How to alienate friends and piss off people

So my thoughts about nuclear weapons seem to have stirred some interest. Responses ran from they do act as a deterrent; to they are simply a way to keep government bureaucrat employed.

I guess that my pondering started with the arms treaty that PresBO, and the Russians signed a few weeks ago. I was trying to figure out why it was important, because it seems so obvious to me that Obama would never use them. A terrorist group could detonate a high yield nuke in Detroit, and the Assclown in Chief, would be talking about the environmental impact on climate change that had occurred. So if we will not use them, who is likely to use them? Russia, North Korea, Pakistan, and I am pretty sure if Israel were attacked with nukes then they would have no qualms about retaliating with nukes.
I know it would seem anti-libertarian, or anti-objectivist of me to say, but I support George W Bush's "illegal" war in Iraq and Afghanistan. I put illegal in quotes because every time I see someone call the war in Iraq "illegal" I laughed at them, because they are either blinded by hatred, or too stupid to understand the definition of illegal. Now one may say that we shouldn't have gone to Iraq, that the intelligence was flawed, that W was on a personal vendetta against Saddam for Bush1, and I am fine with all of those arguments,but "illegal"?. Illegal means "against a law", so what law was broken geniuses? Some sort of "world law", or a NATO Law, or a UN Law? Well guess what idiots? We are not subject to any of those "laws", therefore we cannot break those "laws". Sorry to get bogged down in technicalities, but these anti-war people really get on my last nerve. They will accuse us of Nation-building, and being imperialist, and so on, and there is no evidence of that, and frankly there is no more consistent fighter for peace and justice around the world than the US. More than half of the world is free (or at least were free before the decided to embrace the enemy) directly because of the US, and what have we to show for it? Supposedly the whole world hates us, and I say, do they really hate us, or are they just upset because they cannot be us? Frankly I for one, do not care what they think of us. If they feel so strongly, then let them boycott us. Quickly back to Nation building and being imperialists; if I were in control there would be exactly this. What happened to the good old days of war, when a country kicked another’s countries ass, and therefore, that country’s land and treasure was taken by the conquering army? I think we set a very bad example in World War I, when we allowed German to be run by Germans. We won, should have been our country. World War II, same thing. The entire country of Germany should be the State of Germany of the US. I probably sound like a lunatic to you folks, since starting with Woodrow Wilson, we go save someone’s ass (Europe’s in these 2 wars,) at our expense of lives, and treasure, and what did we receive in return? Allies? Like France? We should have been paid back in money for the sacrifices that we made, but no, we were and are morally superior to the rest of the world. Fast forward to 1991. We kicked Iraq’s ass, and then listed to the stupid UN, and did not finish the job, leaving Saddam to rebuild and grow a new set of balls. Not only should we have gone in and deposed Saddam at that time, but we should have set up a new government, RUN BY US, established prosperity and freedom to the people, AND controlled the oil. That is a treasure, and we have earned it with blood, and money, and giving it back to the people who will use the money to fund attacking us makes as much sense as handing a .45 1911 pistol to the guy who you just beat up after raping your daughter.
I believe in American Exeptionalism. I believe that we are not equal to the other countries of the world, but that we are superior to them in just about every way. We are morally, intellectually, and substantially better than they are. SO the question is, why would a peace loving philosopher pirate, support the killing of people? It all comes down to the greater good. Are the Iraqi people better off today than they were under Saddam? I would say yes. They are certainly freer. Are the Afghans freer? Yes I would say. Why are the women's rights groups not writing songs to honor ole "W"? Did he not take some of the most oppressed women in the world and give them some dignity and some freedom? More importantly Iraqi people that can actually chose their own leaders, and an Afghanistan that has some hope to turn away from a breeding ground of hate and terrorism, is that by taking the fight to the terrorist (wherever they are), this has hurt their opportunities to strike us here. I believe in rational self-interest for myself, and for the United States. If you are someone who believes that the Iraq war was for oil (I don’t, but...) that would be a good enough reason for me. It is economically not good if the supply of oil is controlled by Dictators and totalitarian regimes.

Am I a war monger? You may call me that if you would like, but there remains a truth that nobody can controvert. There will be 1 nation that is stronger than the rest. I want that to be the United States. Others see that when we use that power, that we are doing a bad thing, I see it as we are doing good. HOWEVER, this is not to say that I agree with how these wars have been fought, which is why I started talking about Nuclear Weapons. Like it or not we are in a global economy, and face global problems with security. If we are not the strongest, then who should be? I am for fighting wars to win them. They are a nasty thing, and should be so nasty that people do not want to be in them. *This is where I will lose most of you:)* Frankly I think we should unleash a few nuclear missiles in Northern Afghanistan. 1 launched from here in the states (preferably flying very low over France), 1 launched from a ship in the Atlantic, and one from a sub in the Pacific. For too long, we have allowed political correctness to fight wars, i.e. Nukes are bad, civilian casualties should be avoided (of course they should be avoided, when they can be, but the question is at what cost? At the cost of our soldiers? Not for me.), don't use excessive force. I say bullshit to all of that. Destroy the enemy decisively and quickly, and I believe that my Nuke plan would be quite a deterrent to the bad guys of the world. Just sort of says, "When we don't like what you are doing (building your own nukes, committing genocide, enslaving people) and we ask you to stop, it would behoove you to do so. For too long we've been like a parent that threatens to spank their child to improve behavior, yet never spanks the child, therefore the child gets worse and worse, because the threats have no action behind it. How long before Iran allows us in to inspect their nuclear facilities? Do you think it would be 1 or 2 days? Frankly if it were not for the recent struggles in Iran for a free society against the theocracy, which has received zero support by PresBO, I would say give Tehran the nuke it so longs for. Not tactical, full blown, big yield nuke. Go ahead! Call me what you will, but I can guarantee we will not hear much out of Iran, or North Korea again. As long as we can reach out and touch someone, who cannot reach us, we win. This is the oldest axiom of war. If my arrows can reach you, but yours cannot reach me, then we win. Same thing with ICBM. Ally or enemy, I would not allow any other country to have weapons that can harm us, and if that means a preemptive strike, then I say go for it. I realize it is in their best self interest to obtain nukes, and the ability to deliver them, but I frankly do not care about their interest, I only care about ours.

So to summarize ( and I do apologize for the less than usual amount of concise coherency)
1) Nukes are a deterrent only for a country against attack from another nuclear country. It loses its effectiveness as a tool for coercion against lesser countries if they are never used. It has been 65 years since the last ones were used, and the non-nuclear countries keep pushing and pushing due to their belief that the US will not do anything to stop them. Iraq was incorrect, as we did use military force, but my thought is 1 nuke, could have saved a lot of time, money and lives.
2) Imagine if we did send an artillery shell tactical nuke into Fallujah. Do you think the rest of the country and the “insurgency” would have been worse or less?
3) If we are to be the world’s police, wouldn’t a valid threat of using everything in our arsenal be an awesome (literally) deterrent to the many problems in the world. Darfur comes to mind. “Stop the genocide today, or we unleash hell.”
I guess what I am trying to say is that the USA should be the “badguy” that the world professes us to be. I feel comfortable in that role. Sorry if I alienated friends, and I am not 100% on this, but it’s how I feel, and I make no apologies for that.

Being Anti-immigrant is being Anti- American

"Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

There was a period where this poem really meant what it said. Immigrants from all over the world came o the US for that which no other country could provide: A chance for a better life. They risked everything, their lives, their money, some spending everything they had just to get here, to the land of the FREE. They were not guaranteed happiness and wealth, they were only looking for the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

What would happen if the US Government decided that from 1-1-2011 until 1-1-2012 that the United States would allow anybody that wanted to immigrate to the United States to do so? Pass a background check and "poof" you are a legal resident of the United States. After 3 years, if you can pass an English proficiency test and a citizenship test, "poof" you are a naturalized citizen of the United States of America.

I understand that many of you do not like these illegal immigrants. The state controlled media would have us believe that it is because we are all racists that do not like people of different races and ethnicities. That's bullshit. What we do not like is that people break laws and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. Why is it when I am caught without a proper helmet on my motorcycle, I am given a ticket for breaking the law, and have to pay a fine to the state, when there was no victem to my crime, yet these "illegal aliens" can come here and steal public services, and nothing is done to them. No fine, no deportation. This is why we are angry. I have a lot of Latino, and Hispanic friends, who are here legally, and if you want to see who is most opposed to the "illegal aliens" I suggest you take a look at them. I do not like that they are here illegally, but trust me, if i were in their shoes, I would do the exact same thing. If I could not take care of my family or myself, and I lived in a 3rd world country , you can bet your ass that I would do whatever it took to get the opportunity to do so. Having said that, I still think we should round up the illegal immigrants and carry them back to where they came from, and build a giant fence 20 feet tall, and electrified with 10,000 volts, along the entire southern and northern borders of the country. 25 feet behind that one, place another fence also electrified. I do not think that they should be given amnesty, nor citizenship, only a free ride back to their home country.

I believe that the United States is the last best hope for freedom in the world. We are the most diverse country in the world, and that makes us stronger not weaker. There is no place on this planet where you will find 1/2 of the religions that are open practiced here without prosecution. Women, minorities, and those people of all walks of life have the exact opportunities as a white male born to John D Rockefeller IV, well except to become President of the United States, but some would argue that even that has been breeched now. I am not one of those folks, as there are plenty of other issues about this socialist that can be used against him and concentrating on a birth certificate is just silly, but that's just me.

So I say open the borders to everyone that will submit to a medical screening (sorry but non treatable and communicable diseases have to stay out) and background check at their expense (for those really poor folks, there can be funds by private citizens that want to help out the poor folks of Chad for example) come on in to the land of milk and honey. Here's the catch (you knew there had to be a catch right?). Nobody that comes to the United States under this program would ever be eligible for any government assistance. Also, I believe that some sort of replacement of the income tax like the FairTax would have to be implemented, so that everyone would contribute the same.

My prediction? Our population would double in that one year. Hell it may even triple.

Your thoughts?

Attitude is everything.

I am an optimist.I know that may sound odd to some of you that follow me here and elsewhere. You have heard me rant about the government, and about other people that tick me off but the statement is true. Am I optimistic about my future, but I really cant say the same about your future. The way I see it, we are all in charge of our own destiny. Sure the government may try to oppress us, but for at least now, the US is still the last best hope on Earth.

My hypothesis is: There is no other country in the entire world, where someone could enter with no money, no job, no family, no name recognition, no spectacular talent, and really nothing but themselves, and through hard work, determination, and making intelligent decisions become not only successful, but wildly successful. I have been having a conversations with friends in Europe, Asia, and one in South America about this, and my hypothesis has been confirmed by them. No place on Earth can someone who comes from nothing become something through their own hard work. Having never lived (for more than 6 weeks) in a foreign country, I really did not understand how much class, caste, and family standing account for the success of people in other countries. In most countries in the world if you are born poor, you will remain poor, and if you are born into the middle class you will remain middle class. And then there is The United States of America.

I have a few personal stories that I know, but none more astonishing than a man named Alexandre. Alexandre and his wife escaped communist USSR back in 1985. Actually Ukraine, but at that point it was still part of USSR. Like something out of a thriller movie, they escaped in the middle of the night, on trains, and a truck, a boat, and walking into Turkey, and finally making it into Israel. Then over to the United States on a refugee status (political, and religious), and he says he got here with no family, no friends, and very little English and about 45 dollars in his pocket. He got a job at a dry cleaning place, and worked and saved for 3 years, before he had enough money to get a loan and buy out his boss. He now owns 14 dry cleaning stores, and a transaction I helped him with, he paid for in cash. It was 842K transaction, which is sizable here. So if this guy can do it, he is a moderately educated man, earning the equivalent of a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, but has the disadvantage that 99% of the country does not have, which is lack of English as a first language.

Only in America. I could not, even with an advanced degree go to any other country with the clothes on my back and start something from scratch, and in 25 years, be upper class. And trust me, my work ethic, and determination is hard to match. So it is here, the last best hope on Earth, where I will make my stand. I will fight for freedom, and liberty until I die. Against the media who are accomplices in this sham, against the politicians of both parties who point the finger at the other and scream bloody murder, whilst their hands are bloody themselves. The liars, cheats and those who did not hold them accountable have all got to go. A few years ago, I read a Tom Clancy novel, (pre 9/11) where a person flew a jumbo jet into a joint session of Congress and so the government had to be rebuilt from scratch. Before you get in an uproar, I am not wishing this to come true, however, the geniuses who established our government put in place the system to make this happen every 2 years. We can replace every single member of the house of representatives every 2 years. 1/3 of the senators every 2 years. In 4 years, we can replace a president, all of the House of Representatives, and 2/3 (a filibuster-proof and a Veto overriding) of the Senate. Revolution in this country can be done without a shot fired. Unfortunately some of the elections have been corrupted. If this happens again, I am afraid we may have to really fight. Because as I see it, if they take away the peaceful way to rebel, then there is only the option to non-peaceably rebel.What I witnessed as New Black Panther Party intimidated voters, and was not prosecuted really makes me angry, and like Bruce Banner said, "You wont like me when I 'm angry." I saw the Minnesota Senate race stolen in plain sight, and now we have probably the biggest Assclown ever sitting in the Senate.\

So there is my optimistic view. I believe we have a chance. The raw materials of this country (the people) is good, but it's getting weakened. With each passing year it seems that what is considered acceptable is moving further and further left. Now, programs like Medicare, and Social Security are looked at with fondness. I am all in favor of looking out for the old folks, mentally challenged folks and kids, but that doesn't mean we have to let the government take care of them. Look how poorly they are doing. Is there 1 shred of evidence that the government can do anything efficiently, and cost effective? I cant find anything.

Anyway, hang in there. Attitude is everything.

RD

People say I am too negative...

So I thought I would try to get some things out of my system, so that I could continue in a more positive light. So here it goes.

Things I dont like:

Income taxes, corporate taxes, capital gains taxes, liberals, stupid people, illiterate people, welfare (corporate or individual), entitlement programs, unions, politicians, global warming idiots, people who drive too slow in the fast lane, people who for some reason do not see motorcycles, cockblockers, bad karaoke singers who go more than once (who are not funny), snobby salespeople, Jimmy Johnson #48 (okay that one is a little trite, but I'm a Smoke fan, so sue me), trolls, clowns, bad river cards, Harley Davidson people who are rude to those on British bikes,(or any other type of motorcycle really, but I only know these in particular), people who pronounce Porsche incorrectly ( I mean really, do you get lumber from the Home De-pott? French is much harder than German), no college football playoffs, people who worship evil people, people that chew with their mouth open (this includes the new phenomenon of people that chew gum with really open mouths. When did this become acceptable, and to see some people do it cool?), rude people (this is not saying that someone can not get loud, or in someone's face when they need it, but there is a difference, and I hope you know it), Satanist(no I am not talking about pagans, Wiccans, or other earth religions, just people who actually worship the Judeo-Christian anti-deity Satan,Lucifer,the devil or whatever. These people are just stupid. Sorry, if this offends you please piss off.), kids with an entitlement attitude, Bill Maher, Chris Mathews, Barak Obama, Nancy Pelosi, hell this could take all night so I will say all Democrats, and most Republicans.

Things I hate: Racism (real racism, not the bullshit racism cries from the left for just about everything having to do with a white person and a minority), Real Bigotry, revisionist history, people who cannot admit they are wrong even when faced with incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, did I mention stupid people before? if I did, move them to the hate category, Gloria Allred, race warlords (Sharpton, Jackson), pinching my balls in a parachute harness, running out of ammunition, gun laws, drug laws, wasteful government spending (according to me almost all of it is wasteful), liars, thieves, people who abuse children, people who abuse animals (eating and hunting for food is not considered abuse in my world, chaining a dog to a chain for more than an hour is), and guys who abuse women ( I suppose this is a sexist statement, but frankly a man that gets abused by a woman or another man doesn't get any respect from me).

Things I hate the most: Moochers, Looters, Wealth envy, Class warfare, Involuntary Servitude, Oppression, Tyranny, Hypocrites, and Cowards.

Okay I guess I feel a little better, but frankly I didn't feel bad before. Maybe this list will give someone else a laugh, or maybe make them angry. Frankly I wrote it as an exercise, and I am not sure I accomplished a damn thing. Add "wasting time" to list 2. :)

Happy Slavery Day Part II

So how did it feel today? Did you go to a protest and hold a sign? Did you stay at home doing your tax returns? Did you stand in line at a post office? Did you look at disgust at someone else? I think last thing is the thing I dislike the most. If you have followed my posts on this blog or on facebook, then you probably know that I am a lover of my life, and a firm believer in the heroic being in all of us. I believe in people, so it makes me a very sad when I see someone who disgusts me. I see them in a grocery store, with a EBT card, buying crap food. It disgusts me not only because I believe that this person has no self respect, honor, or shame but has the potential that we all have, but has either never known it, or has had it beat out of them. So on one hand, I am disgusted by them, and on the other I am mad at myself for being disgusted. should i try to talk to them, and tell them that they are worth something, that they can succeed, that they can have self worth. But instead I just walk away in disgust, as they eat frozen pizzas, bought with a portion of my life.

So many people have contacted me today. Some were offended that I called today Slavery Day. One said that I was a racist. ha ha! But since she brought it up, lets talk about slavery then and slavery now. Slavery before 1865 in America, is one of the darkest moments of our history. To most people, myself included, the thought of being able to own another human being is as foreign as being able to spread my arms and flying. It just does not compute. Yet most of us are slaves of a different type today. What is a slave? Someone who is owned by another. Back in the bad old days, people were owned by other people, but now, people are owned by the state. The government acts as though everything we earn belongs to them, and they let us keep some of it, so we should be happy. They believe that they know how to spend that money better than we can. What is money, or actually what is income? Income is the monetary manifestation of production, and effort by an individual. We spend time and effort, and in return are awarded income for our efforts. Minutes and hours of our lives, OUR lives, are taken by the government, therefore, the government owns a piece of our lives. We are slaves to the government. As I have met new people on here, I have been introduced to some new political philosophies. I am not an anarchist. I do not believe all government has to be abolished. Our Constitution is pretty damn good, and it needs to be restored. I would repeal the 16th amendment. Somehow our government , and our country survived for 140 years without a tax on individual production and income. Let's go back to that time, when the USA was truly a free country. As long as we are enslaved by any tax upon or production and income, we are not free. We are slaves. Lets have another Emancipation Proclamation, and this time make it permanent.

Happy Slavery Day! Part 1

"Congress went beyond merely enacting an income tax law and repealed Article IV of the Bill of Rights, by empowering the tax collector to do the very things from which that article says we were to be secure. It opened up our homes, our papers and our effects to the prying eyes of government agents and set the stage for searches of our books and vaults and for inquiries into our private affairs whenever the tax men might decide, even though there might not be any justification beyond mere cynical suspicion."

"The income tax is bad because it has robbed you and me of the guarantee of privacy and the respect for our property that were given to us in Article IV of the Bill of Rights. This invasion is absolute and complete as far as the amount of tax that can be assessed is concerned. Please remember that under the Sixteenth Amendment, Congress can take 100% of our income anytime it wants to. As a matter of fact, right now it is imposing a tax as high as 91%. This is downright confiscation and cannot be defended on any other grounds."

"The income tax is bad because it was conceived in class hatred, is an instrument of vengeance and plays right into the hands of the communists. It employs the vicious communist principle of taking from each according to his accumulation of the fruits of his labor and giving to others according to their needs, regardless of whether those needs are the result of indolence or lack of pride, self-respect, personal dignity or other attributes of men."

"The income tax is fulfilling the Marxist prophecy that the surest way to destroy a capitalist society is by steeply graduated taxes on income and heavy levies upon the estates of people when they die."

"As matters now stand, if our children make the most of their capabilities and training, they will have to give most of it to the tax collector and so become slaves of the government. People cannot pull themselves up by the bootstraps anymore because the tax collector gets the boots and the straps as well."

"The income tax is bad because it is oppressive to all and discriminates particularly against those people who prove themselves most adept at keeping the wheels of business turning and creating maximum employment and a high standard of living for their fellow men."

"I believe that a better way to raise revenue not only can be found but must be found because I am convinced that the present system is leading us right back to the very tyranny from which those, who established this land of freedom, risked their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to forever free themselves..."

T. Coleman Andrews- Commissioner of the IRS 1953-1955

I Believe in You!

Hello, my name is Ragnar, and I believe in you. That's right; even if you do not believe in yourself, I believe in you. You may think that you can not, and if you believe this way you are correct. If you believe that you can, then you are also correct. One is only beaten, when they stop trying to win. But hear me now and believe me, for what I say is true;you are a winner, and I can prove it to you.
Many people in this country do not believe in you. They will say that you are unfortunate, unlucky, that you haven't won life's lottery, that you are disadvantaged, that you do not have an equal opportunity. They do not believe in you, and they think you can not win, but they are wrong. They would say that you need special treatment because of the way you look, or the place that you are from, or the economic conditions that you are raised in, but once again they are wrong. How can I be so cocky and sure of myself in my belief in you? Because history and precedence says that I am right, and they are wrong.
One of the greatest winners ever was Abraham Lincoln, yet his life was wrought with strife and hardships. A quick list scoured off the internet goes like this:1831 – Failed in business,1832 – Defeated for legislature,1833 – Again failed in business,1834 – Elected to legislature,1835 – Sweetheart died,1836 – Had a nervous breakdown,1838 – Defeated for speaker,1840 – Defeated for elector,1843 – Defeated for Congress,1846 – Elected for Congress,1848 – Defeated for Congress,1855 – Defeated for Senate,1856 – Defeated for Vice-President,1858 – Defeated for Senate,1860 – ELECTED PRESIDENT
Am I saying that you are as good of a person as Abraham Lincoln? No but I believe you have the potential to be better than Abraham Lincoln. Honest Abe wasn't born into wealth, and he could have bean beaten along the way, but he was not beaten, because he never quit. How in the heck could a man born into relative poverty, who failed much more than he succeeded wind up being one of the greatest Presidents according to some, ever? Did he get some special treatment because he was poor, and get into college free?, Was there some sort of underprivileged loans for people to start a business? Did he receive food stamps to feed himself? Did he have housing provided for him? Was his medical bills paid for him? Nope. Abe just decided not to die, but to live, and he made it happen. And so can you. You may say, "oh but this was a long time ago, and times were not as hard then.", but you would be wrong. If you believe that you can do something , then you can. Your own self-limiting beliefs are the only thing that is stopping you.
Beware those who say that you need "help" to achieve your goals. Their form of help will defeat you and your purpose. For everything that is handed to you, a piece of your "self" is lost. Soon you need more "help" then after that you may stop trying to do anything at all for yourself, and are entirely dependent on their "help." Their "help" is what is keeping you down, making you dependent, which is what they strive for. They satisfy their own selfish needs by giving you "help".Some people have good intentions. They actually believe that they are helping you, and that you need the help. They do not want to oppress you , but they do not believe in you. They prejudge you. They would call you unequal, and underprivileged, but I don't because I see your true potential. Still not convinced? Well take the story of a young African-American man, who had grown up in poorness, into a family in which the father, "his only answer to everything was to beat it out of you.", whilst being sexually molested and abused. He dropped out of high-school, and was failing at life, but he kept on doing what he loved, which was writing. He had learned from watching another "self-made" person's show, that writing could be very therapeutic. He wrote plays that bombed, and was homeless in Atlanta, but he didn't give up. He kept writing, and believing in himself. Now whenever he has a new movie out, they put his name above the title. He's not homeless anymore,his name is Tyler Perry, and nobody gave him "help". I believe you can be bigger than Tyler Perry or Oprah( the person whom Perry had watched).
So why do these other people believe that you cannot win, when there are countless examples of those with less than you, with more "disadvantages" than you, who through their own self determination have won? I believe they fall into 2 categories. Category 1 are those that have given up on themselves. They listened and believed the people that told them that they did not have the same opportunities, or that they could not win without "help". Category 2 would be those that think they are better than you. They have won, some by themselves, but more likely they look at themselves as lucky. Maybe they were lucky, but either way they look at you and they feel pity, and condescension. Some may feel guilty about what they have achieved because they know that they have received this "help" themselves. And hey, If I couldn't do it myself, then surely you can not, which comes back to their view that they are superior to you. They will trot out examples of those they feel have had "bad luck" and ignore the decisions that these "unlucky" people made that lead them to where they are. Think of it as a child. These are people that would let a child win a game of chess, to make the child feel better, but what does the child learn? They have a sense of accomplishment for nothing. Achievement was unearned, but the lesson was learned, even if it was learned unwittingly. These folks are not on your side. They do not believe in you. On the contrary, they feel that you are weak, and that you can not win without their help, which they use to make themselves feel more important. They use what they see as your weakness, to make themselves stronger. They will keep telling you these lies, over and over, until the lies are not lies to you or them, but instead are now true. Their belief that you can not succeed, invades your belief , until that belief becomes reality. There is a sub-section of Category 2 folks which is truly evil, and this would be people that know the truth; that you can succeed without their help, but they want to control you. They feel that they are superior to you, but if they just make you dependent upon them, they can always control you. This is truly evil, and is no different than an abusive spouse that can't leave because they are so dependent and the abuse is the only thing they know. How sad that so many of you have been trapped by this, but you can escape. It is harder for you, and although we have all been created equal, this does not mean that all of our struggles to be successful will be equal.
So am I telling you to shun all help? No, but I want you to understand that the less you do for yourself, and the more you depend on others, the less you will gain for your "self". Do I believe that you can not form a team of people to help you? Absolutely not. I believe in teams and co-operation. Understand when you delegate authority, and when you are working for someone else that you are still working for yourself. Always know that you are "self" employed. You work, and you are paid for your work, and if you deliver results you will be paid more, if you do not deliver results you will be paid less, and if you do not deliver for enough time you will be without a job. You contribute to the whole company, but you are still an individual. You work hard to contribute so that the company will succeed, and therefor succeed yourself. But it is your responsibility to make the correct decisions as to your employment. If you work for a company that is not run well, you need to look out for yourself, and find a company that is. If your industry is changing or being eliminated by overseas competition, then you must educate yourself to be prepared for change. YOU are responsible for YOU! Those that sit around waiting for people to hand them new opportunities are destined for failure, because the winners go get the opportunities wherever they are. You are that winner! I believe in you. There is nothing special about you that is not inside you right now. Its all there waiting for you to understand it and develop it. You are special because you are you, and for no other reason. Nobody else can make you special or make you less than special. Your own power is infinite, and your own ability to win is limited by only you. You only lose when you let others decide for you about what your limits are. I want to say, "You can do it", but that will be putting my own beliefs on you, so I will instead close by saying that if you think you can do it, I believe you are correct.

Okay, this may be a little juvenile.

Capitalism made this person's yard messy!

 

Freedom!

I hear it every day, from a lot of different sides of these politics in the United States. The Democrats and republicans are very fond of using the word "FREEDOM". To quote a good movie, (I love movies with pirates in them you know) "The Princess Bride", "You keep using that word. I do not believe it means what you think it means." Of course they do not know what it means. The word freedom has lost its meaning, as so many other words have, through misuse, and abuse. Other words that have similarly lost their meanings would be, "Racist, Racism, Fair, Greed, Abuse, Torture, Progressive, Fascist, and fortunate, as in that guy is 'less-fortunate". I may go into these other meaningless words later, but for now let's focus on Freedom.

What is freedom? Well as the first part of the word would imply, it has something to do with being "free". Now in today's society, "free" can mean without cost, but I want to focus on the "free" which would mean, "without restraint". If you see a bird in the sky, flying around, that would be a good example of a "free" thing. It has no restraints other than those that are placed on the bird by scientific forces, such as gravity, fatigue, etc. My pet parrot lives in a cage on my ship. He is a handsome devil, and gets fed all the best gourmet crackers, and he seems that he enjoys his life. He even calls out my name, and even curse words at usually the most inappropriate times, but I digress. He seems happy, but yet he is not "free". He is constricted to his cage, and although I let him out once in a while, he spends the majority of his time, not "free". The best crackers and the fact that he has never known what it is like to be "free" probably contributes to his seemingly happy life. But i do wonder if he yearns to be "free" or if the years of being trapped in a cage, and given all that he needs, have deadened this desire to be free? How many people in our society have given up being, "free" as long as their needs were taken care of by their keepers? Does this innate desire go away, or is it deep within ready to be unleashed (literally)? I'm afraid that this desire is gone from so many of our society.

The state of being without constraints would be what I defined as "freedom". You will hear over and over again, from the talking heads on televisions, to the blabbermouths on radio, to the guy next door, or the preacher in the pulpit, tell us that we live in a 'free" society, but I disagree. One will often hear people praise the armed forces, from those of long ago, to the ones that are currently fighting and dying on foreign soil, as "fighting for our freedom", or in the most drastic cases, "dying for our freedom", but again I disagree. More appropriately, they should say that these people have fought or died, for our protection, or the protection of what our leaders, duly elected have decided was worth fighting and dying for. I would say that they are fighting for our freedom, but I make the argument that we do not have freedom. More Free than some? Yes, but if I put my parrot in a really large cage, he is still not free.

But Ragnar, it's right there in the national Anthem, "the land of the free"! Just because something is written in a song, or a document doesn't mean that it is factual. Would you like me to demonstrate how you are not free? I will take an example from both sides of the current political system. The Democrats would say that we are free, but in a "free" society the leaders or governors of that society doesn't confiscate property from you that you have rightfully earned, yet every day for every dollar that one makes, that one has given a piece of their time(life) for 6% is taken off the top, confiscated and put into a plan that one has no choice to participate in, unless of course they are a member of the government, the railroad system, or the clergy (but only on the money earned whilst doing clergy duties), to be given back to this individual, if they make it to a certain age, and meet certain criteria. Forcibly stealing, looting, plundering someone's life can never be free. This is slavery in its simplest form, and at least indentured servitude, in the best of circumstances. The Republicans are no better on this issue. They had the chance to give power back to the people by privatizing this, but alas they did not. Their own desire to control was more than their desire to implement a little bit of freedom to the people. On the other side, the Republicans would tell someone that they cannot smoke Marijuana. Should people smoke marijuana? Maybe not, but that is not the issue. The issue is that the Republicans (and most democrats too) would say that you do not own yourself. We know better than you do about what you should or should not do to your body, so we will not allow this. Therefore, they are no better than the democrats, because they exert control over the individual. They believe they have the right to a part of you. You are property to them as well. Think that slavery was abolished in 1865? Think again. These people who spout off more about freedom than anyone else, have no clue as to what the word means.

One will hear about the greatness of all the other industrialized countries, and how great their systems are, and what the services that they provide for their people. You hear about the awesome healthcare that the people do not have to pay for, the 6 weeks of paid vacations that they may get the wonderful transit systems, free colleges, and such. Have you once heard anyone say, 'I think that ________(Sweden, France, Great Britain, Germany, Luxembourg, Canada is so great because they are so "free"? I never have, yet so many people look to these countries as role model as to what we should become. Why? Could people in those countries be so wrong? They seem to like it, so maybe we would also? Well back to my parrot; perhaps after so long of enslavement, they have grown accustomed to their condition. I can let my parrot out of his cage, yet he does not fly off. Why would he? He has all his needs taken care of; heck he doesn't have to think. He wakes up, and poof a brand new gourmet cracker, fresh water, and a place to poop. Life is great! Until i took him up the Amazon River one year, and there all around us were wild birds, flying around looking for their next meal or their next mate. Did my parrot look with envy to those birds, or did he look at them with ridicule, as in "har har, I don’t have to fly around looking for food, this guy brings it to me. I'm better off than you." I will never know, since I can’t speak parrot or read parrot minds, but I can tell you that humans have thrown off the shackles and chains from ancient times. We have an innate desire to be free. Free from the Egyptians, free from the Greeks, free from the Romans, free from the Nobility, free from the American slaveholders, free from Imperialism, free from the Soviet Union, and free from apartheid. Over and over again people have fought for and died for freedom. And what does this country do with its freedom? It allows rulers to be in place that would strangle, and chock that freedom, yet the people do it willingly for some sense of security.

I hear that some people are "unfortunate", or at least "less-fortunate", but I say that most people get exactly what they have worked for. "You reap what you sow" is found in all 3 major religions, and it is true. You get out, what you put in. All that you are is in direct relation to the choices you have made and the actions that you have done. However, there are those that are your enslavers, and to a certain extent, they can affect your "fortune". This is where the oppression is really aimed. The oppressors do not want you to succeed; they want you to be subservient. They are power hungry, draconian, and greedy. Yes I said greedy. That word gets thrown around a lot to describe individuals and companies that are trying to succeed, yet the ones that are truly greedy are the rulers-the oppressors. They want more and more control and power over the individual. They see you as nothing more than a serf or slave to rule over. They put systems in place that punish you for succeeding, and reward you for failing. You don’t have to be BF Skinner, or Pavlov to understand that the reward/punishment will lead to more of the behavior that leads to reward and against the behavior that leads to punishment. Is this all making sense yet? By punishing the successful and rewarding the unsuccessful they thereby create a society that is complacent to fail. They also pit one class against the other. Why? To remain in power. If they can create a society in which more than half the people are dependent on them, and do not strive for freedom, they thereby ensure their survival. Vote for me, and I will still give you _______, vote for the other guy and he will take away your________. We will take from them (the successful) to give to you (the unsuccessful). Easy enough, the revolution had occurred without a shot fired. Only the reward/punishment and the enslavement of their subjects.

How do I see freedom, and what can be done to instill it? Well in the United States there is a document that grants freedoms, and rights. Unfortunately, over the years some people have in times of crisis, expanded the government's control to a willing public who were afraid and wanted security. these abuses, were gradual, and only effected a small group of people, so folks said, "Okay, well if it only hurts_____, then do it", yet they failed to see the larger picture, that with each bit of freedom they conceded for security, or for the government's outright abuse of the documents, to which the citizen's did not demand an accounting, and repeal, they voluntarily were shackling themselves. The death of freedom by a thousand cuts. The cuts were so gradual, that after a while the people in their comfort and security began to like the programs, like social security, welfare, Medicare, and Medicaid. Sort of like my parrot likes those fancy crackers.

I hope that my parrot takes off one day in search of a tasty fruit, or bug, or whatever parrots like to eat out in the freedom of the wild. And I wish people in the United States would throw off the security of the social programs, to have a choice in their destiny, and to remove power from the rulers. But unfortunately like my parrot, which seems happy and secure in his cage, eating gourmet crackers, I am worried that the people in the United States, have grown complacent in their security, and their enslavement, and will keep the shackles on, until someone shows them what freedom really is. That time is coming, but many of these people will miss it, due to watching American Idol or the Sean Hannity show.