GROWING TROUBLE

 

GROWING TROUBLE

 

Not that long ago we were mere scavengers as we left the jungle behind for greener pastures, venturing out into a world that was pristine and undisturbed by a monkey that was about to turn into a hominid, our primitive offspring.  Evolution rewards ingenuity and opportunity.  Combine it with an insatiable curiosity and the sky is the limit.  Humans learn from each other and progress is measured by how much we learn from each other and by how much we share and teach.  Almost all living species benefit from group behavior and working together.  A greater degree of intelligence allows for a greater degree of organization that benefits the tribe as a whole.  It is not just about learning new skills that improve lives and lifestyles, but about efficiency.  Basically how to get the most out of anything with the least amount of effort and expense.  It has been a guiding principle of humanity and we continue to adhere to it.

Once more human behavior follows the principles of the primordial forces of energy and momentum, of needs and demands that impact all living species.  Growing as a slightly more intelligent species gave us an advantage over all other living species on our planet.  Our growth allowed us to leave behind a life of hunter-gatherers, of scavenging, living in caves and primitive huts.  Humans have experienced a kind of growth unprecedented in the history of the natural world.  The only species out of millions, even weeding out lesser humanoids and evolving into the species we are today.  We have never stopped growing.  Growth has never slowed down and growth is now killing us because its behavior, our behavior, is not benign or generous.  Growth is disparate and depends on where you live and how.  Competition and geographical happenstance now dictate how well you will do.

A disparate development.

When we emerged as tentative settlers in permanent dwellings it was a playing field that was fairly level.  And yet, even then, location mattered.  Access to fertile land, water, rivers, forests, hunting, shelter and protection from potential invaders.  Any advantage can be a benefit.

Arrested development.

To this day there are still places on our planet where a nomadic lifestyle persists because where they live the land is poor and the region isolated.  Not a biggie if all of us were exposed to the same thing.  The sad reality that has emerged and which continues to widen the gap between the haves and have-nots is that globally growth has been erratic and poorly shared.  Countries with a superior technological advantage, with a higher standard of living and a higher level of education are leaving poorer nations behind in the dust.  The number of people falling through the cracks and falling behind are running into the billions.  Technology and innovation are replacing workers and wealth generation takes place with fewer and fewer people employed.

"If I only knew then what I know now."

The consequences of growth are now coming home to roost and our horrific numbers, over 8 billion and counting, showcase our inability to provide for them in a fair and equitable manner.  Billions of people are living in abject poverty, in squalor-like conditions and without proper sanitation.  Economies in failing states are reducing many of its people to a subsistence level; lacking opportunities, jobs and a future.

A global existential crisis.

Empires have come and gone, victims of exceptional and quick growth, followed by an equally impressive demise.  British historian Trevor Roper compared the fortunes of empires to a flower; sprouting and budding in spring, coming into flower in summer and then dying down.  Almost all of them were done in by their success; rapidly increasing their numbers and then not being able to sustain growth and provide for their citizens.  We’re following a similar curve, but this time around it is global in nature.  In a previous article I mentioned that this time around it is an existential crisis.  It is not about who will live and who will die, but whether humanity can realistically survive as a species.

A greater degree of intelligence has given us superior science, but it has left us with inferior morals tied to the primordial forces of energy and momentum that continue to wreak havoc with our best intentions.  In other words, that greater intelligence of ours has not turned us into better people.  If anything, it has helped us inflict murder and mayhem on our fellow human beings with ever greater impact and lethality.  We have grown our ability to destroy and we do it with everything we develop.  The downside of all that intellectual wizardry and capabilities. 

The price we pay for being smart.

We absolutely love our gizmos, our wireless connectedness, as if all those technological marvels enhance our lives and turn us into better people.  Trust me, as a writer I love computers; to do research, a quick check on a word or phrase, on an event, or people involved.  All at my fingertips with a few keystrokes.  But the abuse has been equally horrific and with the advent of Artificial Intelligence the amount of cyber attacks and hacking has reached stupendous levels.  Not just in scams, but in accessing personal information and then using it to steal or extort money from the victims of cyber theft.  I liken it to nuclear power, it can either keep the power on or obliterate us.  We have become extremely vulnerable and at the same time, totally dependent on the systems and technologies that run almost every nation.  Can we still call it progress and shrug it off with that often repeated and abused phrase, “Well, that’s the price you pay for progress.”?

We absolutely excel at doing nothing, at throwing up our arms, flying by the seat of our pants, praying and hoping and when worst comes to worst we fall back on a phrase that reveals our true nature . . . let our kids deal with the fallout.  It showcases that we do live up to our animalistic, primordial instincts, when it comes to the impact of our plans and schemes.  We don’t behave much differently than the animals we once were, because all lifeforms live for today.  Today is the most important day of our lives because tomorrow could be our last. 

Disparity is all the people left behind.

The people that are not wanted or needed are paying the price.  That is how cruel our world has become.  Human resource managers are known to use this phrase on occasion when advertising for help; only those called can apply.  The job scene has changed dramatically.  It is no longer a university degree that will get you in.  Skills are in demand: can you fix, repair or build things?  Communication and social skills and then there are the jobs in healthcare that can’t be performed by machines.  Nursing.  Teaching.  The days of pushing a broom or inserting a bolt manually are over.  Simple jobs that require little or no training are gone.  Not only are machines and robots taking over, profit margins in many smaller industries, privately owned or owner operated, are shrinking to such an extent that they can’t afford to hire more people.  Mom and pop shops are hanging on by their fingernails.

The income gap between people who are working and those who are struggling to get by is only getting bigger and it causes a lot of friction.  Robots don’t buy anything, so where does all that generated wealth go?  What kind of world do marginalized people have to look forward to?

Sensory stimulation is the new pacifier.

The emptiness that many people feel and experience, the lack of opportunity and real growth, is increasingly masked by people immersing themselves in electronic entertainment, from baseless texting to watching bits and bytes supplied by clever gamers and social influencers, people who make a living concocting images and uploads to entertain the minds of people who are losing the ability of critical thinking and original thought at a rate that can only be described as horrendous.  An addiction that comes with a hefty price tag.

We are leaving billions of people behind.  Do away with opportunity, with meaningful work, with improving people’s lives through education and a shared prosperity and you take away the meaning of life.  It’s like filling up a kennel with dogs nobody wants.  Who wants to end up on the streets, in subsidized housing, on welfare and standing in line at foodbanks?  We’re filling up our jails with desperate people and the reasons for incarceration for the majority are ludicrous.  Petty crimes and repeat offenders who have nothing to look forward to.  Nobody wants them.

Stop painting rosy pictures.

For too many people their lives are turning into a cruel reality, of not fitting in, of not making ends meet and life passing them by.  There is only room for so many and that means that many will be left out.  Life’s realities are not turning us into better people.  What is emerging around the world are leaders who lack empathy and vision, respect and a desire to change things for the better.  The level of negativity that has emerged is heartbreaking and puts our humanity to shame.

"Even if you wanted to go back, you can't.  You have destroyed too much of my 

jungle."

We have painted ourselves into an awkward corner.  Our growing up has come at a horrendous cost and even politically we’re starting to realize that votes are costly and carry a hefty price.  Nations around the world are busy spending themselves into oblivion, digging financial holes so deep that they’ll never get out of them and all of it done to keep the masses pacified.  The true meaning, the essence of existentialism, has come knocking on our doors.  Who will live, who will die or are we witnessing the end of our species?  We are an unnatural fit in a natural world.  Fitting in has never been our main priority and perhaps it should have been.

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READY OF NOT, CHAOS IS UPON US

 

READY OR NOT, CHAOS IS UPON US

A dystopian vision.

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could write about a world that sickens me because we’re constantly hugging each other, getting along to the point that nobody ever fights or disagrees anymore and that love seems to drip from everything, annoying me to such an extent that I’m begging to be punched or provoked.  Yah, that would truly qualify as dystopian, the loving, not the punch in the nose.  Instead, as a writer, a student of philosophy, history and the humanities, I am once more forced to confront a disturbing reality that humanity is getting ready for another global bruising.

The drums of war are beating louder, the escalation of threats, a call to arms and political discourse and civility chucked aside and discarded like an old unwanted T-shirt or a pair of worn-out shoes.  For most people that humanity thing is nothing more than a nuisance, having to behave while in reality you want nothing more than to beat the living crap out of another human being, getting away with murder and mayhem and not having to atone for anything.

There is an insane need within humanity that doesn’t exist in lower lifeforms, and that is the urge to destroy and eradicate.  Our entire human history is a tapestry of war and conflict.  Don’t stare yourself blind at those grandiose human achievements; most were designed to dominate and control other human beings, those thought of as lesser; better yet, deserving of occupation and exploitation.

Let’s not get sidetracked by the odd piece of beautiful music created, art touching our barbaric souls and reminding us of a possible softer side in some of us, even redemption from all the ugliness we’re capable of inflicting upon each other, even inventing absolution from sins; none are enough to excuse our barbarity.  Man, oh man.  The lengths we’re willing to go to, to talk straight what is obviously crooked and for those who have suffered the most at our hands there is always the promise of heaven.  We’ve got you covered! 

We have once more maneuvered ourselves into an awkward position.

What is absolutely galling is the fact that we resign ourselves to that fact that another global conflict is inevitable.  There is such a self-destructive component within us that when push comes to shove we sign up by the thousands and willingly march to our deaths.  War has never solved anything.  Ever!  And yet we glorify battle, especially afterwards.  I mean, we’re not exactly in the habit of calling ourselves stupid and gullible, instead we’ll make sure that the sacrifice of millions of lives will go down as heroic and is the price we pay for freedom, or whatever.  You’ve got to come up with some sort of palatable reasoning and an ‘oh, boy, that was stupid’ just won’t cut it.

Around the world there is a call for increased defense spending and troops are placed on high alert.  A fresh cabal of neurotic, autocratic leaders is leading the pack.  According to this bunch diplomacy is wasted on the unwashed and ignorant masses.  Peace is leaving people needy and weak.  A steady cycle of regular elections has only produced debt at a level never seen before.  Why spend good money on a social safety net and guaranteed incomes when we can put a rifle in their hands, send them to the front and back at home we will be running the armament industries at full speed.  People will be so busy dying and providing for the war industry that all that whining and complaining comes to a full stop.  Standing shoulder to shoulder at legions, toasting each other with tankards of the finest malt and hop and congratulating each other on how we beat the crap out of that enemy.  Unless you lost the battle!  Well, let’s not go there just yet.

Progress is killing us.  Success is killing us.  A lot will depend on YOUR interpretation of progress and success!

Up until the 18^th century people used to die like flies, by the millions; young and old; from infectious diseases, epidemics, poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation and medical treatments that defied description and common sense.  Growing old and in good health was the purport of a lucky few.  Anthropologists have estimated that the world population at around 1 AD stood at approximately half a billion.  A 1902 global population census pegged our numbers at 2.5 billion, a remarkable, yet steady growth.  Fast forward to 2025 and we’re sitting at over 8.3 billion and counting.  We have added these record numbers in less than 125 years through progress and innovation.  Just to name a few to put progress in perspective: steam power, coal fired turbines, electricity, hydraulics, oil derivatives, mass transportation, nuclear energy, computers, vaccines, antibiotics, herbicides and pesticides, fertilizers, preservatives, nanotechnology and quantum computing and AI.  I am just scratching the surface here with a few examples.  Progress is not slowing us down, it is accelerating at a breakneck speed.  But . . . everything we do has a downside.  In my novel Energy & Origin I have explained in detail the nature and behavior of energy and momentum, how energy created life and that life is energy, driven by momentum.  Our needs, and that includes our energy needs and all other requirements, are in direct correlation with the pace kept by innovation and progress.  A lot of what we consume and use hails mostly from artificial means, from exploitation and extraction.  Our numbers and needs have surpassed what the planet can realistically supply and we have now reached a stage where we’re literally devouring the planet as if it were a pizza. 

There is no pause button, no reset!

What we conveniently ignore in everything we do and construct is its impact!  We have been struggling with our numbers for over a century.  We can’t afford to house and provide for billions of additional people.  The opportunities are simply not there and instead we’re turning billions of people into net-negative multipliers and consumers.  They are not an asset, but a burden.  Two world wars have not been able to dislodge this alarming and growing reality and yet we’re about to try again.  The trio that led us into World War II, Hitler, Tojo and Mussolini, have been replaced by Trump, Putin and Ki.  Scary in this entire repeat scenario is a total absence of reason.  It is not about regime change, territorial acquisition or occupation, but a pure existential threat and it can’t be solved by blowing everything to smithereens, but they are going to try.  Trump is a vainglorious, ignorant, conservative buffoon who wants to take America back to the hay-days of the 50s and 60s when America was predominantly white and the sky seemed to be the limit.  In reality we went way beyond that and we thought that this crazy ride would never end.  But it has and reality has come knocking on global doors.  Everybody wants what we have and we’re going to keep digging and exploiting until there is nothing left.  Momentum has taken over and we can’t turn off over 8 billion people and go back to what?

An existential threat.

At the core of a potential world war III lies a principle that defies everything in our toolboxes.  There is no easy fix!  This time around it is not about economic principles, about a redistribution of wealth, about equality and fairness, about who owns the land and resources, about who has access and who does not, who has the right to live and who does not.  This is about existentialism in its purest form.  Do we have a right to live?  To exist?  It is no longer a debatable philosophical concept of humans providing life with essence, giving it meaning, but existence turning into a ludicrous wished for concept that we have jeopardized with our out-of-control behavior and activities.  We are confronted with a physical reality that could devastate humanity as a species and we can’t philosophize our way out of it.  Take an honest and hard look at the political landscape.  It is all about distortion, distraction, lies and fabrications.  The rule of law has become whatever the person in charge wants it to be.  There is only a semblance of order, of a demand for justice.  Token gestures and words and the violence and carnage continues unabated and unchallenged.  Momentum has turned all of us into a rampaging, stampeding herd of beasts.  We have never been able to regulate our progress, our demands and needs, in proportion to what the planet can reasonably provide.  Paradise is a beautiful image of a life and of lifestyles we will never enjoy, because it defies how we behave.  We are what we are and it is, what it is.  An unfortunate day of reckoning is upon us and it won’t be pretty.

We will continue to lie and cheat, to distract and distort.  Ultimately the deception is ours!

A new arms race is only accelerating the inevitable.

Conflicts galore and they are all competing for our attention and once more the solution centers on arms, on weapons of mass destruction and the deployment of troops in areas deemed critical and prone to invasion.  Putin has painted himself in a corner and Ki soft pedals Taiwan.  And, America, with Trump and company at the helm, in debt up to their eyeballs and desperate to hold on to the number one superpower position, is fighting a losing battle, but nobody has the balls to tell them.  None of them are willing to admit that we’re playing a losing game with nature, with our planet and with the future of humanity as a species.  We have turned ourselves into an unmitigated disaster and we’re totally blind to our impact.

A quote from philosopher Arthur C. Clarke: “As our species is in the process of proving, one cannot have superior science and inferior morals.  The combination is unstable and self-destroying.”

All superior intelligence is inherently self-destructive and therefore any attempt to alter its course is futile.  We are the only species out of millions on planet Earth that has evolved this way and everything we do and need is at the expense of what remains on our planet, a finite object that doesn’t grow in size or magically replaces what we blow up in smoke.

We’re driven by the power of momentum and you don’t need a majority to infuse a nation with a negative vibe, or the world for that matter.  I hope that a simple example of my own youth will suffice to illustrate the power of negativity.  I attended a boarding school as a youngster and one particular year, a few obnoxious students, mainly spoiled brats from rich families, sabotaged an entire schoolyear with their rowdy and out of control behavior.  Two of our teachers actually resigned during that year and left with a nervous breakdown.  Academically we accomplished next to nothing and it basically amounted to a wasted year.

Normal people don’t know how to deal with ‘abnormal’ behavior.

We don’t know how to deal with the obnoxious and out of control behavior of rogue world leaders because they act out of the norm, of what we’re used to, of what we expect from ‘normal’ leaders.  We have been bending over backwards for those leaders.  Tried appeasement and an appeal to common decency and common sense.  The world has been kissing Trump’s ass for over half a year and we’re at a total loss as to how to deal with this loose cannon and his flip-flop approach to governing.  Appeasement didn’t work with Hitler, with Tojo and Mussolini and it’s not working with Putin and Trump either.  Ki is smart enough to nudge and elbow from the sidelines, hoping to snatch the worm those two chickens are fighting over. 

There is no worm, however.  Only thorny issues that defy solutions.  We are once more turning into a nasty, highly combustible pile of resentment and anger.  The problem is not the kind of societies we have created, or the lopsided division of wealth.  Our numbers are killing us.  Our needs, demands and requirements are killing us.  Had we remained content to stay in the jungle as cute, little apes, you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation.  We would be blissfully unaware and this big, beautiful planet would be left to the elements and a celestial fate.

We have turned into an existential threat because we are a poor fit.  A global war won’t solve a thing, if anything, it will only hasten our demise.  If we could only go back to that dystopian image I painted in the introduction of this article, of the hugs and kisses and all that loving.

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CALLING ALL CHICKENS

 

CALLING ALL CHICKENS

 

Once upon a time, actually not all that long ago, there was an area controlled by the British called Palestine, a contentious piece of land on the Mediterranean and for centuries home to two different tribes and cultures; one Arab, the other Jewish.  The history of this area is filled with turbulence and discord, not because of oil or precious metals or a thriving economy, but as the home for not two, but three competing religions.  All laying claim to overlapping religious sites.  It is the ruins of ancient sites and those still standing that are coveted.  If Abraham had emerged in Norway, Jesus been born in New York, and Mohammed had chosen London, England from which to start his religion, the Middle East might have remained sleepy and peaceful and only the discovery of copious amounts of oil would have had an impact on their existence.  Wow, money does buy a lot of nice things and I can park my camel and fly around the world in my private jet.  Well, only a lucky few.  Why would Arabs behave any different than us?

Our colonial past continues to hang over us like a dark, angry cloud, still wreaking havoc after all these years and leaving behind in its wake asinine, political decisions that continue to hurt and divide.  The state of Israel owes its existence to the Balfour Declaration of 1917 that in principle supported a home for the Jewish people in what was known as Palestine, an area controlled by the British.  It is a lot easier to give away something you don’t really own.  Palestine, rather than treated outright as a colony, was held by the British in some sort of trust.  Rationale: Once the people living there could be trusted to responsibly take care of their own affairs, the protection provided by the ‘trustees’ would be gradually withdrawn, leaving their subjects with an undying gratitude and a solid allegiance to the former masters.  Of course I’m being a bit factitious here because resistance to the British occupation was fierce, both from Arabs and Jews.  Menachem Begin was the leader of a breakaway Jewish resistance group the Irgun and Ben Gurion was the leader of the Haganah.  All were branded as terrorists by the British and had a price on their head.  Both ended up as prime minister of Israel and it goes to show you that today’s terrorist might well end up as tomorrow’s hero.  Even George Washington had a price on his head and look where his face is now!

Not unlike Hamas, the early Jewish resistance was ill equipped and fighting a superior British force, but they were determined to establish a free state of Israel.  Hamas is now being hunted down for a similar desire; to establish a free state of Palestine without interference and occupation by Israel.  The big difference; the state of Israel has become a formidable player in the Middle East and is heavily supported by the US.  The Israeli Defense Force has a superior advantage on the ground and in the air and Hamas is basically a ragtag band of renegades with inferior weapons.  Neighboring Arab states have considerably cooled their jets in their support of the Palestinians, especially after suffering some serious defeats.  The conflict has also been dragging on for decades and with no end in sight.  Supporters are getting tired.  And with a lame-duck American president waffling on the sidelines, flip-flopping like crazy, Israel’s current president, Benjamin Netanyahu, is banking on an all-out offensive to destroy the Palestinians once and for all.  He knows that as long as he can count on American bombs, weapons and support, there is nobody who will stop him.  The entire conflict is a charade of human misery and suffering.  Bombs are raining down with impunity killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, mostly women and children.  The Palestinians are treated as vermin, a disease, a blight on the landscape and the world stands idly by and watches.

Where are the United Nations peace keeping forces?  Why is there no armed intervention to keep the two sides apart until a permanent peace agreement is in place?  Why are there no sanctions?  This is textbook genocide, crimes against humanity and even starvation is used as a weapon of war.  What will it take for the world to take a stand and put a stop to this madness?  And the answer is embarrassing.  We will do what we have done in the past when genocide took place.  Nothing.  A lot of grandstanding on the floor of the United Nations, exhortations of outrage, pleas to stop the carnage and veto’s from the usual gang.  The strong once more riding roughshod over the weak and the rest of the world is standing around like a flock of hapless chickens, cluck-clucking and tut-tutting.  I thought the chicken reference was kind of appropriate when put in the context of this article as there are so many literary allusions to chicken-like behavior and actions.

Although there is public resistance within Israel, people openly denouncing the violence and deaths, most of them are concerned with getting the remaining hostages back home.  The complicity to get rid of the Palestinians runs much deeper in support.  Most Israelis are well aware of the historic, checkered past of Palestine and its inhabitants.  From a historic and legal perspective their land claims are tenuous at best and most are complicit in the ill-treatment of Palestinians and the injustices perpetrated.  The great majority align themselves with their government’s policies and objectives and support the government’s hardline stand to deny the Palestinians statehood.

What will happen to them?  What will their world look like?

As a writer, a student of philosophy, history and the humanities I don’t take sides.  I simply report on what I see and observe.  This is a cruel reversal of a similar holocaust perpetrated on the Jews by Nazi Germany, and this time it is Jews calling for the elimination of Palestinians.  They don’t want a single Palestinian entity to exist within their borders and most definitely not within two separate enclaves.  They have placed themselves on a perilous path with history and with a rather uncertain outcome.  Currently they are secure in the knowledge that the outside world won’t lift a finger to stop their actions.  We have witnessed enough proof of that in the preceding decades.  Although there is a role and place for the United Nations, as a body they are at a total loss on how to deal with out-of-control individuals and nations.

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PSSTT . . . IT'S A CONSPIRACY

 

PSSTT . . . IT’S A CONSPIRACY

 

When it comes to conspiracies and conspiracy theorists there is no shortage of takers, fakers and willing participants, it is also not limited to age, gender or IQ.  A good conspiracy can be highly entertaining; let your imagination run wild, speculation, titillation, it is all there; it’s the stuff of pulp fiction and blockbuster movies.  Who wants to massage his or her brain with boring, factual science and mathematical equations, with conclusive proof and overwhelming evidence?  The most alluring aspect of a good conspiracy is an element of proof that is either absent or which can be questioned.  Did Hitler really die in his bunker?  Was the moon landing real or fake?

True or false?  The sad reality lies in the fact that on too many occasions we have been lied to or deceived.  If our lives were based on absolute certainties conspiracies would not exist.  And the lure of conspiracies lies in the fact that occasionally the truth is revealed and hidden treasures are found or recovered.  Some conspiracies are based on real suspicions that something is withheld or covered up.  There are examples galore of hastily approved medications that proved harmful in the long run, or at least damaging to too many people.  Faulty car designs, fraud, corruption, scams and an abundance of political and financial scandals that keep popping up like mushroom rings growing undisturbed in the forest. 

Within the multitude of media platforms that have been created in recent decades the competition to attract viewers increasingly leads to media saturation and sensationalism and has stimulated society’s fascination with celebrities, murder and mayhem.  Within this framework of ‘news’ facts, lies and distortions, it is easy to explain how a lot of people can be manipulated to believe or suspect the worst.  The Covid-19 pandemic was a prime example of mass hysteria and vaccine hesitancy.  Rumors and anger combined with a rapid development of vaccines that had even astute members of the medical science community questioning the efficacy and safety of the new vaccines.  Humans are a highly combustible species and it doesn’t take a lot to set us on fire.  It only takes a few doubters!  A few unscrupulous tongues to start nasty rumors.

 

Conspiracies can be fun, but can also be harmful.

Too many conspiracies have a proven foundation that validates our skepticism and suspicions.  Mysterious murders and disappearances, stolen artifacts, price fixing, falsifying evidence and testimonies, medical incompetence and cover-ups, the suppression of contrary or negative evidence (tobacco companies and the assertion that cancer related deaths were exaggerated and misleading, therefore continue to light up).  Car companies and the millions of recalls.  We love to lie and deceive.  Human nature at its worst. 

The power of believing and wanting to believe.

Conspirators know that we are gullible.  Easily misled.  On top of that we are raised to believe and that people are basically kind and good.  Trust.  It’s a big word.  Why would ‘they’—the ‘they’ is often vague as to ‘who’ is exactly doing what—lie?  To trust is branded into us from birth.  And by and large people have a right to be trusting because most of our institutions have our best interest in mind.  But . . . we are not perfect and we are not living in a perfect world.  It makes us susceptible to believe just about anything.  We’re not raised to constantly question, to explore, to investigate, to read the fine print.  We should, but we don’t! 

Even the best of us can be overcome by greed, by shame, by the prospect of failure and how to avoid embarrassment.  We do engage in a lot of questionable behaviors and it is the massive cover-ups that continue to feed a steady stream of conspiracies and nearly all media sources are more than happy to feed into that appetite.  It sells.  It appeals to the imagination.  Did he have an illicit affair?  Was the theft an insider job?  Who stole all that gold?  Did the pharmaceutical company falsify their data?  Was the plane shot down?

All you need is a whiff.  Something doesn’t seem or feel quite right.  Conspiracies and conspiracy theories can take on a sinister form if they turn out to be harmful and baseless.  Even deadly.  In other words it could be based entirely on fearmongering to instill fear, paranoia and even resentment and rebellion.  Individuals can be made to believe something that is totally false.  The Covid-19 pandemic was a classic example of opinions and the way we managed the outbreak; causing conflicting and often contradictory results.  We were flying by the seat of our pants trying to manage and contain the outbreak.  In hindsight; isolation measures worked, vaccines were developed in record time and although millions of lives were lost, it could have been a lot worse.  In the aftermath governments and health agencies were accused of overreacting and of course, of cover-ups. 

Fact: not a single vaccine or medicine is 100 % foolproof.  Almost every human intervention has side effects and it never satisfies the entire population.  We tend to stare ourselves blind at the odd man out, the exception to the norm.  Some diseases either defy treatment or the outcome is far from certain.  My sister died of a cancer that attacks the outer lining of all your organs.  It is rare and deadly.  And the odds of beating it are extremely low.  Serious side effects of most vaccines are measured in 1 out of an x number of thousands.  The Covid-19 vaccines developed saved millions of lives and yes, some had serious side effects and had to be altered.  Doing nothing would have been catastrophic and overwhelming.

Science and progress changed our lives.

Prior to the discovery of vaccines and incredibly advances in medicines and medical procedures, technological advances and a dramatic increase in food production and quality, the human world was struggling with its numbers, numbers that only increased marginally.  The aforementioned advances and discoveries led to a huge increase in world population figures.  In just over one hundred years we have added a record 6 billion more people.  We’re not dying anymore!  At least not in huge numbers!  One might say that a conspiracy was afoot to inundate our planet with people and destroying the planet in the process.  At the heart of this conspiracy would be the super wealthy who would control a huge labor pool to produce an abundance of new wealth in record time, and, find ways—through easy credit and low wages—to make sure that people die poor and leave little behind for surviving family members.  I haven’t heard that this conspiracy theory of mine has made any inroads, but bear it in mind.  All in the guise of living longer and better lives!  A perfect scheme and now I have exposed the Super Rich!

A real conspiracy theory that has made the rounds in regards to Covid-19 and vaccines is the “fact” that according to conspiracy addicts Bill Gates owns all pharmaceutical companies and inserts tiny computer chips into the vaccines and that these chips are intended to control our minds.  A: will someone please tell dear Bill that his wealth has increased dramatically and make him aware of this lucrative ownership and B: why on earth would he care about what goes on in your mind?  Is it that interesting?

The power of conspiracies and the mysterious sources behind them.

I am actually amazed by the number of people who believe the weirdest things, even people with an amazing academic background who you would think might be inclined to rely on empiric evidence rather than anecdotal interpretations.  Things wished for that in reality don’t exist.  A lot of conspiracy theories pray on the most vulnerable people in society, especially those suffering from ailments and conditions for which there is no cure.  Or, what is even worse, they— and again the ‘they’ is never fully explained—know that a cure exists, but it would hurt ‘their’ bottom line.  And the worst of the worst, the promise of miracle cures ‘they’ don’t want the world to know about.

I know of a gentleman who suffered from a debilitating neurological disorder and in desperation he travelled to the jungles of a remote Asian nation in search for a miracle.  Voodoo medicine.  A lot of hocus pocus with fake blood and hand surgery manipulating animal intestines to remove the evil ‘humors’ that blocked a cure.  After the procedure there was obviously not a single sign of an incision and the skin was fully intact.  Upon returning home he was interviewed and he stated that although probably not fully cured, he felt a lot better.  Shortly after he died.

Desperate people are desperate to believe; from Ponzi schemes and miracle cures to guaranteed investments that will make you filthy rich.  When in England a farmer stumbled upon a buried Roman treasure hoard of gold it saw the sale of metal detectors jump in huge numbers and it initiated a British gold rush with people scouring farmer’s fields, invited and mostly uninvited.

Secrets entice and conspiracies stoke the imagination.

Did you know that car engines exist that can run for a million miles or more?  You wouldn’t believe how much is withheld from us.  Inventions that will never see the light of day because it would interfere with the money making schemes of the rich.  The secrets are stored in company vaults.  So much is hidden from our eyes and we can only imagine what our world might look like if we were just given access to everything that is hidden and concealed?  I mean, I’m just getting started and I have to put an end to this written gem, although I am overflowing with excitement and I can barely contain myself.

Usually I end an article with ‘feel free to comment of share’, but in this case, please, don’t, because it will release a torrent of stories and conspiracies I’m not even aware of.      

DEBT AND DEFICITS

 

DEBT AND DEFICITS

 

When you share a planet with over 8 billion people and the numbers keep increasing the complexities of keeping nations and economies running increases exponentially as well.  Aside from the political conflicts playing out across the globe, there is the ever present urgency of economic wellbeing.  President Xi Jinping of China in responding to Trump’s tariff threats referred to America’s economy as debt driven.  A nation is only as strong as the trade and wealth it produces, but Xi didn’t just reference America’s economic performance and what it delivers in form of taxation, but that America’s government is deficit driven because its taxation of the nation’s GDP falls well short of government expenditures.  There no longer is such a thing as a balanced budget.  A balanced budget simply means that a nation or government doesn’t spent more than what it takes in.  America’s federal debt alone is over 37 trillion dollars, or roughly $105,000 dollars per person.  Put on top of that state, county, municipal and personal debt, and the average American is up to his or her eyeballs in debt.  The nation’s taxed portion of all income cannot keep up or match the “needs” of government.

America is not alone in its accumulation of government debt, but it has the dubious ranking of being number one.  One third of all global debt is now racked up by Americans.  You see, there is that persnickety problem we all tend to ignore: We, the people, are the government and it doesn’t really matter whether you live in a democracy or under communist rule.  When it’s your nation, it’s your debt!  Government leaders, whether it is Trump, Putin or Xi or any other world leader, are always looking at their odds for survival in office.  How much debt can we manage?  How do we squeak through and keep the train on track?

In some of my previous novels like—Behaving Badly and We, the Masses—I have explained in much greater detail how all forms of government eventually fall victim to their size and expenditures.  Leave it untouched and it becomes like an ever expanding mushroom ring in the forest.  There should be constitutional limits placed on the size and expenditures of government in relation to the private sector and on how much it can spend, borrow and tax.  That is a simple and condensed version.  Trump’s tariffs won’t even put a dent in what his government borrows and spends, especially when there is no indication of any austerity measures put in place.  Nickeling and diming and denying basic services to the most vulnerable people in society doesn’t qualify as austerity, but is plain vindictive meanness.  Throwing a multi-million dollar military parade birthday bash and spending tens of millions of dollars on a gigantic ballroom in the White House, replete with Trump’s fascination with the color gold, may be intended as showing off America’s might, but it can’t hide the fact that the reality of a horrendous debt load is here to stay.

It is so easy to hide behind credit.  Easy money!  Keep borrowing and printing the stuff.  And to stay in power leaders curry favor with those controlling the wealth of the nation, and increasingly, the wealth of the world.  Governments, in order to stay in power, are catering to the whims and wishes of those who have the most.  The result is an unfair tax system that places too much pressure on low and middle income earners.  The super wealthy of the world, individuals and corporations, are the beneficiaries of tax exemptions, loopholes and tax havens to hide all that extra cash.  A lopsided wealth division that has people on the move.

Borders mean nothing to desperate people.

Around the world billions of people are living in poverty.  Many see no way out and are desperate to escape poverty and a lack of growth and opportunity.  As a result the world around us is integrating whether we like it or not.  Borders mean nothing to desperate people.  Desperate to escape conflicts and wars, religious persecution and oppression.  Cellphones connect the world.  Those wonderful handheld devices are everywhere and they see how we live and they want to be part of it, of our lifestyles and standard of living.  And they are escaping by the million, pressing on, risking their lives.  On foot, by boat, legally and illegally.  Refugees and asylum seekers.  We are at our wits end trying to cope with an influx of basically unwanted people.  Pushback is already taking place, at borders, ports, and beaches.  Nations are bracing for the worst and the resentment and pushback is evident in the increase in military budgets around the globe as nations are getting ready for yet another showdown; with each other, with poverty, with crumbling economies loaded down by a debt load none of them can afford.

Debt and deficits, too much government, overspending, unfair taxation, shrinking opportunities and billions of people falling behind in the income race.  Rather than pursuing solid and slow growth, the economic emphasis instead has been placed on increased profits that only benefit a few at the expense of many.  To place a nation on a solid economic footing the emphasis should be placed on advancing the entire population, providing an environment of fairness, equality, trust and respect.  Instead we pursue the opposite.  Those in power always view the general population as an entity to be exploited and squeezed according to their ability to pay.  Which explains historically low interest rates.  Those who owe, individuals and governments, can’t afford to fork over more.  Hello tariffs.  Instead of raising taxes or at least introducing a taxation system that is incremental based—the more you make the more you pay—the tariff billions—which increases the overall cost of living expenses for almost all Americans—are hoped to plug some of the holes in the government’s programs, services and military objectives.

The world never moves according to desired plans and all the things we hope for.  And I will illustrate this with a conflict that all of us are familiar with.  When a state of Israel was first proposed the most logical location was of course the area it now occupies.  Unfortunately it was called Palestine, home of the Palestinians.  Historically the two tribes have always lived there, occupied many times, shoved around more than most, but stubbornly clinging to their roots, their language and cultures.  An integrated state of Israel or Palestine, or perhaps a hyphenated form to recognize the existence of the two tribes, would have been the most desired solution.  Carving a two-state solution from not one, but two separate Palestinian areas, is about as ludicrous as it gets, especially when surrounded by a rather hostile Israeli presence that loathes to give up either land or control.  And with the rest of the world sticking to their political two cents and taking active sides, it will fester and grow out of control until when?  Nobody can see a logical way out.  This is how we historically behave.  For those of you familiar with my latest work—Energy & Origin—you will recognize the impact of energy and momentum and how human behavior is a logical extension as to how these forces impact and behave.  Don’t look for common sense or rational behavior.

Global temperatures are rising in correlation with the escalation in flaring human tempers.  The heat is on and our massive debts and deficits only add more kindling to the fire.  We are our own worst enemy.  Always have been.  And to paraphrase a line from an earlier article: peace is merely an interlude in between wars.