Logic is a lost on too many (#2861)

     My favorite way of processing information is logically. Actually, for most all things logic is the only way I process information along with common sense. Now the times I don't use logic nearly enough are in matters of my own personal heart, But for everything else only logic can consistently help me make sense of all the things happening around me. Life is too complex for me to break everything down constantly so I rely on the rules of logic to help me understand generally without having to be specific in every detail all the time. Logic is a path that follows rules of understanding. We start with a premise and build our knowledge on that premise with another until we reach a conclusion. Simple, for example: "All men are mortal, I am a man, therefore I am mortal."
     This type of deductive reasoning is what most of us use to establish one fact from several other facts. It is how we progress from simple thoughts that are not connected to thoughts that are connected. Yet it seems that our society has chosen not to use logic in their choices. Especially in today's politics. We have elected a man who promises to take most of our society's advantages for everyone and destroy them so that only the wealthy will have those advantages. So one would think that the logic of that would be: "Only the wealthy get advantages, we are all wealthy, therefore we all get to have advantages." Yet what defies that false analogy is the fact that most of us are not wealthy yet we voted on the logic that we are? That is a prime example of false reasoning.
     It is easier for me to explain why something is done correct and not on why something was done wrong. So the lack of logic in this last election is a prime example, and most painful real one that I know of, that describes the lack of logic in our lives. I suppose if we don't respect the amazing ability each of us possesses enough to at least think in a simple logical sequence then we deserve to be led around as if we were cattle. The problem is that there are many of us who are not "cattle like" and can think for ourselves, yet since the gerrymandering of how our elections are operated we are stuck with the minority view in power that we are cattle and all need to be herded for our own good.

The beginning of the end of our democracy (#2860)

     If the election of Trump holds up, we are at the threshold of our democracy being taken apart. By electing Trump the American electorate has decided that equality of opportunity, justice and fairness are no longer attributes we wish to exemplify. Instead we will now be known by our lesser qualities of survival of the fittest and who can out con whom. No more will we care for the weakest in our society as our social programs begun under Democratic President Roosevelt and expanded under Presidents Johnson and Obama. They will be either eliminated or privatized by the new Republican regime that is being installed.
     So for the next 4 years at least we will see not only our social programs disappear or be priced beyond our ability to participate but we will find that the voter suppression tactics successfully deployed this last election by Republicans in Republican run states as the new model nationally. So if you think you were too busy last election to vote you will shortly find out that it won't matter much longer as the white nationalists who are being promoted to power in the Trump Administration are about to make your vote obsolete based upon some formula that punishes the color of one's skin along with the lack of funds in one's bank account.
     I suppose we should be grateful that our democracy lasted this long, 240 years, in order to at least show the world the possibilities of democratic rule. Many countries in the world are now democratic and that is at least some consolation. However, we here in America are about to devolve back to some form of a theocratic authoritarian plutocracy which will again put Americans under the yoke of not some foreign power but the carpetbagging haters who now run our government. I am older and will be less affected by this but those younger than me who still have much of their life to live and develop, you will suffer the most so get ready for it as best you can. I know I am and nothing is off the table as far as me not being a part of the upcoming harm and suffering.

I live in reason, not blind obedience (#2859)

     Crowd control is okay for voluntary events that deal with large masses of people attracted to something. In fact it is expected that if a popular concert were being arranged, there would have to be safeguards established to protect the eager and willing crowd from rushing the stage and overwhelming the performers. We all get that. The crowd control that is not acceptable is the one where we are not voluntary participants who relinquish our rights. Where we are manipulated into believing one thing while the manipulators accomplish another thing. I am not a crowd control kind of guy myself when it comes to being told one thing and then having to find out it was an illusion. I learned very young as a child the difference between the bait and switch paradigm.
     So now instead of listening to others tell me what is what, I find out for myself. It isn't that hard to learn things if you choose to learn. Often on the surface what the manipulators tell you seems logical and even reasonable, yet once you look deeper into the specifics of things you start to see that the illusion they promise is just that, an illusion. There are processes that must be followed in order to produce something of value. once you know how things have to work you won't fall for anyone who tries to sell you on something that falls outside the required process.
     Life is not that difficult to figure out. If you are in a state of unawareness because you think you are not smart enough to know just stop that kind of thinking. Once you force yourself to learn one or two things you start to realize that most everything is easy enough to understand. It is a freeing moment when it strikes you that you can think for yourself without having to ask someone else how to think. I reiterate all the time about how our natures are of two main ones, curiosity and care. In this case our curiosity is crucial and by us using our curiosity to learn we are actually fulfilling a part of our own destiny. It is who we are to think for ourselves, after all we are each just like individual biological data processors using our sensors to input data and then reason, analyze and conclude outcomes. It is only logical.

The will to do what is right (#2858)

     It seems that today in our current American society, we have to be convinced to do what is right. There is so much wrongdoing going on that it has overwhelmed our sense of purpose. Those who continue to escape justice makes it harder for the rest of us to believe that justice is achievable. We are inundated with so much that offends us that we simply let it continue because there is no end to it. Well that is quitting in my book. I don't care how much injustice is going on out there, I will not be party to the silencing of it. I get that it is a tiring proposition to have to continually try to stop the avalanche of disorder benefiting the privileged and advantaged, while disadvantaging the less well off, but the end of it will come when we punish those who are doing it with a heavy hand as to assuage others from following their nefarious footsteps.
     Making examples of a few who need to be made examples of is the answer and it is justifiable and right to fit the punishment in the harshest form to the crime being committed allowed by law. On whole we are better than the carpetbagging privileged and advantaged souls who are unfairly putting themselves and their's above the rest of us. The time for this nonsense of harm and pain to come to an end is this very second. We must make sure that the rule of law is not some product that can be bought and sold. It is a sacred principle of our democracy and for our democracy to stay strong the rule of law must be applicable to all of it's citizens, not just used as a tool to be used when convenient.
     If we don't stop looking at our society as settled we will never move past the troubles it is now inflicting upon us. Our society is being manipulated and if we don't put a stop to it we will lose what we think we have already protected. There are those souls out there who don't care for democratic principles and instead only care about the quality of their own lives. If we don't muster our will toward protecting the rule of law we will find ourselves subject to it in ways we thought were unfathomable.

Recounts in crucial swing states (#2857)

     Hold on just one moment please. The vote in a few swing states is being contested and recounts in at least one has already begun. Now I am not saying that the election will be overturned and a new president elect will be forthcoming. But I do know how republicans are with our vote. They would likely as not be guilty of shifting things to their favor so although it would be difficult it could be done and if so we need to know. Our democracy cannot survive if there was cheating going on and it will survive if we find out it was going on and corrected it. We would then start to fix our elections so that no future contests can be tampered with if there is a case for it.
     I am not going to be partisan here and root for deception. I will wait to see if the election was fair or not and then address the problem. If no problem exists then well and good we need to move forward with the unpopular result and face our new reality, but not until we have shown that that reality is legitimate. If we don't have that transparency with our elections then we fail as a democracy. There is plenty of time to get these recounts done before the process of the electoral college begins and before any nomination happens. So let's get them done and see what we find.
     The doubt that lingers with many of us who saw the pre election polling that didn't jive with the actual election results has been palpable. The idiosyncratic or peculiar nature of how the election ended up is worthy of being investigated in that it is helps all of us understand that if it is the truth then we know how to proceed and if it isn't the truth then we know what must be done to make it right. I for one am tired of being lied to so it is important to me to know that I am not being lied to. My whole life is based upon the truth of democracy and if it is a sham then I know what I must do. If it is a legitimate election then I can only hope that the intelligence factor that allowed such a result somehow improves so that we don't have to go through another anti progressive period again.

The little bit of light at the end of the tunnel is hopeful (#2856)

     It appears that the 3 states that were predicted to be Clinton wins are going to get a recount. I don't have it as official yet but as things stand now it is highly likely. What this does is give us a chance to put the rumors to bed or to expose those rumors as being real. Were votes changed or under counted or over counted, we are hopefully soon to find out. This is how our democracy needs to be, questioning that which seems illogical to make sure that it is correct. We are human and as such nothing can be taken for granted especially our most sacred right within our democracy, our vote. I for one am hoping for the truth. I can accept that outcome regardless of it's effect. What I can't accept is the doubt that can be cleared up and not cleared up.
     I am not here crying over spilled milk, only asking that our votes are verified in several systems that have already shown themselves as being less than reliable. Given that republicans have shown a real distaste for allowing voting to all our citizens who are legally eligible it is not a stretch that some republicans, of the over zealous or devious nature, fudged things enough to sway the election from it's factual course. That will not be tolerated and the only way to make sure that that didn't happen is to recount the votes that are there to be recounted.
     Being on the short end of the stick here is not my only motivation. If we had won and a recount was asked for over the same circumstances it would be logical and with common sense to do a recount. It is our democracy that is at stake here and if some shenanigans have taken place we need to weed that out and produce safeguards that would prevent it in the future. I accept the will of the people even when that will goes contrary to my understanding of humanity, morality and ethics. But first I must be convinced that the will of the people is verifiable and not some culprits version of it. We all count as to our votes and for any vote to have been either changed, discarded or duplicated is not acceptable in this the greatest democracy on the face of the Earth.

Time to just take a break today (#2855)

     I plan on just being today. I will go see my parents for some Turkey and have some easy conversation. I am fortunate to have my Dad and Mom still with me here and it is days like today where we can just sit back and reminisce. I am not one for socializing much so I won't drag out my visit. Holidays are such a non factor with me. I try not to treat any day differently than another because when it all comes down to it each day is special in it's own way. However that being said, I don't often get invited over for Turkey dinner so that is what today is. There is so much going on in the world and I usually have my self inserted into it. Yet not today unless some magnificent thing or catastrophic thing occurs I will be just silent and reflective.
     Today's post will be short and I will end it now with a greeting from me to you and yours and enjoy your day as best and willingly as possible.

Vote tampering by republicans? (#2854)

     It may be that there was some underhanded tactics employed in this election in states that were swing states and run by republican politicians. Now I won't be one of those who claims there is some conspiracy here to elect republicans in a dishonest way but there is some evidence to suggest that may well have happened. First a decade and a half ago, and five years ago republicans instituted their attempt to capture public offices by gerrymandering the districts so that they could hold onto power. Now that in itself is not conclusive evidence as democrats had employed gerrymandering themselves in the past but not as blatant as these last efforts by republicans.
     Next was the republican controlled Supreme Court that gave corporations basically unlimited spending in our elections while giving them a blanket secrecy that keeps the voting public in the dark as to who contributes what. The Supreme Court also gave previously mostly southern states relief from having federal oversight on their voting laws. this opened up new laws for these republican led states to jigger their voting laws making it more difficult for democratic voters in particular to register and actually vote. More evidence to the point. Making it more difficult for citizens of the United States to vote especially, historically, democratic voters is enough to at least consider that republicans are in the business of denying votes where they can in order to keep their party in power.
     So now there is evidence of voting machine tampering that has the eye now of our federal justice system. After all the work republicans have put in to make voting harder it is not a stretch to imagine they have their fingerprints on this tampering as well. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/11/activists-urge-hillary-clinton-to-challenge-election-results.html I am not accusing republicans of going this far to disenfranchise voters but if it is shown that they have, then there should be a national recount and charges filed wherever the evidence leads. The most sacred right in our democracy is our vote which guides our nation toward the will of the people. If it has been sabotaged then a reckoning is in order.

Creativity and innovation will eventually defeat ignorance (#2853)

     This election sucked the soul right out of me. I mean, I was so ready for great things to happen for our society and then we do this to ourselves. By this I mean we make life harder for the less well off and take our modernization progress and halt or abandon it in too many areas. I am perplexed by this but as I am much older now and have less time left in this existence the consequences for me are less than they will be for the adults and children who are younger than I am. Just sitting here thinking about it I shouldn't have been surprised by the outcome of this election. All my life has been filled with empty promises and false hope, yet I do continue to hope and wish for fulfilled promises. That is probably why this hurts so much. We had it within our grasp and literally snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory.
     So not in my lifetime will our society make the leap beyond the fearful creatures we are now of our own shadows. Instead we will remain clutching to our fears as if they were a security blanket. I had hoped we were beyond the myths, mores and superstitions of our antiquity but it is shown that we here in America are not. There is a silver lining though and will likely happen not too far off in the future. Creativity and innovation will continue to happen and with it the burgeoning knowledge that we are truly the masters of this reality if we choose to be. It is all about being courageous or being cowards. I know both of these experiences and the one I have chosen to have rule over my life is courage.
     So despite the huge setback our American society just took, the way forward is not diminished just delayed. It is sad to me though that so many will be unnecessarily harmed and punished because we chose cowardice over courage. I am not the architect of existence but I had hoped that my time here would have been more fruitful in helping to eliminate the scourge of oppression and inequality. Yet maybe to some real small degree I have helped but surely not enough to satisfy this older man who is now watching the exponential regression of our American progress since I first became aware.

No acceptance nor resignation in the face of disappointment (#2852)

     Something we democrats are not proud of but we do anyway, is accept the worst of what happens to us with a resignation instead of a battling will. It seems we are more likely to back off a fight in order to preserve some idea of peace when our actual peace is being destroyed all around us. It is sad to think that we only can fight until we hit some obstacle and then we acquiesce. Well, I am not like that. I will not accept nor resign myself to an outcome that has defied my own logic and I am as objective as anyone. So the battle continues since there are still procedures we can try to shape that may constitutionally change the minority popular vote victory into a defeat as it should be in a true democracy.
     However in our democratic party there are too many of us who point fingers at each other as to call out blame instead of the true instigators of our demise and the demise of our democracy. The voter suppression in republican controlled states was unprecedented this election cycle and affected the outcome in the crucial swing states under the paternal electoral college system. So blaming other democrats for not winning while not screaming from the top of their lungs about voter suppression is part of the problem as well.
     However the real culprit here is the decision by our less than supreme court to allow for mostly unlimited private spending in our elections. That coupled with our less than supreme court's ability to define truth in advertising in a more specific way through logical and common sense tests has allowed for smear campaigns in historic numbers that not only confuse and demoralize our voting public, nearly half of us didn't even bother to vote in this general election, but it allows for the wealthy and their specific donors to dominate the election process with their narrative as to what facts and truth are. So my personal self will not quit in the battle to rectify our national voting rights and in the process rebuild our national standing among true democratic nations.

Now they open their eyes! (#2851)

     Already we are hearing those who voted for republican Trump that they are worried that they will lose their benefits due to his cutting of social programs. Where the hell was their attention before they voted? Do they just vote without thinking and disregard knowing why? I, as a at least average educated person have never felt the need to just follow along as others so that somehow I feel accepted by them. I could care less about being accepted by anyone, except some woman I am in love with. Everyone else doesn't matter to me a bit how they feel about me. As long as I feel good about what I do and think that is all that matters. At least I am an objective person who will listen to a better way to get things done but I start from knowing where the hell I am on the issues.
     So either their vote for Trump was out of some loyalty to the republican party or their fear of being shamed by their neighbors/friends, which should be odd since it is a secret ballot, or they are just ignorant as to why they are voting and instead vote on the flashy catch phrases being delivered by those candidates who have no real good positions on the things we really know are important. Why does it have to be this way? We were so close to having the reality of a liberal court where we could have instituted campaign finance reform among many other progressive policies where the candidates would be left with no choice but to be honest and talk about the issues instead of flooding the airwaves with attacks that are mostly untrue.
     Is this our reality going forward? We don't ever learn our lessons until after it is too late? I suppose that I am grateful that any learning is being done but the frustrating part is that that learning is too little too late. We will have to put up with a complete reversal of decades of progressive and modern gains in order to get to the next election where hopefully the pain of voting republican will have left a indelible mark on the minds of those who need to put their needs and the needs of the majority of their fellow countrymen/women first and not just blindly follow and vote for the latest noisy, shiny object.

No niceties to the intentionally bad (#2850)

     I have heard this meme going around that we should just get on with our lives after this stunning election and accept the outcome regardless of how much it appalls us. Well I won't be one of those who forwards that proposition. The most cunning and egregious human being we have seen so far in politics has won our presidency and for that I am ashamed for his success. So let it be known I will never allow myself to acquiesce my principles in any inappropriate way in order to maintain a sense of  decorum. In other words, Trump gets no niceties from me. Not even a handshake in meeting. What he will get if I ever meet him face to face is a glare that could cut the life out of a whole planet, as that is about the equivalence he is aiming to do to us.
     He gets nothing from me but my animosity and my will to see him fail at every turn in his misogynist, racist, immoral life. That goes for those who are willing to surround themselves with him. They are by association exposing their lack of honor and worthy principles. So they by extension get that which I have for Trump as an equal deserve. I am not normally like this because I believe in giving people second chances to understand and change their ways when applicable. But not now for people who are hell bent on ruining the lives of those they can for the sake of their own and their associates fears as well as their pocketbooks and bank accounts.
     The kind of person I am is being tested and in no way will I give wrongdoers a pass. They will hear me out from the depths of my being as to their raunchy and despicable vision for our future. I have tried to be more like a class act than a drunken sailor but it seems that the drunken sailor approach and the language it entails is exactly what is needed in this unreal and loathsome time. To my friends and like minded individuals all care to respectability will be shown but you may count on this, not to those whose intent is to take our great society and make it a hellscape.

Much worse than nonsense is coming (#2849)

     Well hell has frozen over. Our political world here in America is the makings of a very sad tale. I cannot imagine what our future holds here except to worry that 240 years of progress are about to come to a halt if not worse. There are too many of we citizens who are incapable of learning truths about our own selves and about life in general. History has taught us some horrible lessons yet it seems that history is foreign to too many who show they have no clue about it. I am an American and never in my life have I felt so terrible about what it means. We elected a misogynist, alleged rapist, money grubber as our president. I cannot tell you how much this action has ripped at all that is decent and fair about me.
     I know I am not alone as the majority of voters did not vote for him yet due to the archaic paternal system of the electoral college we didn't get the candidate with the majority vote. Instead we got a shell of a man who is more deceitful and dishonest than any other candidate that has ever been nominated and elected from any political party. I imagine it is the lack of education by too many of us that has allowed this to happen because nothing short of us being horrible people explains it. I am sad to say that there is no apology I can give that is going to make up for what is coming and what is going to have an effect on the whole world.
     Our new president will be a destroyer of progress. he will take from the many and give to the few. Which few is of course the wealthy. Times are going to be devastating for many and no one who is not wealthy will be immune. The world will suffer because war is a strategy republicans employ to make money. They care little about loss of life for their financial gains and if cannon fodder will pad their pocketbooks and bank accounts then so be it. So who will be the enemy that justifies the no bid contracts to the military industrial machine controlled by the wealthy? Will it be Iran? Will it be anyone who makes the mistake of standing up for something right that our next president is against? It is coming and for that I can only work to stop it while hanging my head in shame for what my fellow countrymen/women have done.

First a cloud and then a tree (#2848)

     Like a cloud or a piece of driftwood, the first part of my life was dream like and although I was adding to my knowledge base reasonably well I had no real tether to anything specific. Instead I kind of floated through life like a cloud and drifted like the driftwood through the stream of life. There are many reasons for this path I took but mainly it was the realization that the best of what I thought possible never seemed to be able to happen. Like all the pieces of the puzzle, although there, couldn't find their way to the whole picture being completed. I was demoralized by the lesser always being chosen when the better was there for us. So there I went, drifting through time and space in no particular hurry to get anywhere again.
     Then I decided that floating and drifting were not enough for me. There was too much inside me that had to get out and the only way it could was for me to become even more informed. I planted myself like a tree and began the earnest in depth study of my inner passionate drive. Filling my memory with knowledge both new and objective. Combined with what I had already learned I began to feel the presence of myself in a more profound way. I could make conversation on the subject of my study and argue and debate a more complete response to the truthful facts of reality. I began the process of knowing what I was talking about.
     Knowing what I was talking about is different than just talking from someone else's point of view. I wasn't a carrier of others' imaginations and creativity, I was my own source of reason, analyzing and concluding. When I had the basic facts of my passion as a foundation, there was nothing that my mind couldn't separate out from the noise of obstruction or confusion. I was a source of information, not just a messenger of it. This is where my humble wisdom comes from, knowing of what I am talking or debating about. I am not perfect nor the wisest around yet it is what I strive for when it comes to being able to understand that which matters the most to me. Metaphorically I am now a tree, with roots that go deep and a trunk that can hold many branches and leaves to help sustain life where needed.

My conscious and subconscious (#2847)

     These are two separate but intricately intertwined dimensions that I exist within. First my conscious is the one where I am aware of every second of every day. I go through my rituals or processes if you will and think about those movements as they occur. The second, my subconscious is where I live in the bigger picture. Where my rituals or processes are mapped out in the order of their sequence. In my mind, I pop in and out of my subconscious to make sure I am on my schedule. Clinically, I may not have this correct in proper definitive terms, but in practice it is how I live. Both are products of my known nature and the decision I made long ago to be a good person. Despite the benefits of not being a good person, I know sounds strange right? I am much more comfortable with a smile on my face then an undeserved bulging wallet or a trail of discounted remorse and guilt.
     I learned long ago that feeling right and good inside is priceless and every thing else in place of that falls too far short. It is why I advocate so hard for us to be an intelligent society so that we can harness the goodness we all have within us and utilize it together to form a much greater paradigm of reality for all of us to live in. It may sound naive to think that we can let go of greed and selfishness but really, it is all about choice which all of us individually have despite any circumstance we may be in. I know that fear is huge in our individual makeups but fear too often is just the lack of will to fight for ourselves.
     Not that fear ever goes away, because even when I fight for myself I have a modicum of fear within me but I choose to ignore it and battle for the better. Often fear is so overwhelming that it can physically freeze me to no action at all but even then I force myself to move past it by acting one step at a time. For my subconscious to remain my overall plan I must continue to live in my conscious state of living every second of every day with my mind not wandering off from who I am and what I am doing. I am human and I am better than what I have been so far.

This existence has so many possibilites (#2846)

     We may not stay here long in life but we can get things done somewhat reasonably well. However we also can move backwards in ways that defy logic and common sense. There is the rub, given our ability to have created civilizations from our first meager beginnings it is mind numbing how having moved so far toward being enlightened beings we are confounded to revert to discarding that and settling for being who we were in the past just to survive. Our societies are structured to eliminate the need to have to go to a survival of the fittest revival. Yet we undercut our efforts in the past to improve our society so that we can revert back to a more animal state then the modern, intellectually based one we have already. I can only assume it is fear that keeps us from evolving toward greater human beings.
     Somewhere in our collective psyche we have altered our idea of what a future could be. I wonder if we are even capable of envisioning a future society that doesn't have the ills we purport to presently re-embrace. I am confounded in the worst way as to our species and it's disruptive drive toward a modern future. I can only hope that long after I have left this sphere and plane of existence that a more mature and logical society will grow out of the mess we currently are. I had hoped for a greater movement from us but it seems that my hopes at this time are unfounded. Yet it is in my soul that we are still better than what we are showing. I know we are deep down inside.
     So the rest of life will go on and whether I am here or not doesn't mean that others won't pick up any slack I may leave and help carry our species forward into a future that doesn't carry the ills of hatred, racism, privilege and advantage. Merit has always been the hallmark of a righteous democracy and we have strayed far from the intent of democracy in this area. It doesn't matter what I think about how our future will play out so much as it matters to me how much time we have wasted while I was here not moving us forward. I apologize to our species for not being more of a stalwart warrior who pressed our cause for a better society to emerge. Remember, this blog is based upon the conclusion that we have two main instincts as to who we are, our curiosity and our care. When we live in those two we are an amazing species and worthy of advancing beyond any and all petty differences.

The decline of Modern Intellectual Civilization is at our doorstep (#2845)

     I really don't think I need to say much about this subject as to proofs or arguments of persuasion. It is as evident to me as surely it is to even those who are not sure but know it in their bones. We seem to be unable as a major society on this planet to move beyond our fears and pettiness. Where logic and common sense dictate a course of behavior and action, we discount that in favor of some illusory nostalgia that is so unreal yet defended as fact. I am not sure why we are so cowed but it is within all of us to know better than to hate, lie or cheat. Why would we choose negativity if we had a chance to move beyond it? I don't know but I am disappointed in the whole of my species for our inability to conceptualize what could be over what scares us.
     I know we are better than that yet we fail to prove it when the proving time comes. I won't call us perpetual cowards but I will call us lacking in the will to be bold and courageous. We would rather live under the yoke than to throw it off and say, no more! Is life such a desired thing when it has such restraints? We ourselves have the choice yet we can't even get past our own fears. It is a disheartening experience not to be able to leap through the restraints and into such modernization that we could have. I know we are all capable but somehow we have decided that we are not worthy or others are not worthy or some such nonsense. Our lives are lived within a time frame that is very short, given my own experience with it. I was just a child a moment ago it seems and now I am near the end of my lifespan.
     Why do I urge and cajole us to let our fears go and embrace the future like it demands of us? Regardless of what our species does the future will come and whether we choose to understand and shape it or just be a servant to it doesn't really matter if what our species is capable of is not a factor to be considered. The rocks and trees and lesser species on Earth here will follow along no matter what the Universe does, but we humans are able to at least adjust to what may come and get out ahead of what we know will come. We have that ability yet we choose to not utilize the one positive attribute we have. Back to why? I suppose it is because we don't care or we are afraid. Either way it is not what we are capable of nor what we should be doing.

I have been doing this because I care (#2844)

     I have thought recently, during our shared disappointment time, that maybe it is time to let the daily blog go and instead only write occasionally or not at all. It does seem practical in that the life has been sucked out of me because of the election results here in America. I mean if I keep writing about hope and we keep doing what we did collectively as a nation then my message of shared community is falling well short of an effective mark. So not only is my message of hope falling short but my spirit itself has been crushed by my fellow countrymen who would rather reward the worst of who we are instead of better or the best of who we are. I am only human so it is difficult to reinvigorate myself when I have been so thoroughly crushed.
     Now I know there are some out there who would say "come on Carl, it is a setback but we can overcome this", and I would halfheartedly agree. Yet my soul is tired. There is a wound there that has torn me in a way that can only be described as nearly fatal. Now don't get me wrong, I still enjoy the idea of writing about the best of who we are but the sense that it is not enough is real. However, all that being said, I cannot think what it would be like to give up on anything that has such potential and value to all of us. Not my daily writings but my hope for all of our hopes and dreams. I am not a quitter even when my soul is so wounded and I am exhaustively tired of the failures.
     I know others in life have endured much harsher realities and fates and I must continue to see that although the best of me is being tested I am so fortunate to be here just deciding whether to do something or not. I get the perspective in a comprehensive way and if I cannot find the silver lining in things so that I can rebuild my energies and recapture the hubris I have for our species then I will have failed as a human being, not just as an advocate for us. Like the title of this post declares, I do this because I care and the care has not left me in any questionable way.

Being who you are (#2843)

     What is that anyway? How do I know who I am? Well, generally, first consider how you feel not only about yourself but others as well. Do you care about other people or are you satisfied with only caring about yourself. That will tell whether you are generous of spirit or self centered. Second, do you want to know the who's what's why's how's and where's about all of this existence that we inhabit? If so, then you are open minded, bold and curious enough to move toward the answers. If you are not curious enough about the questions of life then you are unadventurous and comfortable with things being as they are most agreeable to you. In other words you are just a life, marking time instead of actually living life within time.
     There is enough information there to give you a clue to who you are. Of course there are many more specific questions you can ask yourself but those are more of a personal nature and require you to be honest with yourself. Now if you have a problem living life in honesty and truth without bias then there are deeper problems that need to be addressed professionally. But most of us are aware that truth and honesty are paradigms that tell us the most about ourselves. I can look into the mirror and ask myself a question without anyone else hearing and know that whatever I say back to my question out loud is the real me, whether the answer is yes, no, maybe or I don't know. I can be honest with myself because life is short and there is no time for being dishonest.
     So once you have a good clue as to who you are without fear if what others think, which is not easy by the way, then you are ready to define the parameters of your life. You are ready to choose who you want to be around, including whether to have old friends or family continue to absorb your time, or disassociate and find new friends who share your values. I will reiterate this one more time, life is short. It seems like I was just a young boy full of hope and dreams just yesterday and now I find myself in my 7th decade. It is your life and only you can define how to live it, so do that!

The fear of intelligence (#2842)

     It is not natural to want to be uninformed. There is another word for that, cowardice. When we are informed we are able to make decisions about our own lives that allow us to live in a society that respects all people's right to choose the path of their lives. No one should ever be denied their right to choose their path to happiness because they are informed. Yet fear makes many decide to interfere in the lives of others because they choose to remain in an ignorant state. I used cowardice to describe a desire to remain ignorant and I say that because fear is what keeps them from trying to expand their comprehensive knowledge. They choose the comfort of what works for them despite the fact of the discomfort it puts on others to conform to their view of the world. They use force to achieve their goal of remaining ignorant to maintain their sheltered lifestyle.
     Working to maintain the status quo of a lifestyle that has already changed is what propels them to their disdain for intelligence. They cannot see that change is what life is all about and instead cling to the notion that nothing should change from the, quote, "good old days". Yet they deceive themselves by their very behavior. The "good old days" is a myth of their imagination. Already they have incorporated what they want from modern innovation and have somehow declined to admit that they are changing. What is worse is that they do not recognize that they live in fear. The fear that is behind every outburst or joke they make about others. They are afraid to look themselves in the mirror and ask the most important question of their lives, who am I?
     They are afraid of the answer so they continue to try to live a facade of who they want others to think they are. It is a duplicitous thing they do to themselves, not only for their own happiness but for the happiness of those around them. Intelligence is a tool to help us move forward into the change that is occurring whether we admit it or not. So when we are thrust backwards away from change we are only denying ourselves the logic of reality and being a major force within it. How sad for us!

Man who was a dope (#2841)

     This right here is my confession to being too optimistic about the future of our society here in America. I had no doubt that the bright future I and so many others could see would win the election day. I was wrong and oh how wrong was I. Not only did we liberal progressives not win the presidency or the senate but now the destructive republicans control the White House and Congress and are about to establish their harsh conservative nature on our Supreme Court. It is the nightmare scenario I had not given one single thought to be able to happen because of it's cruel and brutish reality. So I was "gut punched" by the result when it came about.
     It is not so much a personal agenda for myself that I fight so hard for a liberal progressive vision of modernity, It is for the children of our society of which I am not a contributor. So I only have the reason of nobility and honor in my quest for a better life for all. I am near the end of my life expectancy so there is no ulterior motive or selfishness on my part for my thoughts and actions. I do this because I know it is right and good despite so many who cannot grasp it's logic. What this election has shown is that there are many of my fellow countrymen and women who do not share my principles of integrity being rewarded and bad behavior being punished. It is quite the opposite as the election results prove.
     That gut punched feeling I have is because I care so much about the possibilities our species possess and instead of embracing that paradigm we have instead just spit on it. We are, at our best, most magnificent creatures and with a proper future laid out for us an unlimited one as to what we can think and do. Yet our society here in America has chosen to belay that vision for one that is harsh and brutish in a most punishing way to enlightenment and to ourselves personally on most all levels except for the wealthy. Our nation now will be heading toward a very dark and dangerous period that I cannot with any confidence say will have a future to hope for.

Fear beat the crap out of intelligence (#2840)

     I have learned over the years what it is like to be punched in the gut or have everything stolen from me. This election result is similar to both of those feelings at the same time. At first I wanted to do nothing. Even stop posting daily blogs because it seems that despite being honest with the Universe I still get the crap beat out of me by those who are more afraid of life than they are of just living it. But then after a few hours it dawns on me that it isn't just me that had this happen to them, there were nearly 58 million of us who also feel some sense of loss and or pain. But one thing I have learned about my own life is that whenever I had been beaten down into a pulp, I had found a way to rise back up and fight again another day.
     My little setbacks in life cannot even be measured by the more than 300 years the African American race had endure until finally enough intelligence prevailed to win a war to free them from slavery. Nothing in life worth having will ever come easy so fighting even after being whupped is the only course if a final victory is ever going to be achieved. That is little salve now but I know through my own past experiences that it is the way forward. So I will set back and heal from this gut wrenching pummeling and prepare myself for the next opportunity for intelligence to engage and defeat fear.
     In the meantime we are in for a lot of setbacks in the battle for liberal and progressive democratic ideals. The era of a new beginning toward a more enlightened society has now paused or stumbled and the immediate future must play out to it's end. I accept that many will be harmed and I accept that may will die. I will not accept the blame for it though, fear gets that distinction. Those who voted for the regression that is about to come down on all of our heads need to look no further than the mirror to find each and everyone of the souls that caused this to happen because they live in fear and not in courage. I got my ass kicked by cowards driven by hate and it makes me even more ready to fight back.

It is like early Christmas morning (#2839)

     I got out of bed early this morning because there was no way I was going back to sleep knowing that today is the day we get to find out what our votes will do. I have heard the nonsense about voting is just voting for tyranny and doesn't accomplish anything. I had to scratch my head to see if I could make sense of that false premise and conclusion but the scratching didn't help. I tried to explain to a couple of illogical folks that not voting was actually tyranny but they were lost down the rabbit hole. Anyway, back to the rest of us who took the time to be involved in our elections to decide the future course our politics will take our society, today is the culmination of our efforts to become informed and to advocate for the positions we have taken. Later this evening the first returns will be coming in and all the possibilities of how the vote is going will emerge.
     I know this much, I will be on the edge of my seat on my computer watching for the signs that our liberal/progressive ideals are coming out on top. Like I said right now is like Christmas morning in the sense that I am so excited to see how much we Democrats can gain as leaders in our society and in the hearts of the electorate. I am getting older and the longer I am alive the more I long to see a better world that celebrates democracy like we are all family. I have had enough in my life of the divisiveness and survival of the fittest mindset from the angry and greedy wealthy and their acolytes. I have had in my lifetime enough of that disappointment and failure.
     So today from this morning on I am in complete happy mode. I know that our society longs for a better structure so that all of us can advance through life based upon merit and good will and not through privilege and advantage. This evening it won't be like Christmas morning but instead like the all the big games ever played rolled into one. The anticipation, to use a metaphor, for our team to win and win going away is palpable. I have all my chores about done and the only thing I have much left to do is to contain my excitement and enjoy the ticking of the clock as it approaches the final moments before we start to get the figures in on how well we will do not only as a political party but as Americans in a much larger world.

The day before the reckoning (#2838)

     For me today is like a holiday. After almost 2 years of trying like hell to convince our American electorate that the liberal/progressive vision of our nation is the right way to go we finally are on the threshold of deciding it. Most all the arguments have been made and remade, the dirty tricks coming mostly from republican operatives have been played out and the truth of how each party will effect the future of our lives and our children's is here, The time is upon us to make up our minds as to who to vote for and what policies we want. This is it folks, tomorrow the votes will be cast and tallied and the results will be known shortly thereafter. Today is a day for taking a breath and looking around us to see what we can still do to bring about the best chance for modernity to continue and improve.
     I always think back to Plato's "Allegory of the Cave", which is a chapter in his book "The Republic". Will we stay in the cave and live our lives thinking that the shadows on the wall are reality or will we take off our blinders and crawl out of the cave and see the sun and the sky for what it truly is. Life as shadows or life as a sunny day. The story is an ancient one but it is relevant today. We can either accept that the wealthy are due more privilege and advantage within our democracy then we are or we can demand that all receive equal and fair opportunity. Wealth is a by product of commerce, not a by product of democracy. I do not begrudge the wealthy their ability to purchase commodities but I do begrudge them buying our democracy.
     Tomorrow evening we will know for sure whether the wealthy will continue to own the process of government in a most unfair way or tomorrow evening we will know that we the mass majority of non-wealthy have just as much right to have our government work for us as it already does work for the wealthy. Today though is that final moment just before the decision is about to be determined and all of us who believe that the integrity of our democracy is more important than the destruction of it are anxiously waiting to see that our efforts to improve our society have come to fruition.

The storm and now the calm (#2837)

     Much ado about nothing to quote one of my favorite authors, William Shakespeare. The political storm created out of thin air has passed and now the sun is shining again the sky is blue with big puffy white clouds. The republican hit job orchestrated by a republican dupe heading the FBI has shown itself to be a childish attack on Hillary in order to conjure up an atmosphere of doubt and mistrust about her. Well it worked for about a week until everyone realized that there was only the illusion of smoke and not a hint of fire. I am on a metaphorical roll this morning. :) Anyway back to the storm that wasn't we witnessed the old saw about how a lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can even put it's pants on.
     Well once the truth got it's pants on the lie was exposed and most of it's deception exposed as a feeble attempt to hide the strategy of republicans of not having any policies that help the working middle poor class. However the lie does still permeate with some folks who would rather believe the lie than admit the truth. It has something to do with racism, sexism or just plain meanness but whatever it is it needs to stop. Life is too short for all this nonsense to be part of our lives. We need policies that make us all more advanced and able to explore and discover the mysteries of our Universe.
     We live in this existence yet know little about it. That infuriates my sensibilities and requires of me to fight for any creative enlightenment beyond the old antiquities of myth, mores and superstitions. The calm we are in now is the refreshing that is needed for us to reload our mindset and muster our strength to forge a new future based upon innovative knowledge and intuition guided creativity. Our species deserves nothing less than to operate our senses in a way that is efficient and useful. Our minds crave to know what we don't and the time right now, this threshold in time and space, is ours for the taking and what a wonderful time to do that taking then in the calm after the storm.

Life is good when you are honest (#2836)

     I remember learning my lesson at about 8 or 9 years old of the difference between lying through life or just telling the truth. I say this because when I was younger I thought I could manipulate my way through just about anything because I was so smart back then. lol. What I came to find out though is that the more lies I told the more complicated my memory had to be to remember which lies I told whom and when. It became a real problem when my old lies didn't match up with my new lies. I had a real dilemma on my hands. How to finagle out of the deceptive web of lies I had created. Of course I was caught several times and had to admit it because although I knew I was a liar, I also knew that logic when applied, always overruled my lies when caught. I did have an ethical/moral standard attached to my deceptions.
     So after being totally embarrassed several times and called out to others through gossip and natural conversation, my tendency to lie to put it mildly, I decided to stop lying. The reason I was lying in the first place was because I felt inadequate. I learned shortly thereafter that we all feel inadequate and that it wasn't just me. So I stopped lying and started instead to just tell it like it is and accept my shame if I was wrong or just be truthful and move on to the next circumstance or situation. A relief came over me for not having to carry the burdens of the lies I had told. I was freed up to just live life instead of trying to manipulate it.
     What has been constant for me is knowing that when I tell the truth of something it stays with me and there is no problem with remembering what I said or did in any comprehensive or complicated way. Being honest is natural and there isn't any thought that has to be given to keep it clear in my mind. That is how life becomes good. Not only am I living in the truth of things I am not burdened by deception or inadequacies. I am just me traveling around the solar system on this planet with the rest of us trying to find peace and happiness for not only myself but for all my fellow travelers.

From Obama to Clinton, the promise of modernity continues (#2835)

     President Obama took over as our president when our national economy was in free fall losing about 800,000 jobs a month while the Dow Jones was at a low mark similar to that of the Great Depression. Yet President Obama strongly defended protecting American institutions of wealth generation and growth and brought us back from the brink of financial ruin. He did this with little to no help from the republican party which was adamant in it's pledge to not help our President create an atmosphere of success for us or himself. Their reckless strategy to keep our nation in financial straights was a higher priority to them than to help the hundreds of millions of us who were devastated by the Wall Street and Main Street meltdown.
     We only need to remember this to have every right in the world to never elect a Republican to political office again, but like a lot of things here in America too many of us have short attention spans in conjunction with a "me first" mentality. Yet despite all the efforts of the worst politically representative party in modern history the rest of us prevailed behind the strong leadership of Democrat President Obama. Things have improved more slowly because Republicans have been so flagrantly disruptive, but improve they have. We are now on course to create the largest work force in our history with improving job opportunities.
     That will be the challenge of our next president which will be Democrat Hillary Clinton. She gets it like President Obama before her that when we work to improve the lives of those around us we actually help ourselves. From new creation to new alternatives for ourselves and our planet's survival, our future for living here on Earth and reaching out to the stars is enhanced immeasurably. We Democrats get it, we all deserve a chance to make a wonderful life for ourselves and those around us and as our Declaration of Independence reminds us, a pursuit of happiness as well.

Intentionally harming is not naturally human (#2834)

     For some reason too many of our species doesn't seem to care that they are harming others by the choices they make. I suppose they justify it by telling themselves that they come first and if others get hurt then too bad. Well I am not one of those. I can take enough care of myself as a proud human that I would never intentionally harm someone else to get something for myself. If anything I am of the nature to help others get things before helping myself. I choose to have the pride of honor and nobility within me because I recognize that those qualities are what bring me peace. By taking care for others I am actually taking care of myself. A little nugget of wisdom I picked up in a self help group.
     I am not one of those who needs material things or prestige of accolade to be able to justify to myself that I am worthy. I already know I am worthy by my never ending quest to be an honorable person. That is what I offer to reality and this existence. It is the best of what I am and nothing less. So for me to see all this, me first and uncaring for others around me is disturbing and unnatural. How too many within our society got to the point of the survival of the fittest mentality is more than alarming, it reminds me of the book William Golding, "Lord of the Flies". Where the worst of our natures is displayed through fear and bullying power.
     That is not the type of people I expect to live with here in my birth country America. I expect that most of us would be willing to make our society work to help all of us so that none of us is left desperate or alone. Fear should not be a factor in whether we can associate together. Bullying power should not be allowed to rise up and overcome those who are less strong and able. For the life of me, I cannot fathom our nation being run by a man who would stomp out that which helps us come together while celebrating that which abhors and demeans. I may have been born here and love this chunk of dirt our forefathers/mothers fashioned for us but if it is to be quashed and turned into a melee where chaos and indifference rule then I will move on where the not intentionally harming is the rule not the exception.

Why I want our species to survive (#2833)

     First let me begin by saying I have no children. There are some out there who would use that as a factor in why I might want our species to survive so to them I say "I have no metaphorical dog in the hunt". I am for species survival because of what I have felt and seen. Our species is amazing, not only from my own experience but from the myriad examples I have been witness to and come to know. the whole question of species survival came about again recently when I was talking about Elon Musk and his plans to move us out beyond the Earth. One of the motivations of his and many of us who think like him is that our species has a better chance to survive if we are not all centrally located here on Earth.
     But someone posed a question as to whether it mattered. That the human species being eliminated would be just as acceptable. I have been thinking on that perspective for some time and being objective and honest with myself I have had to come up with counter arguments for our survival. Many times over the years I have brought up the fact that we humans are biological data processors of a unique kind. We control ourselves as to how we are to utilize our abilities and when and where and with whom. Our abilities of reasoning, analyzing and concluding are boundless and give us not only the capability to input not only old data but new data as well. It is this particular feature that separates us from machines and lesser species'. Our memories are both short term and long term and given our interlocking nature of the two we are comprehensive in our knowledge if we so choose.
     We are also a formidable physical being capable of manipulations that are not otherwise available to other known species. And beyond that we have a sense of morality and ethics that guide us in our adventure through time and space. There is much more we can be and do and for any of that to not be in existence would be a shame and a waste to this existence. We are better off being alive in our Universe than not being here at all as the qualities we now possess are most unusual and quite useful in this massive void that has little else to entertain on par with humanity.

A simple song triggered an incredible insight (#2832)

     I was thinking of a song that came out when I was young and like so many songs in my youth was powerful and full of life like myself. My younger growing years were the best of times in my mind but the assassins put an end to the triumph we felt was coming. What the loss of our leaders back then did was leave us in disarray and without a clear direction. but I think about that and it reminds of Dr. King's, "The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice" quote. It may take generations or centuries or a week for the liberal democratic policies of equality, justice and fairness to become universal in our society but it will come despite the wealthy and their attempts to keep the status quo.
     The song is one of many that I hear and then am transported back to that time where my youth and vigor were it's strongest. I may still have my mind and my big heart and what is left of my strong body but the ravages of physics through time have taken the best edge of it from me. But my mind and my heart are as relentless in my hope for a better life for all of us. Much time may pass and billions of souls will never know what life could have been like had not a few greedy cowards paid for their way through treachery and death. Yet like Dr. King said, our time will come and although we may never see it we still fight for it like it will be coming today.
     It is unique how a simple tune from a time of awakening in my youth can turn my mind back to the best of who we were and still are. The vibrations in life have their way whether we recognize them or not. No amount of skillful deception or illusion will ever pass for doing the best and right thing in the end. So the next time I sit down and listen to a tune from my youth just know that it isn't just some nostalgic event to while away my time. Instead it is a reminder of what should have been had not the ilk of our worst behavior been allowed to have it's way.