Owning up to personal responsibility

There are all sorts of excuses put out by both adolescents as well as adults to explain away their various failings and faults, of which, within those excuses, there may indeed be some justification, and in some cases, a lot of justification for such errors in judgment; but, at the end of the day, those that do wrong, that makes mistakes, that fall in with the wrong type of people, have primarily only themselves to blame, and none other, despite their excuses so used.

For instance, it is somewhat amusing, though in reality, pretty disappointing, when people indicate that the problems that they have has a lot to do with them meekly following the wrong crowd, or the wrong advice, or the wrong this or the wrong that.  Yet, somehow, within those that fall into this following of the wrong leader and things of that ilk, there doesn’t come to mind, that somehow these same people weren’t able to follow the dictates of good parental advice, or good mentoring, or good wisdom from the good book, itself.  In other words, those that claim that they are prone to being so easily led, and find such thereby leading them into trouble; somehow, weren’t able to be so easily led, by those that exemplified the doing of good works, the value of following good rules, and of doing right.

In reality, each of us, has a personal responsibility that we are responsible to own up to, and while we might well try to put the blame, or at least a significant portion of it, on others, the bottom line, is that in many a case, we are solely responsible for the actions that we have taken.  After all, the ability to say “yes” or to say “no”, is typically at our volition, of which, no doubt, that answer, may indeed come with consequences, but nevertheless, a choice has been made. Those others then, that claim that they have made no choice, or had no choice, have by simply going along with what they were in direction of so doing, have by their actions or by the following so of, also have made their choice.

In point of fact, what leads more than anything to people getting into trouble, is not necessarily that they fall in with the wrong crowd, though, that has its significance; but rather that they have a bad habit of simply going along with the flow, without taking into proper consideration, exactly where that flow is leading them, and whether or not that is a good place to go to.  The main danger in going with the flow is that far too many people, just put their mind into that somnolent state of auto-control, which seems typically like a really bad idea, especially, in consideration that our mind was made for thinking.

So then, to stand against the crowd, takes some degree of courage as well as pluck; so too, to walk away from those that are one’s peers because the ideas that they are proposing seem imprudent, does take resolve and determination.  Still, these very actions, must from time-to-time be seriously considered and then if appropriate, so enacted upon, for each of us has an innate responsibility that only we can personally answer to, for better or for worse.

Anonymity within cities and communities

To a very large extent, America has become an urban nation, of which, that relentless urbanization, continues to grow, year-by-year.  This exists, despite the fact, that America is an immensely large country and could in consideration of the sheer amount of its land space, have instead, much smaller, manageable and vibrant communities, as compared to these dense, often impersonal, highly populated cities. 

There are, of course, some immense advantages in the having of large cities, especially, in the sense of economies of scale, activities, infrastructure, and the like, but the thing is that bigger is not always better; along with the salient fact that the bigger the size, the more intractable corresponding problems and the solution to such, will often become.  So too, part of what attracts people to big cities, is the fact that people, for better or for worse, can reinvent themselves, and further to the point, they can engage with the general public, or disengage, as per their inclination, in which those that are neighbors, have often no real justifiable reason to infringe upon the given privacy of a family or a particular person.

When it comes to a smaller community and especially of a community that has had generations of people that have lived within it, there is the knowledge that those people have of one another, which seldom is possible or even conceivable of ever existing within a large city.  This thus signifies for those that live in those smaller communities, that oftentimes within those communities that there is a certain comfort in the knowing of their neighbors, and the fact that their neighbors also know them, which can serve as a meaningful balm so as to not feel corresponding anxiety and alienation, one to another, especially when each person’s relative success, and ownership of material things, seems to be about the same. 

That is to say, where everybody knows your name, there is a corresponding greater sense of familial relations or its equivalency, of which, of course, it must be added, that some of the very worse arguments and discord can also come from such; but in general, the good of being known, and thereby being accorded due consideration by community members, way outweighs the bad, along with those that truly know one another, typically end up being more forgiving, as well.

It is a common trait, to desire to be respected, as well as to want to be liked and loved, and of which, in bustling cities in which everyone seemingly has something that they need to attend to, always, and oftentimes don’t feel as if they have the right in invade another person’s privacy; many a person, can feel some degree of alienation, for suffering from that lack of communication and intimacy, which may so lead these people to being more inclined to drown their sorrows and concerns in drink or drugs. 

There is a huge difference in being able to easily walk down the street so as to drop in on a friend or a neighbor, that a given person has known for years, has grown up with, and has connections to, as compared to that same basic construct simply not existing.  Those then, that lack community ties, and are surrounded instead by a lot of hustle and bustle, may indeed find themselves, with their anxiety levels rising, for we are social creatures, that need meaningful relationships in order to get the best out of life.

Real love has no falsity to it

The Holy Bible, has lots of words in it, of which, it could be said, that nothing is of more importance and therefore of more significance than what is so written in Luke 10: 27, “So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”  Yet, how many millions of people have read this very same passage, heard it preached upon, but have paid in essence, not a whit of attention to it.  Those then, that speak of love, that claim that they love, but aren’t true to that love by their thoughts, actions, and deeds, have nothing more than a counterfeit love, of which, its value is minuscule, at best.

Everything that we deal with on this planet, and our interactions, thereof, in which we question as to what we should or should not do in a given situation, has a known sensible response within our being -- as to what our appropriate response to such should actually be, though many of us pretend that we do not know.  There is no greater attribute than love, of which, not all that profess such love, or consider such, actually are true to that love.  That which is real love, has no falsity within it, no hidden agendas to deal with, and does not put the self before another; for to do so, presupposes that one person has more value than another; whereas, all, without exception, are equally loved by that which created us in the first place, and therefore have the same value, the same worth, and the same entitlement.

For those that claim love, as in for this person, this country, this entity, or this or that; they all, therefore, must be held accountable to the rules of that love.  Those that love, and truly love, cannot on the one hand say that they love someone unconditionally; yet, somehow, when things break disappointedly differently than expected, they then, on the other hand, revoke such love.  Further to the point, the individual behavior of that which we profess love for, whether good or bad, right or wrong, cannot change our love for that of which we so love, or else we have been false to that love.

Those then that make their love, conditional, as if God, or anyone else, for that matter, can be dealt with on a quid pro quo basis, and yet still call this love, are truly lost.  To actually love, is to rise above the limitations of one’s self-centered ego, to understand as well as to comprehend, that each soul, so created by our God, is part of the whole of God, of which, together, we are meant to be one with God, and that therefore each soul has an equal and inviolable right to that oneness with God. 

To have true love, is not the easiest of things to accomplish, especially, within the domain and constraints of this planet, but that is indeed, what each of us must aspire to achieve.  All the song and dance, the bread and circuses, the ups and downs, the war and peace, that surround us, serve to distract us from the only thing that we need to rise up to, which is to love; of which, those then that are able to do that have truly broken free from the illusions that appear so real, so as to embrace that which is the unending reality and the highest truth of our continual essence.

The rise of America since 1945

In 1945, World War II came to its conclusion, of which, if it wasn’t already accepted as being true, America was perceived by those in the know, as being the most successful and the most powerful nation in the world.  Yet, as we read at www.digitalhistory.uh.edu, in America, “…. A third of the country's homes had no running water, two-fifths lacked flushing toilets, and three-fifths lacked central heating.”  This was the status of that nation back then, which had been successful in fighting and conquering the Pacific theatre as well as the European theatre on behalf of the Allied powers.

Since 1945, running water, flushing toilets, and central heating, are not only common to have in virtually every dwelling in America, but they are also considered mandatory, and further they are part of those things that are nowadays pretty much taken for granted in America.  All of this is indicative that America has come an awful long way from where it was in regards to the nation’s wealth along with personal wealth, since 1945, and so much of what we now have in this modern era, are basically treated today as common place items and accouterments, without often really the acknowledgment that such that we have, is really of relatively recent vintage.

Those then that long for the days of the middle of the 20th century with touching nostalgia thought, are often looking at such through rose-colored glasses, for the comforts that are readily available, today, even for those of the lower class, are so much more, than what was available back then.  That doesn’t mean that all is good in the 21st century, but what it does signify is that the coziness of our living conditions, along with the immense increase of entertainment options, ease of travel, the knowledge at our literal fingertips,  and so on and so forth, is far superior to what it was back then and much of the credit of what we so have in this great nation, must be accorded thereby to all those people, institutions, as well as good governance that have helped bring such luxury to this fine land.

That said, it must be recognized, that no nation of real worth, should ever settle for resting upon its laurels, for when a nation does that, they thereby lose the urgency and the drive to become even better than what it so currently represents.  This signifies that in a competitive world that has gotten ever smaller, that for America to maintain its preeminence as the greatest nation in the world, it must continue to lead the way and do more therefore to demonstrate to its people and to the world, that the foundation of what so matters for a good civilization, such as housing, employment, wealth, safety, opportunity, income, education, health, and the like – still must all signify that America is at the top of its game.

So then, there isn’t any way that America can remain the greatest nation in the world, if it doesn’t do a more comprehensive job of seeing that a higher percentage of its citizens are knowledgeable, engaged, and dedicated to the importance of not only personal success, but also in contributing their good part to help maintain America’s status and domain, here and abroad.   As good as it is in America, there is always room for improvement, and those then that together strive for that improvement, are those that will continue their rise; whereas, those that do not, will begin their fall, and those that fall from very great heights, don’t fare well.

Keep it simple and live to the Truth

There are plenty of people that go to Church, pray, and listen to sermons; yet, how many of those same people actually live to the truth of the message of the Christ to begin with?  There are a lot of good reasons to go to Church, as well as to pray; and in addition, the listening to sermons most definitely has its place, but at some point, each and every person, must make up their mind as to whether they will consciously live to the truth of the message that has been spoken to them, again and again, loud and clear, or whether to keep on doing that which stymies them from getting to where they really need to be.

The gospels are not all that complicated to understand, though within those gospels, there are also hidden truths, that come to those that search sincerest for God, so as to further enlighten them.  Still, at its foundation, the truth of what Christ has to say, is said clearly in Matthew 22: 37-39, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”  That scripture passage sums up the message of Christ, succinctly, as well as it being the eternal sermon that all should aspire to live to, for this thus represents the pathway to liberation from the delusion and illusions that far too many people suffer from.

The problem that way too many people suffer from, is that they, in reality, do not want to live to the truth, because they are in their own way, content to keep on sinning, and therefore though they declaim that they seek to be saved, they aren’t actually interested in being saved in a manner in which they have to change who and what they really are, in the present.  In other words, the allure of what they are presently thinking and doing, keeps them from living to the truth of those two gospel commandments; of which, on some level, they somehow believe that they are being so clever and therefore are, in essence, “getting over” on God, without understanding that the longer that they continue in their defiance of such, the more muck and mire attaches to their very being.

The modern world has all sorts of lures, of which, each of these has the potential to take us away from being the good people that we are quite capable of being.  Yet, the great shame, of those that believe in God, have heard of God, or have a pretty good understanding of their obligations to God, is how these same people are able to so easily compartmentalize their life and therefore what they so think, say, and do in a manner that on a given day, they think all so done is basically just fine, when it surely is not.

That God is a forgiving God, almost goes without saying.  What is important to say, though, is that for all those that know better, no matter their age, no matter their station in life, no matter the respect they do or don’t have from others, is that to know what is right, and then to keep on doing what is wrong, clearly signifies that such a person as that, has failed their God, has failed their neighbor, and has failed their own soul, to their own lasting detriment.

Self-absorption and suicide

For all those that believe that material things always bring happiness, or that living in a day and age, in which literacy, good medical facilities, liberty, and democracy, would seem to be all extremely beneficial for people, in whole; what we so find, is that sadly this in and of itself is clearly, not always enough; for there is many a person that has suicidal thoughts, or attempts suicide, or succeeds at such.  Most people, that kill themselves, are not actually in a hopeless position, though, in their mind, at that time, and in their self-absorption, they may so interpret such, as if they are; and those that lose hope or are so lost in their own dark thoughts, are prone to making bad decisions, such as suicide.

To be self-absorbed is to be concerned only about one’s own interests and desires, to the exclusion of everything else.  So then, for those that are self-absorbed, for them, when everything is going well, life is very, very good; and when most everything is going okay, life is okay; but when everything appears to be on a relentless downward slope of nothing but hurt, lost and defeat, of which, it doesn’t appear that this sad tale will ever change for the better, then life becomes well-nigh hopeless; and those then that have lost hope are predisposed to either striking out against society or a given individual in some way, form, or manner in a destructive way, or instead turning such anger inward, and attacking their own self.

All those that are self-absorbed don’t have to actually be that way, for each of us has our own volition, so gifted to us by virtue of being a human being  Those then that are always and almost exclusively concerned only about their own self, can, if they so desire, find other interests and activities to keep them occupied; of which, perhaps, part of the problem for certain members of society as lived especially in first world nations, is the fact that because first world nations are seldom in any real danger, for instance, of being militarily attacked by some other warring nation, and because life as structured in many ways, allows people to be independent and on their own, without those same people being obligated to perform any duties to that society, in return; we do so find, that many people, without apparently having any good and viable outlets to occupy themselves, have a tendency to boredom, and those so bored, often increasingly become ever more self-absorbed.

So too, the biggest downfall of self-absorption and thereby essentially ignoring the opportunity to be of good service to other people and institutions, is that such behavior as that has a lot in common with narcissism, in which those that are narcissistic, typically, look at the world in a manner in which they believe that other people should serve their needs and when that does not happen, it irks them; and irks them in such a strong sense that they begin to doubt their own self-worth, and when they devalue their own self, the road to something destructive becomes all that much easier, for those that value themselves as essentially valueless, have seemingly no good ground to stand upon.

Abusing redaction rules

The art of redaction is the elimination of, or the obscuring of, written information that should not be publicly disclosed, such as certain personal identifying markers, state secrets, confidential sources, and the like.  On the other hand, those things that should not be redacted, are the deliberate redaction of pertinent evidence to the case at hand, so deliberately redacted in a manner so as to purposely obfuscate what would be fairly obvious, if such was not redacted.  That is to say, to redact something that should not be redacted, for the very purpose to keep the party so requesting that pertinent information, from seeing the whole truth of the matter, is a form of misdirection, deception, and categorically wrong.

Far too many people as well as organizations, are overly concerned only about documents not being properly redacted in the sense, that certain personal information, for instance, has not been fully obscured.  While this indeed can pose a problem, one could argue quite forcefully, that all things being equal, that it is almost always better to disclose more information and therefore to be more transparent, than to obscure such, because obscuration is typically the mindset of somebody or some organization having something that they wish to have hidden, because the disclosure of that information apparently cannot handle the disinfection of the light of day.

That is to say, while we might believe that those that are doing the redactions are always above board, neutral, and competent, the fact of the matter is that powerful people as well as powerful organizations and powerful government entities, will go to some incredible extremes, to protect what they feel needs their protection and if they are unable to stall or to preclude the admission of certain compromising documents, then the next best thing to do is to see that those documents are redacted in a manner, to the extent so possible, that this will protect their interests, of which, critical passages and words obscured, can easily change a losing hand to one that at least breaks even.

It is a travesty of justice, when information that the public has the right to know, or when specific parties to a given suit have requested such in discovery, in which, that information is, for whatever reason, endlessly delayed, unnecessarily obscured, is incomplete, or basically the disclosure of that information has not followed the intent of the law and the purpose, of it.  In the lack of full disclosure, those then that are trying to render a fair decision, or the people that are attempting to formulate a reasonable opinion, have been cheated, and cheated especially when redactions in certain places of a given document, have for all intents and purposes, served as a tool of deception, as opposed to such redaction edits having always toed the line of being fair and prudent.  

One should never underestimate the extent to which people and organizations will go to, in order to protect what they feel has to be protected, and therefore the art of redaction, is that art, which must be monitored by neutral parties that are beholden to nobody, or else, in many an important case, that which has been redacted, has been done so in service to that which has far too much power, to begin with.

Legacy preferences and college

There are specific elite colleges that many well qualified applicants desire to get admission to, of which, the main problem for gaining admission for those potential students, is the fact that the overall number of applicants, typically, far exceeds the availability of student slots.  This thus indicates, that a significant amount of those potential students will be denied entry to their college of choice, which would probably be acceptable, if the process in the selection of which students who were admitted, was transparent, based on objective merit, and always consistent in the scoring and evaluation of who gets in and who does not.

Not too surprisingly, despite all the talk about fairness, objectivity, meritocracy, having the right stuff, specific standards, as well as other criteria, the selection of those students so admitted to a given elite college has a lot more to do with the preferences of those so making those decisions, as well as also the constraints and objectives that they are subject to by the powers-to-be, then impartiality and openness.   Further to the point, one of the things that elite colleges do not desire to openly discuss is the fact that there is often a backdoor to admission to their college, which is done through specific legacy preferences.

A legacy preference is basically providing to those potential applicants that have had relatives, as in usually their mother and/or father, that have gone to that college, receiving a corresponding boost to their perceived qualification so as to better accommodate their admission to that college, as opposed to this not being a factor, that is even looked at.  No doubt, there are families, that want their progeny to go to the same higher educational institution that they went to, not only because it continues a given legacy, but also because they perceive that college’s value, trust in the value of that institution, and finally because on some level, they believe that their progeny is entitled to it.

As for why any given elite college, would care about a given legacy, it almost goes without saying, that those families that believe in that institution, are probably going to be more generous in their donations to such, as well as typically being more engaged with that college; and finally those colleges recognize the value of legacy students going to their institution as being more conducive for those students in making the right connections, which thereby serves to setup a positive feedback loop for everyone.

After all, elite colleges are hardly stupid, for they know that part of what gets a particular person ahead, or a particular institution for that matter, is having the right networking, which allows such to meet and to know the right people from the right institutions, leading to the implicit understanding of the valued interplay between education and the subsequent successful entry of that student into a meaningful career.  So, what we do find, is that legacy preferences are the workaround for colleges from being limited to evaluations so graded by strict meritocracy or fairness, to thereby permit those students that already have a significant leg up to sustain from one generation to the next, all the inherent advantages of being in the right place at the right time.

The rise of capital and the fall of wage growth

For all those that are perplexed about the tremendous wealth disparity, between those that are the superrich as compared to those that are not, the answer to such a tremendous wealth gap, really comes down to the fact that most people that get superrich don’t actually accomplish that through their actual wages, as in working a given job, or through the salary so paid at that job, but rather they are able to make mountain loads of money most typically through actualized stock options, equities in general, equity investments, or by basically having or having been gifted a lot of capital, which nowadays when invested grows a heck of a lot faster than income from wages, with also that capital being taxed at a very reasonable rate, when it is so taxed, along with capital gains not being subject to either social security or Medicare taxes.

For instance, from the years 1979 to 2016, the Standard and Poor stock index, had a compound annual growth rate of a very impressive 11.75%; whereas we read that from that same period, as reported by epi.org, the average growth in wages was an anemic 0.9% yearly.  It doesn’t take a genius, to recognize that a growth rate of 11.75% absolutely dominates a growth rate of 0.9%, of which, even if two people were to start at the exact same wealth in 1979, the person making 11.75% in wealth growth would over the ensuring years to 2016, absolutely leave the other person, in the proverbial dust.

Of course, there are plenty of people, that don’t really understand what the fuss is all about, as in the sense, that in a capitalistic society, if some people are able to increase their wealth, at a greater rate, then others, so be it.  The problem, though, is that oftentimes those people that have capital, have a strong tendency to passively invest it as compared to investing it actively in a business or as part of a community service -- rather they prefer to buy equities, or real estate, or annuities, in which, their participation in that investment, really comes down to monitoring it, and nothing much more.  On the other hand, all those that labor for their money, by working, in one form or another, and are compensated with a wage for their labor, are for a certainty, expending both personal time as well as energy in order to make that wage, of which the growth rate of that wage is often disappointingly small.   

The only conceivable way to reduce therefore the huge wealth disparity in America, which increases year by year, is for this government, of, for, and by the people, to make it their point, to do more to increase the growth of labor wages, and if appropriate to reduce the taxation so of for those wages so made; and to correspondingly do more to tax passive capital income at a higher progressive rate as well as also taxing large accumulations of wealth on a yearly basis, so as to thereby redistribute into the hands of those that need a helping hand, the aid that they so need. 

It is important to recognize, that to a very large extent, oversized returns on capital invested, has come at the direct expense of wage growth for laborers, and until such a time as this gets reapportioned, the superrich will get ever more at the expense of the general population.

“Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”

The above scripture comes from Matthew 6: 27, and this scripture should say something to each one of us – which is that to worry about those things that cannot change, is quite obviously a waste of time.  Each of us has a responsibility to do the best that we can do with our given abilities, of which, it therefore behooves us to not only have the correct mindset so as to accomplish those important things, but it also necessitates our active involvement in doing those activities that will help us to get accomplished what we so desire to get accomplished.  The worrying aspect of anything, is often not going to be conducive to the task at hand, but typically serves to unnecessarily distract us from concentrating our mind upon our tasks, and therefore worry in any of its myriad forms, is almost always a hindrance, and hence something to be avoided.

The first thing to recognize about worry is oftentimes those things that we worry about the most, thankfully, don’t ever come to fruition, which on one hand, can be considered to be a very good thing; but it also must be recognized that such worrying has also been a very bad thing, for all that worry, has taken us away from what we would have found to have been more profitable to engage ourselves in, and therefore has reduced our efficiency and effectiveness.  So then, there are many people that fear all sorts of hobgoblins and menaces, that they perceive as a real threat to them, when in reality, their concern about such things, serves mainly to make them nervous and at unease, for no good reason.

While there are those things that we each should be concerned about, or even to worry about – it has to be recognized that in the worrying, nothing of substance is going to be accomplished.  Instead, a given individual should try to break down the problem that is troubling them in a manner in which it can be mitigated, resolved, or overcome; and if after aforethought, no viable solution comes forth, then the only thing of substance to do, is to determine how best to handle the problem, so that the result is less damaging, overall.

Each one of us has challenges so presented to us, that it is our duty to overcome, of which, there isn’t any extra pay involved, for those that expend a great deal of energy, worrying about it; as opposed to all those that recognize the value in dealing with it, in a responsible and forthright way.  So then, those that worry the most, are seemingly those that have lost touch with the fact that they are the very same ones that actually have the most control and say of what they do or don’t do in a given day, of what they do or don’t think about, and finally what they do or don’t do about what needs to be done.

All those that worry, and worry too much, aren’t good at comprehending that they have failed to recognize that for every closed door that there is another one that so opens; thereby they need to take the opportunity to not only find that open door, but to also enter into it.

What do you think you mean when you say what you say?

The art of verbal communication is very important, in which, it isn’t just the words so being spoken that matter, but it’s also the context, the tone, the body language, as well as who the participants are in that conversation.  So that, we find, that the very same words, with different inflections, or with a different audience, or with different body language, can most definitely have a very different meaning to different people and at different times.  This so signifies that all the nuances so involved in a given conversation, actually matter and are therefore important, while also indicating to all those third parties that are not privy to a given conversation, that they may or may not subsequently interpret such, correctly.

Further to the point, not everything verbally expressed is always actually expressed with the correct verbiage, or timbre, all things considered, when trying to communicate well with another.  That is to say, for instance, when people are emotionally upset or distraught, words can then be readily spoken, that are more dramatic, and often more hurtful, and thereby less caring, then they would be if that person was calmer and in better control of their emotions.  This signifies that what a person says, especially when they are distressed about something, may mean entirely something else -- that actually hasn’t been verbally expressed well at that moment.  So then, it can help to clarify a conversation, to actually ask the person so speaking, what is that they think they meant by what they said, instead of taking their remarks at face value or trying to interpret them, internally.

The thing about conversations, is that some conversations, can have a lasting impact upon one party or the other, or possibly both.  So then, it behooves each participant to that conversation, to want to desire to comprehend what has or has not been really meant by the words so spoken, especially when something so said, has had an immediate negative impact upon another.  Further to the point, this provides the participants to that conversation, a good opportunity to correct that which should be corrected, at the beginning of such, as contrasted to doing nothing, and thereby allowing that wound to remain unattended and to thereby fester.

Of course, there are plenty of good conversations, of real worth, and of real value to those so communicating; of which, it can be said, it’s vital to make sure that what a given person has heard and seems to thereby comprehend, is true to what has so been said, for sometimes people, in their eagerness to hear something good, hear only what they want to hear, while ignoring those parts that they don’t want to hear, and thereby to lose their good perspective on what has been actually said or meant by such.  So, perhaps with some trepidation, it’s worth inquiring of the other person what they so mean, in what they have so said, for it’s better to know the truth, then to be deceived by one’s own distortion of such.

In short, it’s of value to desire to know what a person means by what they have so said, because clarity is part and parcel of what a good conversation should actually represent.

The power to help and the power to harm

Every single person in this world has some degree of power, of which, how much power a given individual so has, ranges from one extreme to the other.  So that, even those that claim that they have no power, whatsoever, have power, if perhaps only in a negatory power, such as in their refusal to do something, or to give the illusion of doing something, when they are not actually doing so, and so on and so forth.  Then, of course, there is that type of seemingly absolute power, in which other people’s lives, livelihood, and freedom rests in the hands of some authority to do whatever that they so desire to do. 

So then, discretionary power is part and parcel of the human experience in this world.  Some people would have us to believe, that discretionary power, isn’t fair, or isn’t right, or shouldn’t really be allowed; or in other words, they wish for the considerable reduction of discretionary power, to be replaced quite obviously by cut and dry rules, that would be absolutely consistent, of which, these rules then would give no ground.  The problem with a lack of discretionary power is that the less discretionary power, that there is so available, for the person or entity to utilize or to forsake, the more that humankind devolves into nothing much more than automatons, and thereby the massive reduction of their free will.  Those then, that do not have free will, have no discretionary power, and to believe therefore that the ideal world is an environment in which there is no discretionary power, necessitates that there would be no free will, which pretty much makes this world, nothing much more than a playground for that who created it, and no doubt, something that could not conceivably maintain that creator’s interest for any sustainable period of time.

Rather, of far more interest and of far more drama, is a world in which those so created upon it, have free will and therefore they have discretionary power, and thereby they use such power, per their own volition, for better or for worse.  The beauty of this system, is that it permits those that are the players of it, to spread their wings, so to speak, and those that are most curious, the most engaged, and the most dedicated to the principle of the greater good will eventually figure out, that the best use of discretionary power is to consistently do the right thing, rather than to be self-serving, mean, or destructive.

Each of us, no matter our particular station in life, have the power to lend a helping hand, or to remove such a hand, or to use such a hand in a hurtful way.  That is the power so granted to us all, of which, those that are the wisest, see the value of doing good, because by doing so, it helps to enlighten those that are in the darkness, so that they too, can do good, and thereby, when like minds join together, it makes for that which was the intent in the first place – which is to grant free will to all so created, and for that who is the Creator to delight in seeing its children use such valuable gifts, well.

So many school teachers make for a strong union

Perhaps most people would be surprised to learn that public school teachers are part of the biggest union in America, which is the National Education Association (NEA).  The fact that those that are public school employees are overwhelmingly part of that union, makes for not only an impressive number of members at 3 million peoples, but also provides that union with the corresponding power of that numerical strength to often get favorable results for its members.

In an era in which union membership and union power is in steep decline, the teaching profession, is one area in which union strength has maintained its strength in recent years.  As in many things, there are both positives and negatives to having a strong union, of which, depending upon a given person’s viewpoint, this leads to different perspectives and different opinions.  For instance, because teachers are public employees, they usually are restricted in their option of going out on strike, for their duty to educate children, in theory, outweighs their right to strike; as well as the salient fact that many State governments and localities, have specific restrictions limiting such.  Still, those members of a union, understand well, that the threat of a walkout, or sick out, or a strike, are valuable tools in any negotiation, whether, strictly legal or not.  Additionally, teachers have often a strong incentive to try to increase their salary and their overall benefit package, in recognition not only of the ill effects of inflation to their income when such does not keep up with same, but also in response to the need for competitive salaries to be provided to teachers, in order to obtain and to retain good quality teachers.

While, in general, the taxpaying public, doesn’t begrudge a fair salary being paid to teachers, they at the same time, aren’t all that interested in having their taxes raised directly or indirectly to pay for such, and therefore they are prone to desiring to see that teachers and that schools, are held accountable to the results and the test scores of the students that make up that body, of which, poor and unsatisfactory results, often signify to parents, that the teachers are not doing their job appropriately or well.  Additionally, in an era in which private enterprise has basically vacated pensions for their workers, and therefore forces those employees to save for their own retirement through alternatives such as a 401k, there thus is for a significant swath of taxpayers, some resentment to not only the pensions so being paid to teachers, but also to the fact that teachers work, at least on paper, significantly fewer hours than the general taxpayer does.

The thing is though, that even though the teaching profession has a very strong union, and seems to provide its members with often not only a good salary, good benefits, as well as a robust pension, that the turnover rate of those so qualified and thereby educated to be teachers, are subsequently found to be leaving the profession, at a disturbing rate that is surprisingly high.  This would presuppose that within the teaching profession, itself, that the conditions so of, are often troubling, unsatisfactory, unrewarding, stressful, upsetting, and stifling; which is disconcerting not only for teachers, but also for the underachieving students in school as well as their disappointed parents.

Hygiene, isolation, testing and pandemics

One might think that the sole superpower in the world, as well as it also being the richest nation in the world, would obviously be the most prepared for a given pandemic, but clearly this is not the case, whatsoever.  For instance, the United States actually consists of fifty different States, of which, each of these States when it comes to a pandemic seems to have a mind of its own.  The thing about pandemics is that the borders of sovereign nations does not matter, and certain the borders of States, matters not.  This would presuppose that the only robust way to deal with a potential pandemic is to have in place what the national response would be to such, and to thereby abide by it.

The time to get the right sort of response to a potential pandemic is at the very inception of it.  In consideration, that never has the world been so small, because of the huge amount of trade and international travel so done, it must be taken into consideration, that therefore no nation is an island unto itself; which thus signifies, that those countries that are most interested in dealing successfully with a pandemic must have in place, prudent steps to preclude or mitigate such, to the best extent so possible, without having any unnecessary or misguided interruptions to the daily lives and business of its citizens.

While within a given pandemic there are always going to be, at least, initially, some unknowns, and of which each pandemic is different in its own way; that does not mean that there aren’t sensible steps that aren’t applicable to each pandemic.  For instance, the United States is gifted with good, fresh water, which is necessary in order to properly help to soap up one’s hands and thereby to rid oneself of contaminants, of which, the proper teaching and thereby the following of good hand washing does reduce considerably the spread of germs.  So too, the wearing of masks as well as gloves for hands most definitely has its necessary place, of which, there are those specific masks and gloves which perform a stellar service in the protecting of hands and face from germs, airborne droplets, as well as inadvertent splashes, sprays, and splatter.  Additionally, a robust pandemic testing mechanism, that is both efficient as well as being inexpensive needs to be put into place as soon as possible, when a pandemic begins, for without such testing, it becomes problematic in being able to quickly separate the sheep from the goats, so to speak.  Also, and very importantly, the people that need to be specifically isolated during a pandemic, are always going to first be the infected, followed by those that are its weakest and its most vulnerable, as compared to isolating the entire general population.

As they say, a stitch in time saves nine, so then, this sort of sensible mindset is of the upmost relevance for the beginning of a given pandemic; for vigorous steps taken at the beginning of such, are sure to mitigate the effects of that pandemic; whereas, misguided, confusing, and contradictory steps are sure to make matters worse and often with tragic results, that need not be the result, thereof.  Those then, that will not prudently prepare for that which will surely happen will then have sown the wind, and thereby they will surely reap that subsequent terrible whirlwind.

Towards a more robust inheritance tax

In consideration, that the United States desires to represent itself as a meritocracy, and egalitarian in principle, then the least that the United States should do, is to live up to that creed, or thereby in full disclosure to forfeit that claim, once and for all.  There was a time from basically the inception of the “New Deal” to up to around 1980, when the United States was inexorably becoming a more equal society, in which the wealth of the superrich, though great, was not though insanely outrageous, and of which, the middle class back then was vibrant, strong, as well as something that was reasonably attainable for a great swath of Americans.  That, though, was back then, and certainly this is not the case today, in which the ultrarich have so much wealth and power, that it should be a source of embarrassment for any country so claiming that they are actually egalitarian and fair.

There are all sorts of taxes that could be imposed, and should be imposed in order to help level out the wealth field, and of which, one of the most reasonable taxes to be imposed upon anyone of substance that is an American citizen, is the estate tax.  The reason that this tax is an especially good avenue to implement for that government, of, for, and by the people, is that an estate tax only comes into play, upon the death of a given person and thereby affects their estate, only then; so that, during the time when they were alive, they were thereby fully able to enjoy the fruits of having lots of money; but after their death, this so became the opportunity for the government to reset what so needed to be reset, so that the people that are of the living, are thereby able to have fairly redistributed into their hands, a revigorated hope and opportunity.

Yet, what we so find, is that the estate tax, from the years 1942-1976, had an exemption of just $60,000, while also being subject to a maximum estate tax rate of 77%.  Whereas, in 2022, the exemption for such a tax so being imposed has been raised to the staggering sum of $12.07 million, and of which the highest maximum tax rate has been reduced to 40%.  Not too surprisingly, the amount of monies that could be collected, if the tax exemption rate of 1942-1976 was still in effect, but inflation adjusted, so as to become the amount of around $300,000, in conjunction with the maximum estate tax rate still being set at 77%, would demonstrate that the amount of monies so being collected from that estate tax would be substantially and meaningfully more.

The question that ought to be asked is whether this nation believes that the ultrawealthy should be permitted to pass on that wealth, with a minimal amount of taxation, from one generation to the next; thereby making America to represent what has previously been the European hallmark, of dynastic wealth and power. If so, nothing further needs to be done, for that is the way that it currently is; which signifies that in absence of a more robust inheritance tax, that those that have fallen behind, will fall ever further behind, and realistically that they have no hope or expectation that their lot will change or improve, anytime soon, in this the land of supposed opportunity.

False freedom and true freedom

The principal points of our Declaration of Independence as well as our subsequent Constitution, is to make known and to solidify that each person has the unalienable right to liberty and therefore self-determination, and that the intent of good governance, so of, is to assure that each one of those people, has that liberty.  Yet, though America has thrown off its chains of chattel slavery, there are still literally millions upon millions of Americans that in reality, aren’t really free at all.

It is hard to be free, when a given person does not make a living wage; it is hard to be free when a given person has no security in their employment; and it is hard to be free, when a given person has to depend to a large extent upon the largess of charity or governmental support programs, in order to make their way in the world.  Those that believe that simply, because a given person is not incarcerated, that they thereby are free, don’t seem to comprehend that the actual accouterments of true freedom, consist of a heck of a lot more, than not being locked up.

A truly free person, is an independent person, of which that independence exists because that person’s self-worth and value permits that person to make a good living and through that compensation that they thereby get by their labor, they are able to purchase the necessary things so needed to have a good and valued life.   There is a world of difference, between an independent person, and a dependent person, in which, for instance, each of us when we are so born, are absolutely dependent upon our parents for our nourishment, upkeep, and development; whereas, those that are independent, are those that are in charge and in control of those very same things.  So then, no matter how good, when it is good, that dependence might so be, those that are dependent have nothing more than a false freedom; whereas, those that are independent, always have that true freedom, for they of their own volition can choose what they will or will not do, while also understanding that choices so made, have consequences.

The best governance that any nation can provide for its citizenry, is the type of governance that creates the foundation so needed, to create vibrant and free-thinking minds that are interested in pursuing the internal calling that they feel inside; of which, this will subsequently bring to those people the most potential satisfaction and happiness, as well as also, in combination with others of like mind, leading to the greatest advancement of civilizations, for when great potential is actualized, society improves and gets better.

This thus signifies, that the greatest gift that any government can provide for its people, is in the aiding and abetting of the structure and the infrastructure that will help provide to all those who wish to avail themselves of such, the opportunity to become that which they always wanted to be.  That is to say, the best government, is that which doesn’t exploit, control or manipulate its citizenry for its own corrupt benefit; but rather it is one that encourages the liberty of the mind, the thinking outside the box, and the resolve that all are equally entitled to a life lived well.

Economic sanctions and blowback

In a truly moral world, economic sanctions would never be necessary to be directly imposed upon other countries, because if people, countries and institutions were upset, appalled, or distressed by the undesired actions so taken by another nation, then they would simply boycott the products so being offered by that nation, or terminate contracts and suspend trade with them, or reduce their expenditures to them, forthwith, or all of the above.  That is to say, if one nation is doing something that is morally suspect, such as an unjustified war against another nation, or terrorism, or genocide, or anything of this sort, and other nations, see this as being an affront upon humanity, no sanctions would actually need to be officially imposed, but rather through the subsequent business changes so taken by those other nations, the effect so of, would be clear and obvious.

The main problem with economic sanctions being imposed upon another nation, is that such is typically used as a very blunt instrument, along with it being also used as a deliberate tool to “punish” that nation, without often there having been a fair hearing, through a neutral party, to hear both sides of the dispute in question.  In other words, official economic sanctions are treated as a “shortcut” to let that other nation know, that they are wrong, that they are currently performing bad actions, and therefore that they are deserving of punishment.

To believe that somehow, that one superpower nation, should effectively be judge, jury, and executioner, throughout the world, is a very troubling mindset.  In reality, those that cannot properly make their case for sanctions against a particular nation, in a true court of law, in which each side, has their say; but desire instead to circumvent such by taking the law into their own hands, are stirring up a whole lot of trouble, without having taken into full consideration, that those that do not bother to try to comprehend how their sanctions will be perceived by the other side, as well as by neutral parties, have failed to acknowledge that every action is going to have a subsequent reaction.

After all, when one nation is perceived as being “holier than thou,” most other nations are going to take that point into full consideration, of which, they will themselves have contingencies in place, so that should they be painted subsequently as a pariah state, that they will still be operational and functional from a governmental level, without too much difficulty; especially in acknowledgement that there typically are other sovereign nations around, who are prone to seeing economic sanctions so being imposed upon another nation, as something worthwhile to be worked around.  Further to the point, the sanctioned nation, will more than likely, have a response that will hurt the nation so having sanctioned them, if not in the here and now, then at some point in the future, for those nations that are wise and circumspect, are those nations that will hit back, when they are in the best position to do so.

It is, rather easy to be a bully, when there is no one that has the power to effectively fight back; but nations rise and fall, and those that have suffered from unjustified aggression, exploitation, sanctions, interference, unfairness, and deception, are eventually, sooner or later, going to have their say.

The best public schools should be located in the poorest and most disadvantaged neighborhoods

The American public educational system is not only in a lot of respects, an embarrassment, but it also reflects that despite the massive amount of funds so allocated to educating its own citizenry, that the results thereof, are woefully poor.  The United States does not lead in any of the traditional categories that measure student knowledge such as reading comprehension, mathematical skill, or science.  Rather, despite the fact that the United States is the richest nation that the world has ever known, and also prides itself as being the “last best hope of earth;” it sits disgustingly in the middle of the pack when compared to a comprehensive list of other nations, and on its test scores it is distinctly behind countries such as Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Obviously, whatever America is currently doing in regards to its public educational policies it is not working out, and therefore to keep doing what it has been doing, is not going to change the results, thereof.  Rather, it is time for America to recognize that fundamental changes to its educational facilities, teaching, and its mindset must be made and the sooner that this is looked at, implemented, and thereby accomplished, the sooner those test scores will improve.

The very first problem to address is that public schools in the United States are not equal, have never been equal, and per their current trajectory, will never be equal.  The best way to improve upon this, is to concentrate first and foremost upon the poorest and most disadvantaged neighborhoods, in a manner in which the public schools situated in those areas, would thereby be upgraded to become an oasis, for those that are the study body of those areas.  In other words, poor and neglected neighborhoods, typically lack the infrastructure that is part and parcel of what makes for a good community, of which, to expect that to change anytime soon, is pretty much, hopeless.  Instead, the government should make a concentrated effort to see that the best public schools in the sense of teacher/student ratio, the quality of the teachers, the quality of the infrastructure within that school, and the accouterments so necessary to aid and abet students in their studying, are prioritized and thereby provided specifically to those neighborhoods.

Those that have nothing, have literally nothing to hold on to, and aren’t in a good place to make progress, but rather are in the type of place in which their chances of ever generating the escape velocity to become something of import, are minimal.  This thus signifies that the most progress in regards to helping students that are not living up to their good potential is always going to come forth from those that are the furthest behind, which are primarily those students in neighborhoods which currently have inadequate public schooling facilities. 

No parent of any substance desires that their children go to a bad school, but many impoverished parents do not have any real choice as to the school, that their children will go to, for they have not the resources to move to an area that has better public schools.  Therefore, what this government needs to do, is to bring the good schools to the most neglected areas of this nation; and therefore, those students will surely reap the benefits of being in an environment which encourages them, motivates them, and invigorates them, so as to be that which they were always capable of being, but have been unfairly denied in obtaining.

That easy easy money

America likes to pride itself of the virtues of capitalism, believing that such is the best economic system, ever.  It would be one thing, if capitalism, really did represent competition at its finest, and if capitalism, in its effect, really made for the best economic conditions for people, as a whole; but rather as practiced at the present time in America, this is wholly untrue.

The main problem with what is called capitalism in today’s world, is that as currently practiced, such is no more than a bastardization of what capitalism should really represent.  There are all sorts of significant flaws with capitalism as exercised in America, of which, the first is that there is a significant lack of truly meaningful competition in virtually all sectors of the economy of America, such as, for instance, the defense industry, health insurance, airlines, food services, fuel, and home improvement stores, to mention just a few.  To a very large extent, these industries, have only a few big players, of which each have their spheres of influence, as well as a very good understanding one to another, of what, is expected from one another.  In other words, while on the surface, it might appear that they compete against one another, it would be more honest to say, that they are in de facto collusion or in coordination with one another, instead.

Secondly, despite the fact that the hi-technology world is relatively young, it has divided itself into segments in which there are truly dominant players and effectively nobody else to compete against them; of which, in those cases, in which some sort of upstart competition might take a bite of their dominant share, these young, small, and vulnerable competitors are typically permitted by the government to be bought out by the respective dominant player, at will.  So then, what we so find is that when it comes to search engines, social media, and the operating system of our personal computers, each has one main player, which thereby permits such to effectively boss the market to their exclusive benefit.

Thirdly, American companies have all sorts of patents, of which, the good purpose of a given patent, should be, to provide for those that put forth a major effort in regards to time, expenditures, as well as research and development, to reap over a reasonable period of time, the corresponding benefits of that effort.  Instead, what we so often find, is that patents for a lot of things, is really nothing much more than a selfish play to benefit the very few, at the expense of the many, without taking into fair consideration all the public knowledge, knowhow, and infrastructure so utilized to patent this “newfound” knowledge. 

Finally, there is our banking and credit system, which seems to be fundamentally based upon the loaning out of money to people and institutions at an appreciably higher rate than what that money so costs the lender.  What makes this business especially pernicious is that when times are good these banking institutions make money hand over fist; and when those same banking institutions make major errors they then get bailed out by the government, which really means, being bailed out by the taxpayers, which represents the same people that these banks have been exploiting for their own private profit.

As it stands, capitalism could indeed be saved, and could indeed be of real service to the people, but in actuality, because this government is wont not to break up those institutions that have too much power and too much money, what is occurring, is that never has it been easier, for those that dominant their particular market, to make that easy, easy money.

Freedom of choice for women

While, in modern times, it has to be noted that in western nations, as well as in other progressive countries, that women have pretty much gained the same rights as men; yet, the pathway for women to achieve such, has had an awful lot of obstacles to overcome, and still, as of this day, women still don’t really have all of the rights of what men take for granted as their birthright.  One of those rights, that women, rightfully desire to have control of is not just their reproductive rights, but importantly along with that, to have control as to what to so do or not to do, when they so conceive,

Those that truly believe that life begins at conception, are certainly entitled to that belief, and to degree that they so desire to live that belief in their familial relationship they then have the full right to do so.  However, those that don’t believe that life begins at conception, should not be held in the thrall, of all those righteous busybodies, certain religious institutions, as well as other entities, including some governmental agencies and laws, that believe that these women should and must therefore be held to personal account for such; thereby signifying that these women are precluded from having a fair choice that should be theirs solely to make – superseded thereby by all those that believe that because life begins at conception, means therefore that the fetus within that women’s body, has rights, that all women must thereby respect.

When it comes to a woman’s body, it is ultimately the government that has to play fair with those that are women.  After all, no man can become impregnated, so what the law does or does not say in regards to abortion rights and wrongs, does not ever personally affect that man’s body; whereas, it most certainly does affect so, for a woman.  This would presuppose that any discussion about conception, a fetus, and a women’s right to choose, should in due respect to the fact that only women can conceive, signifies that this should be something that remains in the sole domain of women, and none else.  That is to say, judges have to properly recuse themselves in all sorts of instances, and of which, because males are not capable of getting pregnant, it therefore follows that a man, no matter how intelligent or enlightened, is not in a good place to appropriately judge the merits or demerits of conception rights for a woman.

Therefore, what the law should or should not be in regards to conception and one’s fetus, is something that should be legislated by, and decided by, those that are exclusively women.  That decision, no matter what was so decided, would reflect a determination made by those that have a real vested interest in such a decision, and more than likely, would be well reasoned, sensible, and fair.  For far too long, governments were run exclusively by men; so too, the justice so being rendered was also exclusively done so by men, of which, the end result of men dominated societies has been the history of this world, which consists of an awful lot of violence, injustice, deceit, and unfairness.  Here then, lies a chance to right a very serious wrong.