Making the right choice.

When change is upon us, as it is throughout the world, how does one sift through the rhetoric of both sides and glean what little truth remains?  There is extreme hyperbole on all sides and I think the same is true of every community in America.  Consensus is not the answer; remember that most people are wrong about most things most of the time.  Choosing a path that is an agreement of direction based on a compromise from those who all want to move in a different direction only serves to ensure that no one is moving in the direction they wanted and in fact relegates the masses into a role of subservience rather than the goal of living by the truth, even if you don’t know the whole truth.  That is why we don’t live in a Democracy, ours is a Republic.

Why would we consider our politicians and leaders any less susceptible to that reality than the rest of humanity when they fall prey to evils of Democracy and gauge their actions as a leader based on the focus of a group or the winds of change?  In fact, I would postulate that those who profess to lead us are more prone to the hyperbole they create, believing the magnification of their own contrived data and the ever-present yes-men that surround them.  They may even believe they are offering us options for a better life but their opinion of what choices we should have are based on their faulty perspective, a perspective that is constantly clouded by their myopic judgment and clouded view of themselves and their self-importance.

This is not a purely American phenomenon, every country, every nation and kingdom has its own self-perpetuating, in-doctrinal mechanism designed to forestall the rise of truth over promise Hyper -Governmental Mitosis that is continually separating facts and truths and expanding like a cancerous growth.  As we listen to the promises given by those who profess to lead us, our lives should be perfect.  There would be no hunger, no war, no poverty and no reason to worry about anything, our lives would be idyllic and flawless, remind you of anyone?

Combating ignorance must be an individual effort designed in part to overcome the witlessness of those who promise perfect skies forevermore.  Our need to stand united for the truth is perhaps more important now than ever before. The escalation and division of what is considered right and wrong have never been wider or more intense and our ability to choose has never been so narrow.

This is not about being liberal or conservative, though I wish it was that simple, it’s about acting and doing what is best. There are truths to live by that need to be agreed upon and followed.  Our leaders should be better than us, not examples of the excuses we all live by or the reflections of what we see every day.  Our responsibility is to foster those who are capable, better than us and follow those precepts that our Founding Fathers established in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, not their own personal aggrandizement or self-worth.  We want leaders who lead and not just make laws that separate them from us.  We want leaders who live better than us, giving us examples to follow so that our lives can become better.

 It’s not about choosing the right; it’s about the right to choose and then choosing the right.  When we take that fundamental right and portion it out to only those we think should have those rights, everyone rights are ultimately diminished as what is happening with free speech.

There are so many variations of what is right, who is right, that the decision regarding what is right falls into the category of let’s agree to disagree.  But in the realm of the right to choose the value of choosing for choice only grows more influential as others partake.  With each choice, the inalienable right to choose continues and grow allowing others the same privilege.

 Populations are controlled primarily through fear and the limited choices forced upon them.  Through our Republic, we have the right to choose those who will represent us as we believe we should be represented.  The problem is that those who currently hold those positions are less capable than those they represent.

The litmus test for voting is not listening to the promises made but to delve into the background of the individual and see what they’ve done to promote those freedoms to choose.  A note to the pro-choice crowd:  choices are essential, but the timing of each choice is critical.  We need to all make choices that expand our ability to choose not to limit them.  A good example is a man standing on a bridge wanting to die.  As long as he stands and contemplates his position he always has a choice, once he jumps the choice is gone, never to be regained.  

Choices are very much like that man.  With each choice we make we either expand our choices or limit them.  Gravity, in this case, would be the consequence of his actions.  No matter how much he wishes to change his choice the instant he decided and acted upon that decision the consequences take over, as it is with all of our choices.  Most are not so dramatic or clear but nature, God, Kismet, whatever you want to call it has placed an irrevocable effect on each and every choice we make.

Whether at an election for political leaders or a simple choice of right or left the choices we make have consequences.  Making the right choices is a mind-boggling exercise but If we try to choose choices that give us more freedom to choose than our choices will be the right ones.  Choose correctly now so that your choices and the choices for others will remain intact.  

Fatty's failure

We should all be screaming in fear as we are forced to endure the daily media onslaught of fake news, just like Fatty Arbuckle had to do in the 1920s.

Rosco “Fatty” Arbuckle was born in 1887 in Kansas and yes he was fat.  His early life was filled with violence from an unloving father who believed that because of his girth the baby could not be his.  Both of his parents were slim and Rosco’s birth weight was a whopping 13lb.  His father named the baby after a notorious philandering politician named Rosco Conkling of New York. There is no proof of his mother’s infidelity but because of her husband’s mistrust and the complications from the birth, she died 12 years later.

The name “Fatty” was given to him in elementary school and the producers liked the moniker so it stuck, but Rosco never liked it and often stated, “I have a name you know.”  

Rosco Conkling Arbuckle was described by his friends as a shy and quiet young man who was polite and regarded in Hollywood as the “most chase man”, that’s saying a lot when you consider Hollywood in the 1920’s. 

The Roaring 20’s was a time much like our time today.  The media was mesmerized by the events of the day and used any means to popularize or destroy.  The Radio was the primary source for news and the expansion of news broadcasts exploded and so did the sensationalism of the media in general.  

The profits available were no longer related to a simple news story and the related advertising, the story was the profit line.  For the first time, Radio created a sensationalistic and unrestrained source to say whatever you wanted about whoever you wanted and those forces coalesced on Rosco “fatty” Conkling Arbuckle. 

The truth of the events that inspired the three trials of Rosco Arbuckle were all well-known and provable.  They were so obvious that his defense team failed to provide the basics of the case and the first trial was hung in favor of acquittal.  The second trial was even worse with his team thinking that the facts would speak for themselves and the jury hung again but this time for a conviction of manslaughter.  The third trial was a slam dunk for Arbuckle and he was released from custody but he was in debt and disgraced, not from the trials but from the Radio and the printed media that lambasted this most popular comedic actor of the 1920’s.

We may think we have it bad today with all the fake news and hyperbolation (I know, another made up word) of virtually every spoken word and action of anyone who is not within the fair graces of those who write, report or influence the media.  There is, it seems, a pattern that has been going on for quite some time with the media promulgating and disseminating “news” that is not true, often blatantly untrue, like with Rosco Arbuckle. 

I haven’t delved into the political leanings of the media of the past but I suspect that the politics today was like the politics of the past, with the philosophy of profit being the primary motivation and a subcategory of ideology developing over time as seen in our media today.  The enormous profits amassed by the Harold Examiner and other papers owned primarily by Hurst were enormous,

 “The Hearst papers had a field day with the story—the publisher would later say the Fatty Arbuckle scandal sold more papers than the sinking of the Lusitania.” www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-skinny-on-the-fatty-arbuckle-trial-131228859/#w9hq8hflJ2eSBvVj.99

Truth is not the issue, I don’t believe it ever really has been, it’s about how to sell the story and the profits that can be made from selling it the right way.  The media of today is no different than the media of the 1920’s, profit is the key and whatever has to be done to increase that bottom line, will and has been done.

Rosco Arbuckle was 100% guiltless but as a result of the media sensationalizing and promoting the innuendo of hearsay, his career was over.  Arbuckle was the highest paid actor in 1921 and had signed an extension to his contract worth millions more, but overnight he was in jail, on felony row, on charges of manslaughter for a woman, a model, actress, prostitute, he had found collapsed in his bathroom who the medical team discovered was hemorrhaging from a chronic bladder condition, not in any way related to any contact with Arbuckle. There is more to this story that explains his innocents completely from a number of sources.

For years we have assumed that the press was the 4^th branch of the government, a stalwart appendage to help balance the other three branches.  The news was supposed to keep the politicians and bureaucrats honest but in like manner and throughout the history of the media they have sold us all a bill of goods.  They have never been honest, they have never acted responsibly (some do, but not many) and they continue to corrupt every issue, turning the news into a media frenzy that serves their profit-seeking and putting their maniacal ideology at odds with the obvious truths that are in evidence and indisputable.

The solution is a difficult one indeed.  Like many are doing in response to the NFL antics, they are deciding not to view.  We as well should decide what it’s worth to regain our morality, our foundational principles and our sanity, we need to unplug, disconnect and turn off the media, stay away from the lies and rebuild our lives without the smog-filled bubble that clouds our judgment, alters our perceptions and destroys our common sense. 

The media and its associated devices demand a tribute to their evil incarceration into their world and reality.  It is time for us to escape, stop paying them for protection, we can protect ourselves. 

Fix the constitution by following it

20 Unheeded Warnings in Washington’s Farewell Address

President George Washington

1.        Be vigilant, people will seek to use the government for selfish ends.
2.       Avoid overgrown military establishments; they are hostile to liberty.
3.       Prevent all obstructions to the execution of the laws.
4.       Control bureaucracies; make sure they all work together.
5.       Avoid political parties; they will cause divisive factions and unscrupulous men will use them to undermine the government.
6.       Give allegiance to the Constitution; improve it as necessary.
7.       Do not alter the Constitution lightly, or based on hypothesis; apply the experience applied when it was created.
8.       Be suspicious of administrators; they may serve themselves rather than the people.
9.       Watch for consolidation of power in any department of government.
10.       Preserve existing checks and balances and add more where power needs to be checked.        
11.        Religion and morality are essential to create the virtue necessary to preserve the ion.
12.       Promote widespread education; democracy requires literate citizens that understand the system of governance and take responsibility for themselves.
13.       Avoid debt, and immediately discharge any debt created by war.
14.       Taxes are unpleasant; government spending should be candidly conducted.
15.       Cultivate peace and justice toward all nations.
16.       Avoid alliances and maintain neutrality among nations.
17.       Avoid dependency; a weak state that allies with a stronger state will become its servant.
18.       Real patriots will resist intrigues, while dupes will surrender to interests.
19.       In trade, give no nation a favored nation status.
20.       Be guided by principles, not interests.

The truly inspired mind of George Washington warns us to be careful of many of the issues we currently face as a direct result to not heeding his warnings.  If we want to make this country Great Again, we need to institute and revitalize these foundational principles.

Let Boys Be Boys

One of the worst experiences of my life, at that time, was showing up for a camping trip with my scout troop and realizing that it was a cycling trip and I didn’t bring my bike.  The adult leaders scrambled and found me a bike and off we went.  It started out fine but soon devolved into a nightmare, at least it was for me.

After driving for over an hour to our destination we unloaded the bikes, strapped on our gear and started to ride.  The scenery was breathtaking, the weather was cool and brisk but my seat was loose and I kept sliding forward as the seat swiveled.  Just when I thought I had it under control the bike would hit some stick on the road and my seat would jump and jab at me in that one particular area of the male, human anatomy, making me flinch and squeal in discomfort.

Our first leg of the trip was only ten miles but after five my entire neither region was numb and hurting at the same time.  When we finally stopped I almost fell off my bike because I couldn’t feel my legs or anything else that was starting to matter in my life. 

The problem was I was ashamed of not having my own bike and not wanting to tell the adults that the bike they gave me was causing me embarrassing discomfort.  I tried to get some help through other means, like trying to tighten the seat bolt with my fingers, I know that was lame, but I was only 14 or 15 years old, I was the definition of lame.

My butt (a euphemism of course) was really sore, but I set up my tent and immediately went to bed.  The next morning, it felt worse and I really thought I was going to lose what the good God had given all males but when I looked at my borrowed bike, the seat was stable, someone had fixed it.  All I had to do was get back on and continue to ride.  Not an easy thing to do, I assure you, but with each mile, we road the feeling and the relief returned.  I still think of that anonymous leader who fixed that bike and sustained my manhood, as I understood it at the time and have realized he acted like a man when the boy didn't know how.

The problem today is that too many misunderstand the true nature of what it is to be a man as opposed to a male.   This disconnect often starts at a very young age with mixed messages and improper guidance by well-meaning but unaware teachers, leaders and dare I say it, with most women who try and do their best but do not have the foundational skills to fully understand the male psyche. 

This is not an attempt to place blame but the realities of our society and the actions of many males give rise to the question of why?  “Boys are more likely to be suspended, retained in grade or placed in special education. They are less likely to graduate from high school or enroll in and graduate from college than girls are” www.usnews.com/opinion/knowledge-bank/2015/04/02/education-gender-gaps-how-big-are-they-and-can-they-be-fixed, 

I have a theory and it has to do with the gentrification of gender or in other words, the emasculation of society.  Gentrification is the process of improving something to conform to the general tastes of those who are forcing the change.  Schools, for example, have limited the recess time with the hope of making all students conform to a higher standard of academia, great for girls, not so great for boys. 

Another example is found in a school’s desire to curb negative behaviors by imposing “zero tolerance” rules.  Boys often find these rules impossible to follow. You may have heard of the young boy who fashioned a gun by chewing the corners of his pop tart, he was suspended for being a boy and for liking his pop tart.

We have concluded that boys and girls should be treated the same, with some believing that they should learn the same way and be interested in the same things.  Boys like to do things that girls don’t. In our understanding of how to teach and raise our children, we have decided that being a boy is no longer relevant.  Our schools demand more feelings, more introspection and they demand that the boys sit quietly and learn.  The girls can do it, why not the boys.

We have discarded the family unit and replaced it with a homogenderized (made up word) familial facsimile where true gender is meaningless and the roles of a male have been replaced with unclassified expectation and variable standards that make it impossible for a boy to develop those foundational skills that transform a boy into a man. 

The Boy Scouts have recently abandoned the “boy” for the grandeur of political acceptance.  The NFL is filled with fatherless boys who make millions but have never learned to be men and our schools continue to move toward the feminization of learning, expecting everyone to learn the same, despite the rhetoric of multi-modal learning, ignoring the specific needs of teaching the boy how to learn and grow not just academically but within the very important aspects of learning how to grow into a man. 

Girls seem to grow this way more naturally than boys but they are also affected by this new paradigm of learning.  Both men and woman have suffered severe identity disassociation from the lack of gender specificity.  We need to move our society back toward those moral absolutes and allow both girls and boys to learn in the environment best suited for their needs.

I am grateful for my experiences as a scout, getting dirty, farting in my tent and laughing at each other for the dumbest things.  I liked starting fires and learning how to control those urges.  I enjoyed fishing and hunting and shooting, building things with my hands, seeing who amongst us was the strongest and fastest, who was the tallest.  I looked forward to summers where I often got so bored we did things we shouldn’t have and I liked throwing rocks.  I was a boy who learned to be a man, I am still learning but I feel sorry for those who will never learn because of some feminist ideal of what a boy is supposed to learn or feel or think, you’ll never get a man that way…But that seems to be what they want.

Put it off

There is a huge difference in appearance between my front lawn and my back lawn.  I spend much more time in my backyard than I do in my front yard but spend more time cutting my front lawn and trimming the edges, or weeding, spraying for weeds than I ever do with my back lawn, if you can even call what’s in my backyard a lawn.

It seems counterintuitive and in some respects illogical to worry so much about the looks of an area that I don’t seem to enjoy as much.  I do like the way my front yard looks.  I like the expansive lawn area, (the word expansive is a relative term used in comparison to other lawns in the area and does not denote any attempt to outdo the neighbors or to suggest that my lawn is better than your lawn, it’s actually filled with weeds, but their all the same shade of green, so it looks good), I like the way it complements the house. 

But I spend hours in the backyard, sitting on the patio, under the patio cover, gazing across the open field, just enjoying what I have and not being that concerned that the weed infested area that is my backyard is not up to par with my front yard.  There is so much that I could do to make it better, make it more pleasing to the eye but since it’s not a priority, very little gets done toward that end.

I’ve looked at others backyards and it seems to be an acceptable pattern for many of us to be more concerned about what others see rather than what we choose to live with.  As long as my front yard is in shape I really don’t have to care about the junk pile in the back.  The problem arises when there is nothing of value in the front or the back. 

Also like many of you, I get pangs of guilt, most easily set aside, regarding what I should be doing to improve my entire life but the rationalizations and excuses are always more accessible than the motivation needed to act; my backyard stays the same.  And as a true measure of my inability to focus my attentions where they need to be, I am in my scruffy looking backyard, sitting under my dirty patio cover, writing this blog about not wanting to do what I know I should.  Talk about a rationalization. 

But it is a nice day, perfect Fall weather in Southern California, I did cut the weeds this morning, so I am not a total ne’er-do-well.  I can get to it tomorrow, maybe…The question that needs to be asked is, how many tomorrows do we have left?  Does it really matter, especially in the grand scheme of things? 

I think it does matter.  it seems to matter to our politicians and actors and it matters to all those who have nice front lawns.  But since no one can really see my backyard, I can let it slide, living in a façade, as many of us do, spending our time to impress people we don’t even know so that we can hide away in the weeds, blogging and telling everyone else what to do.  I just realized I have a perfect life, that is until my wife gets home and notices that I haven’t done a damn thing all day, I guess I better sweep away some of the cobwebs, or pick up last weeks trash that escaped from the bin… but not now, maybe in an hour or so…

Loss of life

To the individual who lost a loved one during the horrific shooting in Las Vegas the only perspective that matters is how to they feel and how are they are going to cope with this loss and the unanswerable questions of why?   

Their feelings have nothing to do with politics or even the motivations of this now dead, severely troubled individual; this is a deeply personal matter of grief, born of tragedy and culminated in the final loss of a loved one.  To humans this is the ultimate source of grief, the supreme sacrifice of self to have to go on living without the connections and physical presence of the other. 

This is a time for selfishness and introspection, with a good measure of self-pity and deep sorrow.  Most, if asked, have little understanding of what happens after death with only a slim hope of what might be waiting for those who have passed away.  This sorrow, this grief and this selfishness is a measure of that lack of understanding and our deep hope that we will not be left alone, nor those who are gone will not be forgotten.

 Already the press reports are insinuating toward one type of ideology or another without much sincere emphasis on the mental instability of the individual.  We so want our side to be vindicated that we overlook the feelings of those affected. Theirs is a real loss, a tangible separation, an intense sense of loneliness and sadness.  In contrast ours is mostly the desire not to be blamed. 

This issues advertised from the media will include, as it always seems to do, Gun Control, Liberalism vs Conservatism, the Right or the Left, Free Speech and the need for more intensive laws to stem this tide of violence as blamed on either side of the political spectrum.  But what of those who suffer now, what of those that fail to see a way forward or those that are consumed by guilt or sorrow, what of them? 

The future will progress, one way or another, but for now, for the living, surviving individuals, not the 58 or so that have perished, but the one, pick one, he or she that is left behind, they need our help now. 

Do not let the Press tell you what to believe, I think they have proven their unworthiness enough to know that their motivations are not ours.  Choose one to help, help in any way you can.  The Media will not help, they never really help, they only profit from these tragic circumstances.  It is these, the survivors that need our help, they all need our help, choose one who you will help and forsake the political efforts to sway this tragedy one way or another for ratings or profits or political gain or anything other than the needs of those who are directly affected.

Send a flower, a card, a note of sympathy.  Send a dollar, cut their lawn, or wash their car, do something, anything is better than watching the Media bend the reality of this tragedy into something that it is not.  When we Serve those in need we gain our own perspective and insight into the lives of those who needed our help, and in so doing we are made better, stronger and able to withstand the inevitable tragedies of life as they are forced to do now.

Our Country, this Country is at its best when we are faced with challenges.  We put aside our religious differences, our political ideologies and our personal feelings and simply, without question move to help.  We decide. We move. We act. We serve those in need and those in need are our neighbors, our relatives, our friends, but even if you don’t have any association they are your fellow countrymen and brothers and sisters under God.