Balanced History

There is currently a movement going on to ban recognition of anyone from history who by today’s standards would be seen as a bad person, regardless of the great things they may have also done. One example is that some people want to remove George Washington’s name from schools and other sites because he was a slave owner. This is a dangerous thing. To judge the past by the perceived justice of today is not something anyone should do. Is it bad that Washington owned slaves? By today’s standards, Absolutely. By the standards of his day… No.

We as a people and as a society evolve. Our standards of good and evil evolve. That is a great thing! However, we need to let the past be the past. We cannot improve the present, let alone the future, if we are so busy attacking ghosts. We need to learn from the past, of that there is no doubt, but we also need to let go of our own guilt, hate, and victimhood of how things are now due to the past in order to be able to create effective change. If we are so focused on changing what happened in the past, we cannot focus on what needs to change now. If you don’t like how you are treated, find a way to make people treat you how you want to be treated. Yes, I know easier said than done and not everyone will see beyond face value. However, if you don’t affect change yourself, why should anyone else change?

We have to admit that we are all flawed. I know some of you are thinking “Well duh! I know that!” and some of you are thinking “I’m not as flawed as you are!” Guess what… Those are flaws. That is entirely your ego talking. If you truly want to admit you are flawed, you should have thought about what flaws you know about way back in your mind that you try to hide from everyone, even from yourself.

Without being able to shut off your ego and admit that you too aren’t perfect, you will never affect change in yourself nor in the world around you. Will you be thought of in two hundred years by your ancestors the same way we are now being told we should think of George Washington? Odds are you will be. In two hundred years the world will be an entirely different place with entirely different morals and societal standards. All you can do is try to do great things and improve the world so that your “bad deeds” as seen from the future, are outweighed by the good things you have accomplished. Kind of like George Washington who was integral in our separation from England, winning the Revolutionary War, setting up the foundation for The United States of America, and laying the path for all the amazing things we have done since. So, yes, George Washington was a slave holder. But he himself laid out the path for a nation that fairly soon after, abolished slavery.

Climate Change

The United States of America has a very interesting debate on climate change going on. Some say it’s real. Some say climate change is false.

The biggest contributor to climate change is according to those who believe in it, is pollution. So what has our country done to combat it? We passed a lot of laws on industry about how they are allowed to make things. How their plants can operate. How much pollution they can create while making all those products we as consumers love to buy.

This made manufacturing very difficult for corporations. They had some choice though. Do they follow the new regulations to make the same products with less profit? Do they follow the new regulations and make the same products at a higher cost that the consumer will have to live with? Or do they just move their manufacturing to another country with fewer regulations?

I’d say it’s obvious what the majority of corporations chose to do. They all moved their manufacturing! The good news is that this has drastically cut pollution in the United States. The bad news is that pollution in China, where much of the manufacturing has moved to, has reached toxic levels.

You see, we didn’t actually cut pollution. We just moved it to another place where it was less obvious.

If we as a nation are really going to cut down on pollution, we’re going to have to pay more money for cleaner manufacturing practices. We’re going to have to stop over consuming. Sorry, no new car, phone, computer, or sound system every year or two. We’ll have to actually use things until long after they’ve broken and annoy us.

The truth is: most citizens of The United States of America are too greedy to admit this truth. We all want to have our cake and eat it too, as the old saying goes. Sadly, we are not as honest with ourselves as we should be if we are those who believe in climate change and are determined to do something about it.

Look at Hollywood. How many actors claim to fight climate change while having several million dollar homes across the world… with multiple cars, heated pools, perfect looking chemically fed lawns and gardens? How many celebrities have multiple children? Pets? Or other resource taxing things?

If we want to make changes, we’re all going to have to compromise. Unfortunately, the majority of people would rather have their stuff.

So, the next time anyone goes on a climate change rant, ask them how old their phone, car, laptop, is. Because until that answer is more than a few years, that person is just pretending to care. 

Not My President...

Emotions don’t change facts.

To all the #NotMyPresident people. If you are a citizen of The United States of America, then Trump will be your President, unless you move and renounce your citizenship really soon.

For the Record: I hate Obama. I think he’s a liar, a racist, and all sorts of other horrible things. He’s still my president though. As was George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George Bush Sr., Ronald Regan, and Jimmy Carter. Every President that I have lived under has been My President. Not because I agree with them. Not because I like them. They are/were My President because they were the leader of my country. A country that is more amazing than every other country on the planet (in my opinion). My emotions towards a person do no change the facts of reality. Honestly, every single President of the United States of America since George Washington is My President. They have all kept this country going. The job sucks. The power is very limited. And someone will always hate you enough to wish you dead. That’s pretty insane when you think about it. And yet, every President from George Washington to President elect Donald Trump has chosen to live that life because they believe in the United States of America, its people, its ideals, and its dreams.

That’s monumentally impressive in my eyes.

So before you make that next post or comment about #NotMyPresident… remember, just because you dislike someone, it doesn’t mean that they don’t have good intentions or believe in this country as much, or more, than you do. It just means that in the U.S.A. we have a massive amount of diversity and that makes it very difficult for everyone to feel 100% content all the time.

Take a breath. Focus on your goals, and take appropriate action to make them a reality without destroying someone else’s attempt to reach their own goals. That’s what the “American Dream” is all about. 

It's Constitution Day!

The anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of The United States of America!

There are many so many things citizens of The United States take for granted. If you read The Constitution you will quickly see so many things you do daily that were specifically written out as an Unalienable Right.

Why did the founding fathers and those who came after feel the need to put these Rights in writing? That's simple. They'd just fought the Revolutionary War so they could stop having these rights repressed by tyrannical governments.

The very First Amendment of the Constitution was: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." You know when you say Obama is a jerk, or that George W. Bush was a war monger. Or you state that the Christian God is a fairy tale. If you said that before the Revolutionary War you would be jailed for it... sometimes you would have your tongue cut out, or just be hung for treasonous speech. Yeah, it really was that bad.

The Second Amendment was the Right to Bear Arms:" A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." Why was this the second thing the founding fathers thought to put in to place? Simple, again, they just fought a war to win their freedom and wanted to ensure that if anything ever went wrong in the future that The People would be able to fight to keep their Rights. They wanted as many citizens to be armed as possible so that they could challenge the government should it turn tyrannical at any point in the future.

The Third Amendment added was" No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law." This was a major issue in times past but less of an issue now. Still something to look up and understand the importance of. If you are a poor farmer and you suddenly were told you had to house and feed 20 soldiers, you wouldn't be very happy.

The Fourth Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Is to prevent legal harassment. If you don't have a justifiable reason to accuse someone of a crime, no law enforcement agency can search or seize your person, home, or property." (Again, this was a huge issue pre-revolution and there are even issues today along the same lines.)

The Fifth Amendment: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." This may be one the the most important parts of the entire document. It is also why 2nd amendment supporters and many others are against the current "No fly, No Buy" gun restriction laws the Democratic Party keeps pushing for.

These are just the first 5 amendments of The Constitution. There are many more and as a citizen of The United States of America, you have the right to know them all. You can read the entire constitution at will in many places. The sections I copied are from http://www.constitutionday.com/constitutional-amendments-bill-of-rights.html 

Symbols

I've not put up a new post in a few years, but I'm feeling the need to talk to the internet again. So, here I go. (As always Polite discussion is always welcome, don't be an ass hole.)

Something has happened to society. Something very sad. All of the symbols we have created to inspire and drive ourselves, and others, to greatness are now looked upon with scorn. The Flag of The United States of America is one such victim. I’m not exactly sure when it was first chosen as the whipping boy of our country but the most politicized era of flag hate was in the 1970’s during the Vietnam War. Every person who felt the war was wrong, and fought U.S. Involvement, started burning The Stars and Stripes that represent our country.

I will always wonder what could have happened if those who burned The Flag in protest would have instead waved our Flag while performing acts that they felt were more in line with the ideals they carried, for how the government of these United States should act. The protestors who burned our Flag instead, also, burned all their hopes and dreams for our country. They gave up on the dream The United States of America has represented since the moment The Revolutionary War was set into motion. Old Glory, our primary symbol of who we wanted to be, was beaten, torn, and burned because people became confused about what she is. The Flag of The United States of America is our goal, not our present. Every time something happens that we disagree with we need to look to Our Flag. We need to remember what we want to be, and realign ourselves with that goal, that dream. Only through action, with a clear destination in mind, will we ever reach the finishing line our forefathers set for us.

Next time something happens in our country that you disagree with, please don’t take it out on our one true symbol of hope. Instead, please raise Our Flag as high, and as proudly, as you can. Let her fly in the wind before all to see. Let her call out with every flap in the wind “I am still here! We are United in our belief that we are the greatest nation. We will strive to be better than we are at every moment. We are here to treat every living thing as our equal, for we are, none of us, more important than anyone, anything, else. We are the United States of America. We will stand as one people, for liberty and justice. We are here. We remember why we came. We choose to make our struggles help us grow, to make our country, and all those living here, the absolute best we can possible be.”

That is what The Flag of These United States of America stands for.

From now on, when in doubt, when in fear, or when unsure of what to do: Look up at Our Flag and remember the dreams and hopes The Stars and Strips hold. She is waiting for us to reach out and achieve that dream.  

Why should I vote for your guy?

During the election season in the States people always like to ask, “Why should I vote for your guy?” and while that question always has a somewhat nebulas answer based on beliefs, ethics, and sometimes just plain old Party affiliation, here is the answer to the actual question (yes kind of like 42 in the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy book series.)

“Are you better off now than you were before the last administration change?” 

Now before you say “yes” or “no” stop and really think about this question. On the surface it seems rather simplistic but in reality it covers 1) your personal life 2) your professional life 3) your country’s national standing and 4) your country’s international standing. 

Yes the first two are rather obvious but how many of you stopped to wonder “How the heck do numbers 3 and 4 apply to whether or not I’m better off?” My answer is to just think about it. Doesn’t the overall national standing of your country affect either directly or indirectly the conditions of your life? If the economy is bad then it will be more difficult for you to retire, take vacations, or to buy or sell a house. It affects any investments you have and any plans for the future you have that are based on those investments. So when you go out to vote, or to randomly spout your opinion, please take all of these factors into your mind first. Not only will it give you a basses for your opinions but it will also make you sound as though you have thoroughly thought it through. 

As for me I’m voting for my guy because I think he will begin the steps necessary to correct the currently struggling economy, which in turn will free up the job market for me to once again find stable employment. 

I hope you all are well and thank you for stopping by.
G-C