(N)ever Changing Society

 Throughout history and I mean actual history not what we read and hear, many calls for change have arisen. Alexander, The Romans, The Greeks, The Germans, The Euros of the 1600’s until some upstart said “we call for change”!  Modern day it’s the US hands down. 

Religions have been modified constantly for the same reasons government policies have. Science as well. This is controlled today by government selected curriculum indoctrinated into students at all levels. “Experts” will be accepted only if they are on the same page with good ole Alex or his counterpart in any institution. Let’s look at this from a human nature standpoint. Look at the human psyche. From birth we struggle with the “meaning” of everything. The universe, the planet we inhabit, why we exist, whether or not any of our world actually exists and a seemingly infinite number of other things. How does the human brain/psyche deal with these questions?

Humans act in a very peculiar manner compared with other species we look at as animated like us. The first thing the human psyche requires is a feeling of self worth. We observe and come  up with the idea that we are the superior species. Hmmm, maybe we are the supreme species?  Wait, that would make everything our responsibility!  Our fault!  Ok we are superior to every other species except the Supreme one. Whew, we are awesome and nothing is our responsibility really!  Same applies to governments and political parties  Now to tie this into Science and Education. If people read history through the lens of the nature of the human psyche they could paint a far more accurate picture of why societies are easily controlled by The Man!  People pick and choose their “beliefs” to match the holes in their psyche. Smart people see this very clearly. Smart, balanced people that is!  Societies fear this person above all else. 

Let’s use Persia/Iran as an example. 

The Persian Empire was once the most powerful on earth. It was vast. Wars and progress divided up its once great population into smaller countries controlled by numerous dictators. Fast forward to post WWII when the balance of world power shifted yet again. A new dictator called The Shah was put into power of the still powerful country. Of course the US was behind this and profited greatly from this puppet government. Fast forward and the Islamic missionaries have convinced a large faction that their particular sky god spoke to them and declared the US “The Great Satan” using yet another sky god to frighten and enrage the population. The CIA read the tea leaves and actually incited the very rebellion that resulted in the Hostage Crisis. Oh yes, the hostage crisis that resulted in Jimmy Carter looking like a clown when the good citizens of the CIA stronghold called the US Embassy were released to coincide with Reagan being inaugurated!  Carter was defunding and whittling the money train that is the Military Industrial Complex and its cronies in politics and the media. He wanted to limit the CIA and their meddling in other governments. Nothing to see here folks. Today it’s flipped. The left is in lock step with The Man. The right is also but needs to present a conservative front lest their cult of Nationalist Sky God Chosen People stray from the narrative. But in reality it’s the nefarious nature of every society driven by the weak psyches of needy humans that perpetuates this. 

It was never better. This is human history. It is also our future unfortunately!  

 Jason

Please read all of this  

When you were born your brother was almost 2. Your mother wanted to be closer to you than she felt to Aaron so she really tried to keep you close to her. You wanted to do what your brother and I did by the time you could walk. Slowly you gravitated to going everywhere with your brother and me. This started you and I on our path.  

Our path centered around sports. I enjoyed recreational sports and you became a sports nut like me. As your brother lost interest we became even more obsessed. There were many fantastic moments and I loved watching you compete and especially coaching the best athlete who happened to be my son.  I was as proud as any father could be of you. You competed 100% and excelled. Even more important to me was you were a great kid. You didn’t cause trouble. You got along with everyone. Fantastic student. Great at math. Wonderful artist. I felt like the luckiest dad in the world. But I screwed it up. 

Being strong is strange. I came off as strong but as you most likely realize now that you are a father, I was scared shitless. I don’t need to tell you what our lives were like. You were the one thing I didn’t have to worry about. Wrong!  I spent a lot of time with you but instead of helping you stay on the wonderful path you were on, I ignored every warning sign that you were maturing. I just always thought you were going to be ok and figure things out.  What an asshole I was!  I think I was a prick to you because I felt like you were so gifted that if you didn’t do things better than everyone else you weren’t trying. Ironic because throughout my life I’ve been accused of the same thing. My motivation was pure fear. I was petrified you may turn into your brother, your mom or worst of all me!  I wanted Jay to become what Jay was meant to be. Better than me!  You were always better than me 

Fast forward to when the wheels finally fell off our family’s wagon. You were in a critical part of a young guy’s development. About the age Ty is as I write this. I had dropped out. I was spent. By this time my obsession/ignoring ping pong parenting of you had taken its toll. You looked up to me less and resented me more as time passed. 100% on me!  I was lost but that is no excuse. I had passed up on so many opportunities to make a hard decision that might have helped but I was stubborn and weak. So now you had less guidance and a couple of broken parents each trying to recruit family to their side. This at the time you most needed a strong male influence. I was a pussy. That hurt you. But not as bad as what I did next. 

Something that I realized was that as our family deteriorated and I wasn’t your coach anymore you began to feel like I only cared about Jason the athlete not Jay my boy!  Also I was learning more about coaching each year which allowed me to become less emotional and more cerebral  so you say me coach other QB’s with nurturing tactics while you and I clashed  again 100% my fault.  The truth was that I was so proud of you for everything you did  I felt like your brother was going to have a very difficult life based on his childhood.  My boy Jay was going to not only land on his feet but he’s going to write his own ticket!  All you needed was a consistent man  I was the opposite  I failed you  

A strong man and good father would have been there for you. Instead I spiraled so badly that I brought an even more messed up bunch into the mix and ruined any chance of being the father you needed. Today I’m absolutely shocked that I did that. I had a chance to tell you this and help you see that all this stuff you carry around is mine, not yours!  These were my malfunctions. I spend time every day thinking about you and my failure as your dad. The one thing I want more than anything before I’m gone is for you to see that I know what I’ve done to you. Then hopefully you can slowly let all of the crap I’ve caused seep back to their source, me!  

Jay I love you so much. I’m a very strange guy as you already know so many times I say stupid things yet hold in things like this that are so important. I wanted to write this down because whenever I have tried to bring any of this up you always blow it off like it’s all ok now. It isn’t! Please understand that my desire is to free you from my bullshit. You have enough stuff with yourself and your family.  

I’m putting this into the bunch of stuff I have written for you to read after I’m gone but I don’t want this hanging over us. It’s obvious that just because someone admits being an ass doesn’t make stuff right. It doesn’t mean you can forgive me or even get over it. I realize this. But I want to take steps forward if we can. Baby steps are fine. If not I understand. You have a wonderful family and kids that probably make you feel like I felt about you. I crave more time with them also. I love you son and I’m so sorry I wasn’t there as your father when I should have been!  

Just read this and know it comes from my heart. It’s taken me far too long to tell you this. It means little if I don’t follow it up with actions. I’ll honor however you react. 

Trauma(how it can benefit us)

 "Once in a while you get shown the light 

In the strangest of places if you look at it right".

 Robert Hunter

We lose and gain people in our lives. Sometimes people die. Other times someone moves away and doesn't keep in touch. In other instances people cut us out of their lives or we eliminate them from ours  These are almost always a source of sadness and pain. Is that really all there is to it?  Short answer is no!

Reflection. True reflection. 

This type of trauma offers a unique opportunity to check ourselves.  Most of the time our psyches turn to our "responsibility" for the state of things.  We wish we told someone we loved them more. I should have kept in touch. Man, I was not a very good friend, parent , child, employee etc!  For the vast majority of people this is short lived.  Nothing really escapes our psyche, only our surface consciousness. This state of semi consciousness is what advertisers call Top of Mind!  All advertising is designed to insure shallow thought and emotional response which overrules rationality and allows for fleecing!

The reason we don't keep these ideas for long is simple.  It's painful to look inward. It's easy to assign responsibility to outside forces. So our reflection ends.  The psyche does this in order to protect itself.  Growth requires us to fully embrace our own responsibility in all things.  But wait, it's not MY fault!  They didn't do, say, give, beg or whatever. Well if you bear no responsibility how can you make things better?  Hmmm?  You can't. That is beyond convincing the other party that you are a victim that responsibility lies with them.  Most who read this are agreeing while forming a lineup of all the offending parties in their lives in their minds. This is a great example of this common malfunction!

Why is this such a handicap?  How does blaming ourself help us grow in a positive way?  In order to solve a dispute there must be a reckoning. Not a reckoning where one party annihilates the other but one in which some common ground is reached. If you are righteous then the only acceptable outcome is the other party admitting their evil ways. Not going to happen. So finding some true responsibility in yourself is the only real asset you have to barter with. I will explain using my relationship with my children as an example. 

There are so many variables in this condensed story that any one mentioned could use as excuses for our own responsibility.  This seems to be the practice with us and is a good example of the train of thought I suggest. 

I was a very young, aggressive, troubled and conflicted dad. My decisions surely affected my children in many ways, many of them negatively. The path our lives would take had effects on them I see today as clearly as if they were painted on the wall. I reflect daily on my culpability in creating the scenarios that damaged my children.  Attempts to communicate to each of them that I acknowledge my mistakes and see the damage I have done are not too successful. None will accept it.  They all tell me in their own way that it's fine.  They say they get it and I did a good job etc!  The fact is I was good at some stuff. I don't need to have them acknowledge that. My goal was to allow them to heal from my stupidity while balancing my own guilt trip a bit.  This is another reason this type of soul bearing doesn't work unless the other party is motivated to actually heal and grow themselves. Hopefully my decision to write each of them a detailed list of my failures and how I see them overcoming them will help!  Since they won't accept it now, hopefully after I'm gone they will be able to!

Most of us have similar stories. Many people look at themselves in absolutes consciously.  We are either pillars of perfection or a dumpster fire of failures. Again this is due to the inability to truly reflect. Without this data we are doomed to our feelings with no guide. This is exactly why we have so many unbalanced people running around bouncing off of walls. 

It's traumatic to reflect. Even good memories remind us of fleeting youth, love, friendship etc.  Folks often ask themself why their parent, spouse, friend didn't like them, love them or favor them. The idea that we can look back and see all of the things we did or didn't do when we should have might be tough but it is the only path to the truth. Back to my example of my kids.  They all have thoughts on who the favorite is but their reasoning lacks any self reflection. Their reasoning is very easy to see yet it is not accurate in reality beyond how they feel about it.  The fact that there is a thought of "favorite" reveals many problems.  My role in each of their opinions is obvious to me. So how do we start the process of true reflection?  How do you help someone become motivated to try?

Vaccination Tango

 Sometimes life flourishes in an environment ideal to its needs.   The lifeforms in this ecosystem will multiply and grow stronger with each generation.  When a change to the environment or ecosystem makes it difficult or seemingly impossible for the creature to survive, something amazing often occurs.  Evolution!  The ability to adapt and evolve has been demonstrated countless times by all manner of life on our planet.  We know of a few Extinction Level Events that have occurred and can surmise there were many more we do not detect today.  You might expect to find a planet like Venus or Mars but no.  Our planet is teeming with life.  New species and adaptations to existing species are in progress at all times.  

Looking at humans attempt to ward off illness is a paradox of enigmas.  Let's focus on the current "pandemic" Covid 19 Virus.  The hypocrisy and obviously ridiculous edicts for masks and social distancing along with business closures and police state actions were bad enough.  The rush to formulate, test and distribute a "vaccine" is possibly the most egregious misuse of public trust(short of every war we have ever been in) in the history of mankind. 

It shouldn't matter which political party you belong to or if you are a scientist or a doctor.  "Trust the Experts" is a ridiculous way to attempt to silence legitimate questions and opinions.  Let's look at what all of us know.

We had a choice wen this Covid 19 was announced as the "Wuhan" virus.  We could treat it like a seasonal flu virus and allow it to run it's course.  Or, we could dominate the planet with nonstop fear mongering, lock everything down and call upon 2 of the most trustworthy of entities, Politicians and their pet Pharmaceutical Corporations to "rescue" all of us.  We know what was chosen for us.

So the "experimental" rushed to market vaccine is produced by 3 drug giant conglomerates and distributed to the public with a never before seen marketing attack.  Now we are being "warned" that there are mutated strains.  Huh?  You think?  You screwed with the environment of one of the most adaptable life forms ever.  You forced it to adapt or die.  Mutations mean more vaccines.  More vaccines mean altering our immune response.  You don't need a medical degree to follow this simple logic.  

Even crazier is the fact that people are developing reactions and becoming ill or even dying from this poison.  Many who have been vaccinated are still being infected.  The drug companies are already telling people they will need boosters or a new shot altogether to stay "protected" down the road.  I am in absolute horror daily at the apathy of the citizens to allow this!

Teacher Without Students

 November 16th, 1956.  A newborn boy was delivered at Encino Hospital in California.  His mother had decided to give the baby up for adoption.  The parents were a bit older than normal as they had not been able to have children of their own.  George, the father, was also an adopted guy who's adoptive parents and relatives lived in Utah and Colorado.  They were Mormons.  George was not a practitioner of any religion.  The mother, Marie on the other hand was the product of a large family.  They were as Catholic as one can be.  They lived one street over from Maries' brother Fred and his family.  Fred and Dora had just been blessed with their first child Michael.  Michael was 7 months older than James, which was what Marie and George named their son.  James Arthur Baxter.  

Growing up in a family with so many kids as the only "different" one was interesting to the youngster.  It always made him nervous when there were family events as there was a kind of pressure.  It was as if everyone tried really hard to act normal around him which only made it super creepy as this kid had a knack for seeing the true person in front of him.  Sometime around his 5th year the kid figured out something finally.  It was school that prompted the epiphany.  The other kids didn't act the same way towards him that his "family" did.  The teachers didn't either.  So it became obvious that the household he was born into was skewed, not the rest of the world.  This started the kid on his path of discovery.

Fast forward to shortly after graduating High School. He is 18 now and has had a bumpy ride up to that point.  Home life was traumatic daily as the parents fought constantly and took it out on the kid.  The boy didn't take the easy road.  A high spirit and self control issues had grown over the years of nonsensical noise to the point there was zero stability and nobody really steering the ship.  This led to a series of relationships with females and a lot of drinking and partying. One such relationship resulted in a pregnancy.  18 years old.  In college.  The kid liked the girl ok, but had no feelings past that for her.  Not in a million years would he choose to even date her going forward.  But, she was carrying a child.  The first actual "blood" relation this guy would ever have the chance to meet.  Thoughts of his own upbringing swirled for about 1.2 seconds until he "knew" he could not leave this kid to the wind.  The girl was clueless as to the world and how to exist.  The boy wasn't much further along.  This was a relationship made in Hell.  Not just between the boy and his wife, but between the child and his mother.  This was a repeat of the fighting in the home between Marie and George, but between mom and son.  Of course it always came to the point where "dad" irritated both for not seeing, caring, or taking the correct "side".  

There are many more things like the idiotic decision to pair up with yet another broken psyche in the form of a woman with 4 of the worst kids you could dig up anywhere.  This was prompted in part to the guy being basically shut out of his kids lives.  The minute the relationship ended and separate living arrangements were made, the guy almost never saw his kids.  The exception was weekly barbecues. When they did get together, it was Deja Vous for him.  The same creepy feeling of being an outsider was there!  This time from his own blood.  The guy was about 36 when this Deja Vous first hit him.  Today he is 64.  Four children and a pack of grandkids.  

Even though the “new” household was full of problems the family got together on weekends at my house  we had fun playing games, breaking bread and hanging out.  This was the last real family interaction including dad  The kids got busier as their families grew  Family interaction for dad was reduced to Birthdays and holiday parties   Dad lost his troubled second wife to her demons and nothing changed  There were very few opportunities for interaction  The choices were to push his way into the lives of people who show little interest in interaction or accept reality and live his life  His personality precludes number one so…

The real sad part is the opportunities to learn from him are lost.  The guy has reached a pint where he asks himself if he really "likes" these people.  Sad yet necessary for his own well being. So it is now not a priority to see family.  It is a chore.  It is at times creepy and brings up almost nothing but resentment and bad memories.  

Sitting here writing this I am overcome with emotion.  I feel a sadness for all the love, guidance and general wisdom that will die with me without being shared.  I spent a lifetime acquiring these and they are priceless. But more than any of that, I feel a huge sense of relief in that I will never give any of these people power over my happiness again!  Don't get me wrong, I am proud of my children.  They have done well taking care of their families.  Just wish I could have actually been a part of their lives.  

Scamdemic

 Politics 2020

The year of the "pandemic" called Covid 19.  Also the year of the Black Lives Matter movement seeking fair treatment for people of color.  There was another phenomenon unlike any I have experienced.  The frenzy over the US President, Donald Trump.  This is a breakdown of the "forces" driving the issue and will hopefully bring some clarity to the most emotional, regardless of their party affiliation. 

Something that has stood out as each Presidential Campaign and subsequent election occurs is how similar the procedures and the candidates are.  Sure each candidate calls the opponent out.  There are debates and commercials targeting the "other" sides' platform and the character of the opposing candidate.  But nothing new ever occurs despite the frenzy of the public for "change"!

Let's begin with why candidates like Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have been effectively "banned" by their own party from winning elections they were primed to win.  The fact is that they represent a "change".  Politics and the industries they drive depend on status quo!  The game must go on with no variation from the norm.  Of course the emotional fires of the unstable citizens are easily stoked and the heat generated used to drown any but the most stale ideologies.  So Hillary wanted stuff that wrested control from those who cling to it.  Sanders represented a departure from the quasi-socialist/capitalist/fascist standard US government.  Can't allow that.  If you have paid attention at all you have deduced that two parties constantly at war keep the population mired in rhetoric and hate to the point they don't notice what is actually going on.  Now on to Trump.

The fact that a guy who was a "Reality TV Star" won the Presidency tells us all we need to know about the lack of confidence the people had in politicians.  This was rewarded with an unprecedented media style comedy of actions which certainly could not be described as "presidential". This personality is certainly an easy target, especially to emotional people.  So as usual the entire campaign for the 2020 job has been nothing short of emotional rattling with no hint of substance.  

I ask the question often, "If your future, your 401K for example was on the line and you had a meeting to determine how the rest of your financial life would be, would you pick Donald Trump or Joe Biden to sit next to you at the negotiating table"?  Now that every right leaner automatically picked Trump and every left leaner Biden, ask yourself again with only the possible financial outcome as the variable!  This is not even debatable except for the most stubborn with justifications of morality.  Ok, so now we know that this guy is NOT anything like "politics as usual"!  Why does this scare the daylights out of the power base?  If we see that a guy that made his fortune using "other peoples money" and working out deals that favor his companies, would it not hold that this guy could do the same for our country?  Say what you want about kindness, morality or feel good stuff but the bottom line is that there is no altruistic part of our government.  Even our charity is targeted to bring some sort of return!  So let's expand the field on the 401K question.  Which world politician do you think would fare well with Trump sitting across from him?  Honestly no politician ever would stand a chance!  So if he was allowed to blow up the trade "deals", negotiate pro US deals, take us out of deals that don't favor us etc, wouldn't the entire world need a new kind of politician to counter the US advantage at the table?  

So why is this the factor that brought down the idea of the specialized politician?  Because it makes sense. There is not one politician in any industrialized nation that could survive in this new world.  Also, journalists have been making hay for decades riding emotional waves through the population.  They do not practice "journalism", only the stirring of the emotional pot.  This new world would require all new leadership in every aspect of news, entertainment and many aspects of society.  Those that have will do anything not to share.  

Feelings

Feeling Versus Thought

How we feel about something has nothing to do with how to accomplish/fix/help

How we feel about something does help to motivate us to respond

Our response has the best possibility of success if:

A   We feel something when exposed to it

B   We suppress our own feelings (personal prejudice) and rationalize the issue

C   We then meld the reality of the issue with how we feel about it

D   Decide the best action plan that is rational to the point you can live with it

People are subject to nature.  Nature can help or hinder us in many ways.  Our “human” nature is no exception.

The truth is a concept we have lost touch with.  Here are some trends that contribute to this:

1 We “feel” so intensely and instantaneously when reading or hearing any voice, headline or sound bite.  This blocks the rational thought that MUST temper our feelings.  Truth is NOT a feeling!

2 Why are we so reactive to stimulus in this era?  We have been conditioned.  Probably not intentionally at first anyway.  Smart people can see things ahead of and differently than the masses.  There are smart people!  We need to learn what they know!

3 The Information Age.  The wondrous cataloguing of knowledge and art has been overshadowed by the incredible masses who are losing the drive for “real” experiences. 

4 Playing physical games like “tag” outside has been replaced with watching others do it online.

5 The imagination required to bring the pages of a book alive or fill in the missing parts to an older cheesy movie is waning.

6 Money.  Power.  Pretty much have gone hand in hand for as long as man has walked the planet.

For us to have a chance to begin our journey to thinking correctly we need to understand how money and power influence our world and the sensory input we are fed 24 hours a day 7 days a week!

OK.  We have all heard this kind of lead before.  It usually signifies the beginning of an attempt to control our feelings (notice I didn’t say thoughts or minds).  This is the exact opposite.

Remember that wherever you get your “facts” from has to stay in operation, so they need to make money.

Businesses of all types, including government and religious groups must have money or they cease to exist.

We are so easily controlled by our emotions that every top notch sales guru has the same message:

Teaching will get you a teacher’s salary…

Entertaining will get you paid like an entertainer…

People buy things because the WANT to…not because of the product necessarily…

If you want to earn a teacher’s pay…TEACH…

If you want to earn like an entertainer…ENTERTAIN!!!!

We have become so accustomed to following our feelings that we believe we THINK what we feel.

The Information Age is not bad.

People are not bad.

We have lost (if we ever had it in the first place) the ability to think correctly.

Balance is key…in just about all things…well all things I can think of anyway!

What is the answer?

Thinking Correctly!