what is it?

Despite the troubles of the world, despite that we have not witnessed a single day of peace since the day we were born, there is one thing in this world that is worth living for. This thing, just like all others, can be very easy or very hard to come by. You can believe you have this thing when you don’t have it, and you can doubt that you have this thing when you actually have more of it than anybody can ever wish for. It can make you happy, sad, confident, insecure, wealthy, poor and even dead or alive. On some occasions it will lift you to heights that you never knew or it can push you into the darkest hour of your life.

When you have this thing, it can make you happy. It can fill your heart and soul and make you be the best you can be. It can make you feel like you mean something in this world. It can keep you from letting your worries destroy you. It can be your crutch when you need something, or someone to lean on. It can give you a purpose in life that will drive you to no end.

It can also make you very sad. The loss of it has been known to devastate the strongest of men. It can rearrange every value you’ve ever held dear to your heart. It will make you do things that you never would have done before, despite the harm you know it could do. It will make you put up with situations while your conscience screams at you to let go of it.

It can make you feel like you can do anything; that you have the support of another. It can make you forget your limitations and push you towards successes that you may never have known. It can single-handedly fill your character with integrity without you ever doing a thing.

It can make you insecure when you try to attain it. It can make you wonder if you are doing the right thing to keep it. You might quickly throw away every belief you have ever had, just to have this one thing.

It can help you attain the wealth of another, even though you may not have done any work to enjoy the luxury. It can introduce you to new connections that can help your business thrive. It can create a walking advertisement for your greatness, which in turn will support your life’s work.

It can take away all of your money, feeding another because of this thing. It can make you spend what little you have just to make this thing grow a little bit more. The results of this thing can produce more mouths to feed, more needs to take care of.

This thing will make you sacrifice your own life to save another. It will make you devote your precious time to keep your family from suffering. It will cause you to follow a destructive path all because you feel that this thing is more right than your own conscience.

It will make you less willing to give up when times are tough. It will be your shining beacon when you don’t know where to turn. It will cause somebody else to give up their own world to keep you alive.

This thing is love. Love is so many things to so many people. In fact think about the loves in your life. How many different kinds of love do you have? Is the love for your family the same as the love for your lover? Do you love your neighbor? Do you say, “Oh I love her” when you talk about somebody who makes you laugh does it always mean you want to spend the rest of your life with her? Take love as it comes, and enjoy it when you have it. But don’t let it take you down. If you look at only the positives, love will carry you for the rest of your life. There will be down times, but those are the times your love is needed the most. If you take care of these down times truthfully, honestly and commit to solve the problems…you will see these down times far less frequently. And these down times will become a positive effect on your relationship. Those times will help you grow.

Ok, enough of this sappy shit…

A letter from an angry mom

Ok, there's no reason to believe it was an angry mom, but I did get her to speak her mind...that's all I'm looking for.  She might hate me for copying her words to this journal, but here goes:

Dunno why I was put on this list, but, Son, your thoughts and mine vary GREATLY.....and I suspect that internaslly, yours are not quite as you propose in yer blog.....   #1To answer your question...the savings cards: they are NOT to reward "loyal" shoppers...they are to track their more repetitive customers....and the purchases those customers make, to better stock those shelves, and to sell that info to marketing companies.......   #2. Re: management and owners not being due a larger wage.... Who pays the unemplyment, insurance , etc....as well, obviously the mangement knows how the company wants the job done...so....the manager has the knowledge to DO the job that way, as well as the knowledge to motivate others to DO a job a particular way.....again, education pays....   #3  Stealing.....Tell me....do you also feel that as an example of theft....someone that takes money from an already dwindling support system  set up to help the aged and handicapped, while knowingly earning too much money in a job that hides it is stealing? I do. I see a future that I have paid into for my old age, that will not be available to me because others are abusing that system.   #4. MLK Jr.....Humaniatrian?? I think you need to do your homework. The man was self-serving, a plagiarist, an adultarist, and a pimple on the butt of America....and frankly, had he not bee in the South preaching moralities, while shacking up in a hotel with a woman that was other than his wife (white or not, though she WAS white) he would probably still be alive.   Sorry, there were some others, but I have forgotten what they were, and as well, I suspect you will not even ponder these....if you do....and you want honest replies....you have my addy.

Every once in a while...

I find that not all readers of this journal care to go through the whole journal.  Some have read from the beginning, and some just read what is presented to them on the main page.  All of which is fine, far be it for me to tell you what to do.  I am here to help people understand that they can be in more control of their lives, and should be free to do whatever.  Nobody should be made to do anything they don't want to do.  You might say that if everybody did whatever the fuck they wanted this world would become a nasty place.  So here are a few reasons to counter that.

#1  So much of the evil that people do is caused when the perpetrators have been wronged themselves.

#2 Although those evils may have been caused by an individual person, if you trace the evil family tree back, you will see that the conditions that we are forced to deal with have fathered all the evil that we see.

#3  You would want to work to pass 3-4 hours of your day.  We hate work now because a lot of us are doing jobs that we don't like, and are completely unnecessary for survival and because we have to work 8 hours a day when we could just as easily let others that don't work at all do some of the work.

#4  When you tell somebody they can't do something, they will want to do it.  A little understanding goes a long way.  Accept the mistakes that people make, and don't judge them and you will see them trying to be a bit of a better person

#5  We live in chaos as it is.  There is no telling what will happen at any given moment.  Don't be afraid of chaos...it's just life

Here are some examples, can anybody give me more examples of why we do the evil things we do today?  can anybody give me examples of ways that would make your life easier?

That's all for now. 

police run in...jay walk off

In a previous entry entitle My Fault vs. Their Fault, I talked about the mess surrounding my driving privileges. My license is suspended for failure to pay a citation, My truck is uninsured, unregistered, and has an expired inspection sticker on a cracked windshield. I still drive the truck to and from work, but very rarely any other time. Dodging the police has become a game to me, but I always have to put safety first. I travel along town lines where traffic enforcers don’t spend much time, I’m always surveying the traffic for safety and forewarning of any officers in the area. If I see the police cruiser first, my chances are good. There is one situation that is nearly impossible to escape though, and that happened to me today.

I was driving to the bank with a quick stop at the store for a drink. After I got my drink (slush puppie) I resumed towards the bank. I was on a major road and just up ahead was a police cruiser sitting at an intersection to the right side of the road, waiting to pull onto the road I was on. My heart jumped and as I drove by him I was pretty sure he was looking right at me. The expired inspection sticker is on the right side of my windshield and it is color coded according to year. Mine is blue, anybody who will need to renew this year is green, and anybody who already renewed this year is red. So as soon as I drive by the officer he pulls onto the road behind me to follow me. I put my right blinker on hoping to get to a side street before he pulled too close, just in case he didn’t see me yet. But it was a while before a right turn became available to me, and I saw the cruiser deliberately pull closer to the curb to align himself with me. He turned on to the street behind me and put his lights on. Feeling a little doomed, but not exactly scared I pulled over, turned off the truck and rolled down my window.

“Dude, you have a blue inspection sticker,” he says. I explained that I realized that and told him that my situation was bad, and there were many factors involved. He said, “well let’s start with a license, do you have one?” I told him I did, so he asked to see it. He held that in his hand while I told him about the insurance company, the parking ticket, the excise tax and what not. He said, “What happens if you hit a car?” So I told him, “If everyone drove around with no insurance the streets would be a lot safer.” He smiled and said, “Well that’s not how we do it in this state.” He asked me where I was going anyway, and I told him I was going to Cleverly St. Of course he wanted to know why and where so I told him it was a job a few houses up from the Pizza Hut. I told him that I was working to take care of all the issues, that I had lost my business and had to start working for a company, and that everything was going to be resolved, it was just a matter of time. He took a deep breath, “What needs to happen for you to clear all this up?” I told him money was the only object. He asked how much and I told him about $1800 which is less than I really need, but it was close enough. He explained that he understood I needed to work and I needed to get to work, but he told me I needed to find a different way to get to work. Then he said, “If I let you go, and you drive up the street and run someone over, who’s gonna lose their job? Then I’ll be crying poor-mouth.” I assured him that I didn’t want that for him.

I looked into his eyes the entire time we talked, looking away only to keep the intensity level down. He looked into mine. I could tell he was pondering something. Finally he held up my license and said, “Well, you have a license…but I don’t even know if it’s good.” He began tapping the license on my car door. His cruiser’s video camera was watching us. He said, “I’m gonna give you a break, I just don’t know how I’m going to do it. God knows how many breaks you may have already gotten.” He thought about it a moment and finally had his answer. He told me to roll my window up and walk away. Then he reiterated it, us looking at each other the whole time, “I can’t watch you drive this car away. Just roll up the window, get out and start walking…give me a chance to get out of sight. I know you are trying to solve your situation, but you need to find another way to get to work. So start walking, and when I get around the corner…you know…do what you gotta do.” I thanked him, I looked him in the eye and thanked him again. He walked back to the car, and sat there long enough for me to start walking away from my vehicle…he gave his video camera a chance to watch me walking for 10 seconds, and slowly pulled up and drove past me. When he turned the corner, I did an about face, went back to my car and drove it away.

The funny thing is not only did I just recently write about eye contact and it’s wonderous power, but he was a young cop, probably a year or two older than me. Yet he acted like the understanding older police officer who had realized what was important in this world and did not feel the need to prove himself. I’ll never forget this day.

 

The link to "my fault vs. their fault.

http://journals.aol.com/jaylectricity/theessenceofjaylectricity/entries/1500

Stealing, jerking and working

     What do you consider stealing?  It's when you take something that isn't yours, right?  It's when you did not do the work that makes you deserving of what you gain.  You will agree with these statements if you think about what stealing means to you.  So let's turn these statements on a few common things.  When the owners of a corporation get together and devise plans on how to increase their profits they are stealing from you.  They take what isn't theirs (all of the products and services you create) and then they try to do even less work by forcing the employees to work harder.  They claim there is a recession and lay off workers, yet spending today is more than ever.  They blame you for for their mistake of trying to provide a product or service to the consumers that the consumers don't want, or for providing inferior products and services despite the fact that you were only following their rules of production.

     When times are tough, they lose a fortune, but remain weathy...you lose your job, your car, your house, or your sanity.  What work did these guys do to deserve this luxury?  Even if they spent eight hours a day making phone calls and dealing with market reports, how is their time worth so much more than yours?  Instead of being afraid of your boss, he should be thanking you.  You should have control over him.  You should be able to tell him how the work can be easier.  Instead, you're worried about losing your job if you don't do as your told.  Home Depot tried an expirement that I have discussed before where the management team was the support for the workers.  That the workers were at the top of the chain, and the high management was at the bottom.  But of course, it was just a ruse.  I worked there.  I know. We still made less money, we still had to do as the bosses told us, and the only time we got to voice our opinion was at the store meeting.  But of course all of our suggestions, ideas and even complaints were responded to as such:  "I understand your concern but to make this company work we are gonna need your cooperation.  If this company fails you are all out of jobs."

     If we want to live democratically, hirings, firings and layoffs should be up to the workers.  Not to say that the workers need to expend their energy with these proceedings as well as their normal work.  Too many times the employees don't know why they would hire this person or that person, only to find out that somebody knows somebody.  Too many times an employee gets fired and his co-workers can't believe it.  They know that the employee was a good worker.  But now they are afraid to fall victim to the same fate, and then have to add one more thing on the list to worry about.  So let me give you some hypothetical solutions, and let's see if we can come up with something.  Realize that these solutions are only hypothetical until we come up with one that seems logical and rational and try to implement it.

     First off, the pay scale should be more equal.  I'm not saying that you shouldn't be rewarded for being a harder worker, or for using your brain to create better conditions and production.  I'm saying that standing around and making sure the employees are doing things in the agreed upon procedures is worth no more than the work the employees are doing.  The reason the owners pay the managers more is to keep the owners interests safe.  If the manager is making much more money, he will do things the way the owner wants because the owner is (bribing) them to do so.  He knows that the employees can not make his job better because he knows that if they don't follow the owner's plan, he can get rid of them and hire someone from the army of the unemployed.  The unemployed are a tool that the owners use to keep you in submission.  If everyone was employed, you would have nothing to worry about.

     Secondly, every business has it's slow times every day, week, month, or year.  Food businesses suffer down times during certain hours of the day, and certain days of the week.  Retail stores make much more money in the Christmas season, but much less money in between seasons.  Builders make more money during the warm weather than the cold weather.  These are just examples to show you that there are times when the employees and management can get together to discuss.  So when the manager wants to hire someone, he should bring a report (oral or written) to the employees.  Something like, "OK, I think I found somebody that can help us stock the shelves.  She has a healthy body, and seems very good at organizing.  She seemed upbeat and willing to do repetitive things, should we hire her?"   Then let the employees decide...through vote or implied vote.  Or when the manager feels a worker is not doing his/her job, he can go to the employees with something like this, "I'm getting a little tired of John being late to work everyday...is this effecting any of you?  I want to get rid of him, but I need to know if that's the right thing to do."  Then the employees would have a chance to say, "Yeah, I never get home on time when he is supposed to relieve me."  --or--  "No, when he's here he works very hard, if you get rid of him, we'll get someone that shows up on time, but then we'll all have to work harder to make up for his loss."

     Layoffs are a trickier subject, but let me try this out.  There are two things here.  #1 is the owner.  If times are tough, the owner should do what we all do when times get tough:  pull up your boot straps and feed your family.  All the profits he makes can suffer since he wouldn't have them without us anyway.  Or if we were smart, he could put some of his profits in a special account when times were booming, and use them to carry the very people that made him that money when times are tough.  #2  If the business is slow, or failing  the employees can find a way to either get the sales up, or change directions and provide a different product or service.  One that seems to be doing well.

     Well, people have been agreeing with much of what I say, but asking me to provide some answers.  I am committed to providing them, and this is only a start.  Without you, we are nothing.  We are all interconnected no matter what your contribution to society is.  So let yourself be heard. 

I'm listening.

Oh shit, isn't that some corny radio guys line?

We are social creatures

It’s always bothered me, but I was recently reminded of this. It’s not a particular incident I wish to talk about, but rather something that happens way too much. Most people say they feel more trust towards a person that makes eye contact while conversing. Lots of lovers enjoy staring each other in the eyes. A lot can be said with no words at all with a simple glance. So why then do we avoid eye contact with almost everyone we see when we are out and about?

In traffic, at the supermarket, the video store, and walking down the street we go on about our business. Sometimes we look at our destination like the door, the checkout counter, straight ahead and even at the ground. Some cashiers will never look you in the eyes, and some customers will never look the cashier in the eyes. We don’t look at other drivers in traffic, sometimes leading to close calls and even accidents. Even when we do make eye contact, we immediately break it and look at something else pretending to be interested in it.

If we immediately break eye contact, why did we look at another in the eyes anyway? Could it be that it is our natural instinct to look at each other? To see what another human’s intentions might be upon encounter? We cannot help ourselves, yet as soon as contact is made we pretend we didn’t want to look in their eyes. Maybe we know the truth, but don’t want to admit it. Maybe we are scared of all the “bad people” in the world. Maybe it’s as simple as not having the time to be bothered.. Whatever it is, it has to stop.

Looking somebody in the eyes and saying hello is a good feeling to be shared. You don’t have to go any further than that. A lot of trouble can be avoided if you look at someone that may be on a collision course with you and gradually redirect your path instead of abruptly and awkwardly almost running into each other? How much smoother would traffic be if drivers looked each other in the eyes at intersections, or when needing to change lanes.

How can we stay united against the evils of the world, if we don’t even feel comfortable with each other? How can we take part in this democracy if we are always at odds, not only with some of the things we complain about the government, but with each other? Take a look at that man over there…he is probably a lot like you. Just with different circumstances, different experiences, and different interests. But he probably enjoys being noticed, and being treated well. He probably enjoys seeking out the things that make him happy. And you know he enjoys being able to eat, sleep and have sex. Why should his interests get in the way of yours? Why should yours get in the way of his?

Eye contact…try it for a day. If others give you any grief, be strong and say something like, “I enjoy being a person and I hope you have a nice day, that's all.”

The Yes Men

I watched a documentary called, "The Yes Men."   What these guys did was formulate a website that looked almost exactly like the World Trade Organization website.  So when people searched the internet for anything regarding the WTO, they would also find this site.  Some organizations actually emailed this spoof website looking for speakers from the WTO.  So these guys went to the meetings and conferences, and even went on the air on CNBC pretending to be WTO representatives.  They pointed out the fucked up things that the WTO is doing, while pretending it was completely normal.  Most people bought it.  I highly suggest you get this documentary if you have an hour and twenty minutes to kill.  You will be amazed at what they accomplished.  My favorite line in the film was from the CNBC clips where the imposter responded to a question from a protestor with this comment, "The problem with these protestors is that they are trying to deal with facts, and reality."  That might not be the exact quote, but it conveys the same message.  I returned the movie to the video store today, so I can't even replay it to find the exact quote.  Check it out.

Savings cards again

I mentioned in an entry from 2004, the savings cards for various supermarkets and drugstores.  I got to thinking about them again...Why do they need these?  They make it seem as if getting their savings cards will get you a better price on selected items.  I know that some of these are used for check writing purchases, but my point is:  If they can offer these low prices to their 'loyal customers'  Why can't they offer those lower prices to everyone? Everyone I know has Savings Cards for all the local stores, so that if they find themselves in any one of them, they can get the discount.  So these kinds of people aren't exactly loyal customers.  Also, if you don't have one, the cashier is more than happy to ring his/her card in for you to get you the savings, assuming you aren't writing a check.  So again...what's the point?  I think there is a more sinister answer than an innocent one for this.  Any ideas? 

As you will see, I don't only include my own writings in here.  I try to post ideas from others that help you understand my plight.  I also recently heard that the government is starting to think about regulating political "blogs."  Without knowing all the information I am not sure if they are talking about regulating the blogs that are underground campaigns for particular partys and politicians...or if they are talking about regulating a journal like mine that poses a minor threat to their control.  Here is a poem sent to me from a friend.

How would you feel if someone said that you couldn't have any say in the workings of the government today?
If they had a question and answer period what would you say?
Would you be brave enough to stand up for what you felt was right?
Would you be willing to take up arms and fight?
To defend what you believe to be true?
Or would you just sit there and let them take everything from you?
There is a time for sitting and keeping silent and a time for raising your voice but with out violence.
What time is it now?
Does it make any difference to you anyhow?
How long will this outrage of wars and killing last?
How long will our patience be put to the task?
Can you answer these questions for me?
Can you all get together and help me to see?
What is happening to this country that began with independence for all?
Someone must answer the call?
Will it be you or will you shrink away?
Hoping that someone else will show you the way?
Wake up Americans! Open your eyes!
Raise your voices and let the government hear your crys!
We the people are supposed to run this land
We the people are supposed to vote and make the politicians understand
That there is more here than making rich people richer
WE have men/women out their risking their lives every day
Because they believe in the American way
Stand up and be heard
Dont shrink in the crowd
Raise your voices
Raise them loud
We are all Americans and we all
need to see
That these other countries that are free
Look to us for help but we also have to understand
to only help them not take over their land
We shouldn't be were we are not wanted and push our beliefs on them
They have their right to speak up and make their own stand

This has a lot to do with what I hope to do for us.

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

-------John Lennon

 

A quickie from a foreign country

I want you to realize that I do not hate America.  I think that this country has come a long way in helping the rest of the world be free.  We are not quite free yet, but we are working towards it.  So I want to take this time to be slightly patriotic.  I don't like the government anymore, but I still love the people.  Even the blind ones...Here is an article from a Romanian newspaper about America.  Enjoy, and don't stop believing that if we work together, we can turn this world into a heaven where nobody takes advantage of another.  Impossible?  Only until everyone realizes the benefits...then our freedom will take on a life of it's own.

~An Ode to America~

Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even
if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of
the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and
religious beliefs. Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred
million people into a hand put on the heart.

Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, and the secret
services that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty
their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to
gape about. The Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a
helping hand.

After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the
smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of
the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in
every place and on every car a government official or the president
was passing.

On every occasion, they started singing their traditional song: "God
Bless America!" I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun
for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred
floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or
of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the
terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could
have killed other hundreds or thousands of people.

How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being?
Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some
turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone
call, millions and millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed
at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can
buy.

What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land?
Their galloping history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for
hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the
risk of sounding commonplace.

I thought things over, but I reached only one conclusion...Only
freedom can work such miracles!

Cornel Nistorescu

I am only assuming this is a true article, but the words of this article ring true in a logical fashion.  So I imagine that Cornel Nistorescu is a real writer who wrote a real story in his local paper. 

Peace friends...

Do you want to be blind forever?

The capitalists will always use the government, and the law to keep you where you are.  They will always try to stop you from striking, stop you from trying to improve working conditions...They might not always succeed, but currently they succeed more than they fail.

    So great is the assurance of your masters in your stupidity that they dare do such things. They feel safe in having duped you so thoroughly and reduced your naturally rebellious spirit to such abject worship of 'law and order' that you will never dream of opening your eyes and letting your heart cry out in outraged protest and defiance.

     At the least sign of your rebellion the entire weight of the government, of law and order, comes down upon your head, beginning with the policeman's club, the jail, the prison, and ending with the gallows or the electric chair. The whole system of capitalism and government is mobilized to crush every symptom of dissatisfaction and rebellion; aye, even any attempt to improve your condition as a workingman. Because your masters well understand the situation and fully know the danger of your waking up to the actual facts of the case, to your real condition of slave. They are aware of their interests, of the interests of their class. They are class conscious, while the workers remain muddled and befuddled.  --Alexander Berkman

Why did we ever start saying things like "sheep" to describe the masses?  Are you a sheep?  Do you know anyone who is a sheep?  Do you think any of your friends consider themselves "sheep?" You know that they do not.

Who are we, without each other?

It's time to remind you about nature.  The strongest survive.  So how do you define strong?  Mentally strong?  Physically strong?  If there was a man with a plan, but nobody to carry it out, how strong would that man be?  If there was a man with some brawn, but no idea how to use it, how strong would that man be?  Everything that us humans have accomplished has required a lot of cooperation.  So shall we thank the rich people for using some of their money to create jobs for us? Maybe.  Should we look up to them as the only reason the rest of us can survive?  Probabaly not.  Without us, where would these rich people be?

I would not be so opposed to this system if we could eliminate the classes.  In other words, "so what if your family has a lot of money? None of them would have any money if it wasn't for their employees."  Although I believe that it is the employees that deserve everything, I wouldn't mind this system so much if the employees were treated as well as the owners of a company.  The owners would have NOTHING without their employees.  If they can't convince someone to use his/her skill to make them money, they are nothing.  But if there isn't an owner to pay the employee, the employee could still use his skill to help him/herself survive.  Society depends on us workers, yet we are the lower class.  Does that make you happy?  Do you like being looked down on by the very people that you spend 40 hours of every week to feed?  You know you don't, you just don't know of any other way...

I'll show you some other ways...if I can...if you don't care, then continue to be a slave...it's worked for this long, why try to be free?

Even some Christians are starting to doubt.

Here I am talking about morals and this guy is really saying something...thank God (I think...are we sure who god is?)

 

Dr. Robin Meyers' Speech to students at OK University


Dr. Robin Meyers
Oklahoma University
November 14, 2004

As some of you know, I am minister of Mayflower Congregational Church in
Oklahoma City, an Open and Affirming, Peace and Justice church in
northwest Oklahoma City, and professor of Rhetoric at Oklahoma City
University.

But you would most likely have encountered me on the pages of the
Oklahoma Gazette, where I have been a columnist for six years, and hold
the record for the most number of angry letters to the editor.
Tonight, I join ranks of those who are angry, because I have watched as
the faith I love has been taken over by fundamentalists who claim to
speak for Jesus, but whose actions are anything but Christian.
We've heard a lot lately about so-called "moral values" as having swung
the election to President Bush. Well, I'm a great believer in moral
values, but we need to have a discussion, all over this country, about
exactly what constitutes a moral value -- I mean what are we talking
about?

Because we don't get to make them up as we go along, especially not if
we are people of faith. We have an inherited tradition of what is right
and wrong, and moral is as moral does. Let me give you just a few of the
reasons why I take issue with those in power who claim moral values are
on their side:

-- When you start a war on false pretenses, and then act as if your
deceptions are justified because you are doing God's will, and that your
critics are either unpatriotic or lacking in faith, there are some of us
who have given our lives to teaching and preaching the faith who believe
that this is not only not moral, but immoral.

-- When you live in a country that has established international rules
for waging a just war, build the United Nations on your own soil to
enforce them, and then arrogantly break the very rules you set down for
the rest of the world, you are doing something immoral.

-- When you claim that Jesus is the Lord of your life, and yet fail to
acknowledge that your policies ignore his essential teaching, or turn
them on their head (you know, Sermon on the Mount stuff like that we
must never return violence for violence and that those who live by the
sword will die by the sword), you are doing something immoral.

-- When you act as if the lives of Iraqi civilians are not as important
as the lives of American soldiers, and refuse to even count them, you
are doing something immoral.

-- When you find a way to avoid combat in Vietnam, and then question the
patriotism of someone who volunteered to fight, and came home a hero,
you are doing something immoral.

-- When you ignore the fundamental teachings of the gospel, which says
that the way the strong treat the weak is the ultimate ethical test, by
giving tax breaks to the wealthiest among us so the strong will get
stronger and the weak will get weaker, you are doing something immoral.

-- When you wink at the torture of prisoners, and deprive so-called
"enemy combatants" of the rules of the Geneva convention, which your own
country helped to establish and insists that other countries follow, you
are doing something immoral.

-- When you claim that the world can be divided up into the good guys
and the evil doers, slice up your own nation into those who are with
you, or with the terrorists -- and then launch a war which enriches your
own friends and seizes control of the oil to which we are addicted,
instead of helping us to kick the habit, you are doing something immoral.

-- When you fail to veto a single spending bill, but ask us to pay for a
war with no exit strategy and no end in sight, creating an enormous
deficit that hangs like a great millstone around the necks of our
children, you are doing something immoral.

-- When you cause most of the rest of the world to hate a country that
was once the most loved country in the world, and act like it doesn't
matter what others think of us, only what God thinks of you, you have
done something immoral.

-- When you use hatred of homosexuals as a wedge issue to turn out
record numbers of evangelical voters, and use the Constitution as a tool
of discrimination, you are doing something immoral.

-- When you favor the death penalty, and yet claim to be a follower of
Jesus, who said an eye for an eye was the old way, not the way of the
kingdom, you are doing something immoral.

-- When you dismantle countless environmental laws designed to protect
the earth which is God's gift to us all, so that the corporations that
bought you and paid for your favors will make higher profits while our
children breathe dirty air and live in a toxic world, you have done
something immoral. The earth belongs to the Lord, not Halliburton.

-- When you claim that our God is bigger than their God, and that our
killing is righteous, while theirs is evil, we have begun to resemble
the enemy we claim to be fighting, and that is immoral. We have met the
enemy, and the enemy is us.

-- When you tell people that you intend to run and govern as a
"compassionate conservative," using the word which is the essence of all
religious faith-compassion, and then show no compassion for anyone who
disagrees with you, and no patience with those who cry to you for help,
you are doing something immoral.

-- When you talk about Jesus constantly, who was a healer of the sick,
but do nothing to make sure that anyone who is sick can go to see a
doctor, even if she doesn't have a penny in her pocket, you are doing
something immoral.

-- When you put judges on the bench who are racist, and will set women
back a hundred years, and when you surround yourself with preachers who
say gays ought to be killed, you are doing something immoral.

I'm tired of people thinking that because I'm a Christian, I must be a
supporter of President Bush, or that because I favor civil rights and
gay rights I must not be a person of faith. I'm tired of people saying
that I can't support the troops but oppose the war.

-- I heard that when I was your age, when the Vietnam war was raging.
We knew that that war was wrong, and you know that this war is
wrong--the only question is how many people are going to die before
these make-believe Christians are removed from power?

This country is bankrupt. The war is morally bankrupt. The claim of this
administration to be Christian is bankrupt. And the only people who can
turn things around are people like you--young people who are just
beginning to wake up to what is happening to them. It's your country to
take back. It's your faith to take back. It's your future to take back.

Don't be afraid to speak out. Don't back down when your friends begin
to tell you that the cause is righteous and that the flag should be
wrapped around the cross, while the rest of us keep our mouths shut.
Real Christians take chances for peace. So do real Jews, and real
Muslims, and real Hindus, and real Buddhists--so do all the faith
traditions of the world at their heart believe one thing: life is
precious. Every human being is precious. Arrogance is the opposite of
faith. Greed is the opposite of charity. And believing that one has
never made a mistake is the mark of a deluded man, not a man of faith.

And war -- war is the greatest failure of the human race -- and thus the
greatest failure of faith.

There's an old rock and roll song, whose lyrics say it all: War, what is
it good for? absolutely nothing.

And what is the dream of the prophets? That we should study war no
more, that we should beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into
pruning hooks. Who would Jesus bomb, indeed? How many wars does it take
to know that too many people have died? What if they gave a war and
nobody came? Maybe one day we will find out.

downed street light fixtures

In an entry from January, I mentioned how the snow plows had knocked down a light in a parking lot.  I mentioned how weeks went by and yet the light pole remained on the ground, and exposed wires came out from the ground.  I mentioned how I finally decided to take action and tape up the exposed wires.

Tonight, I saw a news report of a dog who was electrocuted by the same situation here in Massachusetts.  The electric company NSTAR said it was their responsibility but they weren't aware of the problem.  I don't want to be heralded as a savior, but that didn't happen in my town because, I taped up the wires, and called the landlord of the parking lot.  I got no response from the landlord, but if I didn't secure the safety of those wires, this landlord would have been on the news.  All the other lights in the lot still work...so we know they didn't shut down the power. 

Will this landlord call me now and thank me?  Of course not.  I promise, if he does call me, I will add it to the comments to this entry.

What is this anarchy I speak of?

     There is a group of people in Boston, as I am sure there are in many other places, that are anarchists. They believe in a classless, stateless society…as do I. Now whether it is they, or the media that is giving anarchists a bad name, I am not sure. So I want to tell you what anarchy is not. Anarchy is not bombs, save those for the military. Anarchy is not chaos, save that for nature. Anarchy is not disorder, save that for Congress. Anarchy is not a fad, a club, or even a civil rights movement. But the ultimate civil rights movement would lead to anarchy. Anarchy simply means not allowing somebody to control your life, however minor it may seem. It’s definition is simply: a society with no government. It does not even mean “every man for himself.“ It does not change you as a human being. Your innermost desires will still be there. Your need for food and water, your need to feel loved, your need for sex and your need for fun will all remain. What else will remain is your desire to be social. Despite how it may slow you down, even today you will still take the time to help someone in need. Maybe not as much as you should, but it is not human nature that has made helping people a bothersome act. It is the fear of losing your job if you are late, the need to hold on to money you dearly worked for, or the fear that you will help somebody who wants to take advantage of you. Someone who might hurt you. Real anarchists know why those fears exist today.

     Real anarchists understand that we are living within a system that exploits you and encourages people to take advantage of each other. We understand that when your feelings are suppressed, they build up inside you until you explode. We understand that when you are discriminated against unfairly, you will begin to resent the world and seek revenge. We understand that you did not choose your parents and therefore don’t have the same opportunity as another who was lucky enough to be born into a privileged family. We also understand that your true human spirit (the one you were born with) is rearranged as you grow up by money and religion. We feel that we know of heaven on earth, but that it seems unfathomable based on the beliefs force-fed to you from early childhood. We also don’t need blind faith to find this “heaven” because it is logical accounts that lead us to our beliefs.

     Don’t label people as bad, as evil, or as anarchists. What I am trying to do is show you how this system is hurting us. I am trying to show you the root of the problem instead of offering the solutions to the symptoms. Much like taking pain killers for your headache, making more laws to stop crime will never solve anything. Instead, realize that headaches come from a real problem such as: Too much stress, too much noise, or a battering of your skull. Instead realize that crime comes from: Too few opportunities to survive, too much being taken advantage of, or too much coercion being driven into your skull. “What are you really good at?” “Well sorry, we can’t market that.” “Here, why don’t you work this job (that you will hate forever) because that is the only way you can survive.” We all have a contribution to this society but this system won’t allow it.

     If it is so important to get a job done, why do we have unemployed people who are willing and able to work? So the owner of the company can make $5 million a year, instead of $4.5 million? If it is so important to find a solution, why are there bright people working monkey jobs? Can’t we feed them long enough for them to work their magic? If it is so important to instill morals in this country, why isn’t there a Christian-only cable service? Aren’t there enough Christians to support one? Can you guess the common theme?

     Before I can give you the solutions, you must ask yourself all of these questions. You must realize that things are not right. You’ll have to understand why we humans have worked thousands of years to even be this free. Then, I can offer you some solutions, but more importantly you can take part in finding the solutions. It may seem like you don’t have enough time to worry about it now, but if we worry about it now, our free time will open up immensely in the future. You already mortgage your future as it is. Why is this any different? We need to realize the dreams of some of our greatest freedom-fighters, and also realize that somehow those freedom-fighters are the ones that keep getting gagged.

     When you talk to your friends, families, and neighbors, and you find yourself complaining about the way life is, remember these things. We are not going to accomplish anything by bombing the white house. We could put plenty of homeless people in there. We are not going to accomplish anything by shooting government officials. They’re will always be a replacement, and then we will have to sacrifice more freedoms “for the good of our country.” I’ll offer you a few simple solutions, but mind you what we learned about brainstorming in elementary school. We can refuse to work until everybody has the choice to send money into the government. No more direct deductions, tell them when they start working for you, you will pay them. That’s how we live, right? Don’t give your money to anybody that claims to be working for your interests without seeing exactly how they plan to spend your money. Don’t pay a man who says great words for a national TV audience, pay the man who does his work while being displayed on national TV. Most importantly, realize that the son of the most wealthy man in the country will do exactly, if not less work than the women on welfare living in poverty. Treat him as such.

Now if only there was a market for freedom-fighting.

Voices, but no action

     The Big Dig is the name of a civil engineering project to help alleviate traffic in Boston, Massachusetts with a side effect of providing a beautification project on the surface by building all major highways through Boston underneath the city. From the beginning it was to take a good number of years and a large price, but we were promised that it would be worth it. On the surface (no pun intended) that appeared to be true. As time went on however, the budget over-runs and delays in construction have not only turned this project into a monster, but the newly built tunnels are already falling apart. Add to that waste of money, the city (read: taxpayers) gave $50 million dollars to purchase a parking lot, didn’t use it and then gave it back to the original owner. The problem is, the taxpayers had no say in giving the $50 million to the parking lot owner, nor did they have any say in giving the parking lot back.

     What really disturbs me is that just like all other reports of our government wasting our money, we will ultimately dismiss this as unimportant in our own personal lives, complain about how stupid the government is and (here comes the important part: ) THEN MOVE ON! Do you see a problem here? If not let me give you two.

     If the government is handing out $50 million for nothing, could I get $20,000 of that? If I and 2,499 of my fellow common people could get $20,000 each, I would use half of that to help the people I know that try so hard to get by, but still have to scrape pennies just to stay alive. The other half I would use to kick my electrical business into high gear and help create jobs and give others an opportunity to learn a trade or put themselves through school to learn some other useful service to society. “But you don’t believe in making money, in fact you rail against the system everyday,“ you protest. You are right my friend, but it is not us little people at the bottom that created and now abuse this system. In fact, not only are we getting stepped on by the people I am fighting against, (Whom I will speak of in a moment) but we spend our time fighting and getting angry with each other about our small share of the money instead of using our power of numbers to throw out the real criminals in this land.

     “Who are the real criminals, the government? You’re an anarchist right?” Why yes I am, but the government only protects the real criminals, while the real enemy creates petty criminals that you and I detest. The real criminals are the men who have nothing but money to help society, but even keep most of that for themselves. The real criminals are men who convince us not only to keep them alive, but give them lives of luxury without having to lend a helping hand by creating, producing, inventing, or discovering anything. The real criminals feed the government officials (not the government budgets, mind you) to pass laws allowing them to get even richer. The real criminals are those government officials who take $50 million of our money and use some fancy maneuvering to give a land owner a fat paycheck. On top of that, the real criminals have us convinced that We, the People are the real government and should allow it to remain because quite simply, if we didn’t like it, we can change it by electing different people in a clear cut election. Oh wait, we tried that (read: last two presidential elections.) Unless you are very rich, you won’t get very high up in the government. And if you do, you will start to become very rich, and your interests will no longer be the same as We, the People.

     Do you see why your life, as easy as it may seem at times is being lived to support these criminals at the top? Wouldn’t your family like to have their own personal military and police forces to allow you to do whatever you want? Oh, “That’s life.” Right? Yeah, I remember when the slaves use to say that. Of course that was in my past life. Now it’s time to make this our past life. Please join me. It doesn’t have to be a violent revolt…a conscientious and just revolt will do. For they have the money, but we have the power.