Ramblings of an Almost 28 Year Old Soul

It's been awhile since I've written a post since I've been so busy trying to get my book published. For those that haven't caught the link anywhere else, here it is: America's Fall & The Fight to Rise Again.  

Through trying to gain more attention for my book, I've acquired quite a few more blog followers from all over the world as well. So, today I thought I would just write from the soul. Let you all know where my head and heart are right now and where I soon see my attention going. This is likely going to turn into a bunch of ramblings, but I hope you all appreciate the realness and honesty this time. 

But first, let's set the mood a little with a song that I'm listening to on repeat right now as I write this. Ed Sheeran. I See Fire. Beautiful. Have a listen for yourself. 

 

So, my 28th birthday is tomorrow, and I cannot help but think back over the past year and be thankful for everything that has come to be for me. I graduated with my Master's in sociology roughly a year ago. Since then, I have taught sociology at a local community college for two semesters now and done quite well. I will hopefully be beginning a Ph.D. program soon. I finished my first written work and published it. I've experienced a lot of emotional healing from my love, whom I plan to spend the rest of my life with. We live in a nice, small house. We are healthy. Blessed. Happy. I couldn't ask for a better life at this point in time. Yet, there will always, ALWAYS be this part of my soul that is not content knowing that I, personally, have a comfortable life. I will always be concerned about the lives of others and the fact that there are billions of people around the world, including many in my own country, that don't even have access to the basic necessities in life: food, clean water, shelter, and clothing. 

In the larger scheme of things, in this massive world, I am a nobody. To my friends, family, and partner, I may be everything, but in terms of the amount of say I have in the world, I am nothing. Most of us are nothing. But maybe that's why what we have to say should be so important to the other "nobodies" in the world. I have nothing to gain from changing things, other than hopefully bettering the lives of other "nobodies" elsewhere. My motives are pure. Good. For the betterment of all, not for my personal gain. 

I know that I'm educated. Talented. "Smart" as other commonly call me (even though I hate that word). Good-hearted. A good professor. A good writer. But because I am a nobody in a world of increasingly concentrated power and wealth, chances are no one will ever give my ideas the time of day. I am still growing and expanding my intellect, but I am in no way naive enough to think that I ever need to stop learning, no matter how much I educate those around me. But I also know that I will likely be one of those people that are looked back upon years from now by people who say "Wow...maybe we should have paid a little more attention to her." Because my ideas are not convenient or comfortable for the majority in the world. 

I sometimes wish that these acknowledgments and realizations were enough to make me give up on writing and educating. But it's not. Because it's part of my soul. My very being. And there is the voice of good inside of me that continues to tell me that I am doing the right thing, regardless if the rest of the world pays attention or not. So, I will continue to do what I do. Work harder even. And pray every night that it will eventually make a positive difference. 

For those that haven't taken the time to read my first published work, I hope that you do. However, you should know ahead of time that it's atypical. Yes, I argue that America needs a restoration of Christ but not for the reasons that most Christians argue for. I argue more for a return of the positive humanistic qualities that we could all benefit from. I also apply this argument to America's culture and social systems, which is different from what most people who talk about the "Antichrist" do. I use biblical scriptures to justify what "Christ-like" qualities look like; however, the bigger argument does not have a religious message, but a social one. America needs a massive change to their culture and functioning within our nation and with the rest of the world. 

I think what I want people to get out of this work is that collectively, as an entire society, we are to blame for the negative state that we are currently in, as well as for how the rest of the world views us. We focus our attention so much on the outside enemy today (the "terrorists") when we have stronger enemies within our own borders that will likely commit the worst evils we have ever seen with the extreme power and wealth that we have allowed them to accumulate. These inside enemies have already committed great wrongs against the rest of the world, which is what has caused us to have outside enemies to begin with. Yet, as the majority of Americans turn their blame to the culture and social systems of the outside enemy only, opposed to asking, "What have we done as a country to create outside enemies to begin with?" 

Of course, we as everyday citizens always have an opinion about things and have caused America to fall through our reluctant agreement and lack of concern for what our government really does and who we put into power, but the actual actions that have been committed against the rest of the world are from the hands of our leaders. And the entire world is controlled by our powerful leaders and the powerful leaders of the other "top" countries in the world. They create negative relations with one another and let the citizens of their countries hash it out for them through terrorist attacks and wars. 

This has to stop...citizens from all over the world need to wake up and realize that they are only fighting wars and battles among each other that will only benefit those at the top. It will bring no benefit to their personal lives of us at the bottom. The only thing that will bring benefit to the individual lives of people all over at this point is increased communication with one another to search for the problems we are currently experiencing and possible solutions. We are all human beings. We all long for true peace and well-being for everyone around the world. We, as citizens, can create that with one another if we truly try to. We don't need our governments to tell us what "peace" looks like anymore, especially since we see how poor of a job they've done thus far. They aren't concerned about peace. They are concerned about money. On all sides. 

Soon, I think I want to attempt to start a group/organization/whatever you want to call it...consisting of regular, every day people from all over the world, who follow different religions or spiritualities, who come from different social classes, and who have different political opinions...to come together for open communication of ideas and desires. And see what happens. 

I truly think that the current negatives in this world could be solved for all of humanity if we put all differences aside and join on the commonality of a desire for true, humanistic peace. 

More on this group later. But this is where my heart and mind are right now and what I hope to begin soon. I hope everyone will consider joining me in this. 

Mutual Self-Sacrifice

     I was once asked what it means to be "in love" by a middle-aged man of Middle Eastern descent at a local bar. He was questioning my partner and I as to how we knew the feelings we shared weren't just feelings of infatuation or simply caring for another person. She and I looked at each, not really sure how to explain the feelings we shared for one another to someone who claimed to have never experienced it personally, while he looked at us, desiring a more substantive answer than "you just know..."
    She had already told him that I was a sociology professor and had a few books in the works. Yet, his conversation was strikingly different than the usual ones that follow such an introduction. He wasn't interested in my knowledge of the social world or anything that I have written about. In a sense, I was dumbfounded. He was obviously a man that enjoyed quests for knowledge as well, but he wasn't interested in intellectual pursuits. He seemed to have a pretty good grasp on those. He was only interested in emotional pursuits. Different than the usual, but nonetheless, as a teacher, I couldn't possibly let his question go unanswered.
     So, in a matter of minutes, I sat in silence, scrounging through my thoughts and emotions, both past and present. I mentally compared my current feelings to those of previous relationships. Quickly, I threw together my best possible response: mutual self-sacrifice. He stood bewildered for a few seconds and then questioned further as to what I meant. I gave him an overview of where my brain was going with it all, but since then, I have put a lot more thought into it, and this what I have come up with.
     What does it mean to be in love? 
     From a religious perspective, the source of unconditional love in human beings comes from the love of God. God provides us the ability to love like s/he loves us and continually provides us examples of that love every single day. God's unconditional love is provided to us through his/her Son, whom was living proof of love through self-sacrifice. When you truly love another person, you are willing to sacrifice yourself, in hopes that they will do the same. If it is a one-way street, that is not true love between two individuals, it is only the love of one individual for another.
     From a non-religious perspective, human beings have a tendency to become selfish. We live in a dark world, where you often times have to place your needs above the needs of others to survive. But a selfish, survival of the fittest mentality, brings no peace to the soul. Only anger. Resentment. Greed. Jealousy. Pure unhappiness. It is when you find that one person that is willing to sacrifice for you, just as much as you are for them, but that neither ever has to sacrifice anything for because you both want the other completely unchanged, that your soul finds true peace. That feeling of peace from the willingness for mutual self-sacrifice and putting the needs and desires of another human being above your own is because your heart has truly fallen in love.
     Also, humans have the tendency to be attracted to those that are different than them. We are fascinated by that which is everything we are not. We seek balance in our lives. But that "different" doesn't function or think the way we do. You probably won't have the same career types, hobbies, interests, passions, musical tastes, food tastes, etc. So, what starts out as an uncontrollable fascination that pulls you towards another person's soul, eventually becomes a conscious choice every day.
     You make the choice to continue to love someone through mutual self-sacrifice to ensure that a relationship filled with true love doesn't disappear. You express interest in the things that interest your partner. You try to become involved in their interests and hobbies. You go do the things they want to do, no matter how much you hate them. It is very easy in committed relationships for people to lose themselves if they are the only one that is doing the sacrificing and putting in the work, but if both people are sacrificing and putting in work, they each ensure that they keep the other person's true self alive. And alas, never fall out of love.
     So, what does it mean to be in love? Mutual self-sacrifice.
   

Sincerely, A Concerned Wealthy American: A Satire on Colorado's Legalization of Marijuana

Dear our prized American government - the puppets that run this country for us:

     Please tell your other pimps, the wealthy citizens, such as myself, making all of the decisions for you, while you do all our dirty work, that there is a major problem in this country that can't be ignored any longer. Colorado & drugs. Not the high-end, white powder shit we all partake in. That's not a drug. That's a fucking gift from God. But that cheap shit the masses use. That shit that Colorado unjustifiably and ignorantly legalized fairly recently. Mary Jane. Please tell me you haven't been too high yourself to pay attention to what's going on there.

     Just in case, let me brief you. Since Colorado legalized Mary Jane, less people are getting locked up for petty drug charges, and their economy is booming. Fucking. Booming. So much so that the tax revenue there is so enormous, they are considering passing some of that wealth back to the citizens. Are you kidding me? That bullshit is un-American.

     First of all, there is plenty of room left in the jails in this country. Overpopulated? Please. If those prisoners were forced to live in facilities similar to those we helped the Nazis build during WWII, they would be thanking us. Just start doubling up the inmates in each cell if space gets tight. They already have more rights and receive better treatment in there than they should, so fuck their rights. Those animals deserve less anyways. And we need those petty drug users locked up. Why? Because the far majority of them are poor, and we need the poor controlled and isolated. And a lot of them also happen to be racial minorities, and well, that's just icing on the cake. Racism and social control of the poor. That's American.

     Secondly, who cares if it generates enormous revenue? We need massive debt to keep the masses dependent on the system put in place by us - the powerful. Dependence spawns control. We can't have resistance. We can't have people bitching and moaning about how much power and wealth we have. I would like to retire to my multimillion dollar home in peace every night. Not to mention, the more revenue there is, the more they want from us! The don't need anything else. Wealth inequality and blind patriotism. That's American. How else are we supposed to control the masses and acquire unchecked wealth?

     Lastly, who cares if we, too, use drugs, and our founding fathers smoked and grew Mary Jane? That's us. Not them. Those with wealth and power are immune to the law. Maybe they should become one of us. Oh wait...chances are they won't now because we killed the American Dream years ago. Hypocrisy. That's American.

     As you can see, Colorado and their legalization of marijuana is absolutely un-American and a threat to our power. It must be dealt with immediately before it sparks a movement, and we have a much bigger problem to deal with. Demands for a government by the people, for the people. Demands to overthrow the oligarchy we have worked so hard to establish and the implementation of true democracy and freedom that the masses have thought they've had all along.

     For that reason, I propose throwing Colorado out of the union. They've shown their lack of patriotism for the magnificent ideals and values this great country was founded on. It is time that they go. I hope you and the other wealthy individuals in this country will agree.

Sincerely,
A Concerned Wealthy American

Oil and Water Don't Mix

     Lately, I've seen a lot of posts on social media sites, where people are complaining about their family members or friends being laid off in the oil industry because gas prices have dropped so low. They scold other people for rejoicing over the extra savings in their pockets by saying that they aren't thinking about the "bigger picture": unemployment. So, let's talk about this for a minute. On one hand, I understand the argument, and on the other hand, I simply don't.
     I understand it because it is absolutely logical to argue that unemployment is not a good thing for the economy. This cannot be disputed. We need people working to contribute to overall production and to provide for their families. People should not lose their jobs because gas prices drop to an affordable price for the general public. From personal experience, during the 2008 recession, I was extremely upset that my father was laid off from his job that he had worked his ass off at for over 20 years, simply because the company could hire three young people straight out of college for the same salary that he was making at the time. He was then forced to start over from the ground floor at a completely different job in his 40's, after he started working at the age of 12. So, I understand the anger. I understand wanting things to change for everyday citizens and so our loved ones aren't dispensable and suddenly struggling when they have worked hard their whole lives.
     But here's the part I don't understand. We must ask ourselves: why are low-level employees dispensable to begin with? Is it only because production suddenly drops? Or because the market takes a hit? Or because the company just isn't bringing in enough profit to be able to afford to pay all of its employees anymore? Or is there another, more prominent explanation for it? Why yes, yes there is.
     If any market takes a hit, or production drops on any good/service, then company profit will decline. This seems fairly logical. But why is it that the very first thing that happens is low-level employees lose their jobs? Especially when the CEOs of these companies are making the money that they do? I'm not saying that being the CEO, President, or Vice President of a company is easy or doesn't require a lot of hard work to get the job. I know it generally does. But is it so difficult that it deserves an average of 331 times the salary of the average $35,000/yr worker and 774 times the salary of the minimum wage worker? Just take a look at the reported executive salaries of Exxon (http://www1.salary.com/EXXON-MOBIL-CORP-Executive-Salaries.html):

• Chairman & CEO - $28,138,329
• Senior Vice President - $11,618,518 to $13,520,676 
• Vice President - $10,030,031

     The salaries at other oil corporations are fairly similar. I mean...seriously?!?!?! You're telling me that the oil industry took a hit so badly, gas prices declined so much, and company profits have dropped so low that you immediately have to start laying every day workers off...but the executives are still making the same amount of money they were before declining profits? This is where the problem lies with all of this. Put simply, it's called priorities, people. Every day workers aren't dispensable because of a "bad" economy. Every day workers are dispensable because corporate executives choose their own personal wealth over the betterment of society as a whole and the lives of their workers. Their companies make the profits they do because of every day workers working their asses off for them, but when profits drop, they keep their money and throw the peasants at the bottom out. 

     Yet, again and again and again, the citizens of this country choose to give the government and corporations the power that they have, or at least to turn a blind eye to it as if they don't know it's there to begin with. We fight among ourselves, blame each other for not doing enough or not voting for a particular political party, being a particular race that is just "lazy", etc., opposed to turning our anger towards those that deserve it. These big wigs that are laughing their asses off at you right now.

    So, to all of those that keep posting angry posts about how we all need to stop being so joyful over these low gas prices because it's bad for your family or those you know, you're absolutely wrong. Your argument is watered down, and oil and water don't mix, my friends. Because the real reason that things are bad for your family right now is because of your ignorant thought process and support of a political party that you are absolutely convinced looks out for your best interests, while they are really only concerned about their own personal wealth. Let the rest of us enjoy the low prices since we know that we have to take what measly scraps we can get because people like you with your watered down, illogical arguments exist. Maybe one day, everyone in this country will wake up, realize that this is the real problem, and face these assholes together. But right now, yay for low gas prices!!!! Carry on. 

The Secret American Holocaust History

     I considered writing this post last week, but every time I attempted to, I became sick to my stomach. But scrolling through Facebook today, I came across a post from ABC 13 News with a recent video from BBC News of very recent footage of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Amazing. Enlightening. And very chilling. You can see it yourself below.

     After watching this viral video, my mind is stuck on this subject once again, so, I'm going to suck it up and write about it because someone out there might gain a new, much-needed perspective of this dark part of human history.

     It is very hard for me to think about the Holocaust, but not for the typical reasons that most have for not wanting to talk about it simply because it's sad or a buzz kill. For me, it's because out of all the "ugly" truths I have been exposed to in my studies and research, the real history behind the Holocaust is by far the ugliest, most sickening one to date. Some of this secret history I have known for quite some time because I'm a nerd that reads nerdy stuff - in this case, Edwin Black's IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and America's Most Powerful Corporation (2001). But some of it I was not aware of until very recently.

     When my partner and I, along with some friends, recently visited the Houston Holocaust Museum, we walked through a large sector with an abundance of information about societal conditions in Germany before and during WWII, Hitler, conditions in concentration camps, etc. There were also books, clothing items, and a train car that served to make something in distant history and foreign lands tangible to Americans visiting the museum. There was also a video that visitors could watch, in which many survivors from the concentration camps spoke about their experiences. It was beautiful in a tragic way. In a way where you are experiencing the pain of others and sharing in human experience.

     However, I knew, even then, that there was a secret American history that visitors were not being exposed to and would likely never know about, strictly based on my reading of the aforementioned IBM and the Holocaust. One that maybe even the survivors and workers that are involved with running the museum aren't even aware of. But that, in my opinion, is absolutely necessary for mankind to fully understand this tragedy and for Americans to understand the truth about their government. To add to that already existing knowledge, I did some more research after our visit, and I learned even more that I honestly wish I could give back. But now that I know about it, I think everyone else should, too.

The History Americans Know

Thanks to our media, history books, and today's Holocaust museums, we are taught that America stood against the Nazis and supported the Jews. Our country was a Jewish WWII ally and condemned Nazi behavior. Our country:

• Stood against the tyranny of Hitler 
• Supported the Jewish, who are considered Christianity's most protected and honored followers
• Assisted in militaristically defeating the Nazis in WWII
• Rescued German POW's after the war was over
• Served as a safe haven for the Jewish - 45% of all immigrants to America during this time were Jewish and received assistance once they were here

The History Americans Don't Know (Some of it...)

America did not become involved as an ally to the Jewish until 1941. Prior to that, we voiced support to Hitler, assisted the Nazis in developing the systematic means to run their concentration camps and hunt down the Jewish,  attempted to keep the Jewish out of our country, and exploited Jewish slave labor from the camps.

• Prior to our entrance into WWII, the murder of Jews was largely ignored in the U.S. media, and when violence in Germany was covered, the idea of a "race" war was ignored. 
• Political and social forces kept us from entering the war until 1941, while violence in Germany against the Jews had already been occurring for many years prior. 
• We attempted to limit Jewish immigration through the 1924 Immigration Law that made it much more restrictive for them to enter legally. 
• American corporations provided the Nazis with the means to exterminate the Jews and profited off of it, prior to entering the war.

IBM 

By 1933, this American corporation had provided Hitler with the data processing technology that allowed them to identify and locate the Jewish. They also provided the punch card technology used by the camp to identify prisoners according to their skills. These prisoners were then used by U.S. companies that literally had subsidiaries located on the outskirts of the concentration camps (Ford Motor German affiliate Fuhrer, General Motors German affiliate Opel, Coca-Cola, etc.). And the blue, numeric tattoos on all the prisoners? Yep, that was IBM's technology. 

Ford Motors

The prison labor that their Fuhrer affiliate used from the camps was used to produce 1/3 of the military trucks for the German army. Jewish slave labor was used to provide the army with more arsenal to use against themselves, all thanks to this American company. But the support for the Nazis wasn't just shown at the business level with this corporation, but it was also shown between the founder, Henry Ford, and Hitler himself. 

• Ford published a journal called "The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem," in which he discusses numerous topics that all tie into the idea that the power the Jewish held at the time was undue and unsafe in the world arena,  as well as the need to do something about it. 
• Hitler once said the he hoped Ford would run for President of the United States, and he could help in his campaign.
• Hitler also praised Ford in Mein Kampf, where he said, "It is Jews who govern the stock exchange forces in the American Union...only a single, great man, Ford, to their fury, maintains full independence." 
• The Nazi regime provided Ford with the Grand Cross of German Eagle, their highest honor to foreigners, in 1938. 
• To this very day, Ford has not paid anything to or provided support for victims of the Holocaust, despite his role in building support for Hitler and Ford Motors' use of Jewish slave labor. 

General Motors

Their Opel affiliate also used slave labor to build trucks for the German army, as well as the world's first jet fighter for Hitler. And even better??? They were responsible for building Auschwitz. So, that video above that you watched above showing you what Auschwitz looks like today that ripped your heart out....yeah G.M. built that. 

This American corporate involvement is only the surface of it all. In a nutshell, America contributed to Hilter's rise to power and profited greatly off of the Holocaust, prior to entering WWII against the Germans. I don't know about you, but I struggle a lot with determining which is worse: the Germans for persecuting the Jews, or America for contributing to it, profiting off of it, turning on the Germans, and then trying their best to hide this massive part of history from not only the rest of the world, but from their own people. That is called being in bed with the devil. People and countries alike will pay a huge cost for behavior such as this one day. 

Go back...watch the video again....and this time, think about how if it wasn't for our American corporations, none of the Holocaust would have been possible. Hatred for the Jewish and small-scale violence would have occurred, but the systematic persecution of an entire race would have been impossible. And we wonder why other countries hate us...