Personal - #501 - # 33 - Are we better off now?

Are we better off with the present T.V. and Cable?
Are we really better off?

Did more information give a better life?
1. Are we getting along better?
2. Are we using child labor less?
3. Are we feeding the world more?
4. Do we honor the female more?
5. Do we know more about our “political process”?
6. Are “family values” different?

Does new “technology” require new rules?
1. Are our First Amendment rights the same?
2. Does the Internet require modifications to the existing “rules”?
3. Does T.V. need a modification of the existing “rules”?
4. Has the “News” changed?
5. Has “entertainment” changed? Does it need a new definition?

Has more “tax relief” given us a better life?
1. Does more money give us a better life?
2. Does the world change with more U.S. aid?
3. Does the whole world change because “National interests” or does it stay the same?
4. Does a change in Presidents change the world?
5. Does a change in U.S. economy really change the world?

The “above” are just a few of the questions that need “opinions”.

Now, how about some “real” definitions?

What is “change”?
What is “the world”?
What is “a better life”?
What is “new information”? … What is the real “news”?

Until we have more exact, mutually agreed upon, “definitions” little can be successfully changed. We simply will not know whether we are going in the right direction or not!If no one cares….what then?

If we think about these things; life will be less stressful.

Is there really “a successful alternative”? ….( Is “just letting things happen” an answer?)

Personal - #501 – # 32 - What is in your mind at birth?

Does food, shelter, and survival exist in the mind of the newborn?
Does thinking, reasoning and logic exist in the mind of the newborn?

Does thinking about the future and our mortality become different according to our circumstances?
1. Do they arrive out of choice?
2. Do they arrive out of environment?
3. Do they arrive out of “being told”?

What tools do you need in order for you to think for yourself?
How do you avoid submerging your thoughts and actions by the force in the “pronouncement of others”?
Where do “alternatives” and “choices” come from?
What determines the amount of motivation …… the width and depth of motivation?

Boy, that’s a lot to ponder!!

Does a “blissful and happy life” encourage “motivation”?
Does material advantage drive motivation for scientific discovery, medical advancement, business success and activity, a “less stressful life”?
Is this all too difficult to consider?
Do you really have a choice, “a successful alternative”? …. (Note, I didn’t say “ANY alternative”, I said “a successful alternative”. Standing like a dumb animal could be “a successful alternative” to some!)

Do you ever want to consider these issues?
If you simply “don’t care” or are too busy with your own “survival”, you may take this way out of your present stress and discomfort.
To not consider these ideas, is to give up the right to complain. ….. After all, you didn’t think it was important to try to “understand”!

This collection of observations and questions are presented for your convenience….nothing more!
It is up to you to do whatever you wish about these questions.

Perhaps there is time in your life to “consider”, to be “concerned”.
Perhaps there is time in your life to share these thoughts with someone.
Perhaps you will gain an enormous feeling of “lack of stress” as you try to “share” your thoughts about these issues with others.
Nothing BAD can happen if you try!

There are no distinct “one answers” to these questions. ….. The main idea is to get “your” answers.

Personal - #31 - How do I protect my present financial and material situation in today’s world?

Will I have enough “left’?
What’s enough?
How can I figure out how much longer I will live?
How do I protect myself?

Sound familiar? ….. Make your stomach upset?
Who has the answers? …. Where can I find out?

Let’s consider…..

Each person has their own set of facts. Each person expects different things. Each person is “different”!
But each person has the same old questions!!!
It must be obvious that no one answer is applicable.

Let’s begin by separating things. ….Things that each of you must choose for yourself.

First: Will I have enough “left”?
“Enough” can only measured by “what you want”. So, “enough” must be defined by what you want; or, at the very least, what you can afford.
Where can I afford to live? What will be my expenses… my mortgage, my property taxes, my insurance, my property upkeep; or my rent? Where can I find this location … this state, this neighborhood, near my present friends or family? Is my choice practical, real? Who will be living in ten or twenty years from now?
What will my health be? If I’m not capable of taking care of myself, will my choice of residence be appropriate?

Second: How many dollars do I need a month? …. Food, lodging, medical, transportation?
How much does this represent in just total savings? How much does this represent in retirement income after paying estimated taxes. (After all, we realize we are now at a minimum government and state tax percentage.) Will I have “enough”?

Third: How long will I need this income? …How long will I live?
How long did your parents live? Are you in good health now? What do your insurance company statistics tell you? Can you get a reasonable answer from your doctor?
Can I augment my present savings to provide extra income? Can I invest somehow? Am I willing to take a risk of loss? How much of a risk? How much of a loss? What is my minimum?
For sure, if you are not able to face these questions, the future will NOT take care of itself!

At the very least, one should start getting some ideas now before you are left with no options. We all know that it is very difficult to face these questions. The problem is that we don’t have an option!! Begin now before you have to leave it to others to make these choices for you. You don’t have to have exact answers but you do have to begin to approximate. You may need assistance now in some areas but, at least, you are trying.

For sure, if you are not able to face these questions, the future will NOT take care of itself!
If you have not planned for the future or you are unable to plan for the future, try to achieve a state of mind of “mere acceptance”. You will have no other choice! Find out how or what is involved in “mere acceptance”. Many people in the world have never had a choice. They “merely accept”. In America most people have choices. It is a deep change to “mere acceptance” but many in the world have achieved this state of mind. One doesn’t worry about what we had, only what we have now!
There is a big difference between “nothing” and “something”. …. “choices” and “no choices”.

This is both “something to think about” and a “choice not to think about”! It’s up to you!!!


(Thanks for at least reading this!!)

#501 - #29 - Patience…. (What’s that supposed to mean?)


“Patience!!!” …. Just be “patient”!

Why? …. What do I do in the meantime?

Do I ……

a. Wait for a change?
b. How long should I wait?
c. What happens if a change does not seem to be “occurring”?
d. What if I am suffering while the “change” has not occurred?

Suppose I just wait…..

a. Do I “withdraw” in the meantime? (Do I just crawl into a shell?)
b. Do I continue my “suffering”?
c. Do I mentally “drop out”?

What “exactly” do you mean when you say “Be Patient”?
Don’t you think that the answer lies in a discussion of what this word really means?

What do you want me to do?
What do you want me to think?

This is a fine “generality” that “means nothing”!!!

Next time you’re going to use this “phrase”, please think about these questions!




P.S.

Perhaps “patience” could mean “not in a hurry!” ……(NO! “Not ever”.... but, “not in a hurry”!)

Personal - #501 - #28 - This is a beautiful story….. (from Jodi)

(This is a beautiful story...the ending caught me by surprise.)

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class that was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.
My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked
him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began.

"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse. God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.



You now have two choices, you can either ……:

1) Pass this on to your friends …. or

2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

As you can see, I took choice number 1. "Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.." There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. Today is a gift.


(It's National Friendship Week.. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you
consider a FRIEND. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.)

Personal - #501 - #27 - Just suppose America “drops out”……..

(Something you may wish to “just” think about!)

Just suppose…..

If America goes back to “semi- isolation”…..
If America decides to protect itself first; and after that, maybe other parts of the outside world….
If America decides to spend more of its own treasure on “self improvement”…..
If America decides to depend less on foreign trade and actively reduces its “negative trade balances”…..

And just suppose, in order to do this…..

America feels it has to know who and where its citizens are at all times….
America feels it has to protect its markets from “unfair” competitions through tarriffs…..
America feels it has to protect itself by pre-emptive actions, both commercial and/or military…..
America feels it has to pass new laws and restrictions to enable it to accomplish these tasks….

WHAT THEN?

Where do we get our oil?
To whom do we sell our products to protect our high salaries and standard of living?
Who will have the technology to protect us from thousands of free lance “believers” who wish to exact a revenge (for who knows what?) After all, we used to be worried about a mutual “war of mass destruction” between two main enemies. Now we have all sorts of “free lance” enemies with access to “weapons of mass destruction!
Who is supposed to be responsible for these answers? (the demonstrators, the media, any politician, or, our “elected” politicians meaning the Government!)

From where are the so-called “FACTS” coming?
From where does the information for all these conclusions, all these points of view, all these personal opinions, come?
Do we reveal our present “sources and methods” of gaining (what our “intelligence perceives as...) truthful information in order to “inform” the general public? (If we publicly reveal certain details, what will we be able to “get” as continuing “intelligence”?)
Who makes this decision?
Can the “general public” be informed, really informed, without losing our ability to prepare an adequate defense?

What can we do about all this?

Just forget it?
Sit back and continue to “live and survive”?
Turn our mind off!!

Just suppose we CAN’T turn our mind off ?…… (What could be our options?)


Instead of being so willing to be “correct”, so “positive” in our conclusions, so unwilling to test our assumptions with logic and reason and the opinions of others; perhaps we could modify the “volume”, turn down the excitement of “doing something” (demonstrating in the streets, talking wildly on the media, etc.) and have “meaningful discussions…… Checking our so-called “facts…. Looking at many logical and reasoned different points of view.

Do we really just want someone to “BLAME”?

Suppose we don’t want to think but we feel we have to “do” something?
Is the answer to just wildly “BLAME” some thing or some person?
Does this really do any good? Does this attempt to “solve” anything? Will any “Successful Alternative” result?
Answer: Perhaps we’ll “just feel better”! …. (Ugh!!)

Each person who reads this will have to draw his own conclusion.
To “think” or “not to think”… that is the question!!
Can I do anything about “all” this? If not…. To “think” or “not to think”… that is the question!!
Can I continue to exist in the way I have been existing? … If not, what do I do?


If “all” this gives you a headache, you decide!!!

Personal - #501 - #25 - Grandpa’s Nail story - (Character Counts – # 281.5)

“I'M BETTER THAN THAT”

Ron, a nine-year-old boy, was being raised by his mother who didn't know how to cope with his uncontrollable temper. She knew he was angry that his father had abandoned him and she tried professional counseling, but nothing seemed to work. So she sent Ron to spend the summer on his grandparents' farm. When he came home, he was a changed boy and his mom asked him what happened.

Ron told her that every time he got mad or said anything unkind, Grandpa Hal made him go outside and hammer a big two-inch nail into a two-by-four. It was really hard and he wasn't allowed back until the nail was all the way in. After about twenty trips to the shed he decided it was easier to control his temper than hammer in those nails.

"So," his mom said, "You hated the consequence so much you just changed?"

"Well," he answered, "that was part of it. After I had hit in all these nails and was behaving pretty good, Grandma Grace took me outside and made me pull out all the nails. That was just as hard, but when I was done she gave me this note that I've been carrying around."

The note said:

"Pulling out nails is like saying you're sorry but remember the holes you left in the board. You can't fix it by being sorry but you can stop making new holes. Remember, every time you do something mean and nasty you are making a hole somewhere, in someone. That's what your Dad did to you; please don't do that to anyone else. You are better than that."

"You know what, mom?" Ron said. "Grandma's right. I am better than that."

Personal - #501 - #24 - “Life is shorter…” (An email from Jodi)

This is awesome! And so very true of most of us...

READ THIS VERY SLOWLY... IT'S PRETTY PROFOUND!!...

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back.
From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word "refrigeration" mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched “Jeopardy!” on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half hour?" She would gasp and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday. I had a late breakfast. It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday."
She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect.

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet-trained.
We'll entertain-when we replace the living-room carpet.
We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating, as we get older.
The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on" and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips.
She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my hips with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...... not something on your SHOULD DO list.

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, whom would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you.

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round? Or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight? Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down. Don't dance so fast.

Time is short. The music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask, "How are you?" Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, Do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?
Ever told your child, We'll do it tomorrow And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi"?

You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast.
Time is short. The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere, you miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift.... Thrown away...
Life is not a race. Take it slower.
Hear the music before the song is over.
Show your friends how much you care.

(Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND. If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.)

Thanks for being my friend.

Bill T.

Personal - #501 - #23 - Doctors versus Lawyers

Think about this:

a. The number of physicians in the US is 700,000.
b. Accidental deaths caused by Physicians per year is 120,000.
c. Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171. (US Dept. of Health & Human Services)

Then think about this:

a. The number of gun owners in the US is 80,000,000.
b. The number of accidental gun deaths per year (all age groups) is 1,500.
c. The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is .0000188.

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.


FACT:

NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR!!

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat.

We must ban doctors before this gets out of hand!

As a public health measure, I have withheld the statistics on lawyers for fear that the shock could cause people to seek medical attention!

Personal - #501 - #22 - Oh, yeah!! .... Now what?

Is the very idea that a stock market analyst could get better information from a company, if he published a more positive tone to his report, shocking?

Is the very idea that a person who is more positive in his report or actions for a company more easily able to get higher and better information shocking?

Is the very idea that it is better to prevent the deaths of thousands than wait for thousands to die to prove that we really should have acted?

Is the very fact that so many political races are influenced by negative, critical, personal attacks shocking?

Is the very fact that thinking, rational, caring people feel they can no longer trust the information they are receiving from the various media and have simply given up and, no longer feel their vote is meaningful, shocking?

Well, what do you do about it?

Many believe that “opting out” or not taking a position is an adequate response.
Is, by saying, “I can’t do anything about it!” a suitable answer?

Is, by “voting”, a reasonable option…..
If the candidates are voting their own interests and we wait to see whether, after four years, they really represent the interests of the “voters” who put them there, is their any real control over the policies of the previous four years?

If the “people” are so disinterested, uninformed or unmotivated to vote, the future of the country is in the hands of a few; a few whose interest could be more in keeping their positions of financial reward and power than trying to do good for the whole country at large. After all, they react more to the perks they can bring to their constituents than the good of the whole country. (And by the way, most voters react to their own personal gain, than think about the overall good of the country!)

Again, what do you do about it?

These “Unfortunate” choices can be adopted……

I. “Opt out”!!!! ….. Quit!! …. Live as a disinterested person taking care of oneself.

II. Try to personally understand what is going on about you in the best way possible to you and then choose to live your own life in the best manner you see fit. (and be content that this is the best you can do!)

III. Demonstrate, strike, raise a mob publicly to advocate a point of view, create disturbances to the reasonable peace and tranquility that might exist in an attempt to influence a change by the “controllers of the country’s positions”.

IV. Try to influence and inform the few people in your own “circle” of your points of view, but do not seek personal feelings of success or failure by the reaction from your “circle”. Your success or failure must be limited to your own personal review of the way you, solely, communicated your point of view.

V. Of course there remains the option to run and become an influence as one of the “controllers”! (Bear in mind that a few “controllers” have quit because of frustration ….)

So what will this ultimately lead to?

If there is an ever dwindling reasonable and logical leadership? If mob rule becomes the order of the day, we no longer have the America we started with!

If we are unable to get the “general public” to really understand, and give a value to what really makes America different than most of the rest of the world; we’ll become like the rest of the world! We will no longer “be different”. We will no longer have the values that made us so “special”, so “enticing”. America will no longer be a place where people are anxious to come.

Would a place to start be, to see what new rules or regulations are trying to remove the special values we recognize in America. How about removing those people that advocate these new rules that depreciate the values that we deem important?

Would a good “measuring stick” be … “Does this add or subtract from the present values in America?”
Is the “controller” an advocate or a “criticizer” of this proposed change?

Again, what do you do about it?

And, again, these “Unfortunate” choices can be adopted……

I. “Opt out”!!!! ….. Quit!! …. Live as a disinterested person taking care of oneself.
II. Try to personally understand what is going on about you in the best way possible to you and then choose to live your own life in the best manner you see fit. (and be content that this is the best you can do!)
III. Demonstrate, strike, raise a mob publicly to advocate a point of view, create disturbances to the reasonable peace and tranquility that might exist in an attempt to influence a change by the “controllers of the country’s positions”.
IV. Try to influence and inform the few people in your own “circle” of your points of view, but do not seek personal feelings of success or failure by the reaction from your “circle”. Your success or failure must be limited to your own personal review of the way you, solely, communicated your point of view.
V. Of course there remains the option to run and become an influence as one of the “controllers”! (Bear in mind that a few “controllers” have quit because of frustration ….)


America is at a crossroads…. Maybe 5 years, maybe 50 years ….

But we must have achange or we will no longer be the same country!!!

(Maybe there are enough people who try to inform or influence their “circle” that the “circle” can be made so large that the shear numbers of those involved can change the present course. The Author sincerely hopes so. The options seem so limited. (Sadly, without these “numbers”, the results seem so predetermined!)

Personal - #501 - #21 - The universal “D. A. P.” approach …

(“D = Definition … A = Alternative … P = Purpose”)

If you have three separate small colored lights on your knuckles and each time you were presented with an issue one of the three lights would come on, you would automatically know what approach to use.

Am I looking for a “Definition” … an “Alternative” …. or a “Purpose”?
How simple it is!! No chasing the wrong approach, wasting words or raising false arguments!
No chances for misunderstandings!
Am I looking for a “Definition” … an “Alternative” …. or a “Purpose”?

The easy way to remember the D.A.P. approach is by looking at what the letters stand for.
“Definition” … “Alternative” … “Purpose” !! …. D. A. P.!!
No sense in trying to find an “Alternative” if what you really are trying to find is a mutual “Definition”!
These “D. A. P.” initials give you a “game plan”. You immediately know “which light is on”!!

Checking for “D. A. P.” takes away any feelings of indecision, hesitancy. In any conversation you can immediately be guided by what “ light” is on! You don’t need to “flounder”. Your thoughts are immediately organized. You know what you wish to find.

The “D. A. P.” approach works in every case!!

Every discussion or internal thought you have will become immediately organized. Clarity will come !!

It seems obvious that time will be well spent in studying and using this approach.
No one can “make” you!!

But “Is there a successful alternative”?

Personal - #501 - #20 - To choose or “not to choose”!

“To choose not to choose” is another way of saying “to opt out!”
Is this what were all about now? Do we go to war in Iraq? …. Is a “pre-emptive policy acceptable?
Do we “choose not to choose?”

Do we start other deceptive discussions like …Do we need U.N. agreement first? …. Do we need a “coalition” first? …. Is a policy of “profiling” appropriate for efficient law enforcement? … Is a “racial” component necessary to adequately report an incident or is this “discrimination”?
Do we “choose not to choose?”

Could the reason we “choose not to choose” be that choice makes us identifiable and responsible?
Could making a specific choice keep us from being able to hide? ….. Could “opting out” be safer?

Could “changing the subject” be a way of not having to “make a choice”?
Could loud yelling, noisy demonstrations, not engaging in legitimate and reasonable debate be a way of “not” having to “make a choice”?
Could excuses like “having a headache”, “I haven’t the time for this discussion now”, “I can’t do anything about it so why should I worry about it” be another way of “opting out”?

What do we do to encourage people to “choose not to choose”?
How do we make people feel more secure so they won’t “opt out”?

Is stating the real “facts” enough? …. Is presenting a “logical case” enough? …. Is giving complete information an answer?

NOT TO SOME PEOPLE!!!

If 80% of the general populace is reasonably “logical” what do you have to do with the other 20%?

If you want to stay “politically correct”, you do nothing.

If you want to accomplish something or change something, you have to “enforce”. You must have “enforceable rules”. You, also, must acknowledge the fact that certain people do not react to “normal civilized behavior”. Remember, this applies only to the cases where you want to accomplish something or, at least, change something. This has to do with the conversational environment in “community meetings and school classrooms, etc. Someone has to “remove” the agitating parties. This is NOT a “Free Speech” issue. There’s a time and a place where ALL activities can be exercised. This is NOT the place “when you are trying to accomplish or change something”.

If you want to “let off steam”, exercise your right of free speech, demonstrate for a particular point of view, etc. there is always a “right” place, “another place”.

There is a certain point of view that “allows” the forcible removal of groups that are preventing an orderly meeting or a rational debate to take place. This “removal” concept has to do with locations that include classrooms, private meetings, or any venue where the purpose is to change or accomplish something.
Again, two things …. The first is …. that this is “a certain point of view” and secondly, this is not an exercise in “free speech”!

And again, there is another point of view which “disallows” this idea entirely.

The Author’s thoughts specifically pertain to meetings where something is to be changed or accomplished!!! The Author , personally believes that there doesn’t seem to be “a successful alternative” to the forcible removal of agitators or activists who don’t want to engage in discussion but merely wish to express a certain view.

To have a Master at Arms or a Supervisor simply remove a person or persons from a group that is trying to achieve something seems the only way to achieve order and civility. Further, to state beforehand that this is what you intend to do is NOT something to apologize for … rather, this gives a clear description of “the Rules”.

Of course you could “choose not to choose” and be everybody’s friend. You could change your desire to accomplish or change and make this a place for everybody to have “free speech”. This is always an option!

To be “pro-active”, to “enforce” is NOT “politically correct” but what is your choice if you want to civilly accomplish or change something?

Personal - #69 – A “must” National change!

We have much to reconsider!
We can choose our leaders more wisely the “next time”. (…. Is there time enough for a “next time”?)
We must re-educate ourselves so we can, at least, speak to each other with understanding and purpose.
We must prioritize the most important issues, (the issue of National survival being number ONE!)
We must change our way of doing our business…. No greed, no dishonesty, with transparency!
In all ways, we must change our ways… No greed, no dishonesty, with transparency!

Is this possible? ….Well! .... “What’s the successful alternative?”

“No change” or “Little change” and the results will be the same!!

This is not a National change for the purpose of getting some solution on Iraq. No!.... It has to do with everything….our Economy, our Banking system, our Healthcare system, our war on Climate change, Oil, everything!!
Unless we prioritize, unless we have a language that everyone can understand, unless we get more transparent, unless we can minimize American business greed; we can’t look to our future!

What we can do is to advertise these changes. We can try in our own way! We don’t need big, national audiences! We must try, in our own way, whatever the size of the audience. If we are a spokesperson then we must try. If we gain political or T.V. or Media presence, we must accept these priorities. We must try!

Suppose we don’t even try? Suppose we just continue on our way? What can we expect?
We can expect in a very short time (say 2 to 5 years) a nuclear, chemical or biological attack in one of our big cities.
We can expect to have our economy and our National Survival Department fail.
We can expect to have the voices in America today, to amplify on the media, with the distrust of our present government and the distrust of our Constitution as an old, worn out document that no longer applies.
We can expect no solutions, just complaints….never ending complaints!
We can expect to have voices within America to establish a Caliphate type of ideology!... no woman, limited education, etc.
We can expect the rules by mullahs and there cohorts, and the “shariah” type laws.
We can expect a new type, a new form of government!... ( not the America we are used to!)

Can we avoid the national draft because of a “risk assessment of Jhihad?”

Personal - #501 - #68 - Is America, as a nation, in trouble?

In all this election hub-bub, and in all this economy hub-bub, have we taken our eyes off the real threat, namely Jhad muslims. Is the fact that the very nation of America is now threatened with nuclear attack, its citizens lives actually threatened, the existence of its way of life no longer protected by its two oceans; forgotten in the din of the media and the pundits and politicians.
Can an uneducated, filled with divergence, materialistic, inability to use and understand its own language populace even comprehend the outcomes. Can the populace even consider what it would be like to live as a third world nation?

Are these ideas too difficult?
Must we dumb down the language?
Does everyone understand the threat we are all under?

If we chose the wrong leaders (military or governmental) can we now change? ….or is it too late?
Can we avoid a National Draft because of the risk assessment of Jihad?

For these many years, we have followed the precepts of a Constitution… to vote, to elect, to manage a country in military and commercial ways. Have we made a mistake?
Has America been challenged this way before?
Is it the way we followed the precepts, the problem?
Has materialism and the so called “intellectual challenges” been too much for us to consider?
Has the life of America disappeared beneath these other thoughts?

Has the surge been a misnomer?
Suppose the surge was to give the Iraqi people a chance to breathe rather than a chance for one party to gain a victory over a country… the Sunnis over the Shiites over the Sadder type Shiites who also want a victory. No one knows what the “people” in general want. The people in Iraq have had a chance to decide which side they want. So far they have been unable to decide… Shiite, Sunni or Sadder Shiites?
No sum of U.S. money or U.S. human death has made the so-called elected “people” of Iraq a choice. The “general populace” still blames its government for corruption, still lists the U.S. as “occupiers” and/or still lists the U.S. as the root of all their problems. The so-called “surge” has given the chance for Iraq to choose. It’s as simple as that!

Do we feel this is a defeat? That all the wounded and dead have failed?
Not if the “surge” was to give Iraq the breathing room it needed to establish a reasonably free society from a ruthless dictatorship, war and corruption! But the “surge” was presented as a way of victory. A poor choice for the average American!

Victory means different things to different people….but “breathing room for a consensus to develop”?
An elected government that “all” the people would stand behind. That’s what we’d hoped for!

But!..... We got instead a squabbling, corrupt and unappreciated group of people that can’t get together in everything!

Personal - #501 - #19 - What price do you want to pay for “Telling it like it really is?”

Many people are afraid for one reason or another to “Tell it like it is!” Some of the reasons are obvious …. Politics, Media response, Social isolation, etc . But how do you make a change?

Suppose the Author was made the new Chief of Police. What should he tell his officers? If the choice of Police Chief was made as an appointment, who would he be responsible to … the Mayor who was elected, or the Police Commission which was appointed? Where do the people fit in? In the votes for the Mayor? In the Media’s acceptance (and hence the acceptance of the general public) of Police Commission? What about the acceptance of the policeman themselves?
What’s the price to be paid?

If the Chief is beholden to the Mayor, will the Mayor’s goals be the overriding goals of the Chief’s department. If the Chief is beholden to the Public and the Media, will the Chief instruct his employees accordingly? What about the policeman, the employees?
Can you make a Policeman work? Suppose he “just puts in his time”? Can you tell him how many violations he must report in a given time. Is that a “quota system”? Suppose he just responds to the radioed instructions from his office? He ignores other possible violations or he “safely” responds to a call? Who does he really work for? ….The Mayor, the Public and the Media, or the Chief?

What would happen if these facts were publicly stated? What price would the spokesman pay.
In the case of the Mayor, it would be votes.
In the case of the General Public and/or the stance of the Media, it would depend on which Public, which Media!
In the case of the Policeman, would it be the Chief, or his staff, or the Policeman on the front lines that would face the wrath of the others?

Who is willing to “pay the price for saying for what has to be said”?

Can there be any meaningful enforcement of anything without a specific course of action to do the “enforcing”. Can the people who do the “enforcing” act properly without precise instructions.
If you are in a predominately “Green” area, and your statistics and experience says that “Greens” in the age group of 15 to 28 years old, mostly male, make up 70% of the criminal activity in this area, are you “discriminating” or “profiling” when you stop and question a “Green” that seems to be acting in a suspicious manner? Is a “suspicious manner” open to interpretation or do we assign this option to the experienced men who do the actual enforcement?

What exactly do we want?
Who’s willing to “tell it like it is!”
Nobody likes to be told he’s wrong! Nobody!

But there are at least two reactions.
One is normal anger followed by a logical explanation.
The other is an irrational outburst of anger, disrespect, and sometimes violence.
If your job description were to “enforce” the law, would you act the same way to both reactions? Are there specific rules for every case?
If you might be attacked either physically or legally would you get involved or “just put in your time” …. (not get involved in the first place!)

Yeah!.. but what about the majority of the people that depend on a quiet, legal environment for their existence and enjoyment? … little violence, no “shots fired”, no robbery or worse….. Just a little peace and security!!
“Who”, exactly “Who” makes the rules?
“Who” makes the rules clear and understandable? …(not legal or politically correct jargon … vague generalities!)

Are we doomed to an ever decreasing standard of living because there’s no one “willing to pay the price for telling it like it is!” Just ask selected retirees that have little or no “price to pay” what the real story should be.

If the politicians take over or the loud vociferous activists become a so-called majority, we’ll have no change. It will be just the same old decreasing standards.

Not a very pretty picture?

This is just an example of “Who’s willing to pay the price?”

The example of the corporate hearings, the defenses, the courtrooms and their lawyers and the role GAAP ( the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) are more examples of “Who’s willing to tell it like it is?” ….”Who’s willing to pay the price?”

How about the Iraq controversy?
How about the election of judges to existing vacancies?
How about the “pork” in the National Budget?
Etc., etc.

There are so many public situations that could be improved if only someone was willing “To tell it like it is!” … nice and clear and understandable …. No legal jargon, no politically correct speak!!

Is it possible that those that might speak fear that the “general public” would react badly? ….

“What’s the successful alternative?”