WILL WE EVER LEARN?

 

WILL WE EVER LEARN?

Trump and company running amok in a china shop.

Canada-US trade negotiations are at an impasse as Canada refuses to give away the store and its stock.

When holdups masquerade as negotiations in good faith.

It is absolutely amazing that a nation led by a narcissistic fool can ruin an economic model of integration (envied around the world!) with an unending tirade of insults, petty complaints and increasingly totally out of touch with reality.  Historians will look back on Trump’s term as president with disbelief and incredulity.  Questions such as, “Why didn’t anyone try to stop him?”  A one man wrecking ball who has embarked on a rampage of unbelievable proportions and none make any sense.  Insults, threats, acts of violence.  Military attacks on sovereign nations, ludicrous claims of trade imbalances and constantly engaging in lucrative deals enriching himself and his family.  All actions that would have led to the impeachment of any other American president.

Trump has convinced an incredible number of Americans that they have been treated as losers and that the world’s reaction to his policies and accusations is proof that America has been played like a patsy and therefore by extension, so have they.  Set them on fire with righteous anger and they will follow you to the end of the earth without question.  Any GOP member not going along with any of Trump’s farcical approach to governing does so at his or her peril.  The lack of condemnation from the GOP is a telling sign that American politicians care more about their jobs than their country.

Isolating America.

All this hollow rhetoric coming from a buffoon whose nation has produced an enormous amount of talented people, a nation that went to war for a free world, a nation that prided itself as being the first true democracy, hailed as a beacon of freedom and now it is being dragged through the mud by a delusional little tyrant.

Dragging a friend, partner and ally through the mud.

As a Canadian I feel soiled by the insults and degrading comments of a man who in my humble opinion is not a true reflection of what America stands for and I am convinced that few Americans actually believe that Canada deserves this kind of treatment.  We have always worked within a framework of mutual appreciation and respecting each other’s specific differences.  There is not a single blueprint out there of a one-size-fits-all model.  Canada works from within a framework of provinces that each have unique and personal perspectives and we respect that of each other.  Ditto for American States.  You negotiate from within a diplomatic framework, not with threats and insult, and nobody ever gets everything they want.  The world is made up of compromise and it can only move forward effectively if based on mutual respect and recognizing each other’s sovereign rights.

Conflicts erupts when leaders emerge that prefer delusional confrontation over negotiation.

Canada is aligned with nations that respect the rule of law and most of them have thus far been moderate and conciliatory, hoping and praying that sanity will prevail and that somebody will slap duct tape on Donald’s mouth and shut him up for the remainder of his term and better yet, start impeachment procedures because they are definitely warranted here.  Rants, lies, falsehoods, fabricated claims, threats, invasions, violence, intimidation, lucrative personal deals, there appears to be no end to the lunacy of this administration led by an out-of-control individual.

Canada and the rest of the world are at a crossroads because it is obvious that not a single promise or deal is honored or respected.  Before the ink has even dried Donald will rip it up or declare it null and void.  Carney referred to it as deals signed in pencil, because pencil is easier to erase than ink.  Americans are led to believe that all their economic pain and suffering is caused by nations defying America’s wishes.  This coming from a president who has been stuffing his pockets with cash while in office (an impeachment offense) and who has never suffered any kind of deprivation for a single day in his life.

The pushback has to come from Americans.

I have written in previous articles that there is nothing on our books or in a nation’s psychic that prevents a lunatic from taking office as longs as this individual is dutifully elected.  That a majority of voters can indeed be led down the garden path by slick political operators and bamboozlers’ must be obvious.

How much nonsense does it take to serve as a wakeup call?

“I know flagpoles.  Use liquid plumber to kill bad germs and cleanse the body of toxins.  I will look at a map and draw a circle around foreign territories and claim it as our own.  I will rename even the Strait of Hormuz and call it the Strait of America.  I like the sound.”

What next?

“The wizard of Oz has nothing on me.  I am the oracle.  The world is just not ready for greatness.  That’s why I like AI.  I am AI.  Why should I have to wait for statues to go up?  They won’t get it right.  This way I make sure that my legacy is huge.  I mean HUGE.  Bow down before me, you slobs and to all you reluctant hold-outs and naysayers, you can kiss my royal, you know what.”

Why end with a rather altruistic and naïve rant?  Personally I am sick and tired of having to put up with lunatics masquerading as heads of state.  It is just not funny anymore.  Too many people are dying.  Too many people are losing their jobs and homes.  Too many people are needlessly suffering because of a fool.  And he is not the only one.  We can’t let the psychopaths run the asylum. 

Will we ever learn?

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DEBT AND DEFICITS

 

DEBT AND DEFICITS: INFLATING INFLATION

Nations have established themselves along economic and financial models that are not self-sustaining or sustainable.

Inflation: an increase in the volume of money and credit relative to available goods resulting in a substantial and continuing rise in the general price level.

The world of finance is literally waiting with baited breath, hoping and praying, that the financial mess created by continual and excessive government spending and borrowing, won’t come crashing down around our ears.  Collectively, we, the government owe all that money.  You see, government is not some abstract entity.  We elect all the political actors heading up our various levels of government and it is our vote that puts them there and in our name all those dubious debts and deficits are racked up.  The amounts we owe, hundreds of billions and trillions, is so staggering that it will never be paid back and it is apparent that not a single government has any inclination to pare down that debt or to stop borrowing.  Deficit financing is now a standard government term used to justify increased borrowing and debts. 

Losing control.

One of the worst side effects of inflation is the sad fact that as citizens we lose any form of control over spending and it leaves us increasingly beholden to deep pockets.  All that extra cash, increasingly printed rather than borrowed, ends up somewhere and it is not in your wallet.  Flooding the markets with worthless paper money ensures that everything you own and purchase is steadily losing value and relevance.

Economists know that wealth needs to be kept in circulation to keep economies going, healthy and vibrant.  Put the masses in the poor house and it is a recipe for disaster.  There is even a song that puts it quite nicely: Money makes the world go round!

When you create a lopsided division of wealth it literally creates division.  Burden the masses with inflation and bad debts resulting in a real loss of disposable income and purchasing power and you end up creating a nationwide dependency on government assistance and handouts and when you attempt to do this with an empty treasury chest it spells trouble with a capital T.

Top dog syndrome.

Those of you familiar with my work know that all living species are driven by two primordial forces: energy and momentum.  The urge to survive and to be dominant is stronger than any kind of intellectual reasoning to moderate our numbers and impact. (And that includes inflation)  It is a progressive, unstoppable force that undermines any effort to collectively work towards societies that are sustainable in the long term.

Rushing along decline.

Putting the bulk of wealth into the hands of a few greedy individuals is a recipe for disaster, yet it is greed, that once unleashed, is nearly as unstoppable as momentum.  Creating financial models that reward a few and puts the masses in perpetual debt is not the smartest way to move forward.  When people can no longer afford homes, pay rent and lack the money for essentials, you unleash dissention and rebellion.  When people are left with a feeling that they have nothing left to lose, all pretense of reason and reasoning will be lost.

History is proof positive that once the notion of societal failure comes knocking on collective doors that it will bring out the worst we can bring to bear on ourselves.

There are better alternatives.

A nation that distributes its wealth in an equitable and fair manner will be less prone to disruption and internal strife than a nation that exploits its people and where too many are left behind in poverty. 

In my novel—Behaving Badly—written almost 2 decades ago, long before writing—Energy & Origin—I already contemplated how energy and the need for energy determines how well or how poorly a species will fare.  My entire writing life has been a study of humanity.  How we have evolved and where we are headed as a species.  Without energy there is no opportunity or growth.  Without opportunity a species won’t prosper or survive and growth is needed for a species to reach maturity and the ability to procreate.  A seed will not germinate without soil, sunlight and water.  In order for life to flourish all the right conditions have to be met.

Energy, opportunity, growth; the circle of life.

My understanding in the latter part of my life of the impact of energy and momentum as described in Energy & Origin was literally the missing piece in the puzzle.  Life and existence pared down to the absolute basics.  If you don’t grasp and appreciate what makes life tick and why the trajectory is a foregone conclusion, nothing we engage in will make sense.

Risk reduction.

Break that circle of energy, growth and opportunity and you’re left with the chaos and uncertainty it leaves behind.  Reducing our impact, reducing our numbers and concentrating on sustainable practices and activities will go a long way in mitigating our worst habits and scenarios.

We are a fragile species prone to lashing out with violence and unreasonable actions and activities when the primary concern of any nation or tribe should be with establishing stability through a fairer division of wealth and opportunities.  That we’re engaged in the opposite should be a no-brainer.  Our foot is firmly placed on the accelerator and the brake pedal appears to be missing.

When nations start to lash out ( And the current bad actors capturing headlines are Russia, the USA and Israel) the origin for all the turmoil created has an internal origin.  The fires are started from within.  Whether the origin is financial or political, based on fear, division or anxiety, no outside interference has lit a fuse.  Once nations run amok and pick fights, fact and reason are pushed to the side and ignored.  Any excuse to embroil others in the conflicts will do.

That so-called superior intelligence of ours, combined with a greater sense of awareness, has been responsible for creating some bizarre realities as in constructing economic models that have been instrumental in such a lopsided division of wealth that collectively we’re jumping through hoops to keep it together and preventing it from falling apart.

Economists around the world are well aware that we’re playing with fire.  Scientists involved in the study of humanity’s impact on Earth are holding their collective breaths.  We’re acting like politicians with a childlike mentality, playing to all sides with useless debates and anxiety filled finger pointing and hoping that in our lifetime we won’t crash and hit the wall.

This has to hit home!

To give you an idea how huge the US debt is I will illustrate this with a simple example anyone can understand.  The US has roughly 100 million homes.  If each home were valued at four hundred thousand dollars, that is the equivalent of the current  40 trillion dollar  FEDERAL debt.  This doesn’t include personal debt, mortgages, municipal, county and state debts!!!!!  America is broke.  Globally we’re all drowning in debt that will never be paid off or pared down.  And we keep borrowing and printing useless cash.  Welcome to the Mad Hatter’s tea party.

If debt and deficit financing can be compared to a balloon, we’re engaged in a vicious circle of inflating inflation by blowing more and more hot air into that balloon and we know that the darn thing will eventually explode with a huge bang.

As an aside.  I just read an article in a major publication that hinted that even halving the world’s human population would provide a huge reprieve.  One thing I do know, none of the authors have read my novel—Energy & Origin.  Depopulation is a political hot potato that not single political party dares to promote as a solution.  Yet keeping this mass of humanity alive, fed and sheltered, is killing us.

To promote my work and in the interest of humanity I will make Behaving Badly available for free as an e-book and all you have to do is send me an email at wbes6646@gmail.com

Feel free to comment or share.

On the other hand, purchasing Energy & Origin from KDP amazon.ca is welcomed as well!!!

 

AN ALARMING RISE IN HATE SPEECH

Hate, an ugly byproduct of human intelligence.

As a writer, a student of philosophy, history and the humanities I am a recorder of human behavior and I am always intrigued by the way we interact and affect each other.  Our civilized behavior, even in the best of times, is only veneer thin and the majority of all major institutions have been designed to keep us on the straight and narrow because our habit of veering off in the wildest directions is all too common.  Quite often we resemble a kettle coming to a full boil and about to blow its lid.  In my novels—Behaving Badly, and Energy & Origin—I describe the impact of energy, growth, opportunity and momentum.  Rather than trying to figure out on how to best cope and live with the impact of these forces in the least harmful ways to ourselves and the planet, we instead are resisting and rebelling against something over which we have no control at all.  We are literally rolling from one conflict to the other and we’re only intensifying momentum with our incredible human numbers, demands and needs.

Hate speech acts like a catalyst to ignite the worst in us.

Energy and opportunity are crucial in defining growth.  Growth in all its dimensions—from birth to maturity and planting the seed for the next generation—is crucial for the continuation of any species.  Basically reducing life to its basic essence: growth, energy, opportunity.  Let’s leave out all the philosophical human equations because it only distracts.  A nation or tribe will not combust without reason.  If everything in our lives is moving along swimmingly and we’re happy and content, any voice trying to sow fear, anger and paranoia, will fight a losing battle.

Once the fuse is lit!  Lie, deny, distort and when it comes from the top it is near unstoppable.

When we’re faced with overcrowding, housing and food shortages, cuts in services and loss of income and all the other nasties that threaten our livelihoods like our safety and security, we are literally opening up a Pandora’s Box of grievances and the gloves come off in a hurry.  Hate speech starts to thrive in an environment of hyped fear and paranoia.  I purposely inserted “hyped”.  Unscrupulous political voices, voices ignored during times of peace and prosperity, seize this as their golden moment to capture the limelight and seize power if at all possible.  When the worst of the worst seize power they can’t believe their luck and they’re quick to put it down to a Messianic appeal. (Humble, humane, emphatic are not words that apply to these characters)  As if the tribe was waiting for them to come onto the scene.  When all along the tribe has been priming itself for just such a leader to emerge and to lead them on a rollercoaster ride of pent-up anger and frustration.

Bad leaders are symptomatic of what the tribe consciously and subconsciously has been veering towards.

When faced with adversity our species confrontational side rides to the fore.  They want a leader who will confront, who will be brash, aggressive and strong, and whatever nonsense spews forth from their lips is received as gospel because the tribe wants to believe, they want to be ignited.

Hate speech is merely the excuse to lash out and to start a fight, because that is the way that historically our species has reacted towards adversity.  And it doesn’t have to be all that bad.  We’re not talking catastrophic declines.  Even a slight deterioration in perceived status or income can bring out the worst.  Reasoned reflection and second sober thought is not our strongest suit.  Rebellion always simmers close to the surface, as is anger, fear and paranoia.  Our simmering resentment gives birth to the atrocious leadership that emerges when a nation or tribe feels that the bedrock of their foundation, their beliefs and their belief in the nation, starts to lose its solidity.

Selective belonging.

When hate speech flows down from the pinnacles of power it legitimizes the anger unleashed on ‘suspected’ culprits, because that is what we do best; blame someone or something, and preferably hapless groups or segments of a population that can’t defend themselves.  Visible minorities or anyone not fitting the stereotypes of how the majority identifies; selective belonging.  We actively participate in taking these groups down; attacking them, minimizing, demonizing and ridiculing.

We are starting to ignore humanitarian ideals and beliefs and the cornerstones of what stabilized the nation in the first place.  Equality, justice, due process, upholding and protecting the laws that provide security and safety for all.  Respect.  Dialogue.  Reason.  Instead what emerges is a mob mentality; bluster and brawn and never admit to any wrongdoing or injustice. 

We are doing this to ourselves.

Hate speech puts us firmly on the path of no return and once we’re all complicit, by actively participating or purposely staying silent, the fraudulent leadership that has emerged as a result, has brought the tribe to where we have willingly led them.  Where we wanted to be in the first place.  We vote for them.  We elect them.  We choose to follow!

We have only ourselves to blame.

We have purposely lit and embraced the powder keg of conflict.  Nobody else is to blame.    We have created an environment where anything goes and anything can and will happen.  A corrupt judiciary and security forces emerge as a result to enforce to most ludicrous orders.  Once the wrong people are firmly placed in charge anyone can be fired, rewarded, corrupted, cajoled and threatened.  The number of casualties becomes irrelevant, especially when the corpses belong to the minorities blamed for everything that ails the nation.  As Josef Stalin cynically remarked to Winston Churchill when questioned about his harsh measures and cruelty, “One casualty is a tragedy, millions a mere statistic.”

We’re surrounded by bad actors.

Our societies are littered with incompetent, spiteful, unscrupulous people feeling neglected and undervalued, dying to act out; to seek revenge and to intimidate others.  Give them a golden opportunity and they will turn into a willing army of enforcers.  Dress them up; a hat, a cap, a scarf, a shirt, a uniform, a mask.  An army of malcontents, chronic whiners, losers and basic thugs that love to strike out and misbehave and to give those who used to be in charge the finger.  And to top it all off: It all comes with the blessing from the top and therefore they are immune from retribution or punishment.  Bad leaders cater to base human instincts and emotions and the herd mentality is used to hide the atrocities committed.  There is safety in numbers and we only have to look at recent events to conclude that the guilty are rarely prosecuted and punished.

Hate is a cancer.

When hate speech becomes common place in the daily discourse of a nation it starts to spread like a cancer that rots the psychic of a nation.  Hate once unleashed has to run its course and it silences all form of protest and attempts to return a nation and tribe to the humane footing that used to characterize it.  Bad leaders only care about power and control and all of them lack introspection and a conscience.  They are willing to do things that no normal person would ever contemplate.  The worst thing we can do to ourselves when confronted with adversity is to allow the worst of the worst in our species to take control.  That superior intelligence of ours goes AWOL every time when it is needed the most.  Those of you who are familiar with my writing and novels will appreciate my ambivalence when it comes to human intelligence and where it is taking us.  I just wish that you could prove me wrong.  Not a few well-meaning souls.  What is needed is a wholesale change of heart in the minds of at least a solid majority.  I am well aware that there is a huge segment out there of humanity’s worst that will resist any attempt to conducive and proactive change.

Embrace your humanity.  Resist the inhumane and the contemptable.  If you find yourself still living in a democracy, use that vote of yours and vote wisely.

Feel free to comment or share.  The recently posted articles are from a new bundle: Reflections.  Twilight musings, Earthbound and the bundle Incoming are available for free as PDFs.

wmabes6646@gmail.com   

Purchase Energy & Origin by W.M.A. Bes on KDP Amazon.ca

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APPEASEMENT AND PIXIE DUST

 

APPEASEMENT AND PIXIE DUST

Every negative action has a negative consequence.

 

One of the definitions of appeasement and with historical provenance is the following: To buy off an aggressor by concessions usually at the sacrifice of principles.  Start to feel a bit uncomfortable, because we all know that this is currently playing out with some of the worst state actors in the world.  The appeasement of the likes of Trump, Putin and Netanyahu as the top three running for the title of the worst of the worst.  So, why lump in pixie dust?  All it takes is faith, trust and just a little bit of pixie dust.  Pixie dust is about that insatiable human need for deception, of preferring to look the other way and . . . looking for a convenient way out.  Pretending that everything will be okay and hoping that all will end well.  Spread it around in large enough quantities and keep your fingers crossed.  Pixie dust is hoping for a miracle and in this case, hoping that appeasement will work.

It doesn’t work.

Appeasement doesn’t work.  Never has and never will.  Appeasement in all its forms is about deliberately turning a blind eye and we don’t just do it with the world’s worst aggressors, we’re doing it in every aspect of our human existence and every little bit of success is celebrated like a victory, as a turning point, a proving point; saving a piece of green or reestablishing a species habitat and watching a comeback, while in hundreds of places all around the world it is only getting worse: species extinction, loss of habitat, deforestation, desertification, pollution, resource depletion, farmland lost to more human development.  The sorry list of human incompetence is only getting larger by the day.  Pixie dust is all about deceiving ourselves, self-congratulatory tokens that hide our overall failures to reign in an out-of-control species.  As an objectivist I have an obligation to call it out as it is and not to walk around with rose tinted glasses pretending that all will come out in the wash, spic and span.

"There will be no war in our time."  Famous last words!!!

The sane leaders of the world are reacting today in the same way as their predecessors did with the likes of Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin and dozens of other psychopaths that managed to run their nations into the ground with unprovoked wars and naked aggression, all instigated  to satisfy their personal egos and insane agendas.  Shame on the likes of Carney and NATO allies for condoning renewed attacks on Iran as deserving.  None of them have the backbone to tell Trump off and to go home.  To stop his attacks, his threats, his bullying and acts of unprovoked aggression towards others.  You don’t go around threatening the sovereignty of friends and neighbors, of attacking anyone period, of starting wars and covering it up with bombastic lies and veiled accusations.

Psychopaths like Trump, Netanyahu and Putin will never follow the path of reason and they don’t need any excuses for their behavior because they will invent one on the spot.  All of them lack a moral compass and the end justifies the means, even if that includes starting a murdering, destructive rampage that destroys the lives of millions.  They are immune to the rule of law (in their own minds), of common decency and respect and in the proper use of diplomacy to settle disputes (real or imagined).  Governing is all about the respectful application of justice to serve the greater good of all people, and that includes respecting the rights of visible minorities.

We’re on a collision course with destiny.

When bad actors put the ship of state on a collision course and all the crew on the bridge engage in is a raucous, idiotic debate, as in: should we stop, reverse, slow down or change direction?, all the while the ship is plowing full steam ahead and the inevitable collision will take place.  When humans get caught up in a conflict mode there is no turning back.  Appeasement and pixie dust can be compared to a child believing that the sandcastle build on the beach will still be there if they return next year.

So, why do sane leaders still believe that appeasement will work?  Might work!  Hope that it will work?  It is the inevitable that frightens them.  None of them will shy away from a fight, but they all know that when forced into one that the outcome will be the same as every war ever fought.  A huge waste of time and energy, of effort and resources and countless human losses and lasting trauma.

Provoke conflict and see what happens!

The Strait of Hormuz was free and wide open before the US and Israel decided to go to war with Iran and shut it down.

It is the US navy that maintains the blockade.  It is the US under the leadership of Trump that started an unprovoked war with Iran; a nation that has seen its attempts of the pursuit of nuclear power sabotaged, bombed and banned, time and time again, by the US and Israel.  And, lo and behold, Iran has never been able to respond in kind.

And yet, despite all that uninvited aggression, the sanctions and the bullying, Iran kept the Strait of Hormuz open!  And now the world is paying the price and yet they (world leaders) continue to appease the aggressors!

Poke and provoke.

Aggressors will continue their attacks unless they are stopped in their tracks.  They will continue to test the waters to see what they can get away with.  Look at what Trump has been getting away with at home and abroad.  And who will be next?  Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Greenland?  No apologies.  No backpedaling.  How much appeasement will it take before the blinders come off?

                                  

                                      Calling on all fairies

Who’s kidding who, my fairy friends?

Pixie dust swirling inside a glass bowl.

A snow job if there ever was one.

Lies have never fixed what is broken.

The innocent don’t rise from the dead.

The soldiers we need don’t carry weapons,

Only loving arms.

Save your pixie dust, my fairy friends,

For the gullible and the naïve.

I’ll save my tears,

For those who really deserve it.

 

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wbes6646@gmail.com

WE LOVE TO LIE

 

WE LOVE TO LIE

Justice is not blind.  WE are blind to justice!

I was raised in a large farming family and we were all expected to work hard and contribute according to our abilities.  Besides good work ethics my parents also frowned on lying and stealing and disrespectful behavior.  They didn’t tolerate any of it.  Now we’re talking moral ethics.  And yet in life we lie a lot and lie about just about anything.  Why do we do it and why so often?  As a writer, a student of philosophy, history and the humanities I will not even pretend that I can give you a definitive answer, but I will peel back some of the layers we’re all familiar with.  A lot of it has to do with that elusive concept called humanity, what it means to be human and act humane.  What we’re asked to aspire to (mainly by the ‘authorities’ in charge; church and state, teachers and parents) is a reality that defies the fragility that is life.  I am going to take a few detours to illustrate why we lie with such ease and such frequency.

We’re not in control, never have been and never will be.  It’s one of the reasons why we find ourselves out of control so many times and why we’re lying with such ease.

As pointed out by Tennessee Williams, the journey of life leads to an inevitable conclusion.  What happens in our lives from point of entry to exit is pure happenstance.  Our existence is foremost and primarily acknowledged by ourselves (we’re all ego-trippers), hopefully by parents and family, the communities we grow up in and if we’re really lucky, by some in the wider world around us.  In reality we’re nothing more than insignificant grains of sand flowing through the fingers of time.  Others may look back on our lives and examine its worth (one of the main reasons why we publish obituaries, yes, once upon a time he/she was one of us).  For a few the memories may linger a bit longer, but most of us are soon forgotten, recycled back into terra firma as insignificant particles and atoms.  Since life is short—in a universe that spans billions of lightyears and has existed for many more—we’re a mere cosmic blip.  Something we hate to acknowledge. 

It is therefore not surprising that while alive we cling to life with a tenacity that is surprising.  And the lengths some of us are willing to go through to leave a lasting mark is mindboggling.  All that enterprise and some of it so destructive that it blows the mind.  We would do well to remember that even the worst of the worst and the best of the best are eventually reduced to insignificance.  And once you’re dead, who cares!

Nothing induces lying more than believing and like a true trooper I will take the expected criticism coming my way on the chin.  Let’s face it.  From the time we’re born most of us are inoculated with a hefty dose of religion.  If we readily and willingly accept all the illusions, myths and fabrications as dished up by all faiths, then you have to realize that we’re raised to embrace outright fabrications and lies without question.  Faith makes a mockery of truth, facts and science.  A level of deception so ingrained that it gives credence to the fact that perhaps we prefer to be deceived and lied to.  Why bother with brotherly love and lofty ideals, of a mindful and thoughtful approach to life and living, when we embrace the opposite with much more gusto and fervor.  Our faults and mistakes rise to fore with such alarming frequency that it supports the notion that our much vaunted awareness prefers deception and abuse.  Why support decent human beings as leaders when you can vote for a clown instead?  That superior brain of ours has turned us into the most unreliable and destructive species on Earth.  It is one of the reasons why we don’t get upset with lies and liars.  We want to be lied to, and, we want to lie.  Because it justifies almost anything we do!  Lies are a like a comfortable blanket that we can hide beneath as it excuses and covers up all our weaknesses and our reluctance to act responsibly.  We are more comfortable with dishonesty than the truth, because the truth hurts.

Liar, liar, your pants are on fire.

When it comes to lying there is no getting around this guy.

Trump’s popularity for instance is in part due to the fact that he constantly lies.   Consciously and subconsciously he is a validation of our own ineptitude and shortcomings.  He is giving the masses a break away from the usual moralists parading as presidential candidates, standing on their soapboxes, wagging their fingers and admonishing us to be good little boys and girls.  We’re much more comfortable with a character flouting convention and the law.  He is much closer to our true nature and when he’s excused for his faults, lies and shenanigans, so can we.  And therein lies the beauty of lies and the lies we prefer.  To hell with convention and righteous expectations.  Instead, whoop it up, holler and discriminate.  Who wants to constantly live inside a straitjacket of conformity and compliance as prescribed by those in a position of authority?

I have explained in previous articles that basically most of us are underachievers and there is nothing wrong with that.  We’re usually happy to get by with the least amount of effort.  Such is the nature of the beast.  And we’re part of that world (the natural one) whether we like it or not.  Overachievers are a rare breed anyway and even they will only do it in short bursts.  Nothing is ever sustained.

Combine a short and fragile existence with base instincts and volatile emotions and lying takes on a whole new and much more acceptable perspective.  I still don’t approve of lying and neither should you, but I’m trying to explain the why and why so often!  Life is just not nice and rarely easy.  Depending on where you are born, when and under what circumstances, life can quickly turn into a tedium, and boredom can quickly turn into resentment and rebellion.  So many things go bust in our lives.  From jobs to relationships.  From a bed of roses straight to the shitter.  Life is a crapshoot from start to finish. 

The greater the lie, the more effort we put into it.

Nothing skates closer to the surface of questionable truths and practices than organized religion.  We go out of our way to embellish a truth desired: miracles, heavenly appearances and characters, talking bushes, divine powers, holy animals, chariots streaking through the sky, multi-headed serpents.  Seemingly there is no end to the myths and stories concocted when a fertile mind can truly conjure up the most amazing things and pass it off as real.  There is that wonderful phrase: tell a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.  Wrap the whole thing up in pomp and pageantry, fantastic buildings filled with works of art, music, rituals, relics and costumes appropriate for the various festivals celebrating special occasions that have occurred in the lives of the many holy men involved in developing the charade.  Put it all in holy books, preferably in a language laypeople don’t understand, put specially appointed clergy in charge of administering the rites and after centuries of mandatory attendance and compliance, of propaganda and indoctrination, voila, it literally turns into gospel.  And the beauty of it all . . . you’re asked to believe without question, because, if you don’t . . . you’re not a true believer.  And your reward, whether you’re life was shitty or absolutely amazing . . . life after death.  An afterlife.  Heaven.  Resurrection.  One catch!  You have to die first.  Tennessee Williams got that one spot on.

We lie because we’re frail and fragile.

We’re our own worst enemy when it comes to expectations.  Anyone can feel trapped by the pressures we put on ourselves and those ingrained in our societies. All the things we’re supposed to do and engage in: relationships, children, ageing gracefully, meaningful careers, looking great, feeling fine, multitasking, success, accomplishments.  It never stops.  And life is no picnic.  Our fragile bodies and minds constantly succumb to temptation and failure.  When there is no way out and people feel stuck, resentment easily rises to the fore and it will fuel an awful lot of lies, because we lie to hide and ignore, to obfuscate and to pretend.  Lies are often fueled by resentment and when it affects multiple layers in society it can lead to institutional lying, especially when the inducement comes right from the top.

Societal failure has become institutionalized: persistent inflation, a lack of jobs and shrinking disposable incomes, huge debt loads, poor housing, unemployment and unfulfilling jobs, social unrest, overpopulation and cultures and customs clashing.  When failure comes nibbling at our doors it quickly leads to a general sense of unease and from it flows our worst fears, habits and concerns, and the lying we engage in becomes prevalent as we want to excuse our worst behaviors, when our humanity frays at the edges and primordial instincts take over.  We’re not a nice species when things sour.

Nobody gets out of this life alive: Tennessee Williams

That much maligned, so-called superior intelligence of ours and heightened levels of awareness, have led to a layering of lies that affects every strata of humanity.  Traditionally the many have always been at the mercy of a select few taking advantage of us in every way they can.  Democracy was supposed to put an end to this.  The tenets are obvious and worthy of praise.  All that equality and access, legal rights and even some constitutions alluding to a pursuit of happiness.  Democracy however, over time, drowns in promises made by electoral hopefuls and all that catering to our many whims and wishes comes at a hefty price.  Through economic manipulation and extensive lying on both sides; from those who promise and those wanting to fall for all those promises, the many are now once more beholden to the few through massive debt loads and a dependency on government handouts.

Lying takes on so many forms and comes in so many disguises that is becomes an ingrained habit.  And if you prefer a lie over the truth than facts no longer matter and that is what lies at the murky bottom of what we refer to as our humanity.  Even church and state in all their sometimes meaningful attempts to streamline and regulate our tempestuous behavior have fallen victim to encapsulating convenient lies in their right to often rule with impunity and defying all challenges.  A testament to our frivolous and cantankerous nature is our constant flip-flopping between ruling political parties.  What we as humans crave and eventually achieve is rarely articulated in a concise and predictable manner.  We muddle, stumble, fumble, grope and grasp our way through life.  One last sobering thought to honor Tennessee Williams and so many other thoughtful, intelligent people who have tried and who try, again and again, to implore us to use that intelligence of ours in more respectful ways: you only go through life once and there is no coming back for seconds, even for those misguided souls who believe in reincarnation.  It is just another lie.

Feel free to comment or share.  But . . . no lies!    

 

HOW OBSESSED ARE WE?

 

HOW OBSESSED ARE WE?

All the things we reach for to look and feel our best.

 

In this article I am going to attempt the near impossible because I am going to write about our obsessive preoccupation with health and fitness items as manifested in the literally thousands of pharmaceuticals we purchase and in the remedies, aids and gadgets suggested by a never ending barrage of ads and programs dedicated solely to all our ailments and all the things we should be paying attention to; basically to lead better and longer lives.  That’s what we all want, isn’t it?  Watching this non-stop stream of ads on TV or handheld devices is enough to undermine your mental health because you’re bound to suffer from a suggested illness or symptom.  Take it seriously and you have to be convinced that we’re living in a terminally ill society.

From books, pamphlets and gadgets, to fitness clubs and seminars, we’re bombarded by information, and it constantly changes, because there is not a single thing out there that has longevity, although that is exactly what so many profess you will attain:  If only you purchase this or that item or product, buy into it, follow it to the letter, etcetera. 

According to the dictionary an obsession is a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling leading to an obsessive need for a quick solution.  And the problem, my dear friends, lies in the last part of that sentence, because when it comes to our health and healthy solutions and lifestyles, we’re not only sorely lacking in resolve, that horrible things called genetics and inherited genes comes into play.  Any good doctor will tell you that about 75 percent of the bad things we end up with, health wise, are genetic and only 25 percent is due to lifestyle, as in irresponsible habits.  All the things we shouldn’t do, eat or inhale and then only in moderation. (Goodbye all you-can-eat buffets) (Goodbye super-sizing) (Goodbye binge drinking and eating)

Advice!  Easily given, but rarely taken.

Perhaps parents should concentrate on lifestyle coaching and practicing healthy habits, rather than indulging offspring by spoiling them rotten with instant gratification; electric scooters and couch-bound electronic devices, just to name two popular items.  No unhealthy foods and snacks, plenty of fresh air and exercise, using our natural ability to move around with arms and legs and not spending hours on end watching mindless TV and playing video games with lots of silly noises and things crashing and getting blown up.  Of course, all of the above would require parents reared and adhering and practicing all of the above preached.  Hence our obsession with reaching out to substitutes because we’re abject failures.  To practice what we preach is our biggest shortcoming and we’re all sinners and therefore gullible victims of redemption.  There is help out there.  We need them.  Role models, influencers, gurus, experts, never a shortage of the saviors of mankind and like the fads and gadgets they promote, they come and go like the proverbial seasons and we continue to watch, buy and try.  They claim it works and of course, when it doesn’t, we’d look like fools if we dare to complain, even if most of them promise a full refund if not completely satisfied.  Nobody does!  You didn’t try hard enough.  You gave up too soon.  The changes didn’t come fast enough and the worst, it makes you feel like a loser.  You hold a garage or yard sale instead and hide the fitness mistake amongst all the other discarded items and you hope that nobody notices or remarks, “Hey, did you honestly think that would work.  Sucker!”

Thousands and thousands of people are involved in this multi-billion dollar industry playing on our worst fears and obsessions.  Who wants to get old and wrinkly?  Instead you buy that advertised exercise equipment, especially those that you fold and hide underneath your chair, creams and potions, pills and supplements, books on diets and healthy living, vegan and vegetarian, what to eat and what not to eat.  Pilatus, meditation, yoga.  Special retreats that are no longer called fat farms to detox and submit yourself to the realization that you’re out of control and need professional help to send you back home; healthy and invigorated, a new person.  Turning over a new leaf only to be re-entering the same, familiar orbit.  Surrounded by the same vices and devices.  Still there and beckoning.  You don’t need fancy algorithms in this industry because they simply cater to all our shortcomings and gullible nature.

Here today, gone tomorrow.

And we can’t keep up with the changes, because so much of what is advocated and recommended today, is debunked and challenged tomorrow.  You shouldn’t have eaten that.  I know, I know, we told you initially that it would work, but recent studies have indicated the opposite.  Try this instead!  That particular diabetes drug that you’re using to lose weight, actually increases your risk of harming your pancreas.  Remember, it is a diabetes drug, intended for people whose pancreas needs help functioning properly.  And when you pay attention to the side effects of drugs, should you really jump at the opportunity to try it out or could a healthy lifestyle change produce a better result?

Everything professed and advertised guarantees that it works, but very few of the so-called experts live long enough to great acclaim and most, if they live long enough, will never acknowledge the disclaimers that inevitable will arise when the debunking sets in, following the glowing testimonials when they were initially flocking their products.  Goodbye Jane and Suzanne, we hope you enjoyed the proceeds while long abandoned devices and gadgets bearing your names are now littering landfill sites.  Perhaps the odd purchaser keeps one around as a reminder, an item of nostalgia and that unhappy conundrum that continues to haunt them, why did it work for Jane and not for me and why, oh why, did I never end up looking like her?

Keep on looking.

I can’t get over the thousands and thousands of people redecorating perfect skin with garish tattoos and designs.  Permanent markers of unhappy people looking for an escape from the dreary reality of life: family, kids, dead-end jobs, debt and mortgages and stuck in a rut.  We are so taken in by the unrealistic pictures painted by our consumption driven societies.  Ordinary simply doesn’t sell anymore and the unrealistic expectations so many crave are like orgiastic explosions of fulfillment desired, as if their lives should resemble that of the headline grabbers of the day.  We have become addicted to everything professed and to everything we watch and we try and try.  Tauntingly within reach and yet out of reach.

Don’t expect any definitive answers from me.  Even a top-notch AI program wouldn’t be able to come up with a reasonable answer to explain our obsessions and obsessive needs.  I am old, liver spots dot my face, wrinkles galore, hair thinning and a shiny pate on top, spare parts galore and although my mind can still imagine all kinds of wonderful things, the body says @&%$ you!

Count your blessings.

Be honest.  Accept yourself for who and what you are.  My life has been filled with the usual ups and downs, but I have never really suffered any serious deprivations.  I have never been bombed or thrown out of my house with only the clothes on my back.  I have never suffered hunger or starvation or have been stranded in a refugee camp.  Never been exposed to discrimination or persecuted for whatever reason.  Life is a crapshoot from start to finish and all of us are fragile creatures.  I’ve been lucky.  War and violence thus far have passed me by and I know that the exit sign looms larger with every passing day.  But I have enjoyed the journey and writing has provided me with incredible joy.  The best advice I can give you on your journey through life: Be the answer.

Be the answer, you may find it a bit cryptic, but put your imagination to work and figure out what it would mean to you.  Better yet, let me know.

Feel free to comment or share.