Poll Indicates that 1 in 5 Americans Believe Political Violence Can be Justified: Our Leaders Keep Their Eyes on the Big Prize!

The scary polarization of the nation is continuing. A new poll indicates that an increasing number of people are willing to use violence to get their political way. Likewise around 1/2 of people feel that a civil war with occur. They even said a high percentage of people felt that a strong leader is more important than democracy (I am completely lost. It should be the opposite. Democracy is about the art of compromise. Something our leaders should think about deeply.)You should read the two articles below to gain a better perspective. 

1 in 5 Americans think political violence could be justified, according to UC Davis study You may also want to read Political violence and the future of democracy: Take a look in the mirror, America

I'm not going into detail but what we are experiencing is completely unwise of our leadership. We as a people are integrated and live in each other's neighborhoods. The amount of devastation that could occur because people have "legitimized" violence would be unprecedented in history. Our leaders need to think about how their mouths and inability to compromise is causing these problems for everyone else U.S. Biggest Threats. 

Interestingly, you will also notice a growing number of White people feeling as though they are being discriminated against (In the poll). That is likely to increase as we become a nation of minorities (sociology and market demographics). One of the reasons why I advocate for universalism in our institutions and the use of (not conjecture/conspiracy) science to think through the logic of universal application. In other words treating each person as a valued member of society goes a long way (Not just our own race, occupation, religion or any other. That is why free pass is never truly free. It just becomes added to the collective conscious. {sociology/philosophy}). 

There must be an end game and that to me is universalizing our system as a method of taking away the most important grievances. 

That is our torch. Each generation did the right thing and advanced their society for the next generation until recently we slipped and barely caught ourselves. We have to stand for the ideal of American society and give up old ways of looking at the world. We can have American values that are central to everyone, respect differences, and treat each other equally. Violence should be discouraged at all costs and interconnecting people even more important (Let us calm down the hype and restore trust.)

Our system is an adaptable system built around our Constitution and Bill of Rights. That is where people's loyalty should focus as that is our social contract. All of the political arguments and social networks are secondary to that loyalty (The pledge and oaths we take).  The system allows for people to debate and come to a type of consensus. Moving outside that agreed network without changing them legally in almost all situations is immoral and dangerous. Ideological battles that seek to to make breaks in our society are similarly unwise (There will be some politicians that have and likely will continue to pitch issues as based in these grievances to gain support). Now that two societies have shown their face (i.e. recognizing it as a possibility/threat), we need to pull each other back to the center (Why I encourage centralists in politics. Its not easy. If you don't repeat the same poo poo exactly the same way someone higher in the party wants you to say it, you will be moved out of central circles "group think". That will likely change as well. ). 

Of course what I say isn't going to mean much as I have a Muslim sounding name.🤷 However, I would think in general we would want to see the possibility of a trend and sort of start hedging our weakness and find ways to reconcile the most important pressing issues. Anyone trying to exploit those grievances is not thinking about the long term health of the nation. 

The problem is the details.....

Pope Visits Canada: You can't apologize but you can pray for a better world.

 The Pope came to Quebec and apologized for behaviors of others (The religious workers that harmed the native populations.). It is important to remember that religion is to help us be better but we as people who follow any particular religion (Muslim, Catholics, Christians, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, etc...) know that it is more of a guide to something better. It doesn't give us the right to be "better than others" or disrespect the lives of others.

Deeper than all of the recitations and memorizations is a meaning behind the prayers that lead to thought and thought leads to positive actions that improve our world (Its great if you have a religion but half of prayer is about self-reflection. Formally or informally and that is where the hypothetical miracles occur. When we look inward in prayer to understand the outward {self reflection that gains insight. Needle in camel of eye because of the distractions of life.}.) 

Each religion has its own wisdom and each religion leads to insight of life and the nature of the universe. The apology of the Pope (I like this pope because he is trying) is an attempt to recognize the pain caused during an era where we didn't respect all of the flavors of man/woman that God (Intelligent Design) created (I'm thinking more spiritually here based on my own subjective but well thought out beliefs.). 

As a wiser people (In some of the population's case) we have come to accept that these changes do not define the value of people and that our ultimate goal is a universal respect for all people and their inherent right to exist/thrive (i.e. as written in our cultural artifacts such as "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness"). We must respect difference in order to respect the inherent truth of each religious vantage point that leads to greater knowledge. Knowledge as awareness that creates insight/wisdom (Different roads but the same end goals. See All Faiths).

I say that as a person who respects all the world's religions (At least the one's that make us better and bring something positive) that you can learn something from each. I may be a cultural Catholic but believe aspects of different religions that have inherent truth within them. This may be the reason why some religions resonate with some people and don't resonate with others. It is often based in how they were socialized to think about religion and subjective "truth". There is depth and wisdom that move beyond the "practice"/routine of worship and that leads to greater awareness and acceptance of what is "to be". (Its a little like that saying "We can't control the winds but we can adjust our sails". Religion is about adjustment to life's rough and tumble.) 

"To be" are those things we don't understand and we are not able to control. It is a kind of belief/"faith" that there is some purpose in life and some pattern to the world. Religion creates order out of the chaos of the unknown. "To be" is the hope of some future end positive state. (Dang....we in the philosophy now!!!!) One could make an argument that the goal of all religions is to create inner peace and belief in the purpose of our existence (our lives, happenings, events, histories, etc...)

(Ok I know its kind of spiritual. Its sort of interesting to think of how we create reconconcile with each other after horrendous acts of history. Constant arguing just leads to more conflict and arguing. As in all bad acts there is a time to argue and a time to put down one's grievances. That is why hindsight is often more accurate than foresight. The people who did these bad things seem to be lacking that awareness and insight into the inherent beauty of life. Some have changed many years later.)

Yikes the article wasn't supposed to have a spiritual/religious bent to it. I say that as not a particularly religious person. I have my beliefs and I kind of am not as rigid as many about them. Sometimes that is good and sometimes that is not so good. Depends on how you look at it. To me religion, science, social understanding, philosophy, etc. are all  reaching to describe and understand those central things that make us essentially human (Our ability to think abstractly and self reflect. BTW this is just sort of philosophy of religion from my perspective. Its not an advocation of any particular religion but how different religions also have value in understanding our world.)

The Danger of Placating Bullies, Bigots and Corruption in Society

Sometimes we feel like if we don't acknowledge something it will all go away by switching our focus (Sometimes it does if it is a minor issue and unrepeated.). That isn't always the case. Small mistakes made in earnest are different than intentional mistakes done with malicious intent. When we are able to differentiate between intentional and unintentional we make a small step forward in knowing how to put our society back on a healthy track. Placating bullies, bigots and corruption doesn't do anyone any good as it encourages unhealthy adaptations to personal (individual choice) and societal (collective choice) that leads to repeat of such behaviors (Perhaps on a national level...oops sorry...that would never happen! 🤷). 

There is an appropriate amount of legal/enforcement/social pressure that obtains the highest immediate and long term results. Too light and it looks like a wink and nod and too heavy it looks like political anger. Using the right tools at the right time is called wisdom and having a moral conscious is standing up for larger and more important things because we live in a collective. We know that society must continue forward through learning and development thorough the prism of good values. People sacrifice because they believe in something greater then themselves and that is what adapts each generation.

I'm not going into all the details why some aggressive behaviors should be illegal (Depends on what we think the purpose of law is), have malicious intent and are rooted in distortion and bigotry. As a basic value system children should be protected, religion sacrosanct under the law, and coordinated aggression with a mixture of corruption worthy of disdain. We have options to walk the talk in our values while recognizing some of the mistakes we have made. We are imperfectly perfect through our ability to learn and change.

We are no longer in a position as a people and nation that we can accept bullies, bigots and corrupt behaviors in a way that we hope would lead to reasonable outcomes. It is a sign of moral decay and ignorance spread among those who struggle with independence of thought. It is an old stain that we never took the time to clean. As time goes on it looks worse, collects more dirt, smells more and becomes increasingly embarrassing against the shroud of gleaming white purity we shrouded ourselves in (i.e. lack of self reflection, casting stones, and wrong orientation in intentionality.).  

These were the lessons we should have learned from society, our past, and our possibilities to make ourselves a stronger people. We cannot afford to give free passes to bullies, bigots and corruption at least they someday become common practice and impact the viability of our national unity and trust in our institutions to live by a higher moral code. It is more than the seemingly insignificance of each of our lives/incidents (even more seemingly insignificant if your wrong type of person). 

I have no doubt our towns and nations will overcome challenges like this. We will because we know what the right path forward is but we are too afraid to believe in it and stand up for it until it is common knowledge to do so (Mocks at our self interest). As a society we can change, learn from our histories, develop something new, reconcile the differences, and heal our wounds. Mostly, we can give to our grandchildren and finish the business passed (passing the baton...don't drop it.) from our parents of developing something bigger than us (or our generation) where the streets are again paved with gold and every man/woman earns based on their own merit. 

Of course we can choose to do the opposite and the jury is still out on that one. 😏

California Fires Growing: Firefighters as Global Warming Champions

 I do believe Global Warming is a real thing and if its not a real thing we still have a responsibility to protect our environment. We are a fragile species and when our environment changes it will make changes on our lives as well. From an environmental-historical perspective were in the sweet spot of environments that allowed us to flourish and grow. If our environment shifts we will have to make more serious adjustments in our lives. 

While forest fires are common, it also seems to be more common and more widespread. They also seem more destructive. More fires mean more resources will be allocated to protecting our environment and protecting ourselves from the environment. Firefighters are the champions of global warming. 

Firefighters risk their lives and battle the blazes. People die firefighting every year when responding to everything from car accidents to blazing buildings. Its not an easy task, but they are always there to help. We should support those firefighters as much as we can in word, deed and donations. 

These are California firefighters so you can donate to them as I'm sure they need it.....

CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTERS BENEVOLENT FUND

Michigan Firefighting:

I do some firefighting in Michigan and we also need a new grass truck. Ours is old and doesn't work that well. So if you feel like donating let me know and I will point you in the right direction. While its a volunteer firefighting in Escanaba Township the other areas rely on us heavily. You can see their Facebook page HERE.

Convicted: Trump Campaign Chief Bannon Guilty In Jan. 6 Case

 Its argued that he hid insurrection evidence and is convicted for contempt. There is a difference between being convicted for not responding to subpoenas and the other a smoking gun related to wrong doing of the Trump administration (i.e. intentional insurrection or foreign intelligence construction of a coup attempt. We can't say either happened until it has been proved beyond a shadow of doubt it has happened. However, anything is possible. ). So we have to keep them sort of separate. While one might be a motivation for the other it may also not be directly related. What he says will be important from a testimonial standpoint. So let us wait and see.....

Stone Cutters House Photo

You may be interested in a photo of a stone cutters house. A German immigrant built it.

Purchase a Stone Cutters House

 

Why Our Sense of Fair Play and Justice Will Need to Change for National Growth

Our nation has struggles and we are only beginning to walk in the direction of fixing them. People who do bad things often get a free pass with the pleasure and clapping of people within their social networks. Highly skilled employees and youth don't get good jobs because they weren't born rich or didn't come from the right social background. Encouraging those who have the power to change those things seems to be a relatively useless endeavor because they don't look at America's needs but the opinions of their political/social group (It is becoming misaligned and they need to work on representing all of Americans and not just the far right or left loud voices). 

We will change because we have no options but to change. Change is constant and we should expect it as a method of societal adaptation. We think we have options and we think that as long as we are taking care of ourselves we need not think about our behaviors or its impact on the rest of society. We drag our feet because we are patterned/socialized into behaviors that lead to poor results. Change often comes quickly from pressure from an environmental pressure bigger than our system (i.e. meaning if forces a system to change to function properly).

Things will change because we will increasingly see that exclusionary society, locking people out of positions based on inherently false criteria, and rewarding bad behaviors won't put us into a leading position nationally or internationally (I'm not saying everyone is doing this but there is a significant portion.). They are the very behaviors that have undermined every nation from the beginning of time (Look through history and find how certain groups have become removed from loftier goals and began to eat at the core of a nation by turning inward and over focusing on small differences.). I believe we are wise enough to see that more quickly than other systems but sometimes we need to hit bumpy roads to see the necessity in it (i.e. reactive versus proactive management) 

I believe we can create a fairer society and I believe that as the weight of our choices bear upon us we will begin to see that change as a necessity. It is selfish not to change, it is irresponsible to stay on a poor path, it is moral defunct to give free passes to bad behavior, and reward those who do the wrong thing. We must have deeper values than that and through self reflective insight we will begin to transform as a nation and people.  

I believe over the next 10 years our choices will catch up to us and we will either push to build something greater that leads to national redevelopment or we will move toward defunct status bouncing down to 2nd and then 3rd position (We are close to #2 already and only have so much resources to regain a leading edge). We are at a critical point in our development where we must create a shared sense of American identity and have a good grasp of what behaviors lead to success and how the system rewards/punishes those behaviors (Use systems thinking to see how expectation and reward should be associated in society to certain values. We have done the opposite over the past 20 years.). 

Leadership often works within a fishbowl (i.e. in "the box" or socially constructed reality/perspective)and can't see in how limited an environment in which they exist. Ripples carry for a long time and choices create more ripples in smaller systems. Good choices change the environment just as much as bad choices. As a collection of peoples our leaders create ripples that work their way through their social networks to create social understandings. Those understandings influence behaviors on a micro level and in turn our outcomes through collective behaviors. It wise to continuously reflect on our values, choices, and potential outcomes to encourage wider positive choices that lead to national outcomes. While we might be in a much bigger society then we were thousands of years ago as small clans, the very same mechanics exist on a larger socio-psycho-bio level. (BioPsychoSocial Dev, Social Cognition, Econ Needs Fulfillment, Perpetual Dev., Econ Platform, Conflict Model 🤔)

Let us ask ourselves a few questions....

1.) Are our leaders acting in the best interest of the nation (I suspect most are but many are not.)?

2.) What does the average person feel in terms of opportunity and prospects (I believe a small majority feel they are locked out and no matter the effort they will not get ahead)?

3.) Is the justice system upholding truth, law and moral conscious (For the most part it does but often there are lots of hands with lots of different perspectives that create uncertainty in outcomes. Not all of those hands are trying to "do the right thing")?

4.) Do we all follow the Constitution and our general freedoms (Most do but are easily persuaded in misaligning those values. We distort those truths for personal, political, and social gain.)

5.) Ask a poor child if he could be rich, famous or important if he/she puts forward the right effort throughout their life (I think you will not get the answer you suspect)? 

6.) Are we really as trustworthy, honest, or have the integrity we say we have (I would say much less than half. We have really good people in positions of power but we have lots of people who never deserved to be there but are "connected" and willing to say the right things versus the truthful things. That large 50/50 are dragging the rest of society down and few think about who they are promoting or why they are promoting. i.e. promoting someone who advances a cause versus someone who will make good judgement and use of resources.)?

Let us see which way the winds push us.....

(Don't listen to me...I have a Muslim sounding name. 🤷)