What Do We Fear?

Are most North Americans fearful of losing their jobs? Do we fear foreign terrorist organizations mostly? Are we fearful of change within our own personal lives that, in turn, limits our experiences? Whether these fears are inherent in human beings or learned behavior, they are likened to chains rattling behind the feet of most inert North Americans. Where are we to search for the true nature and cause of this fear? Shall we explore the sociological history of humans to see if patterns have formed in behavior? Is it more recent that governmental ideologies have trickled down to the masses who live, (barely for the poor), by its precepts? Basically, has fear overwhelmed that inherent emotion of passion in a battle waged where our own personal happiness is concerned? In a war involving maintaining our jobs, (or seeking one), leisure time, terrorist threats, consumption, and debt, it is no wonder most people live in Fear.
Who has wanted to travel abroad but chose otherwise due to fear of the unknown or because it will incur debt on an already tight financial budget? Due to fiscal responsibilities that fall on all adults, the vast majority of us are unable to open up to other cultural possibilities and, instead, lie motionless in an ever-perpetuating position of fear. Travel has broadened this writer's perspective on the connection between all humans. How can we refute the argument that an open mind is the first step towards progress and human reconciliation? We lay in fear because we don't know. Busting your hump all day does not allow for leisure time to brush up on current events or to explore history. Making ends meet is not a means to an end resulting in personal freedom and happiness. One cannot be naive, however, to the fact that not everybody is able to experience the wonders of the world personally, but we must spread the notion that opportunities could be created for more and more fettered by fear. We must confront student loans that inhibit many from traveling or living more financially free. We need to address overwork and stress. We have to study more closely the factors that contribute towards physical and mental fatigue which directly affects our moods and plays into the hands of fear. We have not evolved to merely plod along but to work together so that more humans can live in that state of freedom conducive to producing a happiness otherwise unknown to most.

The Time is Now!!

As news of the ongoing political campaign floods our t.v.'s, we find ourselves inundated with conflicting messages and a sceptical outlook. Look, you can debate tax increases and funding for Iraq, which seem to never have solutions or you can open up to the real concerns in this country: healthcare, human concern for the homeless and jobless, higher wages, private property, free in-state tuition (because a B.A. is being made obsolete by the M.B.A and M.A), world citizenship and the global community, and fuel & energy alternatives. Obama, Hillary and McCain can say what THEY need to say but we aren't hearing what the country needs. Which is a leader who leads by example. Start checking the Legislative Branch. Keep pounding the Executive. Appoint fair-minded Juducial members so that all U.S. citizens' interests are in mind. This is, supposedly, the land of the free and home of the brave, yet all I see are talking heads trying to gain status to fatten their pockets and perpetuate our status as global hegemonizers.
Democracy is not being spread in Iraq. Our ideals aren't taking shape in the minds of the Afghani people. While soldiers and bombs and tanks continue to travail the deserts of the Middle East the United States of America will be considered hypocritical in that what we are spreading is terror. Yes thats right, TERROR!! We are the leading terrorists in the world. We continue to strong arm, bomb, set up military camps and implement fear into the lives of nations and the people that struggle to survive within them. If we are so bent on "spreading democracy," then why is not the rest of the world on board with our actions over in the Middle East? Shouldn't we be working with France, China, Japan, Scandinavia, Germany and all other powerful nations to set up a global federation? The reason why this won't happen is because humans thrive on competition. And however optimistic one is about the good that can arise from competition, you must examine the gross atrocities on the other end of the spectrum and ask yourself which outweighs the other?
Capitalism has bred the freedom of personal pursuit yet we are all not born with the same advantages. A neigh-sayer will argue that America provides all with this oportunity and thats why so many have flocked here over the past 150 years. I agree, living with the unusual amount of freedom we have here makes us very fortunate. But we mustn't cloak the horros we inflict on smaller nations for our own gain with this fact. While we shop till we drop and laugh daily at sit-coms and chew bubble gum, our country is fighting to remain the world power concerning arms, economics, control on oil and unilateral decision-making with full disregard for the UN or the rest of the world. The reason why Americans think the UN is a joke is because everytime they, (meaning the UN), has attempted to put into action proposals of peace, economic equality, or cooperation, the United States has time and time again thwarted these efforts. We continue to feed weapons to Colombia in exchange for oil. We feed tanks to Israel so that we can maintain our hold by the Red Sea. We back the Turkish government in mass genocide of Kurds so that we may keep a close eye on Iran. This must stop if we are to avoid more backlash from pissed off extremists. Wouldn't we fight back if someone was driving tanks down our roads or flying planes over our cities? Of course we would, so why blame them?
I am not condoning the events of 9/11 or any other anti-US sentiments. I speak with a global mind and a full heart. I am a citizen of this earth and dream of togetherness and awareness building. We have remained in the dark long enough. The news stations don't speak for us. The papers don't have our immediate interests in mind. If you want to continue down the selfish path of which Capitalism has provided then you will only be perpetuating the problem. The solution lies with each other, all of us, the whole world over.

Long Time No Write!!

Well I have certainly let much too much time go by without contributing to my blog. Being without a computer in my new apartment, (from which I will be moving in 2 short weeks), has led to my absence concerning the issues of today...that is my absence from this blog. My reading has not waned and my combative nature is as fiery as ever. A few of the things that I am working on now, and that I will be posting about, are:

--Updating weekly on Human Rights Watch and those states struggling for liberty and freedom
--The state of racism in this country and who is to blame for the class gaps still extant in the
U.S.
--Bridging communication gaps by learning multiple foreign languages
--An intense look at ideas for universal healthcare
--An intense look at free public education at the state university level

As my time is about to run out on my computer use I leave with the promise of a strong return. Time slips away so we must act now!!

La Inspiracion es simpatico con una mariposa!!

Translation: Inspiration is like a butterfly. She flits and flutters all around our head and we are lucky if she lands on our finger. In these days of war and politics we all search for peace within our own beings. Some, like the Objectivists and Libertarians, choose to secure only for themselves and feel society would benefit greater from each individual taking on a laissez faire attitude. Socialists are more mutually compassionate and we feel that certain individuals haven't the same opportunities as everyone else, and that, the stronger and more privileged can aid in helping to procure the aggrandizement of our culture. We must build together so that the foundation is strong. A slip-shod, individualistic society promotes the "virtue of selfishness" and condemns every citizen to a life of competition and hegemony.

My inspiration comes in many a varied form. At times, she has been a beautiful face and a compassionate heart. Most other times she has come in the form of a book that resonates within my pathos. If it takes 40 more years to kickstart this culture then so be it!! A life dedicated to awareness building is a journey filled with inspiration and compassion. The road less traveled by, at times, is lonely, but only the deepest of bonds are formed when a fellow traveller I do meet.

The Road Not Taken

..."Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less travled by,
And that has made all the difference.

It has made all the difference concerning those individuals brave enough to break away from the norm and energetic and positive enough to contribute thought-provoking, awareness building meditations. When meditations are clear, we then are able to reflect and, hopefully, act. If we are caught in the stream and maelstrom of the mundane, we may NOT have the ability or desire to diverge in order to seek out open minded perspectives. John Staurt Mill writes in his essay On Liberty that in order to come to the truth, concerning any and all matters, one must take into account, not only the prevailing opinions and ideology, but those, also, containing the polemic view. For the popular opinion, perhaps, may not be the half or whole truth and the yang to its yin is necessary to fuse the complete whole. Hegel provided this dialectic form of reasoning by explaining that true Reason is possible when the thesis collides and combines with its antithesis to elucidate a synthesis of Understanding. Is it possible to think differently than that which we have been raised and nurtured? If most citizens of this nation toil day in and day out, only to return home to a kiss from their significant other, a hot meal and reality television, where is the leisure time found to reflect on these issues? That is why honest and brave leaders must rise to positively infuse action and awareness into the lives of 300 million people.

Occam's Razor; or lex parsimoniae

Just to try and put our involvement in Iraq, and prior military engagements, into perspective for us "beasts," as Alexander Hamilton referred to the public majority, I want to use a heuristic theory proposed by a Fransiscan friar from 14th century England, William of Ockham. The theory states, "All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the right one." So when discussing foreign involvement and these supposed threats of terror to the United States of America that have been ubiquitous, at least, for 25 years, we may apply this theory to try and extricate the right answers. So I ask, "What is more likely? That poor, underdeveloped countries lacking the financial resources, military backing, and technological advances, (Grenada, Panama, Nicaragua, and Iraq), would pose a threat to a world power; and even if they did, were lacking in human intelligence enough to attack, or even provoke a war?" OR "By studying human history, and the ever presence of imperial powers with sights set on territorial/global hegemony and domination over the "weaker" states, and propagated by Machiavellian shouts of, "Might makes Right," would want to maintain their financial and militaristic strangle-holds, in said countries, with the notion of squeezing out all other competitors in this dog-eat-dog world in which we struggle to survive?"

How can we, as intelligent, thought provoking human beings sit here and believe all of the lies that have been regurgitated by Imperialistic nations, including our own, for centuries? If you don't enjoy studying history then you are only ignoring the facts. If studying historical facts in order to find the solutions in the present so that we may ensure a better understanding of the future is pointless, then we may as well continue living in this insular, protected bubble created by fear and competition.

Implementing the Truth in the Language of our Culture

To just turn on any news channel these days that support these, so-called, political pundits and experts has grown utterly tiresome. The rhetoric and political fear tactics that are used by presidential candidates, Republicans, Democrats, conservative media, left wing liberals, etc... proves only the ignorance and lack of knowledge and compassion that resides within our culture. "Should we pull out of Iraq, the the "enemy" will be victorious" or "by looking to remove our troops we are sending negative support for them." Look, everyone in this country agrees that those fighting and dying over in Iraq right now, albeit for an unworthy and unjustified cause, will continue to receive our support. How can we blame an 18 year old kid, who signed up for service because he lacked the finances for school and thought the Army would provide him with the means to do so at a later date? We understand they are citizens of this country. The troubling thing is that our Administration, or the "Establishment", doesn't seem too concerned for their rights. How can they purport to support them if they extend their tours of duty, thus extending their stay in a war that seems inert and unjustified?

The media and politicians want always to point fingers. What is needed are people working together to devise solutions. We certainly do not need combative and abusive language and literature, bashing each other and suppressing ideas and opinion. As citizens we were given freedom of speech, yes, but that freedom can be very damaging at times. Or to explore another aspect of free speech, who is to say those speaking from supposed expert fields really are knowledgeable or human conscious at all? Nobody knows. What we DO know is that the continual implementation of fear tactics and finger pointing merely skirts the issues at hand. Will anyone instigate free discussion that outlines solutions to our international involvement and foreign affairs? Will we the people ever hear even just a smattering of truth from the lips and pens of the U.S. government? While dollar signs and power trips continue to fuel the economy, these "experts" and leaders are all we are left with to decide some of the most crucial issues at one of the most significant and scary times in the history of this young nation.