The need for sovereignty as well as social support

For those that are born into privileged circumstances, life is entirely different for them, as compared to just about everyone else; for most people have to deal with the fact that they do not have full sovereignty over their own lives as well as also having a real need and desire to have a good social structure to draw upon in order to deal better with trying or difficult times. 

The reason that we live in communities, isn’t just happenstance, but rather serves the purpose for those that congregate together, to be of material aid one to another; for each of us has those days when a helping hand, or a good word, most definitely has its proper place.  So too, in our modern day and age, we expect for our government, to do its fair part to see that those that are its most vulnerable are provided with the way and means to help make their way through life, through the necessary aid and assistance to help overcome and to deal forthrightly with troubling circumstances.

It is vital that appropriate infrastructure be readily available to the general public, so that they can avail themselves of such, especially when they feel the need or urgency to do so.  After all, when a people or the governance of that people, fail their people, by ignoring them, or silencing them, or forgetting about them, as if they don’t really matter, then those very things that could be dealt with in a meaningful and comprehensive way, are only going to end up festering and thereby becoming even more problematic.

The vast majority of American citizens, do not own, operate, or manage their own business enterprise, thereby signifying that most Americans are employees of corporations or governmental agencies.  The fact that so many are classified as employees, makes for a scenario which necessitates that those that employ such, should do their level best to see that each employee has a fair amount of predictability as well as some meaningful input in regards to the security of their wage, their benefits, and their career path.  That is to say, those that are employees that feel that they have a voice, while also believing that they have some degree of control of the trajectory of their career, are invariably going to be far more satisfied and far more productive for that agency, than employees that have little or no say, and are essentially treated by management as moveable parts.

So then, to live a life in which a given person is seen as nothing much more than a cog in some massive machine, is not all that much of an improvement over being treated as some sort of beast of burden.  Human beings, have a need not only for social contact and social engagement, that thereby gives them a voice and a say within their community; but they also need to work within a structure that values their contribution, provides them therefore with the means of self-respect, as well as compensates them with a fair wage which will thereby enable them to have the means to live a good and satisfactory life.

Those institutions that cannot fail, crowd out those that would succeed

The United States is supposed to be the exemplar of free markets, but by any reasonable investigation of such, we see demonstrated in actuality that this is not a nation of free markets, but rather consists of far too many situations in which some well positioned companies are backstopped by being “too big to fail,” in addition to those other well-placed corporations which are monopolies, near-monopolies, duopolies, or essentially cartels in everything, but in name.

Perhaps the general population doesn’t mind this, in the sense, that those mega-corporations that essentially own this country and thereby boss this country around, do, for the most part, a fairly able job in providing the basic needs and accouterments that we as the general public, are so accustomed to and are desirous of.  So too, some of these mega-corporations are truly innovative, with strong research and development departments, of which, they consistently as well as reliably put forth better products at price-points that are to a great extent, reasonable.

There are, however, a lot of problems with a structure that permits these institutions to never fail, while also providing them as well as others with carte blanche to buy out and to assimilate those companies that are much smaller, nimbler, and innovative, than they actually are, which thereby serves to cheat the public of actually experiencing free markets in some of the most important areas of interest for them.  Additionally, when certain markets are controlled by essentially only one player or a group of players that act in concert with one another, as in a cartel, then when things go horribly wrong for these entities, this government has proven that it will clearly protect, serve, and reinvigorate those favored industries and companies at the expense of everyone else, of which, the governmental outcasts, on the other hand, must thereby continue to sink or swim, on their own, without such valuable aid being available to them, ever.

That is to say, when a government has favorites in the corporate world that it will do any and everything for, this means that those privileged companies are thereby protected from the vagaries as well as from the true competition of the free enterprise system, so that their inevitable mistakes, missteps, and greed, are covered by the government, on their behalf.  This signifies that these fortunate companies are truly in the catbird seat, thereby not having to worry about failure, for they cannot failed; which means that on the flip side, those that are nobly trying to compete and to make their way in the world, consequently have to deal with a more limited upside, because what they so find is that the pie of prosperity has already been pre-allocated to those that are protected and favored, as opposed to those that are not.

A vigorous and vibrant free enterprise system, should have winners and losers, which should invariably change as well as to adjust over time, of which, the whole point of the exercise is for those that are too inefficient, too incompetent, and too complacent, should thereby be rightly surpassed by all those that are better managed, better organized, and better in aggregate for both the public as well as the company, which is what the free enterprise system is supposed to actually represent, in action.

“Chance only favors the mind which is prepared”

The above quotation comes from the esteemed scientist and microbiologist, Louis Pasteur, who brought us pasteurization, as well as other important breakthroughs in regards to vaccination, studies of molecular asymmetry, as well as of microorganisms.  Pasteur was a giant in his field, who was absolutely brilliant, mainly because he was prepared, relentless, and diligent in trying to piece puzzling and perplexing things together for the advancement of humankind, which he so adeptly accomplished.

The very point of Pasteur’s view in regards to a mind so needing to be prepared, is that none of us really knows for a certainty, when we will be called upon to do our part to be of valued assistance to society, in one form or another; but when such a time as that so arrives, those that have prepared themselves for such a time as that, are those then that will be best prepared and therefore most apt to be successful with that opportunity so presented to them.

This thus signifies that each of us needs to do our level best to understand the fundamentals of life, as well as of our livelihood, making sure to never just sit upon our laurels, as if there is no room for improvement or growth, for there is always something new to learn, or to understand, or to add to our quiver of arrows.  So then, we find that those that will not trouble to prepare themselves, are the type of people, that often will not be ready to do their fair part to help make society a better place for their participation in it; in direct contrast to all those that make it their point, to ask the right questions, and then to understand the answers to such, so as to evolve into becoming more accomplished, and that therefore are ever ready to make their good mark, when such a chance opportunity occurs.

The future is always uncertain, for experts about this and about that, simply aren’t able to absorb into one gigantic general formula, what will or will not occur because of not only the complexities as well as the nuances of life, itself, but also because humans are free will creatures, who do not always do what some agency believes that they will do, even when it appears fairly obvious what they should do, but then they simply don’t or won’t.

That is why each one of us must remain forever diligent and alert, for cataclysmic changes can occur suddenly and almost without notice; of which, we may well be presented with an opportunity in which we feel as if this is our place and our time, to answer such a call, and when we reach down and find that we fundamentally do not have the characteristics to answer such a call, successfully, then clearly, we have failed to have prepared ourselves for that which was ours to own.

So then, the more that we know about certain subjects of compelling interest to us, and the more that we are able to activate that knowledge in a meaningful way, the better prepared we thereby are to use that knowledge, when that time comes to do such; of which, whether such be subsequently called chance or destiny, those that are properly prepared are those that more times than not, will therefore rise up to that occasion, anticipated or not, with a favorable result.

The insidious distraction of cell phones

There are plenty of people, that truly believe that they are the exception to the rule; of which, the rule in question, is the distraction of cell phones, in which, many a person believes that their cell phone, and its incumbent text messaging, phone calls, social media alerts, and emails, does not serve as much of a distraction to them, at all, for they are multi-tasking savants.  This type of belief is pretty much a fallacy, for that which overly occupies our brain, or entices our brain, our serves as an interruption to our brain, in a manner in which our concentration flags on the task on hand, is, by definition, a distraction.

Imagine this for a poignant example, the world’s most esteemed heart surgeon is demonstrating their prowess by allowing a multitude of people to watch them actually perform their surgery in real-time on an especially complicated case, literally involving the life or death of that patient, of which, within the ear of that surgeon, there is a Bluetooth earpiece attached to her ear, and somewhat incredibly, during the most intricate stage of that surgery, that surgeon answers a phone call and animatedly begins speaking to that caller.  Would this seem to be prudent behavior, or would this appear to be something that should be properly considered to be wholly unacceptable?

The fact of the matter is, in the most important areas of our life, whether this is something that we are performing ourselves, or whether it is somebody else doing the work, we know for a certainty, that those that are fully engaged in the activity at hand, are going to, more times than not, be able to successfully accomplish in a competent manner what needs to be so done; as compared to somebody that is distracted by whatever that it may so be, including, for instance, the obvious distraction of a cell phone, that keeps ringing, or beeping, or buzzing.

The problem with cell phones is not just all of the activity that a cell phone is capable of receiving, but also the fact that the cell phone is often within our grasp, or within our field of vision, or even just on our mind, which all serves to distract us from the necessary things that we need to do as well as to accomplish at a given time.  That sort of distraction is definitely not good for those that should and need to be concentrating on the task at hand, and serves thereby as something that in the scheme of things, makes us far less efficient, and far less effective, than what we should or could be, all for something, that isn’t worthy of our actual attention, all of the time.

The most insidious thing about cell phones is the fact that while the vast majority of messages and notifications aren’t typically of any real relevancy or importance to us, there are going to be those exceptions in which the message or notification is something that is highly important to us, which signifies, that because we don’t know whether or not such a notification is going to be meaningful or not, this serves to keep us always attentive to that cell phone, because that message so received, but unknown, might well be the one, that means everything to us.  So then, the fact that at any time, our cell phone may provide us with some actionable information, makes us overly attentive to it, and thereby means that whatever that we are supposed to be doing, will suffer for that always-on, cell phone distraction.

The decline in trust in government

We read at gallup.com/poll that as of 2021, in regards to the general public’s trust in their federal government when it comes to handling international problems and domestic problems, that only 8% of the general population thought that government, of, for, and by the people was doing a “great job;” whereas, 60% of the respondents stated that their trust in their federal government was “not very much,” or “none at all.”  We must recognize this very important point, which is when the mightiest nation that the world has ever known, which has had the democratic vote since its inception as a nation, over two hundred years ago, has a population in which 60% of that population doesn’t trust their own government, then that government, has on a fundamental level, failed its people.  For instance, back in 1972, when the same basic question was asked, the response was that only 22% of the people felt in regards to international problems that their trust in their federal government was “not very much,” or “none at all,” and 31% felt the same, domestically.  That result is somewhat puzzling, in the sense that in 1972, America was still fighting a divisive war in Vietnam, and was still dealing with the aftereffects of the seismic changes of the 1960s.

There isn’t any doubt that the Gallup poll is an accurate reflection of the feelings of the American public at the present time, for the disappointment, discord, and strife that we see so often in the civil discourse around us is clearly in evidence by our everyday observations.   The majority of American citizens, are upset, about what is so occurring to them or on their behalf by their government, as well as to what isn’t being done to ameliorate such, and quite rightly they subsequently have put a significant amount of the blame for their distress upon that federal government, which is supposed to be the champion of the people, but has proven in recent times, not to be the people’s champion at all.

America is supposed to be the land of opportunity, fairness, equality, meritocracy, and the like, of which, it is obvious to the American people that this is indeed the land of plenty; but so too, it is just as obvious that the plenty that America so has, is really just in hands of the few, the connected, and the powerful; and thereby not reasonably distributed to deserving others that are just trying to have some sort of semblance of the American dream in their life, along with having the necessary confidence that their livelihood and therefore their existence is not always going to be perpetually on the razor’s edge.

One knows that a country is on the decline, when people, wistfully look at the past, as being the better days of a nation, because in those days, people had more self-respect, more assurance of job security as well as job advancement, and thereby an overall feeling that they had at least one foot, firmly planted in the abundance that America so best represents.  Therefore, it so follows, that the trust of the people in regards to the government to do the right thing which has eroded in America, is a true reflection that something is fundamentally wrong; and that something has a lot to do with the fundamentals of a civil society, decaying, which we so see by virtue of an educational system that doesn’t educate very well, a housing crisis in the sense of affordability as well as the continual persistence of enclaves of poverty and neglect, the decline of the traditional family unit, as well as too often the lack of not only a fair pay for a fair day’s work, but the treatment as well of laborers as nothing much more than cogs in a relentless and uncaring profit machine.

All of this points to the continual dissatisfaction in one’s government, because that government, is the only force big enough and powerful enough to do what needs to be done to right the wrongs, which the people, unduly suffer from.

To reduce crime this is what needs to occur

There are all sorts of complaints and concerns about the amount of crime that occurs in America, of which, considering that this is the richest nation that the world has ever known, one might thereby expect that the crime rate of this western nation, would be amongst the lowest in the world, but in fact, crime in America, is disappointingly high and doesn’t seem to be on track to lower itself to some sort of reasonable or sensible rate, anytime soon.

The first thing that must be acknowledged about crime, is that crime is not ever anything that occurs within a vacuum, but, in fact, has a lot of to do with the conditions that people grow up in, as well as the education achieved or the lack thereof, poverty, fairness, justice, employment, prejudice, and in addition, to how policing is conducted throughout America.  That is to say, there are circumstances as well as conditions, that lend itself to the prevalence of crime in society, of which, for instance, it is a material fact, that in upper income neighborhoods and enclaves, crime is significantly lower, than in those neighborhoods, that are ghettos of poverty, which are lacking in opportunity as well as lacking in the appropriate accouterments that would lend itself to ever being perceived as a desirable neighborhood to live in.

Those that live in dead-end neighborhoods, with dead-end schools, with, in addition, the only jobs being available nearby also being dead-end, as well as having the police that patrol that neighborhood, treating those that are residents of such, in a manner in which the police see those people that live and congregate there, as being essentially enemies of the state, and thereby valid targets to intimidate, abuse, and to arrest, then the end result for those residents is often going to be rather criminally tragic. Those then, that are without opportunity and without hope, yet, obviously still have the need for food, shelter, and some semblance of a reasonable life, are invariably going to do what they need to do for their own survival, as well as to also prove that they are worthy of some sort of self-respect, often initiated via means and actions that are not state sanctioned.

The only conceivable workaround to meaningfully reduce crime on behalf of that governance, is for the youth of America, and especially the most disadvantaged of such, to be provided with a clear pathway which will afford them with the means of a stable job, of a living wage, as well as the security of that continual employment, for those that are diligent and dedicated to a good work ethic.  That is to say, the hours of each day, are available equally to every one of us, and when those hours, are not filled with something that productively engages the mind and the body, as well as also not requiring responsibility, or consistency of effort, then the result subsequently for that failure to provide such, will often be something lawless or unruly.

So then, the answer to high crime levels, is to take those that are currently on the streets, and to place them instead into steady employment that offers them the means to make a satisfactory living, and thereby by virtue of that work, they will thereby buy into the American dream, for they will, for the very first time, on some level, at that point, actually be a part of it.

Big government and big corporations and the control of America

While it is true that we no longer live in a simpler time, in which, for instance, we frequented our neighborhood store for groceries as well as sundry items, and ate at our local family restaurant; what has replaced such, often with impressive efficiencies, which while clearly offering some great advantages for the average consumer, also represents some significant disadvantages along with some incumbent dangers to society and to America, in whole.  To wit, when long established retail stores, are replaced by behemoths, such as Amazon, that ship everything to everybody, the local tax base as well as local employment of certain communities is typically decimated.  So too, when the banking system gets so large and are permitted to make outrageous gambles in derivatives and financial instruments that are not easily comprehended by regular citizens, of which, inevitably these so-called investing geniuses make mistakes or get too caught up in greed and thereby fail, it is the American government that thereby determines that these banking institutions are “too big to fail,” seemingly not understanding that a business that is too big to fail, is by definition, a structure which is outside capitalism, and is, instead, an artificial construction specifically set up to privatize its profits for the benefit of its executives and shareholders, while socializing its failures onto the general public.

So too, we live in a world in which, the revolving door of those that are at the pinnacle of private enterprise employment and position, are under this government, somehow permitted to mind the henhouse and thereby, become governmental employees at the highest level, permitted to thereby “regulate” the very business enterprise that they so came from.  What could be better for a very large corporation, than having the person that oversees a given business, from the governmental standpoint, be someone that is actually a former employee of high standing of that particular business?  Yet, in fact, time and time again, this is what exactly so happens, and of which, legislation, along with rules and regulations are subsequently so passed, specifically favoring those enterprises and therefore making those companies even more profitable, and far less susceptible to the vagaries of the business world, because the game has been pretty much fixed in their perpetual favor.

Nowadays, big government and big corporate enterprises are basically able to join together, so that those huge corporations are provided with carte blanche to do whatever that they so desire to do, at a price and via the means that suits them, and of which, the government makes sure on their behalf, that they will not only not stand in their way, but will often smooth the way for them, of which, further we find that this government, is often so generous that it will either pay for such, or subsidy it, as well.

Corporations primarily are in the business of making profits, of which, they have an obligation to their shareholders to do so, quarter after quarter, forever.  That would be fine, if this government, would perform its function on behalf of the general welfare of the people, by imposing what so needs to be imposed upon these corporations which would fairly tax such, as well as making sure that the regular folk that work for these corporations were paid a living wage, and further that the trading and the business so done by these corporations, was always done so on an actual level playing field.

The United Socialist States of America and the military

Most people believe that socialism is anathema to our capitalistic system, and therefore those that are socialists or socialist sympathizers are by definition, not good Americans, and further perhaps aren’t deserving of citizenship or at a minimum, governmental employment.  Yet, an honest look at the biggest employer that the United States has, is its own Department of Defense, which employs in excess of three million peoples, which is greater than any other corporation or enterprise, headquartered in America.  Further to the point, in regards to the American military, we should note that those that serve our nation are provided with housing at an affordable price, as well as healthcare, food, education, and entertainment; in addition to the fact that the pay scale for those so employed, is based upon the pay grade of that person, along with their years of service, and of which, the pay thereof, is public knowledge.

That is to say, within the military, each person so enlisted has a job to do, with a specific job description, and they therefore go out and perform that work, per the criteria of that service.  There is no profit motive in the military and the decisions so made are done by the government, and fulfilled by those that are part of the military on behalf of that government, for the greater good of that government and its society.

The above seems to fit into what would be best described as socialistic, and certainly has nothing to do with a capitalistic system, or really has much to do with free will, except for the fact that in theory, those that sign up for the military, have voluntarily done so; of which, once that commitment has been made, those so signing up, are required to fulfill their enlistment obligations, or faced the punishment so meted out for such failure.  Additionally, there is a known hierarchical structure within the military, of which, the structure of that military, means that those that are part of it answer exclusively to the military as opposed to such being adjudicated in an open court of our judicial system.  That is to say, what goes on in the military, with a few exceptions here and there, pretty much stays within the military realm, which signifies that the structure of the military is in essence, answerable only to that military, and none else, which again speaks of socialism, more than anything.

So too, in a socialist society, that state, demands from its citizens, more than anything, simple obedience.  Those then that are socialistic in structure, have a necessary hierarchy, in order to maintain order and discipline, of which, all those that are part of that socialistic system, have an inherent duty to answer to that hierarchy, so done, for the greater good of that establishment.  In other words, it is one for all, and all for one, so demonstrated in action by the fact that the military to the degree that it can do so, is very transparent about the duties and obligations of each of its members and thereby follows a specific protocol at all times, that is meant to be consistent in its application throughout the military.

So then, for those that are curious about socialism, and how it would work, and what therefore is the upside as well as the downside of such, look no further than our military, and that then will provide the answer as to the desirability or danger of such.

Obesity and bad genes

The one thing about Americans is that they often don’t want to blame themselves for much of anything, that goes wrong, even when it has to do with their own body.  In today’s America, our eyes do not deceive us, as never have so many been so obese, of which, as reported by usafacts.org, “Obesity hasn’t doubled. It’s nearly tripled in the United States over the last fifty years.”  Perhaps that might be okay, if obesity, didn’t often lend itself to a variety of health problems, for, in fact, people that are obese, are prone to also developing heart disease, diabetes, cancer, ambulatory issues, and assorted other bodily malfunctions.

For those that like to watch old movies, from decades upon decades ago, the biggest disconnect for those watching such, is the fact that those people acting in the movies, seem far smaller and thinner than what we so see represented in the here and now.  Perhaps this is the case, because as a nation we do far less labor with pure brawn and much more through office work and the like, or perhaps it’s because we exercise less, or perhaps because of automobiles and things of that sort we no longer are required to walk to get to where we desire to go, or perhaps those bad fat genes have led us to a propensity to becoming fat, or perhaps it’s because grocery and convenience stores are so prevalent and well stocked, with something for everyone at a price-point that meets a given person’s budget, that we simply have more food to eat and to enjoy.

While each of those things certainly have merit, and may well be contributing to the cause of obesity; the elephant in the room, is the fact that our eating habits, as well as the foods so provided to us, have materially changed over the ensuing decades.  The biggest change we now face has been the increase in the amount of junk and pre-processed foods and soda, which are so prevalent in our stores and often are at a price that is very affordable.  That is to say, there is loads upon loads of food items, or items that are labeled as food or considered to be so, that are cheap, and require no or minimal cooking or preparation from the consumer’s part, and are simply consumed by us, far too often, which is the biggest contributing factor to our obesity.  

Of course, it has to be understood, that those big conglomerates that sell junk and pre-processed food, are multibillion dollar enterprises, and certainly are not going to desire to do anything to sabotage their own very profitable business enterprise; so then, they try to obfuscate the obvious by misdirection and by stating somewhere that moderation in the consumption of what they are so selling is recommended.  That though, hasn’t change a thing, for when food is constructed, that looks appealing, and tastes good, many a consumer can’t resist eating much more than they should eat of it, nor does it ever occur to many a person, that what they are so eating, is harmful to their body, though they might so admit, that perhaps it isn’t the best thing for them.

The obesity that we so have in America, has an awful lot to do with the food that we so eat, and those that consume far too many calories that have no good nutritional purpose for their body, are going to ultimately pay the price, first by the sheer weight that they gain, and secondly by the inevitable health problems that they will thereby eventually suffer from.

“You shall not steal”

We read at Exodus 20: 15 that we shalt not steal.  This is one of God’s Ten Commandments, so brought to our needful attention by the prophet Moses.  No doubt, most everyone is aware of this particular Commandment, in addition to the fact that there are also quite a few people that believe that they have never violated such, because they have never stolen a good from someone’s house or shoplifted or anything else along those same lines.  Regrettably, though, for those that feel highly about their virtue, just forgoing the stealing of material goods is really a very narrow reading of this important scripture.

For instance, stealing, can encompass a very wide range of bad actions, including such as stealing another person’s virtue, or their reputation, or their labor, or their opportunity, and so on and so forth.  So then, with this more liberal reading of this Commandment, many more people, are guilty of having stolen something of worth from a fellow human being and therefore are in violation of this Commandment. 

The important thing to remember is that anytime that we use deception or some other dastardly tool to take advantage of someone, in which that person, would never have willingly provided their consent to such, if they knew what was in actuality, really going on, is always a form of theft.  There are, unfortunately, going to be plenty of other people that are cleverer than we are, more devious, and more diabolical, in which, those that deceive us in order to extract something of value, without providing something akin to a fair trade, are thieves.

So too, whenever we are to blame for something, but we make it a point, to deflect that blame by placing it upon someone else, thereby absolving ourselves of due punishment, we have stolen from that other person, by besmirching their identity to protect our own, which is also a form of theft.  Additionally, those that don’t put forth an honest day’s labor, by virtue of their attention wandering to activities that are not germane to the tasks at hand, have stolen a fair day’s work from that which has hired them.  Also, those that are students, that do everything within their power to cheat on the exams and assignments so placed in front of them, by having, for example, somebody else for a price or a favor, write their paper for them, or they, for instance, lean over so as to copy the answers to a test, from somebody else that has devoted themselves to the studying of such, are engaging in a form of thievery.

To steal, is to do anything that basically allows us to assume in the eyes of the public or those that we admire, that we are something, that we have not fairly earned by our own good efforts and labor, but have instead, “borrowed” or taken from another, in order to assume the guise of uprightness when we are anything but such.  Those then, that are tempted to steal, and give in to such, because in their mind the end justifies the means, have apparently not fully understood that those with true integrity and therefore those that desire to do honor to their God, do not steal.

“The New Freedom”

In 1913, President Wilson had published the more meaningful portions of his campaign speeches, into a book entitled, “The New Freedom A Call for the Emancipation of the Generous Energies of a People.” From this, we then recognized that the very things that Wilson most feared and thereby warned us of, consisted of things such as the concentration of industry, of an era of special privilege, as well as becoming the land of monopoly, “…where all the conditions of industry are determined by small groups of men,” which is exactly the epitome of what America so represents at the present time.

So then, that which Wilson most feared, has come upon us, in which in today’s America, the vast majority of people are mere cogs in the machine; that is to say, employees of enterprises of which they as workers have no say, no piece of the action, and thereby must adhere to the dictates of that enterprise, or else find themselves susceptible to being without employment, which thereby signifies that they aren’t really free.  These are indeed trying times, for when those that have a need and thereby a requirement to work for a living, have little choice but to work for a corporation that determines their pay, their hours, and the basic conditions of that employment, thereof, then these people aren’t really sovereign individuals, at all.

A huge swath of Americans, don’t have the capital to begin their own enterprise, nor do they often have the necessary connections that would help smooth the pathway for the initiation of such, and thereby the success of such a business enterprise.  In this modern world, that might well be just fine, if on the other hand, these people, individually or collectively had the power to receive not only a fair wage for the work so performed, but also received fair benefits, job security, as well as some sort of reasonable pathway provided to them that would allow for growth in that job, for those that fairly merited such.

The fact that so many Americans are nothing much more than employees, with often no guarantee of job security or loyalty by the company that so employs them, in which, their employment is considered to be at the will of that employer, subject thereby to the whims of that employer -- then it doesn’t seem possible for many a person, to feel safe and secure, that they will be able to consistently be a good provider for themselves as well as for their family, now and into the future.

None of this appears to be in keeping with the American dream, but seems instead to be in keeping with the desire of a small cabal of very powerful business interests as well as those that sympathize with such, that want to profit at the expense of their fellow human beings, by controlling and exploiting the labor component, all to the benefit of that particular business enterprise.  In short, humankind cannot be classified as free, when they are unable to be autonomous or act as such, when they thereby seek employment.  Those then, that have no seat at the table of business, aren’t free, but should be seen for what they really are, pretty much peons to the worst aspects of the capitalistic system, in which, their government, idly stands by, doing nothing much of merit, because that government, itself, dances to the tune of those that have thoroughly co-opted or corrupted them.

Forgiveness of debts and the 1099-C form

Millions of Americans get into debt each and every year, of which, some of that debt, be it a car loan, a student loan, a mortgage, a medical bill, a credit card charge, and so on, isn’t going to realistically ever be paid back.  At some point, for most of those lenders, they sell that debt to a bill collector; but even these bill collectors, will at some point, reach their breaking point, in which, they simply give up, though often with having been a considerable pain in the side of the debtor, throughout – still, bill collectors are realists, so when there is that situation in which someone declares bankruptcy, or dies, or has no visible means of income, or the provenance of that debt is questionable, or the debtor has successfully fought back, or by various other reasons, some of these debt collectors will call it a day and will duly close shop on that delinquent account.

One would think, that when a debt release form is signed, or a paper is received by the debtor in which the previous debt has been forgiven, that the debtor would see themselves thereupon as being free and clear, knowing that a debt forgiven, means that they won’t have to worry about such a debt anymore, in the sense of phone calls, letters, or the negative impact on their credit report.   Yet, in many a case, people that have had debts forgiven, will ultimately receive a 1099-C, typically reflecting the total amount of the debt so forgiven, and thereby by virtue of that form, that amount so of, will now be considered to be income to that individual on their tax return.

That is to say, if a debt, for example, of $5000 is forgiven, the taxpayer might well receive a 1099-C, for that $5000, which is considered to be taxable income for that person, and most definitely, does so make a difference in their subsequent tax obligation or tax refund.  The main problem with this construct, is the fact that a forgiven debt, hardly seems as if it should be most appropriately classified as income in the first place; in addition to the fact that as of 2022, each citizen is entitled to receive up to $16,000 from any one entity, so classified as a gift, that has no tax consequences for the recipient, thereof.  This would seem to reflect that foisting a 1099-C, upon someone that probably isn’t in all that good of financial shape to begin with, seems like something akin to “sour grapes,” and that the least the IRS should do in these types of circumstances, is to classify debts forgiven of up to $16,000, as a “gift” to the individual, and never as income, because in reality a forgiveness of debt, seems a lot more in keeping with a gift, as opposed to somehow being fairly classified as income.

The probable reason of why debt forgiveness, necessitates a 1099-C, is the fact that those that issue out loans of all sorts to people, don’t like it when they are unable to collect their money, and therefore feel a need to “punish” those that don’t play by their rules; which seems petty on their part, and certainly not in keeping with the fact that loss provisions are prudently made in any professional business enterprise, as simply being the cost of doing business to begin with.

The Atlantic Charter of 1941

The United States does have a good history of putting together treaties and charters, which have had the most noble of goals and aspirations, of which, the Atlantic Charter so signed between Great Britain and the United States in August of 1941, is an exemplar of that very thing.  In regards to Great Britain, they desperately needed United States aid in their battle against the Germans, thereby desiring at a minimum, the receipt of necessary armaments as well as monetary loans, along with their specific desire to see the United States ally themselves with Great Britain in order to defeat that Nazi regime.  So then, to a large extent, the terms of that Atlantic Charter were naturally going to be in accordance with what the United States preferred to see implemented, and pretty much Great Britain was in no real good position to push back, and therefore that Charter was duly executed between those two nations.

In regards to that Atlantic Charter, which had eight principle points, the very first was that neither America or Great Britain by virtue of that war, would seek to aggrandize onto themselves, additional territory to add to empire or to create the same; and further that those peoples currently under colonial rule, would be accorded the opportunity to choose their own form of sovereign government, instead.  Lastly, these two powerful and influential nations agreed that they must be the leaders in achieving world peace and therefore “…must come to the abandonment of the use of force,” and “…that the disarmament of such nations is essential.”

This Charter while not as effective in action as desired, did substantially become the basis for the lifting of, and thereby the removal of colonial rule by Great Britain as well as other European nations, in the continent of Africa, as well as in other nations around the world.  Regrettably, when it comes to armaments and the use of force, this critical principle, died on the vine, and of which, the United States has by its own actions, demonstrated time and time again, that diplomacy is not its strong suit, but rather, the use of military force most definitely is its primary calling card, instead.

In point of fact, the Atlantic Charter would not currently be approved by today’s America, for America believes it has the right to interfere in the sovereignty in many a vulnerable nation, directly or indirectly; as well as imposing itself and the conditions of its loans so issued to such – in addition to bossing its way on exports, imports, rights of mineral exploration and extraction, and the usage of that foreign territory, per the dictates of America.  In other words, while the sun has truly set on the British empire; that empire in many respects, has morphed instead into the sphere of America, for whatever America so desires and wants.

There was that time, when America saw itself as a nation which felt it had a principled obligation to see that they proselytized to countries throughout the world, by its example and by its strength, the value of the democratic vote, as well as equality, meritocracy, opportunity, and justice.  That world, would be a terrific place to live in, of which, the rule of law, peace, and fair trade would be in harmony with the very best principles of what America is supposed to stand strong for.

Federal minimum wage and cost-of-living increase

The federal minimum wage has not risen since 2009, and is set at the insanely low rate of just $7.25/hour.  As bad as that is, there are exceptions to even receiving that low sum as a minimum wage, of which, the most notable exception for such is for those that are in professions that are classified as “tipped employees,” such as restaurant servers.  While, the first order of business in regards to the federal minimum wage is to see that wage be pushed up to something resembling a living wage, the second order of business is to have that Federal minimum wage, indexed to a yearly cost-of-living increase, akin to what those that receive Social Security benefits have been beneficiaries of since 1975.

What a Federal minimum wage represents to politicians and to legislators that somehow have failed to increase such since 2009 is absolutely baffling, because that minimum wage should represent on some level, a baseline for those that are employed that would enable these people to receive a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work, and thereby to have what would represent for them, a living wage.  Instead, the Federal minimum wage is set so low, that there can’t be any respectable person in governance, that could state with a straight face, that $7.25/hour represents a living wage, because for a certainty, it doesn’t.  While, one could argue that at least $7.25/hour represents a floor to how low salaries could conceivably go, that isn’t all that reassuring.  Additionally, inflation is a fact of life in the modern world, and all those that work in which their wage is not indexed to inflation, or their wages do not keep pace or exceed the inflation rate, are effectively in a situation, in which, they are falling ever further behind.

The main reason why Social Security wages are indexed to the cost-of-living index, has an awful lot to do with the power of Senior citizens and their lobbying arms.  Yet, no doubt, those receiving Social Security payments deserve to have those payments indexed to inflation, in fairness to them.  So then, the fact that the Federal minimum wage seems to be effectively ignored in legislative offices, is highly disappointing, for it most definitely needs to be increased to something that reasonably resembles a living wage, in conjunction with the need to have that Federal minimum wage thereupon coupled with the cost-of-living index, of which, then, legislators really wouldn’t have a compelling need to address it any further.

Obviously, those that are making on or about the Federal minimum wage, are the very people that need the most help by their government, in order to have the necessary things so needed to live a decent life in this the richest nation that the world has ever known.  The fact that those who so represent in body the weakest and most vulnerable amongst us, are effectively ignored and bypassed by their government, represents in action, that America prefers to exploit the poor for the benefit of the rich and connected, thereby signifying that in America, the awesome power of those that control the purse, always rules supreme.

Presidents Wilson’s Fourteen Points of 1918, and the dustbin of history

The United States of America has not always been a bellicose nation, but alas that is a fair perception of it at the present time; in which America insists it has the right of empire throughout the entire world, so as to wield its power, in a manner that benefits to a very large extent, specifically, American corporate power, as well as for territorial aggrandizement, and for intimidation, so that America can get its way under the terms that it so desires; and further America does not ever consider backing down to any other nation, or consortium of nations, for America is the sole superpower in the world; even though it likes to sell the illusion that Russia or China is somehow on some sort of equal footing with it or might someday get there.

Those that wish to be overly generous, could look upon the American empire, as while being inimical to what the Constitution so stands for, as well as being clearly out of step with President Washington’s  warning that we should not “….entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor or caprice” --  that to America’s credit, it doesn’t always used its power, might, and influence to simply treat all other countries, akin to how a king treats its subjects, though, to a large extent, it certainly appears that it prefers to do so.

There was a time, when America was far humbler, and was far more understanding, that great leaders are made by great leadership; of which President Wilson, at the conclusion of World War I, wrote a paper listing the Fourteen Points needed for world peace.  To say that such was ambitious, was an understatement; to say that it was noble in its construct, was absolutely true.  Yet, at the present time, there doesn’t seem to be any mainstream politician in today’s America that would buy into all the doctrinal points of that particular document.  For instance, Wilson made it clear that secret negotiations and lack of transparency between what was being negotiated country to country, in regards to treaties and the like, was bad diplomacy, and therefore served no good purpose.  Further, Wilson urged that “national armaments …be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety;” which clearly has been domestically completely ignored; for it is the oversupply of those very dangerous killing armaments which are being utilized as the necessary means for wars and engagement throughout the world, and of which, the United States exports well over $100 billion of those armaments, each year.  Wilson also stated that “the day of conquest and aggrandizement is gone…”; yet, in fact, that day is still very much alive, and is in principle, the guiding light of the American capitalistic system as currently practiced, so enforced by America throughout the world, and of which, this is the very reason why America continues to get its nose into just about everything all over the world, because American multinational enterprises are compulsively driven by their lust for more growth and more profit, thereby typically insisting that sovereign foreign nations consent to the rules that America so dictates, or suffer the consequences, so of, for their disobedience.

The peace that Wilson wanted, came from the knowledge that warfare was not becoming of advanced civilizations, but rather reflected its incivility, greed, lack of foresight, and injustice, instead.  So then, until there comes a time when swords are truly turned into plowshares, we can expect a continuation of more hatred, disrespect, violence, vitriol, and vengeance, worldwide.

“If voting made any difference, it would be illegal”

The above quotation doesn’t seem to make any logical sense, for in countries with a democratic vote, those votes are thereby typically made for legislative propositions, city council members, school board members, mayors, sheriffs, senators, judicial positions, congressional representatives, and presidents.  So then, it most certainly appears that voting does matter; but the thing is, when we look around at how our country deals with vital things such as our wealth disparity, poverty, ill-education, incarceration, political acts, the policing arm of the state, and justice so being served, it has to be recognized that there is often a significant disconnect with what has so been voted upon, and the actual effect of that vote upon the people, in whole.

In other words, voting does not seem to make a difference, because if it really did, we would have, for instance, more equality in the income and wealth of our people, as opposed to the massive disparity between those that have it all, and those that have nothing.  If voting actually matter, then the justice so being meted out would treat white-collar crime, more in accordance to how street-level crime is treated.  If voting really had any significance, then the politicians so being elected, and the legislation so being passed, would actually have a meaningful impact upon the people’s lives, as opposed to such, pretty much often being just words on a paper, and therefore an irrelevancy, for the most part, in the everyday lives of the people.

The fact of the matter is that voting, appears to be nothing much more than an elaborate charade, of which the people are sold the illusion that this government is, of, for, and by the people; but the results of this construct are right in front of our eyes, in which, quite obviously the people, don’t seem to have any meaningful voice, whatsoever.  This might seem puzzling to many people, because they have voted, and they believe that the legislation so passed, and the politicians so elected, must so and do make a difference; but in actuality, that doesn’t often occur, especially in regards for all those that aren’t connected, or aren’t high up in the scale of those people that actually have a say.

So then, we live under a governance, of which, in actuality, there are two governments, in which, one of those governments proports to provide us with a voice, so demonstrated through elections and propositions of all types, and many a person believes in this as being not only the government as it really is, but the reality of what they live in.  Then there is the real government, which is a shadow government, and of which, that shadow government effectively runs the show, or if not completely running the show, is definitely at the helm of a rather large and somewhat unwieldy ship; and it is this shadow government, that makes sure that what so occurs in actuality, is that which benefits those that are its actuators, and cares not a whit, for those that are its subjects, for they are basically seen by them as a resource to exploit, to use, and are thereby kept satiated by the bread that feeds their belly, and the circuses so created to keep them perpetually amused.

Human research and ethics

There are all types of research so done upon human beings, in regards to, for instance, pharmaceutical drugs being developed, as well as psychology studies so needed to learn more about the human psyche, so performed upon humans, of which some of these things so done, will be necessarily intense in its effect upon those subjects.  Regrettably, the United States has some rather troubling history in regards to using human beings, for such tests as this; in which, for example, incarcerated people, or those that have historically been treated as less than human, have been utilized as unwitting test subjects for drugs that were known to be harmful or problematic, or have been actually injected with substances known to be damaging to one’s health, or have been provided surreptitiously with drugs that addle the mind, of which, these subjects, were never not only not fully informed of such, but typically weren’t ever informed, at all.

The most important thing when it comes to human beings so being utilized for these types of tests, is that they be fully informed about the nature and the intent of the program, and even the sponsors of such, to begin with.  To the extent that such cannot be fully disclosed because it would compromise the purpose, for instance, of a particular psychological test, then those subjects need to be informed of such, after their involvement.  After all, when the very point of such research is for the benefit of humankind, then it doesn’t make any real sense, that humans should suffer for having been a research subject, but rather they need to be fully knowledgeable of the perils of such, and must additionally give their voluntary consent without coercion to participate -- along with the need of having an independent party, confirming that all this has been accomplished in an ethical manner.

There isn’t any real debate, that in order to determine the actual efficacy of potential pharmaceutical drugs, that independent tests utilizing humans will need to be made, but in regards to those tests, there has to be some strict protocols in place, to protect those taking such drugs, from any lasting harm, as soon as it becomes pretty obvious that the drug in question, creates more harm, then benefit.  So too, the human mind and psyche, can easily be damaged through experimental research good awry, in which in fairness to the subjects, there has to be robust regulations in place to address, these very important and meaningful issues.

Finally, research labs, universities, and all those that look the part of professional researchers have an ethical obligation to disclose to all those that volunteer to be a subject of a particular research project, where their actual monetary funding originates from.  That is to say, funding so provided to research labs, can come from a multitude of different sources, and when that source, in particular, has a profit motive behind it, there may well be some additional risk involved to those volunteering, in the sense, that those conducting the experiment, have pretty much a vested interest to see that the results, thereof, favor those that provided the funding for it, and therefore those researchers may well be inclined to push things further as well as to make adjustments on the fly, that endangers those that are its volunteers, all in service to the hand that feeds well those researchers.

Police officers and under compensation

The policing arm of the state is necessary in order to put boots on the ground, so as to enforce the law upon miscreants in a competent and fair manner.  The thing about policing, is that at least some of the time, it is a thankless job, with incumbent dangers, and of which, police have to deal with the type of people, that most of us, would make it a point, to avoid at all costs.  So then, because police officers have to do the type of a job, that most would never be up for, there should be correspondingly, a decent wage for such a valuable service.

To the degree that police officers are well respected, appreciated, and compensated fairly, one would therefore logically think, that then the amount of corruption of those officers would be minimal.  On the other hand, when officers are not well compensated, we do so find, such as in Mexico, that a huge swath of those officers thereby become corrupt, for they have to make up for their lack of a good and fair salary, somewhere; and that somewhere, is typically through the aegis of those that are outside of the law, who therefore take care of compensating those officers so that they themselves can continue to do the unlawful things that they need to get done, and further by that corruption are often able to co-opt those crooked officers to actually aid them in such.

When it comes to police officers in America, those that perceive themselves as being undercompensated, and/or are in need of extra funds, have a strong tendency to desire to work the system so that they can make up for their lack of adequate base pay, by working overtime, and of which, many a police department does indeed issue a lot of overtime hours, which thereby addresses that problem in a manner which seems to satisfy such for those that are its participants.  That is relevant, for police work, is invariably going to involve both a lot of discretion as well as temptation for these officers, in which, those entities that are outside of the law, or on the very edge of it, are going to want to work whatever angles that they feel will be beneficial for their enterprise, so that they can reap that which they desire to have, and having officers that either look the other way, or directly or indirectly aid them, is something which is, for those enterprises, both good business, as well as being sensible.

This thus signifies, that because of these temptations that officers will have to deal with, and because officers have so much discretion as to who or who they don’t arrest, the charges, thereof, and so on and so forth, that good police departments, make it their point to first of all, see that their budget, adequately compensates their officers, and further that they also have a robust internal affairs department, ideally aided and abetted by agencies outside of that actual police department, to nip in the bud, that which needs to be addressed in a meaningful and comprehensive manner, for if not, then what so occurs, is that justice is not served, fairness is not upheld, and in short, the law is unequally applied.

What have you done for others?

One of the problems with living in modern societies is that a lot of us are susceptible to losing our meaningful attachment to community, to family, and to others, by getting so self-absorbed in other matters -- that actually represent in the scheme of things, that which really aren’t of any lasting material importance, and basically these other things serve for the most part to distract us from the more meaningful things in life, that we should be addressing and doing, instead.

For all those that somehow believe that the most important thing in life, is to make themselves feel good or to look good, they have it all wrong.  Those that are narcissistic in their outlook, and in their behavior, of which everything that they therefore come across is dealt with in a manner, that primarily is about how this will or will not personally benefit them, aren’t thinking correctly. That is to say, a world of exclusively selfish people, is not ever going to be a world of peace, harmony, and justice, but rather such is always going to be quite obviously the very opposite of this, because people that are not joined together in a common purpose for the greater benefit of society at whole, are going to be at odds with those that are.

This thus signifies, that each of us needs to understand that none of is an island onto our own self, and as much as we might have a tendency to want to give ourselves all or most of the credit for our success in life, the truth of the matter is far more nuanced and complicated then that; for really none of us gets into a really good place without having first stood upon the shoulders of previous giants, and each of us, thereby needs to be not only conscious of that material fact, but also that we each have an inherent obligation to make it our point to see that in our life, we have done our fair part to have done something of benefit for others, so that they too, can reap the rewards of a life lived wisely and well.

None us truly progresses in this life, without taking into fair account, our obligation to those that have helped us to blaze forward in this world, of which, the greatest tribute that we can thereby provide to those that have aided and abetted us, is to live a life in words and in action, that demonstrates our respect and our obligation to perform good deeds with our fellow sojourners.  The way that we best do this, is by our efforts to help others in making their way in this world, by being a positive influence upon others, by having concern as well as taking the time to lend a helping hand to those that need such, and by forgetting ourselves and our needs for a time, to concentrate instead on being the type of person, that is that good Samaritan, because there truly isn’t anything more important than those little but necessary things that allows us to assist as well as to uplift others, so that they too, can be better off, for our having done something of value for them.

“Just as I have loved you, you also love one another”

The above scripture comes from John 13: 34; yet, how many people having read those words, actually bother to live such in thought, in action, and in deed?  There are plenty of people that talk about how they love this or love that, or claim that they love someone or love something, therefore signifying that they are loving, but in actuality often their love doesn’t really hold a candle to what this scripture so represents about love.

People really aren’t interested in those that exhibit only that which would be best described as a “fair weather” love, in which, when things are going just fine -- kindness, compassion, and concern abound; but when things go awry, somehow that love, turns thereby to hate, or jealousy, or becomes vengeful.  Obviously, a love such as that, doesn’t deserve the designation of love, because that which is real love, always wishes the best for the other, and further to the point, real love, is unconditional, and therefore is never dependent upon the behavior or the actions of the beloved, for to do so, would make that kind of expressed love, conditional.

Each of us should want to be treated the way that ideally, we so desire to be treated, which often consists of attributes such as consideration, patience, forgiveness, concern, empathy, and love; as contrasted to that very long and lengthy list of negative attributes, which we would wish to have minimized as much as possible in being imposed upon us.  So then, this signifies, that those that learn their lessons well, must aspire to live those valued lessons in their subsequent actions that they so take with others, and their interactions, so of.

When we think about the people that we admire and respect the most, it isn’t so much that we need to match them in their accomplishments, for often, this isn’t realistic; but rather we have a revered obligation to at a minimum, take on the aura of their noble aspects and to make that part and parcel of our dealings with others, and further to the point, to make this part of how we so see this world, which thereby becomes the ultimate form of respect and tribute to those that we so admire. Further to the point, the good acts that we so commit today, have a lasting effect upon all those that receive such, so that, by doing good, by being loving, we in our own way, help to make society better for our being a part of it.

To have love and to exhibit love in all that we say and do, takes discipline, wisdom, and thoughtfulness; for it is the easiest of things to slip away from love into pettiness and stupidity, which benefits nobody.  Those that so easily throw around words such as love, are in their own way, disrespecting what love truly is, for love is patient, kind, and selfless; for all those that truthfully love, are those that have no hidden agendas, and honestly desire that each of us rise up to what we are capable of being, so as to thereby become that which we were always born to be.