Death to a Nation

A nation is much more than a zip code or a place to visit. A nation is much more than an accumulation of people standing around in a shared geography. A nation is an accumulated inheritance of its past, a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.

Multiculturalism is mostly a term used to politicize the need to increase our diversity over the status of what it currently is and to minimize the cultural majority of predominantly western nations. As far as my research has shown, there are no nations of a non western style participating in the de-

culturization process. Taking this one step further only those countries that reach a certain economic level and freedom are targeted for multiculturalism.

When an internal or external force demands that a nation change its national status by introducing a cultural upheaval, that nation is committing suicide. The act of forcefully changing the demographics of a nation changes that nation beyond the will or natural forces of its members, negating their will and national identity in the process.

Many nations have undergone cultural changes without loosing their national identity, the United States is one of them. Through the process of cultural diffusion many cultures can integrate into a thriving national system without crashing the system that welcomed them. For over 200 years the American process of enculturation has provided the means to become American without loosing there own cultural identity.

Germany accepted the entire East German population back into its ranks. The process was difficult and costly but the integration was successful due to the shared cultural identity of those being allowed back in. Even for those who do not immediately share cultural history or language the integration process is possible when the immigrants agree to the overall cultures and practices of the host nation. Any other process, any other culturalization proves to be ineffective and damaging, as can be seen in France, Sweden, Great Britain, Germany and other European countries that allowed mass immigration from countries that have no interest in accepting the offered nations culture.

Multiculturalism demands that the foundational process of enculturation be abandoned and dis-guarded, replaced with a more socialistic brand of segregation that promises utopia but delivers misery, discord and chaos. The subsequent cast system is blatantly socialistic or in the terms of Islam, Theocratic and brutal.

I want to make my position clear, this is not about immigration. Immigration has worked well for over 230 years, with a major portion of our population immigrating to the US. The difference is in the process of how they immigrate and the need to curb the destructive Multiculturalism that is currently being called for as a guise toward helping those who are less fortunate or in dire circumstances due to war or political pressure.

There were roughly 2.6% of East Germans who had to be integrated and the cost of that integration has been in excess of 1.7 trillion dollars and these were Germans who were coming home. In Sweden the population percentage is proximately 6% with England 5.5% and France between 7% and 9%.

Again, this is not about immigration this is about Multiculturalism and the open and forceful destruction of Nations for political ends. No country can be expected to successfully integrate an incoming and radical population without dire consequences and loss of National identity. Germany had a very difficult time integrating its own population after 50 years of communist rule. These were Germans who shared the same history, the same foods, stories and language and dreams. When none of those similarities are present there is not integration, it’s more like an invasion. Similar in part to the United States and its southern border with Mexico, except that within these areas we have a shared culture, a shared language for many and a shared belief in Christianity. But still, left unchecked the border was being overrun and the issues of Multiculturalism began to take place over the immigration designs of the host country.

Immigration is good, needful and practical based on the individual needs of the host country. Multiculturalism demands open borders, massive immigration by un-veted and potentially dangerous elements from areas not necessarily friendly to the host country and done primarily for political reasons and not for the Nation or its people.

We need to take a closer look at the demands of those who scream and demand for Multiculturalism. These voices are harsh, shrill, damaging and only motivated by ignorance or politics. Our Nation is strong and resilient but it wont stay that way if we let these radicals move us away from a rational immigration policy.

Abduction of our self respect

As our society is increasingly faced with the dilemma of service to others or self indulgence you may find it instructive to ask yourself, what would you do in the face of an obvious and peculiar event?

The posted video link  shows individuals forcefully taken from their everyday lives, but virtually no one intervenes. The fact that the video has gotten over 7 million views tells us it's either really funny or really scary.  

We all think we know the answer, I don’t even need to ask the question. We all understand the level of self delusion that currently exists. We all know that we are preoccupied with our own lives to the point of almost total exclusion of the lives and safety of others.

In one short clip a young woman quickly moves her eyes back to her phone as if to say, “don’t bother me with your problems, I need to check my facebook status...”

In a strange and almost prophetic way the TV series Seinfeld portrayed this coming selfishness and captured the nation by its humorous events of self centeredness. Perhaps it was the tail wagging the dog but we have far exceeded the levels illustrated by the TV show. So would you save a child, a woman or a man from being kidnapped? Would your actions depend on the color of skin or any other variable that might sway your immediate intervention?

If you think really hard, you may want to be seated if this is a request out of the norm, about what you might do, are you certain about your intentions? Would you stand up and act? Would you drop what you are doing for the defense of another? Would you risk your safety for the life of another?

Regardless of the situation, a situation that is obviously out of the norm, where do you stand in relation to the others around you?

These are difficult questions for our day but they are essential in determining the outcome of our future. We make our decisions about life, who we make our friends, who we associate with, what we believe and pursue based on our ability to know what others around us will do in the face of danger.

I know it’s just a prank but the people watching did not know at the time. Most will be able to rationalize their non action through the prism of hindsight, telling themselves some untruth about their character that substantiates their perception of themselves, a perception that we can all see is false.

Character demands action in the face of difficulty. We are a nation devoid of character and morality and choose instead to rationalize our morality for the greater good of ourselves and our convenience. Let’s hope and pray that we soon realize the folly of our ways. It may be you that needs the help of another.

Manslaughter by text

Today a judge found Michelle Carter guilty of manslaughter in the death by suicide of her ex-boyfriend. She had multiple text messages that supported the courts claim that she should have known better and should have intervened or at last not gotten involved with the active role of encouraging Mr. Roy to take his life.

There is no denying the tragedy of this case nor the serious implications associated with the spoken word and the influences it can have. The court’s inferences will now be judged as worthy or not as Miss Carter and her team appeal this ruling.

Who is responsible for the actions of another? Influences aside for the moment, who is ultimately responsible for the death of Mr. Roy? When influences are factored in how far back or with whom do we blame for the lack of positive efforts that eventually led to the act in question?

The line of influence of someone screaming fire in a crowded theater may have some context here but only if that person screamed with malicious intent. A fearful patron noticing the same fire can scream and probably should scream “FIRE” as a warning to others to leave the building. The malicious intent of the perpetrator was to cause panic. The patron’s motivation was fear, not malicious or malevolent.

The interesting aspect of the differences between the patron and the perpetrator is wholly within the motivations of the individual. The results may be similar and similarly tragic but for one there is no blame while in the other there is all the blame.

The question of Miss Carter culpability can be seen as cruel, uncaring and motivating toward the exact end that she was voicing to her boyfriend just before he decided to take his life. The issue perhaps not discussed was in relation to an unknown outcome and the personal responsibility of an individual to act for his or her best interest, regardless of the motivating factors that are externally placed.

This is not even a question of mental readiness or stability for it is abundantly clear that both were unstable. This is a question of personal responsibility, who is ultimately responsible for our lives, our choices and the consequences of those actions.

When a slope is slippery the chances of slipping are higher than when the foundation is firm and stable. Ruling to convict Miss Carter for manslaughter, regardless of how mean she was or how manipulative she turned out to be creates a slope of intense sliminess, slipping is inevitable.

I am in no way condoning her seemingly abysmal actions but like a prospective jumper atop a building, the crowd below is screaming and encouraging him or her (we must provide an equal opportunity for all here) to jump. When he does jump, who is to blame? Perhaps it was one voice, maybe it was many voices but the blame is his and his alone. He jumped, he fell, he died.

There is plenty of culpability to go around, and the crowd may have prompted him to jump but that fateful decision is his and his alone to make. Of course there are mental issues involved and of course we should all be more sensitive to those around us, and yes, we live in a society that does neither but the definition of responsibility has been rewritten through the allocation of continuous praise for all children, ribbons for all who participate and even those who do not.

It’s OK to be wrong they say, it’s OK to be last, no one should have to suffer the indignation of failure in any degree or circumstance, and no one should have to hear, listen too or speak to those who designate success with the innate worth of a person based on achievement. Therein lies the issue and the obvious reasons for the state we’re in.

Our entitled society is on the brink of total implosion. When a judge is unable to distinguish between bad character and malicious intent and decides to convict based on how an individual should have acted we leave the realm of justice and morph into some science fiction, thought based scenario that convicts on feelings rather than actions. Remember the movie Minority Report?

Just to be clear, Michelle Carter acted like a spoiled and rotten child, totally oblivions to the possible consequences that could occur. She used words and phrases to put an obviously mentally unstable young man over the brink to commit to performing his own death, and that is the key, it was his own decision, his hands moved, his legs decided, his brain was motivated to end his life.

Her words were obviously a large part of his decision but in the end, it was his decision, not hers, his actions, not hers that took his life.

Perhaps this event will create a new sense of responsibility and a new understanding of how our negative actions effect those around us, not in a legal sense but in a moral and earnest endeavor to find the good in those around us. She could have attempted to save his life. She could have tried to push him toward the help he needed. But, she acted more like the world is becoming, immoral and shamefully degenerate, forsaking the respect and kindness so badly needed for the troubled young man, and instead made sacrificed to the god of making everyone feel good about anything and everything they do...

Learning to be a Father

Fathers day is about fathers. You may think that is a bit simplistic but think about what it takes to be a father. Fathers are more than just a guy who spends his life in or out of your life.

My father, for example is a complicated individual with his own dreams, goals, ambitions and issues, as are all fathers. The spectrum of fatherhood has widened over the years and has allowed for a more diverse set of principles. In some ways that widening has been good but for the most part an increase in the definition of what makes a father a father has diluted and ultimately weakened the important role of being a father.

Like most children I have had issues with my father and his method of parenting. It has taken me years to understand that my myopic view of my father was a result of my shortsightedness and inability to see the man for what he was, what he wanted and what he sacrificed, to be a father. I still have issues but those issues are now all mine; they will continue to plague me and cause me problems but they are no longer a singular result of what he did, did not do or could not do for me.

In my view I have seen great fathers, not so great dads and some that should have had their father cards revoked long before being put into those fatherly positions. But that view was only my perspective, a perspective that was clouded by my inability to perceive the nature of the man and his relationship with his family, his dreams and sacrifices and his view of what life meant to him.

For years I pinned for that perfect father, especially in my youth. I had friends who I thought had better fathers than mine but from my perspective now, they were only different. They had different children, different challenges and different issues of their own specific problems and opportunities to content with. They had different houses and different food to eat, they were all different and at  the time I was incapable of discerning those differences nor understanding the complicated relationships that make up a family, so like many youth I wanted what I did not think I had.

In our society we tend to only view our fathers from a singular perspective. We view them from the eyes as children and consequently form our major opinions of what kind of father they were only from those limited perimeters. Those perspectives are great when the life of the child is ideal and in line with the dynamics of the family and the limited perspectives of that child but when it is not, as is often the case , the issues that blossom from those relationships become difficult, strained and can have lasting negative effects on the child and the parent.

For those who are not religious, you may want to move to a different blog.

I believe we have a Father in Heaven. Call Him what you will but my belief is that he is literally the father of our spirits. A spirit is our personality, our essence, it is what makes me, me and you different than me, thank goodness for that, right? I recognize that I have a Father that is not my earthly father and by that recognition I take on the responsibility to know Him and understand His motives for me, His designs for me, a Father that truly does love me and care for me, as He does for all of us equally.

The dilemma is that if you believe, like I do, that we have a perfect example of what a father should be it is incumbent on us to follow that example. Also that dilemma encompasses the issues of following that example while being a mere mortal within an imperfect sphere of existence, grasping the enormity of our own imperfections and having the responsibility of raising children as an imperfect father.

My father, the man who is my dad might understand this and he might have some thought about this dilemma but in reality it really doesn’t matter if he does or not because it’s not his responsibility, it is mine. It is my perspective, my thoughts that have coalesced toward this conclusion. It is up to me to bridge the gap between what I know, what I believe and how to put it all into practice.

In other words, the continuum that is this life and the life beyond is one eternal round with God, our Father in Heaven at its core. All things revolve around Him and his glorified plan of happiness. Central to that plan is the success of the family, with the idea that a family is made from two loving parents who raise their children with a desire to respect their parents, both sets of parents., heavenly and earthly alike.

That respect must be learned and understood at an individual level. Parents and children must learn the concept that respect can only truly exist when it is equally applied. Fatherhood is not just a sociological necessity based on biological needs for existence. Being a father is a mandatory step toward learning the lessons laid out by our Father in Heaven so that we may learn how to become like Him.

Like most fathers, we dream about the success of our children and structure our lives around what they need to accomplish greater things, more important things than what we accomplished. Regardless of our inadequacies, our mistakes and our own personal problems those dreams never really fade.

I have learned that despite who my father is, that despite what I might think, feel or perceive, he did try. He did sacrifice and did provide for me and for that I am eternally grateful. Not all fathers, in fact very few of all fathers are prepared to be fathers when fathering is needed. Being a father is by definition a time to learn, a time to experience and a time to teach, love, support and cherish those sacrifices, those inconveniences and those life changing challenges that inherently infuse those Godlike attributes that are needed to become more like our Father, who just happens to be in Heaven.

Thank you Father, thank you Dad, thank you for your patients and love and devotion, thank you for learning and accepting, thank you for your lessons and challenges and thank you for being in my life in such a way that I have started to understand what being a father really means, maybe now I can be a better father myself.

Selective Hearing

Communication has become big business, especially with the current Presidential / Russian / leaks / FBI / Hillary issues, the media is a buzz with every conceivable scenario possible. It’s interesting how Trump started by centering his campaign on the issue of Fake News and now with the culmination of the Comey hearings it seems as though most of what we hear or read about is based on speculation and innuendo.  With the shear weight of the information overload the truth may never be recognized.

I have been known to hyperbolize, (and yes I know that’s not a recognized word, but since I’ve used it before I can use it again) exaggerate and overuse the literary licenses of sorts to make a point or push an idea but for the most part what I write about has some basis in research. I also understand that most of what I say is opinion based and can be construed or interpreted in a thousand different ways but that’s the nature of the blog world.

I make no apologies for what I blog about or about the conclusions that are derived from my peculiar view of the world. It is my way of communicating, my way of voicing my opinions and my point of view. It may be cathartic and it may have some meaning, but who cares and more importantly what is the point, if no one reads what is written?

I guess I could stop right there, turn off my computer and walk away but if no one cares, and no one is reading no one will know if I’m blogging or not. No one will wonder what I’ve said, what I’ve proposed or what changes could be instituted had they read, (Wow, I’m assuming a lot). The question that is raised, however, is not who should do the talking or blogging but how do we, any of us, get heard and understood?

My blogging universe is only slightly larger than the small area I call my backyard, (I do have a view, if that helps) but words do matter; the words we use is only a portion of the communication process. Blogging provides an outlet, not unlike the newspapers within a small town, not many readers and mostly fluff. But the blogging world has a potential reach of billions, there are currently 149 million blogs on the web. Many of those are singular experiences and feelings, some are knowledge based, some are political and some just weird, maybe like mine, but they are still part of the communication process.

WordPress estimates that Over 409 million people view more than 23.7 billion pages each month, that is a lot of speaking and a lot of reading. Users produce about 83.1 million new posts and 44.5 million new comments each month. Blogging works, but is it working like it should?

When two people talk it is assumed that while one is speaking the other is listening, that is the essence of communication. Listening is then ½ of the communication process. How many of us are that active in the listening process? We like to talk. We like to yell, scream and blog and it’s great when your only responsibility is saying what you want to say. No feedback, no response, no reply needed. Replies would only ruin the blogging process.

I am one who truly loves the interchange, the dialogue and debate of issues, opinions and ideas and I am disappointed when the responses are few and far between. My ideas, in fact all ideas are only as good as they are accepted and scrutinized. Opinions are worthless if not heard and then acted upon in some fashion but the bloggisphere, to most, fails in that regard.

Most bloggers never come close to communicating or want the open exchange required to make blogging more than just a cathartic exercise of convenience. Most readers don’t have the time to answer, engage in debate or participate to create a communicative process, but the numbers of 23 billion pages viewed shows there is a desire to read the 83 million new posts. The problem, as I see it, is in how we interpret the numbers provided by Word Press. There are 44 million new comments, that’s slightly more than a response to half of all the new posts, but those posts could be anything from a simple pic to a lengthy blog (like mine).

Humans have always (my opinion) been more interested in talking then in listening. Parents talk to their kids, kids talk back to their parents. Husbands talk to their wives and wives talk about other things to their husbands, no one really listens. Even when we read the words of another, we only read and at times digest what was written but rarely do we respond for the purpose of communicating.

Communicating means listening in concert with what is being said to assist the other toward a union of those presented ideas, thoughts, feelings and understandings. I’ve never liked just being told to do something, even if it’s in my best interest. When we strive to engage and understand communication begins.

What we have now are polarized groups that lecture and accuse, abuse and insult all who disagree with their singular positions. They proclaim but refrain from living within the terms they demand of others. Most it seems, are too afraid to allow others to freely voice their opinions and when others do they reply with a vitriolic vehemence far exceeding their own importance.

What we need is a more open discourse that accepts the good ideas, the wholesome practices and the moral attitudes of others who do not fear change but embrace the positive, the beautiful and the noble while defending against the immoral, the evil and the corrupt.

I can hope, I can dream, I can even write my opinion about what I think should happen. I never said it was practical or possible, but it sure would be nice to live in a world where all men (and of course all women too) were free to think and grow, advance our culture and raise our children in safety and prosperity...Now I’m just being silly, but what does it matter, no one reads these blogs anyway.

Count those blessing

I’m not the first to experience this, in fact, as far as I can tell this event is not uncommon but the sting of reality is a poignant reminder of the risks we all undergo as we travel through life and beyond.

Prior to the shadowy world of disappointment and despair I want to acknowledge the blessings of this life and the gifts that are so freely given. I wake up everyday. Everyday I have responsibilities beyond basic survival, I have options and choices. I am surrounded by love and affection and beauty beyond my ability to comprehend. I have a wife who truly does love me and is happy to care for me, as I do for her. That alone, that blessing, that gift from God is enough to carry me, to carry us through, but there is so much more.

We all know that life is meant to be challenging. It is within those challenges that we have the privilege to shed our natural man, our temporal selves for a more perfect self. Striving for perfection does not mean being perfect but in the attempt toward that lofty goal comes a fundamental change that ultimately allows perfection to exist. We, none of us will ever be perfect within this imperfect and flawed existence, but perfection can exist within us, if we allow it.

“Count your many blessing, count them one by one….” This simple exercise transforms the negative to the positive, it transfigures the mind, the eyes, the ears that see into what we are meant to be rather than what we are. As we count, we realize those blessing and those opportunities that literally surround us and envelope us in a shield of warmth and security, if we allow it.

But it’s not real, it’s all an illusion of your inner mind deceiving to believe what’s not real, and I say, who is to say what real is or not? Is this life all there is? Are we simply a biological happenstance thrown together by some stochastic acts of pure randomness and chance? If that is indeed the case and there is no Plan of Happiness or Salvation or ultimate Plan of Life then all we have is our choice to be happy or not.

Why choose the misery if happiness is also available? Why choose to be a victim if victory is within your mental reach? These are not easy choices, nor are they self sustaining, but they are worth the effort.

We all live with tragedy and disappointment, some much more than others and I have always been amazed at those who choose the high roads despite the gutters they must endure daily. These are truly exceptional individuals. They have persisted in overcoming the most arduous of assigned tasks, victory is theirs, even if only in their minds.

As you all know I have a belief in a Greater God than those promoted by the non religious. Belief is a word not too many wish to embrace. It is a word that suggests weakness and an unwillingness to stand alone to forge your way. From a psychological perspective belief is a component of many factors that influence those inbred, cultural norms that bring meaning to our lives. In some psychological circles we are in many ways slaves to those beliefs and can not change them if we tried.

One example given is the offer of a sum of money to truly believe that a pink elephant is flying our your window. They proclaim that this is impossible because it’s simply not true. I can agree with that. Truth then is the arbiter of belief, if it’s not true then it can not be believed. Again, I agree but with an explanation: I agree that truth is the foundation for all belief. I also agree that if something is not true than true belief is impossible.

What value is there in believing in a false premise? Further, what value for life is there to believe that there is not hope, no good, no plan or no chance to live again? We always come back to the question, what is truth? How can we know the truth of anything when science changes, facts change, even beliefs change?

Nothing in this world is as consistent than the overall belief in God. Since there is no standard for truth man has utilized the only consistent source of truth, at least their perception of the truth but in retrospect a fairly invariable set of rules, patterns, explanations and promises that provide hope for an unknown future. It is with this faith that many have found happiness.

Faith is more than a belief. Faith is the motivator to believe, to accept and act accordingly, it is with faith that our beliefs are centered and focused, allowing us to utilize the gift to recognize the beauty all around and the ability to count our many blessings.

Regardless of what my trials might be, are now or will be in the future I know that my faith in God is my source of truth and my path toward happiness and contentment. There is no other source of truth upon this earth that has provided a consistent plan of hope. Science changes, Psychology evolves and even history gets rewritten, but God has always said “be ye therefor perfect….”