Tag: government

Shrewd Awakenings…Our Great Awakening

It is now the year 2020 and it’s about time that we see the political climate around us with 20/20 vision.

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How many of us get our news from social media snippets and/or “friendly” network broadcasters?  Are they and their sources reliable?  Are the fact checkers that give us the Pinocchio’s really digging deep enough in their fact checking?  Are we being presented the whole story?  Unless we are willing to give up our day jobs (or even get off the couch) and become an investigative reporter, we probably rarely if ever do the reading and research necessary to have a truly informed opinion.

In the mean time the majority of us are typically left to our biases.  Having a bias is not a bad thing…It is an absolutely human thing.  It gives you a basis from which to start your exploration of a topic and to be tested when faced with an opposing view; in other words, the ability to have an open mind from which to use to reason.

If you hold strongly onto your bias, then you have the inability to find justice.  Potential jurors are scrutinized for bias before they are allowed to serve on a jury.  This is a very important part of a society based on law and justice.

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Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society.  Can a liberty minded society be “cleansed” of biases?  Of course not!  Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views (Oxford Dictionary).  The opposite of this is Fascism.  Social justice must impose Fascism in order to control the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges.  In the USA each person would necessarily need to give up their liberty in order for the implementation of  a true social justice agenda.  By what biased authority would we want this agenda implemented?  The answer to this question leads to our great awakening…

Liberty entails the responsible use of freedom under the rule of law without depriving anyone else of their freedom.  This sounds like a just society to me 🙂

We are already USA Strong!

Your property and care of it is your wealth, your informed curiosity leads to your opportunity, and your positive relationships reinforce many of your privileges.  These are guaranteed to you in the U.S. Constitution.

The Importance of Independence Day

Are we still slaves to Self imposed ignorance?

Please think about this…The Declaration of Independence was the start of ending slavery on many levels.

First, the colonies needed to recognize that they could live their lives without a king as overseer. They were beginning to live this reality and then with this declaration they made it so.

Next, the Constitution began a system whereby no more slaves would be imported by England. Education for everyone would help inform citizens so that they could vote and govern themselves properly…This education would end the tolerance of slavery in the southern states along with a bloody civil war, ultimately to unite the nation and recognizing that “All Men Are Created Equal”. African American men could now be educated, vote and hold elected office.

Then, even though some women could already vote depending on their status and locality, all women were guaranteed the right. Persistence was the key.

And finally, we all look to these two documents to inform and develop increased opportunities to recognize oppression and bring about liberties for all citizens. This process will never be easy, but it is a process…deeper understanding is gained through listening to one another because united we stand, divided we fall.

Are you a slave to divisiveness? Only you can change this if so.

Utopia?

The USA is not and can never be the United States of Utopia.

Individuals in a free society enjoy their liberty based on laws that reflect their personal right to prosper and be generous.  The US Constitution guarantees this!

Under a Democrat controlled administration the IRS will become the Imperial Reckoning Source with the special privilege of controlling all tax dollars imposed broadly by an elitist class who claim moral superiority.  You, the individual in this system, must come to enjoy these privileges bestowed on you with all thanks given to your provider…the Government.

If you know history, Western Civilization has been there before and it wasn’t a bed of roses!!

Shrew U: An Open Letter To Our New Congress

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Welcome to a new day!  As you take your seat and represent your constituents please remember these things:

  1. You were probably elected within a close margin so work with your peers on both sides of the isle as if our Republic depended on everyone’s educated input.
  2. Base this educated input on facts not feelings.
  3. Focus, focus, focus.  Your job is dependent on your performance.  And Yes!  We are watching.
  4. Civility should be your middle name 🙂  Don’t be concerned about the President’s behavior because it speaks for itself.
  5. You’ve sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution so read it and apply it to everything you consider.
  6. Cultural changes are inevitable…These are better left to the communities from which you came.  Also, change can be infectious when handled conscientiously with everyone involved.
  7. Fascism is not a one way street.  Any political party can believe their policies are the best.  Be concerned about any one sided political push or group think.
  8. Laws were not meant to be broken or discarded lightly.  Follow them or change them!

Thank you and have a nice term…

The Shrew View – We Are At A Tipping Point!

A house divided against itself cannot stand – Abraham Lincoln

Who are we kidding?  Neither the liberal left nor the conservative right have all the answers to our country’s problems at this point in time.  Have they ever?  Let’s be honest…The best answers come in the form of a small community working together in a non partisan manner.  And, if someone is not connected to and working against the community then we should consider that it may be by choice.   Families, neighborhoods, churches, schools, Rotaries and even sports offer opportunities to connect in a variety of healthy ways.  The only skill you need at first is curiosity.  Defined as a strong desire to know or learn something, curiosity can open doors to a stronger sense of belonging.  The best part about this is that you can belong to many different circles of community thereby finding your niche to make a positive impact.

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I have a feeling that anyone who picks up a weapon to inflict harm on a community really knows down deep that they are not solving anything.  Like being totally on the left or totally on the right the answer to their problem leaves a literal hole that oozes pain, guilt, horror and disgust, all of which are the antithesis of curiousity and clearly the mask of evil.

Isn’t this evil what the extreme left wing Democrats see in President Trump?  And by the same measure isn’t this evil what the extreme right wing Republicans see in the extreme left wing Democrates?  When did Congress stop being a community for the people? Elected leaders must have the skill of curiosity to belong to their peer community no matter which side of the isle they are on.  The President is putting forward his ideas, but it seems as though Congress has no strong desire to learn or know how to debate and offer a compromise on the ideas.  And what is worse,  Congress has been modeling this behavior for far longer than I can remember.  Unfortunately our leaders of the next generation are not witnessing the intended function of Congress.

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I think we have reached a tipping point in this country.  Evil is showing its ugly face in unimaginable ways.  We must acknowledge its ability to reside amoung us and be curious enough to ask why it exists.  Only then can we learn together the path of the humble messenger that we all can become.  God help us…

Shrewd Awakenings: How Are You Using Centering Energy?

Female energy at it’s core is Chaos.  Male energy at its core is Order.  These are opposing emotional energies, and no matter where you are on the LGBTQ or cis-gender spectrum, you can exhibit these energies in a variety of unhealthy ways.

What humanity needs is a balance which can only be found through centering energy…Christ knew this, Ghandi knew this and MLK knew this as have many others who understood the human need for freedom.

Government is not our friend in the quest for freedom because government is control inspired by men and women who are imperfect.  To expect that a government authority could administer an efficient program for all with equal results is impossible.  This is why government must be limited in its scope and why the individual must have maximum freedom to explore their unique potential.

The Enlightment ideas based on reason, individualism and skepticism did not occur overnight.  Influenced by 17th century philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, and Newton with prominent promoters like Goethe, Voltaire and Adam Smith, the further development of these ideas formed the basis of our U.S. Constitution.  We could conclude that the Enlightment is the centering energy  for our government.

Are our law makers on Capitol Hill using centering energy?  I think many are not!  They take an oath to uphold the Constitution and yet all I see are the energies of order and chaos at work:

Chaos demonstrated by:

  • Identity groups causing disruptions
  • Women literally crying as a force to be reckoned with
  • A porous southern boarder
  • Out of control deficits and spending

Order demonstrated by:

  • Emigration that helps parties and not people
  • Equality of outcomes as a means to an end
  • People forming separate group identities
  • Media platforms pushing compliance of liberal platitudes

We must be very careful not to live enmeshed in these opposing energies.  Our binary form of government leadership only adds to this push-pull hysteria.  To balance these energies leadership must become more “enlightened” and model best practices of reason through understanding, skepticism within context and legislation honoring our inalienable rights.  And we the people must become more “enlightened” and model good works while loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

The Shrew View: Could Civility Be A Political Platform for Moderates?

 

Those of us in the politically moderate sphere are throwing up our hands and asking,”Where did civility go?”

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The freedoms we cherish are unwittingly being used against us in the uncivil political climate of today. A strong allegiance to Party platforms is like the religiosity that gave rise to atheism. Those of us in the politically moderate sphere are throwing up our hands and asking,”Where did civility go?” Media pundits may enjoy their extremist version of facts, but by removing a balanced analysis weighed against historical context , those of us who want to find truths that complete the facts wind up turning our attention instead to what matters more in our lives like family, friends, work and community and possibly rejecting politics altogether like an Athiest to religious dogma.

As news media and educational curricula conform to revisionist trends of tribal loyalty, “United We Stand” will not be about “one nation under all”.  Today’s political Parties are not like our major religions and should never be committed to with the same fervor.  Government enforced ideologies such as sanctuary for illegal immigrants or marriage only between a man and a woman compete with our God given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness because government systems try to control people and are not responsible for lifting the heart and mind as religious doctrine does.  The best that a secular governing system can do with regards to morality is to promote civility to one another when attempting to communicate opposing ideas toward favorable results.  It is our individual actions of good will that allow for a deeper understanding of our differences to arrive at a level of fairness within a governance system.

For example, why does the government need to be involved with the act of marriage at all?  We can agree that marriage has certain legal benefits and we can agree that these legal benefits are based upon laws derived by the state.  But what about the separation of church and state?  If we consider that performing and partaking in a marriage ceremony is a religious act then we must give this act relevance to religion and not to the state…this then removes the mandate for a city employee with a conflicting religious principle to sign a document granting the “marriage” certificate to a same sex couple.  Instead, couldn’t these legal rights that are state recognized currently by a marriage be issued in a state approved “certificate of union” no matter the two sexes?  The ceremony is then performed only by a religious or ceremonial entity that “believes” in the couple’s God given right of marriage in accordance with the specific religious doctrine.  We might be surprised to find that more people will belong to a church because of this change, and hearts and minds will be strengthened when the various churches are given back their relevance.

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I am not affiliated with any political party and do my best to vote my conscience  by educating myself on the issues of the day.  I cannot declare myself a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green Independent or Democrat Socialist.  I let the die  hard  Party affiliates  hash out  their  candidates of choice because, as a moderate, civil discourse and  reasoned, educated arguments factor into my vote.  Could  there be a Moderate Party?  Perhaps one  day, but  as of now we moderates hold the cards and  we  are not bluffing like the stronghold  Party affiliates  😉

 

The Shrew View: The Reality of Today’s Social Justice.

Today’s social movements are less about changing social attitudes and more about imposing socialism…

Just as I have thought, history is repeating itself.  I have been reading the book “A People’s History of the United Sates” by Howard Zinn.  Zinn focuses on the importance of social movements throughout U.S. History.  In the past few weeks we have witnessed a “social justice” movement bent on undoing the United States Constitution.  These social justice warriors are pushing a campaign of federal (and state) tax manipulation and “moral” hysteria focused solely on the needs and wants of victim classes and in so doing are also blurring the important distinctions of what constitutes “equality”.  Isn’t this an injustice of personal liberties?  I believe that today’s social movements are less about changing social attitudes (as in what Zinn discovered in past historical events while we were testing the limits and inclusiveness of our Constitution) and more about imposing socialism.

In my previous blog I made an observation that I believed civil protections were currently being reframed as “special protections” in the U.S.  I think that these special protections seem to be formulated around categories of victim classes who would like the government to ease their burdens and force a group solidarity expression of morality on the whole social sphere. Government programs however rarely solve the issues faced by people who feel victimized whether the need is for universal health insurance, free college tuition, tax subsidized reproduction rights or bias protections of any nature…This is where nonprofit and faith based organizations must step in.

Special protections are worthy of everyone’s attention in a civil society…this keeps us “civilized”.  Unfortunately programs cannot be delivered equally in a liberty minded nation because there will always be differences in quality (this is how “equality” loses its steam). And when it comes to laws created for protection, theories on paper rarely reflect actual experience. Civil societies and free nations are two separate concepts: A civil society is a community linked by common interests and collective, mutually beneficial action; A free nation is a country where the government does not control what people say or do for political reasons…having civil societies within a free nation is how we maintain “civility”.

The U.S. is a free nation and within this free nation there are many civil societies.  Churches, civic groups and other non-profits like libraries and food pantries all work on behalf of a mission and are inherently concerned with the betterment of the individual.  Through member participation and philanthropy their examples of altruism are allowed to resonate into the larger society.  An individual in a free nation is able to have the freedom to associate within and among these civil societies and do good works that have a larger impact than one person can usually do on their own.

Care organizations typically have a member funded civil society that works to educate, promote and help individuals who need specific services.  Because of this membership funding, the work is done without government intervention unless federal or state laws prohibit the activities…This is important because in a free nation you cannot legislate beliefs or volunteer activity.

Many of today’s politicians are focused on creating programs by using federal (and state) tax dollars.  Isn’t it a shame that these monies need to be redirected from individuals who could be investing these funds into local programs on their own.  Wouldn’t this make a more direct and meaningful impact in their community?  Instead, social justice activists want to discourage individual and corporate ownership of profits and spread these dollars around to government run programs thereby removing the moral obligation of the individual and causing the public to believe that the “collective” is taking care of issues rather than allowing the public to directly participate in the solution…This my friend is socialism in action.

I know that when my discretionary spending is tight I need to make hard decisions about how much I can give to my church, my library, my food pantry and even to pay for a ticket to attend a local fundraiser – all of these are meaningful actions to me because they help my neighbor. Interestingly, my apathy for participating in these civic organization’s increases when I need to work more to afford to pay my taxes rather than have free time for volunteering.

The next time you see a group of sign carrying activists first ask them, “What do you want to see change?” Then ask them, “What can you and I actually do today that is within our own power to help?” And finally form a civic group and get the job done!  Now that is real compassion 🙂