The difference between Democrats and Republicans (#2485)

As I watch the presidential and congressional election process heading into 2016 one thing has become crystal clear. Democrats are talking about the positive nature of our species and Republicans are talking about the negative nature of our species. So with Democrats it is about attracting our hopes and dreams for a better world by activating policies that actually move us forward with finding solutions to shrink poverty, create more work for our workforce and establish a better quality of life we all should have as a default. Whereas with Republicans, it is them talking about how they can restrict our rights, segregate our populace through intimidation and fear, while arguing among themselves who can be the worst humanitarian. Democrats want universal voter registration throughout the country, while Republicans want to make voting harder for the poor, students, elderly and transient among us. Democrats want to create work through national work projects that tackle our crumbling infrastructure and reinvent our energy and communication systems. Republicans are against any national works programs and their failure to produce legislation for rebuilding America is the de facto evidence. Democrats want to raise the standard of living for workers given that capitalists rarely are the ones concerned with quality of life issues when their bottom line is affected. Republicans want to protect the capitalists bottom line and actually legislate to destroy worker's rights by ousting unions, eliminating collective bargaining and eliminating the "minimum wage". Democrats want to give women equality with men as a rule not a privilege. Republicans want to keep women in a "less than man" status despite the conflict with the founding principles of our constitution. After you have filtered out all the rhetoric from this coming election remember that Democrats actually represent the working/middle/poor in our country and Republicans do not. Vote accordingly.

Right wing dirty energy owners and the Republican party (#2484)

Why is it that the dirty energy owners are all in for the Republican party? Because they were invested so deeply into dirty energy that they condescended that despite their opportunities to invest in clean energy they would force their dirty energy upon us regardless. This is who the Republican party represents. Why is it that the NRA are all in for the Republican party? Because the NRA are supported by the same dirty energy suppliers that could care less about safety and common sense when it comes to gun ownership, and instead condescend to put our citizenry at risk in order to wedge an issue of discord aimed at logical Democrats. Why is it that education is not considered a priority with the Republican party? Because those same dirty energy owners like the fact that the less intelligent our citizenry is the more we are dependent on them and therefore the dirty energy owners can condescend to pay us less and less for more and more production and ultimately profit. Why is it that healthcare is being attacked by Republicans as a waste and wrongful use of government? Because the dirty energy owners can't have social programs that unite us because we being united is a direct threat to the dirty energy owners. Dirty energy owners can't condescend to us if we have some power. They are forced to treat us with less contempt since we are then able to control some of the overall narrative. This is why the Republican party is going after the other social programs that unite us like Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, Food Stamps, Unemployment and Veterans Benefits. These social programs take power away from the Republican party and their dirty energy owners who control Republicans. It is all very clear if you can just try to see who is making national policy for the working/middle/poor class and who is making policy for the wealthy and powerful. It is time for all of us to decide which side we are on. There is no more time from committing to a future since all of our futures are being decided right now!

Life would be so much better for everyone if Democrats had the political power here in America (#2483)

Yes, even the 1%ers would be doing better. Surely they would be paying higher taxes but their quality of life would be one of respect, not like it currently is as one of disrespect because of their greed. The rest of us 99%ers would have a better economic environment with higher minimum wages, more work available through jobs programs and easier access to education to enlighten ourselves and improve our lot in life. Access to health care and voting would be universal, retirement benefits would be gauged upon real cost of living formulas that are directly linked to older age spending and costs. Homelessness would be addressed not only for our veterans of the military but for our overall population. Immigration reform would be achieved in a common sense way that values the effort of all who would be Americans or transitional workers between our nations. Our public schools would be funded at levels that account for modernization in order to better educate our children and adults to the ever growing technological boom that is part of all the modern industries. There would be laws that uphold the rights of all citizens to be equal in every respect of endeavor that does no harm to anyone else. Women would receive the same pay for the same work as men. Women would also have control over the functions of their bodies as they rightly should have. Elections would be made as easy as possible for all to participate without special rules for the wealthy to dominate the narrative. I could go on for a lot longer about how our society would operate better with Democrats in control but I generally limit myself to a word count on each of these posts. Suffice it to say, with Democrats in control, there would be serious folks working on our most troublesome problems to find the most effective solutions that do the greatest good. I for one remain hopeful that Democrats can get back into the leadership of all the most important political positions.

Bullies need to be confronted (#2482)

Whether these bullies are children bullying other children or Republicans trying to force the rest of us to adhere to their ideas of inequality, segregation and lessening of our inherent rights as Americans, or the world's bullies trying to scare us from stopping them on their quest to dominate the world through force, we must always stand up to them. At all levels we are faced with decisions that effect who we are as individuals and as a society of humans. It is important that we maintain our dignity and our honored principles at every turn. I have not always been this stalwart but I have learned that not standing up is a fate worse than any perceived or actual threat at the moment. Come what may is my motto now when faced with a bully. I will not tolerate being ordered around by anyone who takes my life or others' lives for granted. Bullies are just cowards who need to be shut down however possible. Our world has enough work to do just to maintain equality let alone increase it and for any bully to come along and divert us with fear from our duty to make our world better than when we found it will and shall not be tolerated for any second beyond that step to rebuff and put it down. There are many challenges our world needs to address with as many of us as possible involved in finding the solutions. Bullies are not part of that and instead they represent what is wrong with our society as a constant reminder. The quicker we quash the bullies from being at all successful the quicker we get back to facing our real problems like poverty and a broken education system. One could actually make the correlation that bullies are spawned from our inability to address our most inhumane practices. However, bullies have chosen a path forward that gets no sympathy from me unless they are willing to express and then act in a humbled remorseful way. There is redemption for any of us as long as we draw a breath but notwithstanding a turnaround, bullies must meet their end at bullying no matter how hard it is to stand up to them.

Poverty, despair and suffering are our problems (#2481)

If we are ever going to stop the perpetual paradigm of unrest and upheaval we are going to have to get serious about how we work to solve poverty, despair and suffering. The purpose of our lives is to experience what tremendous abilities we all have, not just to exist for ourselves to the exclusion of others. Do you hear me? This existence is not about survival of the fittest or chasing some bottom line. This existence is about celebrating our perfectly recognized humanness. We, each of us is the the most amazing organism that also has the ability to define it's own destiny beyond any parameter known in this Universe. Not only do we have the opportunity to excel within the boundaries of physical laws but also beyond them. There are new and exciting scientific discoveries happening all around us that defy what we knew as common sense, so much so that what we take for granted as absolute truth is being tipped on its head with respect to natural law, physical law, superstitions, myths and mores versus enlightened mechanics of logic. What I am saying is that we have not arrived at anything that explains much more than we exist. So, unfortunately, because of that we are in a never ending struggle to mold our societies to fit into old paradigms that are obsolete nor should never have been actualized in the first place. What we need to do is to recognize each human being as the most valuable and precious creation to exist in this environment. To make that a reality none of us should have anything less than what would grow us into mature human beings able to contribute to the next generations in more and more dynamic ways. We all need a solid floor from which to grow from, one that does not have the hint of poverty, despair or suffering. The solutions are out there but we must reexamine our priorities by shifting from a "dog eat dog" reality to a nurturing and benevolent reality.

Please everyone prepare to be registered and vote (#2480)

I have no doubt that most Americans know which party to vote for given the stark differences in our two parties. The time now isn't so much comparing and contrasting the differences between us but instead mobilizing our voters to actually vote. We have seen what low voter turnout can do when we see what happened in Kentucky. A rascal and scoundrel can be elected by any less informed radical electorate if they are the only ones bothering to vote. One thing is for certain, if we do not protect our democracy with our right to vote we will lose it to Republicans who have aligned themselves with the thought that discrimination is good when it can punish those who don't agree with them. If we continue to allow for Republican politicians to get elected because we can't take a moment out of our lives to cast a ballot then all of us will be punished as a default. Democracy is under attack and the fight is now to save it. We only have to vote to save it. If we don't, later we will need to actually fight and die to save it. Which seems more reasonable to you? If you doubt my conclusions here just look at the Republican agenda to disenfranchise voters wherever and whenever they can. Also look at the Republican agenda to shrink education and increase prisons. It is all happening right in front of our eyes but if we are not paying attention to what is happening to our country then we will surely pay for that inattention. The look of a surprised deer in the headlights is what we are trying to avoid here so pay heed to the obvious strategy Republicans have of lowering voter participation so that they may continue to wield the power to decrease freedom for the rest of us. We all must think of voting as our badge of honor we wear to show the world that freedom, justice, equality and opportunity for all is not only doable but necessarily vital . We get to do that with our individual votes, but only if we actually vote.

Is reality so bad that we have to live in an illusion? (#2479)

Why is this so hard to understand? Reality is true and factual. There is nothing about reality that is not real except our own insecure desire to make it less so. Our species has this idea that reality is too much so we must invent myths and superstitions that help us to cope with what we don't know. Enough! We have the scientific method and logic to help us learn and know what we don't know. Not some set of standards or dogmas that rely on a version of the fantastical that no living reaoning human being should ever consider to be logical. I am not saying that possibilities for some otherly world paradigm is not out there but we do know there isn't one given our present understandings. That is where we all should chose to live our realities, not in some concept that is unproven and designed to restrict our natural instincts to command and control our own existence. The absurdity of any argument that would placate our manifest destiny to explore and master our own reality is the first step toward what Voltaire aptly defined in his truism, "Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities". We have seen the absurdity and we have seen the atrocity, may we now admit to ourselves that belief systems are not facts, they are not truths, they are not absolutes. Instead they are pacifiers designed to alleviate our own fears about why we exist and what we have as a purpose. Yet, even more belief systems are used to manipulate us against ourselves in ways that belie any rightful suggestion that belief systems are a moral imperative. Our own ethics derive from our own natural instincts to do no harm, to care and to wonder. Why would we bind and fetter ourselves with constraints designed to debilitate us. Enough of belief systems and instead more of reality. It can be a hard world but we are an amazing species able to adapt to anything this existence puts at our feet without the need to create an illusion to supplicate our fears.

The secret to life (#2478)

Always look for happiness. Never take your eye off the ball for one second. yes, things happen in our lives that distract us from our happiness, like tragedy, loss and oppression but whatever it is that takes from our happiness is not satisfying nor worthy of our time. I have had many setbacks in my life and yet none of them is greater than my search for happiness. I have had some terrible losses in my life and they hurt me emotionally and physically, yet none of them can really change the very next second of my life. I have been oppressed in many different ways but still I find that despite the oppression, my will to have a better life is greater. So despite any terrible or horrible event or circumstance, I am on a focused mission to find whatever happiness out there I can find. Sadly, nothing I do in the big picture of human life is going to stand out as an historical event worthy of notation or mention. I accept that and although it is hard on my ego, it is the fact of things. Yet I can do one thing that many fail to recognize as the real purpose in life, to enjoy and share that enjoyment. Happiness can be had at almost every situation or circumstance. It takes looking at life through a lens of possibilities and hopes. I can't always say happiness is there for the taking but I can say that the effort to achieve happiness is always there for the taking. Pessimists are those who cannot find optimism palatable for whatever reason. Those who are like that have never understood that happiness is more important than a bottom line or a never ending quest to accumulate. Happiness is soul fulfilling and when the soul is fulfilled, there is nothing left to be cynical about. Not much of a secret to living but few truly understand the perfect view of how we see the world when we are happy and just what it takes to help all others to find their happiness as well.

"Free market" is an illusion, everything has a cost (#2477)

When I hear Republicans talk about the free market taking care of things it astounds me that they don't get that having a market that costs just to visit is the first evidence that a "free market" is an illusion. Just to get to the market I need electricity, an Internet connection and some kind of device that will get me to a page where I can then potentially buy something. Or I need gas for a car, or money for a bus ride just to get to a market. Everything after that is cost prohibitive based upon factors that are due in most ways to some form of subsidy. So even the concept of bringing a product to market has a cost. Nothing is free about a market. So when few have most of the available money and many have but a little of the money we get poverty on a level that is unsustainable. What we should be doing is reducing poverty anyway we can since we see that having the illusion of a free market does nothing but exacerbate poverty. The reason I say that is because Republicans want to lower taxes for the wealthy and as a result the wealthy have less incentive to cycle their profits back into the economy in search of profit. Instead they bank their profit for various selfish reasons in order to accumulate unfathomable amounts. While this banking of profits is going on less work is available for the many and because of that the cost of wages is lowered through increased competition for work. Republicans do not want to expand our economic possibilities since increased competition would threaten their already secured profits. The Republican cold hard fact of keeping poverty as a paradigm is strategic and well worth the cost benefit they realize. Yet the illusion of a free market continues and the rest of us are left with little to no way to participate in the uneven practice. Our society needs more than an illusion, we need to effect economic policies that not only regulate how much wealth one can attain, while never letting anyone try to survive with no wealth or an opportunity to attain wealth.

Rise above the mundane (#2476)

Life is not about the automaton actions we force ourselves to live with. Our expectations of what life is should be greater than it actually is. I have no fear of losing everything I have since it is just by chance that I wasn't born into poverty like in other parts of the world where strife and oppression are the daily norms. I don't want to be part of a machination that only secures a better life for some while leaving others out in the cold. A cog in the wheel of less than is not how I want to spend what little time I have living my life. There is great potential within me and I want to rise above the ordinary and mundane to experience it. The narrative most of us live within contains only some of who we are and for all its good intentions the narrative is faulty and inconclusive. I am not one who settles for incompleteness as a rule nor am I one who settles for less, especially from myself, when so much more can and should be done. The only way I can become more of what I should be is to stop with the incessant ambivalence to not care or to act as if everything must be fought for as a survival instinct. Our human species is not at the beginning of our evolution. We are well into our evolution and the time for us to be moving into the renaissance of enlightenment is waiting for us to embrace. We know we can do better with our society and our individual lives yet we are stalled for too many reasons that are not noble. We often live in fear of what we may lose of a lifestyle value instead of preparing ourselves for a necessity based existence that relies on whatever our endeavors will supply. We are not beholden to anyone who would control how we think and feel. Yet we abdicate that and our reasoning in order to fulfill some need to have more and be liked. The essential point of our lives is to be ourselves, not some expectation that we have created in our own minds that helps us to fit in to something that in actuality is inversely proportional to our better natures.

We baby boomers (#2475)

Those of us born between the years 1946-1965 are the baby boomers. Our best memories are behind us but our best abilities are ahead of us. Not in a physical sense of our own power but of the leadership role we all are able to wield. Our hopes and dreams of our youth are now in a position to be realized. We just have to remember their priority and then accept that what we thought back then in our youthful hubristic days is the real deal for life. The greatest challenge of our generation back when we were young was finding peace in the world and eliminating poverty. We know the causes, racism, inequality and too many sociopathic tendencies among our elected and capitalistic leaders. We can create laws that deal with any form of racism because we know what the ideal is, to give everyone an opportunity. We can end poverty by giving living wages as a baseline and paying for merit according to it's function. Our greatest challenge though is eliminating those who would lead us that have such a disdain for human life. Regardless of party of politics, no politician or wealthy capitalist should be allowed to denigrate one faction of our society over another. We boomers are in a position of high influence, now is our time to put a stamp on our amazing vision for the present and future. In all walks of life our example should remain consistent. We are not about vainglory or obscene wealth, we are about making our society function for all of us out of a sense of duty to each other. Peace and prosperity has been the clarion call of our generation and we are now in position to answer that call and create results. Let us not forget what drives who we are as a generation nor let us not forget the mighty vision we have that is especially ordained just to us and those who now follow us to remedy.

Social justice through modern culture (#2474)

I have been thinking about how many of the African American Missouri Tigers college football players have decided to stop playing football right in the middle of the football season in order to protest prevalent racial incidents related to their university. I have been thinking on this for a little while concerning other southern schools who still practice overt racism while fielding and rooting for African/American student athletes. The inherent power of these athletes is monumental. What the African/American Missouri student/athletes are doing is what I suspected they could do all along. Force a majority of our culture to face and acknowledge racism for its vile nature. Nothing gets the attention of our society like our sports teams and our loyalty to those hallowed learning institutions that field teams. Anything like what is going on with Missouri is bound to capture the attention and the emotion of the core of our society. Our allegiance to sports is where the majority of Americans find commonality. Our sports endeavors have no boundaries when it comes to the fans they attract. If you want to get at the heart of our citizenry, just mess with their sports teams. Well, let the messing begin and it is starting with the University of Missouri. We will see how quickly this particular racially based problem is dealt with. The passion for sports too much of the time overshadows the despicable nature of inequality and unfairness in our society on whole, so linking the two now is a unique opportunity to turn that passion for sports into a genesis for upheaval in the too often accepted nefarious paradigm of racism. Other southern college sports teams will have an example to follow hopefully from this courageously stalwart Missouri break from the status quo. Societal change through sports in a way I hadn't fathomed not much more than a year ago.

It is time to have a direct cost/benefit voting law (#2473)

It seems that we citizens are not aware of how important it is for all of us to vote so I suggest we pass a national law that mandates every eligible citizen to vote while making voting as simple and easy as possible. For those who see this as an infringement on our right to do whatever the hell we want to do I say tough. Our nation has had enough of this "I don't care" attitude about our democracy. We mandate other things in our democracy so it isn't so outlandish to require eligible citizens to have a say in how they are governed. If we weren't having such a problem with citizens actually voting or if some states weren't about making voting harder this kind of mandate wouldn't be necessary. However we have too few people taking the right to vote seriously enough not to have some law that incentivizes voting participation. I suggest that we offer citizens who vote some kind of tax break that has a positive effect and is genuinely a reward, while at the same time having a punishment meted out to those who refuse to participate in voting that is also not insignificant. We are all part of this democracy so sitting back with the excuse that we have a right not to vote is just not cutting it anymore. If there are no candidates worthy of your our vote than we can always leave the choice blank or write in a candidate. What me must do however is turn in a ballot. Sometimes measures need to be taken that propel our society toward our future and making voting a mandatory requirement to rectify a real problem with non-voting citizens then so be it. For those who cannot vote who are otherwise eligible there will be dispensations that are agreeably reasonable. However, we all need to make the time to know what our society is about on at least a basic level and this is my solution toward that end. I can see our democracy and the intellectual growth of our society as being enhanced through mandatory voting.

For the pure moments (#2472)

Those moments when all is perfect. When I was younger I had an expectation that these types of moments were the normal not what I found out much later in life as the exception. There are some regrets I have now and it is that I didn't fully see those moments of purity were rare and not to be treated as anything less. I should have known that in my youth I was going to be living the greatest part of existence. I always thought that life would get better with age but that is not the case for me. Maybe it is just me but my youth was a force of nature. I had the world in front of me with so many ideals to live up to and to be inspired by. I loved and was loved back in ways that I have not been able to recapture as I have gotten older. Maybe it was the hubris by which I behaved or maybe it was the vigor I had about my role in existence. Regardless of the underlying genesis, life when I was younger had been the greatest store of memories for me to earn. Not that I don't find satisfaction and gratitude in my intervening years it is just that the world is not my oyster to retrieve my pearl from anymore. There was a strategy to my life that I purposely constructed, and that strategy favored my youth to the extent that even then I knew I was at my best as a fresh being starting out in life. What I didn't include in my strategy was an appreciation for those special moments I thought would be woven throughout my life. I didn't safeguard what pearls I did happen upon and now that those pearls are gone and just memories I find the regrets of lost pure moments that still linger and haunt my conscience are my only condolence. There is a lesson here and although I have lived a remarkable life by my own standard, I came up short in the area most desired by myself. Our lives are a comprehensive series of trials and errors and how we match up our successes with our failures is always going to be the panoramic view for how we find our way to our very own precious moments.

Quitters don't win (#2471)

Even when the reality seems unfavorable, quitting on whatever it is I had set my sights on is not how to succeed. I may lose or not fulfill my quest, whatever it may be but giving up takes all doubt away as to the final result, which is defeat. There is one thing about me that is indomitable. I may not win at whatever I have set my mind to but I know I am right about it regardless of outcome. I only back hopes or visions that are positive and helpful so that my energy and effort at making them come true are solid and determined. I don't give up just because things aren't going my way. Instead I fight the good fight with all I have until I can no longer breathe. Such is my life when it comes to honor and respect. I am not perfect nor most effective at all times but my resolve and my momentum will not be swayed. I know that outcomes can become very disheartening and even seem impossible but I am not a quitter, nor am I one to sit about with a woe is me attitude. Instead I am a bulwark for whatever progress I have set myself to represent. I may be beaten down 100 times before I finally succeed but that only makes the victory that much sweeter. When you know you are right about something and you persevere at it, being defeated or failing to succeed is only fuel to the fire to keep going. Eventually right will succeed if we don't quit on it. I have quit before so I know the nothing that accomplishes. I have also felt the sting of rebuke in utterly unfathomable ways and instead of being crushed by how a devastating defeat may feel I allow myself a moment to rebuild my momentum and then head right back out defending and advocating for what I still know is right. I cannot quit on what is right and accept what isn't. That is not in my nature nor is it naturally in anyone else's either. We are human beings capable of majestic things and quitting isn't part of any majesty that I know.

No fairy tales here (#2470)

What are we doing to ourselves? We pretend more than we face reality. I would rather face the darkest part of our species' behavior than to lie to myself by ignoring it and playing at make believe. Enough of these sugar coated confusing mores, myths and superstitions! What is wrong with reality? Tell me, why I must live as a man who is proud of being an amazing human being and willing to face any danger this existence can conjure up, but unable to because too many of us are not willing to live as boldly as we could? I am stuck here in a societal existence that underplays our abilities while creating obstacles out of thin air as if they are of solid form. This current era of the human species will be marked in history not by courageous boldness but by a timidity that is more reminiscent of self loathing. We have not arrived folks! We are just at the beginning of a great quest before us. It has taken all of our previous history just to get to this magnificent point where we don't look back but instead look up and out. there is nothing stopping our will to innovate and create an Earthly force aimed at expanding our understanding and feeding our curiosity. Yet we cannot find that traction to move forward when we keep looking down and back to where we might have come from. This existence isn't about where we came from, on the contrary, it is about where we are going. It has always been so, whether we admit the truth of that or not. So instead of cowering behind some illusion no one can ever hope to prove, let's take our science and our logic, two superlative tools, and build our future around what is possible in reality, not what is impossible in the past. I know I have been waiting my whole life for a chance to find out just how incredible life can be when we decide that incredible is not the exception, but the rule.

To vote is to take a stand (#2469)

It seems that there are people out there who are more interested in intimidating other people not to vote. They use tactics that are fear based. Intimidation in order to keep the status quo from changing. Well I know how hard it is to make your desire known to vote when there is a consequence that is real and threatening. I can understand why some are not willing to exercise their right to vote because the cost is too fearful. I get that. But there will come a time when fear will have to take a back seat to courage and a come what may attitude. Eventually we all must face our fears and how we do that will define our lives and the lives of those who would emulate us. The right to vote is enshrined in our laws and no amount of direct or indirect intimidation should ever prevail over it. Much of our livelihoods depend on our associations and it is through these associations we are pushed and pulled to only advance by conforming. I get that also. In a real sense we may tell ourselves that our one vote is hardly worth the hardship it may bring upon us so we just don't vote. Here's the deal though, too many others are doing the same thing and whether it is difficult to vote or we are intimidated not to vote, the stench of it lives within us. Not doing our duty to fulfill what it is to be a citizen of our country because we are too busy or too afraid to vote is the downfall of our society, not some attack from without. Eventually we will hit the tipping point in our own lives where we finally win wrestling match with ourselves over whether fear or courage is our legacy. What good is our life if we are less than worthy? Are we okay with being ostrich like and burying our heads in the sand when danger approaches to save what little we have sold our souls for? Nothing replaces the fear in our lives like taking a stand and letting come what may!

Belief systems are rotting our democracy (#2468)

I personally have nothing against individual people reconciling their lives with a belief in a deity if that is how they are able to cope with their own frailties. But when belief systems cross over into the civil life of our society then I have to call a halt. Never, ever should some belief system, and I don't care which one anyone can imagine, be allowed to infiltrate the ideals of liberty, justice and opportunity for all. The first amendment to our constitution explicitly states: "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,". It should be absolutely clear that no religion is deemed as the religion of America, while it should be absolutely clear that no denial of a religion is to be tolerated in America. Which puts belief systems squarely as an individual choice with no effect on how the civil life of our society is governed. If a belief system is needed by any individual to guide them in the pursuit of their own happiness then that is their absolute right as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others to either follow a different belief system or no belief system at all. What we have today are citizens who are disregarding the separation of belief systems and our civil government. they are attempting to force their religion upon the whole of us despite the law of our first amendment. They are also attempting to exclude all other belief systems that do not hold to the same orthodoxy and dogma. How this has come to pass is that an arrogance by some today is being allowed to run roughshod over our founding constitutional document. We have a supreme court that is supposed to be the protector of our precious document, not protecting it when its explicit nature is absolute. I will call out the wealthy theocratic conservatives and the Republican party on whole for this debacle. We know what we must do to save our constitution and our freedom given to us in the first amendment and that what we must do is to vote in every election for candidates that are neither conservative nor part of the Republican party.

Life is an adventure, not an accumulation (#2467)

Why do we forget this? Life is an adventure to be lived not some race to accumulate! What good does it do a person to shelter themselves in some safe harbor if all they are doing is hiding from life? Life is the reason we are here. We have all these individual abilities, everyone of us, that not experiencing them is against our very nature. I know we all get tired from the struggle and we want to prepare ourselves a comfortable respite. but that should not be our goal, it should just be a byproduct of how we live. A now deceased friend of mine used to say all the time that he could have lost everything and left with walking down the street in just his underwear and he would be fine. It is that type of mentality that I have adopted myself. The trappings of accumulation are not what defines me but rather the character and personality I have evolved. I could pick up today and leave for anywhere in the world and not have a care about it. I would have to take my two little animals with me but most everything I have is not enough of an anchor for me not to pick up and go. It is funny that what I would miss the most are the friendships I have worked to attain. But like all things friendships can also be made anywhere I go. I suppose I know this from all the moving we did during my formative years. Despite having to start over several times as a child I learned to do it quickly and effectively. Our society has become this great machine that we feel as if we are not able to break from but we can and should when the point of it doesn't help us along in our natures to enjoy and experience our lives. What this has reminded me of today is that I have stuff I never use and it is time to go down to the local food bank and donate clothes so that some in need person can have something decent to wear.

To solve a problem I have to face it (#2466)

Unlike an earlier version of me who would rather ignore a problem in hopes that it would go away, I am now in realization that most problems need to be faced. I cannot face them all since I am only one person living in a fixed time and space frame but those that I can face need my attention. What I find is that no matter what the problem, my mind has a way of adapting to it in ways that are mysterious to me. Once I learn of a problem or face an old one I had been ignoring I find that initially I have some real fears but as I continue toward thinking and acting upon the problem it becomes less ominous and more readily solved. The fear is replaced with a acknowledgement that there are solutions I just need to act upon and then move along to the next problem to solve. Always though is the first step toward making my world better and that is facing my problems. I can be a one man wrecking crew at times and in that wake I end up creating problems I hadn't intended. Such is the nature of this man who at times, less so now as I am getting more mature, doesn't weigh the cost/benefit of every action I take. It would behoove me to slow myself down long enough to realize that my actions and reactions need a better construct of application. A process by which I keep myself within parameters that exclude most if not all unintended consequences. That is more like an overall solution to life and that is being worked upon as I write this, however, the past has my mess in it and that is what this blog post is about. Facing old problems that don't go away, instead they just fester and irritate me when I think about them. I need to resolve some situations that are lingering, albeit, not horrific or detrimental, but nonetheless not acceptably honorable. Honor today is the code by which I base my decisions and those principles of honor are the ones reminding me that I am responsible for my life and taking ownership of it requires me to accept the truth of what I have thought and done.

Many minds aimed toward solutions (#2465)

This is the promise of our societies. If we all can have a say in how we move forward our chances are better that we will have examined all possible solutions. The more minds in the mix the better the possible outcome. None of us has a panoramic nor comprehensive mind capable of seeing or recognizing all permutations. Society is best equipped when it makes for all to be part of the process. We cannot nor should not exclude anyone. When all of our children and young adults have an opportunity to improve their minds through education and experiment then we all benefit by the increased awareness around us. The person with the next creative imagining to come along is not bound by any segregated paradigm. Who knows where and when the next great leap in innovation and technology will come from. To improve our chances of continuing enlightenment we must prepare our future generations now so that when their time comes to lead our great societies they will be better prepared to continue the evolution of the human species. There cannot be any who are left behind. It is abhorrent to think that we waste opportunities to help all in our society to achieve. There can be no greater purpose on Earth than to give back to our growth as an enlightened species. It is all of our destiny, not to fulfill our own ambitions but, to fulfill the promise of enlightenment. Knowledge is the key so therefore we need to make sure that none of our children and young adults are left without a chance to increase their knowledge. We must as a species prioritize our own character and behavior toward a reality based understanding of logic and science. It is what we have that is most efficient at this time to not only protect our species from the great unknowns in the vast Universe but also to master what this Universe is readily laying at our feet.

We are falsely conditioned to accept our unimportance (#2464)

You will never amount to anything. I have heard that one many times in my life. Because I failed to live up to someone else's expectation or roadmap for their idea of what success is supposed to be for me. It all starts even earlier than that in how we operate our society. We are turned into automatons at a very young age. We are told that getting a job to work at what pays well and interests us is the ideal for what we should devote our lives toward. Interesting that as humans, we all possess absolutely unique qualities yet we are influenced to strive at being reduced to mechanisms that perform mundane tasks. Our natures are more than an 8 to 4 or 9 to 5 type existence. Our lives are incredible in the grand scheme of our Universe yet we are treated as if we are only useful if we follow some regimen that only secures the ineffective status quo. I know we are evolving as a species yet our evolution is not compatible with our knowledge. We know so much and are learning at increasingly exponential rates yet our society is lagging back in an era where humans are just crude tools for others to fill their coffers for no worthy outcome beyond themselves. It helps that technology and innovation are being advanced but our overall society continues to suffer because the value of the human being is still shackled to the idea that human worth is based upon some calculation with a profit margin at the bottom. The longer we refuse to see ourselves as captives in a society that won't change the longer we will be suffering as fools of our own design. We all have an opportunity to make our society better and if and when that occurs that we all make the change, it will be the next evolutionary step that our species has been stalled for far too long to make.

An imperfect life (#2463)

That would be mine. I can only be sure of my life so that is the one I am examining. I have had the privilege to be able to look at myself without an blinders on and it hasn't been as easy. It seems that I can vividly remember my mistakes far more than I can remember my successes. It isn't because I have few successes it is because I am a humble person and success does humble me. On the other hand I have no worse critic of myself than me. I am a harsh taskmaster when it comes to my thoughts and actions. I have made enough mistakes to know this is very true. More often than not it is difficult not to feel hypocritical about what virtues I often espouse in my writings when I know that I have fallen short of my own words. I "feel" the hypocrisy in the form of shame when I shout to the world that we should be doing this when I am guilty of not doing that "this" myself. But the shame is always tempered with the intent of my shouting. I write this blog for me more than anyone else. It helps me clear my mind of clutter and focus at least on one particular thing for at least the waking day. So when I am shouting for us to be a more human and virtuous society I am pointing the finger directly back at myself. For the very reason I entitled this post, an imperfect life. As I am getting older and wiser I find that those past imperfections of mine need to be corrected in some way and I am not too proud to admit that. How that will come about is still unclear in my own mind but know this, if I could go back and make things better I would in a heart beat. My own hindsight into my own real past life is objective so I am not akin to making rash decisions going forward but in some way yet not known I have an intent to clear my past of the rubbish I allowed to pile up. We all have our own struggles with our pasts and this is just me declaring that mine is no different in many ways than the rest of you, an imperfect life.

Anti intellectualism, the Republican mission! (#2462)

I am so confounded that greed could have such an effect on the wealthy. But of course I am a good soul so it does surprise me that some souls would treat other souls as property or temporary resources to be discarded when sufficiently manipulated. We humans are not just a tool for others to wield at their discretion. We also have ambitions to succeed in life and our accounts must be considered as well. So for the wealthy, through their vessel the Republican party, to continue to demand that we non-wealthy supplicate ourselves to their demands without so much as a by your leave is not to be borne. This is why we Democrats fight so hard for those who are not wealthy. We know that given free reign the Republicans would make us ignorant and dependent upon the wealthy so much so that we would do their bidding regardless of the cost to our dignity or our nature. The less intelligent we are the better for those who would seek to control our options. I cannot fathom nor will I allow any group of people within our democracy to usurp our freedom to be individual souls who have the right and liberty to pursue our own happiness. The only way all of us in our society can understand our potential is to be educated and informed. This means that intellectualism is a priority to maintain and expand, not decrease or eliminate. The Democrat mission is for all to have an opportunity to prosper while allowing merit to be our self determination model. Enough of the advantage and privilege Republicans seek to install as a method for success. Our educational system here in America must be a high priority policy and never shall we allow the lack of an open and accessible educational system to be an obstacle to our growth, despite the Republican mission!

Fight or cower, the choice is yours (#2461)

You can tell what kind of character a person has just by what they stand for or hide from. We all go through stages in our lives where the lines get blurred and it isn't always easy to fight what is right and good. I get that and have my own experiences to show for it. Yet, when push comes to shove I fight. I don't cower from aggression or fear. I fight. For a good part of my life I wasn't in control of my faculties enough of the time to be able to distinguish what my true behavior should be. I have rectified that by being in control of my faculties at all times so that whatever comes my way I have the proper although often imperfect response available. I get that I am not some superhero but I am a superhero type. I hate brutish behavior, I hate oppression and I hate injustice, to name a few. So when confronted by these nefarious acts I rebel in the face of them. It is my honor to fight against what is worst about our natures. It is a privilege I get to be part of justifying proper and ethical behavior. I am not perfect but I damn well try to be at all times. This is what fighting is all about. That I have to fight is not my first choice but often I am not given a choice so the only choice I have is to fight or cower. I choose to fight since cowering is a deflating cowardly act. I have been a coward a time or two in my life and it is nothing I ever want to experience again. No matter how hard I might try to justify being a coward it isn't ever worthy of being human. So with mistakes like that behind me I find that fighting is the only last resort I have in a bag of responses I keep close. If I cannot use logic or common sense persuasion to stop bad behavior then I damn sure will fight to stop it. It is refreshing to know that fear isn't the factor that makes me decide, instead it is a process of doing wherever I can do to the best of who I am.

Progress is one step at a time (#2460)

Whether it be a big step or a small step, progress is only going in one direction. Shall we all be part of making progress regardless of whether it is a leap or a shuffle? I am at the age where I am not full of the hubris of youth anymore. I have some hubris but not like when I was younger. What that tells me is that I am more measured in my thoughts and actions. I do not go running toward any provocation or exhilaration. I am measured and even keel. So having this more comprehensive outlook I can see the panoramic picture of our lives and our society. This is why I push for progress at every juncture or crossroads. Because progress is where we all need to go toward. So if we can gain some progress over time I am all for that unless of course we can a lot of progress then I am even more for that. But do not be confused at all by what I am saying here. Whatever the forward movement of progress can be achieved is still my ambition. So when we as a party of Democrats are fighting over who we want to represent us in the next election, we may surely fight it out as to whom that will be based upon many factors. But at the end of our fighting to see who gets the nomination, we must all remember that progress is our goal. So if a small step or a large step of progress is available we must take it without doubt. So we Democrats need to be mindful that the nominating process is just the first step toward that progress and we must all keep in mind that our Democratic party is the party of progress and not being one hundred percent behind our party, is an obstacle to progress. This is all about the Bernie or HIllary contest now being waged. We can back one or the other but when the contest has been decided we must back the victor because no matter what else comes of it, our eventual candidate will be a candidate that moves us forward into progress, this I know as a fact.

The fallacy of white privilege is just part of the fallacy of American privilege (#2459)

Yes, an even greater illusion than white privilege is the idea that we Americans think the world owes us something more because of what our elders did before us. Like we are born with a privilege that is deserved. We Americans are in for a rude awakening, we did nothing to deserve any accolade. That was our ancestors who fought in the 2 world wars, they deserve accolades not their children. We have to earn our place in society just like every other industrious soul on this planet. What we do have here in America is a great start from the legacy of our forefathers/mothers left for us to start. That is all though so any thoughts about us being special are lost in the concept of logical reality. We have to show the same determined, informed grit our previous generations fought hard to achieve in order for us to earn any distinction among the world's populace. Honor and nobility are no longer things of heritage and inheritance. Each human is responsible to display their own honor and nobility to earn the names. There are no free passes for one society over another. We only have what advantages were left to us by those who came before us. Many nations on Earth already see us for being usurpers of honor and nobility that we have not earned. This is why we have so many souls outside our society who disdain our arrogance. We Americans are no more special than them yet we act like we are. It is insidious for heredity or inheritance to be a factor in determining someone's overall value. I have to earn the trust and respect of everyone around me every day. There is no time off for some imagined dispensation. I am accountable for all my actions/non-actions. If I want to feel like I am more special than anyone else I damn well better have the evidence of the proof readily available for anyone to see. There is no white privilege and there is no American privilege that is not rightfully earned.

Voting your interests (#2458)

I don't normally vote for my interests personally but it just happens that my interests are aligning with what I want for everyone. it isn't the other way around. I would be happy with a shirt on my back. But since Democrats are pushing to help the ones with barely that, I can agree with them and advocate for them. You see this is what is going on. the way our American economy is structured, it mainly benefits those who already have a leg up in society. While at the same time a faction, Republicans, are making it harder for all to get that leg up. So we have an economy that favors the already wealthy while a Republican political faction is making it harder for those who don't have privileges and advantages to participate in improving their lives through our economy. This is where the power of the vote makes a difference. By voting, we all get to choose whether we want the Republicans, who make life harder for us, to remain in power, or if we want the Democrats, who want to make life better for us, to control the power. It is all about the power in politics and the sooner we voting citizens realize this the quicker we can get to finding out if we Americans want a democracy that values and respects all lives; or if Americans want an oligarchy which Republicans are hell bent on making our nation become. We the people still have the power to make that decision but the window is closing. How is the window closing you might ask? It is closing because the longer we take to oust Republicans out of power the closer they get to disenfranchising voter rights. In their minds, Republicans would leave the voting only to the wealthy since Republicans think that the rest of us are unworthy of deciding our own future. So if you value democracy and it's core right of voting then you must by all means necessary cast  your next ballot for your own interests, not the interests of someone who would take your vote away.

If you enjoy being afraid then keep voting for Republicans (#2457)

I am at a loss to think of one policy the Republican party has for America that isn't infiltrated with fear. Everything they do or propose is based upon being afraid of someone or something. Instead of embracing tolerance and diversity they embrace selfishness and division. I don't say this lightly because after all Republicans are human and being human have every opportunity to change. Just because they are absolutely in the wrong now doesn't mean that they can't raise themselves up out of their fox holes. Yet, how long can I allow myself to wait for those who find fear a worthy paradigm to exist within? Not much longer is my answer. I cannot wait much longer for them to cross the bridge of courage when they have no intention of willingly leaving their misery. We Democrats have learned that although the world is complex and formidable, so are we. We do not shirk our courage because of fear, in fact fear fuels our desire to conquer it. So instead of cowering and double crossing everyone else to preserve some idea of living, we challenge our fears and meet them with our heads held high. I have learned over the years that no good deed goes without some form of obstruction. There are enough petty minds out there that see goodness and kindness as weaknesses to be exploited. These exploiters are the Republican base. They take from those who can least afford the loss and give to those who least need the gain. The reverse Robin Hood syndrome. In some ways it is a supplication to the wealthy that these fearful ones operate under. If they appease their "betters" their "betters" will be less violent toward them. A fearful existence considering we live in a democracy that gives all of us an equal shot at being happy if we keep our democracy strong by voting to improve our lives, not make our lives worse. All it takes is a little bit of courage and you can stand up to anyone. Someday soon I hope the Republican base figures it out and joins the rest of us willing to fight for ourselves and even them too!

What I fight for is a utopian society (#2456)

We live in an imperfect world and society. Just like in the title of this post, some will say an should precede utopian, but not so when it doesn't sound right. :) Anyway, I know an imperfect utopian society is the best I can hope for but it is what I strive to achieve with all my energy. I have little else worth doing with my time. Of course I am not burdened with my own desires so much. I need little to survive and that is fine. Hopefully someday before my demise I will get to have a personal relationship with some liked aged woman who shares my dream, however even that is less than likely but so be it. All I know for sure is that there is so much more we could be doing for and within our society that there is never enough time to address all that concerns me. That is why we all need to lend our votes and our voices to how and why we are alive. I have taken the time to articulate a definition of who we are as humans. It is the ground floor from which to debate our future and even more so our manifest destiny. I describe us as biological data processors. Not much different from probes evolved to gather and understand information. The nature of our species is to care and to wonder, compassion and curiosity if you will. all other natures we exhibit are either the fulfillment of those two behaviors or the denial of of them wholly or separately. Why did I take the time to form an idea about who we are? Because it better helps me to explain what we need to be doing to enact those natures to the best of our abilities. It also allows me to show a purpose in life for all of us. Many of us start out without any validation to our worthiness to the big picture and that is wrong for any of us not to know our own individual amazingness. The universe is our realm for exploration and our unique caring for one another and for other species is our legacy to bring with us.

The King is dead. Long live the King. (#2455)

The first time I heard this phrase I was confused about what it meant. It sounded like it was illogical. How can a dead King live long? Well, in fact it is just a play on words and connecting two events with no intervening explanation. Surely the old King is dead but as soon as that occurs a new King will arise, thus, long live the new King. So it is in our politics today. it isn't Kings we are replacing but elected officials who represent our wishes and hopes. At least that is what it is supposed to be. We here in America are struggling against a tide of disinformation and a lowering of educational opportunities that in conjunction makes for a much more foolish electorate. We are not electing representatives who represent our better angels. Instead we are electing politicians based off of our fears and not our hopes. It is a sad time in America right now when weighed against the promise of our constitution and our time honored principles. Not only have we failed to our beating hearts but our minds have also stumbled. The care and ingenuity of our magnificent citizenry is being crushed by the greedy and power hungry that have installed themselves into leadership positions. The wealthy continue to forge it's way toward greater wealth without so much as a by your leave to vast majority of us not bent on greed as our greatest promise. A cancer of greed and power attainment is filtering through our society and until we can cut it out with the surgical precision that a landslide election will provide we will keep living in a country that has failed to move forward with a future that would make most all of us proud to be part of. There will always be an election and a new leader over time but when that electing time comes we must find it within ourselves to not only announce that the King is dead, but we must truly want our new King to live long.

New chief of the Canadas (#2454)

Last night saw a page turned in Canadian politics. A majority party of liberals took over the government of Canada. The austerity of the conservative majority party was overwhelmingly rejected and in it's place a new vision of progressive and stimulus oriented policies were voted in. The people of Canada had had enough of their country breaking from it's traditional heritage of being a welcoming intelligent society. There is much to be learned here in America about how the attitudes of regular Canadians addressed the failed polices of the conservatives. We here in America have the same dilemna. We have too many conservatives and their austere policies obstructing what we liberals are trying to implement. Our next national election here in America is in about one year from now. We need the same type of sweeping out of Republican politicians that the Canadians did last night. The liberal agenda of inclusion, equality in all manners possible and stimulative spending to get our nation back to producing at a very high level is beckoning us to let it happen. All we need is for our base to come out and vote and for the independent and undecided voters to give us a chance to lead our nation instead of holding us back. The conservative party here will never give us a chance to show the world how great our nation can still be when we all have a stake and opportunities to grow together. I am so pleased with the results last night in Canada and surely those results will reverberate throughout our media and turn the tide from ignoring the differences between our parties and instead to highlighting them. Liberals can lead us out of the income inequality wilderness we are currently experiencing and turn our middle class from shrinking to growing. Vote for Democrats everywhere in the next election and give us a chance to prove it.

The disinformation and lies are coming from the wealthy for the 2016 election (#2453)

The Citizens United decision by the conservative majority on our Supreme Court has given the wealthy an advantage in order to influence our elections. Only those with lots of money benefit from this decision and the rest of us cannot do anything about it for now. What we can do is hold our fire until the day of the election and then let loose with all barrels in voting for our Democrat politicians. The only way we have a chance of succeeding in bringing about a change to our election laws is to vote in the Democrat party that is willing and able to reverse Citizens United and make our elections publicly funded. Our democracy is too important to let the wealthy influence every political public race through unlimited spending especially when they control the narrative that the media reports. The death of our democracy won't come from some outside force invading or conquering our nation. It will come from within by those wealthy greedy ones through the Republican party who feel that America is theirs and the rest of us are just useless and unworthy to be citizens. We will hear over the next year all about how conservatives are the party of the real people and the ones who oppose them are just greedy grifting takers who don't deserve anything they can't earn from the wealthy. Despite that most all new wealth being generated in America is going to the top 1%. /http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2013/09/10/some-95-of-2009-2012-income-gains-went-to-wealthiest-1/  The wealthy have their economic plan in place in order to reap the benefits of hard working Americans at a disproportionate rate and this income inequality is the worst it has ever been. Now they want the political power as well. They use anti-voting laws to wean the otherwise eligible voter of their right to vote as well as gerrymandering their congressional districts to the point of solidifying their majority in the House of Representatives. The media is their avenue to misinform and convince the otherwise less informed to vote for them as their savior. Hold fast Democrats, keep your attention on the fact that it is only Democrats who want an egalitarian democratic society where everyone has a right and a duty to participate in our American dream.

Using our minds to create a better world (#2452)

How doe we do that? By looking at what bothers us in our society and allowing our minds to change it through our actions. It is like how many streams create a river. If enough of us think about the things that bother us the force of all of us moving in ways to combat the problem will eventually allow us to succeed. We don't all have to do the heavy lifting just enough of a lift to move forward with solutions. It is amazing the strength and energy created when we all somehow end up on the same page. There need not be some blueprint or set of instructions. We just need to not add to the problem while also helping in some little or big way to negate the problem's effect. Our human species through our minds and bodies are always in a state of flux and evolution. Much the same way we evolve over time toward our changing environment, our minds can do the same with bending solutions at the appropriate problems. I keep saying this, our species is amazing and what we don't know we are capable of is glimpsed by our recorded history. 10,000 years ago our human abilities were basic and pedestrian. We moved from being hunter/gatherers to crop and animal cultivators. Like then, we were at the threshold of a new evolution to live and work together instead of in small roaming packs. By bringing ourselves into a society that worked in somewhat harmony we eventually reached the age of enlightenment. From there the industrial world took shape and now we are space explorers, albeit minimally at best. Yet here we are still undefined as to what we can accomplish but buoyed by the fact that our minds continue to imagine and create new paradigms of function for our lives. We are but a link in the chain of human progress and no matter the problem, a solution is just around the corner as our history has struggled but succeeded in showing us.

When will we choose peace and prosperity over death and hardship? (#2451)

Just because we have done things in our human past doesn't mean we have to continue to do things that way. We are not bound by our own historical evolution. We are an enlightened species able to choose the how and what, that will define us going forward. We are not bound to the past as some sort of identification of our natures. Surely our species struggled when logic and common sense were in short supply but that was then, not now. We have matured as a species and are quite capable of engineering our society to reflect our best hopes and wishes instead of our baser instincts. We are not those survival of the fittest creatures Republicans would have us believe we are. They may want that type of halted and stagnant evolution but not we enlightened ones. We prefer to accede to science and logic as our path forward, not some animal instinct that only has a voraciousness for being selfish. I choose to let myself cost little or nothing to anyone else even though capitalism is the economic paradigm. I grate against the idea that profit is the holy grail of success. My life is a beacon for the universe to see and nothing I do is left under a rock for no one to see. I have pride in not only myself but in my species as well. I am in this life for the comprehensive long haul not for some short sighted capitalized profit margin. Which means that every thing I do is aimed at improving myself and knowing as much as I can as well as doing what I can to help others achieve the same. I am a team player and all of us are on the same team. If we are human then we are part of our species and not some lone island devoid of reality. Any society that separates itself from itself is divided and not an effective structure for all to improve. Much like the current income inequality paradigm that we can't seem to recognize as a deficient to our overall progress. We are at an amazing time in our evolution and yet we can't seem to let go of the worst of our natures to realize it.

The ability to see comprehensively (#2450)

The complexity of a comprehensive viewpoint is not something one can buy or steal. It is only self actualized through the hard work of personal learning. We must all make an attempt to improve our lives through learning and understanding facts and truths. You cannot just sit back and take in what others are saying at face value without vetting their reasoning or their intent. There is no escaping what is needed to learn properly. No shortcuts. It is okay to spend some time becoming informed as I have learned about the women I allow in my life. They are far more attractive and valued when they can actually participate in a complex conversation with opinions and theories rooted in logic and possibilities. This is what life is supposed to be like for all of us. A playground of shared ideas and possibilities. We only get there with an effort on our part. No cheating lying or stealing will make anyone an ounce smarter. The beauty of self motivation to learn is that your mind becomes more focused on all things around you. Every action and sensation has a new purpose and meaning. It is a lot like awakening to a fresh perspective that you never knew you could or would have. This existence has no boundaries when it comes to our ambitions. We may not be able to gather what we need overnight to acquire a more enlightened perspective but we can over time get there with due diligence. I take nothing for granted and question everything. It is how I begin all my logical reasoning. Yet there are some ideas and ethical certainties that help me along in my quest. Honorable principles of respect and dignity, fairness and equality, caring and sharing are but a few of the foundational floors from which I strive to never go below and instead to begin with my learning. From this point it makes life simple to understand since I must start from who I am and what I eventually want that to be.

Life is short so don't short yourself (#2449)

Too much hesitation or procrastination is not a good thing. once gone, the same opportunity is not likely to show itself again. Regardless of how special we may think we are. lol. I learned that one many years ago and have kicked myself many times for that particular learning. It is one thing to fall short of achieving a goal when the effort to succeed has been attempted. It is quite another thing to have the success offered up on a platter and then dismiss the gift as if it were nothing more than a trifle. Our lives end up the way they are and many of us just chalk it up to destiny or fate. But the reality is that we make thousands of decisions to get us to where we are and destiny or fate have little or nothing to do with it, yet we tell ourselves that anyway. I suppose our species is not quite up to the truth of logic or even too much of the time, common sense. We have the ability but not necessarily a comprehensive view to understand our choices. What has been evident to me is that I made too may choices on a simply understood basis, a basis of right here right now, instead of seeing the bigger picture. A mistake that seems to be particular to our species. However the older we get the more we realize our shortcomings but then the damage has already been done. The truth of our experiences are not communicated in efficient ways to help the younger versions of ourselves, the next generation, avoid the pitfalls we fell into unknowingly. My greatest stumbling block was the idea of the perfect. Never did I allow the really good or almost perfect be acceptable. Instead I chose to move on and keep searching for something that in my view now didn't really exist. I shorted myself from the promise of some things that would have been a delight had I known what I know now. We all have our regrets but some are much more costly than others.

What we find in the unknown doesn't have to scare us (#2448)

For those among us who think that we are somehow placed here not to question our existence but to just live it without changing or advancing into the unknown I have this for you. Stop it! We are by our human nature "built" to learn and acquire knowledge. It is who we are as a species. We are biological probes with the capacity to reason, analyze and conclude. Not only that but we have a memory capacity that not only stores information gathered through our senses but works comprehensively to constantly evaluate new information in with previous information. We by our nature are meant to change, to grow, to evolve. it is our nature! So those who would give into the idea that we are not meant to question the boundaries of our knowing are heretics to our purpose. Simply put, being afraid of what the future holds for what we will and must learn is cowardly. Now we have many brave souls in our society but it is obvious we have many cowardly ones as well. Those who find a safe harbor somewhere insignificant and then live their lives out with no desire to be what is human. The inverse evolution of the human is to go backwards where nothing new is gained and all that was must remain. I for one will not be associated with the cowardly act of hiding from my destiny as well as the destiny our species. At least if you are not able to be bold for the sake of championing your own life don't be a drag on those of us who are forging ahead into the great unknown. Stand back, not in the way, and enjoy the ride the rest of us are willing to lead. We are a magnificent species and living in our magnificence is our path. Nothing is stopping us but our own fears because the rest of the physical existential boundaries to our evolution are being overcome. What we find out there should not scare us but instead invigorate us to bolder and greater heights!

A brighter future by voting for Democrats (#2447)

We need to give ourselves a break. We working/middle/poor class have had the short end of the stick for so long that many in our society have not known a thriving society like we had in the 50's and 60's. The current status quo of mediocre jobs and low wages is all many in our society have ever known. This doesn't have to be so. We have one sure fire opportunity coming up in about a year's time, making a vote for Democrats everywhere. For many illogical reasons we have given over to Republicans too much of our trust to make our lives better. They have failed at that task at every turn, so enough of them and their false promises of prosperity for the working/middle/poor class. Democrats on the other hand have found their courage and fortitude in taking on the wealthy where the wealthy have dominated our society. A small grouping of greedy capitalists has overrun the rest of the capitalists who are not greedy, and are now willing and able to fight them to bring our working/middle/poor class back up to an economic level that is both desirable and necessary. The task is daunting since the greedy capitalists have already got their hooks into the Republican party so deep that no amount of persuasion will move Republicans from fighting for them. They also control the media in ways that the truth of factual narratives is lost in the illusion of their agenda. The effort it will take to inform and motivate the low information voters toward the truth is surmountable but only if we clamor with all our might and passion in every way possible. I have thrown aside any relationship in my life that is still bogging me down with conservative nonsense as believable. Nothing will get in my way to stand up for liberal/progressive policies, not even the emotional attachments we all seek to fulfill our lives.

People are not property (#2446)

For most of human history people have been property in one form or another. If not outright owned by others then at least coupled to them through desperation. It is an unfortunate paradigm that has not seen a solution in our human era. That being said it isn't right to accept and continue behaviors that are antithetical to reason and morality. The idea that monetary value has become the highest priority in our civilized world is over shadowing the fact that this is not what we were born to achieve. We are not here to actualize a cost/benefit analysis, on the contrary we are here to enjoy and discover the majesty of existence. Now I know we need some form of give and take in our society so that we all function together in order to offset chaos but not at the expense of individual respect and dignity. I have one rule that I adhere to in my life and that is to cause no harm. It is the least I can do in order to keep my karma, my soul, fulfilled. As we become more enlightened about how archaic and antiquated our commerce and social interactions are maintained we must be ready to be stalwart against those who profit off of the existing paradigms of using one person for the gain of another. The old ways are hard to change despite all the logic and common sense of the need to change. There are too many set in their ways to ever admit that truth. So what we get is disfunction in the face of resistance. We are all born on this planet so the idea that we have to pay to stay here is not manifest destiny as I see it, instead it is a never ending poll tax just for being born. Now I get that we need to produce or entertain or offer some value to society in order to combat the forces of chaos but that we are segregating and entrapping ourselves through a system of economic unfairness has to come to an end. Our species is greater than groveling for life with each other.

If only we reported the truth (#2445)

The fourth estate, our media, has been shackled and streamlined toward finessing the facts of things so much that it is impossible to divine the truth out of what is being reported. We hear talking points and opinions about the edges of problems but not the truth of the problems themselves. We have too many moneyed interests controlling too many narratives of our news. The facts about deaths due to a lack of healthcare isn't the news, instead it is the socialization of our rigged capitalism that gets the headlines. Because the riggers own the media and that is their narrative. It isn't about the deaths from guns in the hands of mentally ill people, it is the distorted and twisted idea that somehow our 2nd amendment is being violated if guns are regulated in any way. The wealthy, who are showing us that they don't have national pride because they see themselves above American interests, again are the ones who control the media and with our lax laws on truth in advertising and are legally able to change the facts of things enough to fool less intellectual individuals into supporting and electing their stooge candidates and harmful policies. The idea of the fourth estate was to have a free and independent news providing source so that the truth of things could be shown for us to have a say about in our democracy. That idea is moot though since there is no free and independent news sources out there anymore. What we have now is a scramble between ideological positions of the wealthy vs the rest of us. Because of our inept supreme court we have no guidelines for truth telling in public that gives democracy the upper hand over an oligarchic paradigm. This era of Republican politicians and there crony masters will eventually come to and end but will it be in time to save our democracy? I am not much longer for this world since I am on the downhill side of my life but maybe before I go I will be able to witness the death of our current anti-democratic tilt.

Look beyond the label or catch phrase (#2444)

I have noticed a constant deception over a long period of time with Republican bills they want to pass. They call them something they are not in order to hide the hideous effect these bills will have on we Americans. Like the "right to work" laws they passed over the last few decades. It is catchy isn't? Meant to imply that it opens up possibilities for all to find jobs as a right, yet what the law should actually have been called is "Right to work for less". It is actually an anti union law that seeks to make work less profitable for workers while increasing profits for the captains of industry. What we have all should have learned over the last 4 decades is that the captains of industry don't need any financial help by way of legislation. They enjoy the widest gap in income inequality yet to date so why would we make the gap even wider, depriving American workers of even more income? Because Republicans don't want a prosperous society for all, they only want a prosperous society for those who are wealthy or are soon to become wealthy. Republicans use their catchphrases on bills so that they can have a greater chance of fooling the public into supporting them. Like the Patriot Act. It sounds nationalistic and worthy, but what it does is allow for surveillance on us without constitutional guarantees. Or personhood laws called so to make it appear that it is a law aimed at protecting people's rights when it is actually a bill to deny women control over their own bodies. Everything the Republican party does is some form of denying rights and privileges to the majority of us but many do not see it because of the wrongfully entitled legislation they offer. It is a sad game of intentional dishonesty and it has worked for Republicans because being the protectors of the wealthy they have the wherewithal to advertise their deceptions with unlimited funds.

Gun control (#2443)

I am fine with people who use guns for recreational purposes and there should be some kind of regulation that allows for just that, but this insane lack of any process to keep us from the wild west days is immature and deathly. How many of us citizens are going to have to die at the hands of people who should not be allowed anywhere near a weapon of murder. How many children will have to die because gun owners and manufacturers fail to want to keep them safe? I like the idea of self protection like most all of us do but there has to be a line that we are not willing to cross when it comes to weapons. Anything that can cause death with little to no physical effort needs to be as highly regulated as we do with rapid firing weapons. There has to be a safe way for persons to enjoy the satisfaction of firing projectiles at appropriate targets but not at the expense of logic and common sense. Switzerland is wrongly used as an example of a nation that safely allows it's citizens to own guns and is very low in gun deaths. What the protectors of no regulations on guns fail to mention is that although the Swiss have guns, they don't have ammunition. they have to go to approved gun ranges in order to fire their weapons. I know I would love it if we were able to do the same here but the fear and lie that we need our weapons and ammo to protect ourselves from some imaginary boogeyman government is absurd and paranoid to a tweaker extreme. We are the government and although too many of us are abdicating our right to define our government there are still enough of us who care to vote to keep it about all of us and not some arm of a private takeover to enslave or kill us. Our democracy needs us to be part of it's advancement and instead of burying our heads in the sand on gun control we should be making laws that protect our right to enjoy our weapons safely, while protecting the general public in an enlightened way.

The most magnificent species existing (#2442)

Yes, we humans. We don't necessarily show it enough but the potential is unlimited. What we lack in courage and exhibit with fear notwithstanding. We have everything we need to master all around us. We have a complex mind that can reason, analyze and conclude. We have five senses from which to gather external and internal data. We have in our minds a memory system that not only allows us to recall previously learned information but to take many bits of information and comprehensively apply it in new and exciting ways. We have the capacity to walk on our feet upright and run and jump as needed. We can sustain ourselves from what we know of our surroundings. We are a species that is meant for great things in this otherwise barren universe that has for now encapsulated us. Our minds give us another paradigm, our imaginations. We can imagine not only what our past was like based upon science and fact but we can envision our future in ways that drives our innovation and creativity. No species in our knowledge base has ever been to this point in an evolutionary process. We adapt, that is what we humans do. We humans also have the capacity to care for our environment and the other species that inhabit our world and possibly beyond. We are so amazing that a comparison to a super evolved species is within our reach. We humans are at the threshold of conquering the boundaries of our planet and reaching out into the universe to seek out what we can find. Nothing is holding us back accept the aforementioned lack of courage and illogical fear. We will move beyond our own human fear based limitations and gain the confidence needed to become the species that we all imagine at some point in our lives that we truly are. I am humbled and privileged to be a human being and for that no greater gift has been given me.

Capitalism run amok (#2441)

The sacredness that capitalism has within too many souls seems to have been confused with democracy. Capitalism is where trade and industry are run by private concerns, not the government. So in that world there would be a system much like Republicans are striving to attain. Where the captains of industry and trade make all the decisions about economic concerns of the whole of our citizenry. Where no collective bargaining or minimum wages would exist. Now democracy, which is the collection of all eligible citizens, makes the will of their interests known through their representatives. In this way, capitalism is a subset of democracy and answers to the will of the people and not the captains of industry. I am all for capitalistic values of hard work equating to merit and creativity and innovation equating to profit, but not without an oversight that regulates the inverse and adverse effects of extremism within these paradigms. We cannot have a purely capitalistic society since all those majority many who do not succeed have no other recourse for survival outside of begging for mercy. Neither can we have a non capitalistic society where no one has to do anything to survive. There must be a balance where there is no floor from which any soul may drop below as well as no ceiling that the wealthy can rise above. A healthy society includes all of its members and expects its members to have a duty to maintain the society through voting and participation. Democracy is our number one objective in society and all else flows from it. Capitalism is a tool for us to improve our society while giving us all something to value with our time and energy. Capitalism is just one avenue within our democracy for us to achieve our end, happiness and fulfillment, not despair and anguish.

If you believe in a God then thank him/her for Democrats! (#2440)

Republicans care not for the average person, which is about 95% of our American citizenry. If not for the Democrats and our fight to aid the working/middle/poor class there would be a barren wasteland between the castled wealthy and the rest of us peons begging for an ort. The Republican party has so far fought and lost in the battle to establish unemployment benefits, social security, medicare/medicaid, food stamps, Pell grants for college, and all other social programs aimed at establishing a floor by which no American human being should fall below. Think about this, Republicans would do away with not only social security insurance, by which we worker's pay every cent of, they also want to do away with voting as a right. How on this green blue Earth can there still be anyone who still votes for Republicans except the psychopath/sociopath(s) and the greedy wealthy. Where did the idea of a modern civilized society get so twisted that too many of us non-wealthy still vote for Republicans? How did the idea of science ever get lessened to the point of being downgraded to below faith based systems. I am in wonder as to the depths of how far we can fall from the days of my youth to now? When I was born in the 50's the promise of our nation was at a high degree of expectation and hopefulness, yet today just getting by or not going in reverse too fast is seen as an accomplishment. I am appalled by the deceit and deception employed by the Republican party to sacrifice the promise of our youth for old men to profit. It is an embarrassment of epic proportions and it stirs in me a fire that is melting hot. If there is one thing in existence I cannot stand or will not tolerate it is thievery from the promise of our collective future. We Democrats can only do so much so everyone else needs to get into the mix and make yourselves purposeful.

The harmony of goodwill and the sensation of hope (#2439)

Nothing on Earth is as rewarding as turning something worse into something better. I like to think of it as our inner harmonics. Our nature, by my reckoning is to be compassionate and curious. We care and we wonder. If that is true then when we see something not right and we make it even just a little bit better there is a reaction within our souls that uplifts us and offers us a sensation of hope. It isn't often that we can actually feel the effects of hope but hope is real not only in a conscious existential construct but in a felt way. What does hope feel like? It feels like satisfaction compounded with positive energy. Each day I wake up from my nightly sleep and it is if I am starting afresh from a new starting point. Such it is with the effects of a goodwill experience. I could have all the riches, glory and pleasure I desired out of life yet none of it stacks up to the simple expression of reaching out a hand to someone or something that is in desperate need of a hand. This current obsession with wealth and power is ridiculous from my vantage point. Nothing about the process to gain wealth and power is attractive but too many of our citizens are dismissive of the ruthless, cruel and brutish manner we have to take to achieve economic success. Somehow they have reconciled to themselves that achievement, regardless of the cost/benefit analysis is the ultimate paradigm over all else. What do we expect once the rare occurrence of wealth and power fulfillment has been achieved? Do we expect to feel the action of hope? The feeling of hope only comes about through making something better that was worse, not the accumulation of all the prizes that are out there. My life is simple, it is not dictated by the rules of commerce. Instead my life is dictated by the relationships I make better wherever my life takes me. My treasure is not tangible, my treasure is the smile I get when I can make something better or the respect I feel back when I have first given respect. The universe is greater than all of us so finding my harmony within it is much more important to me than to be filled with less than honorable actions devoid of care and wonder.

Republican politicians have no plan, they just blame (#2438)

Is it not obvious to all yet? I have been seeing it for decades but I know I pay close attention to politics, even to the point of making political science my university major for my bachelor's degree. So I have no excuse for not seeing how stark and bare the Republican agenda is for advancing our nation forward for those of us who are not wealthy. Now this should be clear, 99% of our American citizenry is not wealthy therefore 99% of us are not part of the Republican agenda. So how is that they keep getting elected to public office? Simply by controlling the mechanism of who is eligible to vote and where they vote. Now that is a part of it but not the biggest part. The biggest part is that Republicans have effectively turned our diverse nation from tolerant and respectful of each other into being afraid of each other. They have turned too many of us 99% into bigots full of prejudice and hate. There is a cancer running through the course of our nation's blood that will not be treated as long as Republicans continue to control the levers of public power. We 99% have got to be able to see above the pettiness we are presented with by the 1% of wealthy who are relentless in their narrative to undermine democracy in order to promote division among the rest of us while eventually gaining dispensation from the general laws of all men and women. The cancer in our society is driven by greed and we see its effect when we care to look at our society with a comprehensive view. The wealthy keep getting wealthier while the many of us stay the same or get poorer. There are only so many dollars in an economic society that will maintain their value and if most of the dollars are only going to a few then the rest of us are scrambling ever harder in order to just survive. Republicans are the carriers of the cancer of our economic and social strife so the best possible outcome is for us to exercise what voting rights we have left that Republicans have not taken from us and vote them out of office. Now is the time!

Conquering ignorance and fear with enlightenment (#2437)

There is one nation in our world where the remarkable advancement of enlightenment is occurring. Sweden, a country where the rights of humans is being advanced above the rights of the individual wealthy and corporations. I am so excited to see a country on our planet advance the ideal of the pursuit of happiness as a high priority in its social and economic policies. Sure they have their problems still but the fact that they are actually addressing them is an example for all of us to follow. We here in America cannot seem to get past the misbegotten idea that human life is worth less once achieved and then the idea of creating it. We here also seem to think that economic life is akin to a war we have to fight among each other for survival. Where the wealthy are assumed to be above the general laws the rest of us must follow. I look at Sweden and their encouragement of advanced education and that is how I see their successful evolvement. Where the idea there is to educate their citizens to a higher plane of reason and understanding, which is where enlightenment has the best chance to be fostered and bred. They also manage their economy in such a way as to basically have eliminated obscene income inequality. They have learned that government is the sovereign in all industry within their society. You cannot allow those who are the profiteers to set the rules for who and how profits can be made. You cannot allow those who are benefitting the most off of society to be the ones who decide how little tax they should pay. You cannot allow those who are bigoted to decide how much bigotry can be allowed and you cannot allow those who are elected into a democracy decide how much democracy some can have and others cannot have based upon something other than fairness. I hold Sweden up as an example of how life could be and hopefully we all will heed their insight.

Our youth need their time to live (#2436)

The one thing that I have had is a fulfilling youth. A time of discovery and the excitement that created. Not everything out there has to be viewed from negative perspective. I gave myself the time to get comfortable with what would inevitably would be my future. The hubris of my youth had an outlet to get to know what it is to be human and enjoy the benefits of my one time at being a young person with his life all out in front of him. I may have been bolder than many but it is my nature to explore and experience. I risked my life many times that now seems reckless but at the time seemed so natural within my generation. I have seen nature and our environment from a view of uninhibited curiosity instead of fleeting time frames. I had pushed the envelope on the thrill of being all I could be within my youth. I loved the time I spent actually living my youth. I may have been too wild and free but there I was where I wanted to be and others were wishing they could be. I soaked in the adventures of my generation like a thirsty soul who was always seeking to quench his thirst. My experiences from back then were so numerous and so mind numbing when the memories come flooding into my thoughts. My youth, the most precious time of my life and I didn't spend it doing what I must do now as a result of not being the vibrant soul I was back when I was just starting out with my own individual life. No one can take that harmony from me nor diminish it. How I knew that that my youth was more important to me than what my future may bring was probably the wisest decision I have ever made. So today I am not the most successful in the grind of life but I am content in my soul regardless of the next moment of my present or future. This is why our youth need to be able to explore the genius of being young and all the vibrant memories they can store for their future contentment. Inside me I am still that young man I was all those years ago regardless that I am this now older slower less mobile man.

When you finally start helping make the world better (#2435)

I know when i was young I was so angry that nothing that could be right about our world was actually right. Oh there were a few things that inspired like walking on the moon but for the most part I was mostly disappointed and given to becoming cynical about our future. I began a cycle in my life where my pleasures and desires were the only things that made my hierarchy of daily calculations. But not soon after I found that my own fulfillments were not a destination but less so, more like a temporary stopover. I began to realize that the world was not better like it should be because I wasn't involved in making it so. I expected others to carry my weight. So since my little self revelation I have been letting go of my wants and desires to a more basic needs only basis. In that way my time is valued over everything else. I don't give my time to things that are part of the problem or less than honorable in their nature. I can control who and where I spend my time. My time became my genesis for evaluating how to live my life. What do we do with our lives is a question we all will confront, hopefully in time to actually bring some good to fruition. Because if we get to the end of my life and have to face who I was and what I did I want there to be a smile on my face because although I didn't start out early in life helping to change reality for the better at least I finally did show up and carry my weight and maybe a little bit more. My time spent doing good is the value I had been looking for and because of that I know I have touched reality in a way that has caused reverberations to it. Isn't that what we all wanted to begin with? A purpose of noble and honorable influence? I don't have to have all the answers, I just have to know to never cause harm where harm isn't absolutely necessary, and to do right and good when hope is all that is left.