Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. —Declaration of Independence of the thirteen United States of America
Too often, people are looking to blame someone else for why things happen sometimes. Or they are always looking for someone to fix the problems that exist. Everything is cause and effect; things happen for a reason. But the best way to scrutinize a problem/situation you are facing (directly or indirectly) is to look at it from the perspective of: What could I have done or what can I do to change the outcome? This is the type of proactive approach of forethought that can and could have prevented a lot of the problems that we face in this nation. As the Declaration of Independence states, the people are obligated to change things if the Government is being or becoming destructive. At what point will people wake up and realize that we are funding and enforcing our own demise?
Governmental Leadership
People elect politicians, judges and sheriffs during the election cycles; many of which espouse that they can make a difference, and they want to lead the change brigade. In reality, most of them all have similar agendas: control, big government and little accountability to the constituency. This is nothing new; and when this persists, the people want to complain that the same status quo exists in our governments and communities. These political figures didn’t just walk into office; the people elected them. Many times, when I confront people about this they use scapegoat excuses like: “No politician is perfect” or “Well, we have to vote for someone” or they ask “Well, for whom did you vote?”
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” --Benjamin Franklin
You and I are not obligated to vote for the media darlings in any election. If one candidate is getting all of the media attention, does that preclude you from making an objective and independent decision? It shouldn’t. One thing that we must realize is that change comes from the individual(s), and then we can change the collective. We can’t expect groups and politicians to change things. They can be a catalyst for and inspire change. But ultimately, you and I need to enclose ourselves in a room with mirrored walls and blame the person we see in the mirror for what changes have or have not occurred. We must also remember that human nature is a key element to this, as well. Humans will try to get away with what is allowed, but not necessarily what is right. It’s kind of like a child crying to get attention; he/she will cry and have a tantrum as long as you let him/her. But if you employ a little bit of sternness into the situation, then the child will act the way that you are admonishing him/her to act.
"It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable." --Moliere
Aside from the political candidates espousing change from the current state of affairs, there are other incidents in current news that are or should be alerting us to desperately needed changes in the system. The recent judicial decision to acquit three detectives in the 50-shot murder of an unarmed New York man is making headlines. Police brutality and excessive force is a problem that has existed for a long time and is getting worse. This needs to change. But who is going to change it? How many more Rodney King’s do we need before people stop being spectators? I have always been the passive type and hoped that someone else would step up and make the necessary changes around me. But as I got older, I saw that everyone seemed to have the same thought: waiting for someone else to do it. Now, I act, and I stir people up and motivate them to think and to act.
This latest decision to exonerate the detectives of the murder in Queens, New York has to have some reasoning behind it. How can a murder charge be written off? Perhaps with self-defense or an accident as the rationale? OK. But a 50-shot incident is hardly justification for murdering an unarmed man on his wedding day. Let’s review the words of Frank Morales, a man who has studied excessive force and the militarization of the police for many years:
“In fact, in New York City, in the Diallo trial, because people asked why is it that the cops who shot Diallo 41 times. How could they have possibly gotten off? If you examine the details of that trial, which I did. They got off according to the judge and according to the various testimonies that were made, because they were not thinking when they did it, they were acting on their training. Firearms Training Systems (FATS), in their brochure, which the NYPD has a contract, in their brochure they say (FATS), by having a contract with us also gives you [those contracted with FATS] protection against liability against the use of excessive force. It says that in their brochure.”
This is insanity. So we have a mechanism in place where law enforcement officials can just turn off their thinking and reasoning, and just act on training. Innocent people are dying needlessly. Are people going to keep letting stuff like this happen? Will innocent people continue to get murdered with no repercussions for the guilty? The proactive solution is to not elect unprincipled and unscrupulous people to positions of power, and the reactive solution is to continue elect the same types of people that we have in office and protest when they do wrong. This makes no sense. These detectives, their defense attorneys, the Chief of Police, the Mayor, the Borough President, the Judge, and the Governor should all be held in some sort of accountability for this and other atrocities that happened on their watch.
"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." --Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States
The Government doesn’t have all of the answers, and all of the answers that they give aren’t correct. I am so amazed at the people that I see and know who directly or indirectly have their proverbial hands out at the Government’s trough. People expect the Government to rid every wrong in our society. If people aren’t paying attention on the road and talking on the cell phone, then the people want the Government to ban cell phone use on the road unless it’s hands free. Are people going to want the Government to eventually ban eating or drinking while driving? That sounds like a ridiculous question, but remember, people don’t just give up power. If you give up your power to other, then you have to fight to get it back. You take power by force, and the people are going to have to realize that, because the situation in America is getting worse. We have been trained to be lazy, passive, helpless, and entertained.
Remember the Patriot Act I and II? Remember after September 11, 2001 we have to all band together and fight the terrorists? Sounds reasonable, huh? Then why does the 2nd Patriot Act SECTION 205 allow top Federal officials to keep all their financial dealings secret, and anyone investigating them can be considered a terrorist? What does this have to do with terrorism, unless you’re covering up a paper trail? This should be very useful for Dick Cheney to stop anyone investigating Halliburton.
Remember the Victory Act (Vital Interdiction of Criminal Terrorist Organizations Act of 2003)? Where is the Y for the acronym? This act allows government agents to use wiretaps and other surveillance on American citizens' private communications, and then use the results of this surveillance in court, even when the surveillance is performed in violation of Americans' constitutional protection from unreasonable search and seizure (4th Amendment to the Constitution). Why are we being punished? We didn’t do anything wrong, and we shouldn’t accept losing our liberties for the sake of freedom.
"He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither."—Benjamin Franklin
The Victory Act also expanded the legal definition of terrorism to include drug offenses. For the record, I am no fan of smoking cigarettes or marijuana, but as long as you’re not infringing upon anyone’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then you should be free to live your life the way you see fit. But if Joe Blow is in possession of a few ounces of marijuana, he would be classified as a terrorist, and therefore subject to all the removal of constitutional protections and ordinary legal procedures of a fair trial that are associated with present terrorist prosecutions. What does marijuana have to do with terrorism? It doesn’t appear as though the Government is actually looking for terrorists.
"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them.
One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."-- Ayn Rand (1905-1982) Author
Health
More sickness, disease and unhealthy conditions continue to permeate our society. Grocery stores and shopping centers are inundated with wheelchairs, motorized buggies and amenities for the handicapped. Am I against those that are physically-challenged? Of course not; some situations are legitimately labeled as handicaps, such as Cerebral Palsy. However, many of the things that are handicapping people today are the result of some self-inflicted bad habits, such as: excessive cigarette smoking and consumption of alcohol, overeating, eating the wrong foods, not consuming the proper diet, not consuming enough pure water, not receiving enough oxygen, not eliminating properly, a lack of exercise, and a host of other things that individuals have neglected to do over the years.
I am a proponent of free choice or free will, but I don’t believe that someone who was born challenged and someone who thrusts himself/herself into a handicapped status are necessarily equal. One person had no choice in the matter, the other person did. So why do bad choices get rewarded with entitlements of extra healthcare benefits and frivolous lawsuit victories? Eventually, these negative lifestyle decisions will take a toll on the human body and overwhelm it. For this reason, Americans have been ranked as the heaviest people on the planet. As a nation, we are heavier than Mexicans, Australians, Greeks, New Zealanders and the British -- and they aren't too far behind us, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States.
“The nutritional contradictions of capitalism, where the ability to consume is the ultimate goal, has led to Super-size meals at McDonald's and a staggering obesity epidemic.”-- Greg Critser, excerpt from his book, "Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World."
No one is shoving doughnuts and cupcakes down our throats. We choose the foods and the beverages that we consume. As a result of this obesity problem, the healthcare industry and some political figures are finding a way to capitalize on our health. Fat taxes and increased healthcare costs is what the establishment is planning to implement; and this is done all in the name of helping and caring for us. Every time these people find an open door, they want to own the entire house; and once they own it, you can’t buy it back. We need to stop suing people whenever we gain a few pounds, or burn ourselves with hot coffee. Every time we make an issue of things that we can handle ourselves, we indirectly invite the Government and think tanks to come in and rescue us, when we don’t need to be saved.
"We could envision taxes on butter, potato chips, whole milk, cheeses, [and] meat."--Michael Jacobson, Executive Director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
“The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” -- Cornelius Tacitus (55-117 A.D.)
Oil/Gas Prices
Is President Bush the problem and the reason why oil and gas is steadily rising? Is OPEC the problem? Hugo Chavez? September 11th? These are all secondary and possibly tertiary culprits to this fiasco, if at all. For a simple explanation of this enormous rise in prices, please follow the link and review my article called “Can Anyone Make Sense of Why the Cost of Goods and Services are Continually Going Up?” In short, oil and gas prices are going up because the Federal Reserve is devaluing our currency. You can blame other things on the surface, but the value of our currency is the true issue that no one wants to discuss. We have the oil and the gas available to be used, but if our dollars are weak, then the sellers of the resources will require more dollars for their product/service. No President can save us, but YOU need to be informed so that YOU can understand the scheme in which most politicians, the mainstream media, public relations firms and others are complicit.
Playing the blame game always causes animosity and breeds a safe haven for the actual culprits of the wrongdoing. It's the proverbial smokescreen that is created in order to keep the masses distracted from asking the right questions, so that you won't expect the right answers. It is a craftily created game that is designed to keep you as a pawn in this life's rat race. But education is the key, followed by proper action(s) to correct the wrong.
Folks, we are heading down the wrong path because we have allowed the media and politicians to throw us off course. We have become dependent upon their intellect and insight versus our own reasoning and sense of liberty. No one cares about you and your situation more than you. It’s time to stop looking to Big Brother for all of the answers. Look at the mess Big Brother has already made for us. Now we want to continue this trend? Stop putting the weasel in charge of fox guarding the hen house. There is so much more that needs to be said, but this should jump start your thinking into more self-reliance and independent thinking, rather than being passive and dependent upon the Government’s perspective and intervention. Wake up, everyone! This ocean liner is going the wrong way and the Government is purposefully using a teaspoon to turn it around. Rowing with the teaspoon gives the unsuspecting public the illusion that they are rowing hard to turn things around. However, it is all apart of the ploy to make you think that they are agents of change. You are now better equipped and accountable, so go and inform someone and let’s really start to change things. Live well!
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