BALANCE AND IMPACT

 

BALANCE AND IMPACT

Writing Energy & Origin was like a watershed moment in my life, an eye opener if you like.  It made me look at life, at everything in and around us, from an entirely different perspective.  Like blinders being removed.  I have added a third addendum to illustrate through various articles and essays I have written that it is our impact that makes all the difference.  Does it explain everything?  Of course not.  But hopefully it will pique your interest and I am positive that you can come up with plenty of examples and stories of your own.  My aim is to reach a wide audience, ordinary, curious people, intrigued by the human journey and where we are headed.  Why bother with writing a purely academic tome that most people wouldn’t even finish because you would run out of patience and interest.  I am probably an academic at heart, but this particular subject is too important to limit to academic minds only.  As a writer, a lifelong student of philosophy, history and the humanities, I have come to appreciate the fact that most readers are highly intelligent.  I have faith in everyone who reads my work and rather than regressing into pompous verbosity and literary craftsmanship, I prefer to write with clarity.

ORIGIN IS IMPORTANT BUT WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW IS WHAT IMPACTS!

The human mind is rather limited in what it can store and retain, and although we’re improving in the artificial storage department, our understanding will continue to lag behind; rather embarrassingly so.  We continue to defy our limitations by stubbornly ignoring the forces of energy and momentum.  That somehow we’re in charge of our destiny.  We are in control!  We decide!  It is not my intent to denigrate our species into a flawed product of evolution with an inevitable nasty outcome, but to highlight how we’re constantly impacted by forces beyond our control.  And it is fight we’re losing.

Evolution is about what works, about what is possible and not the opposite, turning the impossible into possible.  What humanity is attempting to do; subduing the planet to suit our intent and desires, is not only pigheaded and stupid, it will be our undoing.  Life is about balance and impact and adversely affecting one or the other will be disastrous.

A simple example is that of the blue whale, currently the biggest living mammal on the planet, reaching lengths of 33 meters and weighing as much as 190 tons.  It also survives on a diet of krill, one of the smallest crustaceans around.  It doesn’t eat anything else.  Sharks on the other hand love to eat large fish species and can you imagine what would happen if sharks were the size of blue whales and with an appetite to match?  Within no time flat the ocean would be devoid of life.  Such is the marvel of evolution.  It is all about balance and impact.    

Planet Earth has gone through massive periods of extinction.  Five according to scientists, paleontologists, and people specializing in earth sciences.  Cynics predict that a sixth extinction is well underway and it is a manmade one.  Not too farfetched as the writing is on the wall.  When it comes to impact and balance we’re not a good fit.  Extinctions were either caused by celestial events like meteorite impacts or through sudden cataclysmic changes on earth.  Extinction is part of life and millions of species have come and gone.

IT’S ABOUT IMPACT

Earth has shown a remarkable ability to bounce back after each calamity.  Key to survival is impact.  Size or appetite are irrelevant, it is impact that makes all the difference.  In the natural world that has dominated planet Earth for billions of years, life is about diversity and symbiosis.  Evolution creating systems that are beneficial and complimentary.  There is no room for excess or gratuitous consumption and everything within nature is constantly recycled and renewed.  There is a kind of order that provides for a continuation of life.  Not that nature is not constantly confronted by challenges and setbacks, by extinction and natural disasters.  The natural world appears to run along what works.  It adapts.  A wonderful sense of order despite appearances to the contrary.  It is eat or be eaten, fight or flight.  But there is no unnecessary killing or consumption.  Everything has a purpose.

WE’RE NOT EVEN TRYING TO FIT IN

We have turned into the great disruptors and we don’t fit in.  We take, consume, destroy, kill, extirpate and we constantly change our immediate environment to suit our needs, wishes and whims.  We build, pave, dig, erect, neglect, abandon and destroy.  Our monuments may loom large, even impressive, but when viewed within the light of what has been destroyed to make way for our ‘achievements’, it is rather embarrassing.  Every day we waste, discard, litter and abandon.  We have turned into parasites, devouring the host we depend upon for survival.  It makes no sense at all.

The natural world is about balance, surviving and adapting, not dominating and destroying.  Nature is not about artifice but about fitting in.  Nature doesn’t erect monuments to dead elephants or invests in museums celebrating species and their ascent or bemoaning their extinction.  No hidden agendas or the contemplation of mass destruction and all out war.  What takes place on a daily basis serves the moment.

In Energy & Origin I stated that it was perhaps inevitable that within the natural scheme of evolution, sooner or later a species would evolve with a slightly higher level of intelligence that would allow it to dominate and exploit everything around it.  And have we ever!  Within a timespan of a few millennia we have upset the applecart like no other species has ever done before.  We have left behind a massive swath of destruction and have caused the extinction of tens of thousands of species and tens of thousands more are threatened to follow in their path.  We appear deaf and blind to out excesses and to our numbers. 

Earth is a celestial miracle.  We know there are billions of star systems and planets, but the odds for something similar to have taken place elsewhere in the universe are like one in a trillion or more.  We have won an incredible space lottery and like so many people who strike it rich with a sudden win, we splurge through our winnings like a bunch of drunken sailors.  There is no magical escape pod or a planet B waiting in the wings.  This is a magical and protective bubble that protects us from the worst space can throw at us.  We appear blind to the benefits that this floating miracle in space affords us.  It allows life to thrive and survive.  Evolution took a bad turn when a slightly higher level of intelligence encouraged some apes to leave the safety of the jungle behind in exchange for a life as uprights.  Life is about balance and impact and our impact has been disastrous.  We have destroyed balance!

EVOLUTION AND DESIGN

All lifeforms are the product of an evolutionary process and not all lifeforms are successful or long lasting.  It is about fitting in, about circumstance and sometimes pure happenstance and dumb luck.  There are no guarantees.  Species come and go.  Balance and impact.  Increasingly we’re turning into a casualty of a design that is too flawed to remain enduring and successful.  Our potential demise and suffering may seem prolonged and taking forever, but within the greater scheme of things—within the continuum of space—we are but a burb, a hiccup.  Our concept of time within the infinity of space is totally inconsequential.  Humanity’s higher level of awareness makes it a bitter pill to swallow.  A change of heart, a change of ways or an orderly retreat is not in the cards either.  It would require too many outstanding qualities that we’re simply not capable of.

BEWARE OF NEGATIVE ENERGY

Energy created life.  Life is energy.  Energy can be negative and positive.  Energy can be released in an orderly and benign fashion or it can bundle in incredible intensity and disperse with an explosive release.  Negative human energy has been bundling in intensity for several centuries and each time the release is more intense, explosive and destructive in scope.  More and more people are caught up in a daily struggle to survive and within this environment we’re not reaching for positive solutions.  Such is the true impact of energy and momentum, of origin and consequences.  Ignore balance and its importance and the impact will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Reverse engineering is not part of the evolutionary design.  There is no going back.  We’re a flawed design.  There you have it!  Life, enjoy it while you can and make the best of it.  In a good way!  In a mindful way.  Chip away at the negativity and insert some positivity instead.  Be the answer!

 

THE NAZIFICATION OF AMERICA

 

THE NAZIFICATION OF AMERICA

 

Every now and then I will go out on a limb with some dire prognostications.  I don’t make a habit of it because I prefer to go through life with a sense of optimism and a generous dose of humor.  As a writer, a student of philosophy, history and the humanities I am well aware that overthinking humanity can lead to dire consequences.  I have no desire to turn myself into a flagellating monk to atone for the sins of my fellow human beings.  No, I’m just a humble scribe who draws his conclusions from observing mankind and when disturbing similarities emerge that tie previous disastrous encounters to the present I feel that I have to respond.  The rise in fascism around the world is nothing more than a reactionary movement to global problems and issues that defy easy solutions: inequality, poverty, overpopulation, debt and deficits; a lack of affordable housing and opportunities, of systemic starvation and political and religious tensions.  The world we inhabit is once more turning into a powder keg and our inability to shoulder the burden and effectively working together provides the groundwork for a rise in fascism, nations turning inwards and allowing anger and paranoia to dictate policies of exclusion and laying blame.  Fascism thrives on the misery inflicted on parties and groups that lack the ability to effectively fight back and it provides the preferred population with a sense of vindication, righteousness and purpose.  I am going to draw a parallel with what is happening in America at the present to the rise of Nazi Germany under Hitler.  There is only one caveat that could upset the similarities in scenarios.  Trump is old and in a hurry and as a result the mistakes are piling up.  There are also distinct economic and political differences, but Trump and company are basically following the dictator’s playbook.  The endgame is autocratic rule by whatever means and whatever costs.

When World War I ended Germany was in total disarray.  Kaiser Wilhelm had fled to the Netherlands and a multitude of political parties tried to govern Germany as well as they could.  The world around them was in chaos as empires and kingdoms crumbled and people experimented with new ways of governing themselves; democracy, socialism, communism, secular and sectarian, whatever seemed to work.  The German people chafed under steep reparation payments, a loss of face and an economy that struggled to get back on its feet.  Breadlines and soup kitchens, massive unemployment and the German people feeling humiliated and betrayed.  Hitler came to personify a new Germany and a promise of vindication and glory.  Make Germany great again.  Hitler represented the face of fascism, of Nazi Germany.  He was totally committed.  He was average in intelligence, neither a scholar nor an astute politician or business man.  What he lacked in real life skills he made up for with his fanaticism and dedication to the fascist cause.  Above all he was a master manipulator and he could read the mood of the nation like no other.  Why did they follow him?  It was what he personified that his followers and backers hid behind.  In his name policies and activities were actively pursued that were immoral and unjust.  Hitler was simply the fascist poster boy.

THE BIG MISTAKE THEY ALL MAKE! 

Did anyone control Hitler?  And the answer is no.  With his bluster and cajoling, rewarding and punishing, with threats alternated by praise, everybody around him was kept on their toes, fearing for their positions and willing to do anything to stay in his good graces.  Trump isn’t a genius either, but he is a master of the theatrical and he has been a master manipulator his entire life.  He is a delusional psychopath like Hitler was and both men lack a moral compass.  There is no wrong in the world of autocratic leaders and they are always right.  Even when they’re totally wrong!  All the wrong people seized power in Nazi Germany and for all the wrong reasons.  And America is following suit.  The times are different; different characters and circumstances, but the intent has not changed one bit.

Hitler’s Germany was ripe for change because the nation was in a crisis.  America is not in a crisis.  Trump and company are creating a crisis where there is none.  Distraction, diversion, threats, bullying, violence, lies and distortion of facts and all of it dished up with the speed of a bullet train.  Don’t give them time to breathe or think.

I am not a soothsayer nor do I own a fortune tellers’ crystal ball, but the one big curveball in America’s scenario is Trump’s age and mental acuity.  Hence the rush to establish in a few years what took Hitler several decades to accomplish.  There were many people in Nazi Germany who were opposed to Hitler’s regime, but most didn’t dare speaking out.  They were afraid for their jobs, reprisals and being ostracized.  Trump and Company are using the same bullying tactics.  The world’s reaction to Trump’s antics has been patience, a wait and see attitude and appeasement.  Appeasement didn’t stop Hitler, it only encouraged him and made him act bolder and more outrageous.  Once negativity and negative energy rise to the fore it only bundles in intensity and lethality.  Hitler silenced any opposition and Trump and Company are attempting to do the same.  Intimidation, deportation, firings and the only people hired are those who swear an oath of fealty to the leader.  The individuals preferred are those who ask no questions and who do as they are told.  Under ordinary circumstances none of them would ever have been hired or promoted.  None of them can imagine the worst and those responsible for letting the monster out of his cage are convinced that the monster can be managed, that the monster will behave.  All of the willing participants are well aware that any attempt at normalization, a semblance of law and order and due process, will result in their instant dismissal and potential incarceration.  When it comes to autocratic rule you are either all in or all out.

Trump and Company will continue their assault on America’s last vestiges of democracy by ramping up the levels of fear, paranoia and laying blame.  Trump has given a voice to all the people who feel threatened, undervalued and underappreciated.  He openly encourages them to vent their outrage.  Here is a leader who endorses their anger and who relishes their chants.  He has let the genie out of the bottle.  There is some dissent within the Republican Party, but most welcome a return to power and using that power to exert greater control.  They have never had a leader like him, one who will abuse his position and use tactics never employed before by any sitting president, to beat any opposition into submission, with bullying, threats and legal action.  Whatever works!   Whatever he can get away with.  His is the hallmark of any dictator.  Everybody around him is terrified of invoking his displeasure.

Power and the ability to seize absolute control is like an aphrodisiac, especially if it is dressed in a uniform and it comes with few restrictions, as in due process and following a rightful course of  justice.  When you suspend the rights of the people as guaranteed under a nation’s constitution you turn power into a shooting range where anything goes.  Simply pick a target and shoot.  How many people wouldn’t love to dispense justice without accountability, due process and repercussions?  When you handover power and control to psychopaths drunk on their newfound role, importance and impact, you do exactly that.  Nobody controlled an unhinged Hitler and nobody will control Trump as long as he stays in power.  He has blatantly shown that the office of the President of the United States can be perverted into an office of abusive, autocratic power.  Give the wrong person the keys to the White House and a nation can be destroyed from within in a matter of months.

The nation’s saving grace; Trump is old and in a hurry and the rush will be his undoing.  If the mid-term elections are not cancelled due to a trumped up “emergency” the nation may swing back politically onto a more moderate course and Trump may be impeached based on mental instability and incompetence.

Hitler managed his rise to power because Germany was down and out, humiliated and impoverished.  Unemployment was high.  Poverty rampant.  A simmering negative level of energy fueled a growing level of resentment and the nation followed Hitler’s siren song of a renewed promise of power and glory, of a Germany made great again.

Trump and Company are trying to insinuate that America is in similar dire straits, conveniently ignoring America’s wealth, industry and work ethic.  The dangers Americans face are from forces within, rightwing capitalism and extremists hell-bent on pursuing selfish, exclusive policies aimed at everything that in their opinion is wrong and “ruining” the nation.  Migrants and illegals for instance aren’t the real problem as they are employed by millions of greedy Americans who turn a blind eye to paying taxes, labor laws, paying for benefits and getting away with paying starvation wages.  America, as one of the wealthiest nations on earth, has utterly failed to provide its citizens with dignity and respect and a reasonable quality of life that includes adequate healthcare and education.  A nation that treats it citizens fairly and with respect will create a nation that will always stand proud and strong, no matter what adversity it may face.     

ALLUSIONS AND ILLUSIONS

Hitler, on his rise to power, hit some major bumps and some of the things he alluded to seemed so outrageous at the time that few people took him seriously initially.  His antisemitism (getting rid of the Jews), hatred of Slavs and communists and his intent to unite all German speaking people under one nation.  Guess what!  He meant what he said and he did what he said he was going to do.  Hitler wanted more territories, Lebensraum, as he called it, to expand opportunities for the Aryan people.  Germans were superior people destined for of greatness.  Everyone and every nation that had conspired against Germany in its humiliating defeat and punitive reparation payments would be punished.  Germany would rule the world.  Are you picking up on a familiar vibe by now?  Trump hinting that Canada and Greenland should willingly join the United States and jokingly adding that if not willingly, they might be invaded.  Using tariffs as punishment, as threats!  And the slogans!  America has been taken advantage of and this will stop!  Those not willing to comply and enter in a “deal” will suffer the consequences.  His rhetoric is increasingly more unhinged and over the top in the kind of things America will inflict on enemies if they don’t comply with his demands and wishes.  According to Trump and company America has been victimized financially and militarily by its partners, conveniently ignoring the fact that America’s foreign policies were pursued to extent its influence and power beyond its borders.  History provides conclusive proof, over and over again, that all imperial ambitions end up crashing on either foreign shores or through financial and political failure from within.  The cost of empire is simply not sustainable and the price paid for being a superpower or coveting the title, the world’s biggest superpower, inevitably contributes to failure and abject defeat.

Trump and company are openly playing with fire, emboldened by regional wars and conflicts that are distracting the global community, to shore up their inflammatory claims of impending threats and that any attempts to conspire against the government’s aims and plans will be put down with brute force and without delay.  Distraction, distortion, lies, threats and all over the nation security forces are out on full display and used to put down any sign of protest and unrest.  The language used by those in power would never have been tolerated before.  Negative energy is bundling in such intensity that it obliterates common sense, respect and the rule of law that has always guided nations in times of peace.

Trump’s erratic dealings with Russia, China, India and the oil rich nations in the Middle East are nothing more than the tentative explorations of superpowers looking for ways to carve up the world; for territory, resources, power and control.  Autocratic rule desperate to make a comeback.  A world comprised of those who rule and those who serve.  A coalition of unpredictable partners motivated by power and greed, turning a blind eye to justice, fairness and equality.  The suffering they will unleash will be on a scale the world has never witnessed before and the world as we know it will be unrecognizable and never recover.

“The original nature of man harbors an inclination to aggression that in most people is only barely constrained by the dictates of society.”  Sigmund Freud.

Once more our humanity is on the verge of being sacrificed on the altar of ineptitude.  We are faced with a multitude of problems and challenges and once more we are reaching for the solutions proposed by psychopaths masquerading as leaders with answers.  And in our midst are enough, dumb, ignorant morons willing to enforce the worst and to inflict the worst.  Sorry, I am not as optimistic as some of you are and that this too will blow over and sort itself out.  It was what a lot of Germans during Hitler’s reign of terror were hoping for and see how that turned out!

 

A STUPID ECONOMY

 

 A STUPID ECONOMY

 

Stupid in the dictionary is defined as slow of mind; given to unintelligent decisions or acts; senseless, dull, etc.  When used as an adjective it usually pertains to a person as in a ‘stupid person’ and not to a rather abstract concept such as ‘a stupid economy’.  It seems rather bold on my part to add stupid as an adjective to the word economy.  Why did I use it?  All economies are people driven and everybody has a finger in it, either as someone in the driver’s seat or as a beneficiary, an active participant or a passive recipient.  Driven by need and fueled by energy it has become a massive global behemoth and with an incredible impact.  Our attempts to control and guide global economies along sensible supply and demand lines and needs have been rather spotty and erratic.  Some of us do rather well and way too many people on our planet do rather poorly.  The pressures are enormous and subject to many dubious interventions; mostly undertaken by governments struggling with horrendous debts and budget deficits.  The beast—and that will be us—has a massive appetite and it refuses to go on a diet.  Life is about consequences, about balance and impact.

BALANCE AND IMPACT! 

In the western world prosperity, progress and increased wealth accumulation has led to populations living longer and this has serious consequences.  It has also affected poorer nations, and our relationship with them, as a significant part of our so-called humanity seems to focus on keeping everybody alive.  A costly undertaking that causes government deficits to rise exponentially.  What to do with all those people and especially those who qualify as non-contributors?  The sick, the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the unemployed and those considered unemployable for whatever reason.  The segment of non-contributors is growing by leaps and bounds, despite all our noble efforts to reduce dependency and all the government programs designed to encourage reintegration and full participation in the workforce: to become positive contributors to the economy instead.

"What looks great on paper can turn out to be the exact opposite."

And now we get back to the heading of this article: a stupid economy.  Whether you want to call it stuck in a treadmill or trapped in a vicious circle, we seem to stick to an economic recipe that simply isn’t working.  The remedy pursued is twofold: grow the world population and thus grow the economy by adding more consumers, who, if the picture unfolds as desired, will generate the extra cash needed to keep everything going, to provide for the programs and services all the non-contributors can’t afford, yet rely on in order to survive.  It is not working because all around the globe governments are sinking further and further into debt and the planet is showing the painful signs of neglect, abuse and relentless exploitation.

Debt and deficits cause inflation to rise and the price of everything keeps going up and up.  Interest payments on escalating debt and deficit policies are filling up the pockets of the rich who are the only ones benefitting from all the inflationary cash that we keep printing and printing without any real asset backing.  And that has become part of the twofold approach that leads to a stupid economy.

WE KEEP DIGGING DEEPER FINANCIAL HOLES!

In the past one hundred years we have experienced some horrendous conflicts, two world wars and dozens of regional wars and conflicts.  The cost in human suffering has been tremendous, but it has inflicted a huge amount of economic damage as well.  A loss of resources, damaged infrastructures and above all, money borrowed to fund the war effort.  War only benefits military contractors and overall it is a deplorable net-negative enterprise that has left governments around the world stranded in decade’s worth of debt.  The world followed the advice of economist Maynard Keynes (born in 1883, died in 1946).  When disaster strikes and your economy is shattered (war qualifies for that distinction) then you have no other option than to borrow heavily (if needed) to stimulate the economy and boost growth.  It is a recipe that works if you’re left with no other choice.  It is a different story when governments continue to latch onto this concept, not to boost the economy, but to pay for everything desired; health, education, infrastructures, social services, pensions and benefits, you name it, whatever is promised, requested and demanded.  We’re funding entitlements through annual deficit spending.  Balanced budgets are a thing of the past.  Shrinking the overall debt and paying back what is owed has become a hot potato item that not a single government wants to touch.  It would mean cuts.  Big cuts!  Maynard Keynes and his economic solutions should have been put out to pasture decades ago.   

A stupid economy lacks substance and corrective action and it caters to the ludicrous concept that through excessive deficit spending we’re digging ourselves out of a financial hole, rather than digging deeper and deeper!  Well, it’s not working as planned and there are no signs on the financial horizon that any of our schemes are working.  Einstein once stated, “Only stupid people repeat a failing experiment over and over again.  What do they expect?  A different outcome and result?”

We have reached a point where we haven’t got a clue as to how to extract ourselves out of this mess.  The accumulation of stupidity, of piling debt on top of debt, leaves no realistic possibility of ever paring it down.  There is no economic miracle waiting in the wings to make a surprise appearance.  Tara!  All debt gone!

YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF ENERGY AND MOMENTUM

Too many people, too many voices and nobody is listening.  All the ingredients needed to fuel the stupid economy.  It is yet another example of how energy and momentum impact on everything we do.  The processes we have set in motion are too intense, erratic and volatile.  Too much negative energy and negative factors that defy fixing, oversight or control.  In a roundabout way this explains the economic ups and downs, swinging from recession to depression and back up to a bull market that promises untold wealth and riches.  Stupid is being repeated over and over again.  I mean, we honestly try, but the needs of the beast—and again, that will be us—can’t be met and when many are forced to get by on little or nothing at all, it is a recipe that calls for a perfect storm.

I love it when my portfolio goes up in value and I have some extra cash to burn.  Who wouldn’t?  But when it goes down in value I quietly sulk and trim my financial sails.  However, the temptation to burn through cash is a failing all of us are subjected to, tempted if you like.  You can’t take it with you.  But . . . nobody wants to walk around with an empty wallet, flat broke and hoping for a financial miracle.  Well, the miracle all of us anticipate and hope for is the kind where a caring government comes to the rescue.  To be able to hold out a hand for an extra helping of cash (or as Oliver Twist would plead.  ”Can I have some more?”).  There are a lot of Oliver’s out there and it won’t put an end to the stupid economy anytime soon.

Some people think that properly taxing the rich would do the trick, but it will prove to be a short stopgap measure as the rich will go out of their way to find new financial escape routes, loopholes and safe havens.  They will do anything to get away from poor people.  Doing with less, accepting limitations and sharply reducing our human numbers will go a long way in reducing economic and financial stresses.  Energy and momentum appear to have the upper hand in this matter as well and I won’t hold my breath that a painless solution will be forthcoming.

Humans are great at talking a crooked line straight. Whatever suits the narrative!

 

PARANOIA HAS BANKRUPTED AMERICA

 

PARANOIA HAS BANKRUPTED AMERICA

 

When World War II ended England played on America’s pride to take over as the world’s number one superpower.  Colonialism was petering out as a viable way to extract lucrative income and the cost of maintaining the British Empire outweighed the benefits.  A very poor return on investment.  Overextended across the globe and up to their eyeballs in debt it was time to quietly acknowledge defeat and handover the baton.  All imperial newbies fall under the tantalizing spell of geopolitical power that provides them with a temporary feeling of destiny and the special role falling into their laps.  The rallying cry of the new kid on the block became democracy and freedom.  America would protect the world from dictators and communism and safeguard the interest of its friends and allies.

England was relieved of a huge financial and political burden, left to licking its wounds and faced with a decaying industrial might.  An old bulldog eying the outside world with an air of disdain and disbelief and despairing about its once vigorous health and vitality.  All gone.  Wealth is a fleeting thing if not invested wisely and prudently.  Capital is greedy by nature and lacks vision.  And heart!  And wisdom!  A nation that shares its wealth on an equitable basis and invests heavily in its people will always outperform a society that rewards few at the expense of many.  Will we ever learn?

NOT A LONG ROAD, BUT A SPECTACULAR ONE

You can’t encapsulate America, its humble origins and stellar rise, with a few pat phrases and assumptions.  Its history is complicated and filled with contradictions; from the original settlers and the struggle for independence; slavery and slaying a pristine continent and all and more accomplished within the span of a few centuries; aided and abetted by a huge influx of people from disparate backgrounds and cultures.  A witch’s brew of newcomers, often desperate, eagerly seeking a brave new world and new opportunities.  A nation built on a foundation of genocide and slavery, of untold wealth and extreme poverty.  If anything, a nation of extremes.  Anything is possible was the dream.  A land of enterprise and innovation.  A land of milk and honey where the roads were paved with gold.  England had its class society that separated the gentry from the peasants, in America it is wealth that dictates and separates.  When you’re on the way up and the world around you gushes about your prowess, wealth and influence, it is all too easy to lose sight of the cost.  Of vision!  It happened to England, to Russia, to France, to the ancient Roman Empire!  Even tiny Holland had a brief kick at the can.

THE COST OF EMPIRE

Empires will do anything to stay on top and failure is not an option, even if its knock becomes painfully obvious and cannot be ignored.  As nations all of us would be better served if we remained within our own borders and minded our own business.  But we don’t.  When a nation like America starts to believe in its own narrative, its destiny and global role, it automatically invites a growing level of blowback and resentment of other nations.  Nobody likes to be beholden to a superpower or feel intimidated or threatened.  America’s foreign policy has always been centered on the simply philosophy that you are either with us or against us.  One of the tools that any imperial power uses to maintain its position is an army and to justify its expense and size you need enemies.  For reasons I cannot explain and fathom we have always maintained the conflict model as the best way forward.  You can justify armies if you have enemies.  Enemies real or imagined.  Male insecurity?  Carry a big stick and everybody will fear you?  A failure of intelligence?  We are a complex critter and the purpose of this article is not human frailty but how rampant paranoia is bankrupting government budgets all around the world and here too, America excels in size and expense.  Trillions of dollars are spent on what might happen.  Potential threats with limited potential of inflicting real damage are met with billions and billions of dollars in counter measures, and mostly financed with newly printed or borrowed money.  Printed paper mostly which explains growing inflation numbers and weakening purchasing power. 

The U.S. spends more than 13 percent of its GDP on the military and on security.  I won’t bore you with specifics and data, but the U.S. has over 18 different security and defense agencies with an annual cost of over 1.5 trillion dollars.  More than a million soldiers are permanently stationed abroad in army bases in over 55 counties and the U.S. has negotiated refueling and landing rights with many more, including agreements for stationing radar and surveillance equipment.  Over one hundred thousand civilians are employed in various intelligence capacities and roles.  Are the threats so real that it warrants these kinds of outrageous expenditures?  All that intelligence and yet it has failed to stop major terror inspired attacks.  If you take a hard look at what actually has been accomplished in foiling and identifying potential targets and culprits then you have to question the cost to benefit ratio of the trillions spent.

 A WORLD FILLED WITH ENEMIES

“Some people see conspiracies everywhere and their prayers are answered when obscure websites validate their suspicions.”  W.B

Not a single government enjoys undertaking costly, mission impossible scenarios, with billions spent and with a dubious rationale and outcome.  So, why are they?  Is it about losing face?  Is it about showing strength at all costs?  Or is this a case of self-induced paranoia?  Eager to follow in the footsteps of the former USSR?

Communist Russia was a prime example of a nation that took internal and external security to new heights.  They developed a security apparatus that was pervasive, intrusive and threatening.  Russia was done in by its rigid form of governance, military spending and a bureaucracy that killed its economy.  China is probably the only other nation that rivals and even surpasses the U.S. in surveillance paranoia, obsessed with information gathering, civil compliance and control.  Where does all this insecurity come from?  Are the threats real or imagined?  Is it about control and the fear of losing control?  Are citizens even aware of the cost of all these programs and the costs associated with them?

“The love of God and money has always been confusing for Americans; who do you serve and what do you bow to?”  W.B

TAX DOLLARS PAY FOR THE PARANOIA

As of 2021 the per capita cost in America for military and security spending was approximately $2405.00 

In comparison Canadian spending per capita in U.S. dollars was about 701 dollars.  Canada’s military spending was 1.44 % of GDP, substantially less than what the U.S. spends but globally Canada ranks at around 27^th place.  All other countries spend a lot less because they can’t afford the expense of a large military investment.  The 13.3 % percent the U.S. spends on its defense budget is a net-negative enterprise.  From toilet seats to aircraft carriers and everything in between, it is a completely taxpayer funded undertaking that other than impressive hardware and technology, has nothing to show for it.  It is a cost factor from start to finish.  If the current administration were to cut this budget in half it would have the trillions of dollars in savings they’re looking for to keep government going.  And I have mentioned this before in previous articles: there is nothing wrong with America’s economy, it is the American government that is broke and by extension, since it’s “We, the people”, Americans are stuck with all that horrendous debt.  Well over 36 trillion and they’re only adding and adding.  According to one U.S. Republican senator; one trillion more every one hundred days! 

THERE IS NO COST TO BENEFIT RATIONALE

To justify all this military and security spending you have to come up with reasons and this is where the paranoia kicks in.  Ramp up the threats and get the media involved with all kinds of catchy slogans:  America at war, America under siege, America’s war on terror.  Let the media zoom in on images of people in the Middle East burning American flags and shouting, “Death to Satan.”  How much weight does it really carry and how does the outrage of a few thousand people compare to the mindset of the average global citizen?  It’s a little bit like the boy crying wolf or the religious zealot crying in rapture, “The sky is falling down, the end times are near.”

The sad fact is that most violence in the U.S. is homegrown and domestic in origin: gun and drug related, white extremism and racially motivated hate crimes.  Unfortunately hate crimes are on the rise all around the world as regional conflicts and wars cause many people to take sides that come replete with opinions.  Some rather sad and unsavory!

The U.S. started out as a predominantly white nation, male dominated and with strong evangelical roots.  Slavery, followed by an open door policy to attract cheap labor and increase the nation’s wealth, didn’t come without consequences.  Diversity is great if it is embraced with open arms and hearts and nobody feels threatened or intimidated.  Inclusion looks great on paper and ticks off all the morality boxes, but reality paints a much darker picture.  There is a pot boiling inside the U.S. with highly combustible ingredients; poverty, declining incomes, debt, cultural, ethnic and religious differences and the flames of racism, discrimination and religious hatreds and phobia are burning at an all-time high.

COSTLY WARS WITH NOTHING TO SHOW FOR

There is another phenomenon in play that provided the impetus for the increased spending on arms and security.  Recent wars and conflicts that involved the U.S. have not been kind to U.S. confidence and morale.  More and more Americans are objecting to the nation’s boys and girls coming home in body bags and many question the nation’s role and involvement on foreign soil.  A rather bizarre policy emerged as a result: a zero casualty strategy, or at least, minimize the involvement and numbers.  Better Intel, better equipment.  Intercept and react.  Strike before you get struck.  In other words, spend and keep spending more and use all that new technology to minimize casualties.

FEWER BOOTS ON THE GROUND, MORE IN THE AIR

Several acts like the Patriot Act allowed for the constant surveillance of the airwaves, monitoring billions of wireless and satellite based communications.  AI and sophisticated algorithms monitor key words, especially those hailing from suspected regions and individuals that are recognized as America’s enemies.  America is not alone in monitoring and hacking private conversations between citizens.  Operation Echelon, the mother of all invasive, monitoring programs, is now used by several other nations as well.  Officially it doesn’t exist.  Officially the Pentagon and other American agencies are not engaged in Black Ops, off the books security operations, but nobody can explain the trillions of dollars gone missing.  A complete mystery.  It only adds to the growing paranoia.  Don’t let the enemy know what you’re doing, the secret weapons you’re working on.

CRY WOLF!

Once you ramp up the threat levels—even color code them, from green to red—it is incredibly difficult to tone down the rhetoric and diffuse the paranoia and the exaggerations.  Nobody likes to look foolish and none more so than politicians, bureaucrats and generals.  “Yep, we blew your cash needlessly and we’ve got nothing to show for it.”  We are living in a world that is increasingly on edge, some of it self-inflicted, some brought on by our huge numbers, needs and demands.  One of my favorite phrases is, “Too many people, too many voices and nobody is listening.”  My personal wish list will never see the light of day:  International justice based on the rule of law, International cooperation to stop drugs and criminals, no matter where they live and hide out, putting an end to corruption, money laundering and tax havens.  Nations respecting each other’s borders.  Just naming a few.

Paranoia is driven by a lack of trust.  Trust is based on confidence, on intellectual maturity, on reason and common sense.  Trust is also a process of growth and I guess we still have a lot of growing up to do.

JUST ANOTHER GENOCIDE

 

JUST ANOTHER GENOCIDE

 

When it comes to outrage our emotions are all over the place.  If it hits close to home we pay attention.  If it is one of “ours” as defined by race, color and religion we tend to be more aggrieved then when it pertains to “others”.  We excel at defining our likes and dislikes.  We know how to condone and condemn.  Our viewpoints can be rather hypocritical—choosy if you like.  A young Israeli couple gets killed in New York by a pro-Palestinian individual and all of a sudden the outrage on the western front is all over the map.  The deplorable incident was inspired by utter frustration; the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza by the Israeli military killing thousands of innocent civilians, inflicting horrendous damage and purposely starving those left alive.  What we’re witnessing on the ground is basically a midget trying to stand up to a giant who is stomping and killing everything in sight.  David trying to fight Goliath with an empty slingshot.

Hamas is not a real army and in its primitive arsenal there is nothing substantial with which to fight back.  A resistance group lacking sophistication or receiving adequate support from outside sources and definitely lacking the ability to mount a realistic offense.  The so-called Palestinian State is carved up in two insignificant pieces, hundreds of kilometers apart.  Imagine Nova Scotia and British Columbia forced to form a new nation!  By decree!  Nobody protesting and coming to your aid!  Yah, try making that one work!  Especially if you are constantly confronted by invasion and attack, forced to kowtow and beg for help.  And nobody seems to give a damn!

Palestinians have few friends and even a lot of Arab nations would love to see the back of them.  They are tired of decades of war and conflict.  And all of them lack the strength and the resources to mount an effective war against Israel to end the conflict and restore Palestine as an original state.  Defense budgets are costly and don’t we know it.  Israel holds the high ground; it has a nuclear capability and is heavily backed, politically, militarily and financially by the U.S. and guilt-ridden European nations still living with the memories of the holocaust and barely lifting a finger at the time to come to the aid of the millions of Jews who were systematically killed by the Nazis.

Unfortunately the Israelis seem to have taken a page from the Nazi playbook and are using the same excuses and rationale to exterminate Palestinians.  Palestine never produced the heavyweights that Israeli culture, arts, religion, trade and finance have produced.  Weaker in some aspects doesn’t mean that you are less of a human being.  And that lies at the core of genocide.  A judgement of inferiority, of excuses to persist in outrageous behaviors to get rid of an unwanted species, nation, culture and religion.

As the Jewish nation that emerged after 1945 grew stronger in power and numbers, the Palestinians were increasingly pushed back.  There never was an attempt at full integration and protect their human rights and nobody in the international community came to their defense.  It was if their rights were cancelled, collectively, by nearly the entire global tribe.  There was barely any pushback at all.  Token calls and admonishments, a stern rebuke, but no consequences.

From the dawn of mankind we have consistently ignored civilizational clashes.  Look how Native Americans were being pushed around, systematically killed and nearly annihilated by white settlers.  The white supremacy syndrome is alive and well and we have an awful track record of genocide and ethnic cleansing.  We like to push people around, especially those of color and lacking the protective mantle of Christianity.  White people like their power, status and control.  Perhaps the color of the White House was a subconscious and yet purposeful choice.

The regrettable incident in New York showcases a typical white, Christian outrage, in the face of a killing with definite political and cultural overtones, especially in a time where hate crimes are on the rise and extremism flourishes on all sides.  And we do use different yardsticks.  Ukraine deserves the support allies have given.  But in the case of the Gaza conflict and a suffering that equals that of Ukraine, we’re oddly silent and the yardstick we’re using is barely noticeable.  It doesn’t even qualify as a yardstick.

On one hand we witness the massive destructive power from one side inflicting horrific damage and untold deaths and it is condoned, supported and approved by a predominantly coalition of white powers.  On the other, those on the receiving end of all this death and suffering are paid little more than lip service and we only empathize with their suffering and offer only humanitarian aid.

Nobody has the balls it seems to put a stop to this conflict and the indiscriminate killings.  With sanctions, with U.N. resolutions and sending in U.N. troops to separate the warring factions, to put an end to the genocide, the starvation tactics and forced relocations.  This is racial hatred in its purest form.

I am neither an Israeli nor a Palestinian.  As a human being I am outraged by the inhumanity displayed.  Crimes against humanity are committed on a daily basis and nobody is willing to put a stop to it.

Goodbye Rohingyas, goodbye Tutsis, goodbye Uyghurs, goodbye Armenians, goodbye Kurds, goodbye Native Americans, goodbye Palestinians.  Just another genocide.

Hundreds of genocides have taken place, past and present, and all of them have one thing in common: In each the world stood idly by and watched and nobody lifted a finger.  Just another genocide.

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