tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77408264651027661402024-02-18T23:50:41.852-05:00My Ideas and Thoughts by George E KnappA blog BY me and FOR me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-69786600081529750332017-04-22T08:25:00.003-04:002017-04-22T08:25:52.265-04:00Why I won't be marching in Columbia, SC today in Support of ScienceWhen I first heard about "The March for Science" coming today in DC and cities around the world, including local marches and events, I was very interested in participating.<br />
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It is clear that the most radical politicians among us and the Republican Party in general, do not support the sciences or somehow believe that "taxpayer support" for the sciences is not necessary.<br />
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In many cases those same people "believe" that science and the scientific method are not the foundation of human endeavors, but rather some form of grace from some god are to account for our creation and successes. <br />
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Worst of all, these people try to thwart the science of vaccines, climate change and other species preserving concepts either for their personal short term financial gain (the educated wealthy who know that science is real, but are too greedy to do the right thing) or out of ignorance and/or a lack of a proper education - turning instead to simplistic arguments that often include a religious component.<br />
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According to the list of speakers at today's "March for Science" in Columbia there is An Opening Benediction, and two speakers who will discuss the role of "The Qur'an and Science" and "Science and Hinduism". <br />
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While I feel that it is possible for a person of faith to BE a scientist or to adopt and use the scientific method, I find that these beliefs add yet another layer of bias to their work. We all bring biases to our work and the benefit of having a scientific method, that includes peer reviews of new ideas and discoveries is to attempt to nullify those biases, but why bring more of them in the first place?<br />
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Einstein was quoted (accurately or not, I can't say) as to have said that he "didn't like Quantum Theory, because god doesn't play dice with the Universe". This was a reference to his faith and the concept that much of the results of Quantum Theory involve probabilistic outcomes, not certainties. The key point wasn't that he refuted or disavowed Quantum Theory on this basis, but rather that he admitted his own biases and preferences that he "didn't like" what the science was telling him.<br />
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This is and will continue to be a problem for the scientific community going forward, but let me suggest why I feel that religion has no place in science in a simple comparative list:<br />
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<u><b>Religion:</b></u> Deals in absolute truths, written down from "revealed" thoughts or unknown sources. Scrutiny is not prized and in many religions is grounds for death or the threat of eternal punishment.<br />
<u><b>Science:</b></u> Deals with theories that are often reworked and evolving over time as new knowledge or insights are gained and tested and retested and refined. Scrutiny is prized and rewarded.<br />
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<u><b>Religion:</b></u> Is based on personal feelings that only the individual can integrate into themselves.<br />
<u><b>Science:</b></u> Is based on objective realities that can be demonstrated and shared by all humanity.<br />
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<u><b>Religion:</b></u> At best can offer comfort, hope and the illusion of purpose.<br />
<u><b>Science:</b></u> At best can offer solid explanations, cure diseases and solve social problems.<br />
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<u><b>Religion:</b></u> Uses science and technology tools to spread its message, fight its wars and maintain its ability to propagate. Very ironic, possibly hypocritical as well as clearly demonstrating the intrinsic value of science and technology to any enterprise. Religion <u>requires</u> technology to thrive.<br />
<u><b>Science:</b></u> Doesn't need religion to thrive.<br />
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Now, I personally don't feel the need to believe in god, but I would be lying if I said that I have never felt a "spiritual experience" or "metaphysical event". There may even be some higher power or extra-universal actor that somehow for some reason started our Universe and/or seeded life within it. I don't have these answers, nor do I care, because such an entity would be beyond our comprehension <u><b>specifically because</b></u> it would be outside of our Universe. <br />
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So, I suppose that you could believe in a god or gods and not be religious. <br />
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Religion is a man-made enterprise, to this point there is much scientific proof. There is no legitimate, documented and accepted proof of any intervention by a mystical power in our lives. There are massive amounts of proof that the religious texts, stories and concepts are made up to control populations, are full of inconsistencies, contradictions and promote social/tribal based injustices.<br />
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There is no place for religion in our world, if we are to avoid war, hatred and an unnecessarily early extinction.<br />
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Spirituality is in our minds and there is a whole science of the mind and how and why this is.<br />
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God or gods would be something separate and unknowable.<br />
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<u><b>Prayer or Defenses of Religious Sects at a March for Science Rally? Thanks, but no thanks.</b></u><br />
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<b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: red;">FORTUNATELY - looking over the lists of speakers at the DC and NYC rallies, it appears that religion is playing little or no role in those marches today !!!</span></b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-37832836017481310382017-02-13T19:49:00.001-05:002017-02-13T19:50:12.935-05:00Can "Civil Discourse" Save Us or Are Humans Hardwired for Extinction<br />
I have read and heard some pundits and friends of social media friends, question why we can't have a civil discourse anymore, as if we ever really did and if that state of being would further the cause of America and the world at large.<br />
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Sure we can fantasize about a time when the appearance of civil discourse existed and while many such examples are in the history of human kind, I think that a further look into the matter may reveal that civil discourse or working across the aisle or "politics making strange bed fellows" usually derived out of necessity, rather than a natural desire to give ground. It is a fact that during real war (not distant wars fought by less than 1% of the population), famine or plague, people often band together, but sometimes anarchy rules. There seems to be a steady state where people choose up sides, then if things get a little rough, sometimes people can put their differences behind them for a while, but when things really go sour (think Dark Ages, Black Plague, Poison Lands) polarization can peak and peak way beyond anything we have seen in these last decades.<br />
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At any rate, it does "feel" as if we have been wandering down the road of polarization in America and around the globe for a few decades now. It does "feel" to many that the strides that we have made in cleaning up our environment, becoming a more fair and just world and feeding and caring for the poor and sick have begun to come into question at best or turn backward at worst. Cooperation seems to be at premium and the they versus us mindset seems pervasive.<br />
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Just today, a close friend of mine Ret. Maj. Gen Laich (known as Dennis to me), commented that it seems we have gone from a place of "we don't agree" to "I am right and you are wrong" to finally "I am good and you are evil" in the space of a very few years.<br />
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I was talking to him about our shared experience of watching Meet the Press this Sunday and in particular the piece featuring DT's chief policy advisor Stephen Miller. Playing devil's advocate (full disclosure, I did not vote for DT, nor do I respect him by any measure) I commented that the Sunday talk show format frustrates me (I still love you Chuck Todd) because they don't do a deep dive. It seems that people of both "sides" of these recent arguments are given only 4 minutes to say what they want to say and are interrupted at least once by commercials. I find it to be in no one's interest, other than that of the network ad sales staff, to follow this format. Why can't we have a national dialogue about immigration reform or Palestine or gun laws or abortion or The Constitution?<br />
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Both sides are guilty. The press is pressured into making money and feeding social media, while the administration is either crafty in their ability to distract us with meaningless, but provocative ti-bits or they are truly incompetent.<br />
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To be sure, a topic like immigration reform really takes hours to explore and probably at least 30 to 40 minutes to even summarize the current data, theories and cost/benefits of the most realistic options. Going THERE would be doing everyone a great service.<br />
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However, the networks are afraid of revenue loss because their viewers are perceived to have the attention span of gnats. The administration, the RNC nor the DNC have spent the time to truly think these issues through in order to present coherent ideas, plans and to discuss the pragmatic side of how are we going to do this, how much will it cost, what makes it "better" and what will we have to sacrifice in order to implement something new. Just print more money and get re-elected.<br />
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Moreover, if they did manage to go into that much detail AND not lose their audience, the audience would be aghast that they couldn't have their cake and eat it too. We have not educated our citizenry to appreciate that for every decision there are multiple types of costs. Financial costs (sometimes offset by revenue enhancement, in the immigration case maybe more creativity and innovation), Social Costs (maybe more or less freedom of movement, privacy, delays at ports) and Ethical Costs (how we are trusted and perceived by not only our friends, but enemies around the globe). What about the benefits? How do you weigh those? What about priorities? We can not "do" everything, so if we invest time, energy and money in immigration reform, what gets slighted and by how much? Are most people willing to work an additional year before retirement to fund this? Are people willing to pay higher taxes?<br />
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I got away from my initial point a bit there - Sorry.<br />
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The main point is another peeve particularly the group of well meaning people (including a guy that I love to watch on TV, Stephen Colbert) whom ask a poignant question, "why can't we focus on what we agree on and set the controversial stuff to the side?"<br />
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To me, the putting the controversial stuff to the side IS one of our biggest problems as human beings. In spite of all of our tribal behaviors and willingness to kill each other over books that were written thousands of years ago, in many face to face situations, people will strive for short term peace. Sort of a "just get me out of here" strategy, that allows us to retreat to the privacy and security of our own tribe without pissing off the other person. While this is a good strategy as a caveman or as a person with no leverage, the long term implications are disastrous.<br />
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The idea that "we all want to be safe from terror" as a point of agreement QUICKLY breaks down when we start discussing what each person means by "all", "safe" and "terror". Does "all" mean all American citizens? Naturalized or born here? All races and religions? Does "safe" mean that no one EVER dies from a terror attack or that more people die in ATV accidents than by terrorists? Do "terrorists" include only Islamic Extremists or anyone acting against a group that they feel deserves punishment? So, while we may say that "we can all agree" about certain things, I don't think that is in any way true. Meanwhile, we are pretty good at pragmatically dealing with immediate threats as a group or team or country or nationality, so this is not where the resolution to our problems lie. This stuff falls under the "more perfect union" section of our ideals. We don't ever really get it perfect, but we improve on it and we get by.<br />
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The meat is the controversial stuff like, "is religion the root of all evil"? Are there fundamental and inherited differences between races and nationalities? Should there be borders? Is healthcare a fundamental right? Is abortion murder? Is capital punishment effective and/or moral? Is the redistribution of income a deterrent to innovation and if so, how much is too much? Should anyone starve in a world with plenty of food? Should anyone be allowed to be a billionaire if anyone is homeless, poor or sick?<br />
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Now comes science and fact and knowledge. There are three basic levels of ideas.<br />
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Things that are known to be true without any current evidence to the contrary. They may in fact not be true, but no evidence exists to dethrone them in part or in whole at this moment, even after rigorous testing.<br />
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There are things that are likely to be true because there is overwhelming evidence to support their basic truth, but there are still some portions, insights or inferences drawn from these ideas that have not been adequately (usually because no method yet exists) tested to the fullest.<br />
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There there is belief, based on personal sensory or emotional insight, that can not be independently verified, proven or corroborated. These ideas are either the result of false interpretations of sensory feedback, something manufactured in the mind with pure intentions or just utter bullshit. There is usually no sure way of knowing.<br />
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So why does any of this long winded essay matter?<br />
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Try on this solution for a fit. What if we dispensed with emotion when it came to making decisions that did not involve immediate life threatening situations? Let's be honest. Most of our lives are spent in non-life threatening time and space. Like 99.999% of the time.<br />
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Further, just to be sure, what if we employed AI or a series of algorithms to present arguments for policy, the consequences of that policy, the risk, costs and rewards/benefits of that policy by demographic group and used the power of the internet to engage 100% of the adult populace in acting on that policy.<br />
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Now, that algorithm would have to be scrutinized, sanitized and debated to make sure that it wasn't biased or at least as slightly biased as possible toward any one group or person.<br />
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In addition, all of the population would have to PARTICIPATE in not only testing the algorithm so that they "trusted it", but also they would have to participate in the act of selecting and prioritizing what set of outcomes was most desirable for themselves and the population as a whole and not only in the near term (cost/benefit), but in the long term (risk/reward).<br />
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This would also require a highly informed and highly educated populace with a ethical code (not necessarily a moral one) <u>that put being informed and participating AHEAD of ALL other motivations</u> and uses of their personal resources.<br />
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Here is the hook. If even 1% of your being thinks or hopes that this solution "might work".... then I have sort of conned you. WE could do this now. We have the means, the knowledge the infrastructure. The data that we currently and voluntarily provide to Microsoft, Apple, Verizon, the Government, doctors, lawyers, our friends, spouses, employers, gas stations, banks, kids is more than enough to expose our deepest secrets and most importantly allow for the data base to articulate the impact of any social change in policy in both the short and long term. <br />
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Given this vast amount of data and an algorithm of desired outcomes, prioritized by old fashioned democracy (think Athens, not DC) a series of policy suggestions could be given, with a comprehensive analysis of impact and margins of error and uncertainty (I mean, shit is still gonna happen) and we could run the country, if not the world as RATIONAL human beings. There would be no they, there would only be us.<br />
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Borders - not necessary.<br />
Religion - in tithing the data.<br />
Freedom - won by giving, not hording. No one would judge what you do if everyone was 100% transparent. Humans would be allowed to BE human, with our lusts and greed and self loathing and love and kindness and compassion.<br />
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<u><b>The Devil's Advocate in Me:</b></u><br />
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It is also possible, that maybe we should lay down our hubris and our fascination with "how far we have come" due to the illusory and blinding attributes of our technology. All technology has done is provided us with the idea that we are superior to all other creatures and that we can almost see all there is to see and even one day be immortal. In the end, we are just really smart animals and all of our toys can't save us. If anything, our lust for the material will doom our one and only planet.<br />
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Therefore, PLAN B might just be the way to go. This plan is much less subtle than the hundreds of words above. Maybe, we just accept the age long fact that as animals, might equals right. As I see it there are three types of might. The Brute, The Intellectual and The Lever.<br />
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<u><b>The Brute:</b></u> This one is the oldest and most tried and true and like the others, still exists in full force today. The most physically strong wins, owns and rules. <br />
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<u><b>The Intellectual:</b></u> This is the "techie" the smart, the clever. This is a way to use the creativity and innovation, often quickly and precisely to gain an advantage that your advisory can't see coming. This tactic has been lauded and cursed and persecuted over the ages by The Brute and The Lever alike, often to their embarrassment.<br />
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<u><b>The Lever:</b></u> More effective than the Intellectual and as equally pervasive as The Brute (in fact, often The Brute and The Lever form alliances, both thinking after the others are brought to submission, they can usurp). The Lever is anyone or any group who holds the others by leverage. Often fear is the trigger. Wealth and/or Faith are the means. The Levers go by names like Governments, Religions, Philosophies, Markets, Banks, Food Supplies, Armies ..... you know them well.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> Maybe we are therefore hardwired for our own extinction ..... </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>The End.</b></span> </div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-14665099491418986062017-01-19T15:51:00.003-05:002017-01-19T15:51:20.955-05:00My First Letter to Our New President<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
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Dear Mr. President;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Please note that I have also copied my Senators and
Congressman from my home State and District as well Speaker Ryan and two
Senators (Sanders and Warren) whom I believe to be champions of pragmatic
progressive ideas in the legislature.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have spent the last many months, urging my family and
friends to take up the mantel of placing phone calls and sending letters to
their representatives, urging them to preserve and improve what is right and
good about America’s current domestic and international policies, while
hopefully continuing to improve them as we move forward.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are dozens of things about what you, your cabinet
appointees and many of your Republican colleagues have been saying since the
election which concern me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As to not dilute
my message, let me hone in on five items that I feel are KEY to your success,
the ongoing success (and pardon me, but Greatness) of America and the
welfare and safety of not only Americans, but the world at large.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>The
Wall:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are a nation of immigrants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three of my four grandparents were immigrants
and the fourth one was a first generation American.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My wife and three of my five children are
immigrants. Our son served in the Marine Corps for six years and did two tours
in Afghanistan
and was highly decorated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He continues
his service to our country to this day as a North Carolina State Trooper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My uncle, the son of my immigrant
grandparents died of wounds received on D-day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Under President Obama’s watch, our Southern border has never been better
protected and deportations of criminal elements are the highest and most
permanent ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wasting the estimated
$450-$500 billion (including maintenance) to build a wall that is NOT necessary
is in no way the best decision for America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These funds could be used elsewhere (see
below). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Repeal
and Replace:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ACA is not
perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not to throw barbs, but part of
its imperfections are due to compromises that were made across the aisle during
the time of its birth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the ACA is
a good start and it works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have
openly promised “something better and cheaper”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Okay, I am all in for that !<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let
us be careful about how you and we define “better and cheaper”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Better, would mean that both access and ease
of service for both patients AND care providers is improved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Standards of quality control (which are among
the best in the world) would not be lowered for service providers or
pharmaceutical companies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Better would
mean creating a task force, swallowing our pride and benchmarking the successes
of countries like Sweden, Denmark, France
and even Cuba
then incorporating both their expertise and their mistakes into our LEARNING
about how to make our healthcare system better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You claim to be a business person and that bringing that to the oval
office would be your strength.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, I
am a business person too and I know that in business you must benchmark,
brainstorm and be very deliberate prior to rolling out new products or
services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I simply ask the same
regarding healthcare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cheaper – again,
relying our your alleged business acumen, make sure that you define cheaper in
both terms of the “real and total” cost to each and every American as a % of
their earnings to include ALL parts of the bell curve, from the impoverished to
the middle class to the super wealthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Also, be mindful of the % of our GDP apportioned to healthcare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Studies show that a single payer system is
the most cost effective (administratively if not over all) and should be
strongly considered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, don’t just
repeal for the sake of politics or vitriol against the former
administration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be a mature adult and
make for a seamless transition into the “better and cheaper” plan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Israel:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Don’t move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our best hope of holding back (no one can
ever eliminate radical Islam unless we eliminate dogma, illiteracy, poverty and
war) radical Islam is by having a strong partnership with moderate, modern,
middle class Arabs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Provoking angst
(anger) among the Palestinians is NOT the way to achieve this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As has been said numerous times, Israel has a
very tough choice ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It can either
be a Jewish State or a Democratic State, it can not be both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I truly hope that the USA is on the right
side of that outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Support a Two
State Solution.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>The
Economy:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world in changing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been working in manufacturing my
entire career (since 1982) which started as an intern at a Steel Mill in Ohio while I was in
school to become an Engineer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know
first hand of the trials and tribulations of the Ohio
Valley (was born in Wheeling,
W.Va.) and the industrial sector (was raised
in Canton,
Oh.).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I now live in Darlington, SC
in part because of the move of technology and industry away from high cost
union centers toward more open, rural communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, I learned a stark lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the first college graduate in my family, I
was both cheered on by my uncles and aunts and grandparents who were union
members and even union organizers to “get out and do better, but remember your
roots”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have seen first hand the greed
of both the CEOs and the Union Bosses and the devastating impact on our local
economies that this greed created.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, the demise of the unions has stripped us of the apprenticeship
programs and journeyman accreditations that were essential for us to prosper
and be competitive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trade wars won’t
solve this, only education can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need
BOTH a strong Labor Secretary who will protect and preserve the rights of
workers, earned by decades of blood and toil and an Education Secretary who
realize that excellent PUBLICALLY funded and managed education and a safe,
free, organized and focused labor force are the only means that we have of
maintaining our strong economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good
workers are hard to find, not because Americans are lazy or stupid, but rather
because American workers have been disenfranchised, under educated and
ignored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t get cute with our
economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trust the fed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maintain STRICT controls on Wall Street and Corporations
(trust but verify – re: Reagan, in a different context). We are creative,
innovative and we don’t need lower taxes on profits or a path to steal from the
middle class worker’s 401K or a loosening of environmental regulations to
achieve ongoing economic greatness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
amount of controls can quell the inventiveness of a properly educated and
motivated American worker (often from immigrant parents or grand parents). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>NATO:
While I absolutely agree that the NATO alliance sometimes operates on old
principles that should be reviewed and I further agree that our military
footprint in the world is too wide, too thin and totally unsustainable in the
coming decades – we must not, can not, will not turn our backs on our European
and West Asian friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes
friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are more like family than
allies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are a key to our safety and
security, our source of economic opportunity and as mentioned above a proving
ground for healthcare and economic innovation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Turkey
is a tough nut to crack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Influenced by Russia, infused
by Islam, once one of our largest and most faithful democratic/secular
allies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need to preserve and protect
our relationship with them at almost any cost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Read some world history about the “gateway to Asia”
and ponder for a moment how important they are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, please consider responsibly pulling back resources where it makes
sense (not in the Ukraine or Poland) and reduce our spending of treasure and
lives on foreign soil, but do so systematically and involve both the diplomatic
corps (life long professionals and experts) and the intelligence community
(establishment) to guide you and your team in this endeavor.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In closing I wish to not just ask, but INSIST that you and
my legislators read and re-read this letter then take appropriate and
responsible action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How dare I insist
that you do so?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, you all work for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a loyal, involved, interested,
voting and tax paying American who you serve and serve at MY behest (and the
behest of all citizens) not the other way around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is how democracy works!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sincerely;</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
George E Knapp – MBA, BS Met E.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CC: </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sen. Graham, Sen.
Scott, Congressman Rice, Sen. Sanders, Sen. Warren,</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Spkr. Ryan</b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-9744448414376352292016-11-09T16:11:00.001-05:002016-11-09T16:11:27.641-05:00Courage and Truth - A contemplation on the Aftermath of Our Election<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Courage and Truth in the Aftermath of Our Election</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">November 9, 2016<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by George Knapp</span></b></div>
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Writing this piece will be one of the most difficult writing
tasks of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While I have a crystal
clear message that I wish to deliver, I need to deliver it in such a manner
that the reader doesn’t leave me part way through due to me hitting a painful
nerve, but at the same time still make my point in the clear way that I see it.</div>
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I will be referring to generic groupings, general populations
and behaviors and actions of collectives or non-human entities made up of
people, but NOT necessarily the individual people themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when I say something offensive about
Republicans or America,
do not take it personally – I may not be talking about you specifically, but
them or us as a collective conscience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I believe that Donald Trump was elected because of a series
of events that were and are mostly rooted in America’s lack of courage and a
disregard for the work needed to uncover the truth of matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In short our laziness and cowardice brought
us to the point whereby we nominated two people not fit to serve as our
President and elected the one who was the least fit, who holds beliefs that are
similar to those held by fascists, has repeatedly made racist comments, is
known for bullying and has acted as a liar and hypocrite throughout much of his
private and public life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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As an Independent Progressive (identified so by my political
and philosophical beliefs in our current definition of them), I often support
politicians from the Democratic Party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Initially, I was a strident Bernie Sanders supporter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bernie is a man of strong conviction and
clear thinking who has a long track record of calling the right shots in
matters from the disaster that is the Iraq War to the scam that is an American
College Education and a whole host of other Civil Rights Violations,
Environmental Impacts and Government Waste problems that he quickly pointed out
to his colleagues, sometimes changing the course of our history by educating or
embarrassing them into making it right and sometimes being ignored or even
labeled a nut case.</div>
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It was an inconvenient truth for the Democratic Party when
Senator Sanders decided to enroll in the Party (he was an Independent for
decades) and make a run for President and began to upstage their darling,
former First Lady and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.</div>
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Prior to this unfortunate set of circumstances, she was
“ordained” by certain powers that be to be the 2016 nominee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As if it was owed to her or as if she
deserved this honor without regard to following the democratic process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To even further her chances of locking up the
nomination, the party used its magical Super Delegates (basically bought and
paid for delegates that are NOT democratically elected) to guarantee her place
on the ballot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bernie, being gracious
and seeing that the Republican Party was about to nominate a disgusting and
horrible human being as their nominee, he “took one for the team” and tried
with all of his might to throw his personal support and more importantly the
support of his followers under the Clinton umbrella.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sadly, as polling has shown, the energy,
enthusiasm and drive that those Sanders supporters brought to the Progressive
cause faded away in just enough numbers to put key states like Florida,
Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina into play for the Republicans.</div>
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Now Hillary required a different approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, she assumed that given the demographic
changes in the US population regarding Hispanics and how much those changes
influenced President Obama’s win over Mitt Romney, that she could easily count
on their support in numbers that would not just equal the support received by
President Obama, but possibly surpass it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I mean after all, Mr. Trump was almost going out of his way to insult,
humiliate and alienate Hispanics of all types in all states.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was the Democrats first fatal miss
calculation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Their second was the black vote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is no secret that her husband the only President
Clinton was viewed very favorably among black voters and until we actually had
a legitimate black nominee in President Obama, black voter turnout and votes
for President Clinton had set new records in 1992 and 1996.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, due in part to black voter fatigue (reported
feelings that they weren’t seeing the benefits promised by previous candidates)
and more so in MY opinion to the lack of enthusiasm for Mrs. Clinton as a
candidate in general, by all voters, the African American vote did little to
help her in this election.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turn out was
low and some insiders from the Clinton camp even remarked that they and she
took the black vote for granted and should have worked much harder to “get the
vote out”, in spite of several last minute and last ditch efforts to do so in
the very key state of Pennsylvania.</div>
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Oddly, the media (including the “legitimate press”) also
played a large role in the election outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While Mr. Trump made more and more outrageous comments, claims and
promises, he received more and more FREE press and since the media is now
financed and marketed as an Entertainment industry and not as an Information
industry, coverage meant revenue and “boring”, old style objective reporting,
fact checking and chasing down inside, complex or possibly eye opening stories
took a back seat to entertaining us all with the daily Donald Dump, the Goose
with the Golden Egg that it birthed with a “quality” and regularity never
before seen in a Presidential Candidate.</div>
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Now to the Republicans, the second most shameful part of
this story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even IF the Democratic Party
rigged their own primary, ignored statistics that they didn’t like and were
hell bent on nominating a person who is vastly disliked by a majority of
Americans, this fact did not and should not ever give the other party the
excuse of allowing the nomination of an unqualified, mentally ill, corrupt,
evil person under their banner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet,
they did just that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They rode the wave
that was Donald Trump, they allowed his racism, greed and bigotry to permeate
their party, their platform and their brand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>President Lincoln would not be proud.</div>
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Lastly the MOST shameful part of this story lies with the
American People and it does so in many ways. Some of these things predate this
election by decades, but all of which boil down to a lack of integrity and
courage by INDIVIDUALS.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Education:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through our own greed (not passing school
funding) and laziness (not being involved in our political process and
demanding better schools for ALL) we have allowed our education system to
become the laughing stock of the world and we are now touting how DT’s primary
“base” was the “uneducated white male”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How can we be proud of that ?</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is
that a slogan we would want on our flag or money or government buildings?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“A country of idiots, governed by
idiots”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is not very inspiring,
even in Latin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“A patria de amentibus
qui in amentibus”. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Simply Voting:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Typically “good” voter turnout in America
is a pitiful 60% of eligible voters, with some states consistently doing better
(70% and others not so well 50%).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
estimated that turnout in this election will be around 60% and likely 55% or
less in our State.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Shameful</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People have died
for your right to vote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People work
hard, mostly as volunteers to assure that you can have access to voting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your vote matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shame on those who didn’t vote or who don’t
vote with regularity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is NO
legitimate excuse with today’s fairly liberal (at least for now) voting rules
for not voting.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Demanding a Higher
Standard:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a collective, we
accepted Mr. Trump as the nominee of a major party without considering a
coordinated outcry or general strike or REAL protests in Cleveland or building
human walls around polling places in order to get it through the heads of our
leaders that he was an unacceptable nominee Yes the heads of the RNC are part
of our country’s leadership group and should be held accountable to Republicans
and Democrats and Independents alike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s
a proven, hate monger, hypocrite and shady business person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We deserve better and should have demanded
better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>WE</u></b> are supposed to run this country, not Reince Priebus and
Russian Bots on Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Defending Women,
Minorities, the Disabled and Immigrants:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you not hear and see what I heard and
saw?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Does the Statue of Liberty say
“piss off you dirty unwanted”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
think so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you not have compassion and
empathy for those who are physically or emotionally or economically
disadvantaged?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you not care about how
women are objectified and patently mistreated in this country?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you not love our wives, sisters, daughters
and grand daughters?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Voting for someone
you don’t like, but do so for the greater good:</u></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have stuck with me this far, you are
convinced that I am a hopeless Liberal or worse maybe even a socialist or
worse, maybe even anti-American.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my 35
years of voting (I am 53) I have been registered as a Republican, an
Independent and a Democrat over those years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have often voted for state and local Republicans because before I vote
I do my research and I pick the person, not the party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last Republican that I voted for, for
President was George H. Bush (Sr) and in this current election, I voted for the
Republican running for Country Treasurer, because I felt he was a better
choice. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I abstained from voting for one
particular Democrat, because even though he ran unopposed, I think he is
awful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the race for Darlington County
Council, I wrote in my own name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I
can unequivocally say that I do in fact vote the way I feel is best NOT for me
personally, but for the community at large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I do not support Hillary Clinton’s Presidency in any way, but one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was the better choice by a long
shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More experience, more tact, more
professionalism, less embarrassing on both a national and international stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would have GLADLY voted for a Republican
who was more qualified than her and in fact I had a write in candidate in mind
(who is a Republican), but apparently they don’t allow write ins for that job
anymore in South Carolina.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may have
voted for John Kasich, even though he and I disagree strongly on women’s right
to choose and gay marriage, but on the whole, he may have been a better choice
than Mrs. Clinton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there is no
actual defense for voting for Donald Trump.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>None.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mrs. Clinton’s alleged
crimes are partially false, made up or exaggerated and the ones that held some
merit for investigation were investigated and she was cleared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr. Trump’s alleged crimes (numerous cases
sent to civil courts regarding his business as well as tax fraud and sex crimes
that could be pending in criminal court) have not been thoroughly
investigated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, even if we set
those alleged crimes aside, he is on the surface an evil, bigot who demeans
women as a hobby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A man who speaks at a
4<sup>th</sup> grade level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A man who
can not articulate a plan for any aspect of the office he is running for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thinned skinned and immature. Did you not see
it? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I don’t want to hear your excuses about, “I just don’t like
her” or “I’m a die hard Republican” or “He’s probably not really that bad in
real life”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those excuses are not well
thought out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t have to like her,
your duty is to pick the best option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You are a better person for having the courage to break with the party
you most identify with and vote your conscience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can only judge a candidate by what they
HAVE said and done, not by what you hope or think they will say and do in some
fanciful future.</div>
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So, my fellow Americans, let’s face one last sad truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>We
The People screwed up !!</u></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-31734936897240638182016-08-01T23:12:00.001-04:002016-08-01T23:12:30.321-04:00The Church of True Humanity (Evil and Good)What are Evil and Good but human creations and false feelings. <div><br></div><div>Is a flood evil? A lightening bolt?</div><div><br></div><div>Is a martyr good? Love?</div><div><br></div><div>Why do we honor and praise "good" only to find disappointment and despair?</div><div><br></div><div>Why do we object and incarcerate "evil" only to find pity and impotence?</div><div><br></div><div>Maybe, just maybe if we celebrated both equally we would find ourselves.....</div><div><br></div><div>"Judge not, lest thee be judged" - oh famous of all books. </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-49763860660171135842016-06-04T09:34:00.000-04:002016-06-04T09:35:23.835-04:00Muhammad Ali - What he meant to meLast night a hero of mine died.<br />
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This morning I posted on my Twitter feed that "The thing for me that made Ali "The Greatest" was that he made society uncomfortably confront itself".<br />
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Growing up in the 60s and 70s, I can not think of a single individual who influenced and shaped my view of the world as much as Muhammad Ali did. I always marveled (and do today, reading news accounts and public opinion pieces on his death) how one man, one name could cause so much deep, meaningful and insightful (both evil and uplifting) conversation about so many topics. Sports, Religion, War, Peace, Politics, Poverty, Racism, Love, Hate, Trust, Duty, Pride, Excellence, Humor, Beauty and Evil are among just a few over arching topics that were always present when his name was uttered "back in the day" and they will be re-discussed in the next few days and hopefully for some of our younger generation, discovered for the first time, due to his passing.<br />
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Who could then argue that for this fact alone, his was not a life well lived?<br />
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Without Ali, our generation may not have had the opportunity to more openly discuss, privately ponder and yes, find personal fault and guilt in things like:<br />
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Racism (How could such an accomplished man be black AND hold on to his black identity?)<br />
The Israeli - Arab Problem (How could a "radical" 60s term Muslim and a Jewish lawyer turned sports caster, come to love and respect each other, so openly and publicly?)<br />
Questioning war and the deaths of innocents in the name of the greater good (Was he a draft dodger or a courageous conscientious objector?)<br />
Human Rights (Why are Africa, South American and SE Asia so poor? He tried to shine the spotlight on these regions by having some of his biggest fights there)<br />
American Poverty and Ways to Fix It (How did a poor, black kid from Louisville, Ky become the most recognized person on the planet and yet millions of others don't make it out of poverty in America?)<br />
Defeat (The Champ didn't win every fight) <br />
Aging (The Champ had to retire and later had Parkinson's)<br />
Our Mortality (The Greatest died yesterday)<br />
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Sadly, though Muhammad Ali tried to shine a light on these topics, in some corners of the globe things are no better, BUT statistics show that since 1964, on average, things are better.<br />
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I always knew that Ali was one of my heroes. What I didn't realize until today, was how much he impacted my life. We never met. We never spoke. His public example was all I needed. Truth speaks so loud and so clearly. In addition, the reactions of my family, friends, neighbors and strangers to his behavior, his speeches and his name, always gave me an opportunity to learn more about them, but most importantly - to learn more about myself. <br />
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What an amazing person? Maybe, truly THE GREATEST of my lifetime.<br />
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Footnote: I realize that he was not a perfect man, but who among us is?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-23078557098449458052016-03-27T16:28:00.003-04:002016-03-27T16:46:32.035-04:00The True Source of AngerAnger is one of the basic group of emotions that have been explored over the eons by artists, philosophers, spiritual thinkers and common people everywhere.<br />
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The typical idea is that anger is normal, but can be controlled and should be controlled or at least managed. Unlike fear which is sometimes required in order to survive, anger serves no greater purpose than to fog our judgment and raise our blood pressure.<br />
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I recently have re-awakened my thinking, regarding anger, after a series of both large and small incidents over the past 3-4 months, probably starting just before our trip to England and continuing on through very recent days.<br />
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It is one thing to understand the ideas about anger and anger management, it is quite another to be able to both employ management strategies and more importantly discover the true nature of one's anger and experience it in a purely emotional and almost spiritual way. I took this deep dive several times during this angry period and have basically come to the same conclusions as everyone else who has thought about this topic, however for me the essence was missing until I finally allowed myself to see myself for who and what I was when angry.<br />
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I have realized that all (100%) of my anger is actually directed at myself. Sure, I may yell at another person or write a nasty email or vent to a friend about a situation that "made me angry", but the fact is that the root of my anger in each and every situation was anger at myself.<br />
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Anger at myself for allowing something trivial to frustrate me.<br />
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Anger at myself for allowing others to get the upper hand and make me feel insecure or stupid.<br />
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Angry that the Universe doesn't treat me with any special significance or deference, but rather all of the rules of the physical world apply to me in amazing equality with all other human beings.<br />
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Anger at myself because I am not as smart, full of foresight or wisdom or aware as I wish I could be.<br />
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Anger at myself for making misjudgments and mistakes.<br />
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Anger at myself for placing importance on things (material, status, control) which I have no right to have or no possibility of achieving.<br />
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I am mostly angry at myself for not accepting the fact that I am human. One of 7+ billion on the planet and maybe 1 of 50 + billion that ever existed.<br />
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I get angry at me for being me.<br />
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What a stupid waste of time and energy? - oh shit, there I go getting angry with myself ,,,, AGAIN <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-13513468006334851812016-02-21T09:45:00.000-05:002016-02-21T09:45:14.507-05:00A Couple of Examples of When Humanity Took a Wrong TurnWe can infer that every generation of humans has wondered if their current generation or the next, would be the last. We can infer this because since the dawn of writing (5,000 - 7,000 years ago) and even the act of writing recording previously passed down oral history and mythology they all seem to contain some reference to the concept that things at that moment were degenerating and that the next generation is useless and we are all doomed sometime soon. While 100,000 years or so (when we believe the first modern humans evolved) is small on the cosmic time scale, by human standards it is 4,500 or so generations (a long time). <br />
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So at least 4,500 generations of parents and grand parents sat around the tree, the campfire, the cave pit, the wheat field, the hut, house or TV and bemoaned the state of humanity and in many cases wrote about, prayed about, studied, dreamed and made prophecies about our extinction. So far, these concerns and predictions have been very wrong.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>We are definitely at once a very <u>self critical</u> and a very<u> impatient</u> species!</b></span><br />
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So, please keep this observation in mind as you read further. Sure, at some point our species will become extinct, there is no denying that, but the when and the how are truly impossible to determine and I am not going to quickly join the ranks of all the other generations and say, hey - our greatest times are behind us and the future is screwed..... well ???<br />
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I often say that the two worst inventions in the history of mankind are religion and the internal combustion engine. I use these two "inventions" both metaphorically and factually to make many points about what is wrong with us humans as a species. I suppose that I could have chosen tribes, slavery, government, war or technology in general, but humor me on this and accept that the single TWO worst inventions in human history were religion and the internal combustion engine. I will use these two inventions to build my case as to what is fundamentally wrong with humans.<br />
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<u><b>Religion:</b></u><br />
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Religion is the outgrowth of fear and the need to control the tribe. It is a structural and internally useful tool for those who want to control others, to do so. While this in and of itself is immoral, it would be ridiculous to concede that both the popularity and (superficial) effectiveness of this tool can be questioned. Religion works very well as a control mechanism, especially as humans began clumping together in "civilized" groups around 7,000 years ago. <br />
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The second problem with religion however is that it requires believers to see other religions as wrong. Those who speak of religious tolerance are missing the whole point. Even "Universalists" who say that they believe in a higher power who has some say in the outcome of things and that spirituality is a normal part of the human experience and therefore "accept" all religions, are wrong in this case. By stating those beliefs they are denouncing every other religion, which is in fact exclusive. Meanwhile, any person who truly follows a religion and is not a hypocrite, is required to submit to the idea that their religion is the only true and valid one. The end result of this fact is that we can now employ this powerful tool to not only control those inside our own village, tribe, state, country, sect, but we can justify treating those with other beliefs in inhumane ways, by diminishing their humanity. There are thousands of examples, dating back thousands of years. Sure, there are examples of tolerance between tribes, nations and sects and even cooperation - but in almost every case where this exists, under neath the relationship is always a component of doubt. This mutual acceptance is often race and religiously based and is done for pragmatic, economic reasons - not because we really want to. Ask yourself why we rebuilt Germany and Japan after WWII and have not rebuilt Iraq and Afghanistan after those wars? Germany is made up of mostly white Christians and also was one of the largest groups of immigrants moving to America in the previous two centuries. Japan (and later South Korea) was our best chance at having a necessary "foot hold" in East Asia to battle the Cold War. We don't really give a shit about poor brown people from a multitude of Islamic sects living in a desert. <br />
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The third problem with religion is that it not only promotes conflict and divisiveness in a multi-cultural New World country like the US, it is based on irrational thinking. We are systematically and culturally saying that it is okay (if not preferred) to have adults believe in fairy tales. If religion wasn't popular and accepted by so many, wouldn't someone spouting the ideas of angels and gods and a messiah and conspiracy and the subjugation of others and claiming that those who disagree with them will burn in eternal fire or be subjected to being reincarnated over and over until they "get it right" be put in a mental hospital? How can a society have a rational debate and enact rational solutions about how to treat its citizens, protect its borders and take care of its economy, when it supports and promotes irrational thought as the "higher authority"?<br />
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<u><b>The Internal Combustion Engine:</b></u><br />
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For full disclosure, I must admit that I once worked in a Diesel Engine Factory. At any rate, why is the internal combustion engine the second worst invention of humanity? <br />
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To be fair, the act of invention itself, isn't really the problem. At the time, technology was growing at a rapid pace and one of the possible (not the only possible) next logical step was to invent a small, portable and powerful version of a steam engine or other device that could be mass produced and use to do the work of humans and animals at a fraction of the "apparent" cost.<br />
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The problem was that both the diesel and later the gasoline versions of the internal combustion engine were too good in some ways. The ability to produce these things at a lower purchase price skyrocketed with the ideas of mass production (interchangeable parts) and the assembly line. In addition they became a very stubborn platform from which to continuously improve upon the basic model, making them cheaper, faster and more efficient. Coupled with the significant cost of creating the support infrastructure (factories, roads, refineries, oil fields, gas stations) and giving control of that vast infrastructure to the children of visionaries and entrepreneurs, who - as many next generation wealthy brats do, hope to continue the legacy, without seeing the negative impact of defending their positions. All they could see was the cash cow of continuing to build these beasts.<br />
<br />
What are the social costs?<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Poor air quality</li>
<li>More "unnatural deaths" caused by trucks and automobiles than any other tool ever invented</li>
<li>Lead poisoning (until a reluctant Congress was embarrassed into pushing unleaded gas, in spite of millions of lobbying dollars from oil companies)</li>
<li>Rapid acceleration (pun intended) of the destruction of our planet's ability to sustain human life for the next 150 years.</li>
<li>Yet another reason to use religion as an excuse to wage war in West Asia and North Africa</li>
</ul>
The saddest part of this story is two-fold. Wind energy was already in wide use when Mr. Diesel patented his engine and solar power was recognized as the energy - holy grail of the new physics that was emerging at the time. Had the invention of the internal combustion engine been delayed for about 40-50 years, it would have been a write off and we would all be using solar, nuclear and wind power in all of their forms and varieties.<br />
<br />
Any engineer will tell you that the true test of the perfection and efficiency of an invention is how much waste it creates. Waste is usually found when heat, noise and non-renewable by products are created from the process in question. The internal combustion engine FAILS in all of these categories. They are very loud (need mufflers), they run crazy hot (need oil for lubrication and heat exchange and in addition a toxic water blended cooling system, fan, pump and radiator). The by products of their use are poisonous gasses and gasses that accelerate the natural warming cycles of the planet. What a horrific design?!<br />
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<b>So, what is the future of the human species?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>I have no clue, but like the arrogant cockroaches that we are, we will continue to adapt and do our best to survive in a more and more harsh world, never thinking that things wouldn't have had to "be this difficult, had we not made so many wrong turns".</b> <br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-15978912794471665002016-01-31T19:10:00.002-05:002016-01-31T19:10:30.767-05:00Ending Our Universe in One "Easy" Step<b>I have written about religion and meditation and the unfolding of the Universe a lot.</b><br />
<br />
I have given much thought to the concept of Free Will and whether or not it exists (outside ourselves) and I have written a chain of commentary on why I believe that our Universe (note the use of our) is a condition that is predetermined. These are beliefs, unproven and likely not provable. These are beliefs based on the study of our Universe and ideas derived from much thought and serious contemplation. (see previous blog posts for details).<br />
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It occurred to me, as I was reviewing my contemplation on this topic for logic errors, that it would be a fun thought experiment to wonder what would happen in a predetermined universe if some being or some consciousness actually developed a method to exercise Free Will.<br />
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I was surprised that even in a mental state of willful discipline, my mind raced toward a "gut feel" response of - That Universe would cease to exist.<br />
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This gave me the idea for the title to this piece, putting "Easy" in quotes to sarcastically make the link between the ease of the answer to the "what" could be done to end our Universe against the impossible or improbable task of the "how" to do it.<br />
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Many religions and followers of "holy" people or thinkers, have a concept of mortal or near mortal beings who once existed or currently do exist (popes, gurus, lamas, witches, oracles) that claim to have achieved or nearly achieved some for of transcendence.<br />
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To me true transcendence would indicate a discovery of a true self, soul or such an independent entity within one's self and simultaneously know the fabric of the universe in all of its spaces and times. That is a huge position to be able to get to.<br />
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Now imagine getting there and you become aware of your place in that fabric and understand at an almost mystical or metaphysical level how your existence is at once but a small part of that fabric, but that the fabric could not exist without you.<br />
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Then further imagine removing your "self" from that fabric.<br />
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At that instant the fabric would no longer exist. You would have effectively ended the Universe by transcendence and committing an act of Free Will - unless of course that was the way that the particular Universe you existed in was meant to end ........... (circular I know, sorry)<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-13471197613658115532016-01-22T18:16:00.001-05:002016-01-22T18:23:06.984-05:00You Either Get It or You Don'tSo, we live in a fractious time where we simultaneously embrace and hate the dual threats of deviciveness and instantiaity of our social media culture. <div><br></div><div>We all (see the rest of my blog entries, for example) self identify and argue about wealth, race, religion, politics, beliefs, logic, reason and the color blue. </div><div><br></div><div>Having said all of this I had a thought that what really predicts how I chose friends, employees and any significant for of human interaction or entertainment of mostly based on one thing. </div><div><br></div><div>"Does the person, place or thing Get It?" </div><div><br></div><div>Regardless of who or what you are, where you're from, where you're going or what you believe in or think about, you either Get It or you don't. </div><div><br></div><div>"Getting it" does transcend all of those things. "Getting it" transcends trancendence itself. </div><div><br></div><div>"Getting it" is a balanced view of logic and humanity. "Getting it" is a blend of pragmatism and passion. "Getting it" is a combination of curiosity and native intelligence (smart like a comedian, not necessarily smart like Einstein - although Einstein definitely got it). </div><div><br></div><div>Diverse Types "get it"</div><div><br></div><div>MLK - black, baptist, change agent</div><div>Ghandi - Hindu, conflicted, change agent </div><div><br></div><div>A lot in common, but so much different. </div><div><br></div><div>Einstein - singular genius, rockstar</div><div>Kurt Cobain - rockstar, genius, OD'd</div><div><br></div><div>How alike were they? Unknown.....</div><div><br></div><div>I could list numerous family, friends and acquaintances that "get it", but would feel sad for those who don't. </div><div><br></div><div>Those that "Get It" have some other traits, all of which seem to me to be mostly organic or in their DNA, not taught or learned - certainly not taught or learned after very early years. I see it in my grandkids now. </div><div><br></div><div>* Seem a lot less happy on the outside, than they feel on the inside. </div><div><br></div><div>* Proud. Hate all slackers, but hate their inner slacker the most. </div><div><br></div><div>* Know how to have fun, even binge and go all bacchanalian at times, then go stoic. Can appear quite socially bipolar. </div><div><br></div><div>* Don't believe in only one "life love". Realistic to know that they can be happy for decades with someone, but there are others and more importantly WERE others and it's okay, it's human. </div><div><br></div><div>* Love to laugh</div><div><br></div><div>* Love to work - Need to work </div><div><br></div><div>* Love to be rewarded in ways that are meaningful to them. </div><div><br></div><div>* Honestly care little of what others think of them, yet expect recognition. </div><div><br></div><div>* Have a HIGHLY passionate sense of justice and fair play coupled with a STRONG empathy and compassion for the human condition. </div><div><br></div><div>* Usually not the best dressed or well groomed people in the room, but still found to be attractive by those in the room. </div><div><br></div><div>* Defined by their accomplishments, which they see as being defined by their habits and behaviors. </div><div><br></div><div>* Appreciate irony, eccentricity and weird, yet find warmth in normal <span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">things. </span></div><div><br></div><div>* Read a lot, I mean - a lot</div><div><br></div><div>* Pay attention to details and the present. Daydream about the future less than others and dwell on the past only during occasional bouts of reminiscing. </div><div><br></div><div>* Are easily bored, but are comfortable with doing nothing, with no one. </div><div><br></div><div>The End</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-70067713343842684282015-10-07T21:36:00.000-04:002015-10-20T21:29:01.804-04:00Why I Mock Religion - All Religions<u><b>Why I Mock Religion</b></u><br />
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I rarely take much "in your face" heat over my unrelenting dismissal of all things religious. In fact to some extent I am perplexed by the fact that people so solemnly follow the old adage, "never talk about religion or politics".<br />
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At any rate, as I have said many times, I gave up on religion at about the same time I gave up on Santa Claus and for mostly the same reasons. Not only could no one prove the existence of Santa or God, they really couldn't give me a significant, rational purpose in the act of continuing to believe.<br />
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Even pragmatically, when I stopped believing in Santa, I still got Christmas gifts, so that didn't end poorly at all .....<br />
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So, because I loved (and love) people in my life who are people of faith, I stoically swallowed my disbelief and became at best a closet agnostic and at worst an unfaithful atheist. Then I got older, had some time on my hands, career and family security and felt less encumbered by what others really thought of me and I decided to expose myself as the religious bigot that I had become decades before.<br />
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Soon, after examining my own thoughts and looking at our world, I realized that I wasn't just an atheist, but that I was actually angered and sickened by religion. I am an anti-theist.<br />
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I think that I blogged about some reasons why before, but that was mostly on an intellectual level.<br />
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What do I FEEL and what do I BELIEVE. I mean if we are talking about faith, I should speak in the language of faith. Feeling and Believing and Passion and Soulfulness - not taking an academic or philosophical or scholarly view, but a HUMAN view.<br />
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The two most common arguments from others as to why I mock religion are (1) By mocking something that isn't testable, I feel smarter or superior to those that are willing to give up logic and simply believe and (2) I actually do believe in my deepest psyche and I am masking fear by being overtly anti-God.<br />
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So, before I share my feelings on the subject, let me respond to these seemingly logical and oft used accusations.<br />
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To the First - sadly, no matter how I wish it wasn't true, I do in fact feel that I am endowed with an intellect that is above average - meaning simply that I am not special in any profound way, but that more precisely, I am simply smarter than "most" people. This seems to be a fact. Given that I am aware of this fact and given that others are also aware of this fact and given that if anything being (on average) superior in some respect to others, actually makes me very uncomfortable. So, no, my normal motivations are to appear more common and less smart, not the other way around. Sure, I talk a lot and post a lot of things (some non-sense), but in my mind the more someone talks, the dumber they usually look. So again, I think by rambling, I am actually covering for myself and trying to fit in. Something I have desired for most of my life. At the end of the day, I actually RESPECT those that are truly faithful and have faith and hold their faith dear. It takes a lot of courage to believe something that is unproven and unknowable. The only problem is that for every TRUE believer, there are thousands that pretend and those pretenders are so transparent to me, I often feel like my "super power" is seeing their doubt and hypocrisy. (a pop culture jest in case you think I am serious about super powers)<br />
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To the Second accusation - While I have no qualms about tempting God, because I have had a great life (for the most part) and consider myself lucky, <span style="background-color: white;">not </span>cursed and frankly "blessed", I have never had the moment when I thought that a higher power was about to strike me down. Also, by not believing, I don't buy into the punishment thing and while I do believe that evil exists, I know that it exists as part of the human condition, the human mind, the human culture and sub-culture. It is not a conspiracy of the heavens, evil is a coding error in the human brain. There is no hell and often, bad people actually prosper and do well, those of whom who are not completely insane or anti-social. In fact the observation that "good things happen to bad people" and "bad things happen to good people" is one of the many unknowable questions that religion so conveniently answers for those that can't stand the idea of having things without explanations.<br />
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<u><b>Now - Why do I mock religion?</b></u><br />
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(1) All religion is premised on the key that humans are defective. It takes away a person's self worth.<br />
(2) Religious differences are a major (not only) factor in tribal conflict, war, death and injustice.<br />
(3) Religion is based on illogical premises, propagated by arbitrary references and a misuse of the capacity of the human intellect. Many intelligent and/or well educated people are people of faith, but religion prospers most where secular education is either the least effective or the least respected.<br />
(4) Religion is used by one class of humans to control and manipulate another class of humans.<br />
(5) Every religion that has ever existed, has failed to endure, once enough time has passed. 5,500 or 2,000 years is nothing. If you wait long enough, the big 5 will fade away (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism).<br />
(6) Taxes, Tithing and Supplication = Social and Political Injustice<br />
<b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;">I do NOT mock religion because I hate religious people. I mock religion because I hate religion.</span></b><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-60827528797835728812015-01-25T16:22:00.000-05:002015-01-25T16:25:14.167-05:00Some Things I have Learned<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: purple;">The other day I was sitting still (calm mind, calm body) and took a few moments to contemplate some things that I have learned during my 51-1/2 years on earth. I list them here in no particular order, with no particular scheme and with the absolute belief that I have learned much more than this, but these are what came to mind at the time.</span></span></b><br />
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It is highly desirable to embrace your HONEST nature, but try making some changes within a reasonable scope - as this exercise does not simply improve you as a person, but more importantly builds character and confidence.<br />
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Follow your gut instinct in life's most serious or dangerous situations, however - otherwise ignore your impulses when making every day decisions. Instead rely on an abundance of objective information and even the opinions of others.<br />
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Be Polite<br />
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Travel<br />
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Friends => Quality over Quantity<br />
Acquaintances => Quantity over Quality, Networking is Real<br />
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Read as much and as often as possible<br />
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Meditate and Exercise consistently and in a disciplined way<br />
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Live, Love and Laugh - ESPECIALLY laugh. Live in the Present. Love those most that love you in return and animals too.<br />
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Make time to seriously contemplate the mysteries of your existence and your present state, but minimize time spent fantasizing about the future.<br />
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Learn to Let Go<br />
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Forgive yourself. Don't let yourself off of the hook for bad behavior, but be like a good parent to yourself. Correct and forgive. Self loathing is possibly the worst form of sin.<br />
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Only kill what you eat or that which is an immediate threat to your life.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-37515991835840023512014-09-28T21:05:00.000-04:002014-09-28T21:05:15.631-04:00Intermission #3 - A Summary of My DNA analysis from the National Geographic "Genographic Project"<b><span style="color: blue;">I chose to participate in the National Geographic, "Genographic Project" for several reasons. First, I was and am curious about everything, so this was just one more THING to wonder about and learn about, both how the process would work and what information about myself I may uncover. Secondly, while I was pretty certain that my pre-American ancestors were from Germany (paternally) and South Eastern Europe (maternally), there were some inconsistent stories and even interesting physical attributes that brought some of this vague understanding into question. People in America, often talk about their European, Asian or African heritage (even if their family immigrated to the US generations ago) as part of their personal identity. When these guessing games would start, many people would guess that I was either "Italian", "Greek" or "Jewish" due in part I suppose to certain stereotypical physical characteristics. (My large nose and ease with which I tan included) Lastly, most non-Africans have some non-human DNA remnants from either or both the Neanderthal or Denisovan species, due to inbreeding during the largest waves of human emigration from Africa and into Asia and Europe between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago. I was therefore curious as to how "human" I am.</span></b><br />
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It is very important to understand the verbiage of this analysis. Nowhere can or does this DNA analysis say that a person is X% one or another ethnicity, but rather it compares my DNA samples to those of sample found in migrating groups and in current world populations and is an active and ongoing project to determine how patterns in DNA changed as humans migrated out of Africa and spread across the world. The language used to describe specific points of understand is precise and is meant to be so.<br />
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So anyway, here is what I learned:<br />
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(1) The average person with European migratory ancestry has about 2.1% Neanderthal DNA. I happen to have 1.6%. The average Euro-Asian has about 2% Denisovan DNA and I have 1.0%. Oddly, that makes me slightly more "human" than most of the people reading this blog post, other than Africans or direct disendants of Africans who happen to be the only people on the planet that are in fact 100% human.<br />
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(2) When compared to samples gathered from around the globe, my DNA fits a pattern of migration that includes 41% Northern Europe (density center in Northern Germany), 40% Mediterranean (density center in Northern Greece and Serbia), 18% South West Asian (density center in Persia a.k.a. Iran). <br />
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(3) The modern country with the most people with similar Paternal DNA patterns is Germany (no suprise there, given what I've been told). The modern country with the most people with similar Maternal DNA patterns is Romania. Not far off from what I have been told, but a bit more Southern and Asiatic than I was led to believe (no worries).<br />
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(4) Weirdly, the country with the most people who have the same combination of my Paternal and Maternal DNA pattern is Ireland even though no one in my family has ever claimed to have relatives in Ireland. I guess many of my German-Romanian ancestors got stuck in a pub in Ireland on their way to the US and never left. Probably due to the Guinness.<br />
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In the end this little experiment both added to the library of migratory knowledge about our species and gave me something interesting to read. The fact is, that ALL of our ancestors can be genetically traced to a very small, common group of people in Africa who were the very first "us". The rest of the migratory stories are just as interesting and varied as is eye, skin and hair color.<br />
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Personally, I found it interesting that my grand parents, great-grandparents and great-great grandparents were able to pass along both an oral history of "where we were from" as well as a chemical history and in my case the two matched pretty closely.<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-24411149742107703322014-09-14T09:07:00.000-04:002014-09-14T11:40:24.260-04:00Reflection # 9 - Listing the Sources of Your AttachmentsIt may seem that with this post I am on a "Buddhism" kick. I do find a lot of interesting things about Eastern Religions (as I do with Western ones) and as Albert Einstein admitted, as we progress as a society in science, math, philosophy and psychology, Buddhism seems to have the greatest chance of surviving. I think that is mostly due to the fact that it started out as a non-mystical, non-theistic life philosophy and therefore many of its core ideas do not require a departure from rational thought or an expression of faith. I have studied Buddhism now for at least 30 years, so this is no fad for me.<br />
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One of the main focal points for Buddhists is the ending of suffering, to include most importantly, our own personal suffering. The Buddha, we are told, discovered that suffering comes from attachment to material things, social norms and cultural devices as well as personal expectations of ourselves and each other. By stripping yourself of all attachments, you will end your own suffering and then be free to help reduce or end the suffering of other humans and sentient beings in general.<br />
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A few weeks ago, I did an exercise of personal reflection and wrote down the things that I am attached to. I modified the scope of attachment to include broad categories or more of the things in my mind or thinking or socialization that drove the various attachments, not necessarily the material items (like a house, job, family, money) - rather I chose to try and work at a deeper more fundamental level.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;"><u>Warning - Digression: </u> I like listing things and I like scratching things off of lists that are not base or fundamental enough. I find that this practice helps me in many areas of my life.</span></b><br />
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Anyway, I would like to challenge you to make your own list. Review it, contemplate it, refine it and see if, how and when the things on your list interfere with your happiness, success and overall feeling of peace and contentment. It is just a little homework, nothing to be afraid of.<br />
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<u><b>Things that Drive My Attachments:</b></u><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My Neurosis:</b>
narcissistic, anxious, depressed<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My Desires/Addictions:</b>
alcohol, sex, leisure time, food<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Seeking Acceptance:</b> wanting unconditional love, feeling insecure, wanting to be understood<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My Persona:</b>
tough, smart, funny, experienced</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My Guilt:</b> for
past acts, both the significantly terrible and the minor transgressions</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My Fear: </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">of failure and the of not providing for myself and others</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">, </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">financially and emotionally</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wanting to be unique:</b>
standout, different, “a character”, remembered, even mystical/other worldly</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My Hatred:</b> of the
fact that things are imperfect <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Concept </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">versus</span></span> Reality (Weltschmerz)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">My Career:</b>
control, money, sense of accomplishment</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wondering what people truly
think</b> of me, my behaviors and my intentions, beyond my “persona”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This list is VERY personal and a few people may think that I am over sharing here, however that is the power of writing these things down. They are real, they are known by yourself and others and they do in fact have the power to inhibit your true sense of peace and happiness, especially if you can not or will not acknowledge them.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-40293440869324095522014-09-06T11:31:00.001-04:002014-09-06T11:31:20.800-04:00A Return to Writing After My Surgery - Three Topics to Explore and Hey - I gained an insight the other day !<span style="color: blue;"><b>Most of my (limited) group of readers know that I had some significant surgery on July 28th and it has taken me this long to recover enough to be interested in writing again.</b></span><br />
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This post may seem a bit redundant to my last one, but since time has passed, I think that it might make sense to repeat a few things and add some color commentary.<br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;"><b>On a side note, looking at the statistics for readership there are some folks in Eastern Europe and Western Asia that read this blog. Now, I do not know if they are different people who are just browsing the blogger site or if I actually have fans in Russia, Turkey and other West Asian countries. If so, please send me a note or comment, I'd like to hear from you.</b></span><br />
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In my last post back on July 19th, I discussed the possibility of at least three future topics:<br />
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(1) How does morality and ethics play out in a pre-determined, atheist worldview?<br />
(2) Why not "just give up" if everything is pre-determined?<br />
(3) Attachment vs Happiness, do Eastern Philosophies know something that we don't?<br />
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Toward the 3rd topic I have been (slowly) reading a book titled, "The Book of Not Knowing" by Peter Ralston. It is a fun book for me to read, as he is attempting to walk the reader through the Eastern process of cleansing yourself of your "made up self" in order to discover your "real self". This idea that we are mostly what we have been told, taught and think about versus what we "really are" has always gotten my neurons firing, so I am enjoying the read.<br />
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This brings me to<u><b> the insight that I gained the other day </b></u>whilst reading this particular book. In it he is trying to offer a variety of analogies to explain to the reader the mechanics of how humans develop their sense, view and concept of the society, culture, world and self.<br />
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To summarize, he noted that if you watch a kitten (or kittens) play, they chase, fight, run and jump during their play. These skills are necessary for cats in order for them to both hunt for food and defend themselves. Adult cats also seem to enjoy play and while they do it less often, it would appear that their play helps them maintain these important survival skills. <br />
<br />
If you watch a child or children play, they often play "pretend". They can imagine that a shoe box is a boat and grandma's floor is the ocean. If you interrupt their play, they return to the "real world" of mommy and daddy (sometimes unhappily) and therefore demonstrate that they are not hallucinating or psychotic per se', however why do they play pretend? In fact why do adults fantasize? It might be that kids (and even adults) are "practicing some skills" that are required for success and as adults these skills may need maintenance, just like in adult cats. Those skills (playing pretend) would most aptly be defined as creating our worldview, our sense of self and our persona as an individual human. There is nothing fundamentally real about "who we are" other than the molecules that make up our current state of mass. Everything that we believe about ourselves is created in our minds. Tall, short, skinny, fat, pretty, ugly, smart, dumb, funny, boring, confident, shy are all constructs that we have made up - often with the help of our familes, friends and society in general.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>I thought that this explaination was cool and it stuck with me as being important to ponder and incorporate into how I think about myself and other people.</b></span><br />
<br />
This made me wonder about a thought experiment whereby you would take a fresh new human and attempt to remove all forms of feedback from them regarding their behavior, gender, intelligence, attractiveness and social "fit". What would you end up with? My first thought (like most parents or even non-parent adults who can't stand feral children) is that you'd have a "caveman". Then I wondered two more things. Would you REALLY have a "caveman" child if they received ZERO feedbac? I often find that some of the most irritating children that I run across receive all sorts of feedback and most of it is conflicting or non-specific, in other words, chaotic. The second thought was that whichever outcome on the spectrum of caveman to shy polite and calm (which actual cave people were more apt to be like, based on what we know of ancient humans), the child WOULD possibly reflect what "real" humans are like, deep down inside all of us, under all of our trappings and manners and pretense. <b>I think that would be an interesting thing to know!</b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-88633260862801573012014-07-19T10:15:00.001-04:002014-07-19T10:15:25.947-04:00Relection #8 - So am I done?After attempting to give a summation of how my belief system has matured and for the most part settled in over 50 years of life, the next question is "where do I go from here?"<br />
<br />
It is obviously difficult to really put into a few hundred words all of the events, thoughts and the reflections on those events and thoughts that make up a person's mindset. I felt the desire to get something down on paper and I did that in these last several posts.<br />
<br />
Now, I just continue on reading, thinking, reflecting and learning. This work will most likely result in a simple refining of my current worldview, but there is always the possibility that I could completely change my views, in time - who knows? Like I say in my tag line, this Blog is About Me and For Me, so my narcissistic approach to writing it is intentional.<br />
<br />
One thing that I have tried to convince myself of is the concept of "good enough". For some reason or another (poor nurturing, too much nurturing or some mental or emotional defect), sometimes I just can't let things be. I have very little problem with letting go of things that OTHER people do, but I often can't let go of the <b><u>imperfect</u></b> things that I do.<br />
<br />
Sometimes these things are material, like the three slabs (out of 144) that drive me nuts on the patio that I built that are not quite right (un-level and awkward) and sometimes these things are emotional, like guilt about how I treated someone wrongly in the past. While I totally and completely agree with the Buddhist concept that one of the keys to peace is letting go, being able to comprehend something intellectually and being able to actually behave in accordance with what you know is best are often two different things.<br />
<br />
So, I think that I need to explore this idea of Attachment v Happiness some more. <br />
<br />
Additionally, two things about my belief system that worry other people, but don't bother me at all, are "where do Morality and Ethics fit in?" and "if you think that everything is determined why don't you Give Up?".<br />
<br />
I mentioned (briefly) both of these topics in previous posts. These are fairly interesting and important topics to discuss and while many people have written volumes on them, I am confident that I can express a view of each that doesn't require a 350 page manifesto.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>So ........ Am I done? ... No chance !!</b></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-78280480316005344512014-07-15T18:15:00.003-04:002014-07-15T18:19:04.274-04:00Intermission #2 - Peas and the Tolerance SpectrumI have decided to use my hatred for peas as an analog for what I mean when I speak about tolerance and intolerance.<br />
Many things in our Universe appear to be relative and not absolute. So, just like most things, my hatred for peas is NOT absolute. If it was, I would not likely be able to function in the world, as I encounter peas far more often than I'd like. So in order to rationally continue on with my life, I occasionally MUST tolerate peas.<br />
<br />
This does not mean that I do not hate peas. I despise their taste, texture, smell, shape and color. I try my best to avoid peas. I do not intentionally purchase items with peas in them. I do not order anything off of a restaurant menu that mentions peas in the description, even if and when I am assured by the wait staff that the peas can be optional (they never are, those little bastards find my plate, they always find my plate).<br />
<br />
I have mentioned in other writings that tolerance is not very becoming to a philosophical belief or religious viewpoint, because in the end, most dogma (certainly) and powerful ideas or beliefs (usually) require a large amount of buy-in, in order to be accepted as worthwhile. Buying into one thing, forces us to exclude others. That is just the way it is and what logic dictates.<br />
<br />
Well then, how much tolerance is too much tolerance? <i><u><span style="color: blue;"><b>I don't know.</b></span> </u></i> I only know two things about tolerance: (1) <b>Without Tolerance</b>, existence would be virtually impossible, unless the Universe was in fact only me existing in my mind and (2) <b>With Tolerance</b> our belief systems are diluted, illogical and internally inconsistent.<br />
<br />
Is there something in the way that I manage peas that may help me understand a functioning variety of intolerance? Maybe I should explore some George-to-pea interaction scenarios to find out. <br />
<br />
<u><b>Avoidance:</b></u> To some extent, I find that this strategy takes the most over all energy. Although the energy spent at any given moment is barely measurable, the total amount of energy that I have spent in my life avoiding peas is quite significant. I discussed above how I avoid peas, I don't have them in the house, I don't buy them and I am vigilant at restaurants, picnics and other food encounters. I even risk irritating (at best) and alienating (at worst) those whom I care about the most, in order to employ this strategy effectively. This strategy seems to work well 99%+ of the time, as it seems now that I reflect on it, <span style="color: blue;"><b>I often go weeks on end without encountering peas.</b></span><br />
<br />
<u><b>Acknowledge and Separate:</b></u> When I run across a pea (and I eventually do), I have to acknowledge it. I have learned over the years how to quickly separate myself from peas. Strategies include, plate shielding, mechanical separation (usually with a fork or spoon), napkin hiding and others. This strategy works when I have let my guard down, but do not have an easy option of running away without losing face. Although there IS a fine line between separation and avoidance here. Anyway, I suppose that these seemingly inevitable encounters with peas happen to me a few times per year. Let's call it less than 1%.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Acknowledge and Ignore:</b></u> As much as I hate to admit it, I have been in situations where I am in a weak or compromised state (usually very hungry and tired) and I accidentally allow myself to be exposed to a large, overwhelming horde of peas. Typically in this state, I first attempt to weigh my avoidance or separation options, only to realize that I either have to go hungry or actually risk eating peas. Under this scenario, I DO often perform some separation, especially when it is easy and doesn't waste much of the food, but invariably, I end up eating some peas, just out of pure laziness, poor coordination and hunger. To mask their horrid taste, I make sure to utilize whatever meat or acceptable vegetable items are mixed in with the peas in the best way possible. Sometimes, I swallow the stew or soup whole to avoid tasting or chewing them altogether. Now that I am an adult, well fed and financially stable, this scenario RARELY if EVER happens any more. <span style="color: blue;"><b>I find it interesting that a modest amount of wealth, some education, the ability to think clearly and the freedom to act rationally, help me virtually never have an encounter with my most hated food.</b></span><br />
<br />
<u><b>Acknowledge and Destroy:</b></u> I have never actually employed this strategy, but I suppose if I won $100,000,000 in the Lotto, I could waste that money attempting to eradicate peas from the planet. I am sure that it would take trillions of dollars to make a real dent in the pea population and even then, peas would find their way back. While this strategy seems ridiculous, irrational and immoral, I find it amazing just how many people, countries, religions and other groups attempt to employ it. <span style="color: blue;"><b>Of all of the strategies, acknowledge and destroy requires the most belief and commitment. </b></span> The intensity of feeling, thought and action required to employ this strategy consistently requires an almost brain-washed level of belief in something greater than ourselves or beyond our comprehension. Those employing this strategy would have to offer up sacred writings and symbols worth dying for<span style="color: red;">*</span>, in order to promote such a high risk - low reward approach to a "problem". Some people would be compelled to give their own lives for the cause and those people would have to be revered by <u><b>ALL</b></u> in order to continue the propagation of the idea that this strategy makes any sense.<br />
<br />
Wow, I guess I really don't hate peas that much after all ................<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="color: black;">(I wanted to give my readers more credit than this and I apologize to those that find the footnote unnecessary. I am sorry, but I feared more that the point may be missed by some others)</span></span> <br />
<span style="color: red;">* ",,,sacred writings and symbols worth dying for." <span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><br />
A Book<br />
An Idea<br />
A Poem<br />
A Flag<br />
An Emblem, Symbol or Relic<br />
A Person or Vestige <br />
A Document or Declaration<br />
A Sacred or Special Piece of Land<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Disclaimer: Any relation that your brain draws between this blog post and recent world events is purely incidental and in fact your damn fault, not mine...... you pea lover!</b><br />
<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-11447434304395736842014-07-03T09:05:00.002-04:002016-01-22T18:27:53.513-05:00Reflection #7 - The Process of Elimination - Part C "Free Will to
Determinism"<br>
<br>
Simultaneously with the Christian to Agnostic to Atheist evolution, I
was going through a Free Will to Deterministic evolution. This one
however, was actually far more emotional and bothersome for several
reasons. The first major stumbling block was that many religious
teachings more or less reside on the deterministic side of things and
while free will creeps in (in Christianity in the choosing to be saved thing and Buddhism and Hinduism with the Karma thing), the
mystical side of those religions talk an awful lot about how things are
predetermined, prophesied and "known", so the preponderance of the evidence for
any/all/most religions seemed to me to be that things ARE determined.
So there was a religious "taint" on determinism for me and since I hated
religion during most of this time, I allowed that emotion to override my
use of logic. <br>
<br>
The second unfortunate thing for me was being born in America and fed the American
dream the American ideal, American exceptional-ism, from birth all the way
through the Golden Age of Ronald Reagan. All of these concepts, lies,
ideas and myths had one clear thing in common. You made your own way,
your own life, your own wealth = Free Will<br>
<br>
<br>
As I further developed my method for thinking about these things, I started questioning my assumptions that Determinism had to:<br>
(1) be related in some way to religion or mysticism and<br>
(2) clearly defied common sense and everyday experience<br>
<b><br></b>
<b>For me, these realizations are probably the most proud achievements of my intellectual life.</b><br>
<br>
Going back a few posts, I mentioned the idea that when you take humans out of the equation, the idea of Free Will seems to carry much less clout. Most (like 99.9999999999999%) of the stuff in the Universe appear to carry on without any care or influence of Free Will. It is only the self aware beings that seem to care about or create the illusion of Free Will. Comets and stars and planets and the weather all seem to behave according to Predetermined (or at least Determined) laws of the physical Universe.<br>
<br>
When I meditate on the origin and purpose of the Universe, it seems clear that the Universe exists for itself and itself alone. Whether or not there are multiple universes that exist, whether or not they are similar to, but not exactly like ours (slightly differing physical laws projecting their outcomes over billions of years), or we are a one off - all there ever is and ever will be universe, the unfolding of this Universe is tells us much about the nature of universes in general.<br>
<br>
While we don't, probably can't and never will know everything, we know a lot. The things we don't know, like the exact, "real" origin of our Universe, actually hold less importance if you look at them through the lens of Determinism. We are just here, we know mostly how we got here and we know that without any intervention from an extra-universal force, the Universe will last another trillion years or more. <br>
<br>
From what we can make out so far about the Universe, its main "purpose" (which is sadly a personification) seems to be quite simple. The purpose of the Universe is to continually increase its entropy until it no longer exists. We don't know or probably can't understand the details of the earliest days, but our Universe clearly started in a state of VERY low entropy and since that time the "physical laws" inherent in this Universe require the average entropy of the Universe to be ever increasing and (most likely) at an increasing rate. These facts, make it easy to predict that in some very distant future, the entropy of the Universe will be such that all things that we understand to "be" (matter and energy) will no longer exist. There are questions about the "fabric" of space-time and we don't know what dark matter or dark energy are, HOWEVER through inductive observation, we do know that even these conceptual "things" seem to follow the ever increasing entropy model. <br>
<br>
Therefore, simply put ALL things must be predetermined. The Universe will unfold as it will and your choice of which socks to wear must be part of that process, no matter how ridiculous that sounds on the surface of it. <br>
<br>
Some very smart people argue that there may be a "<b>Planck Scale</b>"<b><span style="color: lime;">*</span></b> where free will is allowed to take place because those decisions are small enough not to impact any general outcomes that would violate the natural laws and the fate of the whole Universe. To me, this is just another sophisticated way to trick ourselves into believing that we have some control, it attempts to put the human back into the equation, an equation into which we don't belong. Our role is clearly spelled out as has been since the beginning. It is ridiculous to think that while the overall fate of the Universe is predetermined some individual acts are not, simply so we can sleep better at night.<br>
<br>
<br>
In conclusion: <span style="color: red;"><b>I am convinced that an Atheistic, Deterministic view of our Universe </b><span style="color: black;">seems to be the most correct explanation for things, based on the process of elimination. </span></span><br>
<br>
<span style="color: blue;"><u>FIRST NOTE:</u></span> Please realize that I
realize that being born in America was like a lotto win, in a messed up
world, there are few places as awesome, healthy and safe as the US. <br>
<br>
<span style="color: blue;"><u>SECOND NOTE:</u></span>
Sadly our history texts only spent 1, exactly 1 page each on the topic
of "Manifest Destiny" that was a popular excuse for our behavior back in
the early days of colonial America. Even back then (5th grade
History), I saw the irony
of Free Will Politicians who loved to evoke the "Founders", but never
really spent time explaining the
paradox of Free Will and Economic Choice with the
idea that somehow it was "God's plan" that we almost wipe out an entire
race of humans (Indigenous Americans) and exploit abundant and cheap
natural resources for personal gain.<br>
<br>
<span style="color: blue;"><u>Final SIDE NOTE:</u></span> If our understanding
of the Universe changes dramatically I will be dead and my thoughts on
the matter will be absorbed along with the worshipers of Sun Gods and
the Flat Earth Crowd, but if you trace back the scientific history of
mankind, many fundamental truths were hinted at, poked, prodded and
"almost known" quite a way back. It normally took technology to catch
up to thought to shed the most proper light on any given subject. The
ancients believed in atoms, that matter was made up of mostly space and
that matter and energy were somehow interchangeable, but until the
1800s, we didn't have ways to show that these ideas were correct.<br>
<br>
<span style="color: lime;"><b>*</b></span> <b>Planck Scale</b> is a concept used in Quantum Mechanics to "explain" the border line between the Quantum World and the Macro World. It is a way of saying, we don't understand how quantum uncertainty collapses into a final state of what REALLY is for large objects. Large in this case being atoms. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-44167883474342227082014-07-03T08:25:00.003-04:002014-07-03T08:25:52.702-04:00Reflection #6 - The Process of Elimination - Part B "Christianity to Agnostic to Atheist"<br />
<br />
For the first 12 or 13 years of my life I just assumed that there was
a god and not only "a" god, but God. The real one, the father of Jesus
and the bad ass that destroyed the whole earth in the flood (save Noah)
and rained fire on the LGBT community of Sodom and Gomorrah and gave
his own son's life for us puny humans to have forgiveness and
everlasting life. <br />
<br />
Much like my belief in Santa Claus,
I was ready, able and eager to dismiss that particular god as one of
many and the stories of his power and awesomeness as some set of
parables and mythology given to us by creative writers who were attempting
to explain things that we didn't understand, give us some moral guidance and keep large groups of people from getting out of control and
turning our well planned and complex civilization into anarchy.<br />
<br />
I was NOT however, willing to give up my
"innate sense" that there had to be "something", some purpose, some
energy turning the wheel, some god or god-like entity the didn't even
have to be very active in the details of my life or things in general,
but a prime mover, a final answer, a go-to solid hub or anchor in this
seemingly chaotic Universe.<br />
<br />
I therefore started to categorize myself as <span style="color: blue;"><b>Agnostic</b></span>.
Basically the belief that there is a higher power, but its existence
doesn't really matter to a self aware species on a small blue planet in
the middle of nowhere, other than to give us comfort that things aren't
as arbitrary as they sometimes seem. <span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span><br />
<br />
So
for 30 or more years, I lived and thought as an Agnostic. I bothered to
spend a lot of time reading and contemplating
the origin and purpose of the Universe. I read and attempted to understand and internalize
numerous books, everything from dumbed-down popular descriptions of scientific and philosophical ideas to some slightly more complex books on those
subjects. Science, Philosophy and Theology were the main categories of my reading. I also read the Bible from
cover to cover (not easy), the Qur'an, some of the Torah, several Hindu
texts, a couple of books co-authored by
the Dalai Lama and several on Buddhism in general. I even read
biographies and autobiographies of famous philosophers, scientists and
the great writers and thinkers of the age of cultured man. In the years
between grad school and "fairly recently", I have likely read over 300
complete texts and another 500 articles or short writings. All the
while, assuming that the question of the existence of some prime force
was a given.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>Then one day I woke up and just said, "this is silly". Basically, I decided that being agnostic was the wimp's way out. I realized, like many people, I was trying to have it both ways. </b><span style="color: black;">Too smart to believe in that stupid virgin birth story, but too scared
to put my eternal soul on the line and fully commit to non-belief.</span></span><br />
<br />
There was no clear indication in any of the texts that I studied that the Universe has a fundamental NEED for a god, nor was any EVIDENCE of the existence of such a being,
energy, entity, etc.. presented. I realized that only habit and
fear kept me from admitting what I had learned over these years - that
there is no god, God or anything. It was as simple as that. After expending so much effort on trying to answer the most fundamental questions about the Universe, <b><u><span style="color: blue;">all I had to do was to accept the answer.</span></u></b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #444444;"> <span style="color: black;">There is no god.</span></span></span> <br />
<br />
Let's face it. There is a lot of stuff written in physics books and most of it is testable and true. I mean we have airplanes, TV, nuclear bombs and cell phones. There is a lot of stuff written in religious texts, very little of it is testable and true and as far as I know, God, Moses, Muhammad, Jesus or the Buddha have no impact on my cell phone reception, although sun spots do. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-60204346490598221622014-06-30T20:34:00.000-04:002014-06-30T22:28:32.047-04:00Intermission #1 "Angry Atheists" Explained<br />
Why do atheists have this rap for being angry? As much as I try to be a "calm" atheist, it is difficult in a culture permeated by "believers". If you want to really know why some atheists come off as angry, I have listed a few possible reasons:<br />
<br />
<u><b>(1) </b><b>Divisiveness:</b></u> Many people use religion like race or language or skin color or geography. "WE
are right and THEY are wrong and stick with ME and I will deliver YOU
from THEM". It is all there in the "holy" books and "sacred" texts. Read them people, really,
actively read them. No true religion can be tolerant. True believers can not afford to be tolerant. Any group that claims tolerance is therefore excluding others who are not tolerant and therefore are themselves intolerant. I admit that my belief system does not allow for tolerance, however I do not actively pursue injustice, hatred, fear or public harassment toward those with differing beliefs. I would never say however, that I am religiously tolerant. I believe that I am right and others are wrong. I will also admit that I allow that belief to occasionally impact my feelings toward other people, but I work hard not to allow my beliefs to impact others in a negative way. <br />
<br />
<u><b>(2) Manipulation</b></u>: As stated in other posts, religion is used every day to manipulate and control the masses. It is an astounding thing, religion. A carnival show that has existed since man first started living in groups. Its the tribal formula. Each tribe has what? A figure head, a technologist, a military general and a cleric. They each have their roles to play and the cleric's role is usually that of<br />
"being given from above" the ultimate judgment or the ultimate final word, yet unlike the others who often earn their power the cleric only receives their power through collusion with the leader, the general and sometimes (sadly) the technologist, so it comes as no surprise that the "revelations" they have usually support those in power or those about to seize power. <br />
<br />
<u><b>(3) </b><b>Widely Accepted, but False Views on Ethics and Morality</b></u>: While
there is no doubt that some "religious organizations" do help make the
world a better place, nothing of what they do that makes a difference is
done by God. It is all done by the PEOPLE within those organizations
and could have just as easily have been done by any organized group of humans. The
next argument for morality and ethics assumes that atheists are also amoral. Don't go there either. <span style="color: blue;"><b>No one requires a belief in a god or the threat of eternal punishment to do good and to be good.</b></span> In fact one may argue that if you need the threat of eternal punishment to do good and to be aware of and try your best to avoid evil, then your heart really isn't into it - is it?<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;"></span><br />
<u><b>(4) Tax Exempt Status</b></u><br />
<br />
<u><b>(5) Influencing "Democratic" Governments: </b></u> It would be awesome to be able to wield so much power that you could dictate to professional bureaucrats and politicians to legislate things like tax exemptions, the inclusion of your "holy book" in public swearing in and to guilt ALL leadership candidates to publicly ascribe to a religious affiliation out of need. "No one wants an atheist President", is one of the biggest lies ever told in America. By all accounts the "great" Ronald Reagan was at most agnostic and likely an atheist, but was able to act the part when required. Many of the founding fathers were not religious, but hypocritically evoked the idea of a higher power, to mostly garner favor from voters and other influence wielders. I find this "necessity" stunning in our modern era. Even Barney Frank in a recent interview stated that in many ways, being openly gay was easier from a political standpoint than being an agnostic turned atheist. I found that surprising.<br />
<br />
<b>(6) <u>The
church has the best business model ever:</u></b> They offer a product
(forgiveness, eternal life without damnation, peace of mind, etc) for a
relatively small fee (high volume sales is how they make their living) and
no one ever comes back and says that your product is faulty, why?
Because they are dead and the dead keep all secrets. You then claim that
you posses infallibility because the almighty revealed such to you.
Things couldn't be more tidy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<u>(<b>7) Atheists are RARELY given any consideration:</b></u> How often are atheists invited to lead memorial services, inter-faith town halls or the annual National Prayer Breakfast? When NASCAR starts their race with a prayer, is there any consideration for atheists, agnostics, heck for that matter non-Christians of faith? Why was adding "under God" to the pledge of allegiance in <span style="color: blue;"><b>1954</b></span> tolerated by regular, Americans who believed in freedom? How is it acceptable to ask everyone to swear an oath on a bible in court? Then force those who take exception to that request to be made to publicly declare their private religious beliefs.<br />
<br />
The reason that some atheists feel the need or are compelled to "be angry" is that just like "angry blacks" or "angry feminists", often an emotionally charged PLEA for equality, fairness and understanding is the only way to get any notice of your plight. Given the statistics on the number of atheists in the US and given the ridiculous amount cow-towing and deference given to religious organizations and religious "leaders", I am shocked at exactly how very few angry atheists there seem to be. <br />
<br />
In
the end, most atheists don't care what you believe. We just don't want
to see it, feel it or have decisions influenced by it in the public
domain. Religion should be a private thing, like your sex life, your
toilet habits and your underwear.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-58819391352540312332014-06-29T10:51:00.000-04:002014-06-29T10:51:30.549-04:00Reflection #4 - A Defense of Free WillBy now I have proposed a simplistic four-quadrant model of how most people view the Universe and I have dismissed Theism (one half of the model) as being both unnecessary and ill founded, based on far more than the summation of my life's experiences, but rather through hours and hours of disciplined study, thought, sensory experience and reflection.<br />
<br />
To dismiss the 3rd of the 4 quadrants requires an exploration of the concept of Free Will.<br />
<br />
On the surface, it appears to most people that Free Will is the prime mover of our every day lives. Why would the Universe care which socks I decide to wear in the morning or whether or not I brush my teeth before or after my shower? These seemingly inconsequential acts, topically support the idea of Free Will and do so in such an apparently REAL way that most people rarely think about, let alone discuss or debate the existence of Free Will, Choice or our Active Participation in outcomes that impact the space and time around us. Certainly, we impact the immediate space and time around us, if not much, much more. Our existence seems to be predicated on a series of events that "brought" us to this current moment and many if not all of these events were so obviously influenced by ourselves, our fore bearers and eons of humans and other life forms before us. <br />
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Defending Free Will in a Blog Post seems almost too easy. The fact that I am writing this blog post and you are reading this blog post certainly cries out that we are both exercising free will. I am choosing each word to include and which words not to include in this post. You are choosing whether or not to read these words and you are further choosing how to internalize, contemplate or simply forget them.<br />
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Is that REALLY the way that the Universe works? Can you really choose to forget something? What motivates me to write anything at all, let alone these particular words?<br />
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Most people will say, "shut up, <insert a="" chuckle="" here=""> that is just nonsense". Of course the act of writing a blog post and the act of reading a blog post are fully the result of each of us exercising our Free Will. Isn't it?</insert><br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Theistic Free Will:</span></b><br />
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Theist that also believe in Free Will argue that free will is exactly the magical "thing" that separates us from the "animals" (or in some systems plants or rocks) and allows us to live eternally in the grace of god. Somehow, god or the gods set everything in motion and planned everything out according to THEIR will, but left just enough room for humans to manipulate their own fate within some magical space, that ultimately determines how our eternal soul or souls (if you believe in re-incarnation) will live and evolve. Free Will is this wonderful "gift" that god or the gods give us that allow us to make the right choices, build our karmic bank account and either mature to be forgiven and loved eternally or to be damned to an eternity of suffering.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">Atheistic Free Will:</span></b><br />
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Atheists who believe in Free Will, more or less hold the same construct as the Theists mentioned above, other than they leave out the god part. <span style="color: blue;">This consistency with my writings in previous posts is intentional. </span>They believe that there is a space within which humans may act on their own accord and that those actions have little or no impact on the Universe as a whole, even though those actions may have a significant impact on our species, our planet or even our solar system. Many classical arguments by atheists who believe in Free Will conclude with something like, "It just makes practical sense. Don't ask me how it works, just know that it works." Unfortunately for them, that sounds a lot like dogma, religion or faith to me. They are choosing to believe in common sense or what their senses tell them and not allowing themselves to abandon wrong ideas, simply because the alternative (and possibly correct) ideas feel weird. <br />
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I said this earlier in this post and will say it again. It is very easy to assume that Free Will not only exists, but is apparent in our every day experience. Questioning something so obvious seems like a fool's errand. It is truly difficult to argue that point when I look at life or the Universe from a human's perspective. Our brains, so powerful and difficult to understand are a true feat of evolutionary engineering which do not cope well with uncertainty and a lack of control. Two things MUST be true in order for our brains to function normally. First, time must progress forward and Second, we must have some control over our actions, thoughts and feelings. Even prisoners in the worse conditions, undergoing torture, rape and other brutality will (if they survive) tell accounts of how they "tricked" themselves (and sometimes their captures) into believing that they had small gaps of time and space where self control, choice and free will still existed.<br />
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Such a powerful, innate and obvious thing can not possibly be rationally questioned, can it?<br />
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What if we turned the question upside down and instead of starting with our favorite topic - me (I mean us, you for you and me for me, our SELF), we start with the beginning or end of the Universe or even this exact present moment in space and time or space-time. <b><span style="color: blue;"> When we take humans in general and the human mind in particular out of the equation, the need for Free Will starts to rapidly evaporate. </span></b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: black;"> Please think about that for a second or ten. All the emotion and surety that Free Will exists magically disappears when we talk about the orbit of comets or the mating rituals of birds. We gladly and easily suspend the entire concept of Free Will when we make these observations. We don't need Free Will when there is gravity or innate/primal brain behavior going on, so why do we so desperately need to have Free Will in our lives? Think that over and over and again, one more time. Why?</span></span><br />
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In my next post I will begin the process of my explanation of why Deterministic Atheism makes the most sense. Notice that I didn't say it was the right answer, just that of the four quadrants of MY model, I can demonstrate the thought process that I went through that convinced me that the quadrant of my choosing (ironically) is Deterministic Atheism.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>That really is a paradox is it not? I am saying that I "believe" in something unknowable (but that something is atheism) and that I <u>chose</u> to believe it, even though I have no choice (determinism). </b><b>For some people, that argument alone would win the day !!</b></span><br />
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Something that wildly paradoxical must have a grain or two more of truth in it than the others and that is really how I got to this point in my thinking. I just used the good old process of elimination technique or deductive reasoning or as Sherlock Holmes would say, "...... that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth". <span class="st"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-91031502289297082692014-06-24T21:35:00.000-04:002014-07-03T08:08:16.415-04:00Reflection #5 - The Process of Elimination - Part A "The Method"<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>Originally, I had intended on publishing this post as a one single - very long post that would have included what are now Reflections #5, #6 and #7. I was on a writer's roll and had the ideas all down and much of the grammar and flow just where I liked it, BUT it was too long, so I broke them into the three posts that you see now. However, I will/did publish them in quick succession for anyone with the interest or stamina to read all of this crap in one go. </b></span><br />
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I often cry when watching movies. For those of you that know me, this is not a great personal revelation, it is a fact that I am as comfortable sharing as it is embarrassing to my children.<br />
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Why and How do I cry when watching a film?<br />
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The short answer is that my brain allows me to disengage my sense of what is "Real" from what is "Imagined" and if the acting and cinematography are good enough, I begin to live in that imagined moment as if it was real. So, when the sad thing happens near the end (it always does, except in Up when I cried at the start) I cry. I cry because I am sad and I empathize with a character or characters that the rational part of my brain knows are not real, but since I've turned it off, the same physiology that makes me cry when my favorite pet dies also allows me to cry at that moment in the movie.<br />
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So, if I can turn off the rational part of my brain and trick my physical being into acting off of nothing other than my emotional brain, then why can't I also turn off the emotional part of my brain and become super rational? Well, it turns out that I can. Sometimes I can do it with full intent, purpose and on demand (like when watching a movie or pretending to be angry with a customer service representative on the phone) and sometimes it just happens (like in an adrenaline filled, emergency situation when my emotions shut down and my rational brain gets going full tilt).<br />
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I am not saying that I can ALWAYS choose to turn one or the other of my brain functions on or off, I am saying that with practice and effort I can do it and under some circumstances it is easier to do (a dark theatre with a big screen and loud surround sound or when helping car crash victims on the highway) then at other times.<br />
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By using the technique of high and low emotional and high and low rational thought at various intensity levels, I have spent many hours alone, often in dark and quiet places, thinking about the Universe, its origin, its purpose and which theories of why were are here and what the future might hold seem to best fit the results of my seemingly endless pondering.<br />
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At some point in time, fairly recently, but not within the last 5 years, I came across a method of reasoning that included both using the process of elimination (something that I have been familiar with for most of my life) and pondering questions both on a fully emotional and then later a fully rational level to arrive at "the best/right answers".<br />
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If someone had approached me years ago with a four quadrant model and said pick one and only one quadrant, I would have struggled with two things. The first thing would have been my "confidence" in identifying myself as Atheist vs Theist. As an Agnostic for most of my life I would have had to be honest and claim "Theist". Secondly, I would have DEFINITELY picked the "Free Will" side of the box, regardless of how I handled the 50/50 aspect of the god thing. While my move from Christian to Agnostic to Atheist was relatively
steady and consistent over many years, it has only been recently that I have
accepted the idea that Free Will is an
illusion and that our Universe must be one of predetermined fates.
That change of thought was more of a cliff event than a gradual shift.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">In the end, things changed for me in a big way, once I organized my thoughts and committed to the conclusion regarding the lack of a higher power and the idea of determinism. </span></b><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-46627636572616757672014-06-23T20:19:00.001-04:002014-06-23T20:19:59.061-04:00Reflection #3 - Defending TheismIt is equally likely that you appreciate my writing style as it is that you find it tedious. I would apologize, however, I write the way I write and at this point we are stuck with it. I tend to make one or two salient points per post and in my defense, I try to keep them relatively short (given the gravity of the subject matter). However, I do wonder off on tangents, stray thoughts and the occasional rant in each post and if that scares you off, I am truly sorry. Not sorry that I wrote and published the material, but sorry that I scared you off.<br />
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One of the most widely used methods for discussing alternative points of view of the Universe is for the writer to attempt to defend opinions counter to their actual belief or thesis. I employ this method throughout my life and my writings, so hopefully, if you're keeping up, I won't have to mention this again.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">I completely understand why religion exists. I truly do! In fact it may be this strong, empathic, yet confident belief that I understand the why of it, that makes me an Atheist. </span></b><br />
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It is understandable why people created religion. While I believe that a god is not necessary, fate is too unsettling of an idea for many people to grapple with. <b><span style="color: blue;">God can be man's ultimate coping mechanism and eternal scape goat.</span> </b> With a god in the picture, all things are truly and in fact possible. Beauty, hatred, art, science, lies, theft, immortality, non-existence, decay, rebirth, war, famine, disease, pleasure, abundance, suffering, winning, losing - ALL of the exact same things that fate, luck, randomness or chance can bring us, may also exist in a Universe created, directed or influenced by a god. A god just makes it all so much easier to understand and deal with.<br />
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The existence of a god gives us an explanation free from the confines of consistency and logic and therefore a god is indeed all powerful since the answers are all neatly packaged and available to us through the revelation of his will, or word or commandments. <br />
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I think that all we really need to do to cope is to accept "because" or "it is what it is", but that is a very difficult ask. It has taken a long time and a lot of soul searching (ironically) for me to get there and so I try very hard not to look down on anyone who wishes to believe in a different explanation. <br />
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May people (many that I love and respect, in fact) opt to explain things as "the will of God" or a "mystery that will be revealed one day". A magic hand that starts it all and guides it forward.<br />
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<br />So, my defense of theism is an empathetic walk in the theist's shoes. I totally get it. Belief and Faith are comforting, they are a way to cope and there are even times when our brains respond to the glory of it all. I know THAT feeling. I was "saved" once. I was committed to Jesus and baptized "after receiving the holy spirit". I strongly desired to believe in what everyone around me believed. All of those feelings are real and formidable. You can get a rush from faith.<br />
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Unfortunately, I discovered that those beliefs and feelings are ungrounded and ill founded. What is worse, history tells us that religion is sometimes used to manipulate the masses, pawn off blame and escape accountability. It can truly be said that belief in an untestable, unknowable dogma is just ANOTHER way to divide us and allow the privileged few to dominate the underprivileged many.<br />
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So while the existence of Spirituality seems to be a common aspect of the human mind and some argue that ritualistic or spiritual practices are harmless and even helpful for some people in some circumstances, religion and the requirement to not only believe in a deity, but to give yourself over to other people's interpretations of that deity's will is not only dangerous and destructive to the individual (you are evil, you are nothing, you are an instrument, you are not worthy), but possibly destructive to our species. I do not think that I have to illuminate the impact of theism on the course of human history. It is pervasive and dominate, especially during times of war and crisis, if not a contributor to war and crisis. <br />
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I often wonder how we would handle our problems (big and small, family and global), if we all suddenly grasp that fact that we have one life to live, one planet to live it on and that the clock is ticking. I find that even my life and my behavior have not changed as much as I'd like after coming to that understanding and firmly planting it into my mind. I think that it will take generations of understanding to undo what has been done over the last several thousand years of theistic dominance.<br />
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I believe that there is a VERY fine line between atheists and theists.
Both systems see the Universe in almost the exact same way. It can all
be boiled down to Cause and Effect. <b><span style="color: blue;">It
is vividly clear (to humans who evolved survival mechanisms predicated
on grasping the concept of cause and effect) that this is how the Universe<u> must</u> operate</span></b>.
A steady flow of cause and effect, eternally increasing entropy, our
minds and senses colluding to create the illusion of time, etc.. are all
the by products of our evolution. The only difference is that one
mental map chooses to employ a deity to explain the origin of things,
phenomena that we have not yet figured out (or may never figure out) and
to explain things that are illogical, seemingly inconsistent or
mystical to our limited sensory powers. The other mental map chooses to
work methodically and slowly to explain these things or admit that they
are simply unknown or unknowable. No god needed, but cause and effect,
real or imagined, are still in play.<br />
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Simply put, you can hold a fridge magnet close to the fridge and FEEL the tug of the magnetic field that is trying to pull the fridge toward the magnet and the magnet toward the fridge. You can even let go of the magnet and it will appear to "fly" toward the fridge, seemingly defying that other invisible force that you are familiar with that makes things drop to the ground. You can choose to call this phenomena magic or the will of god or electromagnetism. Frankly, there isn't much more known about magnetism than there is about the will of god, however a really smart person named James Maxwell was able to describe how this invisible field behaves, using mathematics. I have yet to see someone put the will of god into a mathematical equation that is reliable, testable and which can be used to expand human understanding and be a launching point for further discoveries. Without this descriptive understanding (we still don't fully comprehend what fields are or how they come into being, just how they work and relate to other invisible phenomena) this posting would not be possible, nor would your microwave or your cell phone or any of your favorite gadgets. There is no theistic revelation or religious text that I am familiar with that discusses field theory. Why? Because it wasn't yet discovered when most of the more popular religious texts and "revelations" were written. <br />
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So maybe a true test of the "revealed word of god" (any god, you pick one) should first include something testable and tangible about the Universe that hasn't already been thought of or discovered. Each text that I have read clearly redefines and refines that thoughts of the day and the age in which the text was written. While some interesting twists and new philosophical ideas may be presented, nothing truly new, in the way of understanding, exists in these religious texts. I find that odd.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-36155773253017186912014-06-17T20:11:00.001-04:002014-06-17T20:11:38.486-04:00Reflection #2 How it all Started I occasionally recount the story about "getting kicked out of Sunday school" when I was 10 or 11 years old. Often the telling of this tale starts when someone asks me, "how did you become an atheist?". In the interest of full disclosure, I have embellished the story a bit (what good story doesn't require some embellishment) in order to drive home the point. I wasn't literally kicked out of Sunday school, although my teacher chose to end the class early and talk to me, my parents and the church's lead minister about my behavior. That behavior was simply me, asking questions. I can't recall exactly which questions I had asked over the course of several lessons, but they all dealt with the lack of logic of the stories being told and their irrelevance to modern life. Being frustrated that I was both interrupting the lesson and asking questions that she couldn't answer, my poor volunteer teacher was seeking immediate help - from me. The solution was that I was allowed to skip the remaining set of "children's" Sunday school classes and attend the "adult" ones, where I was "allowed" to ask one question per class. As you can imagine, like taking only one photo per day (Jim Brandenburg style), I had to learn patience and develop a keen sense as to what question to ask and when to ask it, in order to get the biggest bang for my buck. Soon, I got bored and stopped attending altogether. My main concern was that if there was a God and if he created me, then he also created my brain, my curious nature and the desire to have my questions answered, so why was it so "bad" (I was 11, so I didn't choose the proper word, "threatening") for a kid to ask questions about the Bible? I was sure that it was God's will to have me there at that time and place, asking those questions - but it seemed to some people that Satan himself hand delivered me to the church each and every Sunday at 9 am to mess things up. <br />
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The fundamental problem really wasn't the stories and their irrelevance to modern life (although those factors made them seem silly), but as I read more and learned more about other cultures and other mythologies, I realized that the main point of these writings was an attempt to use allegory to teach people how to have empathy for the human condition and to prize love and happiness over materialism. I could deal with THAT, what drove me nuts was the mysticism and faith that every religion in the world seemed to require, that went above and beyond the story telling and teaching and entered the realm of fantasy. DANGEROUS fantasy.<br />
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It strikes me as sad and ironic that some religious leaders today (and in the past) have railed against "modern thought" and "rock music" and "television" and "violent video games" as being the causes of "the fabric of our society being ripped away". School shootings MUST be due to video games, the internet and rap music...... They make claims like, "we are desensitizing our youth to violence and obliterating their innate respect for other humans...blah blah blah". Have they read the Bible (especially the Old Testament)? Have they read the Koran? Have more kids been killed due to any scientifically proven link between video games and school violence OR have more been killed in the name of Christianity, Islam or even, dare I say it "Freedom and Democracy"? I know that we all know the answer to that question.<br />
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Strangely, some of these same "leaders" are against abortion under the concept of "the sanctity of human life", but have no problem with capital punishment, believe that any gun control is evil and can sleep at night after sending other people's children over seas (sometimes ill-equipped), to fight wars that by most expert accounts have no actual connection to improving our nation's security. <br />
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Yes, I would be the first to agree that anyone can find examples of corrupt, philosophically inconsistent and morally bankrupt atheists. So what? My main point is that there is no room in dogma for asking questions and THAT is a potential source of danger and ruin to any culture. <br />
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So, if you refer to my four-quadrant model from my previous post, you may correctly assume that I have lopped off the theist quads like Ned Stark's head, when it comes to my belief system. While you'd be correct, I think that it is important to walk you through the process that took me from asking questions in Sunday school to abandoning the notion of any higher power at all. The next few posts will have me recounting that walk and the insights that I have had along the way. My method is not a new one, it has been used for thousands of years by people much more creative and intelligent than me. Simply put, I try to make arguments in favor of my once current/former belief system, then dissect them, dismantle them and move forward. The result is always a better understanding, but not always THE ultimate understanding.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">It will start with my next post, "Defending Theism".</span></b>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7740826465102766140.post-41874119514873710942014-06-15T09:25:00.000-04:002014-06-15T09:25:56.610-04:00Reflection #1 - Why the blog name, "It Just is What It is"?There are as many variations on the meaning of existence as there are variations of people who have lived and thought. It is even possible that some other creatures on earth, now or in the past and certainly on other planets are, have been or will one day be self aware.<br />
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With self awareness comes many advantages and disadvantages. Typically, it would seem, that the advantages at least slightly outweigh the disadvantages, since the human species has been pretty successful in maintaining itself for a few million years. Of course we are very far from the record setters here, many other species have survived and thrived for tens or even hundreds of millions of years, but you get my point. <br />
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These are all themes that will re-emerge in coming reflections, but please allow me to return to the topic at hand. Why do I find the saying, "It just is what it is" so appealing? It starts with the premise that there are really only two camps of thinkers with regard to the questions surrounding the meaning, purpose and origins of our species, the Universe or life in general. While both camps enjoy wide diversity in thought, belief and geography they do share one of two common ideas.<br />
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The first group believes in Free Will. While they may differ in their understanding or belief in the origin and purpose of life, they all agree that life exists as a RESULT of some series of forces or actions that must have been taken purposefully by intelligent beings and that we as humans also have the ability to make decisions that impact our lives and the lives of others in the present and in the future. <span style="color: blue;"> <b>This group includes males, females, all races, all colors, it includes atheists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and just about all varieties of believers and non-believers around the globe</b>.</span><br />
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The second group believes that all things in the Universe are predetermined. These folks believe that the Universe was somehow set in motion and that if we simply knew all of the rules and could comprehend all of the chess pieces, we could not only predict the future, but understand any and all questions that could ever be asked. Most people who believe in this basic idea of determinism DON'T give up on living, don't have higher rates of suicide (some studies suggest just the opposite) and don't feel that "things don't matter", because to them a determined future is not much different than, well, normal daily life. To deterministic thinkers, the Universe is not a cruel game being played UPON us, but rather an interactive play that we get to participate in and possibly see how it turns out. Think of the Universe unfolding like a really good book or the best movie ever made. You couldn't put that book down or turn that movie off, could you? You are fully aware that the end is already written and that each character in the play already has their history etched in the book's pages or the movie's plot, but you don't care. You keep reading and watching, its just too good to not try and see how much you can figure out about the plot, before your character leaves the stage. <b><span style="color: orange;"><span style="color: blue;">This group includes males, females, all races, all colors, it
includes atheists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and just about all
varieties of believers and non-believers around the globe.</span></span></b> Yes - I just literally copied and pasted that last sentence from the paragraph above, because it is true.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b><u>These two camps are the two most common ways that humans can think of the Universe, but not necessarily the only two ways that the Universe can in fact be....</u></b></span><br />
Please take a minute, re-read that last sentence a couple of times , then stop reading and think about it for a few moments.<br />
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To me there is a four quadrant model that helps describe this way of thinking about the Universe. <br />
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So after years of contemplation, study, discussion, reading, meditation, writing and obsessing, I can say two things with conviction. First that my thinking falls into the Deterministic camp. Second that human beings, our world and our Universe are just what they are. There is no complete understanding, I don't get to see the end of the play, only the small part that I am in and try to gather clues and hints about the plot and the outcome, but without ever really knowing, because I don't believe that I will be there at the end. (although some religious determinists do) <br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>This understanding doesn't bother me, "it just is what it is".</b></span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01321154601706616904noreply@blogger.com0