Removing Impact Blinders Archives - Page 8 of 26

Sanders is a Step in the Right Direction

April 17, 2016 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

To keep doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

It’s also the reason why the system of oligarchy, or rule by the rich, has grown such deeps roots in American society.

Today the nation, the world, is faced with grave problems that cannot be dismissed. And, as a matter of fact, neither ISIS, nor immigration, are in the top three.

Economic inequality has grown to monstrous proportions in our country and in the world at large. In our country the richest singly family owns more wealth than the bottom 40% of all Americans. In the world, the richest 62 people own more wealth than 50% of all people on planet earth. Let me put that another way, 62 people own more of the earth’s resources than 3.5 billion!

Now, some might say, so what?

Well, if you don’t think that all that concentrated wealth carries with it concentrated power, then you’re just not being honest with yourself.

It does matter. And it is creating an unsustainable situation in our country and throughout our planet.

It is creating a dangerously unstable situation.

The reality is that the conflicts throughout the world might just have more to do with inequality than with anything else, including religion. The disaffected are looking for answers and the siren song of violent reaction, whether sounded by Trump or by ISIS, can be very alluring.

But thinking people know that violence is not the answer.

Right?

The capacity for influence that all that concentrated wealth carries cannot be lightly dismissed. It has become quite acceptable to the American populace that only the most wealthy among us share the privilege of leading us in government. And it’s become perfectly acceptable to many that only those with access to billions from wealthy contributors (or from their own pocket books) should be capable of successfully running a campaign for national office, like president, congressman, or senator.

But that access comes at a price…and that price is oligarchy.

Government does not work for the people.

Government works for the rich. If that’s not the case, then why can’t it take action that the people want?

Do the people want health care as a right, not a privilege? Should we not live in a situation in the richest country on earth, where the prospect of a health crisis does not also lead to the inevitability of a personal financial meltdown? The citizens of virtually every other developed country on this planet have that…but not here, not in the U.S.

Why?

Because those in power don’t want it, either because they fear they’d have to shoulder the lion’s share of the burden of paying for it, or because they know it will hit them where it hurts the most…their beloved bottom lines. The wealthy have a vested interest in keeping health care costs soaring and making sure the populace keeps paying the price for it.

Do the people want their kids to have the chance to get a start in life with a college degree without the added burden of crushing debt? Debt that they may be paying back for the rest of their lives? Is it not reasonable to expect that the wealthiest nation on earth could provide that benefit to its youth in the same way that most other developed countries provide theirs? Of course, but those in power don’t want that.

Why?

Well, because either they fear they’d have to shoulder the lion’s share of the burden of paying for it, or because they know it will hit them where it hurts the most…their beloved bottom lines. The wealthy have a vested interest in keeping education costs soaring and making sure the populace keeps paying the price for it.

Global warming is a scientific fact. If you’re reading this and don’t believe that, the only thing I can suggest is…do a little unbiased research. The scientific evidence is overwhelming…along the lines of gravity, or evolution.

Not only is it a scientific fact, but it’s a very real and current threat to humanity. The negative effect of global warming on our planet and our lives is not some distant danger…it is a present danger. They are taking place throughout our planet now, from disappearing species that some are calling the sixth mass extinction of life on planet earth, to the melting polar icecaps and rising sea levels.

So, why can’t we seem to get our collective act together and do something about it? Because those in power don’t want that.

Why?

Because either they fear they’d have to shoulder the lion’s share of the burden of paying for it, or because they know it will hit them where it hurts the most…their beloved bottom lines. The wealthy have a vested interest in ignoring climate change and making sure the populace keeps doing the same.

Make no mistake about it, the reason the government doesn’t work for the people is because it works for the wealthy.

And we keep voting for that reality.

We keep voting for oligarchy.

We are facilitating the problem.

It is madness to think that someone who finances his or her campaign with donations from the 1%, will then take office and govern for the 99%. Tweet it out!

Ain’t gonna happen.

But, wait, a solution has arrived on this event horizon, just in time for us not to go careening over the edge into the black hole…

His name is Bernie Sanders.

Now, am I saying that Bernie Sanders is the answer? That he will be the proverbial magic wand whose waiving will vanquish all the grave problems we face?

No, I am not and I do not believe that.

But, I do believe this…he’s the best chance we’ve got at this point in time.

His election does not guarantee success. It does not guarantee that the people will get what they want.

But he does increase that probability.

Bernie Sanders does not guarantee success.

But…Bernie Sanders is a step in the right direction.

On the Pursuit of Property

March 25, 2016 by costaricaguy 1 Comment

Wouldn’t you tend to agree that there’s a general sense “out there” that something’s wrong?

People are angry…fed up…but can’t seem to reach a cogent consensus about what…

Some are mad at too much government…

Others at too little.

We’ve been through times like these, you know. During the 1920’s happiness was equated with the pursuit of property. Some people pursued wealth and became quite good at acquiring massive amounts of it…

The specter of massive inequality is not a phenomenon confined to this day and age. Back then it was just as unequal as today, perhaps even more-so.

Then came the great crash and the great depression. The pursuit of wealth was converted into the pursuit of just a meal and a roof.

So, the government stepped in…in the form of a “new deal.” People were put to work rebuilding our nation. Meals and roofs became less scarce commodities. Regulations were put in place to put the brakes on greed.

And this worked fairly well for the masses over the ensuing 4 decades, albeit with the usual cyclical ups and downs. But no crashes. And, guess what else? The U.S. was not such a society of inequality, as it was before and as it is again now!

Nevertheless, the hard-core property pursuers were discontent. For them the inalienable right of happiness is, in fact, property. Only if allowed to pursuit it and then given the unfettered right to retain it, protected against the will of the masses, could the true virtue of our great constitution be realized.

They found their champion, their knight in shining armour, their western sheriff who would ride into town and blow away the bureaucrats…

His name was Ronald…Ronald Reagan.

Reagan was given a mandate to reverse the new deal and he did it with patriotic fervor. And the propertied loved him for it. They lauded him as their saviour and king…the messiah who had come down from the Hollywood Hills to save them…

and restore their precious and coveted right to the pursuit of property in its fullest and grandest extent.

And that’s the way it’s pretty much been ever since. It shouldn’t really come as a great surprise that inequality has reared its head once again. And it shouldn’t have come at a great surprise that our economy crashed in 2008, again.

So, back to the issue at hand…the anger of the masses…

What really should be the focal point of all this anger?

Is government really the problem?

Why yes…yes it is. But, it’s also the solution, well one of them…

A government who rigs the rules for the propertied will tend to be mistrusted by the un-propertied

What’s ironic is, that mistrust has been of great benefit to the propertied. They’ve used it, exploited it, fomented more anger with it…and have drilled the mantra for less government into the consciousness of a large portion of the un-propertied class.

On the other hand, perhaps two things really need to change here…

First, the idea that government can do no good. It can and it has. Just take an objective view of history. No, don’t take my word for it…do your own research.

Government can make things better for the un-propertied. Those efforts may come at some expense to the propertied. But, I can assure you, it won’t put that big a dent in their glamorous lifestyles.

Second, the idea that happiness should be equated to the pursuit of property, or even its successful attainment.

We did not come forth from the womb with property in tow and we won’t go forth to the pearly gates with it either.

Granted, it is a necessary “evil” in the world we live in. And it can be fun. Property imparts power and power is sexy.

We want more power over our own lives, as well as over the lives of others. The unfettered right to private property ownership can grant us that power.

But do the power enhancing “properties” of wealth make unfettered private property ownership a god-given and inalienable “right?”

Is it a “right” for one family in the U.S. to own as much property (wealth) as the bottom 40% of all americans? And to control the largest corporation, that pays wages to its employees so low so as to keep them in an impoverished state?

The idea of the unfettered right to private property as being ingrained in our constitution leads us exactly there. And the idea of property being at the root of happiness motivates many to go there…

It motivates greed.

The point I’m making is perhaps we should change our ideas about what government’s role is in protecting and preserving the right to private property…

and also change our ideas about the efficacy of basing the entirety of our conscious lives on the pursuit of property…

perhaps…

What do you think?

Bernie Sanders is a Revolutionary Misfit

March 6, 2016 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

If you’ve paid any attention to this blog recently, you might’ve noticed my support for this guy named Bernie Sanders…

But does Bernie really qualify as a “revolutionary misfit”?

Let’s examine that question thoughtfully…

A revolutionary misfit is guided by the principles of impact mindfulness, namely…

He or she will prioritize impact over self-interest…
He or she will embrace the concept of the “Big US” – that we are all in this together…
Lastly, he or she will seek to remove “impact blinders.”

Let’s examine each principle to determine once and for all if Bernie is a revolutionary misfit.

1. Does Bernie prioritize Impact over Interest?

More than anything else, the campaign of Bernie Sanders is a campaign against greed. Greed is the antithesis of impact over interest. The current neoliberal political and governing philosophy, that actually prevails on the right and the left, the so-called “establishment, is a greed promoting one. And the result has been dangerous levels of inequality that are now erupting in one of the most momentous anti-establishment presidential elections in my lifetime spanning 5.5 decades.

If you notice carefully, the anti-establishment candidates are gaining ground, while the establishment ones, like Bush and Rubio, are being thrown under the bus!

I believe Clinton will ultimately meet with the same fate. I just hope that happens during the nomination process and not in the general election.

Back to the point, Bernie has a pretty darn good plan for fixing the inequality problem. Just check out his site to get the particulars.

And, more than anything else, it has to do with reigning in greed.

Here’s what Bernie recently had to say on the issue of greed…

So, yes I believe Bernie passes the test for impact over interest with flying colors.

2. Does Bernie embrace the concept of the Big US?

It seems that much is always made of the religious leanings of our presidential candidates. We make it a big deal about knowing whether or not they believe in god and which god they actually do believe in.

Bernie has been a tad evasive on this issue. He is Jewish by birth, but doesn’t seem to adhere to that, or any other, religious dogma, or faith.

However, he did say this…

Well, you can’t get much closer than that to this fundamental principle for revolutionary misfits.

And, after all, Bernie has battled his entire political life for racial, sexual and economic equality.

3. Does Bernie Sanders seek to eliminate Impact Blinders?

Bernie’s candidacy is remarkable on many levels. The fact that he has raised a lot of money, on an equal level with the establishment, and he has done so, not with Super PACs, or large donors, but with some 4 million individual contributions averaging $27 apiece, is a revolutionary political feat in itself.

But, even more than that, he has risen to national prominence despite having labeled himself as a “democratic socialist!”

How can it be that someone willing to even label himself in such a “derogatory” manner could win the hearts and minds of a vast swath of the electorate?

Perhaps because Bernie doesn’t deal in labels, but in solving problems. And he believes that the way other countries have solved problems, such as providing health care and affordable education to all their citizens, can also be implemented in the richest nation on earth, despite the “socialist” label that the neoliberal establishment wants to place on such solutions.

Labels, as I have written before, are the most insidious of impact blinders and Bernie couldn’t give a hoot about them.

Bernie is removing impact blinders faster than you can say “feel the Bern” and that is a good thing for America. We can do better and we will do better when we stop pigeonholing efforts out of this irrational fear of labels, especially that one that begins with the letter “S!”

If case you haven’t noticed, this is perhaps the most important presidential election of our lifetimes…

Why?…

Because we have a chance of changing the way things are done in america. We can either change them in a good and progressive way, or we can change them in a destructive way that leads us down a very dark path.

But one thing’s for sure, things are going to change with this election…

“Status-quo-ism” will not rule the day this time…

I strongly believe that if we want to see change in a positive direction, we’d better get behind that revolutionary misfit named Bernie Sanders…

Because, truthfully, he’s the only one in this race that has any will to implement real and positive change.

With all that said, I wholeheartedly dub Bernie Sanders a very honorary Revolutionary Misfit!

Bernie Sanders is Number One on National Security

January 5, 2016 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

My last post explained my passionate support of Bernie Sanders to become the 45th President of the U.S.

Bernie’s not just right on the issues, he’s knows what “the issues” really are…

He knows that out of control income and wealth inequality are ripping society to shreds and eviscerating the middle class…the great engine of growth and prosperity for all Americans.

He knows that a corrupt, money-driven political system, is at the core of rising inequality, as the system becomes increasingly rigged for the richest Americans.

He knows that global warming is on the verge of becoming an inescapable threat to our planet and all life that inhabits it.

He also knows that all of the above are inextricably intertwined with the threat to our national security.

National security gets a lot of press these days and for good reason. Terrorism appears to be on the rise despite the trillions and trillions of dollars we’ve spent to combat it since 9-11.

The typical response to the problem of national security is the neoliberal one.

“Neoliberal”…a term you might have read me railing against and thought to yourself, wait a minute, I thought the Revolutionary Misfit WAS a liberal…

Well, for starters, I don’t like to be labeled “liberal.”

In my opinion, there’s not much difference between a neoliberal and an establishment liberal…or an establishment conservative for that matter.

I’m a progressive.

I am a Sanders-Warren-style progressive who’d like to see some real and desperately needed change come to the country…and to the world.

What is neoliberalism?

Well, if you Google it, you get this:

Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, its advocates [namely Ronald Reagan of the U.S. and Margaret Thatcher of the U.K.] supported extensive economic liberalization policies such as privatization, fiscal austerity, deregulation, free trade, and reductions in government spending in order to enhance the role of the private sector in the economy.

What has really gotten us into the tremendous mess that the Middle East has become?

I would opine that neoliberalism and its first-cousin, neoconservatism, are at the heart of the problem.

Why have we insisted on meddling in Middle Eastern affairs…

from the overthrow of the democratically elected leader of Iran, Mosaddegh, in 1953, and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9-11, to Obama’s recent drone attacks and Syrian strategy (or lack thereof, depending on political perspective)?

Aren’t there “economic” and private sector implications…in addition to the resulting military-industrial complex boom?

Of course there are!

We’re in it for the oil, pure and simple. Because oil has long been the fuel of choice for the private sector economic engine.

And, remember, according to neoliberalism, there’s nothing more important than the private sector economy.

So, how does all this make Sanders, the guy who everyone in the establishment wants you to believe is weak on national security, become, in my opinion, numero uno on national security?

Well, according to practically all credible scientists in the world today, burning all that black gold has some grave consequences for people and planet…

it’s overheating us.

Oh sure, there are guys like Jim Inhofe and Donald Trump, neoliberal neocons in their own right, who say it’s all a hoax…

Well, quite simply, they’re just nuts.

If we choose to believe scientific fact about the threat of global warming, then it’s easier to embrace the idea of less dependence on oil as the fuel of choice. And less dependence on oil means less need for meddling in the Middle East. And the less meddling we engage in over there, the less reasons we give those people to hate us…pure and simple.

Not to mention the fact that less dependence on oil and more dependence on clean and renewable energy sources that don’t overheat our planet may still provide us with the outside chance of SAVING OUR PLANET…

I got news for the economically myopic neoliberal…without an inhabitable planet, guess what…there is NO ECONOMY!

Furthermore, scientists have said that one of the inevitable consequences of global warming will be mass displacement of populations, as sea levels rise and food sources become more scarce.

That gives rise to nationalistic tensions of the same sorts that Donald Trump is fanning right now in the U.S…calling for a massive wall on the southern border, mass deportation of “illegals”, and a ban on Muslims even being allowed to enter the country.

Those tensions can turn violent.

Recently I saw where an Al-Qaeda affiliated group is actually using Trump’s incendiary comments in a recruiting video.

Population displacement due to global warming plays right into the hands of demagogues like Trump, who attempt to gain power by leveraging fear…and fear can easily turn into violence.

Now, how does all this tie in with inequality and a corrupt political system?

Well, outside of financial, medical and big pharma, there are few greater sources of lobbyists and Super PAC donors exerting an undue influence in the halls of Congress than those of the energy and defense industries.

Don’t you think laws get passed, or fail to pass, for purposes of protecting those two very special interests?

Well, if you don’t, I got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

Bernie wants to upset all that. He wants the government of the country to pass laws that benefit real and hardworking people trying to get a leg up…and that help clean up our planet…rather than for “special interests” that have a vested interest in keeping us mired in the muck of the Middle East.

I just don’t believe the tired old neoliberal-neoconservative ideas of spending unlimited amounts of money on bombs, bullets and boots on the ground is in the best interest of national security…

Hey, where has it gotten us so far?

I believe getting rid of our dependence on oil as the economic fuel of choice, combatting global warming and its disastrous effects, and keeping our noses on problems at home, as opposed to constantly meddling in the affairs of others abroad, are in our best national security interests.

However, that will not happen unless we take back control of our government from those that operate exclusively from the neoliberal-neoconservative point of view.

For these reasons, I believe progressively-minded Bernie Sanders is number one on national security.

The Trumpet Call

July 31, 2015 by costaricaguy Leave a Comment

Well, I tried.

And, I failed.

My experiment in repatriation proved to be a disaster.

Why, you ask?

Many reasons…not the least of which was getting off to a very bad start.

Nevertheless, it was another eye-opening experience. And in that light, it was beneficial to have suffered it. I had a handful of folks genuinely pulling for me…and I sincerely thank you all for that.

But in the end, it just didn’t work.

And what revelations and epiphanies transpired in my mind, heart and soul from all the trauma?

It all sort of comes down to this opinion, conclusion, warning, or however you want to couch it…

The U.S.A. is in deep trouble.

No, not because of 8 years under Obama. If anything, his presidency has been successful in a myriad of statistical ways…but it has not reversed the trend…

the slide into the abyss…

In fact, his presidency seems to have marked an acceleration.

The basic problem comes down to this: the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer.

We can drill down on that a bit more and rephrase it: the super rich are getting superbly richer whilst the rest of us are growing more and more downtrodden…

and the great swath of American society called the “middle class” appear to be completely oblivious to this alarming trend.

Rather than look up to the problem, they look down in blame…or over at Obama.

Obama is not the source of the problem. He does acknowledge it, but he’s been pretty powerless (or unwilling) to do much about it.

Obama’s presidency has in no measure changed the increasingly factual reality that our country has become an outright oligarchy.

The super rich class control the levers and they’re making damn sure that their ass is insulated from the turmoil that’s coming…

The shit may be close to hitting the fan folks.

And the election of someone like Donald Trump could really be the proverbial straw…to continue on with this annoying string of clichés.

What we don’t need is exactly what a fellow like Trump proposes.

And that is, the privatization of, well, everything. The idea that everything works better if it works for profit…

And for whom does that profit work?

Well, certainly not for me…

You perhaps?

Doubtful as well.

What do “we” all really want…the normal we…not the private jet-set crowd…but regular run-of-the-mill blokes, like you and me?

We want “America” to work…we want the land of the free and the home of the brave to be a nice place to live in, for all of US…right?

Well, if this problem continues unabated much longer, it won’t be.

One reason I feel more at ease down south…way down south…about as far removed from the culture of materiality as you can get…

is that, while people are generally poorer than poor, in terms of American standards…

they are exquisitely happy, dignified and life loving folks.

They work good and hard…but their work doesn’t define them. Their decreased desire to accumulate reduces that pressure.

And what I witnessed during my five odd months of U.S. repatriation is that THAT is just not true up there.

The downtrodden are just that, downtrodden, and rightly pissed off about it. The culture that tells them they are worthless wretches for not having more gives rise to their anger and frustration.

This anger is simmering to a boil under the thinning crust of American materialistic excess…and the pressure that could lead to violent eruption is building.

What could possibly release it…the pressure that is?

Perhaps the election of someone who really cares about THE PROBLEM.

Someone who doesn’t ignore it, or make short shrift of it as being part and parcel of a dreaded “progressive” (translated: communist) ideology.

The problem will persist (and grow like a cancer) regardless of how you choose to label it…

Labeling is not the solution that will make it go away.

I’ve learned the hard way that the strategy of ignoring (or belittling) my problems generally only leads to their becoming larger.

So, in a little over a year, America will be faced with a very important choice…

if we’re fortunate enough to get to that point.

I’d suggest it choose wisely.

The trumpet call is sounding…it’s time for less words, more action.

image credit: alxinhim2 via Compfight cc

Yearning to Breathe Free

July 4, 2015 by costaricaguy 2 Comments

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-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

― Emma Lazarus

Freedom is the cherished state we all wish to live in.

Gay people only this week were finally allowed to enter on equal terms as straights.

Yet there are still many who want to deny them that freedom.

I won’t go into the reasons…but they are at their core, entirely ideological…just take a gander at my FaceBook wall, as all that’s discussed ad nauseam.

In this post I want to talk specifically about freedom.

My freedom was recently taken away from me…for about a month in LA County Jail.

When something is taken away from you, or when all of a sudden something that you’ve taken for granted for a long time goes missing, it tends to provoke a re-value-ation.

Do we value freedom in this country?

We say we do. We say it often…ad nauseam…

But do we mean it?

We have this thing called “the constitution.”

People invoke its name all the time…usually as a way of promoting some end…

either political, or religious.

But what does the constitution really do for us as people? What was, and still very much is, its purpose.

Technically speaking it established a framework for our government and puts strict limits on what the various bodies therein created can and can’t do…

but why?

Let’s not speak of the “features” of our constitution, but its purpose…its why.

And the why of the constitution is freedom…generally couched in terms of our liberty and our equality as human beings.

And why is that important?

Why should people be free?

And free from what, or to do what?

I recently repatriated to the U.S. after spending 14 years in Costa Rica. Coming back here has been, well, a shocking experience.

I’ve re-entered the U.S. as one of the tired, poor and huddled.

And as I look around I don’t see much in the way of freedom.

I see a lot of weariness, frustration, and fear.

I see a lot of ideological sniping and finger-pointing about various problems, but little being done to solve them.

And all the while the ranks of the down-trodden grow larger.

And that, my friends, does not bode well for freedom.

Our constitution not only protects and guards our cherished freedoms from government, but it also creates that same government to promote those freedoms.

The freedom we have to take a road trip would be a lot less enjoyable were it not for those government created highways we can zip across.

The freedom to enjoy life’s golden years after decades of hard work would be much less enjoyable for many were it not for that “little” government program called social security.

Granted, the lion’s share is up to us…it falls upon us to live our lives in a way that promotes our own freedom and that of others.

I call that in this blog…impact mindfulness.

Sometimes things get out of whack. Sometimes people go too far in the name of what is really a false sense of freedom.

Sometimes certain ideologies get in the way of it…

even ideologies that we consider freedom promoting…

like capitalism…

and christianity.

When folks start utilizing the mechanism of the state to promote ideologies and thereby curtail cherished freedoms…

well, that’s when the constitution must step in.

We should not accept that health should only be the privilege of those who can afford a doctor because capitalism demands it.

We should not accept that marriage should be a right only enjoyed by this particular sexual orientation because the bible demands it.

Freedom must trump ideology. And we have a constitution (and a government) that should be about making sure that’s the case.

Perhaps we’ve been free so long in this country that we’ve forgotten what it really means.

Perhaps we need to undergo a re-value-ation…

before we lose it entirely.

image credit: Patrick Terol via Compfight cc

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1. Does Bernie prioritize Impact over Interest?

2. Does Bernie embrace the concept of the Big US?

3. Does Bernie Sanders seek to eliminate Impact Blinders?

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