Indentured servitude and student loan debt

Indentured servitude was part and parcel of the American experience, especially so for those so desiring to immigrate to America in the 17th, 18th  as well as into the 19th centuries, of which, these people, accepted indentured servitude as the price of admission to come to America.  Basically, indentured servitude signified that a person was under contract, typically for a term as short as four years, and as long as seven years, to pay back, for instance, their passage to America, along with their room and board, and they would thus have to perform labor for that person or entity that had paid for their passage to America.  The indentured servant while performing their work in service to their sponsor, did not obtain a salary, but would, after completing their servitude, be free to become their own person.

As might be expected, indentured servitude was a hard life, especially in consideration, that the work that they were typically involved with, was the type of back breaking labor, that could debilitate a lesser person, and oftentimes, did.  So too, most people that agreed to be an indentured servant did not have a real conception of how difficult or abusive being an indentured servant actually represented in the real world, and so, there was a great deal of resentment to being an indentured servant for such a lengthy period of time, in which, that servant was basically without human rights.

While, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution put an end to indentured servitude in America, we do so find, at the present time, that our higher educational system, appears to have taken on the aura of indentured servitude for many of those that have taken out student loans.  We read at bestcolleges.com, that 43.5 million Americans have student loans, and of which, 3.4 million of those, have loans that total at least $100,000, with apparently nary a single one of those that have been stuck with these loans, actually being guaranteed that the debt that they have so incurred, will provide them with a corresponding degree or even a job, that would be commensurate with the monies so spent on that education.

So then, the work that students have performed in their studies, provides them with no assurance of adequate compensation, now or in the future, and of which, years have been spent incurring that student debt, without a guarantee that this investment of time and effort, will actually be worthwhile.  In short, successful or not in their education and job placement, those that have student loans, are themselves fully responsible for the paying back of those loans, which essentially means that their income will be garnished, week in and week out, for probably, years upon years.  In other words, student loan debt appears to be the price that many students must pay for the opportunity to get higher education in America, of which, the responsibility to obtain employment, is theirs alone; and, of which, these students have traded both time and money for what they think will be a better life, without knowing that they will get even a fair deal, for having done so.

The flexible 72-hour time limit for arrest to arraignment

Nobody desires to be arrested, and a significant amount of people that are arrested, typically had little expectation that they would be arrested.  The most obvious thing about being arrested, is one’s freedom at the point of that arrest has effectively ended.  This would presuppose that most people that are arrested, desire strongly to cut to the chase, and simply wish then to see that whatever charges that they are going to have be impressed upon them, end up being determined as soon as possible, because the sooner that a given arraignment is held, the sooner that the actual charges will thus be formally made against them, or, in some cases, dropped; as well as also the sooner that they will then have their bail amount set for those so charged with a crime.  Once, bail is set, those that are arrested, are presented with the opportunity to bail themselves out, if they have the monetary means to do so.

For some of us, when we, for example, go to school, time seems absolutely endless, because we are not engaged with whatever subject matter is being discussed.  When it comes to those that have been arrested, and hence are no longer free, most of those people, have a strong desire to see that the 72-hour time limit for an arrest to a mandatory arraignment or release, occurs within that actual 72-hour window.  In fact, many an arrest process, can exceed far more than 72 hours, because oftentimes in many justice courts, we find that for Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays, that the clock is thus stopped, which perhaps is fair for those that work within the justice department, but wholly unfair to those that have been arrested, and who strongly desire to have things take their course, in an expeditious and speedy manner.

After all, in this modern world, time really does matter, and those then that do not report to work in a timely manner, could easily lose their job.  Further to the point, those that have other obligations, such as to their family, to their school, to their bills, to their vehicle, and so on and so forth, cannot well attend to those things when they are locked up.  So then, just the very nature of being arrested, even when the charges are subsequently dropped or reduced to some minor infraction, can be extremely debilitating to a person, depending upon their personal circumstances, which hardly seems just or fair to them.

In short, 72-hours to arraign someone that has been arrested, in which weekends and Holidays don’t count, isn’t fair to those having been arrested.  We do so find that In today’s world, there always seems to be some place or something that is opened 24 hours, every single day of the year; so then, it would behoove the justice and policing arm of the state then, to get to the business of making their case to a judge or magistrate, within a more reasonable time period of just 36 hours, or in fairness, even less for those crimes which are adjudged to be of a relatively minor nature.  That is to say, in a country in which guilt needs to be proven, those that have been arrested, should be processed in a way and manner, in which this very mindset is thereby taken into full and fair account.

Society should be fairer than what it currently is

We would like to think that the human social experience is one in which there has been a steady progression to enlightenment, in thus how societies should be best formulated and actualized.  Yet, regrettably, to a very large extent, countries such as the United States, clearly have regressed in just about at every meaningful level, when it comes to having a society that is fair in its structure and thereby in its results.  It isn’t so much that American policies haven’t had enough time to demonstrate their effectiveness, but rather America does not even try to encourage, let alone, desire to actualize, a society that is based around seeing that as many of its citizens, as possible, are provided with the required tools so necessitated to have a fair shot of living in a safe neighborhood, with a good public school system, and sound infrastructure, along with plenty of good economic opportunity for those that have steadily applied themselves.

The bottom line, is that America pretends it is a land of opportunity, it pretends that it is a land of justice, along with fairness, and of equality for all, but it, in reality, isn’t any of those things, at all.  For the most part, those that are born into poverty of every sort, cannot count on their government, or even most members of society, at large,, to lend a true helping hand on behalf of them, because that supposed government, of, for, and by the people, cares not a whit for them.  This is the proximate reason why there is so much trouble in America, of which, those problems appear to be unsolvable – leaving those that live within those problem areas, to their own means to make something of substance in their lives.  So too, this is why an inordinate amount of monies is dedicated  year after year to ever more  law and order, and thus to all the forms of oppression so enacted against the most defenseless, misunderstood, and un-championed of society. 

Those that know that they have no future and hence are filled with hopelessness, are seldom going to be “good” citizens, because they have nothing vested in the American dream, for they have little or no hope of having any part of it, themselves.  The preferred answer for this American governance, in regards to the poorly educated, and the forsaken, is primarily to keep them in ghettos of poverty, thereby making it so much easier for governance to monitor, to abuse, and to manipulate them.  The fact that the United States is clearly on a course in which these difficulties will not only never be rectified, but in all probability, will continue to be exacerbated, is a fair reflection that this government has no solutions, because it cares not to solve that which could be solved – of which, the resolution to such, is to provide to all Americans, the fair opportunity to become something of merit, by seeing that each American is fairly provided with decent housing, good public educational facilities, safety, opportunity, and the proper incentives for these people that have consistently been treated as second class citizens or worse, to become that which they always had the capability of being, which is members in good standing, of the society that they should be an integral part of.

To win over the people of a nation

America believes that its form of governance is the very best that has ever been birthed into existence, in which, this country, in theory, is a government of, by, and for the people.  The thing is that though the population in America does have the vote, in point of fact, America is not a nation in which the democratic vote has much impact upon its real policies, legislative acts, and justice within its own borders.  That is to say, there is a huge class of Americans that distinctly believe that they have no voice, no opportunity, and have no part within the American dream, which is the seminal reason why there is so much angst, anger, and incivility within America, and will continue to be so.

Clearly, America’s house is not in order, and if there was a time when that house was more in order, that would have most likely been seen during the implementation of FDR’s New Deal, and the subsequent changes so enacted in America, which gave rise to its vibrant middle class, and therefore brought home to the average American, that America was indeed that nation of liberty, freedom, and opportunity.  It isn’t so much, that America has consistently lacked great leaders, or great legislative acts, for many a time America has been led by visionary leaders, as well as having thoughtful acts initiated, but the overall impact upon the people, in whole, has been disappointing.  The history of America is to understand that it believed in its manifest destiny, which necessitated then the wholesale destruction and the compromise of American Indians, or of any other nation that got in its way; in addition to American governance believing that it had the right to have particular human beings to be classified as property, who therefore had themselves, no rights, that a white man needed to respect.

Yet, despite it all, there is good in this nation, and more than enough good, that those that have been historically discriminated against, and are oftentimes still discriminated against, have indeed, made progress, of which, some of them, thus have ended up achieving a toehold into the American dream.  The reason that this is so, is that America, despite its many contradictions, as well as its disappointing failure to live up to the principles of its Declaration of Independence or of its Constitution, recognizes in its more honest times, that America was created with a solid foundation, that was meant to be lived for the greater good of all of its people.

Indeed, a people of any nation, cannot ever be won over, and hence must then be policed with a strict adherence to law and order, when a significant portion of those that populate it, are oppressed and without fair opportunity.  The success of America can only be assured, when those that are the least amongst us, are provided not just with a helping hand, but with the necessary infrastructure so required that they will thereby see themselves as members in good standing of this nation, because they now have fair access to that which will be their basis to build their own earned life of merit, upon.

Cryptocurrency is definitely not a currency

The coin of the realm is important to governments all over the world, as well as obviously to the people that utilize that currency for their transactions; done so,  in such a routine way, that most people take it as a given, that currency such as the United States dollar has existed, seemingly forever, though, in truth, it has not; of which, we find historically that many a currency, upon the demise or revolution within a nation, loses all or most of its value, because of the fact that the faith and confidence behind its fiat currency has been permanently broken. So then, this is why virtually every accountable government, understands that is has a responsibility to safeguard their currency, for it can be said, that nations rise and nations fall, upon the stability of the coin of the realm.

When it comes to cryptocurrency, there is no real government regulation of it, nor is there any independent agency that meaningfully regulates such, which is why cryptocurrency is so volatile in its value; and further to the point, this is the reason why cryptocurrency is not actually a currency, at all.  In point of fact, virtually no licit transactions are done through cryptocurrency because of that lack of stability; in which, we find that nobody in the business world desires to do transactions in cryptocurrency because speculation is not part and parcel of how businesses are meant to be run and conducted; rather businesses as well as people require that their monetary transactions be done in a medium that is universally accepted, stable, and fungible.

Yet, despite the fact that cryptocurrency is not a currency, the value of all the cryptocurrency in existence, is indeed a staggering sum of money, in which it has to be recognized that cryptocurrency is not backed by anything, other than the confidence of those that speculate in it.  Further to the point, those that speculate in cryptocurrency must recognize that whatever monies that they have put forth, to purchase cryptocurrency, provides them with nothing tangible, such as a stock or bond certificate, or of that which represents legal tender of a nation. In other words, those that speculate with cryptocurrency are doing so, without a net,  and because cryptocurrency is not regulated, makes such essentially an unregulated and unregistered security.  That is to say, there is basically nothing or very little actually backstopping cryptocurrency, whatsoever, which signifies that there are no or little safeguards for those that speculate in cryptocurrencies, at all.

As in a Ponzi scheme or a pyramid scheme, all may be good for a while, but eventually there comes a point, in which, those that have made their money, cash out – and those that got in late, end up losing their speculation.  Perhaps there is a place for cryptocurrency in the world of speculation or currency, but cryptocurrency as currently structured is not a currency and never will be; because a currency of any real value requires universal acceptance, transparency, as well as the necessary regulations, structures, and protocols that are required to help maintain that value and worth.

Eternal good health

In this world, so many of us, are focused upon having or maintaining our good physical health, for as long as possible, as if this is the be-all and end-all of our existence.  That said, those that are more knowledgeable and wise, recognize that we need not just good physical health, but also good mental health, as well as good spiritual health.  In truth, the focus of our lives, should always be upon that which is eternal, and thus everlasting, as compared to that which is temporal, and thus subject to its inevitable demise.  This does not mean that we shouldn’t be concerned about good physical health, for this is the house that we utilize in our material incarnation; but rather indicates that the most important health, is that which is eternal in its nature as opposed to it being just of the physical.

Each of us is called to grow, for the purpose of life, is to find our way back to where we need to be – so that, though many a trouble we face in this world is of our own making, we also will inevitably happen upon those needful “thorns in our side” so meant to get our attention, to thereby fixate away from that which really doesn’t matter, so as to replace that distraction, with that which really does matter.  For, after all, the good overall health that we actually need does not rest upon a foundation of just physical health, but rather rests upon sound soul health – for all those then that are not able to take on the attributes of love, calmness, empathy, patience, justice, truthfulness, and the like are not where they need to be, and where they ultimately must be.

While it must be said that medical doctors play their necessary part in the helping and in the aiding of the physical body, that in and of itself, just is never going to be good enough – for each of us invariably must age; in addition, to the fact that there does come that time when our physical body will no longer be able to successfully house our soul.  All those that are unprepared for their departure from their physical form, are going to be lost and unprepared for what comes next, for they typically have not concentrated on that which is eternal and therefore lack the appropriate skillset  and mindset to best traverse what comes next.

All of us, in our own way, are meant to find out who and what we really are – which therefore allows us the opportunity to grow and to transform ourselves into what we should really be.  This signifies, that the physical should be best seen as the temporary housing of our soul, which thus means that for those that desire to be true to themselves, they must make it their point to concentrate and to place their main energies upon those activities which are eternally beneficial, as opposed to that which only brings a temporary satisfaction.  In truth, the good health that each one of us really needs, must be eternal, of which, those that are right thinking and right acting, are clearly on the right path that will ultimately take them to the only destination that everlastingly matters.

The biological warfare of the United States of America

The United States is the only superpower in the world, and strongly prefers to keep that way.  Not only is the United States a large land mass with a population of well over 300 million, it is also bordered by two nations that are quite friendly to it as well as being subservient to America; in addition, to the salient facts, that the United States is in aggregate the richest nation in the world and by far, the most militarily powerful.  In short, the United States is second to none.  Further to the point, the United States does indeed have the greatest University system that the world has ever known, and those then that are quite intelligent, clever, and are amendable to doing what their country desires them to do, makes the United States an incredibly formidable nation, because the elite of those so educated, have developed great talents, which are ready then to serve their country, in seemingly whatever capacity that they are called to do.

As might be expected the United States, does not like to be embarrassed, and in particular, does not like to see released, items that are embarrassing or inconvenient to it.  Yet, this is a nation of laws, and some of those laws, such as the Freedom of Information Act, basically force this government to divulge secrets that they so desire to keep dead and buried.  So then, as much as sensitive documents are redacted, there comes a point when suppositions can essentially be reasonably verified, and then judiciously acknowledged as being factual.  One of those very things is biological warfare, in which, to this day, the United States has been vociferous in denying that it has ever engaged in this type of activity against any foreign nation or entity, but the evidence that this is a falsehood is overwhelming.

The fact of the matter is, that there are a multitude of ways to engage in battling an enemy that need not involve, shooting that enemy or engaging in traditional warfare with that enemy of any sort.  For instance, one way to take down a nation, is to overthrow its governance through a sponsored revolution backstopped by the United States but never acknowledged by it.  Another way to destroy a nation is to destroy its economy, or its coin of the realm, which thus is debilitating for the continuance of that government, as well as to the comfort of the people.  Then there is also another very sinister way to destroy or to seriously damage a nation, which is through targeted biological warfare, so done through, for instance, the surreptitious aerial bombardment of a nation, that thus releases the plague or any of a multitude of biological agencies that are seriously damaging to people, or to the countryside, or both.

Regrettably, the United States utilized biological warfare against both Korea as well as China in the 1950s, and the only reason why this is not widely known, is because the United States never successfully scaled up that biological warfare against either Korea or China, but rather made it a point, to just demonstrate their capability to do so in the real world, so as to know its overall effectiveness.  There are, indeed, a multitude of ways to kill or to hurt people through warfare, and for a certainty, poisonous biological agents are one of those ways – the United States knows this for an absolute certainty, because it did such.

Companies with 500 employees or more must be mandated to be unionized

The battle for unions in the United States, has been fought, and unions, for the most part have lost.  At this point, for those that are employed in private enterprise, there just isn’t any horizon or reasonable contingency in which we will ever see again the rise of unions in the United States.  Because free enterprise has not played fair with their employees, it is due season that this national government gets involved so as to resolve what needs to be resolved, so that those that honestly labor for their wage, are thus able to make a living wage; which this country, needs to see implemented, nationwide, in order to be seriously considered as a nation of opportunity, as compared to a nation that consistently exploits vulnerable segments of its own labor force.

The bigger a given employer is, the more power it thus often has, in which, many a community will provide successful large employers with intrinsic benefits, for their placing their facility within that community, such as tax set asides and abatements, roads and other desired infrastructure improvements, and so on and so forth.  Yet, these very same large corporations, already have plenty of money and the resources to take care of what they need to accomplish, without having to pressure communities to provide them with special benefits.  This is especially unfair, when we consider that a lot of companies that desire favoritism from communities, are the exact same companies that do not play fair with their own labor force, in the sense of providing all that work for them with a living wage, decent benefits, work schedules that take into account input from employees, as well as fairness for those employees to actually engage in soliciting or being solicited by a union.

The answer to the problem that this nation has in regards to having so many of its citizens that do not make a living wage is to see that companies are mandated to be unionized at the wages and benefits so set by this national government, for all those companies of 500 employees or more that are not now currently unionized.  After all, it has to be taken into consideration, that all those that are employed that are not able to make a living from their labor of forty hours a week, often must lean upon the government, to prop up their salary through an Earned Income Credit as well as other pertinent programs, which when translated correctly, signifies that the government is essentially backstopping private corporations that underpay their workers, by that government paying for that shortfall, instead, which isn’t fair and which isn’t right.

It has got to be recognized that for those seeking employment from private enterprise, that the negotiation for a salary, is seldom a negotiation, and in truth, is a “take it or leave it” proposition, so set by those companies.  That isn’t just, and in order to even up the score, unions were created so that workers would have a seat at the table of private enterprise so that those workers would thus have the opportunity to make a fair day’s wage for a fair day’s labor.  For this, then, not to be currently provided to American workers by private enterprise, should be seen for what it really is: a shame, a sham, and exploitation, and thus it is high time for this national government to step in and to do the right and necessary thing.

Those that are blessed with many privileges have corresponding responsibilities

In the scheme of things, life doesn’t appear fair, in the sense that some people are born with privilege or seemingly entitled to so much; whereas, there are those others that are born with so little and are seemingly entitled to not much of anything.  The truth of the matter is, that each of us, has our own race to run, of which, it is our responsibility to do the best with what we have in the running of our respective races.  So too, there is a balancing in life, in which those that are gifted with a lot are expected to do something substantially good with their gifts; whereas, those that have been denied such gifts, are expected to do basically the best that they can, in consideration of their circumstances.

For all those that have many privileges, and spend nary a minute, in consideration of all that is wrong and unjust in this world, that is their free choice.  Yet, as might be expected, there are consequences for every choice that we so make and when those choices are consistently wrong, selfish, and misguided, there will surely come a fair reckoning in which each of us, on our own, must then answer to who and what we really are, and what we have or have not done with our life.  That sort of judgment thus takes into consideration, the expectations that each of us has been graced with, whether great or something far, far less.

The rights and privileges that have been bestowed upon us, are our responsibility, to own up to in the way that we thereby interact with one another.  That is to say, for those that value free speech, free assembly, and freedom of movement, they need to respect those very same freedoms for all other people, even when they might so disagree with the choices so made, because the nature of freedom is that each of us is equally entitled to these rights, as opposed to believing that only the privileged or the elites of this world, are worthy of such liberty.

The nature of governance, consists of a basic structure in which a small subset of the people are going to have a lot of power over others – in which, when it comes to governance, that power is supposed to be utilized for the beneficence of the people, as representatives of those same people.  Additionally, in our relationships with other people, we have a responsibility to take into account, that we should treat other people, the same way that we would desire to be treated if the shoe was on the other foot.  That signifies that we need to own up to not only our responsibilities to do the right thing, but to simply be fair to one another, in consideration that the best society is that in which there is justice for all, and without special set asides for those that are privileged, in which the same sets of rules do not apply. 

In this world, we will be tested, and those tests can come in many forms, of which, one of those forms, is for those that have everything, to demonstrate that they have the wisdom to do what needs to be done in order to help make this world a better place for their participation in it, and to know that whatsoever they do, to thus hold themselves accountable to it.  

Crime is a reflection of social conditions

There are plenty of people that believe in this basic simplicity, that crime is pretty much done by bad people and for bad reasons – thus we need then a strong policing force to stop those bad actors.  This seems to be the implicit belief in the United States, which is why the United States, locks up a higher percentage of its citizens, by a significant margin, over any other industrialized western nation.    Yet, for all the crime and punishment doled out by America’s justice system, the crime keeps on coming, in which, apparently despite all the criminals locked up, there are still plenty of other criminals plying their trade upon the public and its institutions.

The fact of the matter is that crime does not operate in a vacuum, so that there are always proximate reasons why crime exists, which should be considered to be a fair reflection of the actual social conditions of that nation, as experienced in real life.  That is to say, what breeds crime, has an awful lot to do with injustice, unfairness, inequality, discrimination, hopelessness, lack of opportunity, dysfunctional home life, bad environments, inappropriate role models, impulsive and bad decisions, and inadequate educational systems.  Further to the point, it can be stated with absolute certainty, that the crime rate of a given nation reflects fairly the social conditions, in whole, of that nation.  That is to say, those nations with low crime rates, are the very same nations that are noted for being more fair-minded and just, in the first place.

In truth, an abundance of inequality and injustice breeds discontent.  The solution then to rectify that discontent comes from the removal or amelioration of that inequality and injustice, as opposed to having in place, a police force, that will, for certain areas of particular communities, act not to serve and to protect the people, but pretty much as an alien occupying force, which exerts its form of justice, upon the streets.  The crime that we have in this nation, is related to the fact, that those that cannot have what they believe that they deserve or want, are going to thus find the means to get that which they believe they deserve or want, frequently through criminal or other illicit activity.

America represents an amalgamation of peoples with quite diverse backgrounds, of which, to the credit of this nation, it has attempted to meld itself into something of true substance, and to represent then that “out of many, we are one.”  Regrettably, the United States falls far short in accomplishing this achievement, and to the dismay of those that wish to see America live up to is founding ideals, it has visibly turned its back upon the poor, the disenfranchised, and the vulnerable.  The crime and the dissatisfaction that we see all around us, is a reflection of the current social conditions of this nation, and the solution is not now, nor will ever be, more law and order; but rather the appropriate solution needs to be based upon the foundation that each citizen in America, is fairly entitled to a fair opportunity to live a good life, with the incumbent structure so needed for this occur, solidly in place and functional for each of its citizens to avail themselves of.

Social Media and Keeping up with the Joneses

Social media is one of those things, of which, there is a rather large dividing line between those that are absolutely transfixed and engaged with social media of all types, and those that don’t really pay much attention to it.  Those then, that are intimately involved with social media, are often caught up in seeing other people’s lives being presented in a way and manner to them, in which, these particular people seem to have the best of the best of it, in regards to nightlife venues, material accouterments that represent success, and in the knowing of and in the hanging out with the right people.  Further to the point, the top influential people on social media, appear to not only dress the part, but to live the part, as well.

Perhaps then, that’s a good thing, and to the degree that this brings comfort, appreciation, and perhaps some vicarious pleasure in the peering into of other people’s successful lives, so much to the good.  However, the truth of the matter is, besides the overall deception which often is part and parcel of so many social media posts, which try so hard to sell the illusion that all is an endless parade of fun and games – is the inconvenient fact that many of those that follow people that are perceived as living a very good and enviable life through following their social media posts, are themselves personally caught in this dilemma of wanting what these social media success stories apparently have, while recognizing that for them, in their more honest moments, that they aren’t going to ever achieve or get close to such.

We find then that the shortcut to having a successful life, or a perceived successful life, doesn’t really lie actually in achieving the goals that would legitimately represent such, but rather has a lot more to do then with obtaining the symbols of what that successful life is being portrayed as.  This thus means, in the social media world, the trick to keeping up with the Joneses is to present one’s own story in a similar way to what has already been viewed – which means, that half of the battle is in the presentation of our own lives, carefully constructed to give the appearance that we are, in our own way, having the best of it, as well.

In other words, back in the day, the objective of the exercise was to keep up with the Joneses, that were primarily in our neighborhood, or were part of our general milieu – but, in recognition that social media, has literally a global reach, we now have to keep up with the Joneses, that could be just about anywhere, which provides us then with the advantage of understanding that it doesn’t much matter what our neighbor does or does not know about us or thinks about us -- what really matters, is only those that we have connected with through social media, of which, our objective for that audience, is to  manipulate our social media persona that thus will make us appear to be something grand, ourselves.

Government: Our Master or our servant?

When it comes to the governance of this nation, there are very few people, if any, that truly believe that we, as a people, are actually being faithfully served by our government in any aspect, whatsoever.  Rather, it is pretty obvious and clear, that the government as currently structured is a power onto itself, and therefore, the Master of the people, of which, those people, should be properly fearful of that government, for it thus has the awesome power to seemingly take away the liberty and freedom of just about anyone, at any time, for any reason, or for no reason, at all.

That said, the formation of this government, was supposed to represent a government which derived its just powers from the consent of the people – of which, this then became a government, of, for, and by those people.  Yet, clearly, that isn’t the case at all, for the governmental authority is so powerful and so strong, that those that are its citizens, recognize that the failure to obey that government, is itself, a threat upon their free speech, free association, and freedom.  In other words, while this government preaches to the world that it is the bastion of freedom and liberty, that is belied by the very actions that it takes domestically and abroad.

It might seem strange that our elected representatives don’t seem to actually represent us, but for all practical purposes, they do not.  This would imply that within the governance of this United States, there is a shadow government, that effectively controls what will or will not be permitted to occur within this nation, and utilizes then all the tools of its trade to manipulate, control, and to direct the mass of citizens in the behavior which will be tolerated and thus permitted within this country.  All others then, that are not in compliance with those dictates, are effectively monitored, through the vast hi-technology apparatus that the United States government agencies wields or works with, and if so necessary, dealt with in a way to effectively neutralize or to counteract their actions.

In short, American governance, as presently structured and implemented, is not in any aspect, whatsoever, serving the American public for the good of the people; but is instead, pressuring its citizens to serve and to be in compliance with that government’s desires, so they then will assist that government, in a way and manner that is pleasing to those that are its actuators.  Not too surprisingly, controlling millions upon millions of people, is most definitely a challenging task, which is why the government asserts tremendous amounts of pressure upon those corporations and others of influence, to comply with its demands, by providing the choice then for them, of thus receiving great beneficence from that government for good compliance, as opposed to suffering thereof, from having made the inappropriate choice.

Though each of us, is born with unalienable rights, what we so find, is that in America, those rights have been effectively subsumed by the government, and replaced with counterfeit unalienable rights, which when push comes to shove, have no tangible value, at all.

You yearn for those moments that you can never get back

All those that are super young, typically lack perspective, which traditionally comes with age, experience, and wisdom so obtained.  To live a good life is to understand that there are stages to life, of which one of those stages is the firm acknowledgment that what is physical, must so eventually face its demise.  This is known to each of us from the beginning, but often becomes of more pertinence as our body, or our mind, begins to betray us – though, for those that are more astute, such recognition comes much earlier.

So then, the family that we grew up with, the friends that we make and have made, are eventually going to leave us, or we will leave them.  Perhaps when these events occur, all will be well, because everything that we wanted to say, do, and act upon, has been accomplished – but, in truth, those that we are especially close to, are the very same people that we desire to have forever with us, so as to celebrate our mutual accomplishments, to talk to, to gaze upon, and to just enjoy each other’s company, and when that is gone, it is seemingly gone, forever.

it has to be noted, that when we go to our favorite venue, or sit in our favorite chair, or visit the home that we grew up in, and the person that we use to enjoy spending our time with, is no longer there to join us, we can become rather dismayed that all is not how it once was.  So too, though time is absolutely relentless, and continues to tick away, day by day, there is a tendency for many of us, to picture those that are the dearly departed, as actually being forever locked into a certain time and place, when we most appreciated one another’s company, and we yearn for that time to be back in the present.

We want those that we really love to be with us, forever, because they are the ones that have helped to make our lives, better and more meaningful.  We desire to have them with us, so that we can continue to have those comfortable conversations, as well as to reminisce about bygone days.  We desire to do then the same sorts of things that we use to do with them, that thus brought us the greatest joy, again and again, because it has become for us, a touchstone, that we never tire of. 

Sure, life moves on, and we have our other friends, family, and relationships that bring us satisfaction.  But what cannot be replaced is those that represented to us, the security that all will be well, as well as providing to us, unconditional love and acceptance.  For those then that have departed us, we yearn for those moments when we were together, joyful, happy, and satisfied.  Though we cannot get those moments back, we can show our respect and love to those that we cared so much for, but have left this world, by making sure to be good to one another, and by remembering them in that special way, in which, they are always with us.

Employer of last resort

One of those things which has always seem senseless is to dole out money, food, and other accouterments to people without requiring that those people receiving those goods or corresponding aid actually do anything of substance in return.  No doubt, there are going to be a certain percentage of the people, that are, true wards of the state, because they are handicapped in one form or another that thus precludes them from doing gainful work – though, in truth, even those that appear to be challenged, are often quite capable of accomplishing some tasks of merit.  Indeed, there are plenty of people that are currently unemployed but are quite capable of accomplishing good work, with the proper training and direction, of which, this government should see that this is thus accomplished, for the mutual benefit of the people.  That is to say, all able-body people, almost without exception, that are capable of working and thus willing to work, should have training and then work assigned for them, which thus will provide the dual benefit, of that work so being done for the betterment of that society, as well as having that person then fairly earn their keep.

To believe that somehow there isn’t enough work to do in this nation, is belied by all the structural problems that this county has, of which, not a single major issue that the United States needs to address, has been fully and completely addressed in a comprehensive way.  Indeed, oftentimes what should be worked upon, is ignored, or underbudgeted, or left for another day.  That is to say, there are plenty of tasks that need to be accomplished, such as environmental cleanup of dangerous pollutants, bridge repair, reservoirs upkeep, sewer maintenance, safe water access, fire breaks, road repair, safer communities, playgrounds, parks, and so on and so forth.  All we need to do to understand what needs to be done is to simply note all of the frustrations that we have on a given day, of things that we wish were better, corrected, or repaired.

There is truly plenty of work to be done and in recognition that those that work for the government are working in a department that is not structured around the need or the requirement to make a profit -- understand then that to believe that private industry, somehow, is always going to be the answer in regards to absorbing those of the working age, to work for them, have got to realize that for-profit industries are exactly the same industries that are typically reluctant to pay a living wage, as well as to provide good benefits, because it will hurt their ability to be profitable, to grow, and to compete.

We do so find that the amount of monies spent on what is labeled as welfare, is estimated to be $1.19 trillion, as we read at budget.house.gov.  Further to the point, the labor participation rate is far below what would be considered to be full employment, of all those that are able and willing to work.  Those then that are willing to work, need to be provided with the opportunity to work, and to do so with the United States government as their employer of last resort, which will thus provide to the people of this nation, necessary infrastructure as well as other duties accomplished, and provide to those that are working for that government, a living wage, experience, and often an improvement of their self-worth.

The need for both boundaries as well as autonomy

Each of us has been separately created by the very same hand of God – which therefore signifies that each of us is entitled to the same unalienable rights as everyone else – no more and no less.  Yet, we live in a world in which that autonomy may be fully called into question, because of the governance of our nation or community, as well as the fact that for some people, they are not permitted to have the necessary boundaries so as to preclude others from violating what would be commonly looked upon as their personal space.

Those that see that their boundaries are violated on a consistent basis, should be, for instance, those that are in the beginning phase of their life, such as a very young child – in which, the violation of the boundary of that child, is for the overall good and protection of that child – as opposed to it being a controlling mechanism used against that child.  Additionally, those that are incarcerated, are to a very large extent, not only no longer autonomous individuals but typically are subject to having their boundaries violated on a routine basis.  Then there are those others that are handicapped in some way, that thus necessitates what would normally be their boundaries, thereby being imposed upon, again for the betterment of that person and their particular situation. 

Although there are exceptions, as noted above, for the most part, each of us is entitled to having in place the necessary boundaries to protect us from being used, manipulated, and abused, by others – with the corresponding understanding that our behavior towards others must take into account that they too have the same boundaries, in turn.  Indeed, it is in the abuse of boundaries, that creates all sorts of problems for people, and the longer that those boundaries are violated, and the more consistently that they are ignored, the more trouble thus ensues, for those having their boundaries violated, who then are clearly not fully autonomous in what they think, say, and do.

To be at freedom and at liberty, necessitates that we are in charge of the decisions that we so make, and thus are able to take responsibility in what so ensues, good or bad.  On the other hand, when our boundaries are constantly violated, this thus creates a dynamic in which our subsequent actions, have extenuating circumstances attached to them, based upon the fact that our own entitlement to having appropriate boundaries and thus to being autonomous have been violated, which thus has an impact upon our subsequent actions and judgments, so made.

Those that are nurtured within an environment in which their boundaries are secure, and thus seldom violated, along with the fact that they are knowledgeable of the responsibility that their autonomy means for the decisions that they so make, are going to be far healthier people, as opposed to those that have had not only their boundaries trampled upon, but their autonomy compromised, as well.  That is to say, for all those that desire to have healthier and more vibrant societies, we need then to firmly address at a very early age, the boundaries and autonomies of those that are our fellow citizens, to see that each of us, has fair access to such, and when not, to ameliorate such to the best of our collective abilities.

Banking, credit cards, mortgages, and equal rights for women

There are an awful lot of people that don’t really care about history, perhaps because they are simple- minded, perhaps because they are lazy, or perhaps because they believe that life is lived in the present and not in the past. It would appear that nowadays women in America, seem to have just about all the rights as men do, along with the fact that we do so find that at least on a legislative basis, women definitely have the same rights as men do when it comes to banking and credit worthiness, though that has not always been the case.

In 1974, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was ratified, in which that act prohibited “…. creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age…”  This thus meant that before that 1974 legislative act, that banking and credit issuing facilities could, and in fact did, routinely deny women the fair access to having their own bank account, without the expressed authorization, for instance, of their husband. This did not mean that every woman was denied that access, but what it did signify was that such access to banking for women was at the sole discretion of that banking institution.

As might be imagined, those that do not have access to their own money or to their own credit, cannot actually be free and independent.  This makes those without such access, at the mercy then of those that control that access, and therefore places men, or those of that influence, into power positions, which by their very nature in the way that they are thus utilized, discriminatory.  While this news that such financial discrimination against women did occur, may seem remarkable to people of the 21st century, this is indeed the way that it so was.

Fortunately, we live in a more enlightened age, which thus provides for women as well as for others that have historically been discriminated against, the legislative Acts that serve to provide them with the same solid foundation that other privileged Americans, as in white males, have basically had as their birthright, from the inception of this nation.  We need to keep in mind that there are a multitude of ways to imprison people, that don’t really involve locking them up – and one of those ways is to make it so that their education, or their opportunity, or where they live, or their employment, or their access to money, be restricted because of who and what they are.

To be free and to be at liberty, means not only having a voice which can profess whatsoever that it so desires to say, but also to have the fair access to opportunity, growth, and monetary rewards, which are often a requirement to live then a good life.  Those then, that are denied those very things, and live their lives in a way and manner, in which what they so want to accomplish or access, is actually controlled by a male entity or institution, qualified or not, good or bad, are definitely not free or at liberty.

None of the superrich will ever get into Heaven – not one!

We read in Holy Scripture: “Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”  But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.” (Matthew 19: 21-22)

Indeed, those that have massive wealth, are often reluctant to let go of that wealth, whatsoever; for they see that wealth as being what makes them of immense value to themselves as well as to others.  That is to say, heaven, is one of those things which is difficult to fathom, since it is not tangible, and so therefore, those that are the superrich, who never seem to believe that the grim reaper will ever snatch them away, are absolutely content upon relying on their riches to take care of any contingencies that may so arise, expected or unexpected.

In this world, wealth and connections are a definite source of power, and thus those that have that wealth and power are almost always reluctant to release their firm grip upon such.  The more astute of these superrich, recognize that perhaps it does avail them, to play both sides, and hence they are generous to many good organizations as well as being a benefit to the people, but in virtually every case when so doing these good deeds, they make sure that they will still have control of a vast treasure-trove of wealth so that they are protected from the vagaries of what may come their way.

The choice that each of us has to make, is whether we get our comfort from being a good servant to God, and thereby following the commandments of our God, or whether we feel more comfort in obtaining those necessary connections and wealth that will, in theory, serve to not only protect us, but to enhance our position, in society.  Those of the superrich, make that vote, each and every day, of which, their vote is always the same – which is to never relinquish their wealth because in the world that they are part of, they are used to that wealth opening up all sorts of doors and countless good opportunities that are exclusive for them.  Those of the superrich are not wrong in their thinking that wealth has its value, because indeed, it clearly and most definitely does.

The crux of the matter though for the superrich, is that for an absolute certainty, nobody can buy their way into heaven – and further to the point, God is no respecter of persons, so that all the earthly accouterments so rewarded, awarded, earned, or veritably stolen, aren’t ever going to resonate outside of this earthly dimension.  The superrich have often lorded it over others, perhaps with a gentle hand, perhaps not – but the game that they so play has been concentrated and directed upon wealth and power, of which, any generosity so demonstrated to others, is for the most part, a smokescreen.  Those of the superrich have indeed had their treasure and their time to enjoy such, though when they depart this world, they will be poor, indeed.

The Imperial Presidency

In America, there are three branches that thus serve to form its national government, which are the Executive, the Judicial, and the Legislative.  When it comes to the Executive branch of government, this office has been from its inception, the office more than likely to aggrandize more power to it, not only because of the title of that Executive, which is the President of the United States, but also because there is only just one President, at a given time.  When it comes to the Judicial branch, there is a hierarchy of Judicial branches, from local, to the county, to the State, to the Federal, all the way up to the Supreme Court, of which, that Supreme Court is made up of nine judges.  As for the legislative branch, this is a bicameral legislature, with 100 Senators, and 435 Congressional representatives.

So then, for those rich and well-placed personages that wish to wield power, and thus to utilize their influence upon the governance of these United States, the best target to go after, has got to be the President of the United States, because as it has been said, the buck stops there.  Further to the point, power has a way of playing upon the mind of a given person, in which, those that make it their point to let those in powerful positions know that whatever that they so wish to happen, can indeed happen, often do find a willing audience to such, especially when the semantics are structured in a way and manner, in which, the taking of dramatic action will, in theory, be for the betterment of society.

At the present time, the President, may issue Executive Orders, which perform the function, that such so implies, in which, basically an end-around is made, by circumventing both the Judicial and Legislative branches, by simply issuing an Executive order, thus implemented through the signature of just the President for that respective Act.  The problem with this sort of power, or of any power in which the Judicial branch and/or Legislative branch is ignored, averted, or subverted is that the Executive branch pretty much takes on the mantle of being aristocratic in nature, which thus means that this country fails then to actually be a governance of, for, and by the people, at all.

The main issue to have with an Imperial Presidency is the fact that the President, through acting by their sole volition, is thus no longer accountable to the people; because for the most part, the people are an irrelevancy, and hence the President doesn’t need to be concerned about what the people do or don’t think about those Acts, so initiated, through the Executive Order of that President.  Additionally, whether or not the people end up agreeing with a given Executive Order, those very same people, have got to recognize that when the President has the power to order and to do whatsoever appeals to that President, or to execute orders at the behest of those that have the President’s ear, that this is in reality, a form of tyranny, which will in its effect, erode liberty and freedom, by replacing such with control, obedience, and submission.

Cryptocurrencies are not currencies, they are speculations

As it has been said, the more things change, the more that they stay the same.  When it comes to cryptocurrencies, one might think, that these cryptocurrencies have somehow changed the game in regards to the primacy of the United States dollar, as well as other orthodox currencies around the world.  The one thing, though, that we can state with a certainty, is that national governments, almost without exception, do not ever permit any unauthorized competition with their national currency, of which, a given nation’s currency is thereby controlled and regulated by that national government, for the supposed good of that population.  This certainty makes sense, because money is simply a medium of exchange, of which, those that are utilizing that money, in all sorts of transactions, need to have the security of knowing that the money is fungible, liquid, stable, and universally accepted -- which is a truism for all major national currencies around the world.

The first thing that we know about cryptocurrencies is that they are clearly not currency, or else, if they were, than governments, the world over, would relentlessly put them out of existence.  Further to the point, the usage of cryptocurrencies is typically never one of actually buying goods or trading goods through the exchange of those cryptocurrencies, because the problem with cryptocurrencies, besides the fact that they are not universally accepted, is their unacceptable amount of volatility in their value.  Because cryptocurrencies are unstable, and unsecure in the sense there is no national authority to backstop them, this thus signifies that for most people and organizations, they are not going to desire to transact business in cryptocurrency, unless by the very nature of their business, probably because it is illegal or illicit, their hand is forced into utilizing something that theoretically is anonymous and cryptic.

In the United States, the Internal Revenue Service, taxes cryptocurrencies as property, and thereby treats it as such, for taxable capital gain purposes.  This is the reason why cryptocurrencies are therefore apparently legal in America, and why this is also true in many other nations, as well.  In other words, those that speculate in cryptocurrencies are essentially purchasing something of substance, which may go up or may go down, but is seldom ever actually utilized as an actual form of currency.  While it is true that the national government, does regulate the currency of the nation – it is also true that those that wish to barter with one another, and therefore exchange one set of goods for another, are permitted to do so – which is the basic way to look upon any transactions so done with cryptocurrency. 

We do so find that Bitcoin and Ethereum, have both seen their cryptocurrency rise remarkably higher against the United States dollar, but this has little to do with the intrinsic worth of that dollar, and a heck of a lot more to do, with those that are attempting to make some easy money, or literally easy crypto, by their speculation in such.  Human nature has a tendency to want to speculate, and a strong desire from many a person to make money without having to put forth a lot of effort, which is why there is so much cheerleading and manipulation to try to get a given cryptocurrency to rise, which signifies that a lot of cryptocurrencies have a lot more in common with Ponzi schemes, than they ever would have with being actual legitimate currency.

Money is an asset as well as a liability

The money that a given entity has, as in regards to cash, or electronic deposits, or used for material goods, or paychecks received, is an asset.  The money that is owed for those same material goods, as well as student loans, or credit card debt, or a mortgage, is a liability.  Those that have assets that are greater than their liabilities have a positive net worth, and those of which their liabilities are greater than their assets, have a negative net worth.  It might come as a surprised to some people, that the biggest debtor in the United States, is the national government, which though it does indeed have massive assets, also has tremendous deficits and liabilities; in addition to the fact that since the coin of the realm is sanctioned by that same government, this thus makes the money that we as individuals have access to or own, a definite liability of that same government, since it is our government that backstops the coin of the realm.

So then, in consideration that money is both an asset as well as a liability, there does come that point, in which those that have their assets in money or currency, recognized that their money is essentially backed only by the full faith and credit of its national government – no more and no less.  In other words, those that have cash and cash-like instruments, may not be cognizant of such, but basically they are creditors, of which it is their government that is the debtor to them.  Those then, that believe that America is a country of both long standing and strong stability, perhaps don’t waste much time thinking about the value of that money, because they believe that the currency of America will always have tangible and real value, though undoubtedly subject to erosion of that value via inflation.

Yet, the thing that we can say for an absolute certainty, is that nations do rise and nations do fall, and those that bet their bottom dollar that the currency that they so utilize will therefore always have value, when such is not backed by anything like gold specie, or something akin to that, are probably going to be quite regretful when something important that they count on to have real value, is suddenly, without notice, reduced to something considerably less.  After all, those that have substantial liabilities, of which, they can’t conceive of being able to pay back those liabilities in a manner in which they won’t suffer, unduly, are going to want to see that those same liabilities are thus severely discounted, and if that same entity is also the nation with all of the guns and ammunition and is willing to use such, then a deal is going to be structured, which will favor only those in the know, and will punish all those that are not in the know.

Remember this well, the United States officially abandoned the gold standard under the Nixon administration in 1973, and since that time the value of that very same dollar has eroded around 85% over that subsequent time period.  In short, slowly but surely, those that have assets in dollars, have seen their assets in real terms, decay substantially; whereas, those with liabilities designated in dollars, have been paying their liabilities with cheaper dollars.  Indeed, the die has been cast, and clearly this national government has little or no interest in ever paying back its national debt in anything even approximating the value of a dollar, today.