Liberty & Equality

The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution. The Constitution, written in 1787 and ratified in 1789, was viewed by many as not clearly stating the individual liberties protected by our new nation. So a few years later, December 1791, the Bill of Rights was appended to the Constitution.

“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is a phrase we all know from our earliest classroom experience. It is in the Declaration of Independence written in 1776 and predates the US Constitution. The latter attempted a codification of the Declaration, but even then complaints were voiced to make the Constitution even more specific. The Bill of Rights was designed to address many of those complaints.

In the 226 years following, the Bill of Rights has been tested, adjudicated by the courts, and legal precedents derived. Still legal action is filed frequently to test the current meaning of the ancient vocabulary, and stretch definitions.

So, the first amendment dealt with freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly and petition for redress of grievances. In 2017 we are still testing each of these. There are limits to each to allow reasonable administrative remedies. This does not squelch those who petition for a broader or more specific definition, however. Today there are those who think their religious beliefs extend to them the right to legislate beliefs on others. Thus abortion has slipped into the religious legislation of the land. So too gender identification for use of public bathrooms.

Interesting turn, eh?

The Second Amendment regards the right to bear arms so that a well regulated militia could be secured. Somehow that ‘right’ has been extended to a dizzying array of weaponry all considered allowed by ‘arms’. And now we have homes, groups and institutions capable of, and actually armed to the teeth. For what purpose? Well we prefer not to define that, do we? It has to do with the freedom to bear arms, not the reason why this is so. Seems like a huge loophole to me.

The Third Amendment rarely is called into question, so we will skip it here.

The Fourth Amendment, however, is freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. Unless of course it is to determine whether your genitals are in fact in accordance with the public bathroom of your choice. Then it is anyone’s business to search (let’s not seize!) one’s privates. I doubt this was in the minds of our Founding Fathers.

The Ninth Amendment states: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” This means that people may reserve rights to themselves that are not specifically included in the Constitution. However, passage of time and thousands of court cases later, most of the rights reserved have been defined and covered. And as history and culture continues to evolve those definitions and rights will be refocused and redefined as needed. The important thing here, however, is that the Constitution specifically stated that just because the ‘right’ isn’t specifically mentioned in the document, doesn’t mean that it will not be allowed in the future. A process will determine appropriateness of each and every incident in question.

So here we are in February 2017, and transgender rights and protections have now been removed by executive order. Abortion rights, the right for a woman to choose how her body will be used in continuing or ending a pregnancy based on her own evaluation of the issue, is in serious doubt. Equal rights to marriage is also open to change. Although settled law – both for abortion and equal rights to marriage – religious zealots have control of the votes in the Congress to authorize the changes.

This does not mean it is right. Therefore, the courts will once again be called to action.

Whether the courts are so constituted to administer these questions fairly, relies solely on the ideological bent of the justices sitting on the courts. That is the truth as uncomfortable as it is. Need I remind you these are the same justices who feel that corporations are people and thus able to donate endless amounts of money to congressional candidates? Just remember these same quasi-people are not allowed to vote! Some citizenship, huh?

If we claim to be a principled nation based on God and religion, then why has the primary commandment of all organized religion been pushed aside? You know the commandment of which I speak? Sure you do: Love God with all your heart, soul and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.

Pretty direct, and pretty unquestionable as to meaning. Treating others as you would like to be treated is the Golden Rule. It still makes sense today. Even more sense than political bickering in Congress and the White House. Why have they so forgotten the basics?

February 28, 2017

International Conversations

This blog experienced a large increase in readership in recent months. I think it began with our election in November. Shortly thereafter I noticed an upswing in European readership, mostly in France.

Thinking back on it I now realize that France has been rocked by two major terrorist attacks. Their national politics have also been wracked by issues surrounding immigration, contentions between Islam and Christian followers, and a host of interrelated issues. Caught up in this is France’s own national elections just around the corner.

Whatever the cause nearly 4000 readers per week were connecting to this blog. American readership was only 200. European readers of other nations were also signing in but so were readers in Russia, parts of the old USSR, and South America. Interesting statistics. I had no idea – still don’t – as to what is driving this interest. My hunch is that college or university classes somehow found my blog site and used it for peeking into the American culture and learning from it. I don’t know if they compared my material with other sites or what.

With France's elections on the threshold, my readership has just now begun to decline a bit.

So, what do you suppose our foreign readers learned? Was it about Americans or themselves or the status of the global community?

I wish there were more two-way communications so we could learn the why and wherefore of this readership. I want to know what they learned if anything. I also wish to know if their reading was helpful or of value to them?

Conversing between cultures is healthy, I think. For one thing it causes us to get outside of ourselves and think about someone else. That is always healthy. Broaden the mind and understand one another. It is not easy. Good Lord it isn’t easy in our own country! That is precisely why we must listen to other people and work to understand what they are thinking, feeling and valuing. If we do this perhaps they will do the same in return.

When that happens accurate communication is happening. The more this occurs the better our relations are and the closer we can work together to keep the world a safe and happy place. Maybe peace could break out spontaneously?

We can only hope for that! Meanwhile we have to do something to work toward that objective. Although we think our governments are doing this work we know they are not. They are too often sidetracked on other topics of questionable value and strategy. Some do this intentionally so proper topics are avoided. That is the purpose, after all, of propaganda. Its job is to mislead and misdirect. Plenty of that going on these days.

And America has a larger role in this today than it has in the past. Trump is a provocateur. His strength is propaganda. He influences rather than persuades. He trumpets nonsense as though it is truth and fact. So far his messages have been found empty of such. Thus the label is well-earned as propagandist.

Only normal, everyday citizens can counteract this. By reading, studying, listening and hearing what is actually being said, what are actually fact, history and logic, then we will easily show the propaganda for what it is. Falsehoods, sloppy rhetoric and laziness at the least. Propaganda intentionally spread at the worst.

Either way the messages are not healthy for the global community. No, we must fix this and as quickly as possible. America is better than hollow, cheap propaganda. Those who deal in this are not leaders. They are provocateurs and ought to be exposed for what they are.

It is up to you and I to do this hard work. I’m doing it now for 5 years. Hopefully you have been doing it far longer. Shall we continue on this track?

February 27, 2017

Age and Feelings

Today is my mother’s 103^rd birthday. She lives in Arizona where the sun nearly always shines. At her age, however, she doesn’t get out in the sunshine; she observes it from her assisted living center. She has friends, lots of them. She has family living nearby. She works crosswords several times each day and still reads a book a week. Yes she is aging; no she is not a shell of a person yet. Her horizons are limited but alive just the same. Very much so.

Today is also a dental day for me. Adjusting a lower partial to function better; filling some gaps that allow food to pack away between gum and teeth; and a time for more healing from a recent oral surgery before filling that gap with a indentured servant-tooth!

I had ignored my dental health for several years. Too costly to keep up with but the pain and growing disability of it all moved me to find a new dentist (mine had retired!). Luckily I found a very good fellow nearby. A referral from a friend. And he laid out a plan of attack that, with insurance, is manageable. This will take several months to complete. But the journey has begun and 4 weeks into it some bright light is visible on the horizon. The worse of the pain is over. Now to move on.

So, a major birthday for mom and major dental work for me. Such is life. It is immediate in our lives. For the rest of you – and for me as well – we have other news to digest and manage. Financial concerns. Weather concerns and challenges. Lifestyle issues, and health in general. Relationships. Traffic on local roadways. Politics. Governance. Trump!

Yes there are issues to be managed. Both age and feelings figure into all of the above. No matter that past experiences we still have today to live and cope with. My faith issue from yesterday is still too fresh to report on accomplishments, but they will come in time. Just more age and feeling to experience before the rewards are realized!

The business of life is daily. The future is yet to be. The past is over. Let today be the focus so tomorrow will be better for our efforts.

For now, just let me heal. I still have a delectable prime rib of beef to look forward to when I can chew it well and gain the flavors! Oh that it will be soon. For now I remember it well and look forward to a new memory to be born.

The drill awaits!  Happy Birthday, Mom!!

February 24, 2017

Turning it All Over

When I quite smoking I was prepared. Months of thinking about it. Setting the day of final inhaling of smoke. A supply of patches at hand to ease nicotine withdrawal. So I did it. I quit. Four weeks later I was done. No more hunger for nicotine. Just the remaining hand motions reaching for a non-existent pack in my shirt pocket. Now eleven years later I still find my hand wandering for the non-existent pack, but still no craving for a cigarette. I had the proper help to chemically kick the habit. The rest was behavioral habit and that is done with.

Kicking alcohol was different. There was the chemical dependency certainly, but the rehab center covered that with a dwindling dose of shots for a week. The rest of the process was social, behavioral, and psychological. Complex, surely, but manageable.

The process required group work and therapy. Sharing and fellowship was critical for the process to work. Reading and study was another component. Still is. Weekly meetings ensure the lessons are at hand to use in my own life as well as helping others do the same. Psychological issues dwelled deep and needed more expert help. Faith in something larger than myself, and outside of myself, was the key ingredient needed.

I had been a person of faith – religious faith – on and off for many years. It was not a certain faith based on dogma; no that sort of faith was not part of my heritage. Mine was intellect driven faith and it did respond to the need. When I called on it!

In Alcoholics Anonymous we are asked to identify a higher power to relate to, to rely on, to turn things over to. The latter is the important part. Something or someone to turn over the difficult things in life to. I could honestly name this as God. And did. I turned over my doubts, fears and dread to him (or her, as the case may be!). He or She responded quickly. Alcohol left my life. It has been almost 11 years since this happened. And I have not looked back. Only forward.

Today it is not alcohol that bewilders me. It is concern over my nation’s inability to face reality and honest governance issues. That scares the hell out of me.

As I was stewing over this recently I realized I needed help to overcome my fear and loathing. I needed to turn over my dread to a higher power, my God. This process is slow to happen, but certainly in my near future.

I will report here how I do. Meanwhile I must continue to help others with their alcohol slavery. That work helps me stay clean and healthy. Somehow I think the process will help me manage my other dread issues, too. I will try. I have faith that it will work. Already I feel better. Perhaps you would like to join me in this effort?

Americans have a lot of work to do. Accomplishing it will come from reserves of energy and faith. Best we get at it sooner rather than later. Wish us luck!?

February 23, 2017

What We Must Do

At church Sunday we chatted before service on starting a weekly discussion group to cover people’s concerns over current issues. Two people spoke up to say they thought things were perfect, why would we have to discuss them? I spoke up and said that a lot of us were very upset and perplexed at current domestic concerns America faces. The other two folks jumped on that and said it was politics and had no place in church.

I countered with the church’s teaching of loving one another as ourselves, reaching out to others and serving them. The act of doing these things bring us together on the matters upon which we agree.

They said not!

Such is the condition of our social order these days. We have people who feel Trump is perfect for our times. The opposite is true to more than half of the population. Thus the divide. It is real. It is huge before us and keeps us divided.

Blamers cite liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between. But these are emotions speaking and not logic. That is the purpose of the discussion group. A freewheeling, moderated discussion weekly on Friday evenings. At a safe place – the church. All are welcome. A leadership group will arrange an orderly succession of topics to discuss and invite informed speakers and presenters on those same topics. A brief presentation of 15 or 20 minutes, and then discussion in group. Feelings and emotions will be kept in check by way of a facilitator and sensitivity training. The aim is to get diverse opinions aired and heard. Of course there will be reactions to such, but the goal is to reduce those enough so people listen and hear, and know they too are being heard.

This type of program is called a coffeehouse ministry. We tried it 52 years ago when civil rights and Viet Nam war protests were in the news 24/7. Those were the years in which Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. were both assassinated. Violence was an everyday thing on the news. Social order was in doubt. Flower Power and the sexual revolution was another item of the day. And American culture was never the same again!

We have come a long way since the 1960’s. Social conscience and discourse, however, has not traveled far at all. We are still a nation divided. And it affects our ability to get along with one another and trust each other, too. This is not a good thing. We need to heal our differences so we can move on with strength for whatever comes in the future.

My hunch is that we agree on most things. We have common threads of belief and values. We are not so far apart as it may seem. But if we focus on what divides us, we may never find out what unites us.

That is where serious discussion and listening enters the picture. The coming together to accomplish this is a serious journey of faith and hard work. I call it NEXUS, a coming together, a hub.

For those of you in the vicinity of Warrenville, Illinois, join us on Friday evenings starting in June. Contact me for the hours and location.

If you are not in the vicinity but you think this sort of discussion group would help in your area, start your own group. I think it works best in a public place of safety. A church is a good setting, in their parish hall, not the sanctuary! God forbid!  But call upon the teachings of every religion – Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Eastern orthodoxies. We are all peoples called upon to love one another as ourselves. It is the most difficult task we will ever encounter in life. But it is a calling we must respond to.

Each of us will be changed as a result. On both sides of any argument that may take place. The trick is to focus on what unites, not what divides. The latter is easily excited and manipulated. Just ask politicians how they do it!

For the rest of us we have a good answer and response. Listen and learn. Live and love. Try it. You’ll like it!

February 22, 2017

Too Much Day; Not Enough Night

I awoke thinking of this phrase recently. It kept echoing in my mind. Over and over it nagged.

A lot of thoughts came up then; scattered as they are during the wee hours of the morning. Bits and pieces. Voices, too; a dialog began to take shape. A day later I remembered an odd interlude.

I was at seminary and moving between my home church in Oak Park (Illinois) and the seminary in Hyde Park (Chicago). I traipsed among the building complexes on campus, and walked the catacombs of the seminary. Class assignments beckoned me back to my room so I could concentrate on my lessons and writing assignment. A class visit to a local agency and discussion with their staff took more time. All was interesting. And then we had open discussion groups designed to help us adjust from civilian life to seminary life and what the expectations were likely to be when we graduated to the outside world once again.

I wondered about the entire experience. It was a new world forming in my life. Finding my relevance within it was a challenge. I never wavered in those first several months. I knew I was in the right place. And this was the right time for it as well.

Yet doubt formed in a knot. Gut muscles tightened as I wrestled with my preparedness for this sort of life. The call was certain; the format of the future work was not clear. I was inventing a new ministry; the school was excited for me to do this with them. It was, after all, my idea, not theirs.

So it developed slowly a feeling of not belonging. At first it was just a minor niggle in the far reaches of the brain. Later I would encounter a small fist of tension in my stomach, not knowing its cause.

In time of course it became more clear. The world was complex. Her people were each complex. Together they were a conundrum and here we were trying to make sense of it all. The world of the intellect is one thing; the universe of emotions yet another. Connecting the two was difficult. What patterns were forming? What tasks was I being enticed to do? What paths would be blazed in this sociological wilderness that would slowly make sense? Indeed, was I on the right path at all?

At times like that my stomach felt bottomless - not of hunger but of fear and doubt. Surely you have felt something similar from time to time? Do you recall feelings of that sort? I did and the seminary experience delivered moments of similar dread.

I feel this same sort of dread today. Not of seminary. Not of calling. Not of profession. I am, after all, retired and aging. What lies ahead is fairly certain, just not the when. But days of living – yes, most likely years – await filling with purpose and value.

We live in a nation of vast change and chaos. The change is expected. The chaos is not. It is the result of political unrest that most of us were not prepared for. The why of that is a good question to probe.

Why are we here? Of course there are many answers, many of them cogent and with much inner truth. I pose, however, an answer that many will not like but one which I think may be at the base of our problems.

Laziness. A very basic human behavior. We seek self satisfaction, ego boosts, pleasure and comfort. Along with that is a sense of freedom to just ‘be’. Leave me alone; let me rest or lounge, or follow my own interests. After all, isn’t this what we seek freedom for? Well, yes; but there’s a price to pay for this freedom. It is hard work to maintain the freedom.

In a democracy such as ours there is a duty to perform; knowledge gathering, fact checking, reading and thinking. Even discussing with others with differing opinions. It is this work that helps each of us understand our context and perspectives. This sort of work requires concentration, discipline and an open mind.

What has happened is the opposite. Many people have been stirred by rhetoric to question what they have in their lives and are now aware that they have problems. They wish to blame that circumstance on someone other than themselves. But the truth is simpler; your circumstances are of your own making.

Here are facts. Economics does not work as you want; it works the way it does because it is a social science based on the accumulated behaviors of masses of people responding to market conditions. Period. And that is just in our own country. Macro economics is that of nations and among those same nations. We don’t make those things happen by our own behaviors; they are natural responses to policies made by individual nations which then force responses from other nations. The results affect our standards of living within our nation.

If you don’t understand basic economics, you are quite likely looking to blame someone for something that you don’t understand; and it just may be you returning your gaze in a mirror!

And jobs? Has your job changed from what it was when you first started your career? Why do you suppose that is? Did someone create a situation that took advantage of you, or did technology, application of new processes and scientific discoveries actually change your job? Was it becoming so expensive to your employer that another methodology was invented to avoid such costs? Your job became obsolete; perhaps a robot took your place on the assembly line at the factory? Or perhaps a cheaper labor force was readily available across the oceans?  Isn’t this the right of the employer to source his labor needs where they are cheapest?

And that leaves you what options? To learn a new skill set? Or maybe foresee changes and adapt to them before they take away your job? Perhaps you have another idea you could invest time and money in and build your own business? This is simple to do here in America. Many people stand ready to help you do just that. Some of that help is costly but totally free assistance is also available. Expert assistance, by the way. You just have to look for it and ask for help.

I think America has turned to sloppy, lazy lifestyles. They don’t like reading detailed reports. They don’t like studying complex subject matter and earn education degrees that certify their expertise in the subject. These degrees may lead to lucrative careers. And that is your business and mine. The government and policy makers are not concerned with your details. You should be.

No one owes you or me a job. We earn our own keep.

And by the way, if your government agencies are not dealing with what is really important, then you owe it to the nation and yourself to help remove such agencies. This is our government – yours and mine. It is also our society. We make it what it is. No government does that. But this form of governance requires us to work hard at knowing our duties.

And following through.

If we all had done our job, Trump would not be in the White House speaking nonsense and rubbish.

I was doing my homework but many of you said I was a liberal and not to be trusted. Who’s laughing now? Not me. I know what is happening. Can you say the same?

February 21, 2017

Age Old Questions

Who’s in charge? What’s the difference between policy and law? What points of agreement do we share? How are we different from one another? Does the difference really make a difference? Where does the government’s authority come from?

Is abortion a wrong or a right? What makes a person a citizen of any nation? What is the difference between a legal and an illegal alien? How do we protect each other from threats? How do we protect our nation and its people from terrorism? What do we give up in order to have any protection.

We all have insurance policies protecting what we feel is valuable. Home owners coverage helps us recover from damaging storms, fires or other catastrophes. The coverage doesn’t prevent the damage from occurring, but it does financially reimburse us, at least in part, for the cost of recovering from the damage. Same for auto insurance: protection from financial ruin in the event of an accident that causes great property damage, or physical injury, or worse – death. And the legal ramifications of all of that: the lawsuits and whatnot.

Protection of a nation’s liberty, freedom and self determination as a nation, usually calls upon a group defense of those people – be they a tribe, a state, a nation or whatever. The larger the group the larger the defense. The military is such a defensive mechanism for nations. The military, because it contains so much lethal power and might, can be used for offensive purposes as well. Such is the threat of maintaining a military force for defense. A nation can lose control over military purpose. It is a hidden cost of defense.

So, just because we have the ability to press an offensive military option, do we? Ought we? Another age old question to add to the list!

Citizenship and its legitimacy is a critical question for America because the melting pot of global cultures is the unique history of America. We are not of one bloodline. We are of many cultures, nationalities and ethnicities. It is what makes us strong. We are of broader mind and sinew because of this coming together of mankind within our borders.

This is the most important single issue for me and my pride in my nation.

Whether we were born here by circumstance or chose to adopt this land as our own having been born elsewhere, makes no difference. Our heritage is the same – humankind.

Legitimacy of citizenship may be argued. It is the result of process. It is the fruit of policy. But in the end it counts for little. It truly only matters that you are here because you want to.

Now, in a free society such as America’s, it is difficult to determine the purpose of a citizen. If you are legal, you are able to do damage to the nation because of your beliefs and actions borne of those beliefs. Just look at domestic terrorism – Sandyhook elementary school massacre; Oklahoma bombing by Timothy McVey; Columbine High School shootings; and so many more. Terrorism functionally seeks terror as statement. It is home grown as much as external forms of terrorism.

The threat politically from ISIS, communists of yore, or any nutcase wishing harm to America for any reason, is the same threat as our own domestic perpetrators of terror.

Knowing what we are dealing with is not easy. Blaming everyone in sight for this state of affairs does little good. America has trained personnel to handle this. The military is one; National Guard is another. And of course Homeland Security, FBI, CIA and countless other intelligence agencies and their personnel help along with local police, sheriffs and first responders to keep us all safe.

All of these people work hard to protect us. They succeed most of the time. Some of the time they are unable to discover the threats in time to prevent a terror event. That is no reason, however, to lament that ‘we can do better.’ Let us celebrate the good we do and bad we prevent. We will mourn the failures, too, as we must. But let us not beat ourselves up for those failures.

No one has all the answers. What really matters is what we agree on, and then work for common goals for the common good.

I deeply believe this is the core strength of our nation. And at that core is the historical fact that we are all immigrants. Celebrate this reality.

Now, let’s move on to other important matters that need our attention. Might I suggest checks and balances in our governance structures?

I thought that might get your attention!

February 20, 2017

Perspective – Holding on To It

By now it is obvious my blog posts are chronicling a process, a very personal one. It is mine. It may be like yours, or not. Each of us lives life moment to moment, much of it seemingly alone. But that’s not true. We live in group, two by two, or more in family. Friends, work colleagues, and associates gathered during daily routines. In time we have circles of friends and associates that we know.

We relate to them. They relate to us. Our behaviors take on a routine – expectation and action; reaction and further expectation, and so on. Cues on our behavior emerge. We begin to sense, to know, what works well and what does not. We seek approval and kindness. We avoid that which is unpleasant. Unless of course we are the manipulative type of person who goes around upsetting the status quo! Then watch out!

Most of the time people get along with one another. We do our routine tasks and move on to other duties. We are rewarded by these activities either with praise, acceptance or paychecks. Routines build around this behavior. We persist in these activities for years and years accumulating in a lifetime.

There is a context to this activity, however. That context embraces your circle of friends, mine, and others as well. So now we have a structure of a mini society in which much more activity is registered and accomplished. Intertwining relationships and cause-effect-result occurs. Complex social order emerges.

And those complex social orders beget more complex social orders until we have a neighborhood, city, county, region, state and nation. Beyond national borders are other nations, too. And cultures, religions, mores and so much more of complexity in social order. Anthropology studies this order of magnitude. So does sociology. And history is the ages long story of what happens and when as peoples interact with one another: sometimes within nations but also globally.

Complexity grows and grows. Exponentially it morphs and creates new and broader meaning. The Big Picture is formed. Comprised by millions and billions of little pictures.

When we deal with anything in our lives, is it the little picture? Or is it a parallel of the big picture? Or what combination of all of this is involved?

Keeping our perspective is the theme of this day’s post. Perspective informs us by contrasting with other views of reality. Ours is not the only reality. Yours is valid, too. And Joe’s and Mary’s and Vladimir’s. And Mirazh, too. Let us not forget all of the billions of perspectives that exist in the world.

Order. Order is needed in most things to make sense of it. As well we need order to interact with it; we must to construct expectations that guide our actions now and in the soon to be future. How else do we get along in a complex world?

For now the complex world is nearby. It is in our nation. We are experiencing life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in a ways with which we are unfamiliar. The norms have shifted. As yet we do not know what they are or will become. But change we know is here.

We don’t know yet if the change is real or lasting or even correct. Will it change yet again into something more familiar? Or are we creating an entirely new reality? What then, and how then, do we give it legitimacy?

Legitimacy. An interesting word. What makes anything legitimate? Surely not its simple existence? Certainly we have a broader means to signify something is legitimate? Is this the role of governance? Is this the social order seriously considering what is as legitimate or not?

If this is so I can better understand what is happening in America presently. Just because something is happening in the White House or Congress does not make it legitimate until society says it is so. Real or fake; right or wrong; these are matters that society must take up and digest. Using these before their time is a test. Tests work or fail. Let us see just how these ‘tests’ pan out.

What perspective will carry the day and our future? What will become legitimate? Will long fought for principles continue to win legitimacy? If so what portions of current events now before us will fall as dust to the waste bins of history?

I think we have a lot of work to do, folks. A lot of work. The story is not yet ended. It is just the beginning. I wonder if the playwrights in the White House truly understand what they are dealing with?

Time will tell us, and them. I just hope it is sooner rather than later!

February 17, 2017

Pursuit of Happiness

Following my own path these days. Looking at opportunities and new thoughts. Ideas to follow and wonder how they will come out. The process is simple: one step at a time, one element, see it connect with another element, and so on. It is a path of discovery. And that works for me.

Pursuit of happiness is like that. It need not be selfish or greedy. Just a logical flow of following one’s instincts. See what happens, what follows after. Later, when we take time to ponder, we wonder what it all means. Did the elements connect in a way that informs us of fact, logic, reality? Was this uncovering meaningful? Can we build upon it for the future?

Discovery is like that. Experience the realness of the day. Feel what the experience is like and later discover its meaning. Its usefulness. Its ability to merge into other discoveries and yield totally new things. Things we can use. Things that make our lives better somehow.

           

Listening to music, what does the mind conjure? What flights of thinking are supported and propelled into the ether of our minds? Do we engage these flights? Do we value them? Do we use them to build on or to escape from?

So many times music has been my escape to where I feel safe and embraced. But now the need is different somehow. I use music to enhance and to motivate me to reach into the unknown. The ideas from music are in Technicolor and throb and pulse with movement and sound. They swirl in their own atmosphere which has its own colored hues contrasting with the thrusts of the music.

Like magic the ideas gel and discovery is found at the edge.

Now to make something of the discovery. Apply it to something worthwhile. Let it pull the mind forward toward connection and more discovery.

Pursuit of happiness. This is mine. What’s yours?

Indeed, what is the pursuit like for any one of is? It is quite different, right? Unique to each of us as we live through our own struggles with life itself. Each person fuels his or her own flight path of discovery. For me this activity is vital and proves I am alive. Yes, it is that vital!

Now, multiply that by 330 million souls in America. The vitality is breathtaking.

So too, the creativity and inventiveness of our national core. This is our asset. This is our destiny as well. Will we make use of it? For good purpose? Will our discipline – alone and in concert with others – combine to produce amazing things that reward our lives with happiness?

These things are at the center of our being. They can be discouraged by others but not taken away. There are those among us who are afraid of our freedom. They do not know the why or the how of their fear. Just that they fear. So they try to control. They take away a little freedom here and there until they feel they are in control. But, they do not know yet what they are in control of. The truth? Not much!

In time the truth will emerge. What we are individually capable of cannot be taken away except through death. And if they are desperate enough to do that, they display their true weakness as so many before them have.

Theirs is the face of fascism. Theirs of Nazism. Despotic rulers show their colors in time because they follow only their own thoughts and not the rules of social order. They are glaringly illuminated by logic and truth.

All we need to do to defeat such is to pursue our inner direction toward happiness. We will find the source of energy and persistence needed to outlast the enemies of freedom. That’s what we did in the 1700’s; again in 1812; and in 1918, 1945 and so on. Truth won out. It was not automatic. We had to fight for it and resist for it.

Whether the enemy is external or internal the force of each person multiplied by the nation will carry the right message eventually.

Be patient. Feel and think. Dare to discover your own path. And pursue it to the end. You will not be alone.

February 16, 2017

Gaining Control

Scanning news-feeds I see chaos over national and international issues. Government issues, really. Who’s in charge, what’s being said, who’s doing what and how are they all reacting. And then, about the reactions; what reactions to the reactions are registered? As I said, chaos.

We have a new president. He is a business person but not a corporate head. Corporate heads answer to a board of directors and the power hierarchy contained within. CEOs can be fired by boards. The Chairman of the board is powerful but not all powerful. He or she still needs board votes to cement decisions of the chair.

Our president is the owner of the corporation. He does what he wants and says what he wants. If someone doesn’t agree with him he or she is liable to get fired. Just like that. On personal whim. No fact checking, no parsing out reasons, just gut reaction.

This same president person has brought his non-corporate corporate life to the White House. The style and function of his ‘corporate’ life does not mesh well with governing circles. In the White House the US Constitution defines duties, government functions and relationships among and between the separate powers of the US tripartite governance structure. The president is not this sort; he is a leader and a persuader. There are checks and balances galore.

This president hasn’t taken note of the checks and balances. It appears he doesn’t think they apply to him. None have in the past, after all. So he is trying it his way.

Well, this is not a private corporation and the checks and balances make certain such is the case. Trouble is the president isn’t much of a listener or follower. He does what he wants and reacts if things don’t work out.

This is interesting. Reports suggest that the president acts much like a child not getting his own way. But I think those reports might be off track. Yes, he acts like a child. But no, he is not a child and is a mature man. I think the problem is much more basic than childish behavior.

I hesitate to suggest a serious emotional issue beclouds the president, mainly because I am not a professional in psychiatric medicine. However, I think the evidence is shaping up and professionals need to weigh in on what we are dealing with.  I fear we have a paranoid in the office of the president. I hope this is not true. However, I would feel better if trained minds in this area of expertise would help define the situation.

Our checks and balances are designed to guarantee our government functions openly, fairly and without undue influences. It was not designed to protect us from a sick personality. So now what do we do?

Certainly we can and should employ checks and balances more diligently to buy time in which to protect the machinery of government. After that, what do we do?

Which branch of the government should be engaged in this? The Legislative Branch? The Judicial Branch? It cannot be the Executive Branch inasmuch as this is the branch containing the problem. So how do we proceed as a nation?

Are we going to debate whether or not a problem exists? Rather than involve that and more chaos, let’s just ask professionals to help us define the problem more expertly and in detail. This is our future at stake. We have much to lose should this be handled poorly, or not handled at all.

How then do we as a nation regain control over our country and its future in the global community? I don’t think I am over reacting here. I fear for my country. Don’t you? Don’t our allies and long-time friends throughout the globe?  How do we protect ourselves from a madman in office?

When the election results were announced people on the winning side called the losers poor losers. The losers, however, told the winners that they had lost in more ways than one. Yes, the election results were disappointing to many but those ‘losers’ sensed something larger that the ‘winners’ have not so far understood.

I think we have lost something large. Balance and process moves complex systems forward carefully and with certainty. Lacking that finesse and confidence, damage to public confidence happens. How much damage before the nation owns up to a crisis and repairs it?

This must be a bipartisan effort for it to work. Please God may this process be engaged soon.

February 15, 2017

One Day At a Time

The mantra of ‘take one day at a time’ is good advice for all of us. Life is complex even in the simplest of situations. Jumbling things together makes it worse. A shoelace knot is not undone in haste; calm attention to the direction of the lace in the knot will allow it to be backed off; and then the knot comes undone.

So too other matters all knotted up. Marriages are such. Very simple on the surface but complex with personalities, situations, passage of time, things left unaddressed, tasks left undone. All of these compound to new levels of complexities in need of undoing myriad knots. To make things whole again takes work and attention to detail.

It is true as well with digesting new educational material – math courses, histories, languages and science. Each new fact or issue builds toward the next one in logical course. Eventually understanding fuels self education and expertise. Practiced everyday the new becomes old and use becomes automatic.

Practice playing the piano, or violin, cello or clarinet. Soon music will reward your soul and make more possible – both music and soul! Day by day; moment by moment. The practiced comes to age and deliverance.

I write this as an aging man. I see the world unfolding before my eyes. I engage it. It engages me. I learn something new every day, often every hour. It expands my understanding of most things. And new things as well.

I still stumble using the cell phone but marvel at its connectivity to the world. I cannot master the cable TV. It goes black and I call for help. It shows a menu screen that stubbornly will not disappear and I shut off the TV. Alas, it is still there when I turn it back on. Only help gets me out of this pickle.

I know I am not the only one. Someone else has to bail me out continually on this. So too the blue tooth connection of the cell phone with the car’s computer system. This works most of the time but often it becomes disconnected. I’m told I did something that caused this. I know not what I did! All I know is someone else has to reconnect it for me.

I have other things to think about. At my age I have limits both to time and patience. If I force myself to learn electronic mania then I displace the patience and time for learning something else I am certain has more importance than the electronic stuff.

You may not agree, but this is my coping method for the present.

It comes in handy. I turn on the TV and get news I don’t want. Conveniently the TV locks up and I must turn elsewhere for my attention to be engaged. The internet is a good place so I turn to the computer. There I find more peaceful news; that which isn’t, I move off from and to something more pleasant.

In time I return to the unpleasant and try to make sense of it. One thing at a time. one issue at a time. one nutcase politician at a time.

In Trump time we must all learn to cope. Surely he will run out of nasty funny business so we can begin to fix what he has damaged. Surely the world community knows America is not fixed in the image of Trump. Surely our lifelong friends will know we are in an age of discontent and the fringe nuts really don’t represent the best of us.

Undoing the knot. Everyday. Doing my work. Being kind to another person. Finding something to smile about and even laugh about.

Funny thing; lately I’ve noticed my laughter is more uproarious. Is that because the release of tension is so strong? So built up are my fears and loathing at what is happening?

One day at a time. pull back from the edge of despair. Take a deep breath. Do the right thing. Hug someone. Give them strength and steal a little for yourself.

He is not my president. This is still my country. It is made up of 330 million people, most of whom have good souls and generous hearts. We will prevail. We will get through this.

One day at a time.

February 14, 2017

Owning Our Lives

I write this blog so I can delve into what makes me tick. What is important to me? What has depth and what is shallow? What are my interests and how do they square with what the world needs from me?

I don’t know about you. I’m not reading your thoughts. I’m just writing my own and letting others see them. This is not an ego thing. This is a therapy process to keep me anchored in reality and to truly develop some honesty in my life. Doing this blog makes me real to myself. The exposure to others is a risk. Others could easily react to my ideas and writing and tromp all over my feelings and personhood. But if that happened and I let it truly affect me, that would be my bad.

I am in control on how others affect my life. I can let them or not; better to ‘not.’

Why then do I expose myself? Because I learn about me. I also learn what’s going on in the world that I would otherwise not know about. I read about things, ask questions of other people, get involved in special projects from time to time and let the pull of the odd and the new challenge me. That’s partly why I work with teen drug addicts. I had never done that before so the experience was a stark reminder of how different my life is from other people. Not a good thing or a bad thing, just a different thing. Understanding it is a challenge. Still is and I’ve been doing that work for over 4 years now.

Mentoring small businesses is another challenge. I enjoy it and learned how to do it. I share my experience and skill sets with others so they can get ahead. Not all do get ahead, but most do. And that provides reward enough for me. It is also a challenge that has taught me a lot about business, other people and their dreams, and myself as well. All efforts teach lessons. Some big, some small, but all lessons are good. They round me out and make me a better person, hopefully.

Singing has been a personal passion for me. I love music. I love making music. I do not share this with very many people. I am shy and avoid limelight. It makes me very uncomfortable. But if making music gives me joy, I have to risk letting others hear me. You can’t have one thing without the other. Doing it – making music – has stretched me. And others now tell me they enjoy my musical contribution. I can’t ask for anything more than that.

The first time I stood to give a speech – it was to 250 college students – I was so nervous I nearly froze on the spot! But I put away my script and presented what was on my mind. I had already written and practiced ‘the speech’ but it felt plastic. I covered the same material in a way that was much more real. The students accepted it very well. It was a moment of success. From that I was able to move on and speak before crowds of 1000 or 1500. Not easy but it happened. Later I was able to stand before small groups of 10 to 25 people and lead them through complicated planning processes for 8 to 14 hours over a weekend.

That work built my confidence to think spontaneously and express myself. If people misunderstood I learned how to correct my presentation to remove confusion and remain honest at the same time. This give and take developed strength for my consulting career.

Later that confidence also supported efforts to write weekly newspaper columns, news articles on public events and government happenings. And even later I realized I needed to clear out my brain attic and write a blog. I’ve been doing this for over 5 years and reached over 120,000 readers. Now writing every day is easy for me. Having confidence in my expression of thoughts is strong, too.

I expose myself to the judgment of others. Everyday I do this. Everyday I take chances to learn enough about another’s situation to see how I can help them be all that they can be. Yes, I take a chance to do this work. I don’t know that I will succeed at it. But it is that very edge of risk that makes the effort better, more effective and, in the end, successful.

As a result I feel I own my life. I risk every day and receive feedback that helps me understand the world and other people. Everyday. And yes, everyday I learn more about myself and why it is important to risk losing myself to find myself. Each day. Risk and discovery. Sometimes I suffer defeat but that only makes the victories seem more valuable.

Give and take. Ebb and flow. Take a chance and learn. Own your life. It may very well be the secret of happiness.

How about you? What risks and rewards do you do each day?

February 13, 2017

Checks and Balances

There is much unrest in America today. Millions of people align with various positions on many issues. Some days the issues are hot; other days they are cool. Some issues have staying power and always draw opinions. Then there are larger issues that are complex that only a few truly understand; these issues are pushed aside until critical moments arrive and experts hold forth to explain the intricacies involved.

There is a swing and sway to public opinion on most things. But the pendulum swings steady on life itself and its larger issues. The movement is natural and expected. Anyone surprised by this isn’t paying attention to the basics. Still change upsets the equilibrium of many issues. We have to get used to it. It is part of the give and take of life.

For those people involved professionally in a field of work, they see the issues as either new opportunities or fresh threats. Education is a good example of that. Educators and those involved in research and development of new educational processes and philosophies know that the current system struggles to generate desired outcomes – an educated graduate who goes on to perform remarkable things for the nation and mankind in general. Meanwhile that student also goes on to manage his or her life well without being a burden to others.

On the other hand there are those in the public who feel the current educational system is off base and will not reach heights of excellence until it is fully replaced with something else. The problem, of course, these folks don’t have the replacement system developed to substitute for what we already have. So the arguments are mostly political and push theories around like so many straw soldiers on a make believe battlefield. No substance is forthcoming.

Yet the schools continue to work in place and make the best with the resources they are provided. Mandates, too: requirements to do and accomplish things that are not in the mainstream of education but are conveniently in place where the students are each day. So they become the eyes and ears of society on what the kids are doing or not, and what terrible behavior needs to be monitored. Such are not good use of scarce education dollars. And time. Remember the time it takes to educate a person. If we are using that time for something else then the education part is shorted. Another hidden cost of our educational system.

No, the education system works well given its heavy task and poor funding. It could use more research and development to improve on the model we now use and produce much better outcomes. However, there are those who want public schools to be cheapened so those people with money can buy the education for their kids that is super good and places them above the rest of society. Competitively these kids will have first crack at higher education, research dollars and high earning employment opportunities. All while the rest of society goes begging for scraps.

The new Secretary of Education is feared by many because she has lobbied and supported weakening public education systems in favor of funding and building private institutions. She favors the latter while taking funding from the former. Is this a fair summary of Betsy DeVos?

Others will need to add to the discussion, but for the rest of us who are not academicians, clarification is needed. Please.

With a majority hold on Congress – both the House and Senate, and soon a likely majority ideology on the Supreme Court, plus ‘ownership’ of the White House, Republican leaders will press their advantage. They are after all approving all of Trump’s cabinet nominees. The question will then be will they approve the initiatives of those cabinet members in the critical areas of government in coming years.

Such expectations have given cause for concern about the future of public education, accessible and affordable healthcare, immigration policy, campaign finance reform, a woman’s right to choose, equal rights for gays, and a host of other issues. The concern in some circles has grown to panic.

With the recent Appeals Court decision to place a hold on Trump’s executive order banning travel entry and re-entry to America, the rule of law holds the line on quick changes to national principles. We are still a nation of laws. Those laws prescribe process. And principles and values. They are not easily upended.

So, perhaps our refuge is in calm. Give time for our lawful procedures to be considered and enacted by the millions of legal professionals already at work in our system. Checks and balances, remember? One of the key ingredients to our American system of government. And that stands true at every level of government from national to state to county.

America is not yet free for the taking by ideological thugs.

In that period of calm action, let us work to replace elected representatives who fail their job descriptions. Checks and balances.  Always the checks and balances. But it requires faith and calm on our part to make it all work.

Get ready! Set! Go!

February 10, 2017

Volunteer Glue

Do you volunteer? For Little League, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, church school, church nursery, or anything like that? How about the village garden club or society? Or Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions or the Chamber of Commerce? Do you lend a hand with local school events and PTA? What about working on an ad hoc committee or task force at your place of employment? Do you do such things?

Those activities and organizations are just the beginning of volunteer involvements. There are cultural (theater, music, art), educational, medical assistance (elder care at home, care giving for family members, transportation help to doctors for neighbors) and so many other charities in need of volunteers.

Here are more examples:

• Environmental organizations
• Food banks
• Meals on Wheels
• Community newspaper
• Home Owners Association newsletter
• Hobby group
• Friends of library, park district, fire district, etc. 

The list goes on and on. Once you get started identifying these it is hard to stop! Yes, that many opportunities to get started.

I helped host an information booth last weekend at a Volunteer Exposition. Yes, this community wanted to headline all the groups in town who functioned mainly on volunteer horsepower. And they came out to talk to one another, volunteer, and cross pollinate group functions! Several were able to connect on common projects but from different points of view. Win-win buzzed throughout the room.

One booth featured volunteers for the county court system's monitoring child care. These folks were assigned cases of foster children. They followed up on home visits to determine how well the child was treated in the course of prescribed care matching the kid’s specific situation. They filled positions of trust, awesome trust. Paid county staff doesn’t have the time to do all the leg work associated with this area, so volunteers are pulled in and trained to do the work. All for free.

Stop and think about that. We are not speaking about volunteers to tote, carry or deliver communications or things. We are talking about volunteers getting professionally involved in the lives of others so good things will result. How much of this goes on in our nation? How deeply are out lives affected by the work of volunteers?

In a day and age when everyone expects a paycheck, I think the public would be stunned to learn that volunteers are relied on to accomplish a lot of good things. Miracles, really. Miracles.

SCORE is an association of retired people works with individuals wanting to create their own business. Mentors are ready to lend a hand and walk those people through a process that will result in a dream coming true. SCORE mentors also help with existing small businesses with a problem in need of a solution so they can continue in business on a stronger basis of profit and growth. All of this work is done by people with experience and expertise. They share it willingly. And for FREE. Volunteer, remember?

This is just another example of significant volunteerism.

In so many ways America is the land of volunteers. Great things get done by good people needing to share with other good people. Not everyone is looking for a handout. Not everyone is looking for payback. Instead they are looking for and wanting a society that works well for the common good. Pretty basic thing. Basic motivation. Simple.

And yet we are bombarded daily – minute by minute – by news items filled with bad news and laments on our sorry situation.  Well, the situation isn’t sorry.

If you don’t like what you see, step up and make it better. That’s the starting point of all volunteer work. You can do something about the world, the city, the state, or the neighborhood. You can make a difference. Chances are you already have.

So give yourself some credit. And clap your neighbor on the back for the work he or she does, too. We are in this thing called life together. And we will make of it what we will.

Best if we decide now to make it the best we can! It’s the glue that holds us together as a nation. If you stick to it, it will stick with you.

February 9, 2017

Games or Values?

When we were kids we played a game called Fiddle Sticks. The primary action was to toss the bundle of fiddle sticks into the air and let them come down on a flat surface higgledee piggledee. For those not schooled in this term, think ‘every which way’ and you have it on the nose!

The point of the game was then to create order of the chaos. Sticks were in a variety of colors and players were to pull their color sticks from the pile without disturbing others. The person gathering all of their sticks first, won the game.

Today’s circumstances in much of the world are like a game of Fiddle Sticks. Russia certainly has its chaotic array of issues complicated by a lack of financial resources. Much of Africa is riddled with nations of varying size, much of them individually in chaos while all of the African nations taken together are a hodge podge of chaotic troubles.

Far East nations – Japan, Philippines, Malaysia and many more – have their issues as well. China alone has a lot of issues in play. So too the Koreas and, as a result, the rest of us who wish to keep peace in a tinderbox region.

America has its trumpet times which attempts to redefine everything into as yet unknown terms. Sort of like what the United Kingdom is dealing with following its exit from the European Union – if it actually happens. And then, of course, there is all of Europe which is dealing with the Euro’s value, the European Union’s stability, NATO’s identity crisis, the rumbles of military mischief from Russia and the current instability of Europe’s relationship with the USA.

Fiddle Sticks and chaos. All in a mess. Everything up in the air.

Well, this has bothered me. It addles my thinking. I pull on one thread of thought (just one colored fiddle stick, remember!) and see where it will take me. But there are so many other sticks in play I cannot let my focus veer too far from the central issue: Order in all things. Order.

The mind seeks order. It normalizes the odd thing or two, and then the many. It must. Without order chaos reigns and muddies process and outcome. In fact outcome becomes accidental rather than intended. That disturbs orderly minds even more!

So we seek order. I do. Hopefully others do as well. Do you?

Governments do. That is their job. Making sense of disorder and bringing things back into focus. The world community despises disorder and imbalance. Like the economy in each nation, equilibrium is sought moment by moment to create stable values upon which we all can rely. That is how currencies get their value and retain them with some sense of orderliness. Stability. Trading partners seek stability. So too do diplomats as they manage toward calm and peace. Disorder creates tensions that disrupt and distract.

Well now, maybe we are getting somewhere. Putin distracts with military exercises. Those rattle the Scandinavian countries, and by extension, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Estonia, and all the other small former USSR nations. They are now free of the USSR but they still fear and dread Russia. Putin knows this and intentionally rattles former allies to unsettle the world community.

North Korea does the same but for their own paranoid purposes. Philippines is led now by an unstable leader who is a distraction all unto himself; but his actions destabilize former relationships throwing future relationships in doubt. More distractions. More realignments in store?

The Middle East is as it has been for centuries, a stew pot of horrors and instability. Kingdoms and religious fiefdoms vying for power among brother nations in a mud puddle of oil interests and frayed economics. Chaos to be sure.

I have not touched on South America but we all can imagine the regimes of power in each nation that attempts to manage the varied tribes of regional leaders throughout the continent. How stable is all of that? Few know the answer to the question.

Let’s just say that what is normal today is not normal by past standards. Everything seems to be up in the air.

This is uncomfortable for those of us who seek calm and order.

There is a large ‘however’, however! And it is this: Disorder creates the tension necessary to properly define what we want. What we expect. What we value. Forget the fears of the unknown. Focus instead on what matters to you and your loved ones. Focus on what is near and dear to you and then expand that idea to everyone else.

If all of the people in the world value much the same things, then we have a common focal point to work with. Just imagine what we could do with that one golden nugget of an idea, of a value. Why, we could build upon that an order of peace throughout the globe.

The mind staggers at the enormity of this concept.

I just wonder when we will get to the point of distancing ourselves from the chaos to consider the common value? That’s where our attention should be.

Or does a game of Fiddle Sticks still have too many of us engaged in a game?

February 8, 2017

What’s Bothering Me?

In the Age of Trump here are the things that most concern me. I’m not sure of their priority order but I list them as they come to mind in rapid succession:

1. Retention of Gay Rights; continue to decrease discrimination of gays
2. Full access to healthcare at the least cost possible; move towards universal coverage
3. Full access to quality education for all; no barriers based on income or poverty; based on ability, personal achievement and motivation
4. Maintain regulations against greed in commerce and industry; safeguard banking and investment industries against fraud and manipulation
5. Planned maintenance and replacement of public infrastructure
6. Eliminate private donations from political campaigns
7. Separation of Church and State
8. Woman’s right to choose abortion or not
9. Free trade world wide with tariff penalties on nation’s subsidizing their goods
10. A full commitment to world peace and making it happen
11. Replacement of ‘oil standard’ with new technology and renewable energy sources
12. Protection of the planet with air/water/soil conservation standards adopted and policed globally

There are more topics of interest but these are my primary ones. Being gay is the reason for my first topic, but gay rights speak as well to the civility and acceptance of diversity throughout our society. It is healthy to be diverse; society is strengthened and more dynamic because of diversity. Diversity does not require sameness of mind or thought; that would be the opposite of diversity.

Healthcare is a basic human right. Yes it is expensive; but it is also a primary element of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If we all have that we are then able to live out our own dream.

Access to education according only to the student’s ability and self motivation should produce the highest possible outcomes for our society. Intelligence and ability are not dictated by wealth or social class. They should be free to seek their own rewards based on their own merit.

Governance ought not be purchased. All elected officials should be barred from accepting any emolument that could be construed to influence the official’s discharge of duties. All political campaigns are to be paid from public budgets of the specific taxing bodies attached to the elected office.

Free markets do not exist for the most part. Regulations shall be crafted to guard the public against manipulation and greed from stakeholders of commerce and industry. The banking and investment industries are to be carefully regulated to avoid fraud and manipulation.

Public infrastructure is a common good used by both commercial and public interests. It ought to be well planned and budgeted from public resources for timely maintenance, replacement and expansion.

Religious beliefs or absence of same are not to directly affect the governance of the people. Such are private and social matters free of interference from government. Mingling of church and state issues is strictly prohibited.

A woman’s right to choose child bearing issues is solely her own, not that of the state or religion. Abortion access is a health option guaranteed to all women.

Free trade encourages full use of all economic resources throughout the globe. Artificial pricing of labor, raw materials or finished goods will not be allowed with the exception of penalties levied against a nation’s goods that are subsidized by their government.

The natural state of the world’s societies should be rooted in peace. All nations must work together to build and maintain that peace. Military forces are to be designed for defensive postures and uses rather than offensive ones. World governing bodies are to design controls against violations and implement their use as needed.

Removing the globe from the ‘oil standard’ is commonsense. Oil supplies are finite. Locale of such resources cause social unrest and wars. New energy resources are available and expanded without harming the planet or causing wars. Thus the oil standard should be eliminated by 2050.

The planet is our home and needs to be protected from behaviors that would despoil it or cause its death. Environmental protection is vital to mankind’s survival and quality of life.

In a complex world of enormous diversity we owe it to ourselves and future generations to adhere to the above principles. This is my opinion. What’s yours?

February 7, 2017

 

A Challenge Forward

Today’s blog is a book review of a sort. Read through the following and see if the challenge ahead is one we can answer with action.

Conclusions from The Smartest Places on Earth – Why Rustbelts are the Emerging Hotspots of Global Innovation, by Antoine Van Agtmael and Fred Bakker (2016)

1. Past competition in the business world has kept technological advancements and cross-disciplinary scientific research from realizing their full potential.
2. Recent developments are eliminating the competitive reticence and sharing research findings, interdisciplinary academic research in technical fields, and process development innovations have emerged in new, collaborative models.
3. Communities that once were strong manufacturing centers have lost their cost/benefit competitive advantages and watched their businesses fail, disappear or move overseas.
4. These rustbelt communities are finding new ways to use technology to build smart manufacturing processes, products and plants. Private investment, corporate investment, small entrepreneurial investments, research university partnerships and government grants have funded brainsharing that has invented the region back into a major competitive power.
5. Public/Private partnerships or corporations are springing up in many places – both in the USA and Europe.
6. American support for this development is much larger and far reaching than what is found in Europe. Other parts of the world are even less positioned for this new means of competing globally.
7. 2008 was the year the recession in America began and economic bubbles burst in several economic arenas. Housing, real estate (both commercial and residential), mortgage lending, investment portfolios of mortgage securities, and much more combined to build a massive economic recession bordering on a depression.
8. Many jobs were lost; wiped out by the recession and relocation of entire industries overseas. At the same time massive retirements of baby boomers and pre-baby boomers occurred. The workforce shrank. Unemployment, however, grew exponentially. Clearly the economy was undergoing a huge and painful adjustment.
9. That adjustment continued for several years and in 2016 some new trends emerged. These may last several more years or undergo more evolution before settling into a new normal. Without much doubt the old normal is gone and probably forever.
10. What is needed is innovation and that comes from rethinking what we are trying to do, complete, discover
11. We have ideas; we have processes for those ideas; and we have outcomes. How do they all fit together and what innovative, creative thinking must go on in each to truly make them new and different?
12. We have the ability to create new things from nothing if we put our minds to it. The truth of the matter is – We don’t know what we know or don’t know – so we have to move forward into the future
13. Moving forward is done not alone but with others from different disciplines of thinking. Sharing knowledge both within and among groups leads to new discoveries and connections of data/disciplines/ideas that can be used in concert to discover new outcomes
14. New jobs, careers and disciplines emerge from all of this work
15. Entirely new cities could result; but what happens instead is renewal of old places. What is needed in each are systems and subsystems that provide the infrastructure for people living together – housing, transportation, shopping local, walkable streets, cooperative institutions (colleges, universities, schools, libraries, etc.), research institutions, private corporations and local and regional government agencies. Funding, too, comes when funding agencies with the resources see what is being created and in need of support.
16. Thus rustbelts become brainbelts. The critical key is brainsharing behaviors.
17. Brainsharing requires trust, humility, true search for common problems and their solutions, leading wherever it may toward a fresh new tomorrow.
18. From this work come many discoveries that may not be usable today by the current researchers, but others, by networking, will learn of the discoveries and find uses for them.
19. Meanwhile the primary quests are being worked on and solved. And those solutions are being bought and sold and employed in many new, exciting ways.
20. Economic development comes from this sort of collaborative living.
21. And meaningful life styles grow from this environment of ‘can do’. Communities are built that are true to themselves and each citizen living within them.
22. And life is Green with reduction of waste, efficient use of resources – food, housing, energy, investment funds, etc. – that sustainability of the community and of the planet are co-creations.
23. The way forward is together, in community. This relies on sharing and cooperating. 

Can we do this in America? Can we find the humility and goodwill and trust in one another to accomplish these great deeds? Or are we too selfish and self-centered to break free and live large in our own place on the planet?

Can we suspend our Trump distractions long enough to give brainsharing and brainbelts a try?

February 6, 2017

Schism

We have two America’s today. Scan Facebook and the media if you don’t believe me. Rhetoric is loud and plentiful. Difference of opinion screamed for all to hear. Point by point someone’s upset is laid out over and over again. By a lot of people. That includes me. This blog is a ready example.

How many millions of blogs are there? What outrage gave each their birth?  Will they last? Will more voices come to life? Who will be heard? What new thoughts will be added to the public stew?

And will the discourse revolve around new and stronger themes? Will these themes combine into a movement? Will strength come from this movement and provide leadership for others? Will a new way of seeing our nation emerge from all of this? Will it embrace enough people to create a fresh majority? One that will re-order our nation at war with itself?

A nation at war with itself. A divide among American citizens is evident. Where this will go is open to discussion. But change is here for certain. Just how big and elemental it will prove to be remains unknown.

I’ve written here recently that I sensed a shift coming. I feel opinion is coalescing against Trump. I still think this is true but that shift is not yet strong enough to force the new White House to retract recent actions.

Today’s news indicates Trump has issued soft messages on foreign policy indicating he will challenge Netanyahu on new settlement construction as ‘not helpful’ in working toward peace. He has also back peddled a bit on his earlier campaign rhetoric attacking President Obama’s foreign policy positions. UN statements by Trump’s new UN Ambassador suggest a stronger position opposing Putin’s harsh stand in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. North Korea’s bombastic threats also have been met with stern opposition by Trump’s emissary. And then there is Iran and its ballistic missile test. Trump now claims Iran is ‘on notice’ for the test and promises consequences.

I find these messages promising. They are soft inasmuch as they contain no hard actions to support them. Time will tell if such are forthcoming. But the job of governing is a role that demands 24/7/365 attention. Thinking through all the ramifications this kind of work requires is daunting both for the person in the presidency as well as support staff. Life is more complicated in the White House than on the campaign trail.

The wall is another point. Building the border wall separating the US from Mexico is not a quick process. Land owners must agree that their land can be used for this purpose. If not, lengthy court proceedings will be engaged. Even the principle of eminent domain is not a fast track decision to be made and implemented. It is lengthy and complicated precisely because it protects the rights of ownership. Even the most conservative mind in the US pales when the term ‘eminent domain’ is uttered. Those words are sacred.

Still Trump continues to roil political waters. He now claims he will loosen restrictions on the separation of church and state and encourage religious institutions freedom to engage in political demagoguery. That will distract millions of faithful on both sides of many issues. All are divisive. All are reminiscent of the campaign trail. Will this become a symbol of the Trump regime – endless distraction?

Trump continues to assault the role of regulation in banking and commerce. He seems to forget that regulation saved the nation from countless depressions and mended the most serious recession. Removing regulation only serves the power of greed. It also threatens instability of the economy itself.

Maybe the distractions will boomerang? Will the public stir from its civic slumber enough to act against these distractions? And if it does, will that public stay engaged long enough to help define for the long term what it wants from its government?

Are we a nation of big and bold government? Or of weak and small? Who operates either model? How are both to be checked and balanced with public will? How stable is that will?

Indeed, how deep is our divide? How great is our schism one from another?

Does anyone know?

February 3, 2017