My innocence keeps me sane (#2404)

I am still that young boy who not that long ago, to me anyway, was as innocent about how I perceived existence as I am today. I know that cynicism and bad behavior has rusted some of the edges of my innocence but in my mind and heart my innocence is still purely immeasurable. That is the lens by which I can perceive all that is around me. The best of what could be and the happiest of what should be, are never far from my intentions. I have seen the purity of good, better and best and how much I admire and respect the raw expression of them. Regardless of the circumstance or situation, innocence revealed and acted upon is precious. That is the reality I live in. I know that most of the time innocence is lost in the daily hustle and bustle of life but that is no excuse for not striving to have the best of who we are and what we can become. I wont settle for less when my life is all that I have to control. I am the one who can change and be an example so that is my duty given the chaotic paradigm we have before us. We are out of our cycle of natural being. We have become automatons to our work, our society's expectations, to too many other things who we are not. My foundation, my genetic thrust is for me to be the best human I can possibly be. How do I do this? By learning whatever it takes to keep my mind open to facts and truths while never losing my hope or wishes and dreams. I am an amalgamation of interests but only one is supreme to all others, that being my purpose for living. I am a biological sensory processor who can input data and then analyze, reason and conclude from it. I then store in my memory a comprehensive outlook and then act upon it. My purpose is to function as the best biological data processor I can be. I also have an emotional component that gives me character and personality. With these I can operate as more than just a biological computer, I can be the master of my abilities and then proceed to express only the most noble and honorable actions and thoughts I can humanly create. This all stems from my innocence which I will never abandon nor denigrate.

Register to vote if you care about your future (#2403)

Why is it important to vote? Because we all get one vote if we choose to exercise it so we all have an equal chance to say how we want our future to unfold. Today more than ever the differences in the two visions being laid out is stark. There can be no confusing one for the other. In other words in no scenario are both parties the same. There is the Republican vision that would have us living like in the wild west days where guns ruled the law and the Democratic vision where laws rule the guns. Republicans would have us living under the confines of religious dogma whereas Democrats, like our founding fathers, would have us living free from religious persecution. Republicans would install a government that favored those who capitalized on our economy regardless of it's staggering income inequality, whereas Democrats would keep our government in the business of regulating and socializing our competitive but flawed capitalistic system. Republicans would and are clamoring for war as a solution in lieu of any other solution that isn't utter surrender. Democrats would, as a final move use deadly force in order to bring about change but not until peaceful negotiation had run it's course. The Republican doctrine of survival of the fittest would leave our seniors, children, and disabled citizens with little recourse other than begging as a means for them to exist, while Democrats believe and implement social programs designed to reduce and eliminate suffering and harm to our most vulnerable citizens. Republicans if given the opportunity, would restrict voting rights in every way that they could in order to only allow for property owners and privileged to vote for our future. Democrats are of another mindset, we Democrats would rather allow universal voting for all citizens of our country and make it available as easily as possible so that everyone could have a voice in our democracy. Do you see the reason now why it is so important to register to vote so that you can have a say in what your future could be?

The desperation of being brutalized (#2402)

We sit here safe in our seats at home here in America while the world is volatile in too many places. I feel guilty for having some safe harbor here while too many others are fleeing for their lives with all they can carry on their backs. Philosophically it reminds me that our world is not civilized enough for all of us to live in peace, yet it also reminds me that real people are trying to stop the violence enough so that we can find peace for all. Reality is more dark and harrowing. Reality is showing me that the forces that wish to keep peace at bay are still strong and forceful in their intent to kill and harm. What does this say about the nature of humanity? It isn't the humanity that I live so it tells me that there is a brutal perversion that exists among us that does not recognize the value of human life. Surely these despotic souls recognize a higher order of value for their own lives but not for anyone else's. This perverted mindset that has infected their ability to reason with a humane logic must be quelled with a strong arm since the kindness of debatable argument is impossible. We must abate those who would destroy humanity for their own brutal perversions with the same force of will even if it must include shackling and removing them from further interconnectedness with the rest of civilization. An intelligent and caring society must not only be willing to negotiate our problems with an eye toward the most doable solution, but we must also wield a heavy hand when forced to act by those who would brutally pervert our system of equality, justice and fairness. The desperation of being brutalized that too many feel now is an effect from the cause of too many societies ruled by too many perverted brutalizers.

It's okay to admit we are alone in a great big universe, it is the truth (#2401)

The truth is better than any lie we may tell ourselves. Living in the truth no matter how scary or frightening it may be is the first step to overcoming our fear and fright. The myths and superstitions we have created as a species to help us along in our sometimes trembling lives are meant to assuage the fear reality can bring about. The problem with that type of solution is that it deviates us from fact. Now look about in our society and you can see the absolute adverse effects of myths and superstitions being played out. Not only are there too many who believe in myth and superstition there are too many who are making a business of myth and superstition so much so that too much of reality and fact is ignored. I don't need a pacifier of any sort to be able to get along with my life here in this existence. I have me and the objective elements that make up existence to keep me full of wonder and care. Everything else is just noise from the fearful who have not found their courage to stand on their own ability to define fact from fiction. It is a simple solution for too many to just trust that myth and superstition must be true despite not having any logical evidence to prove it. Too many condition their minds to dismiss contrary evidence in order to maintain an illusion that makes them feel protected and safe. An illusion to make ourselves feel protected and safe is not living, it is abdicating the motivation of our curiosity. Fear will do that and fear often enough is what too may think is the ceiling they may never rise above. I can admit that I am alone in the universe because it is true. There are other beings who reside with me here in the universe but they also only have themselves. We are alone and that is okay. If we get lucky enough we can find a mate to live with us in our lives and that can help with keeping us protected and safe but that is the only real option. Otherwise it is like my life, just living as myself with no fact to anything after my life is over that the universe promises me.

Making voting easy and rewarding (#2400)

Not only should voter registration be as easy as possible for all Americans there should also be a reward for actually voting. Some small but significant option that can be utilized once a cast ballot is confirmed. As it is now we have about half of our eligible voters not voting for may reasons, including the difficult obstacles Republicans are implementing through voter restrictions. The truth of a society being a democracy is in it's citizens participating in it's elections. We cannot say we are a true democracy when we are restricting opportunities to vote and restricting the ability of our citizens to prove they are citizens. We can use Occam's razor to understand the significance of the Republican strategy to restrict voting based upon their claim of voter fraud. Since little to no evidence exists of voter fraud "the more likely reason" (Occam's theorem) for them to be restricting voting is more easily understood by who is feeling the brunt of the restrictions. Older poorer citizens, students and poorer non-caucasians are the ones who are more adversely affected by voter restriction laws. That many of this voting block are Democrat voters indicates to any sensible person that the intent of voter restriction laws is to lessen the democrat vote. Now the partisan on the republican side may well gleefully applaud this somewhat successful tactic, the other many who have a sense about patriotism and democratic principles see this as nothing more than the real voter fraud being perpetrated by Republicans. Aside from that problem, we have an electorate that is disinterested in politics mainly because we have very little truth in advertising for political ad laws. So the constant barrage of mixed messages bordering on absolute falsehood has turned off many who would otherwise like to make an informed decision based upon fact. There is also something to be said for providing a reward for those who do participate in our elections as an incentive to continue such behavior as a means of protecting and improving our democracy.

The wealthy are the problem, not the immigrant (#2399)

The wealthy are the owners of our media and communication outlets so they are successfully able to deflect their ownership of our dismal economy and instead falsely attack the immigrant as the problem. That there is little good work available is their premise and those damn immigrants are taking what there is, is what is causing our problems. The problem with that is that the wealthy are hoarding many trillions of dollars overseas in tax shelters, avoiding paying taxes on their profits here in America and the loss of most of that revenue flowing through our economy is the reason we have little opportunity for businesses to grow and flourish. We are stuck in a bad work situation because the wealthy don't want to pay their share of taxes. That is it in a nutshell so for them to be blaming our economic woes on immigration is not only false it is racist. The argument that the poor colored skin fellow and girl is our problem is wrong, it is the wealthy and their protected greed that is the problem. However the wealthy's narrative is working somewhat as we are not talking about changing the tax code to punish tax evaders or increasing our resources at the IRS in order to handle all the wealthy grifters keeping our nation in an economic stagnant state. That our middle class manufacturing jobs have gone overseas and the wealthy are actually rewarded through the tax code for doing it is even more brutish to our American citizenry's economic outlook. We cannot change these laws because Republican politicians will not do anything to upset the greedy wealthy who are their donor base. The only way to get America back on a firm economic footing is to vote for Democrats everywhere and vote out Republicans everywhere. The wealthy have stolen enough from our middle class and the time has come for them to pay it back with interest and then be punished for their behavior just like any other criminal!

We need intelligent leaders not brutish ones! (#2398)

We have tried brutish leaders who are far from intelligent as leaders and all they have done for us is very little. By very little I can't think of anything so I gave them a benefit of my uncertainty. Nothing that stands out as applaudable. The Republican party is where these brutish leaders are elected from and what is most galling is that many of us have seen this for so long yet cannot convince others from voting for them or others to participate in the vote. It is as if intelligence is being mocked for no sake at all except for harm. I so yearn to be proud of our great American electorate but have as of yet I am only slightly so. We did elect our first African American/white president during the last two national elections and that is significant for our country. Although the civil war was decided 150 years ago in favor of the anti-slavery faction, segregation and institutional racism still flourish under the guise of unequal laws. We have allowed for women to vote about 95 years ago as the law of the land but our brutish leaders from the republican party are never ending in finding ways to make laws that prohibit many women from voting. We changed the voting age from 21 to 18 back in 1971 and since then Republicans have been finding ways to subvert that right by making it hard for students to vote in the college states they attend outside the states they reside. The elderly have not much use for driver's licenses or ID cards but drivers licences and/or ID cards are increasingly required for them to vote. The obviousness of the brutish Republican party to limit the class of voter, mostly Democrat, is just another attempt by them to force us to accept their way of thinking by denying our right to choose. Republicans are not attracting us to their vision, they are thrusting it upon us through strong armed tactics. I expect nothing less of brutish leaders, so let's say we deny them a place in our politics when the next national election in 2016 arrives.

Logic versus illogic (#2397)

One the one hand is logic, where science captures our imaginations with theories and facts. On the other hand is illogic, where belief in the fantastical is given equal weight with reality. Only one of these has a function that propels us into our greatest challenges. The other is what holds us back from meeting those challenges. I have mentioned it so many times in this blog but again I will mention it again. We are biological data processors who also have the ability to compute reason from an unlimited amount of variables. We have memory for which to store comprehensively, we have intuitiveness to allow us to sense that which is less detectable by our 5 sensors. We have a will that sustains us through our curiosity and our compassion and our survival instinct. We are an adaptive processor as we are able to create and innovate from the resources surrounding us. We are an amazing species with an unlimited potential. We can only realize that potential if we are able to rationalize. To rationalize we must be able to express our thoughts and actions in ways that are compatible with each other. We use logic to do that. Logic is our order for language and it's evidentiary factualness. We must remain in reality so reality is our existence. Theories and facts give us the best hope of moving forward if we are to realize our potential. The illogic of myth, superstition and mores were used in ancient times to control civilizations for reasons other than ideality. The time to stop adhering to illogic is and has been upon us for centuries. The problem is that too many profit off of our adherence to illogic and they are greedily resistant to change. The challenge for all of us is to take stock of reality through logic and recognize that none of us is physically bound to illogic unless we so choose. So our choice is clear, embrace logic for all it's human potential or remain closeted with illogic and it's unrecognizable human value.

White privilege and black denigration (#2396)

The color of one's skin is how too many judge each other. The die was cast centuries ago when people of color were considered property by those whites who captured and then bought and sold them. The disgraceful mindset of people as property is the white races shame and being of the white race I bear the stain of my forefathers/mothers who inhumanely practiced this despicable act. Although an American civil war was fought to overcome slavery the remnants of slavery persist to this day. Low wages, poverty and a lack of education, health care and opportunity are the vehicles that keep some white's finding contentment in their never ending justification for labeling some beings lesser than them. White privilege has a home in the Republican party and anyone who votes for their candidates is enabling such cruel and brutish behavior. I am not a black man so my feelings on the denigration the African Americans and even now the Hispanic/Latine races feel is only superficial. But let me tell you, it may be superficial but it is cutting. How much worse must it feel for those who feel it's pain deep within. This existence isn't without consequence regardless of what reality is showing us. There is a sense that Karma and inverse proportion will come to show it's punishment to those who flaunt respect for life and dignity for all those who possess life. I know I work in ways that will help a proportional response to those who are either cavalier about their racism, or deeply hiding it. There is no escape from this horrible behavior that shames the rest of us who are civilized and objective thinkers. I may be of the white race but I am not an advocate for it. I am a human being and that is my race. I do not subset myself out to please those around me nor do I compromise on equality, justice or fairness. The sheer hatred that it takes to think along lines of segregation and condescension will never get any quarter or safe harbor from me and those who are like me.

Check your humanity at the door (#2395)

This Republican mantra of austerity and survival of the fittest is fine if you have no heart or care for anyone else. Is that what has made us a great country? Selfishness? I am getting older by the day and over these 6 decades I have lived the same political reality continues to be a struggle. Why are there enough souls out there that are craving to have more than anyone else? Materialism and consumerism are only by products of a society that is creative and innovative, not the end all. We have a society of civilized folks so that we can work together in order to have a more fulfilling life with a safe harbor to operate from. Hopefully we won't get anarchy but we will get less than democracy if we don't face the reality of our choices. Is it so important to be the wealthiest soul on Earth? Is that what would bring happiness to all of us? Apparently that is impossible since we all can't be the wealthiest at the same time. Why would we want to be part of a society that only celebrated the wealthy while ignoring the vast majority of the rest of us? Is it a deep seated need to validate our own existence by proving we are better than others? Are we the wild savages in literary lore that forego enlightened knowledge in order to be worshipped as some sort of demigod? Do we truly wish to condescend to all others as a reminder to ourselves that we are magnificent and better? What is it that makes us think that survival of the fittest is a better way of life than cooperating and acting as a part of the total instead of the sum of the total? Keeping an austerity derived political mindset is a brutal and punishing mindset that makes life unbearable for those who are not the brightest or more skilled among us. Who has given anyone who pushes austerity the right to judge others based upon a rigged economic system? As I continue to grow in my ageless wonder I also continue to be disappointed and enraged at our callous lack of humanity that is apparently checked at the door of America.

Faith based life style (#2494)

I cannot call it faith based "religions" since the base of religion, a creator who has given us free will, is being bastardized by too many within the faith based community. A sort of make your religion fit anything that satisfies your desires. The idea that the concept of good, which is derived from the intent of God is now up for interpretation as long as it is reasonable to our understanding, is an abomination to what good generates from. Being your brothers keeper and helping the downtrodden is not the priority of a lot of religions today. It seems that filling the pews and collecting the tithes is more important than the giving of one's actionable benevolence to anyone other than the church leaders purse. I see the wealth that many high profile preachers receive and accumulate and it sickens my heart. I am not a religious person per se, but I am a spiritual one who sees a connection to our universe and all things in it. So it is right and good of me to call out when I see those who call themselves preachers ie, the word of God, living a lifestyle that looks more like worshipping the golden calf instead of washing each others feet. Pride is the inverted effect of humility. We seem to have a slew of preachers who have much pride and little humility to their character. Now what is even worse is that religious leaders are more prone to be businessmen instead of lifters up of souls. Is it any wonder that the faith based community is in disarray and unable to evangelize with any success. Not mirroring another organization that does work and shares this tradition, "it is attraction, not promotion", nothing the current church manifests is attractive. One the contrary, the use of a burn in hell promise to prompt folks to join them is increasingly their last play to win over converts. Scaring people to join a faith based religion is brutish, although in keeping with those church leaders who prize the lifestyle of the wealthy more than the health and good will of their congregation.

It is great overcoming fears (#2393)

By great I mean tremendous. I cannot tell you how many times I have manufactured a fear in my head and let it dictate my thoughts and behaviors. It is embarrassing even having to admit it. yet it is what I had done for so much of my life. A big strong man like myself given to his own fantastical fears as an all too often default. Now what I do is dismiss my fears with a caveat. I know how I can be so I temper my thoughts and behaviors with wisdom and compassion. Not always but for the most part so. My internal fears come about because I slip out of reality and into a quasi fantasy state, where reality and fantasy comingle. Separating these two into their respective camps allows me to keep fantasy and the fears they generate and reality devoid of each other. It is then much easier to dismiss the fantasy and allow the reality to consume my awareness. Now let me be clear here, hope and wishful thinking are still part of reality for me and although yet to be, hoping and wishful thinking are possible as a goal, not a fact. Which is the concept I needed to have in order to clear my mind. I do not let fear, without true justification, to live in my mind. There is too much in life to keep me occupied with reality. I will not let fear have a foothold in my natural life process. What I do is wisely accept fear where fear is really part of the circumstance or situation. I accept myself for me and I don't let peer pressure or expectation be part of how I live. I cannot control what others think and do when all I can be is the best me I am able to project. Everything else is not my problem or concern to solve. I do appreciate how insignificant I am in the big picture but I also know how significant it is for me to be myself in this world. Living in imagined fear is not a natural state for us beings who have everything to gain by enjoying life and experiencing it's marvels and everything to lose by not doing so.

Our only purpose for living (#2392)

To become aware. Everything after that is a choice. We can use our awareness to do good in every little thing we do. In other words live an honorable life. That doesn't mean we can't have fun but our fun must not harm others. Or we can choose to use our awareness to do less than good and look out only for ourselves. This is the lesser way to live but it does suit those who have no care for others. It is my contention that we are all born with a curiosity and compassion. What we do with those two primary human traits is often what defines us and shapes our personalities and character. Many of us have asked no one in particular "what is our purpose in life"? or simply put "why"? For me the answer has to be a logical one, even if we we evolved from chaos. Logic is the only way we can measure knowledge. If you give me that we are a curious species with a brain able to calculate and diagnose and a memory able to store and comprehensively apply new information and an ability to sense through our five senses constant data for input, surely you must give me a logical process for distinguishing between the facts and the fiction of what we discern. Logic is our only means for communicating with each other effectively. I put it to you that there is honor and nobility in every action necessary for our society to function. Regardless of the chore or responsibility. In knowing that we live our purpose. We are part of a larger force of will, not just our own, and as such we must see that nothing we do is less important than our greatest achievement. Now you may think that becoming aware is a simple duty we easily accomplish and that very few lack the ability. Yet some have taken being aware and traded it for safety and comfort. This trading of our individuality in order to avoid some fear is again a lesser life not worthy of the great boldness the human species has fiercely acquired.

Illiteracy throughout our culture is killing any logical progression (#2391)

How can we ever hope to improve our society or even maintain what is good about our society when too many of us are not able to understand what is happening? The disgraceful and brutish Republican party is working overtime to dismantle our education system so that even fewer of us are able to comprehend their nefarious agenda. Republican party leadership wants to dissolve democracy as we know it in order to establish a wealthy ruling class. This may sound far fetched to some of you but if you look at all of their policy directives you will see the pattern. Eliminate or weaken social security, medicare, food stamps, welfare, and other need based and entitlement social programs. Increase war making opportunities by funneling too much national treasure into private military contracts. Privatize previous functions of government, such as our postal services, restrict educational opportunities and increase the population of our prisons through lessening our individual rights. Restrict who can participate in our election process by making it difficult to impossible for those who are poor, elderly, young and transitional to be able to register for the vote. Lessening rights for women to be able to act on their own behalf by cutting opportunities to necessary medical services. All of this and much more are examples of the Republican party's rabid like actions to control those of us who are not wealthy. What the Republican party has done effectively is quickly rip apart the fabric of what once was our burgeoning middle class and made paupers of us as a result. The fact that Republicans so effectively gerrymandered districts after their 2010 national election victory and parlayed that into maneuvering the obligations attached to the census of that year into a lock onto Republican controlled districts for House membership, is another example of how underhanded Republicans will go in order to control the means of government that allows them their agenda. The stupidification of our electorate is their goal and if they keep the rest of us fighting for what little is left they will continue to hoard the lot.

Does it matter who we are? (#2390)

The cynics would say nothing really matters so do everything for yourself so that at least you will be somewhat satisfied. The approach is one of survival of the fittest and it is a strategic part of the Republican platform. I don't know about you but I happen to be one who does believe that what we do matters. I can remember specific instances where my direct actions have saved lives without ever having taken one. I can remember influencing others to a better way instead of them being left without my influence and a more likely worse outcome. I can remember doing an honorable thing instead of a dishonorable thing when the spotlight was on me and thinking that regardless of what happens next, I did a good thing for others to notice. Whether in the bigger picture any of it is relevant or not is not my choice, only the doing of something is. I have seen enough of our world and how our societies operate to know that I don't want to be part of the things that cause harm and suffering. I want to be part of things that alleviate harm and suffering. This is who I am and for me to deny who I am is absurd to me anyway. Happiness is important to me and good will is as well. I cannot live the life of a selfish soul, I have tried to be selfish and it always comes back to me in a negative way. I hate being in a negative state with all the guilt it eventually percolates. I know this about myself as well. So does it matter who we are? To me it does and if I don't live a life of artificial satisfaction I will at least have lived an enriched life. One that honors a noble vision of equality, justice and sharing of myself with others that we all find a benefit in positive ways. We all must "find ourselves" it is just whether we do and whether we actually embrace it at the finding time.

Defining our vision (#2389)

This is what the democratic primary season is all about for us liberal/progressives. We want to move our country forward as best we can in a current political climate that has us hamstrung through previous commitments enshrined into law and a brutish political Republican party intent upon obstructing all liberal/progressive policies. There is a tightrope we must traverse in order to bring about continued change on a large scale. We have opponents who have dug in their heels through fearful and ruthless obstinance and are willing to back it up with boatloads of negative propagandized advertisements. We have laws and treaties that we are bound to through obligation which keep us from gutting out the bad in our often broken system of governance. Yet, with a debate about what hopes and dreams we share we can come together enough to shake off the Republicans and their big money donors to take control of enough of government so that the changes needed to rectify our laws and treaties can begin. What all of us liberal/progressives must understand is that we are on the same side regardless of the candidate we support. So in the end when the nominating process has finished, we should and must get behind whatever candidate emerges as our leader. This is why it is so important now to get our candidates in tune with our hope. The eventual candidate will not be all we want in a candidate, There will be flaws but we will be much better off if we let the process of debate and argument flourish. We will all learn the issues and the consequences of the most important policy advancements and although we won't all get that we want, we will continue to bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice, equality and opportunity. We must stay united in our discourse despite the few differences we surely have with each other. The greater good demands it!

The benefit of the politics of greed and selfishness has a cost (#2388)

When the manipulators are the beneficiaries then innocence and harm are the cost. We trust our leaders to actually be our leaders and not some straw men/women for a particular group. We expect our leaders to be strong advocates for all of us not just the ones who pay to lobby them. Let me explain, there is always a cost/benefit analysis to every decision made by our representatives. Weighing these cost/benefits is what we expect our representatives to do in a way that works to secure liberty and freedom while upholding equality and fairness. Everything must start from the ideal of democracy. No decision can begin without taking into consideration the cost/benefit to all within our society. At least that is the idealist approach. What we have instead is a system that rewards capital to the detriment of those majority of us who are not capital wealthy. It is not like the greedy and selfish are unstoppable but we majority seem to lose to the greedy and selfish and those they get elected to represent us. How is this possible when we the majority have the numbers to elect our leaders who are more in line with a democratic approach? It is stagnancy within our citizenry to embrace our duty to learn who it is that is trying to lead us and what they stand for while exercising our right to vote regardless of any circumstance. We fail to show up at the voting booth, we fail to analyze the candidates and their parties for their vision and we fail to understand the importance of what electing candidates of the greedy and selfish will do to our hope to have a more prosperous life while keeping our democratic principles alive and well. We fail at being Americans who should be all about determining our future together. We abdicate our responsibility to be free with a voice. Nothing good can come of it and we are already seeing the ill effects of our complacency.

Today's Republican voters are those cave dwellers in the Allegory of the Cave (#2387)

Socrates gave us a perfect example of what it is like to be a Republican voter. In the cave, the uneducated are led to believe that the shadows on the walls are reality. When one finally escapes from the cave and sees the world as it really is the one becomes enlightened to the fact that the rest in the cave are still being mislead. The analogy still rings true today for Republican voters. They would rather stay comfortably in the little knowledge they have because it suits their lifestyle than to become educated to greater knowledge of the world around them. This is their dilemma, living in reality but with blinders on. I think of it as a lack of courage to actually be human. We humans are a curious lot and denying our curiosity is less than human. Why would we deny our curiosity if it is essential to our humanity? Fear, and what causes the fear? Change. Being afraid of what is yet happening or being afraid of what is yet to be is cowardly. No one is given a safe harbor in this dynamic existence. Yet too many have sought out shelter from reality by ignoring it and adopting illogical practices. Staying in the cave is a comfort that too many are willing accept instead of living a life that embraces our strengths and increases our knowledge. So staying mediocre in knowledge is a goal for those who are too cowardly to embrace the fullness of life. Not much of a tradeoff in my mind. I would rather live heartily and accept what comes than to ignore change and only accept that which doesn't allow us to grow. Again, fear can do that and many use fear against others just for the purpose of backing them off from confronting them when they manipulate us. Staying in the cave and accepting the shadows as reality may keep some safe but it will do nothing to allow us to grow in knowledge and experience, which gives us a fuller and more satisfying life.

Your vote helps shape reality (#2386)

I know most of us like to surround ourselves in a cocoon of sorts so that we are sheltered from most of what reality is but that is precisely why we need to exercise our vote at every opportunity. Unless we can change reality through legislation we will continue to need to be sheltered from those parts of reality that are worthless and harmful. The only way we can change reality through legislation is to vote for candidates that have all of our best interests at heart. We all deserve to have a world to live in that helps us become better at being ourselves, not one that punishes us for the difficulty it places on us to succeed. This is how our vote matters. Our vote is as precious as the air we breathe. Think about it, even the air we breathe is being legislated in ways that could bring about a harm to this fundamental necessity. If we allow others to control through their votes while we do nothing with our votes we become the followers when we could and should be the leaders. I know this is not what we care to hear at times but we do have a duty, to ourselves and to our nation to vote when the voting time comes. A democracy is only as good as it participants make it. If we fail to participate in our democracy by not voting we allow a greater chance for ill advised laws and puppeted politicians to come to fruition. My reality is one of great potential but I cannot affect my reality for a better world without help from like minded souls who also exercise their vote. Let me be clear here as well, I know that having a perfect candidate or a perfect law come into being is the ideal and that is what I always hope for but as humans we find that the perfect is more a goal and getting close to it is our best chance as we move through life. Striving to build on what we have with even better is always more palatable than quitting because we cannot have the greatest achievement in what we want or need.

Politics is not a game (#2385)

If you think that politics is just some game that has limited influence on your daily lives then you are fooling yourself. Politics is a real as your birthday, and I know we all like it when we get one special day a year to celebrate our lives. If there is one thing politics can do it is to take away your birthday as a law. Think about that for a moment. Politics has such tremendous power in application that even your birthday can be outlawed. Still think politics is a game? There are some really horrible people involved in politics and their agenda is to rule the power structure of politics without anyone being able to challenge them. Do you get it now? The idea of an election every 2 years could very well disappear under the wrong type of political majority. Democracy is a delicate thing and must be protected by all of us who wish to see it maintained because there are a growing number of fools who would help the wealthy diminish our democracy so that they can protect their ability to acquire more and more of our natural and economic resources. If you think I am nuts then ask yourself why is so much of the wealth concentrated in just a few hands? Still think I am nuts? The rules to capitalism have been rigged so that not even close to anyone can be economically successful. That is no game either when you are trying to support yourself and or a family. This "turn on and tune out" mantra is exactly what the thieving carpetbaggers want everyone else to do. Ignore reality so that they can continue to control reality. There are some messed up folks involved in our politics and they are working to make our lives more difficult and scary. Politics is not a game and if we all would just spend a little more time in reality recognizing that we can stop the devastation those mostly in conservative circles are perpetuating, we would return to politics as a help, not a harm.

Will you vote this coming national election in 2016? (#2384)

The hallmark of a democracy is the citizen's right to vote. How much do you know about that hallmark? Do you know that women were not even given the right to vote until the national election of 1920, less than 95 years ago? In 1867 African/Americans were given the right to vote but due to the effectiveness of poll taxes and other impediments, African/Americans were not fully enfranchised with their right to vote until 1965. The reason being is that conservatives have long established that their brand of politics is not democracy, but instead rule by landowners and white race elites. This is not a fallacy. Conservatives in the Republican party fought to preserve our nation for the King of England, conservatives fought to keep African/Americans as slaves, Conservatives advocated and voted to keep us from having Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and a central government strong enough to keep the states from acting as their own country, among a few anti-democracy policies. The Republican party of today has all these like minded conservatives entrenched within it so the idea that Republicans would compromise their principles of destroying democracy as we know it is an illusion. Why do you think they work so hard to make voting difficult for those who are not Republicans? Conservatives can only win elections if the majority of us do not vote. Historically this coming election will likely see 60% of the registered voting electorate actually cast ballot. That other 40% that doesn't vote is an overwhelming majority of non Republicans. So we get Republicans elected to office because a strong minority of our citizenry that is anti Republican won't bother to vote. Those of you who won't vote, ask yourself this, do you want to live in a democracy or do you want to be less that our founding fathers/mothers envisioned, fought and died for?

It was liberalism that built America (#2383)

Since the time we first began to fight and win our independence from the King of England in the Revolutionary War, it was the liberals who paid for our success with blood and treasure. The Tories, today known as conservatives, were the ones who wanted to keep England as our sovereign and fought against the liberal push to gain freedom from tyranny. Later on in our history it was the liberals who fought against our own conservatives in the Civil War and defeated them so that slavery would be abolished. Conservatives fought hard to keep their possession of the black race from Africa and the West Indies as property. It was liberalism that fought for the rights of women to vote and conservatism that fought to deny the right of the ballot. Liberalism prevailed then and it prevailed again during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt who introduced a law that is now known as Social Security. Liberals fought hard for this program that was a relief to seniors who had little to no income in their waning years, despite conservative opposition. The effect of Social Security helped elevate our nation out of the Great Depression and raise millions out of poverty. It was the liberals who brought about into law Medicare/Medicaid and the Voting Rights Act/Civil Rights Act. Medicare/Medicaid because our older and poverty stricken generation needed medical attention for ailments that were traditionally curable but not without a way to seek and pay for the privilege, that only the wealthier among our citizenry could afford. The Voting Rights Act/Civil Rights Act that sought to protect ourselves from the malingering effects of the abolition of slavery a century earlier. Although conservatives lost the battle to keep slaves as property, they never lost their hatred to punish them for the idea of equal rights they had gained. We liberals now have the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which expands both Medicare and Medicaid opportunities to those who can least afford it. Conservatives are still fighting to end Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and although not outwardly admitting it, they want to return voting only to property owners. Conservatism is our enemy it seems when the long look at our history is done with objectivity and honesty.

It is always about the message, not the messenger! (#2382)

A tactic some who are belligerent and ego driven would use is not to discuss the issues that we need or don't need but to instead besmear the candidate who is trying to advocate for or against these issues. Whether it is a need they have to be right regardless if they are wrong or if they are just not intelligent enough to understand the implications of their actions they must not be allowed to hijack our electoral process with their bigotry and ad hominems. People who use this diversionary tactic are more inclined to try to win in anyway they can so that they can get their way, regardless of the disservice they are doing to the rest of us, which by the way, is beside the point to them. They don't see what could be great about our country, they see what could be good or great for themselves personally, and the rest of us can just accept it, or not. Remember, a personal attack on a candidate is usually employed when a political party is on the wrong side of an issue and want to change the subject in order to have to explain why they are on the wrong side of an issue or policy. A diversionary tactic, if successful, is one that allows for a loser to escape from having to bear the consequences of being a loser. This is so often a game in politics and when we don't make these intentionally wrong candidates feel the brunt of their harmful policy or issue positions then they can continue to use diversionary tactics to win the day even though their policies are wrong for our future. Too many of our citizenry are still infected with prejudice and a condescension toward those who are not them and until we can all recognize that none of us is any different in the areas that really count these candidates who besmear other candidates will continue to find success where they should find punishment.

The liberal bashers (#2381)

I have some acquaintances who are constantly bashing liberals for reasons I am unable to figure. The reason being is that they are either employed through liberal policies or are on assistance that is provided by liberal policies, yet to hear them talk it is as if being a liberal is absurd or degrading. I can't wrap my mind around the cognitive dissonance of it all. I have a feeling it has more to do with their own sense of worth. it is easy to go around and act like someone who is tough and can make it all on their own and if that is the illusion some need then that would explain most of this to me. I can't see though how when I explain the larger picture of their hypocrisy they are just unable to admit it and then work it out for themselves. their is an underlying hatred somewhere that won't let them see all people as good if given the same opportunities. I muster froward though with my head shaking because despite how hard I try to use reason and logic, it is impenetrable to their preset thinking. Another thought occurs to me as well. I imagine also that they cannot allow anyone who they think is less deserving of being intelligent to teach them something they won't admit in public that they don't know. An arrogant pride that must be protected whether it is being cruel or dishonest as a result. All of this just reminds me how tired I am of trying to tell some people that doing and being good is a full time gig and that there is no room for illusions or hypocrisies. I guess I should just feel fortunate that I am not them, people who are not comfortable in their own skin, and not comfortable with others in their own skin. What a sad commentary in how they have to view life and live it. Anyway, just some thoughts about the recent liberal bashers I have crossed paths with. Not pretty but not un common with them either.

The best of all worlds (#2380)

There is no harshness in an idea that seeks to solve all problems with the best of intentions. There will always be a way that helps all people live better lives and have happiness as our destiny. Having the best of intentions always begins at causing no harm. Remember what harm is? It is real pain and anguish. Why would we even consider a solution that was intertwined with harm? Now it is necessary at times to defend ourselves and those who would seek out to harm us need to have a greater force of harm returned to them. But in only those cases. Our citizenry should not have to live under policies that by their nature only harm those who are least able to afford harm. That is not honorable, it is cowardly. When I see today's Republican politicians in "red' states who implement policies that ignore complex problems and instead deny solutions that could work, I get rankled and angry. yet these politicians who have mesmerized too many of their constituents with other shiny objects so as they don't realize they are being played for fools, continue to do so. It is unfortunate that so many are harmed by a lack of critical thinking toward solutions but regardless there we are. Now in other states where Democrats are in control, there is some movement toward attaining rights and policies that actually improve society while alleviating problems. I am fortunate again to live in one of those "blue" states where modernity is evolving as fast as problems are disappearing. It only comes about because serious politicians are doing serious work, and that work that starts at not harming. Solving problems while improving society, a win/win. Life is not always a zero sum game. By creating new policies that positively effect our citizens we also reduce the angst and disappointment because something good is happening. Making us all feel good is a better way to address our future than continuing to beat us to make us less human.

Myths and superstitions seem to comfort those who are less able to think for themselves (#2379)

Why are some less able to think for themselves? I know they can think but they appear to stop when it comes to reasoning and analyzing. Is it so hard to put your mind to facts and logic when it is your life's direction that your are faced with? Is it somehow easier to just say let me believe in something instead of let me understand something. Is the model of a myth or superstition so attractive that we are willing to give over reality to it? For me it is failure to launch into the best of who we are. Again I will say this, we are data processing entities. It is what we do! We are biologically created to learn and grow from knowledge and experience. It is all of our destinies. Since our childhood and dependence upon each other to survive up until we are out on our own, learning and adapting is our forte. We have minds that help us with memory, questions and answers. Our five senses are our probes into reality to understand the nature of where we exist. Being biological, we only have a limited time frame to which we can exist so the most efficient way of life for us is to maximize our senses and bring about our reasoning and analyzing to logical and common sense concluding as quickly as possible. Wasting time on lore from the past as a means to temper our imaginations and curiosity is abysmal, unfortunate and wasteful. It is a surrender to the unknown, instead of conquering the unknown. Most likely it is fear based and fear is real in our lives but we also have courage to overcome fear and having that remedy and not using it is why too many of us are too weak and useless to do our part in building a bold and adventurous society. "I regret that I have but one life to live" said Nathan Hale about courageously sacrificing his life for a better society for all, Inversely, the same could be said for those of us who later realized that we had wasted our lives on superstitions and myths so we didn't have to live a courageous and fulfilling life like we were built to live.

War is what Republicans want (#2378)

Republicans are an elitist group in their own minds. They think that their hypocritical policy of survival of the fittest should be the governing principle in all things. So not only are they unsupportive of social programs here in America, because we should all only be responsible for ourselves, which is illogical, but they also see it as the governing principle for other cultures and societies that are not American. That is why negotiating is seen as a weakness to them, not a strength. It is either all or nothing in their minds and they think that since they are an elite group they should never be anything less than right all the time. So if you decide to vote for a Republican just know what you are supporting, not a democracy where we all have a say in our future but an ideal that presupposes that we are not equal but instead the pawns of those who are not them. As such, them being the overlords to the rest of American society, we are at their behest to fight wars where divisions in policy and rights are in question. It won't be them fighting the wars it will be those of us who are less fortunate than to be wealthy. Every thing is simple to Republicans. If a question of supremacy is broached Republicans will not hesitate to apply force to quell the question. Rule by force is the doctrine of the conservative Republican party and those of us who want a democratic society like our forefathers/mothers intended will end up being the cannon fodder in Republican wars. Enlightenment, innovation, creativity and the rest of modernity are also the casualties of Republican rule since again, Republicans like things simple. Just know what you are voting for the next time you vote so that maybe you will understand that Republicans are at war with democracy and the very survival of democracy is in our hands. I would rather win the battle for the soul of our country through the vote, as opposed to having to kill each other to survive for the Republican way of war.

Republican vision, a punishing society (#2377)

Republican's have no empathy for those who are less fortunate. Their view of it is that if you can't do better on your own then you are the problem not society. Of course Republicans forget that they got all kinds of help getting where they are. The idea that we must all be successful, regardless of our nations inequalities in life is their threshold for whether or not we are worthy of citizenship. If Republicans had their way they would require a property or income test for voting. now you won't hear many of them admit this but by their actions we can discern their intent. They have made it harder for folks to vote not easier. Why? Because first, they know their policies are not acceptable to any reasonable person. Second, they dislike people of color unless those people of color serve some agenda or ulterior motive they narrate. Somehow Republicans have come to accept that there should be no carrot for motivation, only the stick. Harming as a tool is the Republican answer for solving problems. They like to segregate themselves from those who are undesirable due to class, economics or social behavior. the arrogance of their condescension is out there now for all to see. Do we care enough to stop them from controlling all of our lives or do we fight back against their vile highjacking of our democracy? It seems to me that many in our society are willing to improve but not enough resource exists for all of them to be successful in life. Republicans do not care about that and even worse are working tirelessly to make resources of capital and opportunity even more scarce. The nefarious irony of it all is that then they blame those who cannot achieve with their own failure, unwilling to admit that they, Republicans, are the genesis for most of our failures. I have spent the latter part of my life as a clanging bell trying to bring the attention of our society on these types of facts and hopefully all the others doing so as well will eventually be justified in having to sacrifice our time and effort in order to get all of us to focus on the devastation Republicans have planned for us.

The greatest achievement for a society is democracy (#2376)

From which all things must then come from is our democracy. We all get to decide how we live how we interact and how we commerce. Without our democracy as the solid foundation of our society we are left to lesser forms of rule that do not take equality, fairness and opportunity as a given. As you can see by our American state of affairs, we are not operating a democracy that has evolved to where it should be. Our constitution did not give all of us equal rights at the beginning of our government so since then our constitution has been amended in order to make our initial fledgling democratic society more stable and noble. Yet the work is not done as we can see by how we still treat our poor and people of color in ways that are not consistent with how we treat our rich and white citizens. There is a cancer in our body politic that fuels and serves prejudice and bias as if it was a right, which it is not! Democracy demands that equality, fairness and opportunity be equally offered to all of our citizens despite any difference in wealth or appearance. This may seem very commonsensical but not enough of our citizens are defending it. The problem lies in our economy. We have a capitalistic system in place that at it's core seeks to reward merit. Which is good enough if it gave all of us the same chances to succeed. Instead we have those who have made an economic success, through numerous times dubious methods, not holding with principles of democracy and these less than merit filled economically successful individuals are intent upon keeping our economy from becoming opportunistic for all by turning us against ourselves. There is a fear among them that they will have competition for the limited wealth out there and they don't want to share. Small minded people holding the rest of us hostage, born of greed, from being equal participants in our economic society. A healthy democracy does not allow for an ailing economic system to be it's master if the democracy is being given it's rightful due as our highest priority.

Doing nothing is not an option (#2375)

Many may just laugh at me and say bull. I know many who do nothing and are quite satisfied within their limited thinking that doing nothing is a responsible option. Selfishness is usually at the core of doing nothing. Yes, selfishness. When many are trying to do a good thing and some could care less and ignore the struggle that would affect everyone, then yes, selfishness is what that is. My life is centered on doing good, not doing nothing. It is in my human nature and everyone else's to input information into our brains and then conclude a result. We are mostly all capable of coming to conclusions based upon facts, logic and common sense yet all too often we do not allow ourselves the time or energy to do so when we see no immediate benefit to ourselves. Living in a society that allows the choice to be responsible, is a duty in itself for us to take the mantle of responsibility not only for our own lives but as a member of our community of citizens. Many may feel overwhelmed by policies or the complexity of our policies but always remember this one simple key, does the policy do harm or not? You will know which side of a policy you stand on if your agenda is to do good not only for yourself and fellow American but for your children and their children. this life is fast moving and there really is no time to sit around ignoring reality when reality never sleeps. Change is fast moving and that is one fact we must all grasp, that change is inevitable and constant. That is why staying still or not choosing to be part of our society is wrong. We are all needed to be equal parts and when inequality exists we need to fight to change that wrong. When we all start from a place where there is no harm then our own merit will sustain us as to how our destiny will prevail. it is the perfect way to live. Everyone equal to begin and then we imagine, work and create as a way to establish our own identity.

Democracy crushes the survival of the fittest crowd (#2374)

It seems that the republican party and their conservative members have missed the larger perspective on the ultimate reason for our American society. We are a democracy that is inclusive and aims to practice equality and fairness as our pursuit of happiness. When we all have the same right to achieve then we are living in the best of what our country has built. What Republicans see is that only a handful of certain people are allowed to achieve and everyone else is less important. It is because they subscribe to a capitalistic point of view as their highest priority and anyone who doesn't achieve is not worth caring about. Regardless of opportunity or fairness, Republicans are about manipulation and success instead of being about honor and success. It seems that a craven moral depravity is a virtue if it can be parlayed into a economic advantage, at least in Republican eyes. The survival of the fittest paradigm is their highest calling, not a democratically achieved balance between rights and care for all our citizens. The vision of Republican conservatives/libertarians is a dog eat dog one, whereas the vision of Democrat liberals/progressives is a duty of care and opportunity for all. Since we live in a democracy it is important to understand the genesis of our nation. We were established due to harsh servitude and economic constraints. We fought against the King of England and the American Tories/conservatives who supported the King and won our freedom. It isn't a coincidence that today we are still fighting against conservatives in order to maintain our freedom, as conservatives still see themselves as elite and the rest of us, well, more like their servants. They cannot be bothered by the fact that capitalism is a subset of the whole set Democracy, not the other way around, and in their attempts to push our rights further from us their intent doesn't become any less visible through their shadowy ulterior motives if one understands that democracy is our penultimate and weakening our democracy is theirs.

The arrogance of the supposed informers (#2373)

Too many talking heads have taken on a stature they have given to themselves as the thinkers of the rest of us. They determine what is worthy of discussion and blatantly press their opinions into them. The absurdity that follows is lost on them but they care not a wit since they get to give their triumphal opines as more fact than what they really are, disjointed fiction. I rarely watch news shows or commentary journalism since it is most always slanted toward an extreme cause or point of view. There is less fact involved in their reporting and more towards harsh judgments. Events and circumstances are what should be reported and that should always be the starting point of an informed conversation. I enjoy hearing all different points of view on subjects and for that I am fortunate. I get to discern the validity of these points of view through logic, science and common sense. My own personal morality also plays a role but less so since we are all equal in the eyes of the law and my morality is not the same in every way as anyone else's. It is in the reporting of facts and possible solutions that I get to be informed and appreciate the reporting. However, too many information pushers also have an agenda and that agenda is less about revealing facts and more about swaying opinion. I have had enough of the opinion swayers since none of them see the world through my eyes so my own thoughts are of a higher priority and value than someone who is trying to think for me. I suppose what really galls me is the arrogant information peddlers have a condescension to the rest of us that is not only obvious but is vile in my eyes. Yet they continue like nothing is wrong and apparently in their perspective nothing is wrong when they get to tell us how to think.

Republicans, always protecting the tax dodgers (#2372)

What Republicans don't get about living in a democratic society is that all need to pay their taxes in a progressive way. The more you make the more duty you have to pay a higher rate. It is how we recirculate dollars back into our economy. Our government doesn't keep the tax dollars in offshore bank accounts accruing interest and not stimulating new businesses. On the contrary, our government spends the tax dollars on programs that improve our citizens' chances of successful business and life opportunities. The rest goes towards our foreign policies and defense. At least in an intelligently run democracy. Not so with ours at this time. We have Republicans in control of too many elected offices who want to only pay back favors to those who got them elected by promoting policies that unevenly benefit their wealthy backers. What Republicans do is squash laws that would force the repatriation of overseas tax dollars hidden in bank accounts so that their backers can continue to use our democratic institutions here in America for their benefit without having to be responsible to create new business opportunities here. They have enough of a monopoly on important businesses that they would prefer not to have any competition at all. You see it all the time, large corporations buying up other large corporations as a way to thin the selling market to their advantage. Republicans cannot see beyond their own greedy growing lying noses as they continue to tell us that when the wealthy get the bulk of the profits it will trickle down to us. Not so when the profits sit in overseas bank accounts. That is the obvious conclusion I have come to but a more dark sinister conclusion is also viable. Republicans are trying hard to destroy our current democracy in order to form a more religious one. Think about that for a moment, taking our hard fought for right to rule ourselves and replacing it with an oligarchy based upon on a religion. Seems to me that George Washington and company would jump out of their graves and declare another independence from Republicans.

The lying hucksters on radio, television, newspapers and the Internet (#2371)

Anytime anyone says they got a message from god or some other unexplainable source you know you are in the presence of a huckster. The only "message" anyone gets is through logic and common sense, anything else is just manipulation by one or more in order to control others or gain some financial way. This isn't that hard folks. Using mysticism or superstition to sway and guide people from logic and common sense should be recognizable to any who have a normal functioning thought process. Reason to analysis and then concluding is the normal thought process. Any person in the media paradigm who at any time uses hate, racism, elitism or any other divisive intolerant tool is a huckster. Their choice to be a huckster is a conscious one. They have sold some part of themselves for some kind of gain either through fear or some form of sociopathic/psychopathic anomaly. How they can spew some of the crap I hear and see is beneath dignity and respect. Yet too many of us are not doing our duty in calling them out for their vile attempts to distort the truth or in too many cases destroy the truth and replace it with out and out lies. There is not one soul on this Earth that has my respect when logic and common sense is devoid from their thinking or their dialogue. I have no time for the ridiculousness of harm to others or the hate it instills. I am but one man who will not tolerate petty cowardly people to sway innocent people from the truth of things. I will never back down from being a defender of right and good despite the army of disinformation talking heads out there who are only interested in serving up the lies they spew for pay. Remember, the key to honorable logic and common sense is that no "harm" is done to anyone. If there is harm done then the huckster employing the illogic needs and should be shut down in a most contemptible way.

The proving grounds (#2370)

I like to think of my being alive as my proving grounds. The place where I come to exist in order to find out who I am and what I stand for. I know who I am, a good decent human being who is trying mightily to be a better human being. I also know what I stand for, everything good in life that has no harm to it. Simple really. No great revelation or long complicated explanation, being better and doing no harm. Every day is a new chance to prove who I am and what I stand for. It takes conviction and courage but those are two things to which I have a massive supply. So when any small or large problem enters my day I can reasonably be assured I will be prepared. For instance, I don't reflect in the past or daydream about the future, instead I am just ready for the present. The future and the past will be what they are regardless if I contemplate on them. As to being prepared for the future that is exactly what I am doing by being ready in the present. As to reflecting on the past, there will be time enough for that when I am in my last days if I am so fortunate not to be taken suddenly. What I do have is today. This moment and hopefully the next moment as well, so what I do with them is of the highest priority with me. I don't expect a lot out of myself but I do expect quality. Whatever I do must be my best effort regardless of priority. I have a lifetime of work to accomplish every day even though it may be just being alive. There is no insignificant act or thought. Everything serves a purpose so the building blocks are usually small but the final outcome is not. The proving grounds is where I live and nothing less. I am not some random soul who is existing for no rational reason. I am of a purpose to which I believe to be fact. I cannot say why or how but through a faith of sorts I hold dear to it and as I see nature and humanity on this planet I do sense that my instinct to be better and to stand for good without harm is a perfect purpose for me.

All of us have a say in the future (#2369)

What we do and what we don't do will determine our input into how the future becomes. it isn't enough not to agree with harmful souls, it takes standing up to them and stopping them from going forward with their harm.We are all accountable to ourselves. What is our worth to ourselves? It is as simple as when someone is being racist in conversation, I don't just walk away, I tell them that I won't condone racism in my presence and that they had better not continue it in front of me. If they stop and apologize then all can be forgiven, if not then I take myself away from them and do not return to their presence. I cannot stop others from doing harm in words but I can stop listening and stop giving them my attention. I value myself more than any value they might have to offer. I don't use negatives as a value. I remain positive even when the positive is scarcely visible. My actions are imprinted on those who are in my realm. I can offer others the good in life about how to live and be happy. That is enough of a legacy in itself yet for me I want to do more. So shutting down the offensive and negative that is so often spewed from haters challenges me and I accept the challenge. I will not be bullied or ramroded into a prospective opinion I know is not right. Instead I will argue that the "not rights" of the world always have an ulterior motive that harms some so others can nefariously gain. Although the premises of life are complicated it always boils down to a simple conclusion, do no harm. Even more so, do no harm while trying to do good. I can believe that 99% of us want good in our lives, not the remorseful and regrettable harm that too many without a conscience employ. So we must make known our inner strength to defend what is right and good so that our future and the future of our children is actually better than when we got here.

Sports, music and a buzz are keeping us from what rottenness is happening to us (#2368)

Instead of watching a news show or researching on the internet the policies and politicians that are affecting them, we turn on sports or music channels, open a can or bottle of alcohol, roll a doobie or line a mirror and immerse ourselves into that. It is our escape hatch that we enjoy far more than the hard truth of reality. We are an escapist society here in America. We don't want to face that which we aren't forced to unless we are on the clock. Once we are done with our workday, we have to escape to a place that makes us feel good or better than what reality offers. The problem with that is that while we are escaping, other more nefarious souls are stealing our rights from us. Oh, not so much as to make you angry but enough each day that you don't really think much of it. Like the frog in the pot of water who doesn't recognize that the water is slowly reaching it's boiling point, we both will be cooked by not recognizing it. That is why I am writing this here, not so much for the frog to understand, lol. but so that those of us who would rather escape reality than face anything beyond what we have to. By escaping, we are not present in the building and improvement of our society. By escaping we are more prone to be known in the history books of the future as the ones who let slip away democracy to a bunch of worthless thieves who took advantage of us while we were getting baked and/or otherwise occupied with our sports or music. I love sports and music but I what I love even more is my democracy and for me to have to be writing this is just how bad it has gotten. All of us need to do more in reality where there is no immediate payout. We need to put ourselves out there with our intelligent and common sense principled backed policies. Those of us who choose to then escape reality, after we have conquered those who would steal our democracy, then so be it. Now is not the time however and we are all needed to do our duty in this intense battle for the will of our government.

Minimum wage boost would help, not hurt our low wage workers and our economy (#2367)

In today's real economy, since the great recession, more jobs have been created in the low wage category than any other. So middle class folks who lost jobs during that recession are forced to move forward in a lower paying economy. With our current federal minimum wage still at $7.25 an hour, many cannot have a quality life with just one job and have any hope of getting back to a middle class status. Meanwhile those large and medium sized businesses that employ minimum wage workers are making large profits. So there is an inequality between wages and profits like there hasn't been since just before the great depression nearly 90 years ago. What does raising the minimum wage do for our economy? First it increases the buying power for those who are receiving the new higher amount. Remember, those who are on minimum wage earnings have no hope for savings since everything they need is not being met on their current earnings. What has been shown through numerous studies is that low wage workers, when given more earnings spend all their earnings on necessary items they couldn't previously afford and have gone without. What this new spending does is add an influx of spending to the economy whereas more goods and services can now be supplied, and new jobs created. The quality of life rises for those at the minimum wage level when increases to the minimum are provided and is not inconsequential. Second, everyone who was making just above the minimum will also see their wages increase since they had already achieved some success in garnering more than the minimum. They then will also reintroduce those higher wages back into the economy through necessary buying power. Our minimum wage is so low now that the tiers of earnings above it are insufficient in having a quality of life we hope to start from. Raising the minimum wage is right and good and the economy and the families it effects will be better off for it. Income inequality is still the greatest economic threat we face and raising the minimum wage is a step toward alleviating some of that threat, among other things for a later discussion.

When our weaknesses become our strengths (#2366)

The exact moment the process begins is when we face our fears. When we make up our minds that no matter what, we will not allow ourselves to defeat ourselves. I don't mind too much when I am bested in any competition or attempt to make life better by forces outside my control. I just work harder the next time. But I cannot nor will not allow me to be the cause of any downfall. Life is hard enough trying to make it better so why would I allow me to stop what I truly want? Fear is a powerful deterrent in any form but fear cannot be how we define our lives. We are given a tremendous opportunity to make a difference if we can only decide that come what may is better than regret and remorse. I would rather die standing on my feet than with my head buried in the sand. The most unexpected part though is when we realize that by overcoming our fear to act on some good and right thing, we actually feel better and then build more courage to confront other fears we have that have been holding us back. A life lived in a pool without ripples may be safe but it is not who we are. We are ripple makers and not allowing ourselves to make those ripples reduces the soul of our majestic being. No amount of inhibition is excusable when fear is the sole reason for our inhibition. There are times when fear can be parlayed into a wise decision based upon common sense and logical factors but otherwise fear has no place in our lives. I am a better man for overcoming too many of my old weaknesses and instead have conquered them and made them my strengths. I thought I could never live my life outside certain parameters but what I have learned by changing them and rebuffing old weaknesses is that there is not only honor but respect gained by proving strength is greater than weakness and much more fulfilling.

No more what ifs (#2365)

I cannot and will not live a life that leaves me wondering what could be or should be. I want what must be and for that I am satisfied. I don't get everything I want contrarily, I rarely get what I want but for the most part I don't know what I want most of the time anyway. lol. But the times I do I go for it. Now many of the times I do figure out what I want it is too late and I accept that. It is like fate has moved on while I was too busy not paying attention. It doesn't mean that I don't feel the disappointment and gut hurt but it is what is real and reality is where I live my whole life now. My feelings or hurts are very little in the scope of all life so I take the hit and move on. The future may change and for that I have some hope but hope and achievement are not constant companions. Now when I see and know what I want and there are no obvious unassailable obstacles I move forward on it despite what may come. I will not be that guy who has regrets over missed opportunities. My pride and vanity are no longer quotients in the equation. If anything I have learned that honor does reside in humility and the hat in my hand when I go where it is hard to go is my best chance to have that which draws me in.  I know that despite the outcome I will have no remorse for not trying. Life is amazing and it is short in the big picture so letting things get procrastinated because they are hard or uncomfortable is unacceptable. The quantity of my life has to be filled quality and quality will only come about by me putting action to the thoughts and emotions that drive me. I will not be a bystander in my own life. What I have missed in the past through inattention may come around again but what opportunities that are here now with me will get all of me.

We should not be afraid to be alive (#2364)

Life should not be about fear. Life should be about discovery. How do we get from a society that has traditionally been about fear and desperate survival to a society that has a foundation below us that eliminates our fears about whether we can survive? This is what I fight for every day of my life. No one, not the desperate in other countries nor the desperate here at home should have to beg for their life. We are not immortal so it is incumbent upon us to sacrifice what we can as a body to protect and nurture those who come after us. We are not the end all to end all, we are just another link in the chain that defines our species. What will our contribution to our species entail? Nothing or worse or something of value? Every life born to our species is of value. We don't know how or when but each of us is uniquely able to be impactful in ways that progress our best natures and our intellect. If we can all start from a safe harbor, we can then focus our minds and souls on what is out ahead of us instead of on the daily scrabble of just staying alive. The importance of treating all humans with the dignity and respect of a minimum foundation from which to exist from is not some radical idea, it is a natural progression of our evolutionary being. We have moved from the basic family structure to a more complex social bond. Our beings are intertwined in ways that demand a level of equality when we begin our lives so that no one is left unable to have the right to seize their own possible future. A foundation or floor from which we all begin from is not a bad thing it is actually a good thing. When we all start from a perspective of inclusion our values are more rightly aligned and the idea of a consensus on the future comes about more readily. Our natures demand that we care for each other and that we knowledgeably discover where we are and where we could go. Having all of us doing just such things is the best of who we are when we do it together.

The desperation of the uninformed (#2363)

I have had a couple of political encounters lately with some adversaries, Republican defenders, who have come at me with the fallacy of illogic. It is mind puzzling to me that a simple lesson has gone unheeded. If you don't know what you are talking about then don't talk, just listen and become informed. Not so lately with these folks who are suffering from a lack of information. First they denigrate the Dodd/Frank legislation that attempts to regulate Wall Street as a failure, while it is their party that has defanged the law through their conservative regulators and Wall Street lobbyists. So they blame Democrats for a failed law while they were the ones who are causing it to be less effective. Nice gig, if you are a hypocrite and too many don't know the truth. Second, they want to compare our President Obama with a previous Republican President Reagan by saying that Obama is no Reagan, like it is slap in the face to try to elevate President Obama up to the level of a President Reagan. I cannot fathom how contrary their statement is. President Reagan and his Republican acolyte legislator's policies have been destroying the middle class for decades while his arms to Iran deal conclusively points out that it is President Reagan who is no President Obama. It is becoming quite clear the Republicanism is in it's death throes as the arguments for the party's stature and effectiveness is resorting to illogical contrary arguments with no validity. Only the uninformed still rally to their cause through racist and elitist tactics. I can only conclude that anyone who has the ability to understand and store knowledge will be able to easily recognize the desperation that Republicans bring as their feeble attempt to convince us that they are the true leaders of our society. I would laugh at the idea of it but it is too serious not to crush it wherever it raises it's desperate head.

Never stop being hopeful (#2362)

There is one thing no one can take from you, your hope. I know that situations and circumstances beat us down and in the short term nothing good seems possible, but we have within us hope for possibility and if we never let that go by choice we will always have a chance for something better in our lives. This is the faith by which I live. If I don't give up I have a chance. That is the only thing I can control for sure, my persistence to persevere. This blog is a manifestation of that value. Every day I get up with the idea that I have something relevant to say that might just benefit one person. I get to do that here and even if not every day anyone gets anything from me, there are other days where I do make a difference in some people's lives. When we open ourselves up to others they get to compare and contrast their lives with ours. They get another clear example that we are not all so different from each other. At our cores most of us have the same motivation about life. We want life to be good and prosperous while also being fair and opportune. I know when I see unfairness or inequality on a basic level I am charged inside with a will and determination to denounce it and to advocate for it's change. No matter how many times I see a different iteration of harm or injustice it instills in me the same fire to thwart it. That is my hope, to have a better world all around me that includes all of us not just some of us. I am not one of those who thinks we should be competing against each other for basic survival. I see us having a foundation from which we all get to start out in life with some degree of respect and honor and then move on with our own merit. Hope is my vision for that and hope will be the force that drives me toward it all the moments of my life.

Capitalism is a subset of democracy, not the other way around (#2361)

The infectious greed that has overtaken the Republican party is rooted in the idea that capitalism is greater than democracy. The idea of equality, fairness and opportunity are to be held above all things does not compute with Republicans. Instead they hold that making a buck anyway "reasonably" possible, and I use the term "reasonably" as most often defined by unregulated business practices, as a greater ideal than providing for the foundation to foster every American the chance to succeed. In a democracy, we all have a say in how we practice every element of our society. We work to include all of us regardless of difference. We honor those who stand up for our principles by sacrificing blood and treasure to defend our democratic vision. In other words, we work together to improve not only our society but to help those societies outside ours to emulate our success. The problem with our society now is that there is a strain of greed and condescension in too many of our politicians and too many of our electorate that have decided that commerce and elitism is a greater force on Earth than democracy. I entitled this post with the idea to help us recognize that capitalism is not the end all, democracy is the all time end. Everything else within democracy has limits, whereas democracy is the eternal set from which all subsets inhabit. If Capitalism fails to achieve an equal, fair and opportune society then capitalism must be reconstituted. Allowing for other philosophies of economics to flourish. Remembering that our democracy is first above all other things is paramount, everything after democracy can be changed and upgraded to fulfill our democratic ideals. Not the other way around as the Republican party continues to fail to recognize.

Republicans main goal, make the wealthy wealthier (#2360)

Now that the Republican agenda of making the wealthy even wealthier is evident we can surely see who is responsible for income inequality. There is only so much money any one economy can have fluctuating about in it's commercial transactions and if Republicans continue to work to give it to the wealthy then there is less for the non wealthy to accumulate. We know that the wealthy, for the most part, like to put their wealth in overseas banks in order to avoid paying American taxes. By doing this the wealthy not only shirk their duty to abide by their responsibility to their own country but they also deprive our American economy of the capital that is not being churned throughout our economic system. the scarcity of this overseas banked capital, leaves too many of us down at the bottom rung of our economies without opportunity to acquire this banked capital through work, enterprise nor through innovation. We are an economy that has the wherewithal to create new paradigms for modernization but not the capital required to make it so. So as the majority, and I mean the bottom 90%, has little opportunity left for capital acquirement, Republicans work diligently to make it even worse. They want to cut government spending, not where it needs to be cut in the defense department and in tax subsidies for wealthy and profitable corporations, but instead in social programs that help the sick and disabled and those in need of food and education. I am not making this up at all so please feel free to fact check anything I have said here. How anyone with a right mind in this day and age of easy access to information can vote for Republicans is mind numbing to me. The justifications I have heard are not logical nor are they caring. It seems too many of our American electorate have lost it's collective mind and instead has embraced a selfish greedy survival of the fittest mindset. What a disgrace and surely our downfall as a democratic society is approaching fast. There is time to move back to a society based upon equality, fairness and opportunity but it must happen quickly or the worst of who we are will be the best we have to offer to our future.

No more escaping reality, changing it instead (#2359)

In the earlier edition of me was the guy who was sick and tired of how reality was so screwed up that being in it was a perfect excuse to escape it through mind altering alcohol and drugs. Less drugs and more the conventional legal alcohol mind you. So much so that the alcohol became more than old friend and became an addiction instead. It took me years of struggle and harm to finally realize that the escape I had early in my life decided to live was at the root of why I behaved so poorly. Now I look upon escape from reality as a cop out, the cowardly way to live. I am older for sure and my perspective has changed with a much more comprehensive insight but that is still not enough of a reason for me to have quit on life so early. I am ashamed of my behavior and despite it's regretful effect, I chose to use it to elevate me to a greater motivation to be a greater force for change in reality. Now I fight hard for change that will not allow that old screwed up status quo of a reality to be my reality. I don't accept the harsh brutality, I witnessed and lived, to exist without me battling to alter it for the better. Back then I wasn't able to fight like I am able to now and although I have given much time away living in my escape, I will give no more time! Although the years of addiction to my preferred mode of escapism has worn a hole in my soul, it is a hole that is now being filled with determination and will power. My mind is full of being present in my life with as much of the faculty of mind that I have. There is no room for one second of escape from reality. Even in my moments of recreation and entertainment, reality is always a premium being lived. When I was younger I could get away with not being present because I wrongly blamed others for the mess life had become. No longer, now I point the finger at myself and say what are you doing this moment and every moment going forward to make life better?

Fix ourselves and the world around us improves (#2358)

It all starts with us. When we decide to do something positive the world around us improves. We are adding to all the other positives being done by all those who also choose to change for the good. I have in the past been part of making things worse for myself and therefore for those around me. Enough of that nonsense. It is true, everything is either directly or inversely proportional. If I do something negative, the negative around me stays constant or increases. If I do something positive, the positive around me stays constant or increases. At least that is what I have found. So those days of me not caring or being too cavalier about truth and facts are over. Everything requires my attention to detail. Nothing can escape the logic I need to apply to it and the emotional bearing it places on not only me but on those who are affected by it. I matter just as much as everyone else does so no time for shirking when what I do or don't do has an effect one way or the other. By fixing ourselves, or in other words, through taking control of our thoughts and actions to a betterment, I control what I let my mind ponder or gravitate towards. I don't have to let thoughts control me I can dismiss them and move onto something more tangible than what ifs or should ofs. I don't have to let my often addictive personality act in ways that do harm to me and to others. I can change my patterns of behavior to reflect the positive I wish to project as who I am. I am not bound by any paradigm that doesn't exhibit qualities I wish to promote, including addictive ones. I have the power within me to be who I want to be regardless of obstacle or circumstance. I have the free will to embrace what it is about this existence that allows me my most useful purpose. My peace and serenity is a product that is derived from the hard work of choosing to be the real inner me, not someone whom I am not.

Idealism is possible with effort (#2357)

What we hold as perfect examples of equality, fairness and opportunity can be reality. If our laws were truly blind and deaf to all, and all things being equal, we could always have a beginning that then depended upon our merit to define our lives. All we need is the same starting point in life that cannot be greater or lesser than anyone else. Rich, poor or physically incapacitated, the beginning should have no restriction. With some disabilities the opportunity needs to be sufficient to allow for an equal beginning and that is right and good. But in no case shall one equally able human being be given an advantage over another equally able human being. This is an idealistic approach, where the respect and honor of life is given at birth and continues through life based upon what we, individually, do with that respect and honor. Anyone caught manipulating or denying such rights shall be punished in a way that befits the crime being perpetrated without impunity. I keep thinking about how history may view our choices now about we here on Earth, while seeing we understand logic but were incapable of applying it to ourselves in an overall rational way. Our species is still struggling to find our way as a civilized society and that is our problem. We perpetuate the lack of logic in too many areas of our societies. We have too many politicians who desire not to improve our society but instead to muddle about without having a clearly articulated vision to resolve our current issues. This is not a game folks, this is about the future of our species and how we manifest our destiny not just here on Earth but out into the vast Universe. By allowing for all to participate in our futures, thus allowing for a greater insight into our possibilities, we are giving existence the collective best we have to offer.

The death struggle of intellectualism (#2356)

Everything that happens irrationally or in an incomprehensible way in our societies stems from a lack of intellectualism. Without the ability to form logical reasoning as a basis for defining truths from fiction is our most debilitating dilemma. There are few societies that have existed that have completely understood this paradigm. Our natural and man made problems are mostly of our doing since we refuse to keep an educated society as a high priority. We seem to think that commerce somehow magically transforms us into elite beings, which is an absurd illogic. Being able to manipulate is not intellectualism. Intellectualism is rational reasoning. Cold and hard. We need our emotions to guide us in our compassion and care, but without the ability to recognize truth, we are left with a whirligig of chaos. Intellectualism is our gift. I have said this countless times but again I will say it here. We are biological data processors. With sensors and memory, to take information and reason, analyze and conclude from it. This is who we are. We are probes who are given a lifespan to fill our information gathering memories with logical knowledge. After a fashion we are then recorders of such information gathered, gleaned and ordered to be passed along to those who follow us like those before us passed along to us. Intellectualism is the path we all are on. None of us is here with our information gathering and creative formulating abilities for any other purpose than to add to the vast accumulation of factual knowledge about this existence. The sequence of our lives is outlined here through the definition of this blog that I give to our natures, we care and we are curious. Our curiosity is our impetus, our genesis to know and our care is to make what we know not only truth but a never ending supply of it. That will only occur through the struggle to elevate intellectualism to the highest priority of our societies.

The peddlers of ignorance and fear have much to gain (#2355)

Even ignorance is a capitalistic venture. When a person or a group of persons have no clue as to how to survive in a capitalistic system that requires imagination and innovation as a starting point then their best alternative to becoming successful is to peddle fear and ignorance. We get it in religion, politics and economics. When the leaders of our churches stand up at the pulpit and demand that God has said that some things are good and some things are not and then begin to give a laundry list of what is good and what is not outside of general principles then we see ignorance and fear on display to corral us to their interpretation through religious dogma. When we see a political party tell us what we should be doing on an illogical philosophical level while ignoring what is actually happening to us is when we see ignorance and fear on display. The Republican party has been most adept at scaring and ill informing us about what could be while never implementing anything toward solving our short and long term problems. Keeping us in the dark while Republican politicians slowly remove our rights under a democracy driven government is their goal and it is just because we do not dwell outside our ignorance and fear enough that they do so. They perpetuate the fear and ignorance and then blame us and therefore want to control us. Callous trick these Republicans are playing on us! Our economics is as cruel as well. Offering mostly low paying jobs as a rule while at the same time blaming us for not working hard enough to earn enough to secure a decent life. These peddlers of ignorance and fear reside in the Republican party and their wealthy donors who benefit financially off an ignorant and fearful workforce. The survival of the fittest capitalistic way is growing too strong too fast and will be the death of our democracy. Foolhardy we are for letting Republicans make us dumb and scared and then blame us for it. Shall we fire them this coming next national election?