A Random Thought

If you have ever found yourself wondering how things in the world seem to get so off course. Let’s start with this…The Hegelian Dialectic; bringing about change in three parts…

Thesis-create the problem

Antithesis-Generate opposition (fear, panic, hysteria)

Synthesis- Solution to the problem created in step 1

Certainly real problems come our way…but lately it seems as though the solutions to the problem border on insanity. One could insert almost any crisis to test this theory. Global warming as an example; the motivation may be money, power or some twisted idea about social justice. The elite would like the people to go in a certain direction, but no one rational person would go in that direction,(create a world with higher and higher energy costs, fail to create jobs, etc.)  so we must create a problem. Global warming is the problem and  unless we return to the dark ages and stop using fossil fuels the polar bears will die and so will we.  Fear and panic must be injected into the daily conversation so that people begin to believe it. The storms will become more and more severe; we will run out of food….then steps in the government….with the solution….more regulations…bigger government. Less freedom for the people and fewer choices and the choices we have will all cost more. Remember…never let a crisis go to waste.

An Essay

The Search for Self

In Buddhism it seems the concept of “self” is similar to that of “soul” in Christianity. Christians live out their lives on Earth so that their soul may live on for eternity. The Buddha believes that nothing is permanent in as much as things are constantly in flux. Also, there is the question of how we perceive things and if our perception is or can ever be accurate. To a great degree we are a product of our environment so we interpret things and see things based on the biases and beliefs’ with which we were raised.  Taking that into consideration it would stand to reason that our perception is perhaps skewed and not entirely rooted in truth.

Attempting to conceptualize the existence of “self” would be reliant upon the perception of what it means to exist. Human beings feel pain, happiness and many other sensations that are physical as well as emotional. So we know that at least in some sense we do indeed exist. The Buddha believed that everything is connected and to a certain degree we are all just a part of something else and reliant upon the grand idea of something greater than “self”. When one of us ceases to exist the world carries on as it has so nothing depends upon the existence of a self.

Buddhism, as with many religions or philosophies is a way of looking at the world and a set of beliefs that guide us as to how we should live our lives. The only way for any religion to work is for everyone to accept the fact that there is only one path to nirvana, or one path for salvation and for that to be true, the idea of an individual must be rejected.

In all societies rules must be established so that people may live together peacefully. One person’s well-being cannot be more important than someone else’s. Belonging to a group, any group requires a certain amount of rejecting the “self” so that everyone’s needs are taken into consideration. Society would break down if it was “every man for himself” so to speak because each person would only be thinking of their own needs at the expense of others.  As with most things that require faith, it is impossible to prove or disprove whether or not they are true. Science can prove when the Earth was formed with a certain degree of certainty but it cannot prove there is no God. I can reject the power of prayer but there is no way for me to prove it works or that it doesn’t. The Buddha can reject the idea of “self” in the context of Buddhism but that doesn’t mean a person doesn’t have a “soul”, it is undeterminable.

The idea of “self” to me cannot be rejected, yet I do concur our perception of self is misguided. I am an individual but I am also a part of the universe and everything that encompasses, the trick is in convincing everyone else of that. Christianity instills the belief that humans have dominion over everything else, so it breeds this notion that we, the “individual” are the most important thing.  My actions or inactions not only impact me, they also impact others, in ways I may or may not be aware of.

The path to anything, including nirvana requires many things and there is no one way to get there. Introspection is the first step to any type of discovery and the reconciliation of the self and the whole. I am no more important and am no less important than what is around me. A balance needs to exist in everything, when things are out of balance it doesn’t work. That balance is true within the context of the self as well. Believing that “ego” is part of the “self”, it is a delicate balance that keeps that in check. Too much ego and I go about life thinking my needs are more important than those of others, too little ego and the chances of me being exploited or taken advantage of increase.

It may seem as though this paper rambles a bit, probably because it does. When I realized this I began to panic and frantically began editing and trying to salvage what I had so that I would not have to start over with a new position. Then I stepped back and began thinking about the subject matter, the existence of self, or not as the case may be and I made a decision to leave the paper as it was not because I thought the paper had such merit but because in some ways the paper illustrated a process; a process of “self” discovery. The “self” changes, evolves and we are not the same person as we were just a day ago and I am not the same person I was when I began this paper, perhaps that is the beginning.  

Utopia

Visions of nowhere…….or you can’t get there from here…..

Utopia is indefinable yet it’s an idea that simply won’t die. The propagandists out there (and you know who you are)   would have us all believe that by making everyone the same (however they intend to do that, I guess by making us gender neutral, financially neutral and mentally neutral) everyone will be happy.

Really what that means is they would force their idea of happiness on the rest of us. In their perverted world making everyone equally miserable solves all of the world’s problems.

The flaw in that theory is of course that they are not capable of experiencing happiness on any level so then we would all be emotionally neutral just like them, surviving in the well of darkness.
 
Darkness is implacable, be careful what you wish for. 
 
How do you define Utopia?

Theatre of the Absurd

“A politician divides mankind into two classes, tools and enemies.” Friedrich Nietzsche

Rehearsal is ongoing, the stage is set and the actors are in place, or more accurately, the politicians are in place. In place to perform their hollow acts of political theatre to keep the fiction alive that they have a clue as to what they are doing. 

Theatre of the Absurd is exactly what it sounds like, people performing on stage with no point, no plot and no logic. Sounds a lot like what’s going on in Washington these days. We are not being led by competent leaders but by corporate power with an insatiable appetite for power and an unquenchable thirst for the chaos they bring about with their apocalyptic visions. Absurd drama subverts logic, politicians defy it. There is a sense of primeval anguish to the meaningless exchanges that have become nothing more than a vehicle to legitimize their inaction and disguise their incompetence. 

Politics has been reduced to a mere sport for the celebrity zombies rather than a forum for citizens that are engaged. The line between propaganda and reason is blurred as the media produces and nurtures a culture of stupidity with diversionary spectacles of entertainment sports, reality television as we are mesmerized by the empty lure of celebrity. Political amnesia works its way through our sycophantic culture and we find ourselves in a celebrity induced stupor rather than focusing in on the dangers of policies that rob us of any real political power. 

Politics isn't something to think about only during elections; it’s something to think about every day because it affects our lives every day.   Waiting for Godot is an absurdest play that essentially tries to convince us that life is meaningless and that things are determined by chance. 

Throughout the play the characters sit and wait in vain for someone who is not coming, it’s time to get off  the bench and let Washington know the reviews are in, the waiting is over and that we need a new cast, one that knows how to act. 

Abortion; It’s a Guy Thing

Women, let’s face it. We’re stupid, careless tramps; we have indiscriminate, unprotected sex with men who have no intention of marrying us and then we wantonly get pregnant and march off to the abortion clinic only to have it ripped from our womb and then do it all again.  Ladies, we don’t get it, and we can’t be trusted to do the right thing…so let’s leave it up to the men to put an end to this insanity.  The abortion issue is less complicated than it seems, because there is a simple solution; condoms. Okay, it isn’t perfect but if condoms were used consistently and properly with every sex act we would put a huge dent in the unwanted pregnancy thing.   After all they are 98% effective in preventing pregnancy, as well as preventing STD’s; so let’s put this issue to bed once and for all.  Really, it’s that simple-isn’t it?    

Are women who have casual sex sluts and completely responsible for the consequences of that casual sex?  Are women who have casual sex less trustworthy, less worthy all around? Who teaches our young men that “you have sex with those women but you don’t marry them”. Is a woman who has had an abortion really a cold, callous murderer with no regard for life? 

Consider for a moment a fourteen year old girl who is unable to turn to the adults in her life. With the assistance of a friend she buys a home pregnancy test, uses the test and the test comes out positive. She panics, but her friend encourages her to remain calm and go to a women’s clinic to have another pregnancy test, just to be sure; she is indeed pregnant. She feels numb, now what. She is encouraged to speak to a counselor to discuss the options available to her. Contrary to what many people think, counselors do offer adoption as an option, they also offer details about fetal development and prenatal care, but that’s another matter. The counselor encourages her to speak to her parents assuming they will offer support, albeit laced with disappointment. The girl shakes her head, breaks down and starts to sob and offers no explanation. She can’t discuss it with her parents or anyone else because her father is the one who impregnated her.    

She knows that the authorities should be contacted because this man’s unconscionable behavior needs to be punished. But through the eyes of a frightened young girl to further shatter whatever remnants remain of the only family she has ever known is something she just can’t bring herself to do. Her father is prominent in the community and her mother would be angry, not at her husband but at her daughter. So she decides to carry the burden alone, have the abortion and try to leave it all behind her. The unborn child is an innocent victim in this but so is the young girl.  So this young girl pays the price with what she must now carry with her forever in silence. And yes, it would be helpful to demonize her and convince her that she is a brazen murderer.      

According to WHO there are 40 to 50 million abortions performed annually or 125,000 per day. In China alone 13 million are performed annually and over half of those are because the baby is the wrong sex, female. Is abortion the problem here or is it the attitude?  Abortion, the destruction of innocent human life, let’s talk about that. UNICEF reports that over 1 billion children live in poverty, as a result of that poverty 22,000 children die every day. 640 million children are without adequate shelter, 400 million have no access to safe water another 270 million have no access to health services. We are unable to take care of the children that are here, how can we be expected to protect those that aren’t? And while we are on the subject of destroying innocent human life how about this; the FBI reports that sex trafficking is the fastest growing business in organized crime and the 3^rd largest criminal enterprise in the world. At any given time two million children are subjected to global prostitution and the average age of the victim, 11-14, and their anticipated life span-3 to 7 years. The causes of death are as a result of being attacked, abuse, HIV, malnutrition, overdose and suicide.

 UNICEF reports that worldwide there are between 50 and 120 million children living on the streets, discarded for numerous reasons and largely ignored because they are looked upon as delinquents with drug, alcohol or behavioral problems, but drugs and alcohol are not the problem. Is it a choice? Do they have one?  How many times have we read; don’t abort that child, there is a loving family just waiting to swoop it up in their arms, but what about these kids, where are the loving arms for them to fall into?

Regardless of your position, abortion is a serious matter but demonizing women who find themselves in a position of having to weigh the consequences of having an abortion is not part of the solution. As with so many other issues we face this one continues to divide and separate us and will continue to do so until a paradigm cultural shift occurs- our attitude.  

 Abortion is a guy thing, it’s a woman thing and it’s a society thing with no one place to assign blame, but it does start with the most important sex organ, the brain; so let’s talk about it…sex that is, every day and often. Sex is life giving, empowering and beautiful; not a tool to get things and not a weapon to hurt and destroy. Perhaps when we are able to wrap our heads around sex and what it is and what it isn’t we can address the consequences of sex and in so doing have a rational discussion about abortion. Have you talked about sex today? 

Fair Trade!
What Are We Trading?

The state run media has done very little reporting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, why you ask? On the surface the Trans-Pacific Partnership appears to be a free trade agreement that would set rules on non-trade matters; food safety, internet freedom, medicine costs, financial regulation and the environment. It would bind international governments, including the United States and any other country that signs on to it to conform their domestic policies to the rules of the agreement.

Corporate lobbyists such as Halliburton and Monsanto are pushing for its approval by the end of the year. Of the 29 chapters only 5 actually deal with trade, it would weaken our existing laws forcing a more collectivist approach to laws and it stands to rewrite constitutions across the globe, including the U.S. constitution.

 Currently the United States, Canada and Mexico have no requirement for GMO foods to be labeled, however, many other countries do but under this agreement labeling food GMO would not be permissible in any of the 40 countries participating. Peru recently declared a ten year moratorium on GM crops; the TPP would undo that as well. Latin American countries oppose the TPP due to its restrictive nature regarding development options in healthcare and education. Is this just one more step the direction of a totalitarian world? Where is the transparency we were promised? 

www.americablog.com has an excellent video highlighting the frightening details of the agreement.

Where is the transparency that we were promised?

Ben……..who?

More people can complete a sentence with a celebrity name before they can even form a sentence that refers to the Benghazi scandal.

One only needs to peruse the magazine covers to discover there are more stories about celebrities than there are actual news stories; you know the stuff that actually matters.

Celebrity Worship Syndrome is alive and well in our society as we are bombarded with the simplistic nonsense that is celebrity news. Edward Gibbon wrote in Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that one of the reasons the empire fell was an “over-obsessive interest in sport and celebrity.”

Why is our society so obsessed with celebrity?