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The Aftermath of the Present
7-10-10
I can’t help but casually wonder what our Nation will look after a short walk down the path of about fifty years. If one really wants to speculate, I think you need to begin with the past fifty years, look at the trends and then start generalizing. For starters, look at the advent of television and its progression of use over the years. For all practical purposes, Television has remained what it was with that very first televised signal. What has changed is how that signal is delivered and how that signal is received. Television has moved from a narrow and particular event to a broad and spectacular event. Common sense dictates that trend will continue, and will merge with other technologies and of course, we are already seeing that. Indeed there isn’t much difference in content between my desktop, my laptop, my Ipad, my smartphone and my television. No doubt, the technology will keep getting better and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the really big thing is how to merge all that information seamlessly with the individual. That will happen over the next few decades. In a way, it will be the next evolutionary step for our race, a physical merger with our technology. So, if you’re thinking you might be the last of your race, you’re probably right.
Another constant trend in our past five decades are a lot of little, but ever persistent wars and intrusions. It’d be nice to not have to agonize over this, to say that the next 50 years are going to be filled with peace and prosperity, but that’s not going to happen. There is simply nothing in our past or our present behavior to indicate that anything is going to change regarding our willingness to kill for whatever moral and/or political beliefs we have. And the news is even worse, because with every new intrusion, every new little action, the chances increase of us getting into something that we can’t control, and thus, there’s a damn good possibility of a major war not too far down the road.
One of the more interesting aspects is the social issue. No doubt, this is clearly linked to technology and just as the first printing press revolutionized the spread of knowledge, social networking is revolutionizing our daily lives in ways yet to be determined. Just as a newspaper allowed two strangers to converse intelligently about the day’s headlines, social networks allow a group of people to converse intelligently about their lives. The major difference is of course, a newspaper printed only the information it thought you needed to know and social networks print out everything you really don’t want to know (or do, but just won’t admit it). I point this out simply because you will see content pushed to the extreme in the coming years and as much as we want to deny it, it will happen, and to many, it will be disgusting but it will be acceptable entertainment. So, expect privacy, even the simplest protections to evaporate.
Politically, I have a sinking feeling that a wave of conservatism is about to wash over this Nation. That the next President will usher in a new era of deregulation and personal responsibility as in let business do what they want and if a plane crashes because the owners didn’t want to spend the money on safety, it’s your responsibility because you bought the ticket. Because the American populace will be so caught up in entertainment, in other peoples lives, and in little political wars, they won’t care that their country has disappeared along with common sense.
Of course, healthcare is pretty much going to be free, if you can find it. Doctors will go the way of our engineers, to oblivion, that land far beyond the sea. And the few rich people that exist will have to travel to receive the best care in the world, and that’ll be in the mid east somewhere.
OK, I have to stop.... the damn future is way too bleak and way out of hand, even from a common sense perspective. Sheesh, is it going to suck to be an American, but we’ll have our MTV
The closing of our circle.
7-4-2010
There is evidence at the level of quantum physics that we live in a holographic universe. For Star Trek fans, a holodecks a cool place to indulge in your favorite, and no doubt strange, fantasies. More to the point, in theory, every particle in a holographic universe has knowledge of the whole, including it’s history, realization of it’s present state, as well it’s future. If the entire Universe as we knew it were to suddenly disappear and leave behind one small quantum particle, that particle could rebuild the entire universe as we know it today.
Seriously, think about the implications of a holographic universe for a minute.
From a common human perspective based upon our individual experience, we don’t quite believe the case for a holographic universe simple because we don’t have any access to any damn universal and mystical knowledge. Really, if my personal world just up and went away, I couldn’t rebuild it if I wanted too.
I would guess that’s because there’s some rules in place. The first being that we live in this strange place, but we are not a part of it. I mean, if two particles of light at opposite ends of the universe have knowledge of each others behavior, the only conclusion I can make is, well, those particles have more to do with the universe than I do.
The second rule is, you can’t break the rules! Simple, I get that. But I can still ask, still wonder about little things like, “OK, who makes up these stupid rules?”.
Stop and ponder how insanely cruel it would be to exist in a Universe and not be a part of it. You would participate and be held responsible in it’s growth and well being, but you would never exist to the extent and import of existence itself. You, the lonely human worker bee, buzzing around thinking it’s all about you, when it’s all about the hive.
But wait a minute here, I’m made up of all the stuff the universe is, all the atoms and particles that abound through the universe are part and parcel of my makeup. Yes, we are all stardust and will return to the great ocean of infinite wonder someday but in the meantime, it appears all those particles and molecules have come together in a strange and unwelcome aberration known as the Human race. It is as if our very existence is defined by our lack of knowledge of who, what and even where we are. Sometimes, it seems all but appropriate to ask, “Are we that stupid, or what?”.
To answer that, you need to understand that there’s an intrinsic difference between intelligence and knowledge. Just because you know stuff doesn’t make you smart and just because your intelligent doesn’t mean you have a lot of knowledge. Being stupid doesn’t mean we don’t carry our own brand of intelligence, because we certainly do, and we own it, but when it comes to a lack of knowledge about our physical and emotional environment, we don’t know very much, and what we do know, we explain it with our intelligence. So much so, we give credence and importance to our intelligence and come up with terms like ‘holographic universe’ to explain our very being, which is nothing but a polite way of saying, we don’t know shit.
Have a nice 4th!.
Here in Reality
6-27-10
We are a strange and wonderful species, capable of great and worthy acts and yet we toil in the froth of the cosmic foam. There’s a sense we can never climb out and see beyond our small childish ways. It is not enough to be technologically adept. While there is an argument that technology gives way to knowledge, there is another argument that technology dumbs us down. That duality of course is natural in our Universe and just as natural is our ability to walk the fine line between the two. The evolutionary process of course will lead us humans in the very near future to merge with our technology in ways that already are being investigated. No doubt, a hundred years on down the road, humans today might not recognize their grandchildren.
I don’t have any doubts that there will be a few humans who will reject the infusion of technology just as I don’t have any doubts that those who do will be treated as a curious novelty. When one really stops to think about it, it’s all natural.
But there is a problem and there will be a price to pay
First, try to understand what I mean when I say we toil in the cosmic froth. Our lives are spent in a place just like that bubbly, white froth that sweeps up on the beach with every wave. We live and we work in that place that separates two worlds, the ocean and the land, and that place is out on the boundary of both worlds. And yes, we are carried to and fro with every wave action, thinking we are in control, believing in a semblance of both free will and destiny. We live in this sad and foreboding place because we cannot distinguish what must be done from our personal desires. For you, it is your life that carries weight, carries importance and in and of itself, we need that, we need our individualism, but duality demands we need to grow, to stand up out of the froth and take a look around. We need to think of ourselves, we need to think of others and we need to think of our environment. We need to not only understand our place in our reality, we need to make decisions that reflect that understanding.
Those decisions are in the hands of a chosen few when they belong to all of humanity. These Governments, world leaders, business leaders have made decisions not for the benefit of humanity but rather for the benefit of power and greed. They do so because they have not stood up and looked around. Their decisions are based on their need, and that need is extremely limited.
Our grandchildren will live in a world of technological wonders but they will pay a price. Individualism will be negated, privacy non existent, and information and knowledge suspect. Technology alone will not give humanity the ability to stand up and look around and evolve emotionally and within their own individual sense of spirituality.
The bottom line is simple. Everything in our current reality, global or local, is driven by an economic decision and that decision is based upon the sustainability of power and profit, and not for your welfare. This is not to say that Governments can’t and don’t make decisions for your benefit, they do! But it is to say, that we cannot continue along the path where the chosen few make decisions you and I should be making. You need to actually stand up and look around at the world in which you live and recognize the impact you have on your environment and then do something about it and I’m not necessarily talking about recycling paper.
The whole Truth and nothing but...
6-20-10
There’s just an ongoing, never ending sense of strangeness involved in life these days and I’m not specifically talking about my life, setting out on a weak tree limb, all by my lonesome. Nope, just seems there’s a lot of angst going around. Personally, I think it’s a combination of things, people are still worried about the economy, the oil spill, strange politics and of course, having a black man as our President. What? I’m sorry! but that’s the truth, that he’s black, and his name sounds like he’s a Muslim, still worries people. I mean, lets be realistic, what do you think Dick Armeys little tea party is really about? And I say little, because they are little people, because they are being led to invest in a world that never was and and will never be, and there isn’t a shred of intelligence among them to figure it out. Of course, the liberals ain’t exactly brain surgeons either, but at least they seem to have a clue as to who the enemy is. They just have a misplaced faith in a President who might not give a damn.
But back to the Tea Partiers for a moment. I just want to point this out.
In August 2009 Armey was asked to step down from his lobbying position at DLA Piper, which was doing lobbying work for the pharmaceutical industry to pass health care reform legislation. Armey was simultaneously chairing the conservative group FreedomWorks which was actively working to defeat health care reform by encouraging and organizing high conservative turnouts at congressional and senatorial town hall meetings. DLA Piper was concerned about the conflict of interest particularly since their clients were spending millions in advertising and lobbying money to support the passage of health care reform and FreedomWorks was linked to demonstrations at town hall forums where health care reform was being discussed.[14]
Overtly, playing both sides off each other for his own path to power, just as Michelle Bachman and Sara Palin are doing. Just as our President did for the liberals and his message of change.
This Nations power has always been it’s people, you and I as individuals, who can disagree yet still converse with dignity and respect. That power has been subsidized with fast food, medications, quick sound bites and American Idol. The result are a people that are overweight, uninformed and misinformed to the point of incredulous ridicuality In a way, it’s almost funny but it’s way too tragic and far too sad to laugh about. We are all addicted to a horrible way of life that will not change because we enjoy our lives way to much while we bitch about ‘em. We love our drama because it’s entertainment. Elect Palin and think it’s all going to change, do you? Well, you’re right, sort of. You’re in for a surprise, she’ll be the first one to take your guns away. Why, because our sensible adults understand you can’t have an addict running around with loaded guns.
I doubt most Americans are capable of seeing that far down the road these days. Far too many are drinking way too much acid laced kool-aid, spouting off about Socialism, waving their flags and beating on any Muslim they find and beating off to the next Idol. Most of you don’t have a clue, even when you’re told the truth, you can’t, you don’t, want to recognize it. For instance, try thinking some things through, like....
If the economy is that bad, who’s buying all those I-Pads?
Why is the traffic bumper to bumper, all going North for fishing and vacations every Friday afternoon out here on Hwy. 10?
How come I can’t find a parking space at our local Mall?
When stocks nose dived, where did all that money really go?
and you’re answer is? Yea, I know, you don’t have one...
But I do, the enemy ain’t who you think it is! Look in the frigging mirror, spend some time and utilize the only tool you have left for salvation, before our President turns it off. One day, and soon, they will.
The Accidental Negligence
6-13-10
One of the doomsday scenarios I’ve read regarding the BP Gulf spill claims the point will soon come where the entire seabed of the Gulf of Mexico will collapse down, into the empty cavern where the oil was once stored. The resulting tidal waves will surge a hundred miles or more inland, devastating the Gulf coast.
I wouldn’t even want to consider this as a feasible possibility. I certainly hope it isn’t! From my understanding, it can’t happen. That doesn’t mean it won’t. Who knows what to believe this days.
The larger point is this, what is happening in the Gulf is bad enough. That said, there just isn’t enough outrage over it outside of those who live on the Gulf coast, and have had their lives changed by the ‘accident’. I offset the word ‘accident’ simply because it appears the ‘accident’ could have been prevented, therefore it’s actually negligence. You know, if you don’t change the worn tires on your car, and have a blowout while doing 60 and kill someone, you are responsible for that person’s death. In the case of the spill, the worn tire syndrome equates to being cheap to obtain a larger profit.
The larger truth is that BP can never pay for the totality of the damages. No doubt, there where be massive amounts of money doled out in public relations by BP claiming they are going to do the right thing and make everything OK. In fact, that PR campaign has already started, you’ve seen their commercials. But they can’t and they won’t make everything OK and everything better. The truth is, and we all know it, is that you and I will pay a damn good potion of the bill. In fact, 20 years later they are still litigating the Exxon Valdez spill.
What bothered the chief justice was that Exxon was being ordered to pay $2.5 billion — roughly three weeks’ worth of profits — for destroying a long swath of the Alaska coastline in the largest oil spill in American history.
“So what can a corporation do to protect itself against punitive-damages awards such as this?” Roberts asked in court.
The lawyer arguing for the Alaska fishermen affected by the spill, Jeffrey Fisher, had an idea. “Well,” he said, “it can hire fit and competent people.”
The rare sound of laughter rippled through the august chamber. The chief justice did not look amused.
LINK
What bothers me is the fact that we have a Chief Justice who can’t figure out what a corporation needs to do to protect itself from damages. There’s a difference between an accident and negligence, and Exxon Valdez was pure negligence, through and through.
Consider too,
Despite the rising tide of public anger and hostility toward BP -- and the announcement on Tuesday by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that the government is opening a criminal probe into the spill -- most of the 17 analysts who follow the oil and petrochemicals giant continue to urge investors to buy its stock. And none recommend dumping it. Twelve of the analysts rate BP a buy, and five recommend holding it.
LINK
By BP stock and hold it because the writings on the wall, BP ain’t going outta business because the taxpayers are going to be left holding the bill. Simple! If BP was to be held accountable, they’d go out of business overnight. If they really had to pay for all the lost revenue, lost jobs, lost taxes and restore the environment for the entire affected areas on the gulf coast, BP would cease to exist.
But that won’t happen, because you’re not pissed off enough to say anything, or do anything.
Twin Forebodings of the Apocalypse.
5-23-10
If there exists any questions as to the insanity of our lives and the world in which we endure, look no further to two separate headlines that foreshadow our coming doom. For what God has use of a creation that neither cares about their less fortunate and even less about the world which they are responsible for? That said, there’s not much use to worry about what God of old has to say, is there? For there is a new kid on the block, a new God, isn’t there? Well, OK, maybe this new kids been around for a while, but he’s front and center these days and he’s all the rage.
Here in Minnesota, we’ve decided that the less fortunate, the sick and ill, of mind and heart, no longer matter. It’s too costly!
“The money that is being spent on this population is not making them well and productive”
Rep. Matt Dean, R-Dellwood
How sad that we have came to this. Minnesota has always been progressive in their care for those who suffer from mental health issues. Yes, it has always been expensive, and the economic profit non existent but it’s never been about monetary profit, but it has always been about human and spiritual profit. That profit has always been worth the economic expense and now we have have changed that.
Nor do we care about our environment. Yes, you’ll shout and you’ll claim loudly that you do but the truth is in your action, and not your words. The fact that we will kill most of the sea life in the gulf of Mexico is a result of greed and you are at fault. Every gallon of gas you and I buy, proves our culpability. Greed and profit over stewardship and responsibility have won out.
Indeed, the Christian God of old, our God of compassion and care has died and been replaced by greed, corruption, negligence and a total lack of accountability.
The Christian God of old has no need to send an epic flood our way as punishment for our ways. Instead, Gods just kicking back and watching us as we do it all by ourselves.
I get it that life sucks at times, that our government sucks most of the time, that your pay check is smaller or even non existent because someone from Mexico has taken your job across the street at the chicken farm, and I’m sorry about that. I am truly sorry! But, you see, the thing is, that is what greed does, that’s the way of the new God! This new world ain’t about caring for your brother, much less your neighbor, it’s all about economic profit, about you having more than the next person, about having nice cars and lush lawns and going to church and pretending we’re civilized human beings and all the while, the world around us is falling apart. Proof of what I’m saying lie’s in the fact that we are now blaming everyone else, illegal immigrants, the liberals, the Federal Government, our educational system, the French, the media and now, finally, the mentally challenged.
God is good, God is great, God is proud.
It’s a Timely Thing.
5-16-10
Okay, I’ll fess up. I’m setting here with just a tinge of a hangover and I’m not sure why. It’s not like I finished off that great birthday gift (but I am sorely tempted) or sucked down a 12 pack. Just sat around a bonfire and had a couple and drifted off to sleep around midnight. I’m mentioning this little fact simply because I just can’t get my mind into gear to write about anything, so that means a lot of rambling, drifting and overall just get something out there that somebody, maybe you, might find interesting. How that can be, I can never know, and don’t want to.
Have you ever wondered how something can be linear yet also be cyclical, as in being repetitive. Like life is. As in, we all like to think it’s a straight line from birth to death and we can add points on that line, with each point a certain memory, or celebrated event. Just like the number lines in second grade. That said, the days at time are strangely repetitive. That said, the days at time are strangely repetitive.... and there goes that train of thought. See, the thing is, time really doesn’t exist, it’s really just a tool we mere humans invented, to interpret the world around us. Just like math. In fact, I’ll go one step further, that the concept of time is unique to humanity, that outside our sphere of perception, time is completely different, and perhaps even non-existent.
For the most part, you and I think of time as a matter of movement, so time is a physical event. An event we are always participating in. We can not step outside the constraints of the physical world, we just can’t yell out “STOP” and have everything frozen in time ( and since everyone and everything would be frozen, there would be no one around to yell out “start”).
Now, think about this, do people who wear digital watches view time as linear and people who wear analog watches, view time as cyclical? How do blind people, deaf people view time?
So, when I say that time is non-existent outside the sphere of human perception, does that mean the planets stop moving when the last human dies. Could be, you are aware that Einstein’s Theory of Relativity has a lot to do with ones vantage point, but I don’t think the existence of the Universe is dependent upon the human race. Maybe just me, but certainly not you.
Thinking about time is like thinking about Ghosts, UFO’s, Angels, Demons, Fairies and Hobbits. It gives me a headache because if everyone is right and there are Aliens, Ghosts, demons and Angels, time travelers and what have you, no wonder chaos rules supreme in our lives with everyone sticking their noses in our business, and with that, it’s time to end this nonsense.
Infinite Sorrow of the Human Condition
5-8-10
I know I offend people at times, and yes it bothers me that this tragic and emotional assault on ones sensibilities happens from time to time. But you know as well, I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about it. I politely mention I’m sorry, and I move on. So should you!
So lets save everyone a lot of time and anguish, right out of the gate.
I’m sorry, if anything that follows this ticks you off. Truly, I am, now move on, I have.
As a human being, you’re pretty stupid! Yea, that’s right, stupid as in not very intelligent, as in lacking several trillion brain cells that you need to function. For what it’s worth, you are not alone, because we are basically a stupid species. Look, just cuz we invented the wheel doesn’t make us intelligent. I mean dolphins haven’t really invented anything you or I could use and I could argue that species is a hell of a lot smarter than you are, simply because they haven’t managed to screw up their eco-system.
You’re not lucky enough for this to be a thread regarding our environment. I’m just simply comparing your swarmy smartness to a lower life form. Now, if you’re of the mindset, that your intelligence puts you at the top of the food chain, that’s only true depending upon your environment. Really, in shark infested waters, you’re food. Now, the thing is, if you were about to be ‘downed’ as a tidy morsal, I suspect some of your last thoughts would be crying out to whatever God you worship for the eternal salvation of your soul.
And that’s why 99.9 percent of you are idiots. You just don’t get the Religion thing! Oh, I know, you think you do. You go to church, you read all the good books and volunteer to help your neighbor. These all are good and honest things but let me ask you, are you happy? Are you content with life as it is?
You shouldn’t be. Look around at the misery, the infinite sorrow of being human. With so many Religious people and hundreds of Religious organizations, why is this world a place of tragedy and sorrow, much from mankind’s own hand.
For a species that managed to send a couple of it’s own to the moon, we’re just not smart enough to understand our own bias, our personal hatreds. Most of us will work toward a personal agenda instead of a collective agenda, and what sucks is, we do that under the guise of our Religion.
It’s insanity, and it’s stupid. And I could go on, but the points been made a hundred, a thousand million, countless times and it won’t change. Again, stupid!
Catching My Drift on a Heartless Ocean
5-2-10
Such fragile beings we humans be and yet we thrive, we prosper, we multiply and thus it is in numbers we find strength. Indeed, no man is an island, more, no man can be an island nor should they conduct their lives as if they were. For there are tragedies, depravations in our daily lives, that are too great, the pain too sinful, for one to bear alone, and in the dark.
Indeed, far too many forget or worse, never know, how strange and mysterious our world, our existence really is. How in the finite tick of a second, everything in ones life can change, and never be the same. For some, that second brings grief and sorrow, for others, joy and wonder and when all is considered equal and done, everyone suffers to some degree, to some degree there is always loss.
The size and scope of our personal realities are large, and by our own imagination, wondrous, but in truth, our existence is mostly barren. Like the realization that our Universe is large, almost all of what is contained in our Universe is hidden from us, so too our reality.
No matter our collective strength, we are often lonely individuals, suffering our personal pain, alone, or at best, with a select few. Pain, physical, emotional or mental, is a personal experience. Yes, it can be shared, but only through empathy, and the depth and existence of pain will vary for everyone, and it will affect everyone, to some degree.
Each of us are tossed upon a wild, heartless ocean yet we are not adrift, we are not alone. We believe when it is darkest, we are alone, yet we wake in the morning washed in sunlight with the knowledge that we were not blind, that it was only... dark. There are things in our lives that we can take no comfort from, there are unbearable tragedies thrust upon individuals that are so filled with pain and agony, that each and every breath is filled with rage. When it is darkest, we believe the sun will never rise again and it is then when we are at our weakest. We can choose to start the journey toward morning or we can stay in the darkness, where we are alone, weak and scared.
To everyone whose path has crossed here, love your children, hug your parents, take joy in brothers and sisters and relish your friends for that finite tick moves for all, in some form, in some fashion.
On Arizona’s Immigration Bill..
4-23-10.
What does it do? What does it mean?
Well, first of all, I don’t blame Arizona for passing this law. That said, it doesn’t mean I agree with it. At a very basic level, stop and think about how many legal and proud Americans of Hispanic heritage live in Arizona that will be subject to being stopped by the police and asked for their ID, simply based on how they look! White people will not be stopped!
It is that simple!
But what do you expect when current Federal law isn’t enforced. Same problem here in Minnesota as in Arizona, just different dynamics. Want to solve the problem, throw everyone who is breaking the law, into jail, and fine them stiffly. That includes the business owners that knowingly employ them. Yes, those outstanding community citizens that rail against those poor Mexicans swarming over the borders. Did I say that? Did I really say that?
This Nation is built on the the backs, the sweat and tears of Immigrants. Outside of Native Americans, your ancestry is not American, and chances are, when your wayback people came here, they were met with persecution, bias and intolerance in some form and in some fashion but their entry into the American Dreamscape, was done in a legal fashion. At least, most of us would like to believe it was in a legal fashion. Who knows? Point being, we can’t run away from that fact. Instead, we should relish it, no matter how troubling it is to some who believe that this Nation’s greatness is based on it’s economic power derived from the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (Wasp-man that’s a term for the ages). Not so, that freedom came from a hundred different generations and millions upon millions of people of different color, of different heritages, of different beliefs and different cultures who toiled and suffered during war and peace, the good and the bad times. And here we are today, where an American can be stopped on the street, simply because he looks different.
No matter how angry we are, my friends, this law is not why our mothers and fathers, our grandparents, came to this country.
You Can go Home Again.
4-23-10.
Yes, Barb, you can go home again, can’t you? And it is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Indeed, it’s a strange thought indeed that incorporates and merges modern technology in form and fashion that is transformative. After all, that is what technology is, that is why Gates built Microsoft from his garage, why Edison slaved over a zillion filaments to create the light bulb, all to make our lives better.
But c’mon, to go back to our childhood, to our homes and neighborhood friends? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?
No, it’s not! See, most people here in America and around the world, are regional. That means that most people really don’t venture too far from where they consider home. Proof of this is, there’s a bar somewhere that I can walk into, and I’ll find the same people setting on the same barstool they were setting on thirty years ago. There are some of us, however, whose parents worked overseas, and like the proverbial passing ships, there are those of us who passed each other for a brief year or two and then like smoke from a cigarette, their memories dissipated with time.
But never, ever forgotten. Yet with passing years, those memories carried a certain amount of sadness that bordered upon being, well, another reality. Something that was, but never really was, because there wasn’t really anyone around to share those memories with. No one who understood ‘groun’ pea, Club beer brewed with salt water, palava hut business, the BIG tree, the Saloon, The embassy, Congotown, Downtown, and you really don’t have a clue as to what I’m talking about do you?
Oh baby, we are home again and it is a good thing, because the heart sings with the sounds of being young and the joy of old friends just transcends everything else. There are a lot of people who could benefit from the knowledge and the experience that the global’s have...
Imperfect Equality
4-18-2010
I don’t have a problem with people making money, specifically, I don’t have a problem with people making more money then me. I don’t have a problem with people having toys that I do not have. I don’t begrudge a person spending a third of their lifetime in our educational system, going tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and then expecting a decent salary.
I made my choices in life and I’m not only fine with them, I’m actually happy. So that you understand, my wife and I are lower middle class. My wife’s an L.P.N. and I’m the head of a small custodial department at our local High School. We have both worked all our lives.
All said and done, and when it comes down to it, we’re basically a paycheck away from the poorhouse. If I or my wife were to lose our job, we’d be up the creek. For what it’s worth, we both have decent credit, are not heavily in debt, and do live somewhat frugal. What we do have, we have worked for.
Like I mentioned, I’m not complaining about the size of ones paycheck.
This all doesn’t mean I think we live in a perfect world, doesn’t mean I’d like to see some things change. I well realize that in all things being equal, imperfections exist but that doesn’t mean you accept the blemishes even in a perfect world, does it? After all, if HD television has taught us anything, it’s that news anchors wear a ton of makeup... to hide their small, natural defects.
To the heart of the matter, I’m a bit ticked when my school district hires a new Superintendent with a really nice benefit package. Right out the door, 20 days of vacation with reimbursement for up to five unused days. 1.5 paid sick days a month with a starting bank of thirty days. 5 paid days (out of sick leave) of personal leave a year and not to mention, fully paid medical and dental, for him and his family and least but not last, a hundred bucks a month for his cell phone usage.
Did I mention free Health and Dental care for him and his family?
What do you think a new custodian gets right out the door? Five days of vacation after 6 months, 1 sick day a month, 2 unpaid personal days and health insurance they themselves (with a district contribution) pay for, and through the nose.
Did I mention the health care cost for custodian to cover his family is like $400 a month for crappy insurance and like 700 a month for not so crappy but still crappy enough because it’s not free insurance. I don’t remember what the exact costs are, because I can’t afford it anyway, but I’m close enough so that you get the point.
Before I get too far along, I need to throw this disclaimer out. I know most of the board members, and I know most of the Administration, including the current Superintendent and Business Manager. They are good people with good intentions and they (for clarity, cuz she’s good looking, the current superintendent had no role in picking his successor) haven’t done anything wrong in hiring a new Superintendent with a very nice benefit package. In fact, they have done what School Districts and countless corporations do all the time. Nothing unusual about it.
Except, hmmmm..... free healthcare, even dental, for his family! That sounds like, Socialism. And yes it is free, he’s doesn’t pay for! In fact, I do! Don’t even argue with me, yes I do!
And that, my friends, is where I take issue. Not with the size of a persons paycheck, but with those who continue to propagate a tired and old system of giving a class of citizens certain rights while denying others those same rights. It is no different than all our members of Congress being eligible for free healthcare, it just happens to be at the local level.
This is the issue, at it’s heart, which is tearing this nation apart and will tear the Nation apart. And the thing is, we can prevent it, and rather easily, but that’s too hard to do. Go figure!
To Be Human is to Be!
4-11-10
Do you spend any time in the neither-either world. That place that is someplace else other then where you are now. You know, that place where you go where the strong struggle and the weak thrive, and I ain’t talking church. Do you have a clue? Probably not, but you do know, by the time you’re done here, you’ll have figured some strange stuff out, like where the neither-either world is, and even better, what it is.
Just stop for a moment and think about your religious views and how you came across them. Chances are, if you’re white and born here in the US, you’re a Christian of some sort. And if you were born in the middle East, you’d be a Muslim. You’re basically of the religious persuasion your parents were, and their parents before them. Chances are, you’re ok with that. Chances are, you’re of the belief that Christ is the one true Son of God, and ya live and die by that belief. Chances are you’ve never really thought about any other type of Religion and the chances are even better, you never will. More than anything else, there’s probably a really good chance, you’ve never even read the bible, like from cover to cover, start to finish.
You are what you are because you are! And before you go off and get in my face, I’m not saying this is all wrong. It is what it is. But when you start thinking about the facts and beliefs involved, it gives one a headache. The contemplation’s actually hurt, contorting my handsome appeal. Imagine two, war torn warriors facing each other on a Holy, Sacred battlefield who come the realization just as the begin to behead each other, that they are enemies for no other reason than where they were born. They could just as easily have been brothers.
Here then lies the neither-either realm of Humanity. You are what you are and you can’t change it because you won’t. Note my claim that this is not a bad thing as much as it is a ‘human’ thing. You ain’t this but you actually ain’t what you think you are either. There’s no wrong, there’s no right involved for the most part in human behavior, and unfortunately there is no realization, much less an understanding. Confused? Let me clear the muddied waters up a bit.
Yes, I well understand there are indeed a wealth of varied professions and professional’s who make human behavior their life’s work. But don’t you think you hold some responsibility as well? Before a person condemns another culture, another religion, don’t you think you ought to wonder just a bit about how you came into your own beliefs. How much choice in your belief system was there? How much consideration did you give to different and opposing Faiths?
When you start thinking, contemplating little things like this, you’re moving through the rabbit hole and the only guarantee is that you’ll end up someplace else than where you are now. No guarantee it’ll be a better place, just different. Me, I’m kinda comfortable here, waiting for the rest of humanity.
Easter Sunday Morning Ramblings
4-3-10
OK, just so we all are on the same page. Our nation is in an economic crisis, people are still losing their jobs, their homes, but with the recent news, it looks like things are starting to look up just a bit. I get it that where I work, we just settled our contract and I’m not getting a raise, but most of that is due to realigning our pay steps, which resulted in a huge raise last year. The larger day to day impact of the economy on my job, have been layoffs. Other then that, I can’t say our budget has been drastically reduced.
I get all that! I get that a year ago I couldn’t walk into a bank and ask them to borrow me a piece o’ eight. Don’t know if that’s still true today, but I suspect the approving process is a bit more stringent.
The thing I struggle with, and have struggled with, is how can our economy be so friggin’ bad when thousands of people can line up outside a store and wait for hours on end to spend up to 800.00 dollars for an Ipad? C’mon, you just gotta ask yourself how bad it all is when you cruise on out to your local shopping mall and can’t find a parking space. We all go out to eat every once in a while, and I’m hard pressed to see any empty booths. A month or two ago, we spent a weekend up North at a pretty fancy indoor water park, and the place was jammed. I’m sorry, but the lines are still long at the check out counters and the movie theaters.
I’m not arguing that people haven’t lost their houses, there’s been a couple of foreclosures here in my neighborhood. I’ve also seen a couple houses sold too, so... I just don’t get it! It could be, that financially, I and my wife are doing better than ever before. A lot of that is due to the money we’re saving from not smoking (and we’re approaching the 1 year mark).
Moving on, this last week has seen a lot of strain in our communities relationships with our Somali citizens. There were, earlier in the week, claims of discrimination against some of the Somali students here at our local High School. The larger point I want to stress here, are the reactions of some people to the story. In fact, there were some fairly racist, inappropriate and out right stupid comments made not only online, in the comment section to the news stories, but around the break tables and water coolers as well. Some were just disgusting. Theresa thought I should write specifically about that, reprinting some of the comments with names attached, and I thought about it.
And I was going to until I read Randy Krebs column this morning. Pay particular attention to the comments as the day progresses, and remember, it’s Easter Sunday. All I can say is I’ve heard it all before about the Chinese, the Irish, the Catholics, the Mexicans, Blacks, Indians, Vietnamese and everybody else who was or is a minority.
Of course, I can’t end this without some snide comments about the pedophile Catholic Priest, Pope controversy that seems to stretch from here to Europe. All I can say is how about some admission of responsibility as opposed to attacking the messenger. Well, there’s always the prophecies of St. Malachy, which by the way, are foreboding because the time is close.
Strangers in a Really Strange Land
3-28-10
What a bunch of blithering, babbling zombies the denizens of this Nation have devolved into. Is there anyone left out there who can actually think for themselves in a critical fashion, is there anyone out there who isn’t ruled by their dick or waylaid emotions? Hell, doesn’t anyone get it? Can anyone look in the mirror and point their finger at... themselves?
Bam ba lam, the damn things gone wild!
Oh yes it has. Over a year ago, I wrote ‘Purity of Essence’ and the more I think about it, the more I trend in that direction, the more I Identify with Howard Beal. O.K. Big boy, take a deep breath, let a small prick of sanity back into what I’m writing here. Admit to everyone that it may well be, me, who does the Zombie walk and everyone else is just fine. That seems to calm the idiots down a bit, letting them think it’s me that’s nuts. I do know the wonderful truth, though.
Let me explain it to you, very simply!
If we did nothing to address Healthcare, the aging baby boomers would break the system, not in 20 years, but like, tomorrow. Republicans know this, have known it, and did nothing while they were in power.
Most people throwing out the word Socialism don’t have a clue what the word means, but then again, they don’t have a clue what the difference is between a Democracy and Republic.
While Sara Palin might not be stupid, she’s not really intelligent either. You really think she has you’re interests at heart? She has chosen to be a celebrity, an entertainer and crowd pleaser. She wants nothing but your adulteration and constant attention.
We are where we are at today because back in the 80’s, our President sold a concept that greed was good, that money and wealth would trickle down and benefit everyone.
Corporations are profit based, they pushed trickle down economics as a good thing. Our media, all of it, are corporations! They will further divide us using violence and fear of violence. That is happening now!
You do not live in a Democracy or a Republic. You live in a Corporacy. In fact, a corporation is a living, breathing person in the eyes of the law. The only difference is, is that a corporation actually has more rights than a living, breathing person. But that’s OK with you, for some strange bedeviling reason. Probably the flouride.
This is not about Government! This is not about political parties and political beliefs! This is about wealth, power, entitlement and protection of such. It is all about keeping a very distinct division between people of race, people of differing beliefs and people of differing financial means.
So if you’re feeling a bit strange these days, it’s by design.
Day of Infamy, Day of History.
3-21-10
Regardless of how the vote in the House turns out toward Healthcare later today, it’s fair to say that half this Nation is going to bed tonight, a bit pissed, and the other half is going to hit their sheets somewhat jubilant. All should be somewhat reserved. If for some reason you are not pissed and you are not jubilant, I’m sorry but you don’t know jack and you don’t give a crap about this nation. Let me explain!
If HCR goes down and you take to the streets shouting that your faith in American Democracy has been restored, that the move toward Socialism has died and now all the progressive libruls can go fuck themselves, I would caution you to temper your voice. Because there will be no redo, no ‘start over’ for at least another generation. Your premiums will continue to rise, your benefits will shrink, access will be restricted to the wealthy and the medical debt of a rapidly aging population will force some hard decisions by the younger generation of politicians regarding our care. We won’t like those decisions.
If on the other hand, HCR passes, well, there’s an old saying, be careful for what you wish for. Yes, I’m one of those liberals and I believe Healthcare needs reform. Not minor, small minded reform, but across the board, major reform. Hell, to me, with no public option, it’s hard to accept this as real reform. But I’ll take what I can get. No lifetime caps, no denial for pre existing conditions, tax breaks for small business and yes, mandates that ‘you’ have to be insured, and hopefully, greater accountability of the Insurance and Pharmaceutical companies, but I’m not assured that’s going to happen. I will temper my voice if this is passed and I will wait to see how this law pans out. I do have my concerns and I hope we have not replaced one evil with another.
The bottom line in all this is in how people choose to respond to what happens. Most will go ‘Hmmmm....’ and wait to see what happens, Republicans will use the vote to bash President Obama, in like form and manner, regardless of how the vote goes, Democrats will cry foul if it doesn’t pass, and heap praise if it does. Tea Baggers will continue to be obscene jerks so maybe not much will change after all...
Nothing to See Here, Part 2
3-14-10
Two weeks ago, I ended Part 1 urging you to move along, that there was nothing of value to see here on planet Earth. This week you might want to stick around, at least long enough to firm up your decision to drop the big one just before you ...move along. I mean, Good Lord, some of the stuff we as people are exposed to by other people is proof beyond proof, that idiots exist under the guise of being somewhat intelligent. And the fact that we are exposed to it, actually that we are constantly bombarded by it, drives most of us nuts. Worse, that we give some of these people credence, speaks ill of us, not to mention, it kind of belittles your intelligence. Notice that I refuse to include myself when it comes to speaking of your intelligence. I can do that!
Seriously, do you believe the Baptists at Westboro are Christians and that celebrating the deaths of our sons and daughters who have died in combat, while we mourn at their funerals is free speech. For this to even be considered free speech is indicative of who we have become as a Nation. Yea, it’s easy to laugh at until they show up at a funeral you’re attending. These people are neither Christians nor Americans expressing their right to free speech. What they are, are idiots using something precious and valuable to gain attention and power. That power they want by the way, is the power over you, and that should scare the shit outta you.
Let’s not stop the assault on our Constitution at free speech. Hell, Liz Cheney and Bill Kristol want to take away your right to a lawyer and they sound almost intelligent about their claim, until you realize,” hey wait a minute, what happens if I need a lawyer”. Granted, these two idiots have received a lot of blow-back from Republicans and Conservatives across the board, but that’s not the problem. The problem is that after this has all blown over, they will still have a voice on the American scene, especially Liz, as the next generation of Conservative leaders. Scared? You should be!
Now, for a minute I have to drift into that land that’s inhabited by Glenn Beck. You know that place somewhere over the rainbow and far beyond the kettle of gold coins. See, I know this guy, like Limbaugh, is pure, unadulterated and hysterical comedy with no basis in reality. That is why, no substance other than hilarity came out of his interview with Eric Massa. Unfortunately, he will claim otherwise and many will bow and worship Mr. Beck as one of America’s Greatest thinkers of the 21st century. Speaking of this great American personality, did he really say that Churches that preach economic and social justice were using code words for socialism. Hmmm, I guess a soup kitchen is a bit Socialistic when I think about it. This is scary stuff anyway you think about it.
Aw, but now to drift a bit back to the real world where Karl Rove is making the rounds promoting his new book. I don’t know what the name of the book is and I don’t care, because personally, anyone who’s proud to actually torture another person is a bit sick. If you, by the way buy into the lie that waterboarding ain’t torture, I’ve got a 1x12, some duct tape, a couple gallons of water along with a big hairy Muslim with no friggin’ guarantee of survival. Care to find out if it hurts?
Thought not!
I’m sorry, but this is just another assault on what made us a great people, that we refused to reduce ourselves to the levels of our enemies. That our morals and our ethics actually meant something. That we, like the Klingons, we’re honorable! Yea, I’m scared when I hear crap like this.
But it’s what I expect. After all, it’s you’re fault you don’t have a job! I mean, C’mon man, go flip burgers or something. You won’t make you’re mortgage, or pay a bill, but y’all be working....
Someone out there, please stand up and yell, that these people are not Conservatives and they are not Republicans. They are the new Fascists and they will bring Fascism to America under the guise of restoring Democracy
Nothing to see here
1-28-10
With the 8.8 quake in Chile, A 7.0 quake off Okinawa, the recent quake in Haiti, massive snowstorms on our east coast, the Antarctic spitting out country sized icebergs, a newborn lamb with a human face, the quake swarms in Yellowstone, one would think something or someone is trying to tell us something.
Actually, it’s just business as usual here on Planet Earth. For proof that there’s nothing to see, just look at the last week in politics. You have my Governor, Tim Pawlenty stating that we should repeal the law that forces Emergency Rooms to treat everyone who walks in their doors. Now I understand, T-Paw probably misspoke and means that we shouldn’t allow people to drive up my cost by running to the ER for a runny nose. I get that! Fact is, I agree with it. That doesn’t mean I want the law repealed. I rather see those people with, uh... affordable health insurance. Pretty sad that a Presidential Candidate wanna-wannabe can’t articulate what he’s trying to say. Sad and scary he won’t articulate because his intent is to play to the far right, as in teabaggers and birthers, and thus be divisive, or worse, because he simply can’t.
Not to be outdone, One single, solitaire Senator, Jim Bunning, a Repub from Kentucky, has blocked the extension on unemployment bennies simply because he doesn’t know that those bennies are being paid from an emergency fund, hence there’s no need to find money to pay for something that’s already been paid for. Unfortunately, there’s a bit more here than meets the eye. Hmmm, maybe it’s not the fringe elements the conservatives oughta target.
I can’t feel too sorry for the Republicans, the fringe element is of their own making, their Frankenstein, and they are going to reap what they have sown. Try as they may, they won’t control their monster no more than we can control the quakes.
Speaking of monsters, (Did I really say monsters?), check out the monstrous absence of my State Representative over at wheresmichele.com. Ok, I was thinking monstrous is a bit harsh but then I came across a page of some quotes, of hers, and no, it’s not, now or ever will it be, harsh, will it, Ms. High Heels in the bushs. And speaking of bushs, and kisses..., oh, I won’t go there.
But I’ll spend a quick couple of seconds reminding everyone about the Health Care Summit last week. In fact, the summit exemplefied what Bill Maher refered to a few nights back about the Republican Party. They ain’t just the party of ‘no’, they are the party of, ‘Fuck... No’.
So here we are the end of another week in our lives and I ask you, have we done anything of worth, accomplished anything of value as a species. Nope, nothing that I can see, so let’s all move along, please...
The Flip Side of Being Human
2-14-10
There is a great deal of fact that this Nation is politically divided. Of course, there’s an argument that the partition is only among those who actually care about politics. I’ll just toss out a personal observation that I believe more people are paying attention these days, and a lot of those people are staying silent. This is the effervescent silent majority. Effervescent because they go about they lives managing not to bitch about every little problem they come across and when they come across a problem, they tend to solve it with a statement. It is of course, the silent majority that decides elections. Not Democrats, not Republicans, Tea Baggers, Populists or Neo-Cons! Yep, it’s the silent majority that’s going to step up to the plate and take care of the wicked case of political heartburn this Nation is suffering.
Course, there’s a thought that those who follow politics closely, are a jaded lot, maybe a bit dysfunctional. Certainly, we’re loud and obnoxious, but hey, we do know what we’re talking about, right? I mean, don’t I have a right to be a bit cynical about people?
Yea, ok, time to get to the point. It’s easy to see the worst in people. In fact, it’s way to easy sometimes. Almost like our planet is being continually bombarded by meteorites from space that contain alien viruses that bring out the worst in us. I ‘spect it’s more the case of the baby crying in the back room and you have to attend to the kid, which is saying the wheel that squeaks the most...
Truth is, you don’t have to look too far to see the back side of all this, the good that people not only are capable of, but actually do. And they do it their way!
Stop and take another look at the video above. Point out the differing political beliefs, the different religions. This is who and what the American Soul is. This is who we are.This is why, when I feel cynical, when I feel all is lost, I’ll try to remember that there is this silent majority that is capable of doing great things.
That, kind of makes me proud
Cry 21
There are no easy words other than to say that we are fucked! Yes, you and I have been screwed with the big donkey dick, my friend, and you couldn’t care less. In fact, chances are you’re quite oblivious to the fact or at best, too stupid to understand the implications of what happened on Thursday.
I cannot understand how jaded we have become as a people. We are a good honest people but how has it came to a point where we walk away from our Nation and yet manage to wear patriotism on our sleeve. How is it we can claim God as our own and deny equality to anyone?
I have spoke often of our Nation being a Corporacy. Not a Republic, not a Democracy and with the Supreme Court ruling on Thursday, the transition to that Corporacy is complete. No longer is it a dirty little conspiracy theory that America’s run by corporate America, now it’s an in your face, fact!
To you who believe this is a victory for free speech. Consider this, now any foreign owned corporation can funnel money into our political system. That includes any corporation owned, by someone with say, the last name of bin-ladin. This ruling is not a victory for free speech simply because it removes all responsibility for your words.
Starting this fall, this election cycle, you will see political ads that are outright smears and lies and they will be prevalent. Corporations can now spend tens of millions of dollars on politicans they like, or dislike. To say this is equal and free speech because I too can spend tens of millions of dollars on politicians I like, or dislike, is insidious at best.
For those who say Unions have had this right and it’s only fair to level the playing field, uh, I’m sorry but you don’t have a clue to what you’re talking about. Simply, I pay union dues with the belief the union is there to fight for me, a living, breathing individual. Yes, a corporation is made up of people but the intent of the corporation is self serving, as in it’s primary concern is for ‘money’. Besides, the couple of million a union contributes to the political system will be drowned out by the ten or hundred million a corporation will spend to push its legislative desires.
Please, think this through. Blue Cross Blue Shield can now spend tens of millions of dollars supporting a particular candidate. How can any candidate that wants real reform in the health care industry, compete. They can’t! They won’t even bother
Most won’t bother to think it through and that’s the sad part. Some won’t care, most will go, Hmmmm, then forget about it and resume their lives. I will not. The cry 121 logo will always be prevalent on this site.
So take a minute and shed a tear for the passing of a Democratic America. It died a silent death, taking its last breath on 1-21.
We the People, no longer are...
It’s Evolution, Bay...be!
1-12-09
Like a foul smelling can of gas in your back seat, death seemed to be a persistent fixture in the last half of 2008 and into a good portion of 2009. That, and turning fifty one in 08 didn’t help but hopefully the distress and generally pervasive cloud of despair that prevailed for a good solid year, are finally gone. If I wasn’t dealing with it, a friend was, or is.
Truth is, 52 ain’t all that old. Yea, I can’t do some things like I used to, but all in all, I can live with it. Yep, like I have a choice! The larger truth is that I am getting older and it’s natural to think about death a little bit different than when I was young and immortal. Someone’s yelling in the background, that’s the way it’s supposed to be, death is the privilege of the old.
Actually, the privilege is the process of growing old because death holds no prejudice. When younger, the old is for outdated cars and junkyards and things that you don’t have much use for in your daily life, especially that little thing called experience. There’s truth that if you spent your younger years worrying about the elderly and death in general, you probably wouldn’t have much of a life. So, well I don’t naturally like growing older, I’m content with the process.
But death itself, that’s another story. When you really think about it, stripping away all the religious crap from the thin veneer of the afterlife, death is kind of a cosmic joke, and not a very funny one. From the second you’re conceived, you’ve been given a return ticket and once you’ve managed to do your biological duty and foster a couple of offspring, well, time to stand in line to board the plane home. The longer you’re standing in that line, the more you get to thinking. Thinking about such things like death, wondering what’s on the other side, the meaning of it all, you know, your ‘purpose’, God and all that stuff.
Let me toss this out, as in spend some time thinking about it. Who has a greater sense of universal spirituality, or oneness with the heavens above. A farmer in the countryside who can actually see a star filled sky and wonder in awe and amazement or a concrete dweller who wouldn’t know what a star was if it fell outta the sky? You can assign any damned analogy you see fit to the question, but the point I’m trying to make is rather simple. All of our views, thoughts, beliefs, desires and the like are obstructed by clutter. Some of our own making, some through the construction of others.
Now, if one were to able to somehow clear most of the clutter and look around, what do you think you would see.
Something grand and majestic to celebrate, I would think. Our reality, our universe really doesn’t hide too much from us. Least, not as much as we hide from each other and ourselves. Look around, life is a continuous opera of rebirth, and like below, so above. Life doesn’t end, it changes.
Why do we fear death as change when every day of our lives here on earth is influenced by change. We should be, and most will be, prepared for death because change, transformation and evolution is the song of our reality being played out on the stage of our universe. Indeed, that last breath you take, is life renewed. Your only question than, is of form and fashion, and I’ve answered that if you know where to look.
Please, take a loved one, a blanket, and go find a hill in the countryside and spend the night looking at the stars. Just check the weather first.
Comment
And w/ the New Year...
1-1-10
The new year is upon us, my friends. We all are a year older and too few, any wiser. Truthfully, by mid January the concerns of our daily lives will have returned and the joyful respite of the 2009 Christmas season will have been relegated to distant conversation. As I mentioned in my last post, the celebration of Christmas is really about celebrating the potential of the human spirit, in that we all are capable of giving more than what we receive. The unique tragedy of Christmas is that it lasts for only the shortest of time.
We’re just not capable of all that goodness, 365 days a year, are we? OK, On second thought, maybe we are capable, but perhaps we’re just not exuberant about it as we are in December. That at least sounds good and allows some comfort for the human race to believe in the year around goodness of their own spirit. Some comfort, just a little bit, but not an awful lot to get excited about!
Now before you get your undies in a bundle thinking I’m going to lambast humans and write how terrible we are, you’re only half right. The other half, of course, is how great we are and thus the eternal truth, of our duality. Duality has been a constant companion in our physical, spiritual and religious evolution since our first creation or since we crawled out of the ocean. Take your pick regarding creation or crawling.
Duality is of course comprised of a constant tug of war between good and evil, dark and light, black and white, day and night, left and right. and so on and so forth. Get the point? Most of us don’t bother with duality in the sense that we get up in the morning and think about the battle between good and evil and if we do bother, it’s in structured Religious terms. In other words, you’ve already been informed what good is and what evil is, so there’s no need to think about your individual duality. Yet, your individuality is linked to a larger picture, and never minding what religion or what God you believe in, linked to something that transcends ritualistic religion.
The above said, each of us possesses the abilities to influence the tug of war in our hearts, minds and souls. There exists no abyss, no gulf between the two and they live unhindered side by side. Far too many of us are blind to our own potential, or worse, too lazy to achieve it. Blind because we will not look deep into our souls, lazy because we believe we do not need to. This is the tragedy!
No doubt, there are those who believe this is a diatribe against organized religion. No, it is not! Religion is an essential starting point for understanding who and what we are, as individuals and as a collective species, but Religion need not be the end all, be all belief system. One can be a Christian, Hindu or Islamic and respect the religious rights of others while still seeking their place in God’s universe. There is a balance to be found between all things and nothing can be balanced until the individual has been balanced.
That path to balance begins with an understanding of our individual duality, that while we are each capable of great and good things, we too are individually capable of small and petty things. In striving to understand duality, the natural question arises, ‘Who am I?’
Put simply, there is more to us as individuals than we understand. There is more to our daily experience then we understand. There is more to our relationship with reality then we understand. Most of us understand this, accept this as fact. Far too many of us leave it at that. While I have a great affinity, a great respect for the spiritual aspect of organized and ritualistic religion, there are those who are using the worlds religions for their own profit and gain while you and I set idly by. We set by because we are ignorant, because we are cowards, because we don’t care, we don’t understand, are misinformed or a hundred other reasons, take your pick. The truth is we set by because we accept it as a way of life. Since there is nothing you can do about it, you accept it and the problem with that is you then validate the greed and corruption as permissible to others. Without a single action, without a simple syllable, think about the power in your validation.
And here lies the power of understanding duality. With inaction comes validation and with action comes...
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