WHAT ARE RELIGIOUS BELIEFS?

Perhaps now is the time in our history to ask the question: what is a belief and should that belief be legalized by law?

I submit that beliefs are personal.  Therefore, I do not agree that these beliefs should be legalized as correct, irrefutable, or the only way to see a person, place or thing.

In our country right now, religious beliefs are being placed ahead of all other beliefs, and in turn, are being given legal status over and above the fundamental premise of our country, which promises to afford equal access to all without discrimination.

A religious belief is a personal conviction that has evolved over time after having been sorted through by various human beings from many alternate possibilities.  These same beliefs are regularly open to reinterpretation as times and people change. In most instances, certain religious beliefs are a requirement of membership in various churches and congregations.  And it is fair to say that no two churches believe the exact same dogma, although many claim a common history.

America's "freedom of speech" allows one to speak his beliefs through words and through protest (actions), but when it comes to legally denying another citizen that which is accessible to everyone not of the particular group in question, a dangerous line is crossed, and one group is denied equal access over another.

We must not legalize a belief in a free land.  Hitler legalized beliefs.  Mussolini legalized beliefs. Apartheid legalized beliefs.  Slavery was a legalized belief.

Each of the above denied another person or group that which the denier enjoyed to the fullest.

We cannot, we must not, take this route.

Compassion, tolerance, openness, and knowledge.  These first.

And always: Do no harm, do not judge (the most oft forgot religious belief).

The 2016 Elections

Much is being said about the 2016 elections.  Very little of it is positive.  After years of congressional stalemate, rising social despair as a result of an inept process and the stonewalling of one party against another, one would think we lived in a "cold war" state with one "monarchy forever challenging the other for absolute political power.  Even the Supreme Court has become a bastion of partisan politics.

Only in a deeply dissatisfied nation could the likes of a Donald Trump find audience for his oft offensive and divisive language.  To be clear, we are a deeply divided, scared and worn out body politic.

For decades Americans have been subjected to the same'ole-same''ole come election time.  With politicians rarely answering questions put to them, employing mud-slinging in lieu of debate, and making promises, promises, promises with no obvious plan in hand.

American Democracy has transformed into Hypocrisy--one party against another, with neither willing to give a centimeter of ground.  Whoever is elected to the White House the target of relentless opposition and threats from day one.

Executive and legislative cooperation happens only under threat of political annihilation at the polls.

We blame the Middle East for its strong religious undercurrent, where the Ayatollah is the supreme leader in many countries.  But how are we different, when the word "Evangelical Christian" determines what one party will or will not do.

Religious freedom is one of  many freedoms we enjoy as Americans, but somehow we have raised religious freedom above all the rest.  We have made it a litmus test for making it to the white house.  We have lost out way...we are no longer a government of the People, by the People and for the People.

We have become a government of the few, for the few and by the few.  The Conservative stands on one side, the Liberal on the other.   There appears to be no in-between.  These categories have been tightly defined over time and now they threaten to destroy us.

Rational individuals with a wider world view realize that the U.S. is awash with millions of ideas and beliefs. We are neither a conservative nor a liberal nation.  Nor are we a christian or non-christian nation.  We are an amalgamation of peoples, all of whom came from somewhere else.

America began as a beacon of hope for a new way.  And how we got here is an interesting story, but right now it would be best to focus on where we are and how we move out of this hole we've dug ourselves into.

Donald Trump's popularity is not because he will make a great president.  Donald Trump's popularity owes its appeal to the inability of those running for office to speak from the heart and not from the prompter.  To speak the truth, even if the truth is hard to speak

First, we must accept the fact that no president ever solved all of our problems.  Our form of government does not give him/her that much power.

Second, not every member of congress is a political insider whose only goal is reelection and power.

Third, we have lost the ability to compromise with those who disagree with us.

Fourth, millions do not vote, and yet voting is the best way to express your support for, or you dissatisfaction with, the current state of affairs.

The Government works for Us.  The People.  We do not work for it.  That being said, we as individuals cannot have everything we want.  Only the castaway on a deserted island has that option, and even s/he is subject to the will of mother nature.

In the end, laws, systems, and organizations do not make a better world, people do.  If our government is failing us, then people are at fault.  If your idea of a good president is one who will give You what you want because you believe your way is the best way, then you are part of the problem.  All of us fall into the category at one time or the other.

Donald Trump is a wake-up call for America.  He speaks to our darker side.  He draws it out.  He thrives upon it.

I will tell you now that America's greatness is not lost, we are just looking in the wrong place.  America's greatness is in her actions, not in her words.  Her compassion.  Her stand for human rights.  Her humanitarian generosity.  Her undying, though sometimes faltering, ideal of a better, more tolerant world.

This is, and has always been, our greatness and no one can take it from us unless we give it away!

CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

The Greatest Crimes against Humanity are . . .

Poverty
Starvation
Isolation
Displacement by wars perpetrated by the few
Ethnic erasure...the bullying and murder of those not like us

What will it take to change this eon's long pattern?

A Question of Guns in a land of Murder

San Bernardino California.  Fourteen killed.  Assault rifles.  Two dead suspects.  Public pain. Private mourning.  Youth and wisdom gone Forever. 

Appeals for stiffer gun laws countered by "people kill people", guns are only ancillary.  The President appearing before us numb and dejected.  Nobody knows what to do or how to stop the kind of violence that erupts suddenly and without mercy.

In sum, our collective response has become "speechlessness".  We are not one iota closer to resolution than we were hundreds of years ago when terror struck.  And terror has been around since humans have been around.

Instead, we spend endless hours debating whether San Bernardino was an "act of terrorism" or not?  What the shooters motives really were?  But they are dead.  And terror struck--need it have another name?

In today's world there is no safe haven.  Armed militia roam our streets and schools. They lend an aura of safety, but do they keep us safe?

So then, you say, what should we do?  If we cannot stop the violence, should we prepare to die on an undisclosed day at an unknown location?  Should we get our affairs in order?  Live our lives to the fullest? Give ourselves over to the unstoppable?  Or should we pray for new weapons of defense, better technology, and smarter leaders?

I say no to all of the above.  For the above is what we have always done.  And nothing has changed.  In fact, one might argue, it has only gotten worse.

Sow trust, compassion, forgiveness, a smile, and a helping hand wherever you are and as often as you can. These actions do not involve money, power, guns, fear, doubt or revenge. They are positive tokens one gives freely to another.  Tokens that can then be passed on even if the giver is unaware that they have done so.

Such acts are already occurring throughout our globe, but infrequently do we hear or read of them.  We sorely need more stories in the media about the Good News.  Positive actions that brings warmth and light back into our damaged world.

People who kill people through acts of terror have lost their way.  Every ethnicity and religion has fallen victim to their acts.  Anger, hate and fear are deadly weapons.  Our job is to replace them with their opposites.  Not for one day or one year, but as a way of life going forward every moment of every day!

Pharmaceutical Companies and Pricing of Drugs, Among Other Things

Recently, my doctor gave me a couple of samples of time-release Naprosin with an added ingredient to offset stomach upset.  Naprosin has been around for years and is used to treat pain from arthritis and similar conditions.  The drug my doctor prescribed is called Vumovo.

You may recall last week that the media was abuzz with the outrageous pricing of a drug called Daraprim. Its bold, new owner had raised the price from $13 to over $700 dollars a pill.  One of the articles regarding this story included a list of other drugs with a similar histories (but no outright media frenzy).

Yes, you guessed it.  At the bottom of the list was Vumovo.  This drug once retailed for $200/60 pills, until the pharmaceutical company decided to raise it to $1683/60 pills.  Had I not seen the article, I would have asked my doctor to order a prescription.  Of course I would have refused to pay for it at the counter and the pharmacy would be left to restock it.

When I mentioned this situation to a friend, she asked:  "Isn't it illegal?  And I said, no!"  Diabetes, pain meds, tuberculosis, cancer, and antipsychoic meds are but a few of the drugs/treatments that companies overprice.

At its new price, Daraprim would cost about $252,000 a year for 360 pills.  Vumovo, $10,098 for 360 pills. I know of at least one instance when a single Chemo treatment cost $100,000.  Pharmaceutical companies do these things because they can--get away with it.

I have since asked my physician for an alternative to Vumovo and she has provided it, being none-to-pleased with the drug company herself.  I now take two pills instead of one.  A ninety-day supply of both drugs is $20/180 pills.  Over a year that's $80.

What troubles me most is that this travesty of humanity is but one instance of the insanity of greed, and that we, the consumer, often feel no recourse to complain.  Not everyone can switch to another drug.  Not everyone can say "I just won't take it."  For many, the drug is an absolute necessity.  Diabetics, people with cancer, mental illness, and drug resistant TB for instance.

Over the years we humans have lost control of our very lives.  Lost control because we didn't see it happening until it was too late.

Government takes our hard earned money and spends it willy-nilly.  If we refuse to pay taxes in protest, the IRS comes after us.  It's not a pretty scene.  They don't let up and they have a LOT of power to say--freeze your assets or empty your bank account.

Those who attend big sports events are very familiar with "event parking".  Here, price gouging is raised to an art form.  Want to go to the game?  Pay the going rate. The defenders call it the result of "limited" parking. That's nonsense. The same amount of spaces exist event or no event.  It's just a way to make a bundle of money at the expense of the sports fan who needs a place to put his/her car.

Movie theaters have for eons overcharged on snacks and drinks.  We pay.  Our blood pressure may rise twenty points, but we pay.

Recently it cost a relative of mine $30 to have a taillight changed.

A few weeks ago the labor to cut and lay tile down and remove the old tile was quoted at $4,000.  This in a 1500 sq ft house, the area being tiled about 150 sq feet.

And last, but not least, I have gluten intolerance.  A couple of months ago I went out to breakfast and ordered gluten free toast.  When the bill came, the toast was $6/2 slices.

A loaf of gluten free bread is about $6.  It has about 14 slices of bread.  Three dollars times 14 slices equals $42.  Instead of a tip, I left a note protesting the cost.  Here the server got penalized.

I don't always stand up for my rights, but of late I've done more standing and less sitting on my hands.

The world in which we live (a common theme with me) is created by us, you and me.  While we have been hoodwinked by corporations and government, that doesn't mean we have to take it.

In a capitalist society the pocketbook talks.  Speak up, not by shouting or throwing things, or loosing your temper.  Speak boldly, succinctly and proudly, but speak, as much as you can and as often as you can.  Go to places that are fair to their customers and their employees.  Buy products that are fairly priced.  Ask for alternatives to price-gouging drugs whenever possible.  Just because your insurance may pick up the tab doesn't make it right.  Someone else will pay for it down the line.  Eventually your insurance rates will rise.

The cost of living is over the heads of millions.  The great Titanic sank because one too many watertight compartments split open.  America is the richest country in the world  China is next.  The latter is struggling to hold its economy together, but there may not be enough lifeboats, as with the Titanic.  The former is about 18 trillion of dollars in debt and about to raise its debt limit.   Who will pay it back?  Your grandchildren!

There are more part-time and poorly paid jobs in America than ever before and, overall, there are fewer jobs.  Job security it non-existent, even in government.  More than one state teeters on bankruptcy.

We are one watertight compartment from sinking.  If you don't believe me, look at congress and its inability to get anything done.

You and me, folks!  You and me.

JUST BECAUSE WE CAN ...

Over the past couple of months I have heard comments regarding the future of certain technologies that will deeply impact the world in which we live.  The first are Robots, which can, and already are, replacing or assisting humans in a wide variety of tasks.  The second are driverless cars. Which are in the test mode as we speak.  Thirdly, the ability to clone a sheep is but one step away from cloning Us. Choosing the "perfect" human being without its attendant foibles and predispositions toward lethal or debilitating maladies.

The human mind is infinite in its ability to think up and then figure out how to put each thought into motion.  If it makes a lot of money, all the more reason to move on to development and sale.  Right?

This Blog is about human genius pitted against what is best for humanity today and generations to come.

JUST BECAUSE WE CAN...should we?  JUST BECAUSE WE CAN...must we?

The Robot, it has been predicted, will eventually do the menial jobs.  The lifting and toting, the repetitive jobs, the "labor" jobs.  Millions of Americans make a living at these jobs right now, but in the future, say the "futurists", these same individuals will have to reinvent themselves.  Maybe become  entrepreneurs who "invent two or three jobs" to put bread on the table.  "Entrepreneurs" because there will not be enough jobs to go around.

Driverless cars can enable the blind and disabled to "drive" from point A to point B.  They can deliver packages and food and every other manner of goods to far flung areas.  Thus eliminating the need for long-distance truck drivers.  Of course these driverless semis will be met by Robots at the other end, thus solving the problem of who will unload the freight.

As for cloning, wouldn't the world be better if we could genetically manage it's progeny.  Do away with disease, evil acts, and the undesirable?

I'd  like to think that our first considerations when inventing and then selling a new idea or product would be:  How will they impact my children and my childrens' children?  Will they make life better, safer, happier, more secure?  Will elimination of jobs create more poverty, more dis-ease, more war?  Will driverless cars further overburden our roads and highways, which are falling apart daily from overuse.

Will we ever be able to clone the perfect human?  What is the perfect human anyway?  And who gets to decide?  The cloners?  Do you we really want to live in a Stepford world?

Yes, Robots  might be useful in performing tasks humans no longer want to do, but shouldn't those same humans be the ones to decide, not the one who invents the possibility?

As for driverless cars.  Wouldn't it be better to devise ways to move people from A to B to C in mass transportation instead, and reduce cars and their attendant pollution?

The bottom line is, JUST BECAUSE WE CAN, does not mean it is wise or  humane; it just means we can.  Humans created the Bomb because they couldn't resist doing so.  Then we dropped it on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  Thousands of innocents died ignominious deaths.  We haven't dropped a bomb since.  We dropped it because we could.  Now we have 16,000 nuclear weapons worldwide--just because we can.

Today's children are growing up in a world that is moving at warp speed.  Immediate gratification is a near reality with I-Phones and the Internet.  Games are played on handheld devices instead of in the backyard.  XBox has replaced outdoor basketball and baseball.

Technology is here to stay.  It arrived with the printing press and has accelerated humankind's ability to do and know beyond any cave dwellers wildest imagination.  In turn, no one can deny that technology has its place, but every invention, no matter how unique, must be approached with caution.

JUST BECAUSE WE CAN does not mean we will, or, more importantly, that we should!

SUFFERING

Why do we suffer?  

Why do we inflict suffering upon others?  

Can we change this pattern in our world?

I believe we can.  

If we lived in a world that abhorred suffering in all its forms, suffering would no longer exist.

I speak of all manner of suffering: that which is self-inflicted, that which occurs because of accident or random violence, that which is purposely imposed by courts and tribunals, that which catches us unawares, such as illness.

We live in a world that is not only filled with suffering, but also constructed about a system that guarantees its perpetuation.

We have 16,000 nuclear weapons stockpiled in world arsenals.  We believe in the maxim "an eye for an eye", and mete out so-called justice accordingly.  We wish to impose the greatest punishment upon those who inflict the most grievous pain.  We strive mightily to design a retribution that is equal to the act inflicted upon us.  We call this Justice; the law agrees.

In our anger and pain, we cannot see the lasting implications of all our hatred and vengeance. We choose not to see that it has changed nothing in our world.  It has not made it safer, more humane, or more loving.  It has, instead, created an "armed camp" waiting for the next terrorist to strike us down on some unknown day, in some unknown place, at some unknown time.

We believe in guns and armaments, the more sophisticated the better, until all our battles are fought by drones and robots.  The innocent will still die, while the "soldiers" will simply fall apart or into disrepair.

What have I done today to make a better world?  A less painful world.  What is behind my anger and my pain?  

The core of the world's pain is rarely examined.  James Holmes committed a heinous act. Innocent people died and were maimed.  James Holmes suffered from a brain disease that influenced his actions.  One juror held out for life in prison instead of the death penalty.

Our mental health system is in shreds.  It is poorly funded and lacking in trained professionals. Burnout is high.  There is rarely any intermediate recovery care for those released from acute care.  They either go home (if they have one), to the streets, or, too often, to jail.  This is one of the single most distressing issues facing mentally diseased individuals.  The majority of such individuals do not kill; we must be clear about this.  But some few do.

Beyond the failing system, is the stigma of mental disease, which often keeps families and victims from first, admitting it exists, and secondly, taking action to get help.

The U.S. is awash with guns.  The more the President and various individuals try to reign them in, the more they proliferate.  

We must get rid of our guns.  Now!  Of course this is drastic, but it is absolutely necessary.  We must get rid of our bombs as well.  All of them!  Nuclear proliferation treaties are like putting a raincoat on the ocean.  It is too big, too powerful and too unpredictable.

We must replace judgment with trust.  Now!  Once you judge a person, you eliminate the chance to ever truly know them.  

Suffering exists because we feed it daily on an international scale and locally on a personal level.  We often do so unknowingly by a snide remark or gesture.  Every action, be it internal or external, ripples across the globe like the flutter of a butterfly's wings.  Throw a handful of dirt into the wind and it will blow back at you.

Tomorrow is too late!