Society – DNC-Consulting

Principles of Value – More Chronicles From the VA

Millstone of Designed Incompetence Value is a term many think they understand and, more often, barely grasp. Ralph Barton Perry is the seminal author on all things related to value. As value is an aspect of functioning society and contributes to the wickedness of government, it is only fitting to delve into this concept with a discussion on value, using more examples from the Department of Veterans Affairs – Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG).

Value – using only the American Heritage (5^th Edition) Dictionary, a person would consider themselves learned to know that value is a price or return, monetary or material worth, possessing worth in importance, merit, or utility. Due to specialization, some would know value as the quality of a letter or diphthong, the darkness or lightness of a color, the duration of a tone or rest, or numbers or quantities expressed in algebraic terms. None of these are wrong, and each has direct application to the fields of study, but they do not encapsulate the essence of value.

Ralph Barton Perry expressed a sentiment I support wholeheartedly in his book “General Theory of Value” (1967, Harvard University Press):

“… Bridging the gap between common sense and science. Believing that philosophy must face the facts of life and nature, taking them as both the point of departure and the touchstone of truth, one can never be comprehensive enough.”

In reiterating and describing value, especially as it applies to government, I begin firm in the knowledge that a blog cannot capture all that needs to be said. As noted by Mills, quoted by Perry (p. 35), “The word value, when used without adjunct, always means, in political economy, value in exchange.” It is on this value in exchange we focus our attention, provided we keep a second thought firmly in mind, society at its most basic element is cooperation.

In “Common Sense,” Thomas Paine made this distinction, and Perry elaborated in his books on value. Cooperation in a society is the division of labor mediated by a common purpose. Hence the value in exchange is labor for mutually beneficial specialized tasks that promote society working more efficiently. Or, to better illustrate the point, you do not hire a diesel mechanic to conduct open heart surgery. The mechanic has value in their sphere, and the cardiac surgeon has a different value in their sphere, but society flourishes in the exchange of labor through cooperation.

?u=http2.bp.blogspot.com-fGEUjJsJ2h4VcJgswaisnIAAAAAAAABcsoFqEewPF_E4s1600quote-if-the-freedom-of-speech-is-taken-away-then-dumb-and-silent-we-may-be-led-like-sheep-to-the-george-washington-193690.jpg&f=1&nofb=1 Consider the role of the master builder in building a major building. Each specialized task, drywall, foundations, painting, plumbing, electrical, etc., must all be done on a schedule and the master builder is ultimately responsible for the entire building once complete. The building is completed promptly and efficiently through exchange and cooperation. But is the master builder responsible for the actions of those specialists; as it pertains to the functionality of the building, the answer is yes! Thus, if a plumber is stealing, an electrician is cheating, or a painter is not using the approved paints, the master builder is responsible to the owner for failing to monitor and closely supervise the subordinate contractors exchanging their skills for political and financial gain.

We must never forget that a reputation is a political title, appointed and maintained over time, and from the experiences of others. The relationship governing issuing reputations, which helps to promote or demote the master builder in society, has value, which is more than monetary remuneration for services rendered. Our reputation is not ours but was granted by others and must be maintained through careful action repeated across life.

Consider the following scenario:

“The Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) conducted an inspection to assess a safety concern with the new electronic health record (EHR) that resulted in patient harm. The VA-OIG found that the new EHR sent thousands of orders for medical care to an undetectable location, or unknown queue, instead of to the intended location. In December 2021, VHA assessed the risk of the unknown queue as “major severity,” “frequently occurring,” and “very difficult to detect.” Immediate mitigation was needed, but Oracle Cerner (creators of the EHR) failed to inform VA end-users of the unknown queue, placing the burden on VHA to mitigate the problem.

Beginning in June 2021, VHA staff found that the new EHR’s delivery of orders to the unknown queue caused 149 patient harm events. In late 2021, VHA staff provided the Deputy Secretary and the Executive Director for VA’s EHR modernization effort with information on the unknown queue safety concern and identified patient harm. However, after finding over 200 orders in the unknown queue in May 2022, the VA-OIG has concerns with the effectiveness of Cerner’s plan to mitigate the safety risk.”

The EHR contractor designed a problem, blamed the customer, who is also, in this instance, the owner for the problem, and then placed the onus for fixing the contractor’s failure on the owner’s employees to find and mitigate. Using the context mentioned above, one can clearly deduce that this is a negative value not aligned with societal cooperation. The result will be a taxpayer nightmare creating patient harm to veterans. Since Oracle Cerner is being paid with taxpayer dollars, do you, as a taxpayer, feel valued in this transaction? VA 3

Consider another example, recalls of products happen. Mistakes occur frequently enough that since we are all humans, we accept that humans are going to make mistakes and move on. In the following example, the manufacturer made a mistake, owned it, took decisive action to rectify it, and honored their commitments. The problem arises in the VHA’s processes and procedures that govern employee actions in response to a manufacturer admitting a mistake was made.

The scenario:

“The VA-OIG determined that the VHA medication recall process generally met VHA requirements and identified potential vulnerabilities related to the monitoring and reporting of medication recall adverse drug events and variations in the software used to record medication lot numbers. Adverse drug events resulting from recalled medications are not identified as a category or required to be reported in the VA Adverse Drug Event Reporting System. Therefore, the OIG could not determine if VHA monitored all adverse drug events from recalled medications.”

Did you catch that; established procedures lack a category to report and track medication recalls. A quick Internet search concluded that, per the FDA, in 2022 alone (data current as of November), 55 medical devices and 59 drug recalls have occurred. Yet, the VHA has a tracking system that doesn’t categorize drug recalls as adverse drug events. Why? Imagine getting both erectile dysfunction and antidepressants in the same pill bottle. Would not this potentially cause patient harm; of course. Shouldn’t this patient harm event be tracked as an established drug recall event, so all the evidence and information are in a single place, properly labeled, and recorded? Yet, the VA-OIG cannot declare how long the adverse patient drug tracking system has been tracking and recording events related to drug recalls and report similar to the legislative bodies for accountability.

Tell me, is a lack of information socially valuable in understanding the size and scope and adequately understanding the positive and negative aspects of adverse drug event tracking? Variations between VHA facilities open the door to patient harm and increase the risk of veterans going to a VHA facility. Yet, the VA-OIG constantly finds variations in processes and procedures between VHA facilities, recommending reducing variation, and the variation never reflects improvement. Where is the value? Why? Isn’t it amazing the processes and procedures are mostly sufficient, but the processes and procedures did not catch that information was properly being collected and labeled for tracking and reporting purposes? VA 3

If all your neighbors relate XX contractor is horrible to work with, do you hire them to work on your house? Is society growing with cooperation and building value if the contractor is always making a mess and ruining property? Why is the government allowed to harm society, stop cooperation, decrease value, and never be held accountable? Since all elected officials are expected to represent their entire geographical district instead of catering to their political base, do not all of the politicians suffer for the misbehavior of a few? Why are these elected officials not taking action to clean up the government?

Repeatedly the procurement officers, highly specialized contracting officials who work for the VA, fail a VA-OIG audit and use the same excuses constantly, namely the following factors contributing to non-compliance:

- - Officials not understanding their responsibilities
  - Heavy workload
  - Ineffective oversight
  - Prioritization of awarding contracts

Where is the value to society when employees use the same excuses, shirk responsibility for errors and mistakes, and maintain their employment at taxpayer expense? Does this reflect value to the taxpayer for their investment; of course not. So why is this behavior accepted by the officers and investigators of the VA-OIG? Society has self-correcting features that preclude the incompetent from continuing to abuse the customer; why have elected officials designed this abusive and deleterious department? VA 3

David Case, Deputy Inspector General, testified before Congressional Committees (SVAC) on VA’s electronic health record modernization program and stated the following:

“Proper governance and transparency will be necessary to get it right. Failures in these areas risk cascading problems that jeopardize the entire program.”

Great words, but what actions are you taking to reign in the cost overruns, the failed EHR which put patients in harm’s way, and is so convoluted that many employees cannot do their jobs efficiently and productively? The VA-OIG has supported through in-depth investigation that the existing EHR and the new EHR are abysmal failures, are expensive to maintain, install, train, and produce no value to society. Why are we continuing to allow Congress to invest in this EHR madness with American taxpayer dollars and debt? David Case’s testimony covers none of these fundamental questions, and the SVAC elected members never asked these questions as follow-ups to the testimony provided.

Interestingly, review all the testimony on the new EHR by the VA-OIG before Congress, and elected officials ever make accountable the government employees for success or failure. Those testifying never discuss the fundamental problems, those listening elected officials never express disgust (forget outrage) over the core issues, and the taxpayer is left holding an expensive, dead albatross. How does escaping responsibility improve the value of government in society? The government is duty-bound to help enhance cooperation for the growth of society; this is a primary duty of government. Do you see the government as improving or hindering cooperation in American society? VA 3

Repeatedly throughout the last decade of covering the VA-OIG reports, the VA-OIG discusses failed audits, improvements to governance processes and procedures to protect personally identifiable information, how the VA processes are inadequate and cause patient harm, and the list continues. The same problems, the same recommendations, and the same testimony before Congress. Wash, rinse, repeat, ad nauseum ad infinitum. I repeat in words of soberness, and with the conviction of someone who knows, the actions of the VA are unacceptable, and the politicians elected to correct executive branch misbehavior are failing their US Constitutional duty to scrutinize the government. These are millstones we can sunder from the neck of American society. All without violence, using the existing laws on the books, and concrete action can, and needs to, begin immediately!

We conclude with an insight from Perry (p.515):

“The master builder of social justice oversees all the diverse social activities and takes account of their relative importance in the community. But unless those who build know what they are building and are motivated by that rather than by their wage, the unifying purpose is the exclusive prerogative of the master builder.”

Because the elected officials placed in authority by the electorate are not motivated by building society, only by how much money they can squeeze, American Society is suffering. The self-perpetuating machine of doom continues chugging steadily, and until the citizens understand the principles of value and change the elected officials, then holding them personally accountable for powering the destruction of American society and accountable for breaking the trust invested by the people for the people, the course of American society is doom bound.

© Copyright 2022 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images. Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.

The Culture of Government – More Chronicles of the VA

Bobblehead Doll In the book “Common Sense” Thomas Paine stated:

“Some writers have so confounded society with government as to leave little or no distinction between them, whereas they are not only different but have different origins. Society is produced by our WANTS, government by our WICKEDNESS; [society] promotes our POSITIVITY by uniting our affections, government promotes NEGATIVITY by restraining our vices. [Society] encourages intercourse, [government] creates distinctions. [Society] is a patron; whereas [government] is a punisher.”

Why is this distinction important; only a government could create a punishing culture in the name of providing support. Only in this role as punisher does a culture of abuse survive, thrive, and plasticize words and actions of hate into support and charity. Society breeds working together and simplicity and are the natural state of all people. According to Thomas Paine, the government “Is a necessary EVIL,” breeding contempt, envy, greed, and malice.

As the Department of Veteran Affairs – Office of Inspector General (VA-OIG) continues to record and report, I continue to summate these reports. Calling for all free-thinking people everywhere to understand the core problems and aid in cutting this millstone from the necks of Americans. Until we can understand the principles which have allowed the government to infiltrate and supplant society, abuses, fraud, and waste will continue. VA 3

Consider the case of Dustin James Ortiz of Des Moines, Iowa, sentenced to 27 months in prison after pleading guilty to wrongfully obtaining and disclosing individually identifiable health information. Ortiz conspired with a then-employee of the Des Moines VA Medical Center to obtain individually identifiable health information of an individual without authorization required by law and then disclosed the records to a third party, as investigated by the VA-OIG. To commit fraud, a VA Employee had to cheat and steal data for personal profit. Has anyone of the government agencies considered the victims; no, because the government breeds a society of liars, cheats, and thieves to empower job security to those who officiate the government.

Had the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) been a societal construct, the victim would not only be compensated, but revelations of fraud and theft would be treated as they are, crimes against all members of society, not merely a criminal complaint against those who choose to take advantage of others for personal gain. Yet, how often can we express this sentiment and have naysayers claim this is not possible or euphemistic; too often, because populations have been carefully taught and molded into a belief that government is everything but what it is, wickedness, or a necessary evil. VA 3

Consider a VA-OIG investigation into Veterans Benefits Administration education programs where personal data is not secure, not legally protected, and this is designed as a standard business practice. Imagine being placed by legislators in charge of safeguarding taxpayers/veterans/customers’ private data and shirking this primary duty for personal gain and political profit. Is this not the ultimate definition of wickedness and evil? From the VA-OIG investigation, we find the following:

“The lack of standard procedures and oversight has resulted in personally identifiable information not being consistently safeguarded as required. The OIG did not assess whether any information had been inappropriately disclosed but requested that VBA provide follow-up information. VBA agreed to review, research, and evaluate the OIG findings and take corrective action as needed.”

How long will the leaders of the VBA and the VA provide cover and refuse “to review, research, and evaluate the OIG findings and take corrective action as needed.” History has proved that the VBA and the VA are masters of evading discovery, reporting problems, and fixing issues they are legally bound to follow. Why have they become masters at obfuscation; because the legislature (the US House and Senate) refuses to hold people accountable for their wickedness and evil. Lacking accountability and having people responsible allows for more examples of dastardly behavior in the name of the government. VA 3

For example, clear contractual guidelines govern how, when, and what can be purchased or contracted. An entire industry revolves solely around procuring items for government agencies, auditing those transactions and products, tracking the products and services, and more. Yet, what is regularly found in this labyrinth of legislated procurement processes? More fraud, waste, abuse, and nefarious creatures bent on breaking the rules. One of the more egregious examples was the VA-OIG inspection of the VA Boston Healthcare System. What was found:

- - From the healthcare system’s 421 open obligations, the team selected 20 totaling $20.6 million and found half were at least 90 days past their end date, most without being reviewed to see if they were still valid and necessary. Two had residual funds totaling approximately $4,439 that should have been released from obligation and used elsewhere to support veterans.
  - Of 36 purchase card transactions totaling $441,000, the team found 28 lacked evidence to show they were properly approved and that payments were accurate, and 25 were processed by cardholders and approving officials whose duties were not segregated as required. The team also identified ten purchases that should have been procured through contracting but were intentionally split into multiple transactions to stay below the cardholder’s single purchase limit.
  - The team found inaccurate entries in the inventory system that caused it to show insufficient amounts of stock on hand in more than 70 percent of tested cases. The inaccuracies result in inefficient purchasing and receiving and could adversely affect patient care.

In a society, we would not need the VA-OIG to investigate wrongdoing, a simple audit would be conducted, assistance in correcting errors made, and the victims recompensed properly. More to the point, the expensive regulatory bureaus would also not be needed to validate proper action was taken by officials charged with conducting business in the taxpayer’s name. VA 3

It is not a secret that the VA cannot follow its aborted processes where fiscal sanity and fiduciary responsibility are concerned. Imagine being investigated for failures and telling the investigating authorities the following:

- - Unclear policies and systems
  - Ineffective oversight of the closeout process
  - Contracting officers also informed the team that a heavy workload and the prioritization of awarding contracts affected their ability to comply with contract administration requirements.

What never ceases to blow my mind is that only government workers can use these lame excuses and remain employed. Employed on taxpayer funds, supported by governing authorities, paid on taxpayer funds, and never overseen by any political party or the constitutionally bound House or Senate. Honest question if you raised these points with your boss, would you keep your job?

I don’t like it, but I understand the need for the VA-OIG to raise recommendations for improvement in VA Hospitals, Clinics, and other offices. Continuous improvement is a process, and the process requires a long view and steady effort. However, if the same points arise inspection after inspection and the inspectors cannot see change occurring, then continuous improvement is not the term to describe what is transpiring at these facilities. VA 3

The investigative reports come in month after month, the same issues are raised year-over-year, glaring deficiencies are mentioned, recommendations are put forward, and the local site agrees to review, fix, and improve. Nothing ever improves—the exact opposite of continuous improvement. The question is, why does nothing ever improve? The answer, unfortunately, comes back to the difference between society and government, specifically how a government is wickedness personified.

Is calling a government agency wickedness personified harsh or cruel; no! Allow me to explain using a VA-OIG investigation:

“Beginning in the fall of 2017, former VA cardiologist John Giacomini of Atherton, California, repeatedly subjected a subordinate electrophysiologist to unwanted and unwelcome sexual contact, including hugging, kissing, and intimate touching while on VA premises. On November 10, 2017, the victim explicitly told Giacomini she was not interested in a romantic or sexual relationship with him. Nevertheless, Giacomini continued to subject his subordinate to unwanted sexual advances and touching, culminating on December 20, 2017, when Giacomini turned out the lights in an office, pulled the victim out of her chair, and fondled her until a janitor opened the office door and interrupted the encounter. The victim later resigned from her position at VA, citing Giacomini’s behavior as her principal reason for leaving. Giacomini was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to abusive sexual contact.”

In the full report, the victim claims she testified because she did not want this to happen again. Meaning that this VA Employee had been accused previously, or as hospitals always do, gossipmongers had related previous episodes. Regardless, for this Chief of Cardiology to feel comfortable abusing another person while at work, there is an issue with sexual harassment and abuse of employees at the VA. This incident with the cardiologist is not the only incident of VA employee sexual harassment in 2022, and the failure of the VA to clean house and correct behaviors anathema to good social order has reached a tipping point. No society or government can long survive with these inhumane actions, so why is the VA allowing these issues to culminate until it can no longer pretend not to see or know about them? VA 3

Society focuses on the victims of crimes; government justifies the abuse of the victim under the name of criminal rights. What happens when the offense is so enormous that statistics represent the victims? The VA-OIG investigated two VA leaders from the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, where a previous investigation had discovered wrongdoing. These leaders had promised swift review and corrective actions. What did the second investigation find:

“The investigation revealed the leaders’ lack of diligence resulted in delays and misinformation being submitted, which impeded oversight efforts. Failures included:

(1) Submitting a training evaluation plan without disclosing to the OIG that it was in its “infancy” and had not been fully implemented or even approved.

(2) Delaying production of requested proficiency check datasets that should have been available under the submitted evaluation plan.

(3) Providing three summary statistics with errors that doubled the training proficiency test pass rate from initial findings of 44 to 89 percent without the requested methodology.

(4) Overlooking red flags indicating that all failing scores had been removed from reported rates (with the total number of proficiency tests dropping by more than 3,000 in submitted recalculations).

(5) Failing to disclose concerns regarding data reliability and that data were excluded.”

Summing these findings in more straightforward language. The leaders lied and misled investigators, but since the bar for “intentionality” is so high, they were allowed not to have personal responsibility and retained their jobs. How is this an extreme example of wickedness; could you mislead the police or other investigative bodies and avoid jail? Could you lie, get your employer’s reputation tarnished, keep your job and pension, and stay out of jail? VA 3

Maybe the following is a better example of how coordinated and detestable wicked government is:

The VA-OIG announced “criminal charges against 36 defendants in 13 federal districts across the United States for more than $1.2 billion in alleged fraudulent telemedicine, cardiovascular and cancer genetic testing, and durable medical equipment (DME) schemes. The alleged schemes involved the payment of illegal kickbacks and bribes by laboratory owners and operators in exchange for the referral of patients by medical professionals working with fraudulent telemedicine and digital medical technology companies. The charges include some of the first prosecutions in the nation related to fraudulent cardiovascular genetic testing, a burgeoning scheme. One case involved the operator of several clinical laboratories, who was charged with a scheme to pay over $16 million in kickbacks to marketers who, in turn, paid kickbacks to telemedicine companies and call centers in exchange for doctors’ orders. As alleged in court documents, the defendant and others used orders for cardiovascular and cancer genetic testing to submit over $174 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare—but the testing results were not used in treating patients” [Emphasis mine].

Dont Tread On Me Do you want to see how corrupt the government is, specifically how abusive the VA is? Feel free to check out the following link, sign up for the email delivery, and become informed; then, you can make your own decision. Thomas Paine discusses how the citizenry builds the government by which they suffer. Have we suffered the slings and arrows from this government sufficiently to throw off the security blanket of government and hold the people punishing us accountable for their crimes against society? The laws of America are sufficient to correct course, provided the citizens are willing to reduce the size, and therefore the abuse, of government and return to a more societal and civilized method of living.

Hubris Ante Nemesis – Flash from the Eternal Semaphore

Bobblehead Doll As a kid, I read a lot of Greek and Roman Mythology. I learned some great lessons from the fates, the fabled battles, and the historical interweaving with the fictional. One of the lessons keeps recircling, “Those whom the gods would destroy first they make proud.” Except, the gods/God do not make men proud; men choose pride, then comes vanity, all feeding ego, until that penultimate moment when “Hubris Ante Nemesis” occurs and the bottom is pulled out from under you.

The fates are three goddesses by the name of Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the allotter), and Atropos (the inflexible), possibly the children of Ananke (Necessity); these fates spun out the woven lives of men and women on the tapestry of a grand design. Out of necessity, the fates weave, and what is woven cannot be undone. I can understand the mental comfort people might take from thinking that these weavers hold men’s destiny; thus, all success or failure is the fault of the weavers of fate. The Fates Picture, The Fates Image

Hubris, in Greek Mythology, is the god of arrogance. Full of wanton violence, insolence, arrogance, and who actively chooses never to exercise restraint. Hubris remains a classic example of extremes. Nemesis is the goddess of fate and revenge. Roughly translating Latin Hubris brings Nemesis to balance the scales. Nemesis is the humbler of men who Hubris have enticed into taking their lives to extremes.

In Judaism, the saying goes, “Pride goeth before the fall.” Or put another way, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” In all cultures of men, this same semaphore is flashing across the minds of philosophers and religious leaders, beware the tides of extremes, choose humility, and caution against arrogance, pride, sloth, vanity, lust, gluttony, and ego. When did we stop heeding this call? Why have these calls been classified as religious and minimized in all societies? Nemesis | Myth Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

Consider the political leaders of the day, those who think they are beyond the reach of law merely because they think they are the keystone in a democracy and deserve to live better than those who elected them to power. Recent examples of this pride are witnessed in Speaker Pelosi’s husband making stock choices when the company is about to get a massive windfall from the US Government. Al Gore compared climate deniers to the police in the Uvalde, Texas school shooting while jet-setting around the globe. He is preaching moderation and reduced lifestyles while he lives in excess. The list is never-ending, where extreme lifestyles are flashed wantonly, and suffering continues to expand exponentially.

Marie Antoinette was made famous for the starving and suffering by losing her head after supposedly claiming, “Let them eat cake.” Hubris snuffed out by Nemesis in a well-deserved act of humiliation. Yet, one of the things that set Greek and Roman mythology apart from Judaism and Christianity was the ability to repent, achieve forgiveness, and change one’s life being in the hands of the individual, not the destiny of the Fate’s.

Being called to repentance is primarily the realm of religious leaders, and I would not want anyone to think I am making a call for others to repent. Not my job, no authority, no power. Merely, I hope to help raise the perception of those suffering from the hubris of others. I also want to improve how I live. I am not the example to hold up to anyone, except as a warning, but I strive to improve. The poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley rings ever truer, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”

Our world, right now, is suffering greatly. Crime is skyrocketing; theft is out of control; violence, aggression, murder, rape, and so much more are occurring at levels not ever recorded and growing. Yet, Thomas S. Monson authored a book based on a concept of power, “The future is only as bright as your faith.” Consider this for a moment; we can have hope and happiness in whatever circumstances we face as a choice reflecting our personal religious beliefs. Yes, the consequences of crime hurt physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, etc., but the hubris of others can be healed. Victor E. Frankl’s book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” signals the same semaphore, your choices can heal the hubristic consequences suffered, and the future is bright!

Those who have indulged in hubristic actions can find peace, joy, happiness, and forgiveness. Those hurt by the hubris of others do not have to stay hurt, or hurt others, to find the same joy, peace, happiness, and forgiveness. Want to know an exciting thought? I am not preaching religion! Your religious choices are your own, and I respect your religious preferences, provided they do not infringe upon anyone else’s rights to freedom of religion. 25 Best Hope Quotes That Build Your Confidence Again - Picss Mine

I am talking about living without extremes, not religion. How big of a house do you need? Due to my violent sleeping and crazy sleep patterns, my wife and I sleep in different rooms. Because I am a proud person who, after cleaning latrines and heads for the US Army and Navy, hates cleaning bathrooms, we also have separate bathrooms. As a married couple, these changes to the “traditional” style of a man living with a woman have led us to live in a slightly larger home, but this fits our needs. Please note that my bathroom is not a filthy mess, but it is not the surgical clean of a military bathroom either. Nor is my bathroom one step higher in cleanliness above the military than my spouse’s.

How many cars and vehicles does a person need? I don’t know. I have friends who have four-wheelers, tractors, motorcycles, and a host of other vehicular conveyances. I am not here to tell anyone how much of anything they need. I merely postulate that you can make better choices and exercise less hubris through careful consideration and thoughtful discussion. The same goes for food, clothing, entertainment, and every other vice humans invent to fall into. I am not condemning anyone! I suggest that we can live well without the extremes and expect our political leaders and bureaucrats to do similarly.

Question 3 How expensive is the government because those who claim to be public servants practice hubris with our tax dollars? How complicated a process does a government become when government becomes a jobs program instead of a government? How big does a government become when hubris is practiced against the citizens?

As free-thinking humans, we do not need to be ruled with a brick stick to make better living choices. We do need a moral code to live by, and how you choose your moral code is your business. The moral code should include things like living within our means, not being violent to others, promoting good where we see it, and disdaining socially what should be kept privately, among other things. I cannot stress this enough choosing what you believe is your business. However, hubris hurts others to make oneself inflated, and that is everyone’s business!

Consider for a moment the store clerk who had to take a life to defend himself in a bodega in NYC. That man will be forever haunted by the violence perpetrated upon him, leading to the perpetrator’s death. The hubris of the attacker led to his humiliation but had consequences for society at large. The thieves in San Francisco, Chicago, and other places do not hurt just the business and local communities, they hurt everyone in American society, and their hubris is morally, ethically, and legally wrong! Hubris Quotes. QuotesGram

The murderer’s hubris affects society just as wholly as the hubris of a political leader who lives in excess; I see no difference between the two. Some may complain that murder and living in excess are two different moral choices, but those hurt do not differentiate the wound, so why should I? Is not a life lost in murder? Is not a life lost when the excesses of others lead them to use the power of government to steal, cheat, and lie in the name of government business?

Consider illegal immigration as the theft it is, and we can see how hubris negatively influences the originating country, pushing the poor out and the host country where the poor want to reside illegally. Does this mean immigration is wrong; absolutely not! Immigration includes assimilation, illegal immigration does not, and those practicing illegal immigration, promoting, and facilitating are all practicing hubris for personal power, wealth, and gain. Are there those in the illegal immigration classes who are the “Sons of Mary;” indeed. But the majority are merely perpetuating hubris with the resulting consequences in increased drug trafficking, sex trafficking, disease spread, and a host of other social ills.

I admit the murders of millions in Nazi Germany under Hitler were terrible, but how is this any different from Mao using government powers to kill millions by withholding food, clothing, and housing from those who disagreed politically, religiously, or personally? Or any different than Xi Jinping doing similarly to the Uyghur populations? What is different between Marie Antoinette and Marx or Stalin? How are these actions any other than what the government has done under the excuse of Covid? Did not millions die while political leaders lived in excess, flaunted their hubris, and stole from those who put them in power?

Under communism in the USSR, the people lived in abject misery, while those who considered themselves elite grew fat and lazy, all in the name of helping, providing, caring, and progress. Communist Cuba and the disaster called Venezuela are additional examples of what occurs when hubris corrupts governments and society is left to suffer while the leaders live lives of excess. America used to be a capitalistic country but is now a mix of socialism and communism under the guise of capitalism. The hubristic lifestyles of those in power, their lackeys, flunkeys, and bureaucrats, are all at the taxpayers’ expense. What is the difference between hubris in the communist USSR and America?

I am not claiming that anyone is doing anything inherently wrong. Our choices to live an extreme lifestyle breed pride, vanity, ego, narcissism, and a host of other social ills; these social ills breed expanses to government, creating red tape, tax increases, and socialism/communism as measures to improve equality. What happens when the hubris grows too big, war, revolutionary governments, and destruction. The mythological Greeks would call this the coming of Nemesis to cull the acts of Hubris. Judaism and Christianity would discuss balancing the scales of justice with mercy. Other religions would discuss balance, choice, and compounding accountability for choices. All truths flashed from an eternal semaphore, where man tries to explain the loss, putting morales to the stories and trying to pass along a truth grasped at, that men make choices, and when those choices include extremes, the consequence is death.

Knowledge Check! Is the future really as bright as our faith; YES! What we choose to believe in, how we choose to exercise belief, and the need for freedom of religion to keep men on equal grounds, are all pillars to helping man live life without extremes. Extremes breed death; living without extremes creates life; can we at least learn this lesson? I hope so.

Courtesy: The Key to Civil Society

Not to state the obvious, Roe v. Wade has been rescinded, and the political left has become the antithesis of civil society. Acting in a manner that is rude, boorish, and bloody awful. I know sugar-hyped, caffeine-strung-out, two-years-old who behave better than the supposed adults rioting, looting, and threatening violence. Frankly, after the summer of rage (2020), I am fed up with the media cheerleading criminal behavior in the name of expressing themselves; let us now affirm and cherish as sacred courtesy as the preeminent civil virtue needed in society.

Elder Marvin J. Ashton, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints (October 1976), addressed the topic of courtesy while discussing self-management. Quoting Elder Ashton, “Courtesy and self-respect are necessary ingredients” in properly being a member of any society, business, family, etc. In a previous article, the discourteous behavior of the political left was discussed, especially those who choose to join the LGBTQ+ communities. Why has courtesy dropped so precipitously in American society and too other cultures across the globe? Elder Ashton discusses the answer:

“Seeing men and women who think, speak, and act with propriety in any community or personal situation is refreshing and uplifting. Good manners are necessary for the decency and peace of community living. [Good Manners] should be a matter of grave concern to all, yet we hear and read less about their cultivation than we do about dieting and “daily dozens” to enhance our personal acceptance and development.”

Stemming from self-discipline, courtesy is an outward expression of inner strength, and our manners precede us into new situations. As a kid, one of the deadliest sins we could commit was being late to an appointment, meeting, or scheduled event. You could lose your temper, drop the worst language, but if you were late, you were in big trouble! Sure, foul language was a punishment multiplier but was a punishment reducer if you were not late. In the US Army, we were taught if you are not 15-minutes early, you are late. 15-minutes early was on time, building the mental toughness to understand the military requirement of “Hurry up and wait.”

Yet, what do we see too often since 2000, less and less is society expecting a person to be “on time,” let alone early to a scheduled appointment. Worse, recently, I had a doctor’s appointment, and the staff in the office were grateful I had shown up, let alone was 15-minutes early to my appointment. When further discussed, the conversation drifted to how people do not call to cancel, show up hours late, and still expect to be seen, and how the staff was forced to work overtime when people showed up late. The provider felt compelled to see these patients, even though doing so meant staying late. Importantly, sourced from Elder Ashton, serenity and poise are the companions of those who practice courtesy and judgment to always be on time.

As self-discipline has been reduced, social interactions have also declined as people feel attacked when courtesy is absent. Worse, if I do not believe the same as you, social norms state I deserve to be attacked, even physically attacked, and this atrocious behavior is my fault for not having the courtesy to believe the same as you. No! This is not courtesy, self-discipline, or proper self-management, and I refuse to spend another microsecond being abused!

What is courtesy?

Jim Butcher is correct, “If you can’t manage courtesy, try silence.” In defining courtesy, the dictionary refers to courtesy as “polite behavior” and “indulgence.” Yet, I feel this is barely scratching the surface on defining courtesy, especially since indulgence is not a strong suit of mine. Courtesy is a willingness, and ability, to properly relate to others. Courtesy requires humility or a humble approach to social interactions. Elder Ashton was clear, “Proper self-management will permit us to be a team member first, a coach, captain, or superstar second.” Do we understand, and will we willingly accept, the role of a team member, participant, or active and engaged audience?

Early in life, I had some lessons forcibly taught me. Elder Ashton sums up the lessons:

“Good health habits, integrity, bearing, mannerisms, conversation, and self-control can be powerful assets in one’s balance sheet. These traits outwardly reflect the views of the management. Integrity within oneself makes it possible for honesty with God, family, and all other daily associates. A person with integrity within himself will also have it in his relationship with others.”

At my current stage of life, I lack a “cherub-like demeanor” with anyone who tries to steal, infringe upon, or impugn my integrity. This is wrong, and I struggle daily with the slings and arrows of our discourteous society. Yet, still, we find a need to define courtesy, and while healthy eating, exercise, and patience help me in my struggles, these other aspects of courtesy remain invaluable.

Courtesy, as an extension of self-respect and self-discipline, generates improved mental and physical health, further promoting courteous living and mental peace needed to suffer the fools slinging mud and practicing violence. Do we understand the connection being discussed; Elder Ashton affirms, “our self-image and general conduct [observed through] dress, grooming, and hair standards, moderation of voice, use of worthy language, good manners, respect for other’s rights.” However, does this define courtesy; not really, but they form the core of actions witnessed by those with self-respect and self-discipline.

Consider the recent media coverage of the two camps prominent in the Roe v. Wade protests since late February/early March. The dress, language, general conduct, manners, and moderation of voice distinctly identified which camp one woman belonged to or another. The distinction was easily observed long before either camp opened their mouths. More to the point, look at the Republican and Democrat audiences at their respective national conventions. The media coverage never ceases to amaze me, the camera operators and producers work tirelessly to not fuel stereotypes, but even then, the audiences are clearly distinct.

Elder Ashton states and I affirm in the strongest language, “In any community or personal situation, it is refreshing and uplifting to see men and women who think, speak, and act with propriety.” Having traveled amongst incredibly diverse global cultures, it does not matter where you are or the culture you originate from; it is mentally and physically refreshing to be among people who act with propriety and courtesy and live with self-respect and self-discipline. Clearly, courtesy is at its best when it is least obvious, and the least apparent; the greater self-respect shines through the actions and speech of courteous people. Courtesy is a manner of living; it is a lifestyle choice and is not merely a religious thing stemming from a Judeo-Christian moral code (the Ten Commandments). Aristotle is quoted saying, “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.” Consider these two quotes for a moment; courtesy is an action displaying excellence, and courtesy is courage. To Jacques Maritain goes the final word on defining courtesy, “Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.”

Thus, gratitude, excellence, and gratitude are mere pieces of courteous behavior. Interestingly, I find the best lessons on courteous behavior have arrived from the most disgustingly discourteous people. In the US Army, I was called out by an incredibly courteous person for my language. In the US Navy, I learned why courteous language was required through observing the consequences of the discourteous around me. Several department members used horrific language, acted in manners revealing their lack of self-respect, and then cursed the gods for their predicament with women and money.

I am not saying that courteous living makes people rich or loved. I merely relate that life is better the more I struggle to keep my cherub-like demeanor when stressed by those with manners more closely resembling pigs in rut than men with the potential to become God. William Wordsworth stated in his writing, “Ode: Intimations of Immortality:”

“Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting. The soul that rises with us, our life’s star, hath had elsewhere its setting, and cometh from afar: not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory do we come from God, who is our home.”

Disregarding religion for a moment, man has a tremendous imagination, but no religion yet has a discourteous god at its center. Let us so live, with courtesy, self-respect, and self-discipline, that when we return to the God who made us, we trail clouds of glory as a mark of gratitude and courtesy.

Things Learned About Animals: Lesson 1

Mumble As a teenager, I worked on a dairy farm in Morrill, Maine, and later as a hired hand on a sheep ranch in Bluebell, Utah. Often growing up, my family had chickens, ducks, geese, goats, pigs, cats, and dogs. There are several lessons I feel we could learn from the animals. In discussing the animals, you are left to choose whether the lesson applies to you or not. I am not here to convince anyone, I merely relate what I have observed and the lessons I learned. If you can use the lesson to improve your life, I have achieved my goal. If you choose not to like the lesson for any reason, happily know you are not the audience intended, and move on smartly.

Animal Gender

Let me be perfectly clear, gender is an eternal construct, is established in the first building blocks of a body, and cannot be changed. Consider for a moment with me the steps in the gestation process of any animal. The egg is fertilized, and the fertilization process is self-explanatory, needing no additional discussion from me. After the egg is fertilized by sperm from a male, the egg from the female becomes a zygote. This clump of cells shortly gender is known, and the biological differences between a male and a female begin. Egg fertilization and development | Download Scientific Diagram

Males develop larger lungs, denser bones, and other chemical and biological differences. Females develop smaller lung capacity, less dense bones, and other chemical and biological differences. We had a female goat who liked to mount other female goats. While this was highly uncomfortable for the mounted female goat and generally produced fights between the females, we never worried about the goats becoming pregnant. Interestingly, after this female goat had been impregnated, this female stopped mounting other female goats and was a great mother of kids. Not speaking goat, I never understood why she mounted other females in what could have been considered her teenage years; one thing was sure, gender did not change because the goat was confused.

It never ceased to amaze me that one could reliably tell the males from the females almost immediately from birth. Due to their birth size, their growth, and their respective attitudes. In observing a group of kittens, the males would dominate the females for momma’s attention, the best places to nurse, and innately knew they were male. The females were smaller, leaner, and sometimes just as feisty and stubborn as the males; they knew they were different from the males.

Baby Cows and Calves Later while tending sheep, another interesting lesson was learned regarding gender. Ewes, female sheep, who had lost their lambs, knew somehow if a misgendered animal was placed before them and drove that animal away. That ewe knew she had birthed a male or female lamb, and any orphan trying to feed would not do; only orphans of the same gender, wearing the skins of their original lamb, were allowed to become a stepchild and be accepted if the ewe permitted them.

Another lesson learned watching a shepherd was the decisions of the ewes. I saw ewes stand next to a stillborn lamb until the shepherd collected that lamb for disposal. Crying, mourning, and sometimes choosing to end their life by not eating instead of adopting a motherless lamb. I am not anthropomorphizing an animal here, that mother losing her lamb cried, mourned, and entered a depression where the ewe chose to join her lamb in death, and regrettably it did not happen only once or twice. I do not know if the same happens for goats, cows, or other animals. I know it happens for mother cats and sheep as I have observed these animals and witnessed this event for myself.

On the topic of orphaned lambs, I noticed something important, lambs with mothers, even adopted mothers, were less daring, got into less hazardous situations, and generally were calmer socially. Orphan lambs were wild, got into trouble, did not come to eat without insistence, and several times did not learn from past mistakes, injured, and sometimes died. I do not know why orphaned lambs acted this way, and without anthropomorphizing, an animal cannot dictate well what I sense is the answer. I know for certain that ewes impart information to lambs, which is an essential aspect of the health and safety of the herd.

A mother goat, sheep, horse, cat, etc., knows their children, numbers their children, and looks after them. I witnessed a mother goat kicking the head of a kid who belonged to another goat but who was hungry and wanted food. Driving that kid off to find their mother relentlessly, and learned something of note. At first, I thought this was just an ornery goat thing, but then I saw a horse, a mother pig, a mother cat, and other animal mothers repeat the lesson learned about mothers knowing and numbering their children. A rare mother indeed will accept an animal orphan, and there is order in the animal kingdom!

Order in the Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species - Várias Classes Consider with me a process all herd managers perform, the castration process. A bull castrated does not grow the female reproductive organs and becomes a cow. A castrated lamb does not change gender after castration; even if that lamb is provided hormones from female animals, that lamb is male. A neutered cat does not regrow new reproductive organs or change genders; from birth to death, the gender of that animal is cast, they do not change, and their instincts remain embedded in that animal.

Order is created and not disordered merely due to the loss of a few reproductive organs. Mothers choose to allow orphans to replace their children or become their children. Some animal fathers are part of their children’s lives; others grow merely with the input of their mothers. Regardless, great order is found and maintained in the animal kingdom over roles assigned by gender at birth.

Allow me to elaborate with some observations. A ewe whom the shepherd relied upon to adopt lambs refused to adopt a lamb. The shepherd tried everything, including rubbing the lamb in the still wet lamb’s skin, skinning the dead lamb and securing the dead lamb’s skin on the orphaned lamb, and even placing the mother into a pen with her head secured to give the lamb a chance to suckle. Nothing worked, and all of the methods had worked previously. Several days later, the ewe died unexpectedly, and the veterinarian determined that the mother ewe had had a disease and probably sensed this when refusing that orphan to suckle. Order is maintained in the herd, and the condition this ewe had contracted was not passed along to a new lamb. Sheep herd is walking. Animals on grassland. Good conditions for breeding livestock. Pasture in ...

Our gander had taken a spouse, and when the goose died sitting on a nest, the gander was exceedingly heartbroken—calling day and night for his spouse, all to no avail. After a time, the gander took to liking the ducks whose drake had flown the coop unexpectedly. Seeing as there was no drake and no female goose, the gander took to mourning his spouse but sleeping with the female ducks. But, the gander was violently opposed to any duck sitting on a nest, and my parents could not understand why. My parents captured some eggs that had not been smashed to pieces and tried to incubate the eggs. The animals born were not ducks or geese, and none survived long. There is order maintained in the animal kingdom, and the animals themselves know how to keep that order.

It never ceases to amaze me the order and respect animals have for order in the animal kingdom. In raising goats and cows, the information gained through smell was always interesting to me that allowed animals to act how and why they did. I could not smell the difference between herds, but the animals knew, and when herds of the same animals mingled, the order was still maintained, and herd integrity was sustained.

A goat and sheep hered we knew raised the sheep and the goats together; even though both species ate the grass differently and had to be moved more often, raising them together helped protect the herd. One day another herd was being driven through the area, and a couple of animals got into the pens. But, the goats and sheep raised together knew the outsider was not orderly and helped keep those animals away from their young and isolated from the whole herd. The smell is the only answer I have as the foreign herd was smelled by our herd and shunned. Even when new animals were introduced for the herd to grow, it took several days and several smelling sessions before those new animals were trusted by the rest of the herd.

In one Herculean effort, I heard a goat herder who tried to introduce a foreign billy into the goatherd due to the death of the former billy. The nanny goats would have nothing to do with the new billy, even when draped in the skin of the old billy goat. The goat herder tried everything, but until that billy had spent sufficient time with the nannies and smelled correctly, the billy was powerless to lead the herd and perform the duties he had been purchased to complete. Interestingly, a similar problem occurred for a cattle farmer when introducing a foreign bull. The cows refused his bull-like advances until the bull had spent time with the herd. While I do not know if these are isolated incidents, I merely know that order is essential in the animal kingdom.

Lessons for Humans to Consider:

1. Gender does not change merely because a person wants it. The disorder caused by trying to be a different gender has repercussions and consequences beyond that individual’s choice.
2. Humans and animals have will and agency, but order remains an essential characteristic of the world. I have heard that scientists have found great order when the observed chaos is understood. Through magnification, scientists have moved closer to how things move, and I find it incredible the order found that once was described as chaos.
3. Parents have a duty and role to play. However, their children also play a role, and the order found in families is a prerequisite to good societies. An animal analogy, the herd of sheep I moved and cared for as a hired hand was a collective society. They had rules, expectations, and those not choosing to follow the herd society regularly found themselves in danger when the weather changed, when a threat was near, and generally were the ones you could count on to be injured or die unexpectedly.
4. Diary cows, after milking, will run to the farthest fence in a field; if they find the fence strong, the whole herd will congregate, graze, and chew their cud knowing strong fences protect them. In a storm, trusting the fences, the dairy cows will huddle together and move as a unit to protect younger cows and warm each other. Dairy cows are not terribly different from humans, we push at barriers (laws), and if we find them sufficiently strong, we band together for protection into social circles and groups. Failure of laws finds society broken and easily conquered by external and internal threats.
5. Order in human societies remains an essential element in protecting, promoting, and providing social growth and development. Herds of animals, gaggles of geese, flocks of ducks, murder of ravens, etc., all depend upon the order in their society, or that society falls apart and, like iron filings to a magnet, has to reform into new organizations.

Knowledge Check! Are humans really so different from animals? Are human societies much different from the societies of animals? I ponder these questions regularly and am not surprised when social problems in humans are resolved by watching animal herds. Covering a bull in the skin of a horse does not make a bull into a horse. Castrating a bull does not morph the bull into a cow. We must understand better the order, the laws, and the social requirements for society. Animals and humans choose which society (country, town, city, etc.) they prefer. If they choose to belong to that society, they must obey or onboard that society’s rules and social expectations.

Rarely does the 80% of the herd get into trouble, but the 20% of the herd does not sway or influence into danger the other 80%. Right now, in human societies, there is a vocal 20% who insist that their reality must become the reality of the entire community. Do we sacrifice the safety and security of the 80% for the choices and lifestyles of the 20%? This is the question before us, and animal societies have provided the answer if we are willing to act accordingly.

Employers and Employees – The Battle is Waged: The Fight is Important

Employers throughout the world, including Disney, American Express, Wells Fargo, and thousands more, have begun to battle their employees. Unionized shops, the battle has been waged for 50 years and shows no sign of relenting. Only recently have other employers joined the fray, not to help employees but to rid themselves of employees. These businesses are fighting employees against their employees for the company’s culture and soul. Couched in many a buzzword, political stance, and archaic practices, the employers want to rid their workforces of those they despise, and the battle is legal!

Make no mistake, what the employers are doing is immoral, unethical, and disastrous to those employees unfavored, but the actions remain perfectly legal, and this is the point we must understand. Laws have been changed against the majority for the selectivization and advancement of the minority. The fight is important because you might be next and never know your termination has been affected, but not enforced until it is too late. This article intends to raise awareness, not cover every particle in the fight or catalog every avenue an employer might take to attack an employee. Imperative to know and remember, as long as the actions are against individuals, no laws are being broken, and the employer wins when they can make the situation untenable, and the employee on the out quits or is forced out under a miasma of quasi-legal terms, so it appears that employee was treated fairly.

Never forget, a lawyer’s job is to make the illegal appear legal, and the legal appear illegal, so a judge must decide. Add in judicial activism and legislation from the judicial bench, and the trouble becomes apparent quickly. Unfortunately, the lawyers’ training has shifted, and the legal mind’s quality has slipped under the weight of many of the topics discussed herein. The vicious cycle can only be broken when the collective beliefs of the majority are re-established, not to the demise of the minority but the growth of the entire society.

Culture and Politics

As long as people have banded together into organizations, societies, governments, etc., there has been the push and pull of politics. All of recorded history bears truth to this fact. People have beliefs. They express these beliefs through representatives who rise and fall in different leadership positions, and societies change according to the expressed beliefs through which a society is governed (law). Pick a governing style (Communism, Socialism, Representative, Direct or Indirect Representation, Monarchy, Theocracy, etc.), and you will find the collective beliefs of the people expressed in how long a leader remains in power or the stability of the society so governed. Politics happens and is best described as the push/pull of collective beliefs expressed by populations. Economies rise and fall based upon the collective beliefs, expressed in the stability of the society and the government leader’s length of time as leader.

History has shown when a governing leader is short-lived, it is generally because they refused to follow the collective beliefs of the population, giving rise to the credit ratings of stable governments and societies being higher than for those who are changing leadership every couple of weeks or months. Those leaders who can tread the waters of public opinion maintain their jobs and, many times in history, their heads by following the collective beliefs in the morals of the people. The US Dollar’s stability is one of the strongest reasons this currency is one of the world’s benchmark currencies. Politics did that, and politics are the push/pull collective beliefs expressed by the citizens to their government leaders. The process is messy and needs to be messy for a reason; only in the expression of two divergent points can a healthy middle ground be established, and society can grow.

Culture is not politics, but politics and politically minded people can influence it. If politics is a society’s expressed beliefs, then culture is the expressed moral convictions as lived by a community. For example, many institutions have been built on the law that coveting (envy) is wrong, but the practices of the people living build a culture that accepts graft, bribes, and other incentives that, while violating the law, are accepted. Make sense? The closer the culture is to following both the letter of the law and the living of the law provides for a stable and influential culture to invest resources into.

How does one change the collective beliefs of a society and the living practices of that society; first, you capture the children. Bad ideas do not go away, they are either replaced with good ideas, or the bad ideas go into hiding, awaiting the time they can make a new appearance. Everything modern society is facing has been faced previously, and the difference is that the seeds for the current dilemmas were planted more than 100-years ago, but the bad ideas first captured the children. Why have these bad ideas advanced so rapidly? The education of children in social customs, collectively shared beliefs, and individual duty, has been eroded and attacked mercilessly since “progressive education” (the refusal to teach children to read, write, and perform math) began in the late 1800s with Dewey, who called functional illiteracy “Progress!”

One of the first words plasticized, twisted, ripped apart, and then put together to fuel tyranny through modular language was the term progress. Unfortunately, language has continued to suffer relentless attacks since the late 1800s, and more words have suffered the same fate in the modularization of language. Consider with me the history of Tea. Tea plantations in India were ruled by the iron fist of laws drafted in America and marketed with women in distress to the consuming nations geographically distant to where the crops were grown. The tyranny of slavery is the same tyranny we face with modular language. Nobody realizes this because to mention this connection is frowned upon by those making money off the tyranny of language. The tyranny of modular language fueled the oppression of entire populations to fuel an empire. The language led to actions (afternoon tea) and a host of other practices, words, and social customs to fuel the demand for Tea. Unfortunately, the tyranny of modular language also fueled hot wars in China, more geographically distant suffering from the population consuming Tea.

Language – Plastic Terms

Diversity, what is it; what does it mean in practice versus meaning from a dictionary; what value does it have for a business? Equity, same problem, fewer answers, more confusion. Inclusion, same problem, confusion, chaos, and eventual destruction. These are, but a small sample of current buzzwords strung together and causing problems in businesses. There are entire word classes set apart for plasticization, which sound good to the ear, and that people love to rally behind, but these terms cover a hidden agenda. They have been weaponized to destroy, not lift and build—tyranny through modular language, plastic words.

American Express is a perfect example of how DE&I efforts (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) have been weaponized to pick away, through politics, the non-politically affiliated, those who show up to their employment and merely want to work their job. The University of Phoenix is another company long captured by, and suffering from, DE&I tyrants. Both American Express and the University of Phoenix began their DE&I journeys with the best of intentions. Still, the result remains the same, the minority classes bring politics anathema to good order and discipline into the company, initiating change cloaked in DE&I. The result has been the discouragement and disenfranchisement of employees. The DE&I champions crow and cheer for these people leaving as it injects more DE&I hiring, and the new employees realize that unless they are politically affiliated, read that as aligned to a militant tyrant in DE&I, they too will be out of work very shortly.

Language matters, and when terms are plasticized, the only result is destruction and tyranny. Consider the teachers in the Albuquerque Public Schools System or the employees of the State of New Mexico; both populations stress DE&I initiatives under various names but with the same purpose. Who are the enemies of DE&I; those who do not wear their politics on their sleeves, acting as emotionally charged smart bombs of the media. Even if a person holds some of the DE&I beliefs, if they are not militant in their beliefs, they are ostracized by their language, judged, and removed from employment.

When the patients rule the asylum, the problems for all patients in the asylum double and triple, not improve. The same result occurs when the vocal minorities of a population gain power that is not theirs, and they make no concerted efforts to rule fairly and justly. One of the truths about any revolution is that those who initiated the revolution rarely (if ever) get to enjoy the fruits of their rebellion as they are so focused on fixing what they perceive as injustices, they miss that they have become worse in action than those they deposed.

80-20 Rule

The 80/20 Rule is known by many monikers, but always it is the same rule, in different wrapping – 80% of a population will be controlled by 20%. In standard terms, the minority is setting the culture for the 80% to follow, and they hope you will never realize you are stronger without the vocal minority than with them. Take the recent changes at Disney. There is a vocal minority demanding change, couching the changes in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the Disney business model is about to self-destruct. The same is true of American Express, where if you are male and white, you are not welcome. But, if you are one of the members of any number of protected classes, you are welcome. When politics interferes in professional pursuits, 80% will always suffer under the tyranny of the 20%. What happens when the vocal minority becomes the majority, they fang themselves to death, and nobody is left to care because that 80% majority has left them to their own devices.

It should go without saying, but I will make plain, I am not against diversity. I do believe that diversity for diversity’s sake is wrong, immoral, unethical, and anathema to good order in a society. Diversity of thought should be preeminent as the diversity of thought transcends skin color and lifestyle choices. Diversity of thinking includes the desire to see all succeed on merit, character, and individual action. I abhor in the strongest terms picking a person solely based on their gender, skin color, religious preferences, disability status, culture, or any variable that supersedes accomplishment, education, and learned skill set. The same is valid for inclusion and equity; when people cannot compete solely upon achievement, education, and intellectual skill sets, this creates an imbalance in the population.

Hence roadblocks to education must be removed, character-defining and building experiences should be shared and taught, and achievement recognized. What is missing from schools from K-12 and up; is accomplishment, education, and learned skill sets. What has replaced these; is DE&I, where the vocal minority is destroying with no thought for what replaces the institutions, societies, corporations, and more. Iconoclasm in its most destructive form has taken over employers, and these companies are committing suicide to pacify, tranquilize, and placate a small population at the expense of all.

Inherently, change is not bad but growing, productive, and useful change requires inputs from a diverse population. Inclusion is not inherently a bad thing, but the current demands for inclusion, only for the sake of inclusion, make the activities of the vocal minority lethal to the entire social body. Equity is a prerequisite for society to grow, develop, and be stable long-term. This is why societies built on slavery, or those muzzling 50% of the population, are inherently ripe for hostile takeovers.

The actions of the vocal minority in employment right now are precarious at best, suicidal at worst, and permanently immoral and unethical. The models they promote have no substance and enable unfair, unjust, and unequal systems. Worse, companies that flout their customer base, which is the largest stakeholder in any business, will find smaller profit margins and higher expenses as employee churn increases.

One truth that should give hope to the employees affected is that when the minority becomes the majority in a body and does not have any substance, they destroy themselves. C-Leaders, are you sure you want to take the company you have been placed in control over down this dangerous path? On my first day at American Express, new hires were introduced to the rich, proud, and stable company history and core values. How sad it is to witness how fast this company has fallen! Who will replace these companies? Will their replacements learn from the failures of the past?

Woman!

The majority of this article was drafted before the controversy with the SCOTUS nominee. The intent is to honor the role of women and woman. Affirming again that how you choose to live is your business and is between you and whatever god, God, or gods you worship. Provided you allow others the same rights to life, liberty, and pursue happiness, I do not care how you choose to live.

How you choose to live should not denigrate anyone, let alone biologically living males and females, men and women. Leading this discussion to answer the simple question posed by US Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) to SCOTUS nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, “What is a woman?” Again, affirming the role and embodiment of a woman is more than the sum of her sexual parts; the question does have merit and deserves answered. What is a woman?

The Bible relates that all creation occurred in six days; on the sixth day, the woman was created as the supreme creation of God, and then God rested on the seventh day. Not here to argue religion, but to herald that final glorious act of creation, the woman. How grateful I am for the women in my life. Various scriptures relate that woman was created so man would not be alone, so a helpmeet was found for Adam, and the woman would be equal to the man in all things. An interesting dichotomy was found in creating the woman: Adam was created of the dust, but the woman was created from Adam’s side. According to biblical accounts, no other female in the species created replicated this pattern. Clearly, there is a lesson for us to understand, acknowledge, and support socially through laws and societal norms.

What a unique creation the woman is. Paradoxical in all things, a woman is soft and strong, inflexible and flexile, independent, and a great team member. What family is complete without a woman and a man? One of the great truths in life is that man and woman were created separate and dependent, and gender is an eternal construct. Each person is born male and female, with their creator’s traits, personalities, and intelligence. Yet what do we see in all modern societies; the continued blurring of lines, roles, and dehumanization of the grandeur of man and woman, but of the two woman, has been taking the worst hits.

Consider fashion; since the feminist movement began, fashion for women has warped and destroyed the modesty, chastity, and glory of a woman. Fashionistas are trying to make the woman into a young boy at best. Always to be “fashionable,” the woman is made to squeeze, pinch, and be uncomfortable. Women’s shoes are a contortion and torture exercise, a balancing act sacrificing function and comfort for some twisted idea of style. Long have I looked upon the inequality in fashion between men and women and been abhorred, disgusted, and discomfited by the base and profane ideas accepted as “stylish” and “fashionable.” Women, why do you allow yourself and your high and holy station to be demeaned in the name of “fashion?”

Consider make-up and all the chemicals a woman is “supposed” to use to “improve” her beauty. The emoluments alone are sufficient to baffle and bewilder, then add the smells and paints, and the woman is taught from day one that being natural is insufficient to being attractive or whole. Yet, I know differently, for I have seen strong and powerful women who never touch these things and remain effective, regnant, and influential. Tell me honestly, what you put on your face, to make up, what value is there in this process? Who told you you needed these chemicals to be a woman?

Human biology, and I would presume all biological sciences, defines a female as having two X chromosomes, whereas males have an X and a Y chromosome. I passed biology with high marks but failed zoology as I did not attend enough to be scored. If there is a biologist who would like to weigh in, please feel free to correct me. The developing fetus develops as either a male or female as growth occurs in the germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages of life. The physical characteristics separating males and females are coded into a person’s DNA, and fourth-grade science was apparent on these topics.

Psychology in recent years has declared that a person’s choices can change the gender of a person, but the sex of a person remains coded genetically. Thus, woman, as a biologically separate class of animals, have different bone structures, hair, glands, skin, hormones, etc., coded from birth, regardless of how that person chooses how to live. Please allow me to make a strong point, a woman, and for that matter, a man, are more than the sum of their sexual parts. If this were not true, then those men having sexual reassignment surgery to obtain female genitalia would automatically adopt all the characteristics of a woman upon the conclusion of surgery. Estrogen and testosterone, hormones, and chemicals would not need to be supplemented, and the mental processes separating a man and a woman would not need to be fought so assiduously by those having their sex surgically or chemically altered. Again, supporting the fact that it is psychology and not biology, establishing the difference between biological men and women, and the sum of their sexual parts is a non-issue.

On the topic of psychology, look to the results of choosing to live in a manner opposite of birth sex. We discover suicides, depression, anxiety, and a host of other mental diseases prevalent in this population, not witnessed to the same degree in different populations. Why the LGBTQ+ populations have such prevalent and significant occurrences of these mental diseases is a question modern society refuses to research as this has been termed out of bounds as potentially anti-LGBTQ+. Thus, research supports that the populations of those choosing to live life in this manner have these mental problems but refuses to ask why; do you see a problematic situation? All this while attacking the role, lifestyles, and position of woman.

Under the role of woman, there is a title worthy of acknowledgment, and the title is lady. Like gender, being a lady is a choice, a lifestyle, and contains social obligations, societal expectations, and requires significant effort on the part of the woman to obtain the title lady. For example, Nancy Reagan was a lady, Hilary Clinton is merely a woman. What separates these two women is class, respect, dignity, and more, not politics, not personality, and definitely not lifestyles and social circles. Being a lady requires sacrifice, making choices over long periods of time, and it demands total commitment to achieve. Females become women through growth, females become ladies by choice and sacrifice, and are granted this title by others.

In attempting to make this distinction clearer, allow me to draw a more specific example between women and ladies. Gretchen Wilson sings a song, “Redneck Woman.” The song lists qualities of a woman, specifically a class of woman “Redneck women.” No aspersions cast, no denigration, and no offense offered. Frankly, I have deep respect for several redneck women. I am also proud to know and respect a lot of women who ride horses as cowgirls and rodeo stars, some really kick butt women from the US Military, and more. But, a lady is phenomenally different by choice, and this is the point.

Great ladies of history include amongst their ranks Katherine Hepburn, Doris Day, Nancy Reagan, Barbara “The Silver Fox” Bush, Abagail Adams, Mary Todd Lincoln, Mother Theresa, Queen Elizabeth II, Margaret Thatcher, Sarah and Esther of Old Testament fame, Mary of New Testament fame, these and more are ladies. First and foremost, these females are women, strong and independent, then they choose to become ladies and are honored more than mere women or as the sum of their sexual parts. Women honored, revered, and respected for their contributions to womanhood, society, and sacrifices, women who practiced gentleness, compassion, respect, and kindness as quintessential aspects of their core identity, not for worldly fame or personal gain. Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16^th President, honored two women as mothers and called both ladies of influence. Yet, Disney would have us believe that all stepmothers are horrible creatures. A vast chasm exists between women and ladies, and this is but one of the separations or classifications between women; by the choices the woman makes, a lady is created.

In trying to make a point about not hitting women, President Biden accidentally created a problem. President Biden remarked that nobody should punch a woman in the face. Distinguishing multiple times in the same speech that hitting a woman in the face, specifically, is not allowed. As a kid, I learned not to hit women at all; even if being attacked by a woman, a man merely defends themselves restraining a woman if necessary, not to cause additional injury to herself or someone else. But, Biden implied that only hitting a woman in the face is problematic; what a detestable creature is the man who would hit a woman! I am not condoning violence in any shape or against any person. For thousands of years and across hundreds of societies, those who would enact violence, society, rightly, has dolled out steeper punishments to those committing violence against women.

Social laws throughout recorded history have always treated women differently. Sometimes in history, this has been to the detriment and unequal treatment of women, and recently in history, treating women as equals to men is a fact that should be cheered and heralded. Yet, along comes transgenderism demanding equal treatment under the law, not as a separate but equal category, but supplanting women, representing more attacks on women and womanhood by conspiring men for personal gain. Don’t believe me; look at the story of the NCAA and the recent swimmer making news and winning championships, and tell me that conspiring men are not attacking the equality of women. A charade of disrespect is cast before us, slandering women and womanhood for some amorphous and ambiguous term for lifestyle choices and not sound science, or respectful dialogue about laws.

I conclude where I began, respecting women, honoring ladies, and decrying the attack on women and womanhood as the demented and twisted attack of conspiring men and women who would see women destroyed upon the altar of political correctness. Ladies, you have my respect, admiration, and sword, for you are deserving. Women, you have my respect for the roles you fill as opposites of men and your work as mothers, teachers, and the co-equal helpmeet of men. May those conspiring to destroy you be found buried in the hole they have dug for your destruction.

Iconoclasts – Know the Enemy!

During the Summer of 2020, the world watched in horror as a group of people became unhinged. They destroyed statues, wreaking images and ripping apart the social fabric of nations, destroying years of history all for purely political reasons and personal satisfaction. These iconoclasts did not spring up suddenly; they were carefully groomed into existence. The anger they expressed had been carefully tindered, fed, and fueled into the raging inferno observed on the nightly news. Nothing is sacred to an iconoclast. Any image, including statues, paintings, murals, buildings, everything man has ever created for social, religious, or political expression, was on the table of destruction, and these ignorant savages were going to destroy it.

Please, do not delude yourself. The iconoclasts did not “suddenly come to themselves;” no, they are still out there, waiting for the next opportunity of convenience to become unhinged and destroy again. But, you say, it is peaceful now; surely these people deserve dignity and should be offered the grace of justice. No, a thousand times no, and a thousand times again, NO!

As a youth, I was told a story about an American Indian and a rattlesnake. The rattlesnake had been captured by an eagle, flown high into the mountains, and was dropped. The Indian was on a quest for enlightenment and happened upon the rattlesnake who begged for help and to be carried down to the desert so he would not die. At first, the Indian said no. He was wise. He knew the snake would bite him and told the snake no. But over time, the pitiful cries of the snake could be heard, and eventually, the Indian left his quest and carried the snake down to the desert below. Always with the most solemn promises from the snake to not bite him. As the boy removed the snake from his tunic upon arrival in the desert, the snake bit him in the chest. As the boy lay dying, he asked the snake why; the snake replied, “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”

A snake does not become a toothless grass eater or honors his promises merely because he is begging for his life, and a terrorist does not become a law-abiding citizen by wishing and hoping. The iconoclast is a terrorist, and a terrorist, at heart, has thrown off all compunction, all morals, all ties to society for the personal pleasure of watching it burn. The terrorist wants to promote terror, is a political monster, and destroys for pleasure. The iconoclast attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas and institutions. Terrorists use violence. The iconoclast uses violence—both delight in the mayhem they cause.The imposition of belief does not separate a terrorist and an iconoclast; in fact, the desire to force beliefs upon a population brings terrorists and iconoclasts more closely aligned. The only significant difference between an iconoclast and a terrorist is the weapons of choice. To a terrorist, the weapons are paid for through third parties who want to watch the destruction unfold (LIC). The iconoclast will use whatever weapon is available. Look at the toppling of statues, were they toppled using the proper equipment or whatever was available? The iconoclast is an opportunist who takes advantage of situations, whereas the terrorist, a political monster, will create incidents, not take advantage of incidents. Not that both are not committing acts of violence or spreading terror, but the terrorist wants to replace the system with one more their liking, and the iconoclast merely wants to see things destroyed.

The terrorist is different from an iconoclast in one other major way; the terrorist does not hide in society to pull down that society. The iconoclast, as an opportunist, will wait, plot, scheme, and take advantage of every opportunity to create mayhem through the destruction of icons, symbols, images and has no problem becoming president, a teacher, a preacher, or any other job where they can act as a slow poison on a social body. One of the best and most famous iconoclasts of the 19th century were Frances Fox Piven and Richard Andrew Cloward. These two failed at being terrorists but have integrated themselves so thoroughly into American Society that they have been able to blind minds as iconoclasts and accomplish goals they could not achieve as terrorists with Weather Underground.

Frances Fox Piven’s book, “Challenging Authority” How Ordinary People Change America,” outlines the complete plan of this iconoclast, and yes, a line of congruence does exist between Mein Kampf and this book and author. All tyrants will tell you their goals before they implement them. As a freedom-loving person, I find this book to be incredibly difficult to read, and when compared with the history from the 1960s to today, I remain sickened by the success of these iconoclasts. 02 May 1966, the publication “The Nation” prints an article written by Cloward and Piven called “The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty.” Don’t worry if you missed this article, “The Nation” celebrated the 50^th anniversary of this garbage. That the Cloward and Piven team were better iconoclasts than terrorists should not come as a surprise, frankly, nor should their drivel be published, but I digress.

Cloward and Piven’s iconoclastic theory was to force chaos on the body politic to keep impoverished people poor and angry, take advantage of their anger, and gain political power through riotings and disturbances. The theory also begged for a massive expansion of the welfare rolls to build an ever-larger class of permanently aggrieved people. Consider the elected officials who keep pushing for socialized medicine in America; they are iconoclasts, straight out of Cloward and Piven’s theories. Recently the media has discussed the need for a guaranteed income, paid for by the government through the forced taxation of others. This is another iconoclastic idea that finds roots in Cloward and Piven. Look at every single political talking point from criminal justice reform to immigration, and you will find an iconoclast tearing away at the icons and fabric of America for personal profit and individual enjoyment.

Lots of media ink has been spilt on homosexual rights, privileges, and changing the nuclear family and marriage laws. Would you be surprised to learn that those championing these talking points are iconoclasts taking their script from Cloward and Piven? Would the “Woke Agenda” shock you to know that those who pitch this idea are iconoclasts and take their cues from Cloward and Piven’s theories and writings? What about increasing the minimum wage; would you be interested in knowing that even a minimum wage is iconoclastic? Forget about those pitching for an increased minimum wage to $15 an hour being iconoclastic. The mere philosophy of having a minimum wage is iconoclastic and anathema to American history and the US Constitution.

Iconoclasts are a secret society, but the secret is open and in full view. The confusion these people generate helps them gain power, provides the fodder for their abhorrent behavior, and promotes them higher in power. Why is the government so intransigent; the iconoclasts acting as “good bureaucrats” make the government intransigent and are held in control by other iconoclasts. The iconoclasts tear down and destroy using plasticized terms like empathy, democracy, helping, support, dignity, and more. Criminal justice reform punishes the victims of crime. Welfare reform further strips those receiving welfare benefits of pride, honor, and the satisfaction that work provides, ever-widening the gulf between those who need and cannot obtain and those who receive welfare benefits. Immigration reform is labeled as dignity, but in reality is nothing more than spitting in the eye of those who followed the rules, sacrificed, and acted appropriately. The iconoclast always looks to how they can destroy something good and leave a void or replace it with something that perpetuates the further destruction of a society.

In a recent case, Pete Buttigieg took the money sent by Congress for roads and bridges, and designed plans to spend it on climate change and make roads less racist. A road cannot be racist, but those in control are iconoclasts, and if they can further frustrate the road and bridges problem, they can sit back and watch the daily commute of millions of people and laugh hysterically. The iconoclasts imposing this madness are called “innovators,” “innovation leaders,” and “forward-thinkers.” All words plasticized to erode further and eventually destroy the American government, trust in government, and continue the eating away of the social glue holding America together. Using laws to punish the innocent, protect the guilty, and make good and right evil, while evil is heralded as proper and transformative.

Iconoclasts did that, and we, the American people, need to know our enemy. We need to understand what we are seeing. You are not racist, homophobic, regressive, or any number of other names for asking questions or dissenting to the actions the iconoclasts are imposing. You need to know who and what the enemy is and does to thwart the enemy properly. It is good to stand for truth, justice, and the American way! It is expected that the iconoclasts and terrorists in our Constitutional Republic would want to damage and destroy. Not acceptable, but expected, because a Constitutional Republic, to ensure freedom for all, does not have natural freedom crushing antibodies in the system to rid the body politic of these types of people.

Would you like some weapons in your arsenal to fight iconoclasts; ask for proof. Remember, research does not provide proof of anything. Looking at the fruits of the ideas and asking about the evidence that what they are proposing is beneficial. For example, has the minimum wage been helpful; no, the minimum wage has not been beneficial. People made more money, but the government increased inflation, borrowed more money, and charged more money for taxes, increasing the cost of living and then increasing the minimum wage to “assist the poor.” Socialized medicine has this practice borne positive or negative results; the answer is resoundingly negative, and implementation of socialized medicine destroys too much! Immigration reform has any immigration reform improved the plight of Americans ever; again, a resoundingly negative response occurs. Crime went up, illegal immigration went up, social ills went up, moral decline, welfare rolls increased substantially, and much more happened.

Iconoclasts can only be fought when we:

1. 1. 1. 1. Stand together
        
        Learn
        
        Act in unity
        
        Never settle

What will you learn today that improves your tomorrow? How will you use this information? Does America die on your watch from the thousands of cuts the iconoclasts have made? Today, let us resolve that America does not die on our watch. No matter the difficulties, we must fight the iconoclasts!

Identity Problems – A Frank Discussion

Several weeks back, I made the declaration that the more labels a person adopts, the harder it becomes to be a person and know who you are. Multiple labels saddle a person with mental struggles that become physically exhausting. Each label comes with social responsibilities, cultures, and expectations that cannot be shirked as long as a person has adopted that label.

For example, I am a dual-service disabled veteran. Thus, I carry the cultures, expectations, and responsibilities of sailors and soldiers. Consider what the expectations of a soldier are, and that image is part of the identity and societal responsibilities for being a veteran soldier. Being disabled carries societal expectations, both mental and physical burdens. Consider the Marines, and every Marine is a Marine for life! You graduate basic training and earn the title Marine, and you will ALWAYS be a Marine! Again, that title and label hold societal expectations voluntarily onboarded, and never will a Marine lose the attitude and social expectations of Marines.

The same is true of every single label a person voluntarily chooses for themselves. The label will attract specific people into your social circles, but only as long as you willingly live the life expectations of that label. Each label selected will form identities and mental challenges to meet the social expectations, a heavy burden indeed!

In a recent Tik Tok video, a person proudly declares more than 50-labels, preferred adjectives and pronouns, and identities. The video lasted more than 3 minutes, and I felt sorry for the exertion this person will face every minute they have these identities onboarded. Another person watching this video declared that the subject claiming their labels was mentally ill; I agree with that sentiment. Why; because the subject will never know who they are because of the noise of the labels, which includes the social pressures, the responsibilities, and the expectations. I do not know the name of the person in the video, I would not share that video due to the privacy respect I have for others.

Who are you?

Even though current society in 2021 declares confusion between who and what a person chooses to be, not what are you. For example, I do not like, nor do I onboard, the identity of disabled. I am NOT disabled, handicapped, injured, and working on healing, but NOT disabled. Consider the power of words for a moment.

The transitive verb “dis” means to show disrespect, insult, or criticize. As a prefix, “dis” is defined as the opposite of something, depriving someone of something, excluding someone, or expelling someone. Thus, a disabled person is either being disrespected, insulted, or criticized, deprived, excluded, expelled, or is the opposite of able. Frankly, when we are made aware of the etymology of words, we are then more aware of why people choose to adopt or not adopt certain words and labels. Do we understand this problem of labels just from an etymological perspective?

Regardless of plasticization, words hold power over the mind. Words become identities, thoughts become things, and research supports that labels hurt mental processes and can permanently scar. Yet, who and what a person chooses as their identities are not considered a problem in current society or a mental illness. People’s choices reflect their identities to attract those in socially accepted circles.

Thus, who are you? Who do you choose to be? Are those identities sufficient? While not as important as who a person is, the last question ranks a close second. How many identities can you physically onboard and live successfully? As a fan of simplicity and a follower of the KISS rules, as detailed by Murphy, the god of perversity, I keep it supremely simple to protect my energy levels and allow my identity to shine through. Having only a few identities enables me to select social commitments, restrict the mental noise and exertions, and hold myself accountable to a few identities to grow as a person.

Returning to the Tik Tok video subject and their 50+ labels, identities, and preferred pronouns, we must ask, what is sufficient? A follow-on video by this person reflected the physical exertions from conforming to identities and social pressures. Worse, this person had onboarded several more labels and identities. They reflected the mental illness and physical drain caused by trying to live up to all the label responsibilities. An extreme example; unfortunately, no; the pressures to onboard labels and identities have grown exponentially, mental problems are too significant to quantify, and they are growing.

Not just in America, the confusion about who a person is, the identities, and their inherent loads, have become a global phenomenon. What are the mental health professionals doing; causing harm by not discussing the physical and mental exertions of onboarding too many identities. It is up to the individual and parents of minor children to understand and help learn and teach simplicity in labels allows growth as a person, not more identities, but less. Fewer identities provide freedom for growth, identity exploration and empower mental health, leading to improved physical health.

Identities

As a pre-teen, I struggled with the concept of my identity. Religion was a curse, my family was worse, and I did not know who I was, thus strangling what I could do or become. I got jealous of how my sister could get away with breaking the rules and thought I should be a girl. I struggled with wanting to be a girl for several years as I learned who I was and what I wanted to be. If this problem occurred right now, professionals would counsel me to adapt and change my body through drugs and surgery, compounding my identity problems. Yet, what helped, was getting to know me!

I had several people help me form an identity I could be comfortable living with as I explored my options, fought to understand my role and purpose, and embraced my potential. It took time, lots of time. It required patience with myself, a moral code I could live in, and a desire to learn—all of which I had to develop from scratch. My identity is forged in the fires of adversity, for the consequences of my choices during this time played a role in how I went to school, what I chose to learn, and where I found employment and socially accepted company. Some of those consequences hang around even all these many years later. Some consequences I have been able to live long enough to survive.

Worse, as I have learned more about myself, my identity has changed, bringing with it consequences of change. Music, movies, humor, education, and more are part of an identity that forms a life. Choices bring consequences; how we value those consequences (e.g., good/bad, profitable/unprofitable, etc.) will determine our eventual destiny towards understanding who we are, so we can become what we desire to see in the mirror. More lessons I had to learn, then and only then, could the value of religion be discovered, the value of family understood, and honor and pride and commitment to self appreciated as an identity to live. Crucial to this growth and development, I know when to cut social ties, drop music and movies into the trash, and I am imperfect in changing, but I have some lessons I would see others learn to avoid pitfalls.

1. 1. Commit to learning using the question, “Who am I?” as a core principle to discovery.
  2. Allow yourself time to think, ponder, and consider before committing to an identity. I always wanted to be a soldier, but I loved the ocean. I did not understand the value of these paradoxical options, and by rushing headlong, I had to learn an identity after living that identity. Arduous path; know first, then adopt an identity. Let me try and simplify that with my favorite axiom, learned as an Emergency Medical Technician, “Never take your body where your mind has not traveled first!”
  3. Comfort is key. If you are not comfortable, your conscience tells you something is wrong. An identity should require physical strain and mental confusion. Yes, you can delude yourself for a time/ Ultimately, your conscience, spirit, intellect, whatever you call your inner voice, will break through and tell you your identity is not mentally acceptable. If your identity choice is not comfortable, it will affect your physical health negatively.
  4. Never stop learning; learning leads to change, and change is good!
  5. When in doubt, turn to lesson two, give yourself more time before committing to an identity.

I love hard rock, big hair bands, and southern rock. Steel guitars, banging drums, and headbanging to an excellent beat are an identity with power. But headbanging gives me incredible headaches. Too much rock and roll, and I cannot think clearly, and the ability to control my thinking is paramount to me. Do I adopt the headbanging identity or not; sometimes, I am all in for a solid rock fest. Mostly, I listen to the inner voices and moderate my music. See, lesson two continues to hold power and lesson four keeps me thinking how much longer will I affect my identity with an uncomfortable identity with physical pain.

Choose carefully, evaluate often, and allow yourself the freedom to grow by not onboarding labels without due consideration. Please, consider your gender and biological sex as integral to your ultimate destiny and comfort. Before you are comfortable in your skin, you have to be comfortable in your mind! If you want to explore identities, explore, but explore smartly and be cognizant of the social responsibilities, expectations, and cultures inherent with an identity. Observe those with those identities closely for the consequences of thier identity.

I cannot betray a confidence, but I have witnessed how traumatic experiences can be the impetus for forcing an identity change. A close associate went to a party, had a mickey slipped into their drink, and woke to a new reality. The consequences of other people’s identities can negatively impact your identity, especially if you do not know who you are!

I have never been comfortable with the hard rock, headbanging social aspects of rock and roll identities. The illicit drug use, the promiscuous sexual encounters, and the extremes in living frankly scare the hell out of me! But, I love the music, and I love much of the wardrobes in this identity, even though I will NOT wear makeup and cannot play a musical instrument.

Life is a journey; travel safely using the axiom, “Never take your body, or anyone else, anywhere your mind has not already traveled.” Think, ponder, consider, and then act confidently.

© Copyright 2021 – M. Dave Salisbury
The author holds no claims for the art used herein, the pictures were obtained in the public domain, and the intellectual property belongs to those who created the images. Quoted materials remain the property of the original author.

The Biggest Lie in America – The Mouthpiece of Liars

Bobblehead Doll Some would say the biggest lie in America is, “I’m from the government, and I am here to help you.” While this is definitely a contender as a massive lie, there is one more insidious, and they have played the victim card for too long while being a festering wound on America’s soul. Yes, the biggest lie in America is, “I’m from Hollywood, and I am here to entertain you.” Maybe, this wasn’t a lie originally, as all good lies must contain an element of truth to keep people believing the lie; the truth is a glimmer of hope, people cling to hope, even when they know that the hope originates in a lie.

For example, Santa Claus is a lie, originating in the exploited actions of an actual person from history, and some have claimed modeled upon Jesus Christ. Thus, you have hope, dressed in the shades and colors of a lie and sold as a good story to entertain. Is the pattern clear?

Another example, the government is supposed to protect society; that’s it. Yet, people have been sold a lie, mainly by Hollywood, that government is benevolent, benign, and trusting in government is natural. Yet, even the founders of America knew never to trust the government, even as they tried to establish rules to control the government they were founding. Do you know why the phrase, “In GOD we Trust,” is on the United States of America’s money; to sell the lie that the paper in your hand has value because everyone is supposed to trust God. But, God did not print the money or cause the inflation that is crushing America and the world; the government did.

The history of Hollywood is replete with anti-Americanism. From communist sympathizers who have purchased politicians to sway rules and end investigations to the pedophiles and perverts who relentlessly attack children, Hollywood continues to hide behind facades, lies, and charlatans to keep the “entertainment” money flowing. Consider how long Weinstein was able to abuse people, cheat, and commit crimes. How many presidents have bellied up to Hollywood to get elected or remain in power after leaving office?

The Clinton’s the Obama’s, how many Senators, Congressmen, princes from foreign lands, you name it, those who swim in Hollywood tend to rise from the waters stained and filthy rich. Yet, Hollywood acts the victim, punishes real victims, and then playing the victim, has the gall to ask, “Are you not entertained?”

Russell Crowe’s film “Gladiator” uses Maximus Decimus Meridius to ask this question of Rome and her citizens. Like Rome, maybe we need to ask ourselves the same question. What price do we pay to be “entertained” by Hollywood? Here are some of the costs collected from recent Hollywood enterprises. Are they the fees America should pay, or has Hollywood reached the extreme and, like any other business, needs to face the cold hard reality of an upset public? You decide; I know my choice!

Hollywood refuses to portray America as a Constitutional Republic. Always America is painted and slandered as a democracy. Like any lie, those telling a lie know the truth and refuse to believe or accept the truth because the lie provides them power and resources. Consider how anti-American sentiment continues to be spread by Hollywood. While academics refuse to name Hollywood personally, the truth is obvious to anyone who wants to see Hollywood’s pernicious and deadly hand and the knife being wielded that is cutting America to pieces.
Did you see the Hollywood documentary “An Open Secret?” Are you aware of the volume of child molestation, abuse, and conniving in Hollywood? How the victims are always revictimized after trying to come forward? How the industry actively works to hide the secret while pampering the abusers and protecting their own? What we pay for “entertainment” helps keep the industry afloat and the victims silenced; is this not too high a cost for the morals of American Society?
Has anyone noticed, does anyone care, that Hollywood continues to attack the nuclear family, and each attack is hidden behind the excuse “we are simply imitating societal decline.” Remember, to sell a lie, there must be elements of truth. Are there certain aspects of society that imitate Hollywood and Hollywood then imitate as “art and free expression; yes, but that is not the majority of American society. Fringe groups exist, and provided they remain non-violent, let them believe and live as they choose. But, Hollywood wants everyone to think that the majority of American society is anti-nuclear families, anti-family, and anti-strong families in general, and research on the family supports the opposite of what Hollywood is pushing.

Let me hit pause for a moment; consider Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, two successful Hollywood stars, marry, actually love each other, aren’t running around cheating every other day on the other, and Hollywood cannot stand these two people being successfully married. While not the first, and unfortunately not the last, this couple reflects the poison that is Hollywood. Every successful couple, who wants to remain employed in Hollywood, gets destroyed by Hollywood, and the media is there chortling right alongside the destruction of the family. The papers are replete with examples, and the attacks stretch back to the “Golden Age” of Hollywood circa 1930.

Worse, the retaliation against those who buck the system remains the most detestable and disgusting thing. What props up the destruction of good people in Hollywood? Fear that the Hollywood machine is going to come for you next. Snakes feasting upon their own flesh is less despicable than what Hollywood does to everyone who tries to peel back the scab and expose the wound to sunshine disinfectant.

Strong female and male characters are detested, destroyed, and denigrated, also called sexism. Consider John Wayne and the Hollywood-inspired hate and contempt he had to suffer. Consider the problems Clint Eastwood regularly has to fight to make movies due to the colossal animosity directed his way. There are lots of other examples of strong men and women and their destruction by envious Hollywood types. If a person is not the current flavor of the month depravity, Hollywood will treat pets they despise better than their own who are strong-willed and capable.

Newspapers used to survive selling advertisements with the slogan, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Hollywood is bleeding morality, and this story is not leading in newspapers globally. Why; because the mouthpiece of Hollywood is the corporate media, who climbed into bed during the HUAC Committee hearings, and they have never left that incestuous relationship. Hollywood feeds the media, the media feed Hollywood, and the world is treated to daily pots of trash called “reporting and analysis.” What happens when you feed a person junk food all day, every day, for almost 100-years? The American body is sick from the trash. This is also considered “entertainment,” but only for those holding the knives cutting morales, religion, and everything good and decent out of the societies who embrace Hollywood.

Under the US Constitution, the press was granted certain rights, acting as a force neutral and helping protect America from run-away government. Instead, the press cottoned onto Hollywood and learned how to feed the circular logic that protects Hollywood from criminal charges by destroying all who oppose Hollywood. Are you entertained? Is your hard-earned money well spent at the movies whose actors, directors, producers, and affiliated staff use those funds to hinder, destroy, and criminally act? Apathy

America, Hollywood stopped entertaining us a long time ago. The media was never supposed to entertain but inform and be neutral in their reporting. I propose we, the consumers who have been abused, refuse the trash shoveled and imitate a stomach that has been abused enough; the next thing coming down, we throw it all back!

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Like this: