There are advantages to remaining a private corporation

The most salient reason why corporations go public is to sell shares to the general public, thereby paying back and rewarding the original private investors with the proceeds from that stock issuance, which oftentimes, can be quite considerable – in addition to that corporation also receiving in return a massive infusion of new capital from those of the public that bought those shares.  However, once a company becomes public, not only do the public shareholders have some say, but also public corporations are prone to suffering from certain investors of that public thus being able to exert pressure upon management should they feel some degree of dissatisfaction; in addition to the fact, that the company is susceptible to being under the microscope, in regards to expected quarterly earnings, from TV financial programs and pundits.

When it comes to private corporations, they are to the general public, for the most part, pretty invisible, seemingly looked upon as just regular corporations, of no real import, one way or another.  This may indeed be true for the lion's share of private corporations -- for the bulk of those private corporations aren't all that big in the sense of employees, sales, or influence.  However, it is the exceptions to that rule that make some of these private corporations, a real force of nature.

The biggest advantage that any private corporation has, is the fact that the corporation does not need to answer to any other entity or organization other than to those that are the owners of that private corporation, which typically consists of a select few that were the founders of such, or related to those founders, or those that the founders specifically brought in, so as to grow the corporation. Further, a significant amount of public companies, pay out dividends each and every year to their stockholders, as a ways and means to share some of those profits, so being made by that company, and to encourage those that are its stockholders to continue with their investment, over the long term; and this expenditure of money is definitely money that has left that public corporation to go to those that are its stockholders, of which, that money can easily represent to that corporation a very large sum of capital and therefore of its profits, so leaving that corporation on an annual basis.  On the other hand, in regards to private corporations, because they are private, they don't have any dividends to pay, which means, that the profits so being generated can be continually invested into, for instance, the buying out or the investment of other enterprises, or things of that sort.

This so signifies that once a private corporation reaches the stage in which they are able to consistently make good profits, that they therefore are in a very good strategic position, which provides them with the flexibility and the maneuverability to get business done, with thereby an absolute minimum of outside agitation or pushback, which allows them to pursue whatever business arrangement that they best see fit, thereby giving these private corporations an enviable amount of dexterity to get accomplished business deals that make good sense for them.  In short, private corporations that have access to the capital so needed or have generated such, have created a clear pathway that arguably will permit them to grow at a faster pace than public companies, for they need not pay out any dividends, nor answer to public shareholders, which has eliminated those inconvenient obstacles and puts them instead into a very strong business position.

Before there were clocks and watches there was twilight and dawn

We live in an era in which the knowing of what time it is, is as straightforward as looking down at our watch, or our smartphone, or at a clock on our counter or elsewhere.  So then, at virtually any time, we know what time it is, and thereby are able to deal well with all the things that are time sensitive, such as showing up for work at a certain time, going to an event at a specific time, or meeting up with a friend; which are all things that we monitor through the knowing of what time of day it is, of which, those people or things that we are interacting with, all keep track of time the same way that we do.  In other words, time is structured in an orthodox way that all are privy to.

Nowadays, we take the knowing of what time it is, as a given, of which, few people, ever contemplate upon how often and how dependent we are on knowing that time, of which, the prime example of this, is when we simply meet up with people at a certain time, in which, by the knowledge of that time, down to the minute, makes the accomplishment of that mission, seamless.  So then, to turn back the clock, so to speak, before there were watches, and before there were clocks, we were left in an era in which the time keeping was primarily based upon the position of the sun in the sky. 

We therefore find that the coordination between peoples, without clocks or, quite obviously, any other modern communication device, was left to the reading of the sky as well as of the sunlight or the lack thereof, in which, to a very large extent, such coordination came down to, each party, having a clear understanding of what they were referring to when they agreed to meet up, in which, this would thereby necessitate a very common comprehension of what something like dawn or twilight would mean to each party, and thereby, such became a good way to successfully meet up.

What modern society pretty much takes for granted is that it is in the knowledge of what time that it is, that thereby is the key that permits us to successfully get well accomplished what so needs to be accomplished, of which, the knowledge of that specific time and date, is the critical component to that success.  Those that have previously had to deal with the lack of such specificity, had to make do with their own ways of marking time through things such as a sundial, the reading of the stars, the sky, or the sunlight.

We have come a long way from having to meet up with people, based upon the position of the sun, of which, despite that handicap, there were some advantages for those people, in the sense that times were slower back then, thereby signifying that back in the day, humankind was not nearly as beholden to the specific time, so marked down to a minute, as we are so, today.

Corporate power must be checked by government

There is a fair amount of people, and certainly an awful lot of influential people, that believe that corporations are the “cat’s meow.”  These people that are typically so big on corporations are quite obviously, and almost exclusively, those that directly or indirectly benefit from the profits and monies so made by these corporations, of which, some of the mightiest of these corporations, incredibly have annual sales in the hundreds of billions of dollars.  The main reason why certain people and many corporations desire to have a laissez faire type of governmental or public oversight, is that they don’t want any undue or undesired interference in their primary business of making money.  After all, when life is good for a particular corporation, they have no interest in changing a thing.  On the other hand, the very reason, that America has an ever-higher and ever-growing disparity in the distribution of its income and wealth, in contrast to a more equal sharing of such, is the fact that corporate power in America has never been stronger, than it is so represented currently in the 21st century.

There is only one entity and only one force, that could conceivably hold a candle to what has become of these corporations, which as artificial creations of the state, are supposed to exist under the aegis of the state for the general benefit of the public, expressly provided as a condition for having been granted perpetuity as well as the removal in most cases, of personal liability.  If this government, will not do its part to see that corporations serve the public good, at least as part of its mission, then that government has done a grave disservice to the people, for the people are subject to the laws of physical life, and have therefore a finite amount of time on this good earth to enjoy the fruits of their labor; whereas, corporations if not properly regulated and controlled, are something akin to Frankenstein’s monster, which thereby becomes a corporate beast, of which, because of corporate power, strength, size, and influence, creates a construct which is exclusively good for those corporate entities, to the detriment, of the public, at large.

Most people just can’t conceptualize how big corporations have become in the modern age, but recognize, that when corporations are able to make billions upon billions of dollars in corporate profits, each and every year, then what the general public thereby is dealing with, is never going to be a fair fight.  Those then, that make up the governance of this nation, have a sacred duty to the people, to do right by the majority of those people, and for a certainty, at a minimum, play fair with the people.  Remember this well, the lust for profit and the desire for power, is a siren call that many find themselves inclined or compelled to, and as part of that drive for profit and power, many a corporate officer, is going to be sorely tempted to offshore as much of the work and labor that they possibly can for profit, as well as to cheat the tax authorities by the abusing and taking advantage of the tax code for their own corporate benefit, and are susceptible to “doctoring” whatever documents need to be “doctored” in order to circumvent pollution and environmental laws, when so deemed necessary, and finally, will do whatever serves their purpose to strangle in the cradle, any nascent labor union activity.  In truth, only the government has the necessary power and sharp tools to check corporate power and greed, and when that government is ineffective in doing so, or co-opted by corporate influence, then the end result is what we so see, today.

This is what happens when communism fails

The very idea and concept of communism, seems on the surface, to be something that would appeal quite vividly to all those people, that have little or no material worth, along with having no good prospects of ever getting there; because communism in its form, promises that all goods and property will thus be owned by the people collectively and in common; sort of like one for all, and all for one. The fatal flaw of communism, is the apparent deliberate lack of understanding that human nature, in far too many cases, is not only selfish in its personal desires, but seldom believes that they and everyone that they so interact with, are equally deserving of the same thing; or in simple terms, that everyone is now and forever basically entitled to the same material goods, without regard to effort, education, throughput, or skillset.

The actual way that communism has played out in the real world, is that there is not now, and probably never will be, a true communistic state. Rather, a significant amount of people that live in ostensibly communistic states have often been cheated out of getting a good and living wage, while also being stifled via the lack of an impactful voice in the political realm, along with suffering from the arbitrary rule of law, in addition to their inability of receiving fair access to private property, and in particular, a home to thereby claim as their own. We so find that the usual true beneficiaries of communism are those that represent the state, along with those at a high level that provide the necessary muscle and spying apparatus to keep therefore the people in line. So pretty much, communism, as practiced, is a government that has an elite that owns everything, while also having the corresponding power to suppress all those that would have the audacity to wish to oppose such. Still, as might be imagined, there is always going to be in-fighting between those at the top, along with pressure from below, in which the people and institutions get ever more difficult to control, which thereby leads to the fall and collapse of some of these communist nations.

It would be nice, if the falling of a communist nation, thereby meant a better construct for the people in general, but as in most things, in which a vacuum is created, of which, those that once held firm control of the assets and arms, have either departed from their country for safer shores, or disappeared in one form or another, is that almost immediately upon such a change, there will be ambitious others that will gravitate to this opportunity, of which, virtually none of these people, are going to be commoners, whatsoever. Instead, a meaningful portion of these replacements are invariably going to represent the muscle of the former communistic state, in the sense of military power and spying acumen; as well as those others that are well placed in the most important industries within that nation, that will thereby take over such, for the benefit of those few. In other words, when what is called communism disappears, what it is replaced with is seldom a real improvement of empowerment so being provided to the people, but rather, nothing much more than the passing of the baton to typically a combination of those that are oligarchs in principle, along with top military personnel, that are in their effect, just as bad as what they so replaced, leaving the people, bereft of much of anything, though perhaps hopeful, that the new boss won’t be quite as bad as the previous one.

The rich get appeals and the poor just get jail

Those that pick up a book, or watch a movie, or go to see a play at a theatre, recognize well, that each of the stories so told, has a beginning, a middle, and an end. That is to say, most of these stories, clearly have a final act and of that act, we so find the resolution and thereby the conclusion of that story told. In other words, “the end” for these stories, really is the end. For those that are poor, ill-educated, impoverished, un-championed and the like, they recognize intuitively that when they get in trouble with the law, for whatever reason, fair or unfair, that the resolution that they will thereby consequently suffer will be final and thereby there is no appeal for them to a higher source, or a higher court, for it is indeed finished. On the other hand, those that are well connected and have a wealth of money to draw upon, will in many a case, make sure that first of all, that they hire an experienced and competent attorney, so that, whatever that they so have to deal with, will be dealt with in a way and manner, in which the initial resolution will not be final, or if not, will be upon the terms agreeable to that person so accused. In other words, the rich get special considerations not available to the general public, along with often being able to appeal whatever justice that they don’t agree with, and the poor just do their time in jail.

No doubt, some cases, do have compelling errors that do indicate that a miscarriage of justice was carried out, and thereby are deserving of having such appealed to a higher court, for instance, for procedural errors, or for the misinterpretation of Constitutional law, and the like. Still, the problem with the appeals as so read by the general public, is the salient fact, that appeals, with a few notable exceptions for progressive attorneys to challenge unjust and unequal laws, is pretty much provided mainly as an aid only for those special few that have the ways and means to challenge successfully how the law is so being applied specifically to them. That is to say, there isn’t any “equal protection” under the law, but rather the law as practiced and exercised is clearly done in a manner that is diametrically different depending upon one’s class, status, and position in life.

We are instructed not to break the law, if we are unwilling to pay the price for such a bad action. Yet, that only seems to apply to those that have not the means to successfully fight back, of which, those people, for a certainty do pay the full price. Those, then, on the other hand, that have money and are well connected, are typically quite conscious of the law, as well as knowing that they often have the ability to skirt around that law, should it ever come down to that, and thereby are willing to take calculated risks, in the knowledge that the supposed downside for them, seems quite manageable. We so find, then, that for the small-time crook or miscreant, that three strikes signifies that they really are out; whereas, for the rich and well positioned, three strikes are an out, but they still have a lot more at-bats left, to still get a hit and thereby to get themselves home safely, and they often do just that.

The class divide

While in America it is true, that there are no hereditary positions of nobility, and therefore no associated titles representing particular ranks and status, from such; to say that therefore in America that all are equally entitled and hence equally valued is definitely to miss the forest for the trees. In fact, in things large and small, there is a massive class divide, so seen first amongst those that are so far and beyond the normal crowd, that they are a class onto themselves; thereby followed by those that are quite successful and accomplished, then by those that make up our ever-dwindling middle class, followed lastly by those that are the lower class or underclass. For each of these classes, America, represents something different, of which, to a very large extent, nobody other than those that cater to, have permission of, and service such, personally interacts with the elite of America, ever. That is to say, the superrich live in their own neighborhoods, policed, when necessary, by their own security force, with their own parks, their own schools, their own cultural places, their own shops, and their own restaurants.

The superrich aren’t really interested in intermingling with anyone other than their own social class, unless business or other social exigencies, necessitates differently. So too, they live in enclaves of privilege, and do not suffer fools, gladly. For instance, when the superrich attend a big sporting event, they aren’t actually going to sit out in the seats with the general public, but rather they are safely ensconced in a luxury box, instead. When the elites go shopping, they are permitted to enter the premises through a special entrance, with their own exclusive hours, and their own exclusive host. So too, the restaurants that the superrich frequent, are purposely structured in a way, that only those that feel of a certain achievement or of a social class are comfortable enough to actually be there, with them. Additionally, the schools that their children attend, are both exclusive and private. We find also, that the cultural events and museums that the superrich visit, are almost always the type of venue that are clearly meant to only be attended by those of a certain intellect, or of social achievement, and none else. And when the elite travel, they don’t bother with commercial airlines or well-known hotels, but make it their point to use private aircraft, and stay only at those places which properly cater to people of their class.

Those of the superrich that must engage with people in public, or congregate in public spaces, make sure that within these domains, that these other people and places typically conform to the dictates and desires of the elite. This is why there are all sorts of rules and regulations that are put into place, along with expectations so demanded, that people must conform to, in order to comfortably access specific cultural events and places. After all, the elites are a separate class, and all those that desire to hobnob with them, must meet the expectations so laid out for them to comply with, or else they will be ostracized, and if necessary, removed forthwith. Remember, the superrich are different, and if one is inclined to forget this, such a faux pas as that will be duly noted and suitably dealt with.

Gospel of Thomas Saying 18

The Gospel of Thomas Saying 18 reads as follows: “The disciples say to Jesus: "Tell us what our end will be." Jesus says: "Have you then deciphered the beginning, that you ask about the end? For where the beginning is, there shall be the end…” For all those that wonder why it is that Christ so often spoke in parables, and seemingly in riddles, it is important to recognize that wisdom cannot be imparted successfully without the recipient of that wisdom, doing their fair part to understand and to comprehend what is so being said and meant by those words. Therefore, those that speak in parables and riddles are doing so, in order to primarily test the sincerity and the desire of those so listening, as well as also in the conscious recognition that those that always desire easy answers, are typically the very same people, that want easy lives.

It is good to yearn to know what the principle point of life is. It so follows, then, that we should thus concentrate either upon the beginning of life, or conversely upon the end of life; but yet, though those two things appear to be opposites, it must so be recognized, that every beginning, by definition, has at a minimum, an implied end; so too, every ending, necessitates that there must have been a beginning. So here we are, clearly cognizant that each one of us so exists, of which, some of us, never bother to question our existence or the point of such; whereas, those that are more curious and inquisitive about our origin and purpose, and thereby their place in it, will at least attempt to try to figure it out, for an unexamined life, surely is a life that lacks vital enlightenment.

Those that go to fortune tellers and the like, are the very same people, that desire to skip to the end of a book, without reading all of the drama and tales so told in-between, because perhaps they just have to know whether it all works out okay, or perhaps because they can’t handle the tension of the trials and tribulations so being dealt with. So too, many a person, wants to know, especially in their quieter moments, or perhaps when they are down and out, or sickly, how it is that their life will be so seen and adjudged. Further there are those that are unbelievers, or perhaps too busy to care, or because they are dull of mind, that still find themselves in a weak moment or similar, interested to know what the end of this life will so represent for them.

The thing is that the very concept of beginnings and endings, comes forth from our distorted perspective that life is linear, and further that time therefore exists, in all dimensions and places; as opposed to the belief that time is a human construct, meant for the benefit of humankind, so that a particular story can be so written and told; but is, in totality, an elaborate illusion in actuality. To believe that there is a beginning, necessitates, that there is an end; but we will so find, that our existence, never had a beginning and never will have an end, for we are beyond time and space, for mortality is the servant to that which is immortal, and that substance which is immortal, as in our soul, has always been and always will be.

“A Declaration …Setting Forth the Causes and Necessity of Their Taking Up Arms”

Before there was that seminal Declaration of Independence, so agreed upon on July 4, 1776, there was a previous declaration, as entitled above, so agreed to by the Second Continental Congress of the thirteen colonies, so signed on July 6, 1775, or nearly a year before that Declaration of Independence. This particular Declaration made it clear that those thirteen colonies felt they had a justified cause as well as the urgent necessity of taking up arms against Great Britain, in order to assert and to protect their right to civil and religious freedom. So too, those colonies felt that they had no good choice but to fight for their independence, because, for instance, their pleas for governmental representation went unanswered, along with their strong desire to see that there be the removal of oppressive unrepresented taxation, in addition to the ending of the interference and unwarranted interdiction of trade and property, as well as to answer to the suspension of the legislature in some of the colonies, along with ending the suffering from the quartering of soldiers upon those colonists; these all, warranted action against the tyranny so impressed upon them.

It is somewhat ironic, that as part of that Declaration, it so stated, that “We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery,” but these were indeed the words so chosen by those colonists in that Declaration, of which, it can be said, that they felt the oppressive boot of the British empire upon their neck, and cared not for it, especially in consideration that the colonists had a right to feel, justifiably, that the economic growth and strength of those thirteen colonies, came primarily from the people dedicating themselves to that task, and believing wholly that they should be the beneficiaries of that labor, and of that blood, sweat and tears, so done, for the greater good of the members of that society.

Additionally, the cause of that revolution, was a cause, in which the colonists, desired to see that the people were firm supporters to that justification of that revolution, and further to the point, recognized the dangers, travails, and trials, yet to come; along with the full understanding that by throwing off the shackles of British tyranny, that there would be a new birth of freedom and liberty, and thereby the creation of a government, so meant for the beneficence of the people.

So too, the colonists understood well that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” and in a world in which Great Britain was seen as an European power that prudently needed to be checked, or else, such a power could conceivably unduly influence or conquer western European nations, it made sense, to have a Declaration so printed, that other western European nations, would take good notice of, and thereby possibly lend a helping hand, through financial means, through trade, through armaments, or even through foreign soldiers, aligned on behalf of those colonists.

The steps so taken for American independence, were never haphazard, but were instead seriously debated upon, of which, the perception of the colonists, was that without that necessary fight for colonial independence, that the colonists were in imminent danger of losing their birthright, of life, liberty, religious freedom, and their pursuit of happiness.

Why we so compete

In today’s modern society, many of us, often find ourselves, wittingly or not, competing in school achievements, in job achievements and obtainments, in wealth achievements, as well as in our desire to achieve a good overall status in society.  There are a lot of people that believe that competition is healthy for us, and for a certainty, competition can be healthy for people especially when that competition brings out the best in a person in the sense of effort, desire, and throughput.  Of course, there is also the underside of competition which is not so much talked about, in which, some of those who compete, find themselves susceptible to doing whatever that they need to do in order to, in their viewpoint, “win.”

The main reason why so many people buy into competition, is the perception that we live in a zero-sum world, and within that world, there is only a fixed amount of goods, or achievements, to go around, and therefore what we so failed to compete and win, is subsequently lost to us, forever.   So too, many people are status hungry, and while part of them admires the success of the other; we also find that often part of them, sees that success of the other, as something that if they do not measure up well to, thus labels them as something, less than, which subsequently bothers and irks them.

Yet, fundamentally there is a problem in all the competition that we are participants in, which is the fact that when people believe that they need to get as much as they personally can get; this signifies that the self-centeredness and selfishness of that person’s desire is the driving force of what they so think upon and do, to the basic exclusion of all else.  Additionally, a competition, by definition, has winners and it has losers, so that, competition is something that is going to separate us as a society, of which, such separation, serves to place a dividing line between those that are its best achievers, as compared to those that are not.  Further to the point, those that are seen as the winners in the competition, have a strong tendency to believe that they deserve it, no matter where they so started the race, when that competition so commenced.

So much of the unease, trouble, civil discord, injustice, inequality, and the like that we see in society, today, reflects that any society that makes competition the be-all and end-all of its existence, is a society in which there will never be civil peace, because it doesn’t take into account, that not only is each of us different, with different motivations, and different circumstances, but also that competition has too often a lot in common with a dog-eat-dog philosophy.  On the other hand, those that are wise, compassionate, and are team players, recognize well, that the only societies that will ever be both long standing and just, are those societies that make it their abiding principle, that cooperation is the most appropriate way to conduct human affairs.  In other words, we are all in this together, and while we can so decide to race against each other, the better side of our nature, recognizes that we are much better off if we aid and help one another, because the race is not really to the swift, but to those who have the endurance and the strength to persevere and to thereby keep on doing the right thing.

When everything is a secret, the people are not free

In his Gettysburg address, Abraham Lincoln, said, “…that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”  Yet, is what Lincoln so said at that time and place, still true by what we know and understand is happening with our present-day governance?  That is to say, is this actually a government, of, by, and for the people, or it is more accurate to state that this is a government that is overly secretive, surveils its people constantly, consistently lies to the people, especially when that lie is considered to be necessary by that governance for the protection or the convenience of the powerful and the elite, and is the general population, ever truly treated as an entity, deserving to know the truth of important and relevant matters?

When any government, is permitted at its sole discretion to keep a vast number of secrets from the general population, of which, those secrets, hidden agendas, hidden agencies, and hidden power structures, are not available for public purview or oversight, then the people, by definition, are not free.  No doubt, any government worth its salt, has a need to keep some of its affairs, from the public eye, but even of these prudent secrets, there needs to be representatives of the people, that have full and complete access to that of which, though it can’t be discussed with the general public, allows these representatives, if so necessary, to do their good part in standing in as a responsible agent for the people in the defense of their unalienable rights, and fairness, thereof.

To believe, that somehow the government, on our supposed behalf, is always and forever doing the right thing, in all the actions so secretly taken domestically as well as overseas, is to be far too gullible.  Rather, it is important that governments operate, to the furthest extent so possible, as agencies that are auditable, accessible, and transparent in the duties that they so perform on behalf of its citizenry.  After all, how is it possible for the public to property access whether that government is or is not, behaving and acting in a manner that is responsible, ethical, and consistent with the very principles of its Constitution without such public oversight?

So too, it must be acknowledged that those that are up to no good, are the very same ones that have to be secretive, opaque, and deceptive in what they are actually doing, so they will therefore not be exposed for who and what they really are.  Thereby, to believe then, that all the secrets so held by the government are always and forever necessary in order to protect the homeland, and things of that ilk, is simply not something that is actually plausible.  Rather, the government has a very strong tendency, especially when they are knowingly contemplating and performing actions that are inimical to the very Constitutional principles that they have sworn to uphold and to defend, to keep such as a secret, and will therefore go to great lengths to keep it that way, typically under the guise of national security, and thereupon look at all those that desire to be enlightened about what is really going on, under the name of the people, as unpatriotic; when it is that government, and its actuators, that are themselves, guilty of such.

The unequal application of property taxes

All those that own their own domicile, are responsible for the payment of property taxes upon that property, each and every year.  Those that are renters, may seem to have “no dog in this fight,” but in fact, because their landlord pays property taxes on that rental property, we do so find, that renters, in an indirect way, also pay property taxes, because when expenses for landlords go up, the renters are the ones that are going to have to basically foot that bill as well.

In America, there are those rules, and then there are those exceptions to those rules, along with also special deals so done through the legislative arm of the city or county, with or without public oversight.  That is to say, one might think that property so own, such as certain corporate buildings, churches, schools, hospitals, non-profits, and the like, all are subject to property taxes, but in fact, this typically isn’t true, whatsoever.  For the most part, though not always, non-profits, schools, universities, museums, foundations, religious institutions, and credit unions, are often not subject to property taxes, and some of these organizations sit in very desirable locations, of a considerable size, of which this particular piece of property, may be worth millions upon millions of dollars, but is somehow legally not subject to a property tax.  Additionally, there are public companies, that because of their size, strength, and influence, for instance, as in a Walmart or Amazon, that are able through a “negotiation” to reduce or to eliminate property taxes, in return for bringing jobs into a community.  The fact that corporations that make billions in profit, have even the audacity to ask for a reduction in their property taxes, should be seen as galling to the average citizen.

The reason for property taxes, in the first place, is primarily for the city and/or county government, to collect funds so necessary for police and fire personnel, for schools, for parks, as well as for necessary infrastructure so needed within the community.  Those that are excluded from the paying of property taxes, or have had their property taxes negotiated down in return for jobs and the like, or are senior citizens, and have thereby availed themselves of having their school portion of their property taxes removed, means that all those others, that are not subject to those exemptions, are going to have to pay for those that have not paid their full or fair share.

While there may be good reasons why so many companies and organizations are exempt from the paying of property taxes, a very strong argument could be made and should be made, that those that are exempt or have had favors bestowed upon them for a reduction of their taxes, should in many a case, be subject to paying their fair share.  After all, nobody really wants to pay property taxes, to begin with -- so to believe, somehow, that it is just fine to charge your average homeowner the full freight of those property taxes, but somehow, for example, a university with an endowment in the millions or possibly the billions of dollars nothing at all, is grossly unfair.  In the nature of things, property taxes are what a good citizenry has a responsibility to pay their fair share of, in order to have the accouterments of a good and vibrant community environment, and those that do not pay their fair share, are essentially riding on the backs of all those that do.

Agricultural Child Labor law exemptions

There are rules and then there are exceptions to those rules, of which, it is the height of hypocrisy in this modern day and age that children should have to suffer unduly from some of these exemptions to what should be good rules, which clearly instead have been structured in a way, in which profit and the greed so of, rules over the child’s welfare.  While, it certainly makes sense, that on a small family farm, (of which, the very existence of small family farms is in steep decline), that the work so needed to sustain that farm, will often necessitate the aid of the children of that family; but this has little or nothing to do with the Federal law, that so declares, that children as young as twelve years old, are eligible to work as many hours as they so desire, seven days a week, as long as such does not interfere with their attendance to school, as well as these children also having received parental consent to work.

Not too surprisingly, a huge swath of those so performing the back breaking work for others of agricultural and farming duties, are pretty much people that don’t have a lot of good options available to them, along with them typically not readily understanding their legal rights, and of which, those that are parents, are going to, in absence of anything of substance or merit for their children to attend to, be okay with their children working in the fields as well, because they often need and desire the additional income from such labor, as well as having an abiding desire to keep their children in close proximity to them.

Further to the harm, though, that these children suffer from, in regards to having them labor at such a young age in agricultural and farming duties, is the fact that the pay so legally required to be provided to them, is subject to minimum wage laws which permits the contractor for a period of time to pay a “youth minimum wage,” if they so are inclined to.  Additionally, children’s bodies and brains are still in the process of developing, and by virtue of the fact, that within a lot of these industries there are all sorts of hazards involved, including the tools of the trade, as well as noxious chemicals, makes such work especially pernicious and dangerous for young children.  So too, the fact of the matter is, that children are far easier to exploit and to take advantage of, then are adults.

While, it is true, that most parents have the best interests of their children, at heart, they are also susceptible to doing what they so have to do, in order to make some sort of a living; and when the wages and the hours so being paid and devoted to, do not allow these parents any real semblance of a decent life, they are going to, perhaps reluctantly, have a strong tendency to utilize their children as additional labor to help make ends meet.  That companies that employ these people have an abiding desire to exploit them and to take advantage of them, is unquestionable; that said, though, what is especially disappointing, is that the Federal government, apparently has no real desire to protect those that are its youngest and its most vulnerable, but instead, believes they should be sacrificed to profit, above all.

The United Colonies of America

This nation, per its Declaration of Independence, is known as the United States of America; yet, before such Declaration was ever made or contemplated upon, each of what we now call States, were known as colonies, and specifically these thirteen were colonies of Great Britain.  That is to say, America, was colonized by Great Britain, into thirteen distinct colonies; for the governance of America, was controlled by the hand of Great Britain, and so ruled by such, until America’s armed revolution, so declared, was made, in order to fight for its national independence. 

History tells us that all those countries that are known as colonies or previously were colonies, are countries, in which they are or were controlled by some other nation that is or was distant and distinct from that colonial territory, and typically such governance is or was administered for the benefit of that master nation.  On the other hand, a true nation, or those States within a nation, is self-governing, and therefore answers to their own internal governance, subject to its national government, and thereby to none other.

So then, the reason why America is not known as the United Colonies of America, is by virtue of the fact, that it threw off the chains of such subservience to Great Britain, in order to claim its independence from same.  Still, as might be imagined, it is one thing to make a declaration, and it is another thing, to change the thinking of those that are its inhabitants to understand and to comprehend that they no longer would be colonists, but rather, they would be, if such a revolution was successful, citizens of their own independent nation, instead.

This thus signifies, that to be a colonist, even under the most benign features of foreign control, is to be not sovereign in the affairs of the state or even of one’s personal affairs.  So too, the legitimate complaint so made in regards to being taxed or having to suffer from being burdened by involuntary servitude in the defense of that nation which is the colonial power, without having any native representation of the who, what, and the why of such taxation or servitude, is to know for a certainty, that one’s community and therefore one’s city is not a sovereign entity, but subservient to that master nation.

Those then that fought most nobly for the freedom of this nation, were all those that preferred to be the masters of their own fate, and were thereby willing to relinquish the incumbent advantages of having a powerful nation that protected them well from foreign attacks; along with having the knowledge that there was a strong possibility that the present commerce so successfully engaged with that master nation, which was also, in fact, its primary trade partner, would probably be negatively impacted, from this revolution of independence. 

We so find, then, that those that were the colonists back in that day and time, recognized well, that the only possible hope of that revolution so succeeding, in conjunction with that seminal Declaration so declared, would be if those colonists joined together, under the flag of thirteen States, so fighting for their sovereignty as a united and independent people.

“The commonwealth requires the education of the people as the safeguard of order and liberty”

These words so written above are inscribed upon the Boston Public Library McKim building.  Yet, we so read that in 2018, that when 15-year-old students were tested by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), that the USA ranked 11th out of 79 countries in science, and was 30th in math.  The bottom line is that it is clearly obvious that America does not lead the world in the educational achievements of its citizens, and in consideration, that America, has long known and long believed in the value as well as the necessity of that good education, of which its governance devotes, at least on a budgetary basis, an exceedingly high amount of monetary funds upon the educating of its population, that the result, thereof, is incredibly dispiriting.

Whatever that it is, that America has been so doing in regards to the teaching of its citizenry, this has clearly not  been working very well, and therefore, the end result is what we so see in the present time; which is, despite the fact that America represents in actuality, a nation that has a massive amount of great wealth as well as an impressive status within the world; that it also has a population that is poorly prepared to be the guardians of and protectors of our Constitutional rights and duties, and therefore this nation has failed in its function to educate its citizens well – thereby leaving it bereft of a solid safeguard to its civil order, as well as, leaving us weakened as upholders of responsible liberty.

We so live in a modern age, in which those that lack knowledge and the good application so of, makes those people vulnerable to being stuck in fields of employment that do not compensate them well, or provide for them a reliable means of advancement; and further because of that lack of competent knowledge in regards to mathematics, as well as in basic literacy, leaves those people to be constantly susceptible to being exploited when it comes to typical transactions of business of all types, as well as suffering from the disadvantage of poor comprehension of contracts and things of that sort, which pretty much leaves them at a huge disadvantage in getting the best out of their particular life.

So too, those that are poorly educated aren’t going to be appropriately prepared to understand well their obligations to civil society, of which, such obligations, lie far beyond just the rights that each one of us is fairly entitled to, but also involves our duties to the state in order to secure those rights, along with the good understanding that those that are well informed and engaged, make for a citizenry that is ever alert to that of which so occurs within their community, so that an informed response can so be made by those that are parties to that society, when such is necessary or appropriate.

In life, we so find, that those that are its most educated, along with being well positioned, are almost always those that dominate those others that are ill-educated, poorly connected, and ignorant.  Additionally, no matter how well written a good Constitution is, it can be easily subverted when the general population is too lazy, poorly educated, uninvolved, uninformed, disengaged, and sorely lacking in the very skills so needed in order to collectively respond in a responsible manner to defend the safeguards of that civil order, which provided them with that precious liberty in the first place.

“Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak”

The above quotation comes from the wisdom of Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati.  Those of us that live in a world that seems to be so busy, and seemingly are constantly preoccupied about this or that, or caught up in trying to get done what so needs to be done, often don’t have the time or the inclination to thereby take the necessary time to quiet the mind, so that we can therefore take in the calmness of that still, quiet voice, within.

No doubt, each of us is busy with our lives and our inherent obligations in one way or another; yet, it must be said that each of us also finds the time, through habit, or exhaustion, to rest our body and our conscious mind, through the sleep that we so get each and every evening.  So too, no matter how busy we may be, each of us also finds the time to replenish our physical body with the food and nutrients so necessary to sustain it.  This thus signifies, that basically, each of us, at some point, during our day, does actually have the time, and should thereby take the time to quiet our mind, to thereby allow our conscious mind to take therefore the back seat, so that our soul can thus speak to us.

After all, it will be to our lasting regret, if we so find out, at the 11th hour, or even beyond, that so much of what we concentrated upon or worried about, was not nearly as important or as vital as our mind was so telling us; but rather, in actuality, we would have been far better served by tapping into that which is beyond time and space -- in addition to it also being that soft but insistent voice of reason, sensibility, spirituality and wisdom.  Each of us may so believe that we know what we need to know in order to do what we should be doing in this world, but in actuality, too often, what we so view and perceive is through a looking glass that distorts the bigger picture, so that we are thus unable to grasp or to see, what it is that we really need to concentrate our efforts upon, thereby leading to the regret of having not seen what we needed to see with full illumination and without distortion.

What we get out of life has an awful lot to do with the effort that we put into the tasks, ideals, and activities that we so do.  While there is something to be said about all those that are constantly busy, there is also something to be said, about those, that question the why of our existence, and thereby are determined to find the answer to that most important question.  Those people that are the most calm, serene, and even-minded, are almost always the same people that have learned how to quiet their mind, which not only gives them a better perspective as to the meaning of their existence and thereby the purpose behind it; but also allows them to listen to that wise voice, which at all times has our best interests in mind, and always helps to keep us focused upon that of which, enlightens and therefore liberates us.

The need to belong to one another

Humankind is meant to have companionship, and if this was not true, then there wouldn’t be any good point or reason for us to form personal or community relationships.  The fact that we have an innate desire as well as a need to belong one to another, is indicative, that we are meant to grow and to join together, with one another.  Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that aloneness and solitude, has no place, whatsoever; for indeed, there are those times in which we need to reset our mind, as well as to contemplate upon those things that necessitate the quietness and the stillness of the mind, but this should never be done to the absolute exclusion of any other human company, or for any unnatural amount of time.

As it has been said, birds of a feather flock together, and we indeed are those “birds;” of which, therefore, it is an abiding principle that we should not only seek out the company of those that we have an affinity for, but also, we have a need to reach beyond our own comfort zone, so as to “break bread” with those, that may seem different, but are often, in reality, people that have a lot of commonalities with fundamentally who and what we too actually represent.

The true test of anyone, is how good they are at being able to successfully do their part in making society, a better place for their participation in it, and thereby to help make those communities, a better place for those that are its inhabitants.  So too, those that only live for themselves, aren’t doing themselves any favors, for if it is always about selfishness and the feeding of one’s own ego, then those that one congregates with, are going to be far less inclined to feel any real obligation to do much of anything for the other, because that particular street seemingly only runs one-way, which leaves no room for the validity or the importance of the other.

Additionally, there are those inevitable times of trouble and heartache for just about everyone, in which, those that feel that they do not belong to anyone else or to anything else, do not therefore have anyone or anything to lean upon in their times, of greatest trial; and for that lack, they may so find it very difficult therefore to successfully pick themselves up.  After all, there are those times, when virtually all of us, need a helping hand, and that helping hand is only going to come forth from someone or some organization that is answering what they believe to be a noble calling, and thereby a sacred obligation, which in its effect, upholds our duty of belongingness.

We are meant to belong one to another, for this world was never constructed to be a competition in any way, form, or manner; but has always, since its inception, been a construct so set up to give us the opportunity to join together in a common cause, which thereby guides us to the place that we were always meant to be, so done through our acknowledgement that we do indeed, belong to one another and always will.

How rich is North America?

North America primarily consists of Canada, the United States, and Mexico.  In regards to Canada, their average income per capita is pretty much on the same level as the United States.  However, when it comes to Mexico, their per capita income is perhaps about 1/3rd of what the United States, so represents, which seems quite paltry, until such is compared to the world, at large, in which case, Mexico’s aggregate wealth is actually not really that bad.

We find that North America represents about 4.73% of the total population in the world, but we read per the Credit Suisse global wealth report, that for 2020, North America, had close to 33% of the entire world’s personal household wealth, which represents a ratio of wealth to population of nearly 7x.  That is to say, North America’s population is, on average, 7 times wealthier than what the average wealth is so represented for the world, at large.  Not too surprisingly, this means in virtually every category, if not every single one, that North America has the richest, the wealthiest, and therefore the most money and material assets than any other continent, in which their closest competitor in this, is the European continent which comes up second in personal household wealth.

Those that are American, pretty much know all of what has been stated above, but herein lies the rub, for that continent which is the wealthiest, along with it also being the most powerful in the world, finds that it somehow still has not been able to fully alleviate poverty within its own shores.  That is to say, we find that in North America, as estimated by census.gov that is has an official poverty rate of 11.4%.  So then, for all those that sell the lie, that a rising tide, lifts all boats, this clearly is not the case at all, especially, when it comes to wealth distribution.  Further to the point, the disparity between those that have it all, as compared to all those have little or nothing, is ever-increasing, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, especially in this the modern age of social services, welfare, and a governance which is large enough, and seemingly powerful enough, along with it also having access to plenty of credit and tools to avail itself of, so as to do a far better job in taking care of those that are its most vulnerable.

How fair or justified that it is that North America has so much more wealth, than its population so represents, is not an easy question to answer; but suffice to say, that North Americans are not seven times smarter, nor do they work seven times harder, or do much of anything, seven times better than the world, at large.  This would seem to signify that a meaningful percentage of the wealth in North America, seems to have come forth, from North Americans basically exploiting and manipulating their advantages over weaker nations, peoples, and companies, throughout the world, along with it also having a very big stick that North Americans are prone to use or threaten to use against others.  In short, North Americans are in aggregate, very rich, and for those that have that money and those assets, life is exceedingly comfortable; of which, many a North American believes that they deserve such or have fairly earn such, which may not really be all that true.

The ugly Americans

The United States has some sort of presence in just about every country, in regards to things such as an embassy, a consulate, or in an awful lot of countries, the presence of actual United States troops.  Those that are part of that military, so authorized to be within a foreign sovereign nation, are typically going to be dealt with in a way and manner that is consistent with the power and influence of that American military within the confines of that foreign nation.  That is to say, overseas military personnel, that commit crimes against the foreign population, are going to, for the most part, though, certainly not always, be subject mainly to the applicable military codes, laws, and regulations, for criminal behavior besmirching the American uniform by those military personnel -- as contrasted to having to suffer through a foreign court of law.  So then, for all those soldiers that are stationed in foreign lands, that thereby commit crimes, there is probably a fairly good chance, that whatever punishment be meted out, will be consistent more with United States military codes, as compared to these soldiers having to suffer the fate of being punished through that foreign nation’s judicial system, which is, in virtually every case, beneficial for that soldier so accused and adjudged.

Then, there are all the other people, that travel around the world, and somehow get themselves in some sort of legal trouble.   Because so many Americans seem to believe that the whole world, bends to every law and dictate of America, a lot of these people, at least, initially, will not be overly concerned about being arrested and thereby being put into some cell, for they often believe, that by the simple virtue of their being an American citizen, that their country, right or wrong, will always have their back.  That is, for many people, a fallacy, for just being American is not a perpetual “get out of jail card” – which always works, no matter how egregious the offense; of which, we so find, in actuality, that many a country is not really interested in treating American citizens, with just kid gloves.

Many Americans want to believe that no matter where they are in the world, that they are always and forever above foreign laws and customs, but this is in actuality, the fatal mistake of having an American-centric view, and none else.  The reality is that different countries have different ways of dealing with criminals, of which, in some of these countries, the rule of law, the judicial system, the rights of the accused, and so on and so forth, are diametrically different than the United States.  This thus signifies, that those that become the “ugly Americans” abroad, are going to find themselves having to face the music for their misbehavior, of which, while the American embassy, the consulate, the press, and those with power and influence, may so play an important part in the resolution of such; we do so find, for those that cross the line -- that foreign countries are permitted to resolve what they so consider to be crimes within their nation, consistent to the policies of that nation, and do not need to ask permission from America, to do so.

The law and the arrest or sanction of those that have committed no real crime

The policing arm of the state, often consists of a somewhat thankless task, in which, those that perform such, are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.  A case in point, is those types of situations, in which, some good member of the public is complaining about some perceived to be public nuisance, or a situation in which there is a fair amount of people congregating together with what appears to be no good purpose, or somebody that doesn’t smell right or look right, and/or that is considered to be in the wrong neighborhood.  In all of these situations, the reality of it is, that these particular people that are out in the public, are often perceived by the orthodox aspects of law enforcement, to be an inconvenience that needs to be dealt with in a forthright manner.  Since, in most cases, these inconvenient people haven’t actually committed a crime against another person or property, laws have been subsequently written and interpreted as such, which pretty much makes undesirable public behavior, a crime.  That is to say, the whole reason why laws, that deal with vagrancy, loitering, public nuisance, and disturbing the peace, actually exist, is to provide the pretext to arrest people, so that they can thereby be removed from the street and housed instead, in a jail or holding pen, for some period of time, with a charge so made against them, that may or may not stick.

What those that actuate the policing arm of the state, do not like, is to have those that do their dirty work, to ever have to work within a vacuum, in which, these police officers, can’t seem to find a code or a law that is applicable to what is so happening in front of them, and hence aren’t able to effectively deal with such.  So then, laws are so written, that are vague enough but with some specificity to them, to cover just about any scenario in which somebody in public, that needs to be placed under arrest or forcefully moved, is going to in some way, form, or manner, be in violation of some statue dealing with, for instance, being a public nuisance, or disturbing the peace, and the like. 

The bottom line, is that the powerful people that run the show, just want to have problems that are annoying or have been brought to their attention by busybodies and the like, dealt with in a way and manner that it has been taken care of, if not forever, at least for the moment.  So then, in truth, people that are out in public, even when they are obeying every conceivable law, and are being more than civil, are, always in danger of being forcefully dealt with by the policing arm of the state, when those particular people are essentially, as viewed by those in authority, in the wrong place at the wrong time.  These unfortunate people, then, will thereby be subject to being arrested or forcefully removed, as seems most appropriate to those doing the enforcing, of which, those police officers need not worry a whit, about proving that these people have committed a crime, for rather these officers have always the necessary charges to draw upon so as to do that which they have been instructed to do. 

The misapplication of will

Each of us has unalienable rights, of which one of those rights, is that we have been so gifted by God with free will.  That of which we call free will, means exactly what it so implies; signifying that we are free to do or attempt to do whatever that is that we so will.  After all, it must be taken into fair consideration, that any sentient being so created, that has imposed limitations upon their will, is by definition, not free.  So then, we are provided with that free will, to enable us to be and to thereby make decisions, that are ours to own, for better or for worse.

That said, all the troubles that we so encounter in this material experience, as well as those of experiences beyond this world, lay at the feet of our misapplication of will.  After all, those that err in judgment, in action, and in thought, cannot reasonably expect that all will be well when they try to reunite with that which is perfection, itself.  Of course, having free will, for even those with the best of intentions, invariably means that errors will be made, advertent or inadvertent; of which, the resolution for such, must be to correct those wrongs, by doing good, and thus making up for those misdeeds by right thinking and by lending a helping hand to others.

So then, the sin that we so create, is really a reflection of a free will, gone wrong.  This thus signifies that we need to control our will in a way and manner, that is consistent with our desire to love our neighbor as our self, and thereby to be just and fair in all that we say and do.  This indicates that the incumbent burden that each of us thereby so ends up carrying, is obviously consistent to that individual and their will; so that, those that are slow learners, or refuse to learn via their mistakes, will invariably have to address and to re-address their faults, again and again, until they so get it right.  There are, no shortcuts to heaven, for heaven, is a meritocracy, of which sincere repentance, while certainly having its place, is not the be-all and end-all of how we achieve heaven; for, in reality, we do not go to heaven, but rather we, through our rightful actions, grow or earn our way into heaven.

Again, we are free will agents, in which, many a person, finds that having the power of that free will, is to a certain extent, godlike.  But gods, we are not, for the only god worth worshipping, is not going to be a god of error and ego, but only one of perfection and justice.  This indicates that the very best homage that we can ever provide to that which first created us, is to be circumspect in our usage of that free will, and further to the thought, to do the right thing, consistently; so as to prove that God’s trust and confidence in us, was never misplaced.  Those then that successfully do this, have fairly earned that which was always theirs to be had, by birthright.