, and of which the same sort of cyclical actions, occur and re-occur again and again.  That is to say, a better way to visualize life on earth, is to recognize that it is indeed, cyclical.  This thus lends itself to the theory that humankind is most likely subject to the same cyclical actions as the life that so surrounds us; represented in word by Shakespeare’s “Seven Ages of Man,” as well as by the fact that ancient civilizations that are well documented, have themselves gone through their rise and their subsequent ultimate fall.

Those that believe that humankind always advances and never regresses, don’t really know their history, and obviously don’t care to know such, for there are those “dark ages,” – in which, humankind’s hubris, takes that which has been discovered for the betterment of humankind but then instead utilizes this knowledge wrongly for the destruction of such, thereby ultimately destroying that civilization.  To ignore that lesson, again and again, entraps humankind into making the same bad decisions and the same bad mistakes, which is why the great and mysterious historical artifacts that seem so mystifying to so many, leaves them unable to grasp or to conceptualize how these supposedly primitive civilizations were somehow able to demonstrate impressive and noticeable skill-sets, that in truth, would be the envy of the world today.  The only appropriate answer to all of this is to take to heart that this world is truly a proving ground, of which, the real point of life is to learn well the lessons that it so imparts and to take that knowledge so as to teach this to those that know not.

School buses are the largest mass transportation fleet in America

One might think, that the subway, or regular buses, might in their own way, hold their own against school buses in the sense of how many people utilize them each day; but the reality is that school buses as reported by newgeography.com, “…is 2.5 times the size of all other forms of mass transportation combined,” of which it is estimated that there are nearly ½ million school buses in usage, that transport well over 25 million students to school and back, each and every school day.

The sheer size of those numbers, would seem to indicate that this form of transportation, is something that should be carefully studied and look at from not only an expense, reliability, accessories, and efficiency standpoint, but also in regards to a safety standpoint.  After all, the safety of our children is of paramount importance to parents, in addition to the salient fact that the more efficient and reliable that transportation is for those students, the better experience that it is going to be, overall.

Certainly, one of the things that transportation of any type needs to take into proper account, is the overall traffic density at different times of the day; of which, it so follows that certain time windows may be more efficient or less efficient than others.  Another factor to take into account, is the seating capacity of a given bus, of which, it is assumed that having a certain seating capacity, such as around 70 students, is the most appropriate number; but in reality, that number might need to be lower or higher, depending upon the density of the residences, and whether a given area is urban or rural, amongst other assorted factors.  So too, the amount of stops that a bus makes to pick up students, and the overall route that the bus takes to do so, is obviously of relevancy.

Also, the cost of the school buses, including maintenance, fuel type, and pay of the bus driver, are all relevant to making a sound decision as to how best to utilize the money allocated for that form of transportation.  In addition, just because school buses have traditionally come in fairly standard models, does not equate to that necessarily being the best model to utilize; after all, for example, elementary school children are not the same size and weight as high school students.  Also, for a capacity and efficiency standpoint, consideration should be given as to whether or not a double-decker school bus might be appropriate, or basically, for those that think outside the box, what configurations besides the standard issue buses that we see today, might be better than what we currently have.

Despite the fact that school buses are so prevalent, and do not cost parents directly a dime, there are still many a parent that insist upon dropping off their child and/or picking them up at the end of the school day, which seems grossly inefficient, along with the fact that long vehicle traffic lines for parents that have the same mindset adds to both fuel wastage and air pollution.  There isn’t any doubt, that school bus transportation for children is a more efficient way to get students to and back from school, of which, because of the sheer size of that school bus fleet, consideration should be taken as to ways to improve upon what we so have already.

Travel Insurance is a con

There are some types of insurance that are pretty much mandated as well as often being prudent, such as home insurance, health insurance, and automobile insurance, of which each of these entities are both regulated and are also well established.  Then there are all sorts of other insurance, or warranty extensions, that appear to be suspect on the surface, and may or may not have any real value.  For instance, the first hint that travel insurance is for most people, going to be a mistake to purchase, is the fact that the decision process as presented, isn’t typically being done by the consumer as in the sense of the customer actually searching on their own for various travel insurance companies and thereby finding the right fit; but rather it typically is a pop-up or option that shows up on their screen as an add-on to their purchase.  This thus signifies, that those that are selling the airfare, the cruise, or this or that, have designed their websites so that these pop-ups are part of the process, which leads to the quite obvious question, as to whether this option for travel insurance, is the equivalency of a non-profitable service item for the consideration of the customer, or whether it is, what it has to be, an add-on option at a high profit margin.

After all, travel insurance, is not a charitable organization, it’s a for-profit enterprise, and when that travel insurance is presented to the consumer as something as easy as clicking “yes”, then for a certainty those that are making that offer at the price so being offered, have done their homework; whereas, the consumer, typically, has not.  Further to the point, travel insurance is a con, because it seldom, if ever, is telling the full story; of which, if it was, it would in the interest of full disclosure, indicate to the consumer that there are some credit cards, for instance, that provide travel insurance as part of having that credit card.  Additionally, having travel insurance does not mandate that the purchase so being made must be on the same website in which the booking has been initiated, because when travel insurance is pursued through a true third-party site, the deal is almost always going to be of more potential value for the consumer, because the “middleman”, that is, the website so used to book the travel, is no longer getting their cut.

The other thing about travel insurance is that as in most every insurance so bought, there are terms and conditions to them; of which, most people don’t have the interest or are willing to take the time to actually read those terms and conditions; so that, when there comes that time when the customer wants to avail themselves of that travel insurance, they may just find to their dismay, that it doesn’t actually work the way that they thought it was going to work.  The other thing, is that part of the travel insurance model is to play upon people’s fears and to therefore, for what appears to be a reasonable price, offer them some security; but the thing is that money spent where it doesn’t really need to be spent, is money wasted, which is, in so many words, a con.

Great Britain’s “Licensing of the Press Act 1662”

Freedom of the press is one of the seminal rights that those who are Americans are fortunate to have, and this right, is of absolute critical importance to the general public -- for when on the contrary the government strictly controls what can or cannot be written for public dissemination, because such writing must be authorized by that government, then this type of restriction and censorship of the press serves to control the narrative per that governmental preference under the threat of the power that the government so wields.

At the time of Britain’s “Licensing of the Press Act,” this Act stipulated that those presses that were unlicensed had no right to print anything, and therefore anything printed without having been appropriately licensed by the authorized governmental representatives of Great Britain, would therefore have to suffer the consequences, so of.  Unsurprisingly, those then, that were licensed to print, knew that in order to remain in the good graces of their government, that they would have to therefore “voluntary” print only that which was in conformance to what the government desired to see printed, which, quite obviously, is a de facto form of censorship.

While freedom of the press, has to a very large extent, been very robust in America, that in itself is not a guarantee, that this particular freedom, will not suffer some serious restrictions in the future.  In fact, certain significant parts of America are devolving into believing that some forms of speech, are just too divisive, too hateful, too fake, and too this and too that, so that this speech should not be allowed to be expressed; typically, so justified under the hallmark of this being for not only the greater good of society, but also to improve the civility, so of.  While, those sentiments do seem to make sense on one level, that isn’t at its core, what free speech and what a free press is all about; because freedom, in and of itself, means that each of us has the right, to say things that might well be uncomfortable, inappropriate, untrue or pretty much wrong.

Again, freedom of the press, is a right, and that right is not subject to being restricted, because of certain people or governmental representatives, that want to control the narrative per their particular preference, as if they, alone, should be the new licensing agents of the government.  Again, it can’t be emphasized enough, that when the press is subject to being licensed or its equivalency, that the people, therefore lose the vibrancy and cacophony of many different viewpoints as well as also experiencing limited diverse thinking and innovative ideas, all in the name of orthodoxy and conformity, as if “cookie cutter” citizens are somehow the ideal citizens, when they are not.

The whole point of having a free press, is to demonstrate our respect that each person should have the opportunity to think for themselves, and that it so follows that what we do not need at all, is to give in to those that desire to limit or repress such a press, under the guise of it being for our own benefit, when in reality, it’s for their benefit, at the expense of our own.

What about the children?

We read at americanprogress.org, that “In America, nearly 11 million children are poor.”  There are all sorts of people, coming from all walks of life, that believe that adults should duly have to suffer from having made their own poor choices, or by not applying themselves, or from this or from that – which, on some level, might even make some sense.  The thing is, though, what doesn’t make much sense is that children, that have been born into this country, of which, this is the richest nation that the world has ever known, should themselves have to suffer simply for being born into the wrong family, at the wrong time, and at the wrong place, as if they, the children, should therefore duly suffer for their parent’s faults, lacks, bad decisions and bad fate.

The amount of childhood poverty, in America, which does fluctuate year to year, depending upon the economy, politics, and other factors, has never been successfully eradicated or reduced to a respectable level, ever; and yet other countries with less aggregate wealth than America have substantially lower poverty rates than the United States of America, which is to America’s great shame.  No doubt, there are plenty of reasons why America’s poverty rate is so persistent, of which, it would seem that the best advice to begin to seriously ameliorate such, would be to make it public policy that every child in this country be fairly entitled to a good education, a safe neighborhood, good healthcare, fair opportunity, and a clean environment. 

The true hope for America, now and into the future, rests with the youth of America, and when that youth is properly permitted to develop themselves so as to become responsible, diligent, hard-working, and well-educated citizens of this land, then the end result is going to be beneficial for America, especially when those that make up the consort of that youth, is as inclusive as possible.  The biggest mistake that America makes, time and time again, is to essentially create a nation in which being poor and disadvantaged, is the equivalency for a sizeable amount of our youth, to being denied having a real possibility or hope to become something of merit.

This thus means, that America, needs to, on a community basis, on a house-by-house basis, on an apartment-by-apartment basis, on a family-by-family basis, fairly provide to everyone in need, the accouterments that will help assure that the youth of today will be provided with the fair opportunity to get a sound education, as well as to have good social skills, and thereupon have real hope.

Those that truly want to see the cycle of poverty broken in America, must know for a certainty, that the best opportunity to do so, begins with the children, who at a young age, want to learn, as well as to explore, and are thereupon eager to take on life.  What hurts children more than anything, is the negativity of being in an unsafe neighborhood without good mentors, a bad educational environment, poor healthcare, food insecurity, poverty, and an infrastructure which is sorely lacking in just about everything that is of value.  In truth, when we do not provide our children with a fair shake to begin with, and insist that they pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, we need to honestly admit that it isn’t possible to do so, when that child has no boots to begin with, and is also barefoot.

Government as a covenant between it and its people

Far too many people aren't able to properly conceptualize what good governance should really look like, let alone how it should properly function; but rather they have a strong tendency instead to believe that government is something that is separate and apart from the people, of which this government is also often unanswerable to them, and therefore a world onto its own.  The point of good governance is the conscious recognition that government at its best, is competently represented by the people, through its duly elected representatives, which by open debate and lively discussion, creates appropriate legislation, that makes for good law, that in its effect promotes the general welfare of the people.  So too, governments are necessary for the common defense of the people as well as often being the most appropriate source for the funding and subsequent building of necessary infrastructure for the benefit of those people.

When it comes to civil governance, perception does matter; of which, it would behoove the United States to put forth a more concentrated effort to impress upon its own people, that they need to be active, informed, and engaged participants with their government, along with its citizens having the clarity to know that governments are instituted among the people under their consent; thereby, essentially setting up what would be considered to be a covenant between the people and its government.

Those then, that are able to see their government as being a partner with them, in which, therefore  each citizen has not only a say, but also has their unalienable rights, that are  thereby protected, secured, and promoted by that government, makes for a construct in which the citizens feel more of an obligation to then do their fair part to be of assistance to their government, with the reassurance that in return, their government will be of aid and of value to them, for what they are so trying to achieve for the betterment of their lives.

In reality, good governance necessitates a two-way street, in which, meaningful civic duties and sacrifices are made by the people, in return for the advantages that come from the uniting of many people into that which makes for a good and stable society.  So too, the point of taxation, is for those monies that are collected by the government, to be subsequently used for the necessary things, so needed, for the good functioning of society, as well as to also redistribute funds to those that are its most vulnerable.  Additionally, laws are created, not as a means to oppress the people, but rather as a tool to encourage that which should be encouraged, and to discourage that which should be discouraged.

It would be far healthier for civil society, if it would readily come to the belief, that their government, really represents a covenant in which each party to that covenant has a necessary and vital role to play in it; for governments are meant to be of service to the people, and thereby answerable to those same people, on behalf of those people, so as to create a good union of, for, and by the people.

England's Religious Act of Uniformity of 1558

Religion plays a vital and important role in many people's lives, and of which, many a country has historically had a favored or expressed authorized religion that they exclusively support, in which, those that kowtow to such, are the beneficiaries so of, and those that do not, are prone to suffer the consequences of having an unorthodox belief.  In the case of England, that country purposefully broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century, to establish their own religion, thereafter known as the Church of England, of which, the “Defender of the Faith” of that religion was the same personage as the Monarch of England, thereby signifying that the population answered to that Monarch, in their faith as well as in their everyday life.

A significant number of countries do not desire to have a population that would be susceptible to having a divided loyalty, especially when that loyalty is divided between this world and the afterworld, of which, the workaround for precluding this, is typically to have a governmental sponsored orthodox religion that all must pay obeisance to.  In England at the time of their Religious Act of Uniformity, all those that failed to adhere to the terms of that uniformity, by, for instance, not faithfully worshiping at the authorized church each and every week, were subject to monetary fines; and if caught in the reading of unauthorized religious devotionals or through their physical attendance at a state banned religious institution could thereby have initiated against them criminal sanctions.

The United States, though, was founded upon a different and a highly noble principle, which they made part and parcel of their national creed, which is that freedom of worship, deserved to be a Constitutional right, freely given to all, and that therefore it so followed that the national government could not ever have an established religion of their own, which that government continues to faithfully honor to the present day.  So then, whether a given person is religious in the traditional sense or not, freedom of worship always matters because this essentially represents whether or not the common citizen is susceptible to having their freedom of conscience, violated, by the power and intrusion of the state.

Any government that has stolen a given person's sovereignty of their conscience, has taken away the most critical element of what it so means to be at liberty, for when that government tries to control, to monitor, or to manipulate the minds of its population, it has forsaken being a government so created for the general welfare of the people, to instead representing outright oppression by its entering into the very minds of its people, for often its own nefarious purposes.

When it comes to our religious faith, our beliefs, our thoughts, and our dreams, these are ours to own, and it is not the business of any legitimate government to interfere in such, but rather it is their business to see that these are properly protected and remain inviolable.  All those that would attempt to control us, don't seem to rightly comprehend that free will, and free beliefs, are what define us as human beings, for we are not meant to be automatons.

The government needs to tax appropriately the superrich and megacorporations

The United States is the richest nation that the world has ever known, along with it also correspondingly having the largest Federal budget of any nation in the world.  Yet, within a construct in which individuals are responsible for paying their bills and taxes, and therefore of being individually fiscally responsible or thereby duly suffering the consequences, so of –- the very government that they are a part of, has consistently in the 21st century, been fiscally irresponsible, by persistently running massive fiscal deficits, year-after-year.

There does come a time when the piper must be paid, for all of that federal debt so accumulated; yet, America seems to believe that they alone, out of any nation in the history of this world, need not be subject to that very law.  However, those then, that comprehend that the stability of the nation's currency is vital to its future success, know that America does need to get its house in order, and that further, it has the capability to do so even at the present time.

There are two basic ways to balance a budget and/or to create a surplus, of which one of those ways is to reduce governmental expenditures and the other is to increase tax revenues, or to do both, simultaneously.  When it comes to tax revenues, by far, the biggest flaw of America's current tax policies is their inability to collect a meaningful amount of  taxation from those that have the lion's share of the nation's wealth.  For instance, we  read at cnbc.com that, ''The wealthiest 1% of Americans controlled about $41.52 trillion.“  Also, as noted by Bernie Sanders,“In 1952, the corporate income tax accounted for 33 percent of all federal tax revenue. Today, despite record-breaking profits, corporate taxes bring in less than 9 percent.“

One of those things, that most Americans, can't seem to readily comprehend is just how much profit, American corporations are capable of, in which, a prime example would be the absolute gargantuan amount of profit that Apple generated in 2021, which was $94.7 billion in net income; and that was just in one fiscal year!  So then, because this government  has not appropriately taxed the wealth of the superrich, including not deliberately targeting and subsequently taxing at a meaningful level the megaprofits of these superrich megacorporations that have consistently generated billions upon billions in profit, on a yearly basis, then there just isn't any real way that the Federal budget will be balanced or will display a surplus anytime soon, because when the entities that have all the money are lightly taxed, that shortfall, is not going to be made up, elsewhere.

Of course, there are few people or corporations, for that matter, that really like to pay taxes, which is the probable reason why superrich people and corporations, have quite obviously “gamed“ the system so that they pay the minimal amount of taxation that they can pay, thereby allowing them to have even more power and influence then they already have.  Clearly, our present day government is either heavily influenced by these superrich players or it has been effectively co-opted by them.

This thus signifies that the prevailing winds will not change for governmental fiscal responsibility, until there comes that time, if ever, when those with all the money are deliberately targeted and subsequently aptly taxed by that government of, for, and by the people.

“What each individual wills is obstructed by everyone else, and what emerges is something that no one willed.”

The above quote comes from the hand of Frederick Engels, and within this sentiment is a profound truth.  That truth is that each of us has desires, and because each of us is different, then not too surprisingly, our desires are not going to be the same desire for each of us, or even in sync, or in harmony, one with another, and when a multitude of desires are all fighting for the same space, the end result is going to inevitably be the conflict of those different desires.

Now, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t have our own desires or hopes, but rather it must be recognized that when everybody is about exclusively their own agenda, and therefore they believe that asserting their will, is the only thing that matters, then the end result cannot possibly be anything other than chaos and disharmony. 

Those then, that are able to accept the fact that every person is entitled to the same rights as well as their own individual viewpoint along with everyone else, should therefore understand that the best way for individuals to have a better and more positive experience is to find commonality with one another as well as to have a better understanding, that we all are in this present environment, together.   So too, it's important that what we typically desire for ourselves, preferably be something of merit, as compared to something exclusively of self-interest, because, unsurprisingly those things that we selfishly desire, are going to typically be self-serving, and therefore not of real interest to most others, and when a significant amount of people have that same type of mindset, then the end result is going to be that nobody really gets their way, and just about everybody in society, loses.

The main reason why so many plans so developed for the betterment of society, don't ever seem to work out as well as expected, is because those that are on the same team often aren't actually fully unified in purpose or intent.  Instead, far too often, in far too many situations, we find that there are actually hidden agendas, misdirection, cliques, and just about everything conceivable that serves to undermine the noble purpose of what is supposed to be accomplished for the greater good.

A world in which everybody just cares about their own self, or their own circle, is never going to be a world that is going to be anything other than what we so see today, which is a world that is often filled with conflict, hatred, and injustice.  So then, in order to evolve to the next level, we need to think less about our own self, and take into our collective psyche, instead, that those that are joined together in a common cause, to thereby develop into a well-oiled machine are going to progress a lot further, as a cohesive package, because they have less flaws, and more corresponding virtues. 

In truth, those that will the best of the other, and do their good part to help achieve that goal on behalf of society, are going to find the end result to be a lot more pleasing, then those that just want what they want, and don't seem to comprehend that selfishness seldom works out the way that we thought it would.