Letter from the 1%

“Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” – Harry S. Truman

From:    The 1%

To:         The 99%

Subj:      New Deal 3 Memorandum of Understanding

Dear Sirs and Madams:

It has come to our attention that visionpresident.com has proposed a “New Deal,” an agreement to avoid collapse – what the business world calls a controlled bankruptcy plan.  This written response is intended to define us 1%er’s understanding of New Deal 3.  What follows is our non-lawyer, plain speak, man-to-man statement of understanding of our collective future together.  But first, I feel it beneficial that you hear our perspective, before you hear our terms…

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.” – Abraham Lincoln

First, you should know that we are not ashamed of being 1%ers; on the contrary, we are proud of it – for we have worked hard to get here, making many difficult choices and overcoming a multitude of challenges along the way.  In the process, we have come to understand, appreciate, and respect hard work.  Make no mistake, we hold a profound admiration of our hard working middle class – our teachers, our military, our nurses – we treasure the work you do.  In fact, we would like to pay you more, for we fully recognize that it is the middle class which makes America work.

The most perfect political community is one in which the middle class is in control, and outnumbers both of the other classes.” – Aristotle

We recognize that the middle class in America is shrinking and the wealth gap widening.  We understand that you need more than simply enough to get to tomorrow – you need to support a family, plan for your retirement, help your children to learn and to grow, enjoy time with family, and assist the needy in your community.  And we are more than ready to provide the hard working 99%ers out there with more.  But not with the old New Deal, not with the remnants of a previous generations’ programs, not with a government determined to pay the non-working, provide for the retired, and engage in a “War on Poverty” via government “relief” programs.  These programs no longer encourage a working middle class by combating discrimination and abuses in America; quite the contrary, they abuse and discriminate against the working middle class by encouraging people to leave it and file for government benefits instead.

The New Deal is plainly an attempt to achieve a working socialism and avert a social collapse in America; it is extraordinarily parallel to the successive ‘policies’ and ‘Plans’ of the Russian experiment. Americans shirk the word ‘socialism’, but what else can one call it?” – H. G. Wells
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My fellow Americans, for this New Deal to succeed, you must understand that the reason hard working Americans are unable to garner wealth, provide for your future and your present, prevent your children from being overburdened in federal debt obligations…  the reason you are now relegated to an endless existence of work and toil just to get by… it is not due to our greed.  It is due to the funneling of your pay into the coffers of government wars, policies, and programs.  It is due to your forced participation in a retirement program that takes 12.4% of your pay and, in return, provides you only with vast debt obligations that your children must shoulder.  It is due to your obligation to pay government employees, including members of Congress, a defined benefit from the age he or she “retires” until some future date many decades into the future.  It is due to your mandatory participation in medical and welfare government aid programs that ensure the hard working among you pay for those who have retired from the workforce and those who fail to participate in it – a segment of the population that is expanding rapidly, and why wouldn’t they?
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Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.” – Winston Churchill

We, the 1%, still whole-heartily believe in the vision that is America – a place where a person is free to excel, encouraged to innovate, and provided an opportunity to live well. But as such, we cannot support our current course.  Yes, we know that trickle-down economics is a failed philosophy, we’ve told you as much.

The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we’ll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on.” – Warren Buffet
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And yes, we are ready to pay our fair share of taxes, to return to the day where the rich pay a higher percentage than the poor.  And yes, we understand that we have an obligation to use our wealth to support our fellow man.

Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.” – George Washington
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But my friends, for us to move forward, you must understand that it is not the greed of us 1%ers that is at the root of our nation’s problems, it is the system itself.  This is what you must recognize if you wish to avoid collapse.  We simply will not support a system which continues, in today’s day and age of equal rights, to identify the government as the proper mechanism to provide for the citizenry – for it is not, we have always known this.

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” – Thomas Jefferson

The former Soviet Union, modern day Greece, and a look at our own Welfare State demonstrates that it is time to resume our proper course.  A society which gives its wages to the government and expects the government to provide for the people, whether said government is democratically elected or not, is left with a broken people and a broken nation.  Throughout history, this has been the case.  So make no mistake, we will let this failed philosophy implode before we bankrupt ourselves supporting it.

The reason why men enter into society is the preservation of their property.” – John Locke

Although we are prepared to handle the financial collapse of our great nation should we fail to reach an agreement with you, we sincerely hope and pray that we can work together to foster a different outcome.

 
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
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We see the inevitable result of our current course, and we will not be a party to it.  Our current end state is a citizenry reliant on an inefficient, ineffective, and corruptible government, one catering to special interest organizations, one unable to meet its obligations to the people, and one imposing ever increasing taxes on its working and ever increasing debts on its future generations.  Our course of government subsidies for our citizenry will leave us destitute, with a divided nation pitting those who receive government checks set against those who work to provide them.  Our current system is destined for failure, destined for collapse, and we will not support it.  You must vote to end it.

“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” – Alexis de Tocqueville

It is the lesson of the ages, and we will simply no longer allow our great country, this noble idea called America, our most-treasured experiment… to fall to the bureaucrats.  We love you, Us, too much to let that happen.  If you wish to plot a viable future together, if you wish to balance our nation’s budget, if you wish for America’s children to have a chance at success, you must abandon the notion that the government provides for the people.

A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.” – Thomas Jefferson

In this century’s New Deal, we will accept a tax system designed to target us 1%ers for the overarching limited government necessary to promote our society.  We will support legislation and tax code simplification that eliminates tax breaks for us, as well as encourage smart government regulatory bodies to provide the necessary check to our capitalist nature.  Our businesses will bid on competitive government contracts to provide energy, infrastructure, and societal advancements for us as a whole, but not for individual government handouts or mandatory government programs.  All government expenditures should be investments in our future, programs that potentially pay for themselves, not taxes to provide government backstops and entitlements to certain segments of the population.  Government can invest in our youth and unemployed by promoting job training, advanced education, and proven work programs.

Join me in a national commitment to train two million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job.” – Barack Obama

In this century’s New Deal, the government must again be removed from the charity business, eliminated from the retirement planning business, and extracted from the drug subsidy business for the elderly. This is a part of the deal some of you 99%ers may think you don’t like, but you will find America is stronger as a result.  Medicare, Social Security, all Government Defined Benefit Retirement Programs, and all government welfare programs are eliminated.  Bankruptcy style court proceedings will be used to determine the payout to those who have had their wages garnished for years, to those who have spent their lives as public servants expecting a government pension, and any other creditors claiming liens on America’s future.

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes.” – Thomas Jefferson

Going forward, America will offer no future obligations other than the debt determined in court proceedings.  Going forward, all federal employees, to include Congress, military personnel, and any government entity, will be enrolled in a private sector retirement program that pays as it goes into a citizen owned and managed retirement account.  These will be regulated by the government, but not guaranteed by the government… the people… our unborn.  Going forward, each generation will be responsible for ourselves.

There are no easy answers but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” – Ronald Reagan

Those who work hard will find that they have enough to provide for their well being, save for their retirement, support a family, and have money left over with which to assist the elderly, disabled, and struggling in our society.  The elimination of the government programs designed to “help” us will, in fact, help us.  We will find that we are all better off when the common man is allowed to live independent of government, rather than forced to pay into a government system designed to provide for his well being.

I’m a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That Government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more.” – Barack Obama

The private sector can provide unemployment insurance for those who wish to purchase it.  The private sector can and does provide retirement plans and elder care health plans.  The government can and should regulate these industries – that is its purpose after all, to regulate – but that is the extent of its role here.  The government should create a fair and just business environment, ensure workplace and environmental standards, and punish those who deceive, manipulate, and try to operate outside of the law.  It should not, however, attempt to raise more taxes in a vain effort to continue to promote a failed political vision.  Defense of our community, regulation of our industry, and investment in our future – Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – this is the full extent of what the government should do for the people.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” – George Washington

So that’s the New Deal 3 as we understand it:  Social Security, all Government retirement programs, and Medicare are ended via a lump sum payout to contributing parties, as determined in bankruptcy court, of some amount that our society can possibly afford.  Government Medicaid, Housing, and Welfare Aid is ended, and all charity will be left to the private charities, many of which we 1%ers have already started.  If you cannot agree to this, then We 1%ers will be forced to let the impending bankruptcy occur.  Your pyramid scheme of borrowed money that is tied to nothing more than the paper it is drawn on will be allowed to run its course…  and then we will try again with your grandchildren to develop a sustainable society.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” – Ronald Reagan

My fellow Americans, we hope you will accept our offer at increased taxes on us 1%ers to balance our budget.  But you must couple this tax increase with the shared understanding that government is not meant to ensure that everyone, regardless of work history, health condition, or age is “taken care of” by the same government that polices, taxes, and administers the aid.  Such a system will never work – we are $16 trillion into the midst of this truth, and time is running short.

To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” – Leonard Bernstein

Take these charitable and unquantifiable responsibilities out of the hands of Government.  Agree to limit it, as you know in your heart it must be.  Let the government set a fair playing field, let them regulate Us, let them inspect Us, but let not their police confiscate our hard-earned monies to pay for unsustainable health, retirement, and welfare programs, particularly when these programs aren’t even being paid for as part of a balanced budget.  My brothers and sisters, let us continue to grow as One Body.  Let us get through this downturn by re-embracing the notion of an honest day’s wage for an honest day’s work – a square Deal.  Do that, and we can once again work to encourage a vibrant middle class and a better America.

The middle class is teetering on the brink of collapse just as surely as AIG was in the fall of 2009 – only this time, it’s not just one giant insurance company (and its banking counterparties) facing disaster, it’s tens of millions of hardworking Americans who played by the rules.” – Arianna Huffington

With heartfelt love for you, our country, our world, and our future,

The 1%ers

America, Land of the Slave?

“Time is Money.” – Benjamin Franklin

I have a corollary to wise old Ben’s proverb that I wish to share with you today, and it is this:

“Time is Money, and Debt is Slavery.

My friends, time is what we are stealing from our children, our grandchildren, and our unborn with our mountains of National Debt – they lose their time in this world as we enslave them in debtWe are stealing their freedom, that is the truth.  Our children will not be born free in what was once called the “Land of the Free” – they will be born with an obligation of debt and interest, the largest the world has ever seen, more than the rest of the world combined… yes, our children will be born as indentured servants, and I find that unconscionable.

“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.”George Washington

It is why I started this blog, this vain mission of hopelessness, to do otherwise would be to walk blindly into the slavery that awaits us.  I felt I owe my grandparents, and my one day grandchildren, something better.  So here I am, exercising my right to speak, in hopes that somehow, in some way, we can come together to take our country back.

“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”George Washington

There is a word for what I felt last week on the 4th of July – as I reflected on our great country, as I remembered what our forefathers fought for, as I thought about what Independence Day means… and the word for what I felt is Shame.  Has our national debt caused you to feel it yet?  Have you begun to believe that we owe our forefathers a profound apology and our children a complete change of course?  I have.  I do.  And then I think, so what are we waiting for?

“I do not look upon these United States as a finished product. We are still in the making.”Franklin D. Roosevelt

I feel like our forefathers are in the afterlife now, watching our story unfold, seeing what we are doing with the baton they fought so hard to be able to hand us… and they are shouting “NO, Booo!  You know better!  Don’t do this to Us!  This is worse than reality TV for crying out loud!  What in the hell is wrong with you people?!”  I see them throwing their drinks and popcorn at the screen, wondering if there is any way they can get their money back – get their time back.  Time is Money… and debt, debt is slavery.

“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”Abraham Lincoln

So true, so right you are Abe.  I watched the movie “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer” the other night.  I don’t know if it is going to win any awards, but it’s theme resonates with me in our time.  Abe Lincoln, honest Abe, a good man… a man who sees the bankers, the politicians, the slave owners for what they are – comfortable men feeding off of the blood, sweat, and tears of others for their well being – Vampires.  And then he sets off to destroy the Vampires of his day, to attempt to restore our great nation to the ideal that inspired it, to champion liberty for all even though government officials, business owners, and many of his fellow citizens despise the notion.

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it.” – Thomas Jefferson

As I look at America today, I see the parallels to Lincoln’s day – the chains of slavery are not as overt today, but they are there just the same, shackling our children to years and years of servitude. Our slaves these days are not defined by color, but by age – the younger you are, the longer you have to live under this mountain of debt.  And sadly, regretfully, shamefully, I see the Vampires abounding in our day.  Whether red or blue, artery or vein, they suck the life out of us so long as we let them.  First we enslaved ourselves under mountains of credit card, mortgage, and student loan debt… and after we were in debt up to our eyeballs, they went to work on our children.  And, as I see it, so long as we continue to vote red or blue, they got us right where they want us…

“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”
Thomas Jefferson

I can’t speak for you, but I am one good man who is wise to the game of debt, the game of slavery – so I choose a different course, I choose to be Independent, and I reject the notion that red or blue are the only colors I can choose.  My friend, I have been bled white.  I reject the notion that an onerous government and welfare society, or a jaded tax code favoring the wealthy and a lack of regulation on our financial industry are my only two choices in this life.  I submit that we should not tax the hard working to pay for expanding federal government aid programs for our unemployed, elderly, and “less fortunate,” leave that to the states.  Nor should we embrace policy allowing our wealthy corporations and bankers to be “free” to destroy us.  Federal regulation is needed to set the environment, federal programs are not.  Further, I submit that our government officials should not have a defined benefit retirement and healthcare program that our children pay for, for as long as they shall live – they should have a 401k style retirement program where they scrimp and save to pay for themselves just like the rest of us.  I submit that the upper class should be taxed to pay for our limited government – after all, they reap the largest benefits.

I reject the notion that a fair tax system is achieved by taxing the dividends and stock capital gains of our wealthy at a lower tax rate than our working.  I believe the middle and lower classes are owed nothing more than a teacher, a doctor, and the opportunity to work.  I submit that taxing any American and simply giving his money, his time, as a paycheck to another is an affront to freedom, liberty, and justice.  I believe a man must choose to give his time, his charity, his efforts to the benefit of another.  Federal taxes should go to improving the community at large via projects farmed out to the private sector, not to giving paychecks to those requiring charity.

To say that any people are not fit for freedom, is to make poverty their choice, and to say they had rather be loaded with taxes than not.” – Thomas Paine

The middle class and the unborn American, they are the slaves of our day.  The hard working honest among us seem to stand little chance, or we don’t care about our children, I’m not sure which.  Our non-working file with the blue government to tax the working man to pay for their livelihood, and our blue government applauds and champions their cause.  Meanwhile, our wealthy make shady financial deals to inflate the cost of living, fleecing the working man of his hard earned money – MF Global, Bernie Madoff, and the 2008 financial collapse to name but a few.  The blue and red together not only making us powerless to stop them, but worse, insuring their dealings with our children’s yet-to-be-earned incomes.  And a hard working honest man who refuses to give his wages to the bankers, he is fleeced by the government through targeted inflation – the paper he is paid with made more and more worthless with each passing hour.

“These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people.”Abraham Lincoln

I’m with Mr. Lincoln.  Abe knew that most of the men in government were not seeking to combat slavery, only to provide a different avenue toward attaining it.  He heard our founders, and he knew that liberty, freedom, independence, a timeless Constitution – they are the only shield against those who wish to enslave us.

“Mankind, when left to themselves, are unfit for their own government.”George Washington

I see the Vampires in our government, passing Banking and Pension Guarantee legislation to “insure” our bank accounts and retirements are given to us.  It sounds good until we peel back the onion, and see that the bankers and monied corporations keep our deposits, and our “guaranteed” wages are simply another government claim of debt on our children and grandchildren.  What a sham.  Thanks but no thanks government – how about you prevent the capitalists from fleecing me, instead of guaranteeing me that my children will pay for it?  I’m sorry Thomas, it appears the banking institutions have won.

“I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.”Thomas Jefferson
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I see how our government fleeced the Social Security Trust Fund of everything, of all those hard earned wages – all that time, and instead filled it with IOU’s that force us to look to our own children to pay for our retirements.  I watch them as they lower capital gains and dividend tax rates on our business owners, our stock holders, our wealthiest.  I see how they shift the tax burden of what is supposed to be a limited federal government to the middle class – the one part of society who has little use for it, and how they try to eliminate inheritance tax by calling it a “death tax.”  My eyes are open to the fact that our highest income tax bracket and rates are approaching the lowest since we passed the 16th Amendment, even while our debt surpasses all historical levels.  I see our government celebrate as they enlarge federal “aid” programs to include more and more Americans at the expense of others, deciding that a government program is better than a local charity – statistics proving otherwise be damned.  I notice as they discuss a Balanced Budget Amendment to pacify the masses, but never manage to actually pass it, each year borrowing more and more on the heads of our grandchildren and unborn.  I understand that fighting pretend and ill-advised wars only bankrupts our great nation to creditors – our “War on Drugs,” “War on Poverty,” and “War on Terror” to name a few, but see us embark upon them just the same.

“Don’t forget what I discovered that over ninety percent of all national deficits from 1921 to 1939 were caused by payments for past, present, and future wars.”Franklin D. Roosevelt

I hear you FDR, but am I powerless?  Are We powerless?

“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.”Franklin D. Roosevelt

Well Sir, I am trying.  But I believe we are becoming a country of Vampires – each one of us trying to get blood from our neighbor best we can and then, when they are bled dry, from their unborn via national debt.  And just as folks in Lincoln’s time thought that slavery was necessary – just as their vision was blinded by the fact that their life would become more onerous without enslaving another, so too are we blinded today by our desires to live beyond our means.  We feel that we are “owed” something from those who have succeeded, from those who managed to scrimp and save, from those who decided to employ us, or from a government we decided to serve – and so we tax our great grandchildren to get our due.  Rather than do what we know is right, rather than pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to ensure our children are not slaves to our desires, rather than forego the notion that we are owed anything at all… we lie to ourselves to keep what we have, and we tell each other that it’s Ok to borrow more money on our children’s heads – to keep them as slaves to us for just a while longer.

“Blessed are the young for they shall inherit the national debt.”Herbert Hoover

It’s not a rosy message on the 4th of July I know, but it is the truth just the same – Shame on Us America.  John McCain called it “generational theft,” I call it enslaving our grandchildren, you call it what you will.  But please America, stop pretending you don’t understand the facts.  Take a look at our national debt, a real look, and then ask yourself – my fellow Americans, my fellow good men and women who have been chartered to helm this great experiment called America, it’s time for Us to take a look in the mirror and see if We have a reflection.  It’s time to ask our self, am I good with being a Vampire?  I for one, am not.  I am ready for change that my children can believe in… are you?

“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”Thomas Jefferson
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Yours in Faith for a better America and a better World.

Old Glory

“The American flag, Old Glory, standing tall and flying free over American soil for 228 years is the symbol of our beloved country. It is recognized from near and afar, and many lives have been lost defending it.”Jeff Miller

Today is June 14th, Flag Day, so I can’t think of a more apropos time to talk about Old Glory.  I’ve been thinking about her for a while now… in my humble opinion, the Red, White, and Blue of our national flag tells a story that we must hear again in our day.  My fellow Americans, the Red, White, and Blue of our national ensign are not just some colors our forefathers decided looked good.  They encapsulate the Vision of our nation, they symbolize the One Body that our founders understood, and they tell the story of how our political system is meant to work, to function, to endure.  The Red, White, and Blue – they are meant to represent our lifeblood.

“The American flag is the symbol of our freedom, national pride and history.”Mike Fitzpatrick

But our flag is more than that, it is our road map… did “We the People” forget Old Glory’s message?  And did we forget why it is called the “White” house?  Today, this Flag Day, I will share with you a perspective on Old Glory that you most likely haven’t heard before.  My sincere hope is that this will inspire you to open your mind to a different political perspective, to allow a third color to not only re-enter the political field, but to dominate our discourse, and cause us to think outside of the “red and blue” box of our political parties – for I believe neither party contains our proper course forward.  My fellow Americans, when our founders created this country, when they penned our Constitution, when they formed our system of checks and balances, they entrusted Us, We the People, with a critical role – the crucial role.  And if we are to fix this broken and bankrupt nation, we must remember our purpose, recognize our role, and then act upon it.  We cannot continue to rely upon the Red or Blue, the Republicans or Democrats, to fix our great nation.  We cannot continue to wear the wrong jersey and expect to win the game.

“There is much more to being a patriot and a citizen than reciting the pledge or raising a flag.”Jesse Ventura

So my fellow Americans, for any of you who have believed the Great Lie that you must be Red or Blue, for any of you who have resigned yourself to the “fact” that we only have two political parties and two possible solutions, lend me your ear to make a case for Old Glory.  You see, there is a third color, our color, one which matches the Red stripe for stripe, one which dominates the Blue with 50 bright stars, one which symbolizes the goodness in Us, and one which displays to you and I the role “We the People” are meant to play.  We used to play our role.  We used to force the Red or Blue into submission, selecting not a political party, but a Vision.

“Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair; the rest is in the hands of God.”George Washington
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The three colors of Old Glory are not by happenstance.  The Red and Blue are our arteries and veins, the lifeblood of the Body of Us.  And the White is the goodness, the purity, the health of our nation – it is why a body has “white” blood cells to fight off diseases.  You see, you and I, We the People, we’re not supposed to be Blue or Red, we’re supposed to be playing for the White team.  We are supposed to be the thinkers of our political system, the ones who remove the contaminants from our Red and Blue parties, the ones who select the good and proper course for our nation.  It is why we named the Executive Office the White House… for it is supposed to be our home.

“I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House – with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”John F. Kennedy

My fellow Americans, our nation is diseased, our Body is rapidly decomposing, and I honestly believe that it will not survive without intervention from us.  Our government has accumulated nearly 16 thousand thousand million dollars of debt – do We even understand how much that is?  This expansive burden, if We are to live, is to be borne by some 70 million working Americans – a generation consisting of 2 grandparents, 2 parents, and 2 children owes over $300,000 worth of government debt today.  This in addition to the mountains of individual credit card, student loan, and mortgage debt we’ve accumulated.  Are We simply waiting to die, to declare bankruptcy and start over?  At times I believe we are, and most of the time I can see no other future for Us.  But then I see Old Glory, I remember that America has been historically strong and resilient, I envision the hardships that our forefathers faced… and overcame.  And it helps me to remember our goodness and tenacity, it makes me think we can pull out a win, and it brings me a glimmer of hope… hope for Us.

“If you want a symbolic gesture, don’t burn the flag; wash it.”Norman Thomas

In Masonry, a man is taught to achieve balance by dividing his life into threes – a third of his life spent in his work, a third spent supporting his community, and a third spent in rest and rejuvenation.  It was under this same philosophy of Three, this vision of a triad, a three legged stool, that masons created our great nation.  Government, Economy, and Religion… Political policy, Social interaction, Individual freedom… the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost… the three branches of government, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial… and the Red, White, and Blue of Old Glory – they are how we achieve balance in this world.

“Our flag is not just one of many political points of view. Rather, the flag is a symbol of our national unity.”Adrian Cronauer

My fellow Americans, if we forget our role, if we continue to fill the “White” House with captains from the Red and Blue teams, if we choose to play the game without the White referees that you and I are supposed to be – We will fail.  We, you and I, and more particularly our children and grandchildren, We the People will lose the game.  For our Body will not survive without White blood cells.  It is why 2/3 is the number of the beast, the symbol of destruction – for it represents the absence of goodness, the elimination of the white, the holy, and the good from our Body.  It represents the takeover of our Body by our politicians and special interest, the absence of you and I in the process.

“Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.”Thomas Jefferson

I suspect we are getting close to that tipping point.  We have 1 Independent Senator and 0 Independent Congressman.  Most candidates for public office must agree to a Red or Blue political platform before even appearing on a ballot, and special interest money and influence nearly all but determines our government officials.  This is not how our balance is meant to be maintained, I assure you.  We the People were given the power for a reason.

“Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

So please, as you look to Old Glory this Flag day, remember who We are, what team We are playing for, and what our role is meant to be.  Consider voting for a solution this year instead of a political party.  Entertain the notion of an Independent candidate, a representative with the vision for the White Team, the good team, our team captain… or, as I like to call him or her, a Vision President.  Not since George Washington did our country elect an Independent to the White house, but I submit we are in dire need of it again in our day.  Consider the White stars and stripes of Old Glory and, instead of voting against whichever broken political platform you fear the most, vote for a course that will make America strong, pure, and vibrant again.

“Sometimes I wake at night in the White House and rub my eyes and wonder if it is not all a dream.”Grover Cleveland

Yours in Faith for a better America and a better World.

History of the Us

It is not living that matters, but living rightly.” – Socrates

The purpose of our existence in this world is to try to answer the question of the ages: “What is the best Way for us to live?”  This great riddle applies not only to us as individuals, but to Us as a group of individuals as well.  Determining exactly how that is best done is not as simple as it may sound.

“A President’s hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right.”Lyndon B. Johnson

As an individual, my body will decay unto death, but as a group, our Body is meant to live.  We are One Body, growing, evolving, trying to determine how best to form and function – trying to determine how We can “live rightly.”  And so We must ask our Self:  If We, knowing everything we have discovered up to this point, if We were to attempt to form a society today… if We were to, once again and in our day, embark on a holy mission to create the “Great Society”… if We were to clear the board so to speak, and implement today’s best answers to age-old societal questions…  What would We do?  How would We best attempt to build a more perfect union today?

Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.” – Lyndon B. Johnson

Would we create a government over us?  And if so, what functions would it perform?  How would it pay for itself?  How would We, the Body of Us, in our day and in our time, strive for a better Life?  How would We encourage our productive cells, shepherd our struggling, care for our disabled and elderly… all the while ensuring, first and foremost, that our Body is healthy?  Because, for our Body to continue to live, for “Us” to have a future, we must ensure that our efforts to preserve old cells doesn’t prevent new ones from growing, that our efforts to aid failing cells doesn’t prevent productive ones from excelling, and that our efforts to reward productive cells doesn’t prevent our struggling from being able to blossom.   And above all, if we prefer living to dying, we must ensure that our individual desires to live well today don’t trump our Body’s desire to live well tomorrow.

“If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”Thomas Paine

So how best can we do that?  It is a timeless question whose answers change and evolve in time and space.  Philosophers like Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, Marx, and Rand have pondered them.

“It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment.”Marcus Tullius Cicero

Pharaohs, Kings, Caesars, Tsars, Prime Ministers, and Presidents have tried to implement answers.  And Great men, whose names are too many to count, have given their very lives to allow us to continue our pursuit for the answers.

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” – Nathan Hale
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Through it all, from cave drawings to internet blogs, from chariots to spaceships, and from spears to nuclear missiles, one thing has changed very little – the nature of Man.  This is why, as we ask our Self the same questions in our day, we must look to history for guidance.  By looking at our past, by examining what succeeded, what failed, and why, by understanding what decisions were made by our predecessors, why they made them, and then examining the results of those decisions, we can better determine our course forward today.

“History, in general, only informs us of what bad government is.”Thomas Jefferson

By translating the lessons of yesterday into today’s flat world of genetic engineering, multinational corporations, internet commerce, and virtual workplaces, we can discern some better answers for our day, perhaps even avert the bankruptcy looming on our horizon, and implement the necessary changes required for our Body’s continued health.  So my friends, with the understanding that it is our noble mission, under the humble disposition that we owe our ancestors and our grandchildren more than a bankrupt and broken nation, the following is my reading and interpretation of our history.  If you are a historian, philosopher, politician, or learned citizen with a different reading of history, please help an ignorant man, yours truly, and give me your feedback.  The goal is for us to get this right.

“Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.”Thomas Jefferson
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We’ve started societies since the beginning of time, and we are starting society again this very day.. so here we go.

“Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft.”Winston Churchill

God’s Country, an Age of Enlightenment, and the Mayan Calendar?

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”Thomas Paine

I honestly believed, when my Spirit directed me to start this Lean/Six Sigma project on America, I was simply going to be developing and sharing some political opinions with you. I would sift through data and results, investigate the process, look at what we are doing, what we have done, what we hope to do, map out a value stream, and then share my thoughts, ideas, and assessments on what might be a better way to get there.  Period.  I knew bankruptcy wasn’t the best answer, so I thought I’d drop my preconceived ideas and instead, see if I could discover a good solution for us.

It takes time to persuade men to do even what is for their own good.” – Thomas Jefferson

The Spiritual enlightenment that has accompanied this journey, what I now think was the whole point of it in the first place, is not what I thought I was seeking… funny how that works.  In any case, I didn’t expect that I would discover Life’s enlightenment, the message of the Ages, the reason we have religions, and the purpose of our lives – by looking at this complete mess of thing we call politics.  Now I know better…

“Those who say religion has nothing to do with politics do not know what religion is.”Mahatma Gandhi

I get it now.  I firmly believe that is why we are called “God’s country” – one simply cannot earnestly look at the US, our purpose, our political structure, and our history, without revealing God’s message in the process.  The US is not just some abbreviation for United States, I assure you.  I understand what they meant when they said the US was the beacon for the World and why we called it capitol hill.  For our nation sits like a flashing neon sign, brightly displaying God’s message for the World to see:  “We the People = Us.”

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” – Matthew 5:14

Here’s the honest truth from a fool, yours truly; until recently, I didn’t know what the “enlightenment” of our golden “Age of Enlightenment” was.  For any others out there working so hard every day that you’ve forgotten the enlightened message, here it is:  “We are an Us,” that is the enlightenment, and that is God’s message, pure and simple.

And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” – Matthew 12:25

An Age of Enlightenment is simply an age in which the World recognizes that it is a Body, an Us, it is a period of time in which the Body becomes self-aware, and then good people try to promote the Body.  Early followers of The Way called it the Body of Christ, Emerson referred to it as an Over-Soul, but regardless of what you call Us, an Age of Enlightenment occurs when We internalize that we truly and literally are a Life… and then realize that We should not war with our Self.  

“The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”Thomas Paine

“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.”Thomas Jefferson

So what do you say, Us?  You ready to become self-aware again?  Ready to open our eyes to what We the People are?  Are you ready to surrender to the fact that we are all in this together?  Are you ready to accept the white flag of peace, unity, and brotherhood, enter the next phase of our development, the one where we simply grow?  Because Lord knows I am.  Peace is yours, it is ours, if only We so choose it.  Come on my friend, what say you?

“All for One, and one for All.”Alexandre Dumas

There was a point in time when an enlightened We the People recognized that, if we leave it up to us good people, if we do our utmost to take the power out of the hands of our Government and our Wealthy, if instead we rely on the good Spirit our Creator provided us… we will find Peace.

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”Lord Acton
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It’s why we tried to keep our Government powers limited, why we must police our Banking industry, why we tried to stay out of the World Wars, and why We’ve been trying to promote democracy ever since.  It’s taken a while, it’s been a long road, but I feel we’re on the cusp… do you feel it too?  Or am I crazy?

A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?” – Albert Einstein

The Arab Spring, the wars abroad winding down, Democracy and Freedom spreading it’s seed… Iran willing to talk, a new leader in North Korea, talk of another Israeli-Palestinian peace conference, our troops leaving the East…  Al-Qaeda’s support diminishing around the globe, it’s leader eliminated, its ideology of Fear, Hate, and Anger destined for deaf ears.

“Every religion is good that teaches man to be good; and I know of none that instructs him to be bad.”Thomas Paine

The connectivity of our flat world, the internet, the worldwide effects of economic collapse, international corporations, UN peace brokers, camera phones, language translators… do you feel Us coming together into another Age of Enlightenment?  My good friends around the globe, black/white, Jew/Muslim, male/female, gay/straight, even/odd, day/night, east/west – all of Us good folks everywhere, could our Body finally be settling into itself?

“An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing which has never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down to a town meeting or a vestry.”Thomas Jefferson

But it could be if enough of us choose peace and love – for it truly is our decision.  And although I can’t speak for you, I still have the faith…

“Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

So I ask you, has our warring past forever defined our future, or are We finally ready to embrace one another as brothers and sisters in this One World, this One Body?  Could this be the beginning of another “Age of Enlightenment,” a World at Peace, a realization of the New Testament and the end of the great commission… could this be what the Mayans somehow marked as Dec 2012?

“Out of many, One.” – Great Seal of the United States (E Pluribus Unum)

I don’t know, but I’m praying that somehow, someway, the “End of Days” the Mayans spoke of was the end of those days… and the beginning of a New World.

“A people free to choose will always choose peace.”Ronald Reagan

Yours in Faith for a better America and a better World.

Re-discovering our Vision

I believe that I have discovered the proper Vision for our nation, some potential answers to our generation’s questions, and that I now see the next step in becoming a more perfect Union.  For me, discovering our nation’s proper Vision required re-discovering our purpose.  With a new clarity, I now understand what our founders were trying to do when they created US.  If ‘We the People’ are to re-discover the vision of the ‘US,’ if We are to illuminate our society’s path forward, We must do nothing short of revealing the meaning of life, our purpose in this world, what we are meant to do…  We must re-discover that we are One;  We, mankind, our species, One Body.

The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.” – Thomas Paine

It was under this revelation, this belief that all the world is a country, that all of mankind is a body, a Life seeking to reach its destination, a fetus desiring to be born, that America was founded.  We are a nation created in the hope of bettering the body of Us, fostering the health of mankind, furthering the development of our species.  That was the purpose this nation was founded upon, that is why our forefathers fought tooth and nail to ensure our existence, why they insisted so fundamentally on equal rights for all members, and why they formed a constitutional republic as our governing body.  This is what We the People must re-discover if we are to get our country back on its proper course.  America is supposed to be the light, a beacon for the world, the “city on a hill,” the example and the avenue in which the world unites as One.

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again. A situation, similar to the present, hath not happened since the days of Noah until now. The birthday of a new world is at hand…” – Thomas Paine

This can once again become our destiny if we can but again embrace our Vision and act upon it.

“Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.” – Theodore Roosevelt

The world is ready for Us to usher in a new era of balanced budgets, stable currencies, and brotherly peace.  But we are a broken country, a house divided, nearly bankrupt, with both of our political platforms each containing half of the right answer – a portion of our proper vision.  America We must, if we are ever to come together as One people and move forward, simultaneously accept and reject both platforms so as to, rather than accept a political platform, embrace a Vision.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” – Abraham Lincoln

I find it interesting that the right answer is not a solution which seeks to tone down Republican and Democratic rhetoric in an attempt to find middle ground.  Instead, the solution is only found by entirely embracing each party’s view on one issue while summarily dismissing each party’s view on another.  And then I realized something amazing:  This discovery isn’t anything new at all – instead, it is simply re-discovering what our founders and forefathers had discovered long ago.

In politics the middle way is none at all. – John Adams

America will regain her proper Vision and direction only after she makes this discovery:

The historically Republican view of limited government and private enterprise is the best way to promote the general welfare, and the historically Democratic view of government regulation of capitalism and taxes on our most successful is the best way to legislate and tax.

“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. – Thomas Jefferson

“Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

The problem is, once we re-discover America’s Vision, We shortly thereafter realize that a vote for either party is a vote to reject our proper course.  Instead, it is a vote to continue the illusion that Government Social programs are the best way to help our poor, or that Trickle Down Economics is the best way to promote our industry.  Whichever way we vote, we are voting for a failed philosophy and a broken future.

“Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.” – Ronald Reagan

Now, anybody who thinks that we can move this economy forward with just a few folks at the top doing well, hoping that it’s going to trickle down to working people who are running faster and faster just to keep up, you’ll never see it.” – Barack Obama

For any of you who believe that both the above statements are true, to all of us who find both of our current political “platforms” lacking, I would love to hear your thoughts on how We the People can re-discover our Vision… and as to how We can find our candidate. Whatever the case, I’ve posted a proposal for our future Healthcare plan on the New Deal 3 page  And of course, my “in-progress” New Deal 3 Summary page is open for the speed version – for all of us who simply don’t have the time to read my pontifications and ramblings.  As always, I welcome and appreciate any feedback, push back, or constructive criticism.

“If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” – Ronald Reagan

Yours in Faith.

Hero’s Journey

Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the ‘hero’ within us is revealed.” – Bob Riley

I thought my last post was going to be my last post, but alas, here I am again.  I can’t say why I am doing this – I certainly realize that it would take a genuine miracle for some no-named, no-experienced, know-nothing man like me to positively change the world.  At times I still ask, what am I doing anyway?  But in asking myself that very question, I’ve realized something… I like hoping for a miracle, it gives me hope.  That’s why I do this blog.  I’m not expecting to change the world, but I do like feeling that I’m doing my small part.  If this process helps enlighten only one man, even if it is only myself, than it can’t be said to be worthless.  And who can be sure, maybe it will actually affect more than one person, maybe it will start some constructive dialogue that gets our nation back on track.  In any case America, that’s where I am today.  I’m in a good place, thinking maybe Lloyd wasn’t so “dumb” after all…

So you’re saying there’s a chance.” – Lloyd, Dumb and Dumber

Or maybe he was… and so am I.  But I don’t blog because I like talking, and it’s not because I actually think that I can change the world, believe me, I don’t – I know that only We can do that.  But it’s because, in some strange way I can’t quite describe, I feel like I am at least trying to be the good Hero… with the healthy disposition that in the end it isn’t up to me, I figure I can at least share an idea of a better America.  I don’t know if my ideas are Dumb’s or Dumber’s, but I did start writing them down.  And I’m trying to do better than either.  I added a page last week, my “New Deal 3” summary.  Like all things, it’s a work in progress.

An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.” – Arnold H. Glasow

For me, the “score” in this video game called Life is not calculated by what you accomplish, only on what you tried to accomplish and how you set out to accomplish it.  The score is only calculated on who you set out to be this morning, and thanks be to God, the score resets every morning.  As for me, descending into the depths of politics, charging into Hades armed only with my will, my reason, and a computer – this is how I try to release my inner Hero.  I understand my passions are not everyone’s, and after wading only a short time in the mess we call politics I certainly can see why, but I also believe that we all have an inner “Hero” in us – yes, I still have faith that we are all good at heart.

“I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.” – Thomas Jefferson

For yours truly, trying to be a Hero in this crazy political world simply means trying to actually create an opinion, as opposed to relying on the ones I’ve been given…  Trying to “do good” simply means trying to develop and share a good opinion.  This is where I doubt myself sometimes, and this is where the doubt should occur, as it motivates me to read.  Although I’m ignorant, at least I know that I am… and no longer wish to be.  It’s why we must read and study with an open mind – the hero must have his sword and shield, his sling and stone, his knowledge and reason, if he is to ever slay the political beast.

Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.” – Thomas Jefferson

The only way one does good is by looking for the truth so as to discover the way – that’s the “hero’s journey” in my opinion.  It’s messy and thankless I know.  I was talking with a friend of mine this week who said he made his hero’s political journey a while ago, and he aptly described it like this:  “The problem with looking for answers is that you find them.  And, like peeling away the layers of the onion, the more you discover, the more it stinks.”  He is certainly a wiser man than I.

The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance.” – Herodotus

I suppose I’d rather stink than be ignorant, rather be a fool than pretend not to be, rather play and lose than not play at all.  Perhaps that will change one day, perhaps I’ll wisen up, but not today… give me the onion, I want to pull off another layer.  I’ve been reading the book “Currency Wars” this week – I would recommend it to any other ignoramus, like yours truly, that wants to begin navigating through all the garbage, sifting through it for what salvageable things might remain, and hoping to answer the question, how would you rebuild this great nation?  How should we rebuild the us?

I know, I know, it’s insane to try, right?  We have been told as much since we were children: “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men, couldn’t put Humpty together again.”  But does that really mean that we shouldn’t try, that we should live in the wise acceptance of hopelessness, that we should no longer even ask the questions?  No, I refuse to live that way.  At least for today, I will choose to live with an ounce of hope remaining – my soul and my country demand that I at least ask the questions.   So my friends, let’s ask ourself:  If miracles could happen, if we could put Humpty Dumpty together again, if we could do it not by using the king’s horses nor the king’s men but by using our minds… if We the People realized one day that we actually were in charge, what would We do?

Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.” – Thomas Jefferson

Yeah, Thomas Jefferson is one of my “Heroes” – FDR and of course Washington as well.  I just discovered them not that long ago, and they have some amazing things to say.

The “Heroes quest,” some might call it the “Meaning of Life,” is simply this – trying to do the right thing at this moment… despite the world of madness around you.  Living life as if, with the clean slate of time beginning at this very moment, you alone were tasked to try to do the right thing.  The hero’s quest is where you stop and say, “Ok.  I’m not afraid of the evil dragon.  I’ll do the right thing.  At least, I’ll try to, hopeless as it may seem.  Hmm… I wonder what the right thing is… Ok, well, for better or worse, here I go.”  And that happens one small step at a time, sometimes 2 steps forward 1 step back, over and over again…

Determine never to be idle. No person will have occasion to complain of the want of time who never loses any. It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.” – Thomas Jefferson

Although I’m not so vain as to consider myself a hero, I am an American, and a person, like you.  And Life in this political world sure seems to me like the hero’s journey… do you feel that too?  The world seems surreal to me, particularly when I look at our political discourse and the TV.  Fox, MSNBC, Reality shows, Opinion shows, Judge shows, Headlines, 30 second TV where we try to shout over the top of each other for 28 of them, conflicts around the globe… no one hearing a thing over all the racket.  $15 trillion in debt, thousand thousand million dollar deficits, wars, unemployment, gridlock, corruption, negative ad campaigns, government ineffectiveness, political maneuvering.. all the while, with the future of our very children at stake.  I don’t know, to me it just seems too Hollywood to actually be happening.  What a mess it is, this surreal world of politics.

Somebody asked me about the current choice we’re being given in the presidential election. I said, Well, it’s like two of the scariest movies I can imagine.” – Dean Koontz

The political world is the world of madness, the Hell, run by some god called Hades, Lucifer, or the Devil, with the “system” his tool.  It is a complex labyrinth so deep that only a Hero can penetrate it.  The health of our nation is the “damsel in distress”, the most treasured prize, the seemingly impossible goal.  And this blog allows me to play the freshman, the young squire, the kid from the Lorax movie… the protagonist.  The one ignorant fool who is too stupid to know any better, and starts pursuing his ‘”crazy” notions of trying to discover a better world.  Contrary to all established logic and accepted reason, he actually tries to change the “hell” that surrounds him.

All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke

The hero is that loony who decides to try to find out the truth, the guy who says “Uh… does anyone else know that the Emperor doesn’t have any clothes on?”, that “crazy” guy who overcomes his fear enough to talk plainly, combat ignorance, reveal the truth — that’s the hero.   I guess I kind of feel that by blogging with you, not that I have many followers I know – but I suppose it is my chance to pretend to be a hero, even when I’m not one.  Thank you for humoring me on my “quest.”  Perhaps one day you’ll even help me to learn something.

A hero is a man who does what he can.” – Romain Rolland

When I tried to “do good,” when I actually started looking at our nation, at just how broken she was, and envisioning her like a fair maiden caught in the grasp of a Dragon’s talon and gasping for air…  when I saw the world from that perspective, and then when I stopped and asked myself, wait a minute, now seriously for a second, “What should America be doing anyway?”  I had to honestly answer “I have no idea.”  And that’s when I set out to try to create a good opinion… I set out to actually try to answer the question.

Doubt, the essential preliminary of all improvement and discovery, must accompany the stages of man’s onward progress. The faculty of doubting and questioning, without which those of comparison and judgment would be useless, is itself a divine prerogative of the reason.” – Albert Pike

It’s those Lean Six Sigma / CPI courses and projects I’m sure of it, or maybe I’m just a stubborn boy.  But when I try to answer a question, I approach it like the cop Friday from the old days who says, “Just the facts ma’am.”  The first step of a Lean Six Sigma project, the first step to real process improvement of any kind, is to admit that you already don’t have the best answer in place.  The second step, after admitting that you’re not already right, is admitting that you are also not necessarily that smart about it all.  It is in the second step where you doubt your current path, question everything, and go look for the Truth.  Then the third step of course, is to act on what you find, get past your doubts and act.  And then we start over at Step 1 — that’s why we call it Continuous Process Improvement.

When I try to look into our political system, it’s really hard for me not to see it as a “Hero’s Journey.”  Nowhere else in this world is the “madness” around us so apparent as it is in the political arena we have today.  Nowhere else is it this unmistakable.  Like a 40′ Cyclops, a “Titan,” an Elephant in the room so to speak, we can’t miss the beast in front of us.  And you have a choice, we all have a choice, do we dare confront the beast?  Should we choose to become a part of the chaos, work “within the system,” agree that the “unbeatable” beast will destroy us, and then work to maximize the pleasures of life, best we can, until he comes?  Is admitting defeat early the wise choice?  Or should we try to confront it, see if we can rise above it, do the right thing despite the system, and fight the insane evil beast head on?

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.” – 1 Samuel 17:50

All the comic book heroes tell the same story.  All the Greek demigods, great people of old, all religions tell the Hero’s Journey.  That is what unites us all as One – the desire to be good, to do good, to see good done in this world.  We are good, but we have been thrust into a broken system which, it seems at every turn, is out to stymie us.  The Hero is the one who presses on regardless, who perseveres… that’s the Hero’s Journey.

Here’s to all you Heroes out there.  Whatever your political opinion, if you formed it through reasonable, skeptical, and honest evaluation of data and results, I sincerely salute you.  I’m still working on mine, hopefully I will be until the end of my days.

Yours in Faith.

Excalibur

Knights of the Round Table are Secretaries of the Oval Office.  And the Holy Grail is the Great Society.  It is the answer to the question, how does man best govern itself?  It’s the Riddle of the Sphinx.  The riddle is the question: Mankind, in what state does it best achieve balance?  The drive to dominate, the Lion.  The passion to sacrifice for others, the Cow.  The notion of achieving balance, the Man… the head of the sphinx, the mind, is man.  And the riddle: Mankind, in what state does it best achieve balance?  The eagle, the angel, the end state of mankind – what We will become if we dedicate ourselves to revealing the answer.  It is the riddle of the ages, written into the stars, the meaning of our individual lives.

Our Creator is saying:  “Hey you, here’s what I am asking you to do:  Try to do your best to figure out how to make the best mankind, don’t worry I put that one in you – just follow your spirit, use your mind, and dedicate yourself toward trying to accomplish that.”

That is what we are supposed to do in this life – Find an Arthur to pull the sword from the stone, apply vision, remove obstacles, and once again resume our most noblest and holiest of quests, the “Quest for the Holy Grail.”  It’s Mission Impossible, and the only thing we need to do is accept the mission.

We’re all on the quest you know, whether you want to be or not.  We are all a part of mankind, you and I.  We are One Body, did we forget?  Atoms come together to form molecules, molecules form cells, cells form tissues, tissues form organs, organs form men, and men come together to form… well, Us.

That’s the point, we don’t know yet.  Like our heart can’t see us but still knows to pump blood, so too you and I know what we are supposed to do.  Be good to each other, it was implanted into our DNA.  Anyway, there is some books and stuff on this.  We used to read them.  We used to dedicate a whole day every week to this understanding, just so that we’d be sure never to forget it.

The US.  That’s what we are.  We the People… all of mankind.  We founded an entire nation under this vision.  Our forefathers believed that one day, many cycles in the future, the world would become the US.  Not through military conquest by our individual nation, but through peace, freedom, and the God-given spirit inside of Us.  And so they set out to create a Constitution that would allow us to work on solving the riddle, figure out how best to achieve a Great Society, and find the Holy Grail.

I’m sorry ancestors, forefathers, and grandchildren – I truly am.  I appear to have few Knights to join me.  We forgot what we are, and we bankrupted the US taxing our young to pay for our elderly, taxing our working to pay for our non-working, and then borrowing from our unborn what that didn’t cover… all the while ensuring our wealthy could store their assets.  We hoped that our poor would stop taking free money and apply themselves, our elderly wouldn’t drain our resources, and our rich would, instead of storing funds, create more jobs.

I know it’s broke, we all know it’s a failed vision, but hopefully you can fix it.  You will need some Knights, some good people who care, if you are to have any hope.  But we now leave it to you children, our generation would rather win the argument than be right.  Be smarter than we were.  Question and evaluate.  Count on politicians less.  Rely on yourself more.  Dialogue with everyone as if they know more than you do so that you can learn.  But never internalize that they know more than you do, they don’t.  Read history, and have the courage to remove an idea from a failing vision, even if removing it may cause someone to experience trouble, hardship, and suffering.  Because it’s not about someone, it’s only about finding out what works best for Us… a man, inspired by our Creator, once died upon a cross to make this point.  Hear it.

Grab your good Knights, develop a course, and embark upon it.  Try to discover the Great Society, resume the Quest for the Holy Grail, solve the Riddle of the Sphinx… there will be some pain along the way, and God’s speed.

Yours in Faith.

What my President would say in the debates…

Sometimes I picture what my presidential candidate would say.  Do you do that too?  I think we all do but I don’t know.  I think we all should.  To be honest though, in the past I never really thought too much about what the President should say, I just tried to register what he did say… and most of the time, I didn’t even bother with that.  Lately though, I’ve been thinking a lot more about what he or she should say, what my candidate for President would say in the debates…

So my friends, Come on Down, it’s the “What my President would say in the debates” Show!  (I know, we need a more catchy title).  And here’s an “over 40” shout out to all you who know how to get these YouTube videos to go viral… do me a favor:  Infect Us, the US could use a constructive political video to go viral right now — We the People need one.  Not the brand we have on TV, but real people respectfully presenting ideas and thoughts on how we make us a better US.  That’s what we need today.

If you can get us, the everyday Americans, you and I, describing who We are by playing the “What my President would say in the debates” Show, we might just start developing some answers – might even realize that we’ve been wrong on a couple things.  But in the meantime, since my YouTube video skills are obviously lacking, and you the reader have made it this far… I’d like to just ask you, how would you answer the question?  What would your President say?

I look forward to your response.

And yet, since I’m the writer today, I’ll start.  Here’s what mine says:

“Wow, thank you.  And thank you America!  Although most of you haven’t heard of me yet, yes, believe it or not I’m actually here… on this stage.  Wow, that is a testament to you all out there.  Make no mistake, I am here entirely and only because of the good old-fashioned hard-work from supporters like you – blood, sweat, and tears it took to make this happen.  For all of you, and any of you who know my name know who you are, for all of you that actually cared enough about Us to get me here, wow, thank you — I am humbled both by your faith in me to lead Us, and by your determination, stamina, and unending drive to enable a new path forward.  We need it, and when I think of what it takes to get an Independent on this stage tonight, what we had to overcome, what you all did… You restore my faith, my faith in Us, and for that I most humbly thank you.

To be here, in this great nation’s capital, standing on this stage with all these Great men and women around me, the Leaders of our generation, I am truly honored.  Anderson, your reporting has always been something I could bear, so I thank you.  For that is saying a lot these days.  Seriously, you are a trusted reporter, you are a good man trying to present a problem to the people, rather than a paid persona trying to present a perspective, and for that I thank you.  Although we need both types of reporting, yours is a rare breed these days – and its a breath of fresh air.  You’re reporting on Katrina, Afghanistan, and Iraq, your interviews, they help us to see the story rather than just hear the soundbites.  It is much appreciated and we are in your debt.

And Governor Romney, it is my distinct pleasure to be on this stage with you.  What you did with the Salt Lake Winter Olympics was truly remarkable, thank you.  That appeared to be on a rough heading, and most likely would have continued that way had not you intervened.  Great job.  And on a personal note, I want you to know that my wife knows someone who worked with you in the past and had interaction with your family… she said she knew you.  And her ardent and dedicated support for you was due solely to this fact for, because of that interaction, she knew you to be good.

That says a lot… that says the world.  You should know that about yourself, as this is a true story.  People who have come to know you… they have discovered that you are a great person, a loving father, and a smart businessman.  Your work as Massachusetts Governor, trying to solve problems, balance budgets, get people medical care when they need it.  Sir, I salute your great service in our financial industry, in our political system, and in our communities.  You truly are a Great American.

We don’t say that enough these days about our nation’s successful… and we ought to. Well I say it to you tonight Mr. Romney.  Well done, congratulations, and thank you.  And you too Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs and any other future man or woman who manages to succeed in this world.  I tell you my friends, we do not envy you, we are proud of you!

And Governor Romney, if America was a business, if what We were was in fact a holding company, USA Ltd, and we needed to find our best business manager to run it, I wouldn’t be here today.  Because I would most certainly be voting for you.

But America is not a business.  We are US.  A society of man.  When We go bankrupt, we really do hurt.  I’ve read about it, our elders can still tell tales of it, and our society of man wants to do better than bankrupt.  You see, unlike a business, we can’t “fire” anybody in a society of man.  Like in a marriage, for better or worse, we are stuck with each other.

And We are engaged on a quest!  It’s the Quest for the Holy Grail!  It is: On this planet, in this life, at this very moment, and for as many days as we walk the earth, we are on a most Holy Quest to find the best way to run a society of man.  That’s what America is doing… that’s what we are.  The whole world is engaged on the quest.  And here’s all we know:  We want it to be as close to “heaven on earth” as we can possibly make it.

That’s our meaning, our purpose, that’s what politics is and why it is so important – and why I am standing here on this stage tonight… Mr. Romney, We-the-People don’t think you are presenting the best vision forward for the Us.  That’s why I am speaking to you today instead of sitting at home with my family.  Your political party is stuck on an idea termed “Reaganomics” by some and “Trickle-Down Economics” by others, and it doesn’t work.  I realize you still believe in it, and I understand it might be hard from your perspective to ever abandon it, but because of this… I can say with some confidence that you are simply not the right man for this job.  You are not the one to release the sword from the stone, to break the gridlock in Washington, and to lead us to better days.

Look, we tried the theory… and it was good to try it.  If no kidding, if we could just lower taxes on our wealthiest and that would spur growth and cause everyone to excel, that would be awesome!  But look around.  Governor Romney, Republicans, my fellow Americans, please let us re-examine the theory on its results, there truly is no shame in being honest with ourselves… there is only shame in choosing ignorance, or apathy, or greed.  We have over $15 trillion dollars of debt and it has grown more in the time I’ve spoken than I make in a lifetime.  We can now see the result of trickle-down economics… and We don’t want it anymore.  That’s why we can’t vote for you, we can only vote against him.  You are stuck on a failed political vision.

I’m sure the lawyers can find all sorts of spins to allow you to continue the argument and the other side will as well, you always seem to be able, but here’s the deal: we’re done with it.  Because we no longer need to speculate about it… we can just look around and see what it creates.  And so we’re ready to change course.  We’re ready to go back to what our forefathers envisioned in the 16th Amendment of our constitution.  We’re ready to tax ourselves to pay our bills.  We’re ready to do it the hard way, the right way, the only way… we’re ready to balance our budget every year by placing a heavier burden on our wealthiest.  I’m sorry millionaires I truly am and, God willing, perhaps I will join the club one day – I am certainly doing better than most already.  But I also am more than ready to accept that, when and if my endeavors in this life amount to large blessings, I will pay more.  And not just a flat rate more, but a tiered rate more.  I’m ready to pay more than my “fair” share to allow this great Body to exist.  I realize that Trickle-Down economics does not produce what We had hoped when we tried it, and I’m ready to embrace the notion that the “Great Society” we all seek will never be reached this way.

Thankfully our founder’s gave us a way to change course, a way to choose an option other than this.  And that’s why I am here tonight, to present America a new direction.  We’ll see how it all plays out.  But for today, I am simply honored to be on this stage in this arena with you… Governor Romney.

And President Barack Obama!  Yes, this is like a dream come true for me… actually talking to a President.  And you of all people.  You truly inspire me President Obama, and you are a person I wish I could have known personally.  You seem like a good man, with a great heart, charting some rough waters.

You are in many ways my hero.  A man who, against what some might say are all odds, climbed above it, rose above it, and then served with distinction and honor as President of the Us.  You make me proud to be an American.  I applaud you, and history will write well of you.  And not just because your speaking is phenomenal, your demeanor is right, and your heart is good, but because you also had a terrible scenario to start with and sought for the way out.  Sir, it is an honor to be here with you today and I salute your great service to our great country.

And President Obama, if America was on track, if America was on the right course to reach our destination, I wouldn’t be here today.  Because I would most certainly be voting for you.

But America is not on the right track.  The US, our society of man, is broken.  We the People are no longer on a quest for the Great Society, we are engaged in a tug of war over money.  We, our society, the Us, has been slowly tearing apart since We the People began a “War on Poverty” in the 60s.  We deviated from the “limited government” mindset of our founders, and tried an experiment:  We thought it might work to create a “Great Society” by taxing our working to pay for our non-working in hopes that would help bring along all of Us.  It is a beautiful vision and, if it worked, I’d be all for it.  We applied this same vision to education when we came up with “No Child Left Behind.”  But here’s the deal:  It is a failed philosophy that refuses to acknowledge the nature of Man.  For Man does not excel in this environment.  We do not end Poverty, in fact, the numbers imply the inverse is true.  By the same token, our children will not excel in a school that focuses on those who do not wish to learn.  We the People are ready to accept that government welfare and programs for our non-performers does not produce the results we all seek – Federal programs do not work to bring “heaven on earth,” to create the best “Us” – instead they divide us, entrap us, and cause us to resent each other.  As such, we’re ready to abandon them and chart a better course.

Mr Obama, you are our President – you are our “Arthur,” and you are not presenting the best vision for We-the-People to see.  That’s why I am speaking to you today instead of sitting at home with my family.  Your party is stuck on a failed philosophy of federal government welfare programs as the response to poverty, and it doesn’t work.  Be honest, how did you get here today, how did an African-American come from poverty to occupy the most humbling position in the world?  Did that result from government entitlement checks or from a path and some hard work?  I have not yet read your auto-biography, but I can say without reservation that it came from hard work.  Because it had to… there is no other way.

Look, we tried the theory… and it was good of us to try it.  If no kidding, if we could just pay taxes and our big federal government would bring out the best of our underprivileged, that would be awesome!  But look around.  Read about the Soviet Union, observe Greece, look around inside our own borders.  President Obama, Democrats, my fellow Americans, please let us examine the results of government intervention, there truly is no shame in being honest with ourselves — there is only shame in choosing ignorance, or apathy, or envy.  We are $15 trillion dollars in debt, and we can now see the spoils of our “War on Poverty.”

We the People are ready to admit that we should look for better ways to serve our poor.  We’re ready to abandon the notion that giving money to our poor will help them to overcome.  It won’t.  We see what it does in reality now, because we’ve been looking at it for 40 years.  We would rather have the government fund private industry to promote job growth and keep its “aid” restricted to community centers, charter schools, and college grants.  We must provide a path out, not a government check… we can only provide the door, they have to decide to walk through it.   This is what We the People believe now.  The “Great Society” we all seek will never be reached the direction you are heading.  That’s why we can’t vote for you, we can only vote against him.  You are stuck on this failed political vision.

Thankfully our founder’s gave us a way to change course, a way to choose an option other than this.  And that’s why I am here tonight, to present America a new direction.  We’ll see how it all plays out. For today, I am simply honored to be on this stage in this arena with you… President Obama.

But I am here.  So I think that says a lot about Us…

However the election of 2012 turns out, I want to salute you for being the Great man you are.  Thank you for serving as President in what appears might be the most broken Congress of our history.  We needed a man like you at this time in our journey, and I look forward to all the great things you will continue to do going forward.

And thank you Mr. President for getting our troops home… please, whichever one of us “wins” this election, please we beg the both of you, just stop the wars.  We’re ready.  The world is ready.  Please at least see this Truth.  We, the big WE, the all of US in the world, are ready for the Us to release our hold.  And so are we.  Thank the Lord, so are we.  We have always been more than ready.

Please leaders hear this:  Keep the troops home and pay the bills, that’s the right course for America again.  We got pulled off of it I know, but we no longer need to stay over here off track.  Maybe one day we will rename the United Nations the United Sovereigns and start working on the big US — what say you world?  Or maybe the world isn’t ready yet… but we’re ready, we have been since the beginning.  And today, we are once again letting go.  Come on Iran, throttle back as we go home.  Bring this fire down, we all want the same thing.

I tell you what world, We the People are once again counting on you to not destroy US.  The Giant is once again going to sleep, hopefully this time for good.  We’ll see.  But we’ll also be counting on you Brazil, you India, you China, you Russia, you France… and you Iran, you Arab League, you Pakistan, you Egypt, you Israel – to help keep the world at peace.  It’s not that hard to teach your children that peace is the right answer, they know it in their hearts.

So the focus of the USA will shift — our meager defense budgets will probably be reduced down from the 5 times as much as any other nation spends, to something of the order of “less than or equal to” whoever is spending the most.  And that will be mostly on intelligence and special forces to keep us safe.  Yes World, the drawdown of the USA military is beginning, and it will be significant.  Come on world, together we can pen some borders and march toward our destination, what say you today?  We don’t want your land, we don’t need your oil, and we don’t want your money.  We just want peace.  Watch, we’ll show you.

OK, whew, I’m getting ahead of myself now.  So I suppose I end here…  To all of America I say, start your engines because here we go!  Arthur is looking to pull the sword from the stone and only you can allow it.  My course, my Vision, my Excalibur is a course of limited federal government and taxes on our wealthy to pay for it.  It is time to resume our track from nearly 100 years ago, the course of our Roaring 20’s… but this time, with needed regulation on the financial system.  I believe this is the best course forward in our day, and I look forward to the discussion — let’s start the debates!”

Then I picture Anderson Cooper saying something like, “Sir, I don’t know what my President would say… but I’m quite certain he’d say a lot less than you…”

Yours in Faith for a better America and a better World.

 

 

Pride

I am having my 42nd birthday and my wife and mother think I may be experiencing an early “mid-life crisis.”  I don’t know if that is what this is, but for those of you who haven’t experienced whatever this is yet, it is quite an interesting time in life.  I don’t call it a mid-life crisis though, I call it a “mid-life enlightenment” — that’s what it feels like to me anyway.  In my humble opinion, here’s how Life goes:

1.  You know nothing.  (Age 1-3)

2.  You Realize you know nothing.  (Age 4-6)

3.  You Learn some things… and grow.  (Age 7-12)

4.  You think you know a lot.  (Age 13- 16)

REPEAT STEP 2 (Adulthood)

2.  You Realize you know nothing.  (Age 16)

3.  You Learn some things… and grow. (Age 17-22)

4.  You think you know a lot. (Age 23-40 for me)

REPEAT STEP 2 (Mid-Life Enlightenment)

2.  You Realize you know nothing.  (Age 40)

3.  You Learn some things… and grow. (Age 41-?)

And that’s where yours truly is on the journey of Life.  For any of you further along, can you do me a favor?  Tell me, at what age did you reach #4 again?

The ancient Oracle said that I was the wisest of all the Greeks.  It is because I alone, of all the Greeks, know that I know nothing.” – Socrates

When I look at our political discourse, I certainly can see that we make the same mistake again later in life, I’m just not sure as to what age that occurs… tell me, at what age do you think you got it all figured out and run for re-election every year?

He knows nothing and thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.” – George Bernard Shaw

I tell you the truth, I sure wish we had some mid-forty somethings running this country.

“He who knows nothing is closer to the truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods and errors.” – Thomas Jefferson

I wonder sometimes who will figure it out first, the Democrats or the Republicans… or will some third party usher in the solution we all know must come?  In my view, it is Pride that prevents it… and some Fear thrown in.  But mostly, what keeps us from realizing the answer, is Pride.

Democrats are too proud to admit that their “War on Poverty” vision of the Great Society, one under the notion that if we “help” our citizenry by giving them welfare checks from the federal government, that if we just take from our working and give it to those who aren’t, that if we just follow this game plan a little longer, then we’ll all grow – we’re too proud to see that this is a political vision destined for failure.  And Republicans are too proud to realize that their “Trickle-Down Economic” model, with the notion that if we just cut taxes on our wealthy we’ll be able to “grow” our way out of debt, that if we just give the wealthy lower taxes and go more in debt just a little longer, then the rich will employ our poor and we’ll all grow – we’re too proud to see that this is a political vision destined for failure.  We the People are too proud to admit the simple truth that they don’t work.  We Americans hate to be wrong… so we resign ourselves to arguing about how we are right.  No wait, we don’t even do that anymore, we don’t look at us.  No longer comfortable with our position, we now only argue that the other side is wrong...

“Errors of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.” – Thomas Jefferson

Pride with a little Fear thrown in, that’s a tough nut to crack.  And then of course, Greed and Envy – it’s why we don’t want to see the flaw in our logic, why we don’t want the truth to be true.  It’s election time again America – time to pick our poison, time to choose Greed or Envy, time to rally behind whichever wrong answer we prefer, and then cast our vote…  Makes me think that there must be a better way.

Greed is what tells us that a “fair” tax would in fact be fair.  “Abolish income taxes!” we argue, even though we know that this would shift a greater percentage of the tax burden to our poorer citizens.  But we choose to believe that doesn’t hurt the collective Us.  We lower taxes on capital gains and dividends so as not to count it in income tax, expand tax “incentives” for corporations, and reduce the maximum income tax bracket from topping out at those making over $80 million/year in 1936 to topping out at 0.38 million/year today (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States) .  We stop asking our wealthy to pay more and instead, we lower the highest rate from 79% in 1936 to 35% today, reduce the taxes on capital gains and dividends (things our poor don’t experience), and keep our corporate tax breaks in place… We’ve replaced higher taxes on our wealthy with lower taxes on our wealthy, refusing to raise taxes on even our multimillionaires and billionaires.  And as we bankrupt our nation, we argue that our actions are actually helping “Us.”  For to do otherwise, to admit that we’d be better off with a capitalist system that taxes our wealthier citizens to achieve a balanced budget, to admit that our forefather’s vision of the 16th amendment was actually right… to admit that… well, that would mean that we would also have to admit we were wrong.

“These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert, to fleece the people.” — Abraham Lincoln
.

And Envy.  Envy is what tells us that our government welfare programs are in fact promoting our general welfare.  In our delusion, we somehow convince ourselves that if we extend unemployment benefits to 99 weeks we can put people back to work.  And if we provide free food, housing, and healthcare to our poor they will then magically decide to put their nose to the grindstone, apply themselves, and reach their potentials.  It is Envy that causes us to take from our successful and hand it to our unsuccessful.  For to do otherwise, to admit that we’d be better off providing a path out then a hand out, to admit that our founder’s vision of limited federal government in the Constitution was actually right… to admit that… well, that would mean that we would also have to admit we were wrong.

I have no respect for the passion of equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Which party do you think will see our path forward first?  There are people on both sides that are starting to move away from the 15 thousand thousand million dollar debt plan… this could be encouraging.  Sometimes I still manage some optimism and keep up hope.  After all, FDR said:

In politics, nothing happens by accident.  If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.

So maybe this is all happening on purpose.  Maybe going bankrupt is how we break free of our wrong course.

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” – Leonard Bernstein

The Constitutionalism movement within the Republican party is promising.  With candidates like Ron and Rand Paul, maybe the Republicans will be the first to figure out that Limited government is still the right answer.  That Constitutional amendments “defining” marriage, morning after pill legislation attempts, No Child Left Behind agendas, Drug laws, and “Patriot” acts… maybe the Republican party will finally re-discover that these government intrusions into arenas it has no business being are not in our collective self-interest.  If these Republicans can also re-discover that taxes need to come from our wealthy, they might just be the ones to bring us into tomorrow.

“I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion.” – Thomas Jefferson

And the Democrats show a little promise too – they got those “Blue Dog” democrats – fiscal conservatives they say.  Maybe they will be the first to couple their plan to tax our wealthy with a complete overhaul of government “welfare” to remove federal check disbursing from the plan.  If the Blue Dog democrats can let go of the power of the government welfare program, if they can instead fund private enterprise to train and employ people, and if they can re-discover that Keynesian Economics demands that we use our borrowed money to invest in our children rather than our seniors, they might just be the ones to bring us into tomorrow.

My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy

So what do you think, who will figure it out first?  Or should I say.. who will figure it out again?

Let your heart feel for the afflictions and distress of everyone, and let your hand give in proportion to your purse.” – George Washington

Man I tell ya, I love that quote – says everything in one sentence.

I’ll tell you who I think will re-discover our course… In my humble opinion, I think neither.  I suspect that we actually will go bankrupt first.  That’s my bet – I’ll take even money if you’re interested.  I’m not sure you’ll be able to pay me after I win the bet though, so let’s keep the wager light.  Most regrettably and with a broken heart, this is the future I see.  I am one of those “dooms-dayers” who actually believes that if we borrow more than ever before in our history, if we have more debt than the rest of the world combined (http://www.usadebtclock.com/national-debt-facts.php), if we borrow over $50,000 per head on every grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, boy and girl that we have, and then have an economy that relies on even more borrowing to meet our future obligations…. that yes, we will fail.  I’m “crazy” I know.  I must be.  Or else…

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

Yes it’s true, I suspect we will follow the likes of the Ottoman Empire, the Soviet Union, and present day Greece — broke, hungry, and desperate and asking our government “Why?”  I look in the mirror… and I see why.  We are too proud, too greedy, and too envious to allow a course change.  Or maybe we just have to actually experience it in order to even care.  Whatever the case, we just keep voting for one of the wrong courses, and hope things will change…

Who’s more foolish; the fool, or the fool who follows him?” – Obi Wan Kenobi

It is interesting to me, my political perspective these days.  In fact, it has changed my entire outlook on life – not necessarily worsened it, just changed it.  Politics never really mattered to me until now.  And my Dad’s stories about farm life in Minnesota during the 1930’s and 40’s, struggling to eat and stay warm, they take on new meaning now.  I have a greater respect for my ancestors today, those who still managed life the last time We the People bankrupted ourselves.  Thank the Lord, I have a 1960’s house that I own outright and rent out – my family can move there if need be.  Also, my wife’s family has a small home in the mountains that has a well, a generator, and wildlife around – that could be a good fall back plan too, we love you MeMe!

Yes my friend, that’s how my mind works these day.  I ponder what America’s next chapter will be like – not with an attitude of Fear, but with a mind toward reason.  I think about my kids and how best I can provide for them in the next America.  I imagine that national bankruptcy is our future… because most of the time and with a healthy look at the reality around us, I think it is.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It’s not.” — Dr. Seuss

I wonder if we’ll call it the “Great Depression II” or if we’ll find a different title for the history books this time.  I do feel like FDR is calling Us from the grave, telling Us to abandon Government Welfare and Trickle Down Economics, begging us not to go bankrupt again, and we just can’t stop arguing long enough to hear him…

“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another.”Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

“It isn’t sufficient just to want – you’ve got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

“One thing is sure. We have to do something. We have to do the best we know how at the moment… If it doesn’t turn out right, we can modify it as we go along.” – Franklin D Roosevelt

Verily I tell you, I hear those words. 

He that have an ear, let him hear.

I remember a story I once heard about an Island Civilization that destroyed itself because it removed all of its forests and, without the trees, the civilization could not survive and died off.  And I remember the storyteller commenting, “I wonder what they were thinking when they chopped down that last tree?

Maybe it was that book “The Tipping Point,” or Al Gore’s movie, or maybe it was a sermon I heard, I can’t remember.  Whatever the case, I still remember the image I had in my mind when I heard the story.  I pictured some islander, doing what he and his generation had been doing for as long as he could remember, chopping down trees.  “No, no” he would say.  “I know we will be all right.  Don’t give me your ‘doomsday scenarios’ – I’m quite certain everything will be all right.”  Chop, chop, chop…  like a scene out of “The Lorax.”

That’s how I feel about America today, we just forgot how to do anything except chop trees.  And so we borrow, borrow, borrow and spend another year voting for the same political platforms.  I am trying to prepare myself best I can for the day when the last tree falls – the day when they stop lending us money.  To be fair, that day is pretty much here.  I should say, the day we realize that we can’t just print more money and continue like nothing’s wrong…

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.” – Winston Churchill

And then I think, “What is it going to look like after the bankruptcy?”  Makes for interesting discussion – interesting to me anyway.  I realize that, for the most part, I’m alone on wanting to discuss it… thus the blog.  At least here I can tell my Creator and my society, “Hey, I care…”

All that’s necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing.” – Edmund Burke

My new enlightenment makes the Bible take on even another meaning for me… for the Bible speaks of failing societies continually.  It is the message of the Prophets.  I’m paraphrasing here I know, but the Prophet’s message always goes like this:

Hey Goofballs!  Hey You!  Hey Dumby over there in the red coat – stop for a second and listen up!   You see, I got a message that, if you want your civilization to continue, if you want your kids to be able to prosper, if you want your people to live, you must hear and heed!  I know you don’t want to hear it but, you see, that doesn’t matter because it’s here just the same.  So here it is:  I assure you, if you don’t change your course, your civilization will fall. 

For you have become a people of Envy, trying to take from your neighbor to provide for you, and you are not supposed to covet they neighbor’s goods.  And you have become a people of Greed, trying to hoard your money while neglecting the plight of the poor around you.  You are supposed to care for your less fortunate, to nurture them back to health, and you are supposed to understand that ‘to him who has been given much, much will be required.’ 

You have become a people of Pride, refusing to believe that this is true, and so you continue your doomed course.  If you want to live, repent!  Change!  Alter your course, take this heading over here.  Repent I tell you.  And here’s some Good News — the yoke is light.  You just need to stop taking from your neighbor and have your wealthy be generous.  It’s not that hard People!”

Like I say, I’m paraphrasing.  But it is the story of the prophets, Sodom and Gomorrah, Greed and Envy, destroyer of nations.  The Prophet’s story ends, and his words are interpreted as God will stop blessing the nation, or God will destroy it, or the people will destroy themselves… however you decide to translate it, the end is always the same:  If you continue traveling off course, you will not reach your destination.  There’s a quote from yours truly.

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” – Winston Churchill

We need a Prophet today America… and we need to listen to the Prophet.  For we are intertwined in a triad of Greed, Envy, and Pride that is destroying us.  Anybody else out there want to vote for a new course?  Anybody else ready to retry our “Roaring 20’s” course, but this time, embrace some necessary regulation of the banking industry?  Anybody else humble enough to admit our government welfare programs and trickle down economics theories should be abandoned for something different?  Because if so, I think it’s about time that We the People came up with a candidate – I’ll write him or her in I promise, just tell me what name to write…

Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us.  The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.  – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Maybe together, we can get the Us back on track…

“You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.” – Winston Churchill

Yours in Faith.