Tag Archives: Freedom

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Who is the Boogieman?

While many may feel big government is the boogieman threatening to take away our freedoms, I worry that big business is the greater threat. Their money makes for a loud voice, and when they decide to buy speech, little seems to stop them.  Unlike a government which is bound by borders, they are international citizens purchasing and often dictating policies throughout the world.  They speak to an international crowd.  Their voices drown out reason.  Their products seduce us in to acceptance or denial.  They become our masters.

Okay, I really don’t think capitalistic doom awaits us around the corner, but it cannot be denied how corporate influence is at the heart of many of the economic ills plaguing us today.  It makes me wonder, how many of the attacks on the US government, or other national governments, are being paid for by corporations who love deflecting attention from their own role in our economic woes?

Accountability should be shared, but in a world where speech can be purchased by the highest bidder, it is far easier to buy out the market, to sell a pretty package, or promise a miraculous future rather than to acknowledge responsibility for risky mistakes and ventures.

While governments must try to care for their people, corporations are not bound by the same constraints.  It is easy to find examples of harmful or wasteful products being sold to the masses.  The boogieman is artful in his disguise and sells an enticing product, but beneath all the glamour, sparkle, and loud noise, the big business is focused only on one thing – profit.  People become expendable resources on a spreadsheet of greed.

These ponderings I share have been meandering through my brain for a while, but an article concerning Olympic marketing brought them to the forefront today. While much attention is directed at “draconian” governmental control, the underlying boogieman is the corporate sponsors who do not want even grandma to stitch the Olympic rings on a sweater, or junior to wear a competitor’s t-shirt.

Maybe this is why corporations are considered people by so many wealthy leaders.  If the corporations are not people, then governments no longer can say they serve the people.

So who is the boogieman, and who is stirring up the pitchfork wielding crowd? I will let you decide, for now I must return to playing with my techie toys, and eating my yummy junk food all while I get ready to watch the Olympics this weekend.

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Why Do We Go to War?

A friend of mine posed a question as to when war is justified on her Facebook wall.  The discussion that followed became focused on why those who have experienced the horror of war would ever justify the value of another war.  This is my take…

Human beings tend to enjoy being in groups.  Like with cows, the majority will stay with or nearby the herd.  Some will go rogue, wander away from the heard and chart a separate course, but most will stick to the herd.  Herd mentality dominates our social, political and economic lives.  A family unit is a herd, a political party is a herd, and school is certainly herd like.

Where human nature deviates from the cow nature is in the ability to reason.  Pecking order behavior, i.e. strong vs. weak and experienced vs. youthful, will still impact the human herd, but the human herd will reason or justify their actions and choices.

When confronted with enough data, evidence, propaganda or rhetoric, the human herd will justify a course of action.  They will justify a course of action in order to remain in the herd.  If they remain unconvinced that the course is justified, they may seek to separate from the herd, but will look for another herd to join.  The theory that there is safety in a crowd certainly applies to ideological fears of danger as well as physical fears of danger.

War is simply one of many courses mankind justifies. In contrast to peace, war is much easier to propagandize.  Fiery speeches, enflamed rhetoric, and poignant sound bites are easy to develop when fear and danger is in the mix.  The key to a successful herd is in maintaining a feeling of security in the group.  Threaten the group and it will rally together in defense.

So why do people who have experienced war agree to additional war?  Simply put, even the horrors of war cannot negate the justification of protecting the herd.  Although there are some who will develop such a strong sense of revulsion to conflict that they will suppress any feelings of self-preservation in order to avoid further conflict, they are rare and seldom include mothers.

A final point, no two people ever experience war with the same perception.  Even those participating in the same horror, experience the horror differently. This makes me think, strangely, of childbirth.  Why would anyone who nearly died in the delivery room ever seek another pregnancy?  The justifications of the blessings override the worry of fear, pain, and possibly death.  In the case of war, if the end result can be portrayed as being of greater value than the known casualties associated with war, then the herd can be persuaded to follow a course of war.

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Let Your Light Shine

When you look around, overwhelmed by the negativity, sorrow, and despair of the world, feeling there is no positive to be found, remember the positive is inside of you.  It may be your actions, your smile and your attitude that will brighten the world you live in for yourself and for the multitude nearby seeking a ray of hope.  It may be through you that the Light will return, shine forth and brighten the day.

When we are the candle bearer, it can be hard to see the positive around us. Everything will look to be in shadows compared to our circle of light. We just have to pray that when we are down and gloomy, someone else will hold the candle and help us lighten our path.

Matthew 5:16                                                                           Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Psalms 18:28                                                                           For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

Psalms 27:1                                                                            The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

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To Be Informed or To Be Educated

The citizens of the United States are distracted by political campaign information. They are embroiled in heated debate over healthcare. They argue about getting rid of the immigrants who long to support our economic and social system when they should be concentrating focus on the dangerous criminals who are the real threat. Therefore, they are missing the warning signs of other problems on the horizon.  One such international problem can be found just across the southern border as Mexicans go to their polls.

It is doubtful the President or the experienced members of congress are distracted from the international problems. Looking outside of the US, one sees that the US is not the only nation struggling with a poor economy, immigration issues, international crime and terrorism. What kind of a future does the US face, if a majority the ‘experienced’ leaders in DC are replaced by a whole new crew of 1st timers? Especially if the only agenda they bring with them is on the US economy, and on the US healthcare, and on the US borders.

The origins of US immigration policies are found in the early 1900’s during the time when isolationism was still being valued as good US policy. Isolationist policies, however, did not prove effective in the early 1900’s, they simply made the US late-comers for two wars for which joining was unavoidable.  In 1942 the internment policy of rounding up anyone “suspicious” was beyond contemptible, but it was policy.  Fear and a tremendous feeling of suffering dictated US domestic and foreign policies in the first half of the 20th century.

However at the same time the US was closing its borders, there was a social push to help its poor and downtrodden citizens.  Labor laws, workers unions, Social Security and legislation similar to the National School Lunch Act, all played a role in post war successes.  Due to economic policies during WWII, employer based health insurance became widely offered as well.   It was determined that prosperity was much easier to achieve if the nation was healthy rather than unhealthy. There was a need for the government to act, and the power of big government began to replace the power of big business.

Now a hundred years later, immigration and health care issues are at the center of US politics again.  Citizens are beginning to fear “others” and focusing on national issues while avoiding international issues.

Progress has been made but fear, misinformation, and “money” backed political theater will not keep the progress moving forward.  Talk of the “good ol’ days” is just talk.  If you are blessed to know survivors of those days, ask them about epidemics, outhouses, food shortages and social inequality.  It is a human trait to reminisce of the ol’ days. Selective memory is common, some prefer focusing on the good and some on the bad.  The citizens of the United States need to evaluate the good and the bad, the effective and the ineffective.

It is sad that with easy access to so much information, so many are misinformed.  A random comment posted concerning an editorial on the Supreme Court Healthcare ruling claimed, “We are becoming like the USSR.”  Many would like to blame this misinformed opinion on a failing educational system, but that would be unfair.  That would be like saying Fox News, or CNN, or MSNBC are to blame for all the ignorance in society. To quote a common saying, “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”, on that same reasoning, “cable news doesn’t make ignorance, people choose ignorance”.

Ignorance is conquered when an individual seeks information, evaluates the information by comparing it to other information, and then forms an opinion. This is how an individual becomes educated.  This how parents should be teaching their children. This is what voters should be doing before casting a vote.  This is what politicians should encourage.

While some journalists still prescribe to providing information rather than opinion, it is not up to them to educate us.  It is up to the individual to become educated and not simply informed.

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The Soviets Had Excellent Border Security

Is it socialist policies which make the US more like their enemies of yesteryear, or is it their growing fear of outsiders? The Soviets were really good at keeping people out, but they were also really good at keeping people within their borders.  While it is true the average person from the West did not often seek to cross the border, one still must admit the system worked.  The borders were secure to all but the crafty espionage types.

In days of yore,

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me …”

 

Today, it seems, we only want educated, socially acceptable, foreign born individuals to visit our shores.  I wonder, though if at some level, we fear them as well?

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Do we still justify injustice?

The practice of eugenics is a scar on our nation’s character.  This scarring should be a warning to us of how easy it is for “good intentions” to go too far. During a war, some may feel the good of the whole outweighs the good of a few, but this is seldom justified during civilized peacetime.  Providing for the general welfare of a population may infringe on the monetary rights of the citizens, but should not infringe on the human rights of the citizens.  The practice of eugenics crossed this ethical line.

For the most part, I agree with the philosophy that money does not undo injustice, as North Carolina’s Senate determined this week in regards to monetarily compensating the victims of forced sterilization. When injustice is isolated, a few are victimized and should be compensated.  When the injustice is widespread, we are all the victims and there is no compensation equal to the harm which was done.

As a society we tend to turn away from how injustice has been part of our nation’s “modern” past.  In doing so, it is easier for us to ignore injustices still in practice.  When the ideology of one group, no matter how large the group may be, infringes on the rights of others, we are in danger of ignoring the lessons of the past and we may try to justify the unjust.

It is through remembering the past that we become empowered to work for a better future.

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Censorship or Good Neighbor

Is it censorship or a violation to constitutional rights when a privately owned company providing a service chooses to set decency policies?  In a recent Facebook debate, I read a multitude of criticism over Facebook deleting a photo some deemed objectionable and others deemed humorous.   The following are some questions that came to my mind.

  1. When does a privately owned company providing a service become so big that it is perceived as “public” space rather than a service?
  2. Why is an attempt to protect civility or decency perceived as a civil rights infringement to so many?
  3. When did the public come to conclusion it is a smart idea to save original data, photos or conversations on a server they do not personally own?

I have become a huge fan of using technology and social media to communicate with distant acquaintances and friends.  I have found social media to be an enjoyable way to connect, but I always utilize the advice of my mother, my journalism instructors and my own common sense.

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Vacations

You know you have reached exhaustion when unpacking the souvenirs seems beyond your ability.  It is strange how the excitement of a vacation can push you past the aches and pains of a tired body.  You can walk further than you normally do, sleep briefly and restlessly night after night, and unhealthily for days on end, all with continued stamina.  Then you arrive home, drop your bags, cringe at the piles of mail, dread the laundry and want to sleep all day.

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