The decline of the United States

The colonists declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776, and were subsequently able to fulfill that promise through their defeat of British forces, of which, the terms to such were formalized by the signing of the Treaty of Paris, in 1783, which thereby created the foundation of what is now known as the United States of America.  Since, that time, America, has progressed from a nation with pluck and promise, to becoming the single most powerful nation in the world, today.

While, America, does indeed have some very impressive credentials to properly crow about, we do so find, that when we look deeper at the character of this same United States, that there are some rather serious flaws within its sphere, that reflect a country that is no longer in the ascendancy, but rather is a country that has begun its decline.   By far, the biggest problem that America so represents is the fact that its governance, seems to fundamentally be controlled by well positioned elites that effectively represent a shadow government within America, in which that shadow government has determined, that the people need to be consistently lied to, deceived, manipulated, and exploited for these elites’ expressed material benefit.  Further to the point, the policing and military might of this nation, clearly does not answer to the general public, but rather answers to that shadow government, instead.  This signifies, that this government has clearly ceded from being a democracy, or if you like, a republican democracy; and has instead regressed into becoming a nation in which the people have no more than a counterfeit vote, and the real power, representing tremendous force, is exclusively held in the hands of those that are on a mission of vacating or emptying out what this nation was so founded upon.

While, it has to be admitted, that there are some green shoots, in America, of which, good progress has been made in regards to overcoming, for instance, systemic racism and things of that ilk; the problem that America has, is that in the 20th century, it went from creating a “new deal” for its people, which thereby created the most vibrant and strongest middle class that the world has ever known, to becoming a nation in which as reported by cnbc.com, “The top 1% of Americans have about 16 times more wealth than the bottom 50%.”  That type of wealth disparity reflects not a nation of equality of opportunity, egalitarianism, or the like; but rather reflects that the game is fixed, and fixed in the seemingly permanent favor of the ruling class; in this a society, supposedly founded upon being anti-aristocratic.

So too, while we have been promised by the highest law of this land, its Constitution, that this nation permits the people to freely assemble, to petition its government for redress of grievances, to have due process of law, and to be a beacon of liberty for all; what we have instead, is the highest percentage of its own citizens of any western nation that are incarcerated, along with a militarized police force, which has demonstrated time and time again, that it will, without compunction, put its heavy boot upon the necks of the people.  In short, this is a government that does not bend its knee to the people, but demands instead that the people bend their knees in abject compliance to it, or else to pay the price, for their failure to obey.  None of this bodes well for the future of the people, for clearly that which we call America, is becoming ever more unrecognizable, by the day.  

Kahlil Gibran’s “Our Father…”

Probably, the scriptural passage that is recited most often, is Matthew 6: 10-13, of which, there is the standard basic translation that most congregants, or even non-congregants are well familiar with, and therein perhaps lies the rub.  For the problem with any scriptural passage that is repeated often enough, without any real change to its cadence or to its words, is that the meaning behind that scriptural passage, oftentimes becomes lost or weakened, and those then that pray this particular passage, usually do so basically from memory and thereby merely mouth the words in a rote way, without any real passion or meaning.

One would think, that for those that are true God believers, that they would recognize that our God, deserves something better, than mere lip service from us.  Fortunately, we live in a day and age in which the translations of Holy Scripture are not only incredibly robust, but also manifold; of which, it could be said, that there is a little bit of something for just about everyone, from the easy-to-read version, to the King James Bible, and everything, in-between.  So too, there isn’t any reason why a particular individual, or a gifted writer, can’t look at scripture, and take the words so written, and put their own input on such, for inspiration, and for devotion, in which, for example, the incomparable Kahlil Gibran did so.

We read then as follows Kahlil Gibran’s interpretation of Matthew 6: 10-13:

Our Father in earth and heaven, sacred is thy name.

Thy will be done with us, even as in space.

Give us of the bread sufficient for the day.

In thy compassion forgive us and enlarge us to forgive one another.

Guide us towards thee and stretch down thy hand to us in darkness.

For thine is the kingdom and in thee is our power and our fulfilment.

It has to be said, that words do matter; and those that are able to write with a confident and sure poetic flair, have done so in devoted service to our good God, and for the overall benefit of humankind; indeed, doing their vital part to see that those that want to feel closer to God, are thereby able to better do so.  It is vital for those of the spiritual sort, to revitalize their prayers, as well as their petitions, so that they are better able to appreciate the great majesty of our God.  So too, it’s important for us, to from time-to-time take a given scriptural passage that we are well familiar with, and provide it with new impetus so that we can appreciate it more and at a deeper level, then formerly.

In short, half-hearted prayers, and those done without true devotion, are the type of prayers, that no good God, could ever really listen to; because they are, in fact, a pathetic form of spiritual laziness.  After all, if God, isn’t worth the respect of us being forthright, devoted and honest with God, then we surely haven’t done all that we could do to convince God, that we are truly worthy servants that are thereby trying to be obedient to the dictates so necessary for our good and continual growth.    That which is contained in the Holy Bible is expressly there for our benefit, and when we find ourselves, becoming spiritually dull, the least that we could do is to get reinvigorated by reading a different translation of that Bible or the inspiration from such, so provided to us by a gifted writer.

The purpose of pain and suffering

In truth, there aren’t a whole lot of people that willingly desire to volunteer for pain or suffering.  Most people, aren’t interested in embracing either pain or suffering, and therefore most people desire to avoid such, to the degree that they are able to do so.  Further to the point, many people, believe that ideally a life without pain and suffering is the best life possible, and perhaps in certain ways, it is.  That said, what many a person seems to forget when it comes to pain and suffering is that each one of us, in order to have our character truly be tested in the trials of life, must go through challenges, in which some of those challenges so presented to us, are going to involve some degree of pain, disappointment, or suffering.

Firstly, we need to take into account that the greatest dramas that we experience when watching a given movie or reading an engaging novel, involves some degree within that story of not only conflict, but also some degree of pain and suffering that goes along with such; that the hero thereof, must thereby overcome, through their unrelenting personal effort, in order to gain something of substance and of value at the end.  In other words, if all the movies that we watched and books that we read, never involved the overcoming of obstacles, including invariably suffering from setbacks that consisted of pain, disappointment, and suffering, we wouldn’t have any real interest in the story, because it would not grip us, the way that a novel about injustice, for instance, and the overcoming of such, does.

Secondly, we need to take a closer look at ourselves, to understand better who and what we really are.  After all, all those that are birthed upon this planet, are the very same people, that sooner or later, will physically die, in one way or another, of which, many a death can be viewed upon as being tragic, or sad, or unwarranted, or undesired.  Yet, all of us will die a physical death; but in that physical death, it must also be noted, that we shed our physical encasement at that point of death, to thereby fully reembrace that which is our eternal essence, for we are spirit and have always been so.

This thus signifies that one of the reasons why each one of us, will suffer from some sort of ill or disappointment in our lives, and perhaps suffer from such, repeatedly, and even tragically, is for this to represent for us, a “thorn in our side;” so that we do not make the foundational error of overidentifying exclusively with our physical form, over our spiritual form.  Additionally, those that are fortunate enough to seemingly never suffer from any pain or disappointment, were such as this to continue, would indeed have a very strong tendency to become complacent in their attitude, and thereby incapable of demonstrating empathetic feelings to the other, for having themselves, never suffered.

We are meant to suffer, not necessarily as punishment for what we have done wrong or have been in error, about; but primarily as a way and means to remind us that we should not overly identify with our body and our bodily needs, for these are truly temporal; so that, such pain that we meet is there to awaken or re-awaken our conscience to understand better that this world is best seen as a proving ground, and those that use their pain and suffering to eradicate the cobwebs from their mind, to embrace therefore their spiritual immortality and to discount, the importance or worth, of that which is mortal, have got it right.

What do you magnify? Good or bad?

We are what we are, good or bad, because of the thoughts, and then the corresponding actions that we have so taken in our respective lives.  The choice of what pathway that we so desire to take is ours to make, and thereby, ours to own.  Those than, that are dissatisfied with their lives, often need only look at the pathway that they are on, along with the characteristics that they so represent, and take the time to examine who and what they really are at the present time, and then thereby to determine to make the necessary fundamental adjustments to correct that which needs to be corrected, or else find themselves continuing along the same dead end road.  Those others, on the other hand, that believe that they are indeed on the correct pathway, need to have such verified, by coordinating and communicating with respected others, as well as examining themselves in a way and manner to determine as to whether or not all is well within their persona, and if so, to continue along that same good path.

In life, we have been gifted with the free will, to make of ourselves and of our situation, what we so determine to make of it; and while it is true that some are born with inherent advantages over others; whereas, others are burdened with many disadvantages – that does not necessarily mean or signify that the story of what will or will not happen in our life, has been written in stone, for it has not.  We remain, always, the author of our own story; and each of us has a different story to tell.  Those then, that persistently write a story of good will to others, and demonstrate compassion, patience, understanding, and generosity in their everyday interactions, in which they are consistently fair minded, and are not quick to judge, but are quick to forgive, are magnifying the good of their character.  As for those others, who write a story of often bad will to others, who are judgmental, quick to belittle, uncaring, selfish-minded, petty, liars, and things of that ill sort, are magnifying instead the bad of their character.

While it is true that we cannot change the past, we have, in our control, the attitude that we take in the present, which will be the guiding light of what so happens in the future.  Those that have taken the time to scrutinize their own life, and have recognized their flaws and failures, determining thereupon of making it their point to improve their character, and when so stumbling, have dusted themselves off, again and again, in order to get back up and to conquer what so needs to be conquered, are getting ever closer to where they need to be.  Those others, that though recognizing that not all is well within their psyche, but just can’t seem ever to generate the wherewithal or escape velocity so needed to extract themselves from a bad situation, and thereby are seemingly content with their lot, aren’t making the progress that they need to make.  We are, in the end, what we so magnify; of which, this so fairly represents, the essence of our true character, for better or for worse.

If you’re going to be a criminal, best to be a publicly traded corporate criminal

America loves to lock up criminals, but we do so find, that America treats the whole art of crime and punishment, in different ways, depending upon different circumstances, as well as the classification of the crime so committed.  That is to say, most everyone knows that if you are going to be a criminal, to the degree that your crime can be classified as “white-collar crime” that it so follows that the corresponding degree of punishment, as well as public opprobrium for such is typically going to be far less than someone that commits “blue-collar crime”.  Perhaps that is the way that it should be, perhaps not, but that is the way that these things are adjudicated, and also the reason why certain high-profile criminals, especially those of high status, are often permitted to enter the courtroom through some sort of side entrance or to have special considerations taken into account as to what will or will not happen in their “perp walk,” whereas, your everyday criminal, won’t.

We have been told that the reason that America locks up so many people is because this will serve to be a deterrent to crime, which though logical, somehow seems not to work very well.  So too, imprisonment, is considered to be an appropriate punishment for certain crimes, though, not all; but what we so also find is that there is a huge disparity between incarceration facilities, in which some convicts suffer through extreme lockdowns, solitary confinement, and the like; whereas, others are sentenced to minimum-security prisons, of which, there are even a few that allow conjugal visits, as well as there being certain prisons that offer more constructive activities, educational facilities, and a significantly better ambience. 

For most people, if they were told that a given entity, poisoned many people over an extended period of time, or deceived many people through sophisticated deception about the safety of that which was being sold, or peddled drugs that were addictive to an individual thereby causing that individual to be harmed or even to die – then most of those same people would want to not only see but would demand that justice be done.  Yet, if those that committed such crimes, are powerful corporations, such as in oil and chemical companies, cigarette companies, as well as pharmaceutical companies, what we often get instead is that no single individual or series of individuals are typically held to account for this ill behavior, and at best, those corporate entities are fined, rather than to suffer the indignity of corporate big shots, having to suffer personally for the crimes, that they essentially authorized, approved, and were quite cognizant of the dangers, so of.

Yes, In America, if you’re going to be a criminal, be a big publicly traded corporate criminal, because this government, understands the value of market share, money, and shareholders; and so it has an implicit policy if not an explicit policy that those companies that are big enough and powerful enough, are simply too big to jail, under the mistaken notion that somehow a monetary fine for these corporate entities is justice enough, which simply signifies that in America, if your pockets are deep enough, and when you are shielded by corporate status, that you pretty much are provided with carte blanche to do whatever that you so desire, knowing that you will personally never have to pay anything other than a corporate monetary fine.

White privilege: All of the advantages and none of the disadvantages

There are plenty of white people, that don't have a second thought about all the advantages that they have, on account of simply being born white in America; but advantages they do have, whether they desire to own up to it or not.  Of course, there are those situations in which, some white people aren't really born into all the full privileges of their race; because, for instance, they are clear representatives of the lower social class, but whether they have all of the privileges of the white race or not, they still, are almost always recipients of at least some of those inherent advantages by virtue of being birthed white.

Even if this country  made it a priority to straighten up its meandering pathway, of equality and egalitarianism, it would, almost for a certainty, take generations, for white privilege to be knocked down to where it wasn't accorded some meaningful degree of advantage.  After all, when the history books celebrate almost exclusively white achievements, and white greatness, and when all of its Presidents that are accorded the most respect are invariably white, it's hard then not to come to the reasonable conclusion that by virtue of being white, this thus signifies superiority, in absence of any other indications that would negate or contradict such.

In today's America, truth be told, white people that do a reasonably good job of presenting themselves as seemingly decent and sensible human beings, can pretty much go wherever they want to go, at any time of the day, or night, for that matter -- and even those people that control the streets in certain minority areas, will probably still give these white people a free pass, under the impression, that if a given white person is so bold as to be in their neighborhood that they then must for a certainty, be the type of person that should not be messed with.   On the other hand, any other race, audacious or stupid enough to do the same sort of thing, would certainly suffer for their ignorance.

So too, it must be recognized that the policing arm of the state, in situations in which snap decisions have to be made, are going to typically default to defending the white man, while instead often harassing those of other races, figuring that in the worst such case, these officers can probably still reasonably defend their actions to those in authority, and actually essentially get impunity for such.  Additionally, this same basic prejudicial  attitude favoring the white race, seems to exist, almost without exception, with the general public, as well; so that, in absence of conflicting information, a significant swath of people usually default to seeing white people as "decent"; whereas other races will often suffer from the default of being seen as something "less than."

In short, for all those that are white, that seemingly can't recognize their ingrained privilege, there should be a requirement, before any given white person is provided with a driver's license or similar, that they must do 72 hours of community service, in which their body skin and face must be colored differently to thereby have them represent a different race, and of which, they would be subsequently be relocated to a different community in which nobody would know them, and  of which, within that community they must then perform their community service.  Perhaps a meaningful lesson would then be learned, perhaps not, but at a minimum, at least for 72 hours, they would know "nervousness."

The status quo and the fear of change

Live long enough, and each us will invariably see significant change in our respective lifetimes, and in this modern day and age, in which change seems to be ever more frequent, then that change that we see appears to be continually happening all around us.  Still, a lot of people find it difficult to wrap their heads around how important it is to embrace change within, for example, their own work environment, in order to thereby stay competitive, employed, and relevant – as compared to all the other change which surrounds them, and therein lies the rub.

While we may well appreciate the next iteration of great products, or the innovation of new products, we have to also keep in mind, that seldom do we have to volunteer to be the "guinea pig" in order for these products to come to fruition, which signifies that we can usually adapt to what we so choose to adapt to at our own pace and volition.  On the other word, work demands that we conform to the expectations of our management, and therefore when we ourselves are too innovative, we may well find that those above us, are challenged by the potential of that innovation in regards to their own job security or status, and consequently they may push back against us, or maneuver themselves in a way that stifles what we are trying to achieve for the greater benefit of the company.

The danger to society, at large, is when those that are the biggest and most influential players of that society, are too set and inflexible in their ways, of which, in feeling so very comfortable in what they have, as well as in the position that they have obtained, along with the accouterments that go along with such – we do so find that when new ideas and innovations are brought to their attention, the first thought that may well come to their mind is whether or not their position and power will be maintained, enhanced, or diminished.  Those then, that fear for their personal security of position and power, are thereby the very same people that aren't going to willingly embrace change and thereby will do everything within their influence and position to negate or delay such – which is the very reason that there is so often a changing of the guard in regards to which companies accelerate with their innovations over the other; as well as being a significant reason as to why smaller companies, again and again, are able to successfully take market share from industry leaders.

So then, all those that are content to rest upon their laurels, or to treat their position as something to be protected at all costs are the very same people that stifle innovation, and thereby provide the basis for the good opportunity for upstarts to have their day.  No doubt, for some people, change is the very thing that they fear most, for they prefer comfort over having to stay on the cutting edge of innovation, because in that comfort, they are satisfied; and to keep that satisfaction, they will first think of protecting their turf, rather than welcoming in innovative and necessary change.

The 200 day moving average on inflation

While there are plenty of ways to  measure inflation, of which, it could be said that none of them are completely satisfactory; it could also be said that measuring inflation without “volatile” energy and food prices contained within that stated inflation rate, does a grand disservice to everyone.  The bottom line, is that a far better way to look at inflation is to smooth it out, through the means of looking at, for example, the 200 day moving average of inflation, without, therefore having to remove “volatile” aspects from the basket of components that are requisite in the makeup of the basic criteria for calculating that inflation.

In order to fairly reflect the current inflation rate, along with the salient factors applicable to that inflation rate, we thus must select the right items along with the right weighing of those items that make up that basket of objects in order to best measure inflation, which perhaps is more of an art than a science; and then, further, the prices so being utilized for those items in the basket, need to be accurate to the particular time period so being measured, and finally so as to smooth out the volatility of certain items on a given day, the best way to do that, is to thereby utilize a 200 day moving average as representing the marker for the official inflation rate for the country. 

No doubt, by utilizing a 200 day moving average for the inflation rate, it would still be rather obvious as to whether or not prices were remaining stable, decreasing, or increasing; and more importantly, since it is an average, it would basically smooth out the day-to-day volatility that some components of the inflation rate, are more susceptible to.  For a given government, to determine its current inflation rate is not the easiest of tasks to accomplish, but it needs to be accomplished in a competent and consistent manner, so that appropriate monetary adjustments could thereby be made, to the degree that such could be done, to keep the inflation rate, range bound, per governmental preferences and commitments.

The problem with noting what inflation is in a given month, or even for a lesser period of time, is that the shorter that period of time is, the more inaccurate the true inflation rate really is, because there certainly are items that are volatile, week-to-week, or even day-to-day.  So then, in order to get a fair perspective of what inflation currently is, and thereby the direction that inflation seems to be going, one needs to look at something like the 200 day moving average of inflation; of which, further to the point, this should thereby become the industry standard. 

When it comes to the general public, as compared to the government, that general public, seems to, more times than not, have a real good beat on whether inflation is going up or trending down, because their pocketbook tells them so.  So too, businesses are known for keeping a very close eye on inflation, because it makes, for example, a material difference in their staffing efforts, along with providing the knowledge so needed to adjust their budget, for the components that they are required to purchase so as to manufacture those products, in addition to the inherent flexibility needed to adjust the price point of those products so being marketed for sale.  In short, a stable currency, is usually the preference as well as also being a benefit for people and businesses; but in absence of such, an index which more appropriately measures inflation, is represented well by the 200 day moving average of such.

Governments are typically very circumspect about arming the general population

The history of the world, is more honestly written with the formal acknowledgment that it is might, rather than right, or any other sort of cause, noble or not, in which revolutions are successful and governments are thereby duly formed.  Sure, there is such a thing as a peaceful revolution, or even a peaceful transfer of power from one form of government to another, but most governments are actually formed through force, above all.  So then, in recognition that soldiers need to be an integral part of that armed revolution, they are thereby suitably provided with arms and training so that they can best perform their necessary duty.

In sum, upon the success of a given armed revolution, and once that new government is successful in being formed, those soldiers previously used, but no longer really necessary in the day-to-day operations of that government --  necessitates that the armaments previously held in their hands, will and must end up being returned to that government; so that, only those that are considered to be the most loyal to that new government, will thereby be permitted to remain armed.  What most governments do not desire to have, is exactly the problem that America best represents.  We read at statista.com, that it is estimated that the  "...U.S. had 393.3 million civilian and illicit firearms in 2017," which thereby is a significant reason why America has so much civilian violence as well as a material fact to keep in mind, that should the people rise up with arms against their own government, such a battle as that, may well be protracted, bloody, and seemingly endless; of which, this internal fighting would end up costing many lives, on all sides, and would probably last years upon years.  In other words, most governments so formed through violent means, make it a point, to take back those arms from such of those that because of their class or because of their background, might well be considered to be of questionable loyalty; and thereby allow only those to keep arms, as well as its most powerful weaponry, of those that are not conflicted as to where their loyalty must so properly lie.

So then, in consideration that those that are armed, always have the advantage over all those who are unarmed; governments, the world over, have demonstrated a strong tendency to disarm the general public or make it their abiding purpose to do so; and in particular, to try to keep armaments away from those that have a minimal footprint of status within that nation, and therefore aren't particularly trusted by that government.  When it comes to America, we find that throughout this nation, that the general population is insanely well armed; though, of course, their fire power and accompanying protection, thereof, is significantly weaker than the policing and military arm of the state.  That said, the general public is indeed, quite well armed, which pretty much entails for those that see themselves as being effectively disenfranchised, that though they are often without material assets of significance, and don't have a lot of good cards to play, that they do still have one, and that one, could well spell the difference between authoritarianism or the continuation of some reasonable form of democracy.

Those in government that lie to us, are never patriotic

The type of misguided philosophy that thereby believes that “by any means necessary,” or that “the end justifies the means,” or anything else along these same general lines, in which, supposedly, this seems to mean that as long as a given worthy objective is achieved, it doesn’t much matter the pathway that was utilized to get there, is wrong.  What needs to be acknowledged is that it always matters, how we get to where we get to; for in actuality, for all those that cheat and use trickery to get ahead, these people and those institutions, having cheated, are never made of the same stuff, as all those others that did not cheat, and thereby got to where they needed to be, through their honest effort and good principles, above all.

We live in a day and age, in which at the very top of governance, and at the very top of corporate power, we see demonstrated day in and day out, those that clearly are lying to us, deceiving us, and providing us forthwith with reams upon reams of misinformation, in order to better manipulate us.  Perhaps for some of these people and institutions, there are valid reasons for doing so – which can be something along the lines  as simple as believing that the general public, “can’t handle the truth,” and things of this general ilk.  But again, it is a mistake by any governance, for these supposed servants of the people to decide that for our theoretical benefit, that they will only provide the true picture of what is really going on to those with a real need to know.

It is a very slippery slope, when outright deceit is the calling card of our national government.  That is to say, when the information that is so often provided to us, is distorted, untrue, and just plain fundamentally a lie; so that, it therefore isn’t thereby possible for that general public to give their outright consent to anything of substance -- because it doesn’t have the full information so needed to make an informed decision or to provide their consent to that governance.  So too, once a government decides it is going to consistently lie to the people, especially about those things which are most important and meaningful to them,  then this isn’t a nation of, for, and by the people, at all, but a bastardization of such, instead.

The main reason why this government is so often not transparent, not inclusive, and prefers for the common man not to actively participate in the democratic process, is because that government doesn’t want to have any sort of open forum or vibrant debate with the people; but rather it wants instead, to get done what it so gets done for the benefit of those that are the true actuators of that governance and thereby for the exclusive benefit of those elites.  So  then, what we so have is a bill of goods, which is if not wholly fraudulent, mainly fraudulent, and of which our own labor through the taxation of such, along with the conditions that we live under, are provided to us, mainly by those in government that deceitfully wave proudly that patriotic flag, but are in substance, the most unpatriotic of the people’s representatives.

Every single person has suffered some sort of tragedy or sorrow

We live in a world, in which, oftentimes, based perhaps on a “zero-sum” perspective, each of us is prone to becoming more involved in doing what we can to take care well first of our own domain, and if this so entails, stepping on someone else’s foot, or worse, so be it.  It is that type of selfish mindset which forms the basis for all of the misery, tragedy and sorrow, that we see so often in this world; never seeming to recognize that our human commonality, one to another, should be the very basis and raison d’etre for formulating vibrant communities which constructively work seamlessly together, one with another.

It is well to remember that it seems to be always easier to destroy as compared to create; so too, it appears simpler to be vengeful rather than to be forgiving; and it also seems far easier to be intolerant rather than to be tolerant.  But the thing is, when we are hateful, vengeful, and selfish, we find that in the scheme of things, we typically have successfully resolved nothing in a way and manner in which such has been done in a just and fair or even a lasting manner.  That is to say, when our mindset is always set upon having our way, we will invariably have conflict with all those others that have the very same mindset – basically, then ignoring the essential characteristics that we would need in order to help to make us be more empathetic one to another.

What each of us needs to do more of, is to recognize, that every one of us, has suffered at some point in our life; and, of which, a significant amount of us are still suffering from personal sorrow and tragedy.  In truth, the grim reaper, spares not one soul; and tragic events seem to occur with regularity to those that are good, as well as to those that are bad.  So then, in the abiding knowledge that we all have suffered, it would thereby behoove us, to be far less judgmental in regards to others and where they are in life; and thus far more understanding that a helping hand has significant more value, than a scolding tongue.

As for those types of situations in which we feel that we have been disrespected, unappreciated, or ignored by some other person, for what we believe to be for no good reason; we have to take into fair account, that we first of all, are not in their shoes, and thereby simply cannot know what they are currently going through or what they have gone through – which is why, it is far better to provide to other people, the benefit of the doubt before rushing to a particular judgment or a hasty action – not to mention, that for a certainty, should we be derelict in our own civility to another, we would want the same courtesy so extended to us.

For most of us, life isn’t always easy, and even in those situations in which life appears to be going so well – seemingly in a blink of an eye, all can change for the worse.  That is why, we should make it our point, to represent ourselves always as the type of person that brings light to that which is dark, and joy in our heart so expressed with compassion for all those that sorrow.

Loss-sharing and other government cons

It’s disappointing that when it comes to this Federal government, so often, we can tell whether that government of, for, and by the people is lying, by whether or not those same governmental lips are moving.  In this world, for regular folks, we find that they typically have to work very hard for an extended period of time, just to get some small portion of the American dream, usually signified by owning their own home, and/or by owning other assets of value, signifying to themselves as well as to others, that they have achieved some degree of success in their life.

The thing about mortgages on homes, is that the payoff period on most of those home mortgages is thirty years; and a heck of a lot, good or bad, can certainty happen over those thirty years. For instance, on the bad side, a given person’s health might fail, or they might get laid off, or their income might be reduced, or some other unexpected and undesirable event may occur to them, which makes it thus difficult for them to keep current on their bill obligations, and seeing that a given person’s biggest debt obligation on a monthly basis is typically their home, then it is that home, that many a person, may be susceptible to becoming delinquent upon.  One might think, in consideration, that people’s circumstances can change for better or for worse, that in general when bad economic times occur, that this government might want to step in, from time-to-time to help the common man.  It isn’t as if, the government, never steps in and helps; but rather, more times than not, the government because it is often run or managed by elite people with considerable personal amounts of assets and connections – often find it to be more conducive for them to work out deals with corporate interests at the expense of the public.

In America, not every bank is going to remain solvent, and of which, the way some of these banks are run and managed, it is often just a question of time, before they become insolvent -- through being overleveraged, or not diversified enough, or in their inability to adjust with the times.  Those banks, thus failing, in which they have some significant amount of exposure in mortgage loans, outstanding, of which a high percentage of these are delinquent or problematic, would seem to be the type of institution in which the government, might just come in, and thus come up with a solution which would be beneficial for that bank as well as the mortgagors.  Regrettably, this government prefers often not to do that, but rather, prefers to engage other established banks, that are permitted to acquire a failing bank, and thereby to become responsible for the non-performing mortgage loans, through a program called loss-sharing.  One might be excused, if they interpreted loss-sharing, to mean, something in which, each side risks something of substance, in order to gain something of worth, and if they so fail in doing so, the losses are subsequently then fairly shared.  That would be a reasonable interpretation, but that isn’t how this loss-sharing program works in action; for rather, past history has demonstrated that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) seemingly defaults to absorbing a huge percentage of the loss by the structure of the deal, so done, and of which the delinquent home owners aren’t saved at all, but are often foreclosed upon by the new bank that has acquired the assets of the failing bank at not only a discounted price; but at a price that is good enough, that by now owning the home as an asset, permits that new bank to either flip the property to thereby make money, that way, or to engage with an enterprise consortium to instead rent the property out at a profitable price.

The segregated America

America likes to advertise itself as a “melting pot” and perhaps it is, on certain levels, and on a really good day. Yet, the real America that most of us deal with day by day isn’t a melting pot at all; it isn’t truly integrated, it isn’t fair, and it isn’t doing much to change the status of the fact that those that have, not only live lives that are completely different from the general population, but are also, typically, completely segregated from them. Perhaps that is why, so many at the top of the food chain, don’t seem to recognize exactly how segregated and ingrained in that segregation that America really represents, and therefore don’t bother to do anything of substance to ameliorate such, or find it inimical to their own interests to address it.

While it is true, that America is a less segregated country than it was back before the turn of the 20th century, that isn’t really saying a lot; especially, in consideration that one of the most seminal decisions by the Supreme Court addressing that segregation in regards to public schools, of Brown v. The Board of Education, was settled way back in 1954. Not only was that Supreme Court decision, seemingly irrelevant in the sense that today’s public schools still suffer from a high degree of segregation as well as unequalness, but also this fairly reflects that the communities that surround a given public school are themselves, segregated; thereby signifying that in the absence of busing school kids from one school district to another, that Supreme Court decision or not, pretty much all is the same as it was, before 1954.

The reason why America remains so segregated has a lot to do with two factors, of which the first is the wealth/income disparity in which those that are the favored race have considerably more monies than those that have historically been discriminated against, thereby permitting those with wealth, to live in havens of exclusivity. Secondly, the structure of many cities has historically contained covenants, precluding the residency of certain unfavored races, and the inclusion of only that of the favored race; and though this was effectively overturned by the Fair Housing Act of 1968, it has to be taken into account, that most people when they decide that they so want to purchase a given home, are almost never wanting to select a place in which by simply moving there, this will cause them personal grief and/or trouble.

All of the above essentially means that the locale of where a given family lives, without even knowing their name, or their background, permits those that know the demographics of a given city through its zip code or through its community name, as to whether or not, these particular people, in sum, have money or not, and whether they are, in sum, the favored race or not; which thereby permits those of the policing arm of the state to concentrate, if they so desire, on certain communities as the ones to enforce their law and order, without explicitly ever having to mention race or degree of income. Further, because of such segregation, there are plenty of people, that live and play in communities in which everything just seems fair and right; whereas, on the other side of the great divide, there are those other communities in which everything just seems foul and wrong.

The need for a new “new deal”

There aren’t very many people that are still alive today, and thereby personally experienced the Great Depression when it so came upon America, but those that did suffer through those trying times, knew for a certainty, what it felt like to lose everything and thereby to be unemployed and also without food or housing security. As reported in stlouisfeg.org, “Real GDP fell 29% from 1929 to 1933,” and “the unemployment rate reached a peak of 25% in 1933;” in addition to the fact that “some 7,000 banks, nearly a third of the banking system, failed between 1930 and 1933.” Those then, that believed that laissez faire capitalism was still the correct course to take, were for a certainty, wrong. Fortunately, for the United States, a progressive President came into power, and soon thereafter, FDR made it his point to provide to the American people, a “new deal.”

While there were plenty of important people that decried what they believed was America going in the direction of socialism, that crying was never coming forth from those that were unemployed, unfed, and distraught. Rather, that sort of whining came only from those that were the chief beneficiaries of a corrupt system, that fed those elites well, all at the expense of the general population, as a whole. That said, it isn’t so much that capitalism had no merit to it, but really the problem that brought down America to such a Great Depression was the fact that the concentration of that wealth into ever fewer hands was not healthy, nor was highly leveraged financial speculation ever going to be safe, either. Further to the point, in a country as successful as America, it certainly seemed more than fair, that the laboring people that were the foundation of that success, were fairly entitled to capture fair benefits from it; as opposed to mere speculators, or those of dynastic wealth, or capitalistic exploiters getting the lion’s share, instead.

FDR was the right man at the right time, to see to it, that a stronger and more vibrant America, was a country in which the economy was neither running too hot, nor running too cold, but instead was able to sustain a nice equilibrium, of which, the very basis of this, would be the need and the desire to create and thereby to sustain a vibrant middle class. In order to have that middle class, some of the arsenal of those that were the great monopolists, the great proprietors, and the great capitalists, would have to be amended to include a fair deal for all those so laboring for them, by virtue of the creation of strong labor unions -- along with the government mandating a minimum wage, Social Security, as well as an increase in Federal taxes so imposed upon those that were the biggest earners.

The end result of FDR’s deal was that the wealthy and the corporations during the Presidency of FDR, continued to do just fine; but of even more importance and relevancy, because there were better controls upon financial speculation, as well as labor unions representing well the common man, and in conjunction with the lessening of corporate power, the vibrant middle class was able to become part and parcel of the American experience. Yet, regrettably, we do so find today, that it is this middle class, that is finding itself squeezed to the degree that we have a real need to dust off the old playbook, or perhaps create a new one, that will represent for the people of today, a new “new deal” which will thereupon help to restrengthen that American middle class and thereupon help make America become great, again.

Extraterrestrial life – be careful what you ask for

There are plenty of Americans that really do want us to discover extraterrestrial intelligent life, or to be more accurate, to be discovered by extraterrestrial intelligent life; but in their excitement for such a thing as that to happen, they seem to not recognize well that to be discovered by that agency which is far more intelligent and perceptive, could be rather embarrassing for us, or even worse.  First off, it has to be recognized that any extraterrestrial intelligent life that was successful in being able to exist in our world, along with demonstrating to us their superior communication skills which probably would supersede their need for words by being able to impress upon our minds their thoughts to us in a clear and concise manner – would, by definition, clearly represent them as being of far more intellect than we are.  Further to the point, all those beings that are at a much higher level of aptitude and awareness are not the type of beings that would ever be easily fooled by any sort of spin or narrative that a given national government would wish to sell to them.  Instead, rather quickly, they will know America for what it really is and what it really represents.  This thus means that there will be difficult questions put to the American people and its governance, so of.

The type of questions that America would find to be rather difficult to answer, would be along the lines of why this nation is so bellicose, so violent, so predatory, so exploitive, and so warring in its nature.  Further to the point, they will wonder why it is that so few have so much; and why so many others live segregated lives of poverty, neglect, ill-education, incarceration, violence, prejudice, poor health and hopelessness.  So too, they would question why good opportunity isn’t provided to everyone of this nation; in addition, to these extraterrestrials also expressing befuddlement of why certain colors, races, and creeds, are so often treated in America as something less than, which they would find to be the mark of an inferior culture, and clearly unjust.

While to a certain extent, America would get high marks for its scientific achievements, technology, the arts, and industrial contraptions – it would, for a certainty, get a failing grade for its character; though, of course, the extraterrestrials would recognize that not every person so presented to them, would be completely without merit – in fact, some of the people, they would be suitably impressed by.  That said, almost without exception, the richest and the most connected of the Americans -- that is, the elites of America, would when presented to the extraterrestrials, be seen for what they really are – exploiters and oppressors of the human race, and thereby a dangerous menace to that human race.  The elites, would, of course, try everything within their arsenal to placate the extraterrestrials, but would have no success in doing so – yet, in the end, the elites would get their way, for those extraterrestrials would see America for what it really is, and knowing that the future was destined to be hopelessly bleak, would thereby take their leave.

The Federal minimum wage needs to be raised immediately

The Federal minimum wage was last raised in 2009, and as of 2022, remains at a paltry $7.25/hour, which signifies that in absence of a particular State, or county, mandating a higher minimum wage within that locale, that companies are permitted to offer jobs at the wage of $7.25/hour, to anyone that will accept such. In addition, it should be noted, that as low as that minimum wage is, that there are exceptions to the minimum wage law which permits even lower hourly compensation rates to be legal in regards to certain professions, such as for those that are tipped restaurant employees as well as for those employees that are under 20 years of age, amongst other exceptions.

The type of person that has to accept the minimum wage or a wage lower than the oft mentioned $15/hour that many organizations are pushing for as representing a living wage, are the very people that pretty much aren’t in a good position to accept anything other than what is so offered to them as their pay, and the conditions that go along with such.  While it is to the credit that some of the largest and most notable corporations in America have raised their starting wage to $15/hour or even more, we still so find, as reported by Oxfam, that “…. 31.9 percent of the U.S. workforce makes sub-$15 an hour wage,” which is a staggeringly high percentage of the American workforce, that clearly are making subsistence wages or worse.

This country has a moral obligation to its own people, to first get its own house in order, and thereby rather than spending billions upon billions of unnecessary dollars, on its “Defense” budget, and further rather than spending billions upon billions of unnecessary dollars on its unneeded space program – it should direct its concentration first and foremost on the very people that it is suppose to provide some semblance of a minimum standard of living to.  This thus signifies that the Federal minimum wage needs to be reconfigured to reflect a living wage and further that the current exceptions to not paying that new Federal minimum wage should be few and far between. 

While it isn’t easy running any business in America, the fact of the matter is, that every single one of those commercial enterprises has an obligation, in this the richest nation that the world has ever known, of paying to those that they so employ, or engage with, a living wage.   We do so note, that the wages and working conditions of American employees would be in a lot better shape and thereby wouldn’t be such a major issue within America, if the power of labor unions hadn’t been completely broken; but indeed, labor unions have been essentially eviscerated in the private enterprise sphere, with only a few notable exceptions.  This thus signifies that the Federal government, must itself step in, in order to do the right thing, by making it governmental policy that all those that labor, are entitled to receive in return for a fair day’s work, a fair day’s wage, which is so represented by that which compensates employees fairly, by a living wage. 

Free urine pregnancy tests

In an era in which the Supreme Court’s recent decision overturning Roe v. Wade, has returned to the States the right to preclude access to legal abortion, and of which some of these States have thereby made abortion illegal, or have enacted onerous conditions to such; then we do so find that a given woman’s reproductive choices have been circumscribed.  While at this point, it seems problematic or even hopeless, that the Federal government will pass legislation thereby permitting abortion to continue along the lines that had previously been in existence, over the last fifty or so years, the limits of what this Federal government could still do, does contain some options.

One of the things that is very important in regards to healthcare, is obtaining the knowledge, sooner as compared to later, of whether a given person’s potential adverse health condition, does or does not exist for them.  In other words, the sooner that a diagnosis is made about cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and so on and so forth, the sooner a plan of resolution can be developed to ameliorate such, to correct such, or to deal with such in a way and manner that is best and most efficacious for that particular patient.  Those then, on the other hand, that only see a medical practitioner, when they get to that point, in which, for instance, their cancer has metastasized, provides thus for that medical practitioner, no real good options, to successfully overcome such.

When it comes to discovering whether one is pregnant, there are known tests, such as a blood test or a urine test, that are highly accurate – in which, we do so find, that a urine test is the type of test, that can be safely done at home, without having the need of any other institution or person to assist in getting an accurate reading, when the basic instructions to such, are thereby duly followed.  This would so indicate, that in fairness, to all the women that do get pregnant, but did not desire to be pregnant, that the sooner that they become knowledgeable as to whether they are pregnant, is going to be the type of knowledge which is going to be of benefit to them.  Further to the point, there isn’t really anything precluding this government, from deciding that fair access to a urine pregnancy test, should be readily available, free of charge, to all women, within America.  In fact, it could be said, that because urine pregnancy tests are not invasive, whatsoever, and are easy to utilize, that there isn’t any good reason why all women that are capable of becoming pregnant, shouldn’t thereby test themselves, every single time when their menstrual period has been missed or basically at any point that they feel the urgency to do so.

The bottom line is that women have the fair right to know whether they are or are not pregnant, and in a situation in which time most definitely makes a difference, especially in regards to viable options -- it would behoove this federal government to do more to see that women are provided with that information, sooner as compared to later, so that decisions of volition can be made.

No standing armies

Upon the inception of what became known as the United States of America, there was plenty of debate about the need for, and the danger of, having a standing army.  After all, it has to be remembered that after the French and Indian war concluded in 1763, the British decided to keep a standing army in America, and we all know how that turned out – for soon enough, that standing army was turned against the colonists, and of which, it could be argued, that without a standing army already situated in America, a peaceful resolution between the colonists and the crown of England might well have been reached; for tyrants have a rather bad habit of exerting their control of a given population or colony through their preferential exercise of military might.

We now live in a day and age, in which, the military-industrial-technology complex is by far the biggest and most powerful institution in America, of which, the admitted budget of just the “Defense” department alone is an absolutely staggering sum of $782 billion for fiscal year 2022.  Further to the point, it doesn’t much matter who is in the Executive office, or the legislative offices, either; for the Defense budget, somehow, increases year after year after year – all in a day and age in which the United States has not declared a war through its Congress since 1942.  This so indicates, that Congress for a certainty doesn’t control or manage the Defense department, whatsoever; and the President, as Commander in Chief, seems always to have the prerequisite to keep in lockstep with Defense department demands.

So then, America, most definitely has a standing Army, a standing Navy, a standing Air Force, and standing Marines – along with all the other accouterments that go along with these armed forces and, of which, not too surprisingly, in order to somewhat justify all the billions upon billions of dollars spent on the “defense” of the United States, we do so find that America is consistently able to find all sorts of hobgoblins and menaces throughout the world, in which, rather conveniently, only the United States can resolve such, or try to resolve such, forever.

The question that isn’t often asked, but that needs to be asked, is what would so happen if there ever came that time and point in which the legislative branch stood up to the military-industrial-technology complex, or even if, the Executive office, did so.  That question needs to be answered, for in that answer, we will so find as to whether or not we have a country of the people, by the people, and for the people, or rather we have instead a nation that is effectively under the aegis and control of that military-industrial-technology complex.

Perhaps, though, the question doesn’t even need to be asked, for the answer is rather obvious.  We have, in effect, a shadow government, that actually runs this nation, for the benefit of those that actuate that shadow government, and of which, those of that shadow government, control explicitly the military-industrial-technology complex and thus anyone of real significance or any entity of real power that should ever exhibit the courage, wherewithal, or audacity to exert themselves by any means necessary against that awesome power, would, for a certainty, suffer the direst of fates.

God blessed America, and America let God down

One of the seminal anthems of America, is “God Bless America,” which is one of those patriotic hymns that makes just about any self-respecting citizen that loves their country, love it even more.  The thing is though, if we were to take this anthem literally, one might find that upon honest reflection, that America has in its bad actions and in its ill behavior, truly let God down.  For instance, America’s Declaration of Independence, along with its Constitution and the principles behind such, are some of the most noble words ever written down by any civil government, in the history of the world, but when those words, are distorted, misinterpreted, ignored, or abused, then they really don’t end up counting for all that much.

That said, one has to give credit to America, for becoming the mighty nation that it has become; but within that greatness, there are definitely some very serious character flaws that seem to be getting ever progressively worse.  That is to say, when we look at America and its influence worldwide, we see that an awful lot of that influence isn’t pushing for more democracy, civil liberties, or freedom, for others, whatsoever. But rather in its actions, American seems to, more times than not, exploit other nations in regards to the monetary policies so imposed upon them -- as well as in their exploitation of the natural resources contained within those nations or the exploitation of the people that make up those nations, or both, combined.

So too, America, seems to be rather poor in setting the good example of how a mighty nation should properly conduct its affairs, for it rather, far too often, prefers to take the route of saber rattling; along with constantly projecting to those that are either friend or foe, that it has to be America’s way or else it will be no way at all.  That in a nutshell, doesn’t seem to represent a nation that is blessed by God, at all, but seems more to reflect a nation that knows that it is the only superpower in the world, and makes the constant point, that everyone else needs to remember that well.

When we look at all the great natural resources that America has been blessed with, along with the wonderful innovations so invented and thereby created by its people, it makes for some very impressive credentials.  Yet, while a significant number of Americans are quite happy with their lot in life; we can’t help but to take note that within the borders of America, not all is well, for the underclass in America is a systemic problem which has yet to be successfully resolved or mitigated, its incarceration rate is a crying shame, and contained within its administration of justice there remains implicit, if not explicit, discrimination against the unfavored.

So then, America should be very worried if indeed it has been blessed by God, for contained within that blessing, has always been a reasonable expectation that the entity so blessed, will do and must do right by that blessing.  After all, for those in which much has been gifted, much is so expected in return.  Indeed then, there will so come that day, when a reckoning will be made, and to contemplate the fall that may so come for that which was so richly blessed, could be absolutely horrifying.

When free market capitalism becomes monopolistic

There is a lot to be said that is good about free market capitalism; of which, perhaps the best thing that could be said, is that competitiveness, without any favoritism or an unfair advantage built-in, is definitely going to bring out the best in those so competing against one another, because within that construct, we so find that each company has to therefore be very, very good at what they are so doing in just about every aspect of that business, or else some other company is probably going to surpass or supersede the other, in which therefore the ultimate prime beneficiaries of that sort of competitiveness is going to be the general public.

Regrettably, at the highest echelons of the biggest and most powerful corporations that are headquartered in the United States, these companies, almost without exception, aren’t exemplars whatsoever of free market capitalism; but rather represent in practice, corporations that desire, more than anything, to do everything that they possibly can, to preclude other companies from infringing upon their turf by, for instance, barriers of entry, or rules and regulations structured to favored them, or by collusion with others in the same nature of business, or by buying out or merging with other upstarts or innovators, or pretty much doing whatsoever has to be done to tilt the playing field, to being perpetually set in their favor.

Typically, when a corporation first starts out, that corporation is going to be innovative, with employees of that company, willing to work long, smart, and hard, because they understand well that within a competitive environment, that resting on one’s laurels isn’t a good move, and also it isn’t realistic to expect customers to rush up to their door, to buy their product or service, without having made first a strong concerted effort to win their business.  This thus signifies that corporations have to really put forth the effort to get the return that they so desire and of which, that good and justified return, may be a long time in coming – without any guarantee that it will so come, or even be sustained.

Not too surprisingly, for all those people and corporations that work hard to get to a good place, there is a tendency at some point in the process, in which there comes the conscious recognition that free market capitalism isn’t really the type of environment that lends itself well to secure profits and growth.  This then is the moment in which there are truly two roads that diverge, and the one that so many of these behemoth corporations ultimately take is that one in which, they recognize that more profit and growth is going to be enabled if they circumvent competition and free markets, by deliberately gaming the system in specific ways that benefits them, above all else.

There are many that defend this biased and bastardized version of capitalism, because as partisans to such, they are the very people, that as executives, or stockholders, or highly valued employees, or those that have a vested interest in a particular corporation and its success, for whatever reason, want what they want, because they are the beneficiaries to it.  The thing is, though, that isn’t free market capitalism, and the more companies that are monopolistic in nature, or collude with one another, leads directly to more money being unfairly extracted from the general public.