Category: Oppression

Sometimes things are a matter of perspective, but oppressing the human spirit is always a losing proposition.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Economics, Mental Health, Oppression, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality, Sustainability
(c) mrdoggs http://www.fotosearch.com

There has been a lot in the news the past few months about the Epstein files, Pizzagate and other similar tales of sordid human abuse and trafficking along with the apparent connection between these things and an unspecified number of the wealthy and politically powerful people in the world. It can make one wonder why people who have so much would engage in such horrible activities. The beginning of this post is addressing one logical connection from a psychological perspective. A lot of this post is not pleasant, but it reflects a reality in our world. A lot of people would rather ignore this reality, but doing so is like ignoring a rabid animal in the midst of our cities and towns. We don’t need to obsess about it, but we should be aware. Awareness is the first step toward protecting ourselves from the human predators which exist in both low and high places.

Sometimes things are a matter of perspective.  For instance, to someone who has been taught, one way or another, to be afraid of the world, afraid of the natural processes in the world, afraid of the other people in the world, it might seem the most natural thing on Earth to strive to accumulate as much wealth and power, to try to control everything it is possible, in order to protect oneself from the threat of, well, “the other”.   From such a perspective empathy, compassion, sympathy, or pity toward the general population of the world may well seem to be feelings and thoughts to be strictly avoided.  Anything that opens a person up to “them”; the dangerous masses which they perceive as a blight on the Earth, or as waiting outside the gate to swarm them, to take what they have, one way or another, acquired; makes the general population of the world something to be held in contempt, feared, and any feelings of empathy or compassion toward the general population a disease to inoculate themselves against.  This logic tends to lead things toward to a self-fulfilling prophecy which only escalates the division, contempt and fear which now builds on both sides of the great imbalance.

How does one inoculate themself against essentail, life oriented human emotions?  How can such a hardened shell be built?  Further, how can such an inhuman condition be maintained? We know, and can see in the behavior of healthy infants that he feelings of empathy, compassion, sympathy are some of the most innate, natural emotions for humans, It can even be said that the development of these emotions is a significant part of what differentiates us from many other species. However, the solution to this dilemma is one that humanity has seen in world time and time again, war after war.  The answer is trauma.  Experiencing repeated, profound trauma; emotional, psychological, physical and/or chemical trauma, either acutely or chronically, and it can cause the physiology of such human emotions to experience shut down..  This is not uncommon among soldiers coming home from prolonged or extreme combat situations. Today one name that assign to such numbing or cut off from one’s emotions is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. 

If, deep down inside, you have not been taught, by instruction or experience, to be fearful of the general population. If you are someone who has experienced love, caring and being cared for, these are feelings that a healthy person doesn’t want to lose the ability to feel. A healthy person wants to freely care about others and be cared about in return.  Victims of PTSD seek treatment.  Seek to get back in touch with feelings of empathy, compassion and love. They seek to get back in touch with the blessing of calm serenity down deep in their soul. 

But what if a person can’t remember ever knowing those feelings? What if they have been so traumatized, or otherwise injured, by psychological, emotional, physical and or chemical abuse at an early age? Or even prenatally (such as with prenatal alcohol exposure), that they have been incapable of feeling empathy or compassion as long as they can remember? Would people who have been living in a sub-culture which holds empathy and compassion for the general population in contempt actually go so far as to engage in behaviors, even rituals, to emotionally and psychologically cutoff themselves and/or their offspring from these emotions? There is significant evidence that they not only would, but that this is not all that uncommon in some of the most avaricious individuals and organizations in the world. I know this is hard for many people to believe; people who love their children and the children of their neighbors. It certainly is distasteful and something that many people, if not most, do not want to contemplate.

That, by the way, is a protective factor for those engaging in such inhuman treatment of their own children and too often the children of others. A strong aversion or resistance on the part of people in the general population to seeing, hearing about, or thinking about such behaviors provides the perpetrators with a kind of invisibility. Healthy people who do not want to contemplate such aberration seem quick to accept that any allegations of such behavior is a fabrication of people who themselves must be psychologically disturbed.

But if a person is someone who is seeking a state which allows them to have sufficient psychological and emotional comfort while engaging in inhuman behaviors toward others, then they don’t seek treatment for the lack of experiencing empathy and compassion. Quite the contrary, they go to sometimes great efforts to seek, establish, reinforce and maintain it.  They seek out ways to inflict the emotionally disabling effects of PTSD upon themselves. One way is expose themselves to other people’s trauma.  Vicarious traumatization can inflict the same effects as first-hand trauma. Also, it is less life threatening. How does one expose themselves to such experiences of other people experiencing trauma?  Today it isn’t all that hard to find both fictional and actual written accounts and photos as well as audio and video recordings of people experiencing trauma.  There are movies, books, and documentaries which show the horrors that exist through either natural disasters, or more often by human beings committing inhuman acts toward other human beings.  Video footage from wars or videos of people who are in the process of experiencing a violent, cruel death in other ways. There are even “underground” film makers who plan and produce such films. These are all resources that assist to emotionally/psychologically and spiritually numb a person to the natural human reactions to suffering and death.  The literature informs us that watching children experience such horrible abuses can hold even a higher degree of sought after trauma than watching adults go through them. Reportedly, this is because children’s emotions are purer, more intense.  A healthy human being feels an affinity, a natural, protective feeling toward children.  But if you’re someone seeking to make yourself into someone devoid of such affinity for people in general, caring about children is just one more avenue of unwanted emotional access to your mind, your feelings. 

It seems that just as with building tolerance with a drug addiction, vicarious traumatization isn’t enough after a while.  Like a drug addict with increasing tolerance, the person needs more intensity in the traumatic realities that they are witnessing. What is known about this phenomenon informs us that some find themselves moving on to the real thing.  Another thing that we can know from the literature on human spirituality and sometimes by our own experiences, is that the positive aspects of the human spirit can be very resilient. To a mentally, emotionally healthy person this resilience of feelings such as love, empathy, caring, is indicative of the beauty of the human spirit.   But to someone seeking to not feel those aspects of the human spirit this natural resilience must seem something like the recurrence of disease. Such feelings are contrary to being able to abuse others, to take from others the things that others need to sustain their lives.  For some, if not all, abusers, there is reportedly a measure of perverted satisfaction the person also takes from inflicting mental/emotional/spiritual or economic suffering upon others. There is a likelihood that people who are participating in inflicting such horrors and abuses upon others are sometimes members of families or other groups who have been engaging in such behaviors over many generations. Lineages of people who have been honing, and profiting from, their ability to act inhumanly toward others.

We are all social beings, it is a deeply rooted part of being human. Why would it be any different for even the most ego driven, spiritually perverted, among us?  We know individuals engaging in such abusive, heinous behaviors sometimes (often?) form groups; cabals, covens, (corporations?) whatever name they have found that most satisfies the needs of their egos.  Together they engage in such behaviors, sometimes making a ritual out of it. Some have a desire for elaborate settings and costumes in their efforts. I assume this partially serves to convince themselves that they are doing something more sophisticated than the grotesque, inhuman perversions are engaging in.  Often it seems wealth and power are significant aspects of their goals.  Wealth and power can become a narcotic. One which is used to soothe the pain of the emptiness which results from being divorced from the true, ultimately inescapable, essential human spiritual reality.  The knowledge of the fact that there is a pervasive human spiritual reality, that it encompasses all people and has love, mutuality empathy and compassion as integral aspects of it, is an aspect of our reality that those who engage in such horrific behaviors have somehow had inadequate introduction and/or education in. As for the innate awareness of our spiritual reality which all have to some degree, it is this which the abusive behaviors, the rituals, are effective in obfuscating. In the 1960s “Do your own thing.” became a popular phrase. A wise woman who I had the privilege of knowing shared with me the perspective that the phrase is ridiculously unnecessary. Why? Because: try to stop doing your own thing. None of us can, it is as impossible as a thing can be. Likewise, ultimately, we can never separate ourselves from the universal creative spirit that we are all a part of and dwell within.

That is a part of the tragedy accompanying those who are engaging in inhuman activities toward others. Ultimately they are going to have to deal with fully realizing and reconciling those activities as beings within and part of the Divine Creative Spirit. We sometimes can judge ourselves more harshly than others might. What about when the offenses are as grievous as those referred to previously? I think it was with full realization of this that, when experiencing horrible torture and abuse on the cross, Jesus prayed to God and asked: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Today we are facing a world in which people have the free will to engage in denial, contempt for, and perversion of our innate spiritual reality. It’s almost as if two separate realities have emerged: the reality of the predators (abusers) and the reality of those being preyed upon. But to see these two aspects of the socio/economic reality of our world as separate realities is an illusion. It is all taking place within the reality of the Divine Creative Spirit and the laws of our spiritual reality will always ultimately assert themselves. In the meantime, how do we as human beings trying to successfully have lives within this reality deal with such heinous offenses against the minds, bodies and spirits of our brothers and sisters?

One obstacle we face in any efforts to curtail or remedy the occurrances of predatory abuse taking place is the those who are the most “successful” (at what are ultimately suicidally destructive predatory/parasitic behaviors) have realized the need to maintain public personas that inspire respect, sometimes even admiration. In part this is defensive camoflage, but it also is often necessary for abusers to put in place to be able to access their victims or the positions of power they need to carry out their abusive schemes.  History shows us though that sooner or later awareness of the reality around the abuses taking place, abuses experienced by the target popuations and their loved ones begins to grow. When this happens whatever illusions the predatory abusers have put in place to try to conceal their true practices are gradually seen through.   Oppression of the human spirit is a losing proposition. 

 We can see that process taking place in some of the major societal upheavals of the past two hundred and fifty years. The American revolution, the French revolution, the Communist revolutions in Russia, China and Cuba and many more are some extreme examples of what can happen when an abused population becomes activated against the abuse and abusers.  However, we can also learn from these events that the revolutionaries in all these cases themselves were not immune from the sickness of mind and spirit which had so pervaded those who they were rebelling against. It’s not that revolutions with just causes always result in a new, more equitable, enduring better world.  What we can learn from these events is that regrettably, too often put in a position to be able to see a way to grab them, human beings are too often all too quick to be infected with a lust for wealth and power.  Too often a repeat of the culture of “haves” and “have nots” is what emerges and the cycle begins again. 

This is something that has happened so often in human history one might believe that it is an inescapable human failing.  It isn’t.  One criterion that is always in place when such repetition occurs is that the people involved are ignorant enough of the true nature of our spiritual reality that they are susceptible to becoming overly enamored of the enticements of material pleasures.  It’s not that material pleasures are categorically bad or evil, they aren’t.  But just as an individual can overindulge in the pleasures of life and lose sight of taking care of their spiritual and physical health in the process, the same can happen with groups of people, with cultures. The mindset, the spiritual disease, of craving unlimited acquisition without proper regard for the wellbeing of others can be as contagious as any physical disease that there is.  As we can see by conditions in the world today, it can become a pandemic which infects even the people who are most negatively affected by it.  It shouldn’t be too surprising though, the predators actively seek to encourage a “prey aspiring to predator”, attitude among the general population.  They use the media to portray extravagant wealth as the key to a happy life, the key to heaven on Earth.  They want the general population to envy them, idolize them, to want to emulate them. To be infected with an obsession with materialism.  They desire that the general population be perpetually blinded to the reality that there is any other way. Particularly a way that nourishes and sustains the life and spirit of all who work at it. A way that does not require inhumanly preying upon the lives of others in order to truly enjoy the wonders, the blessings of life on this planet.    

It is such a profound truth that it bears repeating:  Oppression of the human spirit is a losing proposition. Ultimately that is true for every person on Earth or anywhere else.  A human spirit may be crushed, but like what looks like dead, dry grass after a drought, give it some love and care and it will spring back, vibrant, vital, dynamic. If, by design or default, you work at oppressing others, you are working toward your own eventual demise.  If you are successful at oppressing others you are defeating yourself because the actions involved in the acquisition of extravagant wealth do not honor nor uphold the true conditions of our spiritual reality.  You are not honoring your own spiritual reality. We are all interconnected and ultimately the quality of our future, of anyone’s future, is tied to the quality of everyone’s future.

The illusion that the material world is all that there is, is often the jumping off place to engaging in all manner of behaviors offensive to and counterproductive of a healthy spirit.  There are people who believe that when it comes to spirituality, we are physical beings who are maybe, or maybe not, in search of a spiritual aspect to our lives.  That is exactly the opposite of our reality!  We are spiritual beings who are incarnated in an effort to establish a physical reality for ourselves.  Why?  If for no other reason because it can be very enjoyable.  But to, by design or default, tacitly agree to accept suffering tomorrow for some pleasure today is an idiot’s bargain.  Especially when it is unnecessary.  With wisdom and proper regard for one another we can have heaven on Earth without putting the wheels in motion to have to suffer farther “down the road”.  All it takes is some wisdom, maturity, humility, occasionally patience, and the willingness to put in the work. The mental and physical work to make it a reality.  It doesn’t even require slaving away to put the work in. It just requires including putting some work in conscientiously and regularly.  As Jesus said: “My yoke is light and my burden is easy.”  He wasn’t talking about a yoke we put on to serve him.  He is referring to the yoke we put on, as he did, to righteously work within our divine spiritual reality. To truly be doing the best for our own happiness and wellbeing. Part of our task is that we do have to put in the work to get to know ourselves, our spiritual reality, as well as our physical reality (which is a creation of our spiritual reality). 

We have to realize that we must speak and honor truth, always.  We need to recognize and embrace the central role that love occupies in a healthy spiritual reality. No more half-truths and manipulative myths.  It also includes educating ourselves around what keeps us physically healthy (because our body is our temple).  Overindulging, as a habit, doesn’t work to keep us healthy.  Think of it as we’re working to learn how to live with enough awareness and love to prevent the heaven we occupy from becoming a hell.  At this point in time, it is not hard to see that we haven’t been doing the best job of it. Especially when we realize that we are our brother’s, and sister’s, keepers.

(c) Alex Max, http://www.fotosearch.com

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Alien Invasion: Something we need to worry about or something major defense contractors want us to worry about?

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Economics, Government, Political Corruption, Politics, Psychology, Science, Technology, UFOs, UAP
Artwork Created by Microsoft Copilot

In 1965 I had the opportunity to travel from Indiana to New Mexico with a group of 14 Explorer Scouts and two Scoutmasters. Our final destination was the Philmont Scout Ranch in northern New Mexico. We were going to spend a number of days hiking in the mountains. We weren’t a wealthy group so we were saving money along the way whenever possible. One of the money saving things we did was to camp along the way rather than stay in motels. One night we were in Lubbock, Texas and had gotten permission to camp in one of the city parks. It was mid-August, the air was warm and the sky was clear. I loved to look at the night sky, in those days there was far less light pollution. We were sleeping on the ground, without tents, in a clearing with tall trees maybe 50 meters to my left and to my right. When it happened I think every other member of the group had gone to sleep.

A circle of yellow light which seemed to be the bottom of a craft appeared moving from right to left. It was maybe 50 meters above the treetops. I would estimate it to be approximately 20 meters in diameter. It made no sound at all. It was moving smoothly but it wasn’t moving particularly fast. At just about the same time that the first craft reached the perimeter of trees to my left, two more such craft appeared to my right. They were the same size and shape, with the same illumination, as the first craft. They were side by side, also moving smoothly and silently. The appearance and passage of all three craft took about 10 to 12 seconds. Even though the bottoms of all three circular craft were illuminated with a yellow light, they did not light up the trees nor the ground. I was in awe. I turned to a friend who was sleeping next to me, shook him, and asked him if he saw that! But he was sound asleep and there was no response. The next morning, I think I told him, and only him, of what I had seen. Decades later I did an online search and found an article in the Lubbock paper about the event. I wasn’t the only observer of what had happened.

Consequently, ever since I have had no reason to doubt the existence of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs), Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), or whatever name or acronym they may be referred to by. It is a fascinating and important subject. The past few decades there have been many good documentaries produced on the general subject of extraterrestrial (ET) visitation to Earth. I have grown to particularly appreciate Dr. Steven Greer’s efforts to bring honest, authentic information on the subject to light. One theme that Dr. Greer comes back to frequently is the theme of how those in political power and the corporate media in the U.S. are making something of an effort to villainize extraterrestrial beings. It’s not uncommon to find adjectives such as “terrifying” or “frightening” used in connection with possible ET sightings. And more to the point of this post, it’s not uncommon to see the word “invasion” used in regard to such sightings. Finding articles which speculate about, or warn of, an extraterrestrial invasion is not difficult.

But here’s the thing, it is also not hard to find pictures of ancient cave art which is believed to depict alien beings. I linked to one example, or just do a search on “ancient cave art alien beings”. There are also quite a number of renaissance paintings which depict a UFO in them. Or, again, do your own search on paintings which depict UFOs. There are reports of people either sighting UFOs or having an encounter with the occupants of UFOs from just about every, if not every, continent going back decades if not centuries. The point is that metallic UFOs and alien beings with large heads and large dark eyes are nothing new. There is no question that the intelligence behind the UFO phenomena obviously has a much greater understanding of technology and physics than we do. Or maybe I need to add more than any people are readily admitting to. That is an important distinction for a reason I’ll get to. If there are people here on Earth, today, who possess the knowledge and skill to build and operate such craft, it is a relatively recent development. I would estimate no older than the mid twentieth century at the most. (I realize that raises the question of what did I see in Lubbock, Texas?)

Which brings us to a very important question. Why would beings who have outclassed us technologically for centuries wait until we might have the means to defend ourselves against them to try to invade us? Does that make any sense? These beings obviously possess the intellectual faculty to think logically. They undoubtedly have been able to watch the ongoing development of technology here on Earth. Those who have been studying the UFO phenomenon for decades state that there was a significant increase in UFO activity following the detonation of nuclear devices on Earth. I don’t think we Earthlings possess any propulsion technology that would come as a surprise to them. Nor any weapons technology for that matter.

But if we can be made to believe that some extraterrestrials have done exactly that: picked this point in time to decide to invade Earth, then the weapons industries can ask for billions of dollars, or rubles or yuan or pounds or Euros to protect us. And you know what? They’d get it. At least from the folks controlling the biggest military spenders among governments today. That is some significant motivation to those who are only interested in how such actions affect them and not the world at large.

Consider all that as context to the reality that according to people such Bob Lazar, Dr. Steven Greer, David Grusch, and others, we do have back engineered alien technology from crashed UFOs and possibly other sources. We do have craft which are being produced here on Earth using that acquired technology which look and act almost identical to the alien craft. And despite all the emphatic statements to the contrary, there are people within the halls of government within the U.S. and I suspect Russia, China and others who are aware of this.

If tomorrow a small fleet of UFOs, UAPs shows up over a major city on Earth and begin firing laser weapons or directed energy weapons, or sonic blasts, or electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) or a combination of these things, who do you think the people in the city are going to think is attacking them? At that moment I doubt if there will be much consideration given to whether or not the attack is coming from alien beings, or is a “false flag” attack by zealous, callous, profiteering defense contractors as a part of a high-tech sales pitch to the world. A “sales pitch” intended to frighten populations and motivate them to cry out for protection from their respective governments. At that moment, in the heat of the attack, the corporate media outlets around the world will pick up the narrative of an “alien attack” and those controlling the situation will run with it all the way to the bank.

There is another element involved which people who lust for control over others would be attracted to, that is the willingness of frightened people to give up any human rights or freedoms they may have at that time for a promise of protection. That is an important topic for another time, another post.

As hard as it may be to believe, the “invasion” scenario described above is a very real possibility that humanity should be aware of.

Liberty

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Economics, Government, Law, Oppression, Personal Development, Politics, Spirituality
Photo by Ken Dunning

I am writing again on the subject of liberty as opposed to the general concept of freedom. I feel the importance of realizing the difference between the two, and the primary, essential nature of liberty, cannot be overstated. Without the existence of liberty in our lives, any other freedom is conditional upon being allowed by the agreement of our oppressors. How can I say this? Because if we do not have liberty we are, by definition, oppressed. And if we are oppressed politically, economically, or militarily, we do not have liberty.

Some might consider this too fine a point, but it really isn’t. In fact, it is a monumental issue when we really get into the details of it. In the preambles to both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, the Founders made it clear that “liberty” was a primary value that they sought to secure in the new nation. They do not write that they were seeking “freedom”, if they had meant freedom they would have written “freedom”. They knew about freedom. But they didn’t, they wrote that they were seeking to “…secure the blessings of liberty…”

What is the difference between liberty and freedom? Liberty is a specific type of freedom. It is the freedom from unjust oppression. The type of unjust oppression which many of the Founders, or their parents, had experienced at the hands of the monarchs, the aristocracy in Britain and which was still be waged upon the colonists in the land that would become the United States of America.

There is a place where liberty and freedom become mutually exclusive. That is when someone wants to claim the freedom to infringe upon the liberty of others. In other words, they seek to exercise some sort of political, religious, military or economic power, which they have used their freedom of some sort to acquire, to oppress another’s ability to reasonably engage in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Such actions of oppressing other, vulnerable, people seem to be a very common occurrence in the world when some individual(s) or group(s) are allowed to acquire an inordinate amount of political or military power or economic wealth.

The inherent conflict with the stated intentions of the Founders can be made to appear non-existent when people are led to conflate liberty with freedom. Redefining longstanding, traditional terminology seems to be a common ploy in the efforts by special interests to unjustly impose their agendas upon others. Two other recent examples are the redefining of “pandemic” and “vaccine”.

We in the United States are fortunate that the Founders of this nation cared about liberty as a primary value. We do not honor them, or ourselves, when we allow liberty to be redefined and abused in order to allow some to pursue their overly self-serving dreams of wealth and power. All too often this is defended in the United States by the phrase “It’s a free country.”

But if we can recapture, rekindle the desire for liberty for all so clearly expressed by our nation’s Founders. If we can thoughtfully work to make it a reality, with thoughtful expression and thoughtful restraint we can achieve the great nation that the Founders dreamed of and fought for. But not if we allow a false allegiance to unbridled freedom lead us down the path of our own worst impulses.

This essay is dealing exclusively with the role that the importance of liberty played in the birth of the United States. The fact that it was a primary value within the hearts and minds of the Founders of this country, does not in any way indicate that I do not know that many other people in other countries have also dreamed of, worked and fought for, liberty in their nations. Liberty is not something that one people or nation can hold a franchise on. In fact, it is only when many people around the world can realize a fair and just existence of liberty within their lives and their nations that such liberty may be truly secure for any of us.

Do Not Conflate Liberty with Freedom

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Government, Oppression, Politics, Spirituality, Sustainability

In the U.S.A. there is a great travesty taking place within our thinking and within our expressions.  That is the conflation of “liberty” with “freedom”.  They are not the same and they were not when the Founding Fathers of the United States fought for the blessings of liberty. Not freedom, liberty. 

Liberty is the freedom from oppressive restrictions upon one’s way of life.  This in no way states nor implies the freedom to do whatever one wants to do.  Oppression is the unjust infliction of hardship and constraint upon a subordinate group.

Some freedoms, including unbridled freedom in the marketplace, are what enable some to acquire an inordinate amount of wealth and power which then enables them to oppress others.

In order to preserve our liberty, We the People must predominantly agree our liberty is a precious thing to be preserved.  As Liberty is a paramount value in the United States as expressed in both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, if any subgroup decides otherwise and acquires and exercises the means to subvert the value of liberty within our culture, for one citizen or the entirety of the citizenry, they are violating that paramount freedom. They have entered into actively subverting the values and principles that the United States was founded upon.  They have set upon overturning our nation, our culture, and our lives.   When this occurs it is usually being engaged in by individuals or groups who have been acquiring inordinate amounts of wealth and then using that wealth to acquire (buy) inordinate political influence.

It’s not that capitalism is inherently bad.  It’s that the men and women practicing it must recognize the implicit social compact necessary to preserve our essential liberty:  they should not take too much.  They should not “drain the economic well”.  This is important to ensure that the average citizens of the U.S.  do not become impoverished and economically enslaved.  But impoverishment and economic slavery is happening pervasively in the U.S.A. and elsewhere in the world.

Sacrificing the American peoples’ hard-won liberty for the freedom of unbridled predatory capitalism is a travesty and a grievous insult to all of the men and women who have worked and fought to establish and preserve liberty for us and future generations. 

With all the publicity child trafficking has received the past few decades, how does it continue to be as prevalent as it is in the world today?

by kendunning, posted in Child Trafficking, Political Corruption

I recently went to see the movie “The Sound of Freedom”. In spite of the fact that some of the harshest, most obscene atrocities taking place with trafficked children today are not portrayed in the movie, it is still a gritty, hard-hitting portrayal of one of the most heinous activities taking place in the world today. The movie is presented as being a plea to the world to gear up and stop this horrifying international criminal enterprise. In the movie, and in real life, Tim Ballard showed the world what can be done with a few dedicated law enforcement officers and even a little official support.

I did a search on “documentaries about human trafficking”. I turned up over 400 done in 2023 alone. Child/human trafficking has been around for at least the past few millennia if not longer. Books and documentaries about human trafficking and the atrocities committed by those engaged in it have been being written and produced for the past few decades. Longer if only looking at the books written. The knowledge that human trafficking, including child trafficking, has been going on for a long time and involves horrendously abusive criminal behavior has been around for a long time. U.S. Presidents, heads of the F.B.I., C.I.A., the U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. Attorney Generals have undoubtedly been aware of it, and how heinous it is, for decades. The head of Homeland Security and Countless Chief’s of Police are undoubtedly aware it’s going on. So why is it still a booming business here in the U.S.?

Please bear with me here…

Back in the 1980’s, when the War on Drugs was relatively new and often portrayed in dramatic, if not glamorous ways, the cocaine trafficking taking place in southern Florida was frequently headline news. “Miami Vice”, which was one of the top T.V. shows at that time, focused mainly on cocaine trafficking taking place in southern Florida. Radio news reports on the trafficking were also common. One day I happened to be listening to a radio news show broadcast out of Spokane, WA, and a report was aired about a Federal Agent, I apologize that I can’t recall if the Agent was in the D.E.A. or the F.B.I. or his name, who had attempted to unravel the sometimes complex money trails resulting from cocaine trafficking. The Agent being interviewed claimed that he had been successful. Yet it seemed he was incredulous, if not dismayed. He stated that after successfully tracking the big money flowing out of south Florida he found that, paraphrasing his statement: “When it reached it’s final destination, whether it was legally gotten money or illegally gotten money, really big money always went to the same overseas bank accounts, the same people”. Considering how we have been seeing the monopolization of major industries increasing over the past few decades, is the Agent’s statement really all that unthinkable, or even surprising?

Maybe you’re asking what does cocaine trafficking in the 1980’s have to do with human trafficking in the 21st century? You may already know or have figured it out. However, I’m going to connect a few more dots.

In 1995 Cathy O’Brien and Mark Phillips published a book entitled “Trance Formation of America”. In it Cathy O’Brien makes allegations, in varying degrees of detail, about the abuses she endured as a subject/victim of the MK Ultra mind-control program in the U.S. When I say varying degrees of detail I need to add that quite often the details are very specific and she names names. Some of those named in the book as perpetrators of mental, physical and/or sexual abuse include: Gerald Ford, Pierre Trudeau, George H.W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Hillary Clinton, Vincente Fox, Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Buffett, and others. She further alleges that some of the abuse which she is quite explicit about took place in the White House.

These are what some might call “just allegations”. While this is true that at this time they must be regarded as allegations, it is also true that while she is very specific in many (most?) cases about what took place and who the alleged perpetrator(s) were, those named have not publicly denied any of the allegations nor has the book been challenged, sued in a court of law, or forced out of publication. This regardless of the fact that many, if not most, of the persons named have attorneys readily available. When the book was published some who are alleged as perpetrators might even have been able to direct the Department of Justice to see that the book was quashed. That evidently didn’t happen. Why? If you were a public figure and someone published some of the most heinous allegations possible against you including that you participated in torture and murder, and, assuming that they were false allegations, given that you have good attorneys at hand who can get such allegations shut down very quickly wouldn’t you do so? In addition Ms. O’Brien alleges that her experiences included her involuntary involvement in the illegal trafficking of drugs which many of these people were engaged in. Ms. O’Brien is not the only person who has written a book about personal experiences as a subject/victim within the MK Ultra program.

Other allegations of the involvement of persons in high political office in drug and human trafficking come from the late Ted Gunderson. At one time Mr. Gunderson was the head of the Los Angeles F.B.I. Office. Mr. Gunderson’s exposure to the more covert aspects of drug and human trafficking reportedly didn’t occur until he had retired from the F.B.I. and gone into private investigating. In the area of illegal drug trafficking Mr. Gunderson’s investigation resulted in him making statements which amount to allegations that Bill and Hillary Clinton were heavily involved. At some point Mr. Gunderson became particularly interested in the numbers of missing children in the U.S. and did some in depth investigating. He reported discovering the involvement of high ranking political personages in the transportation and abuse of abducted children. Mr. Gunderson made several videos about his work and findings which, the last time I checked, are still available online.

Almost everyone in the U.S. is aware of the Jeffrey Epstein/Ghislane Maxwell pedophile network and the reported involvement of many high ranking political personages, captains of industry, and well-known personalities from the entertainment business. It must be stated that having flown on Epstein’s plane does not constitute a de-facto allegation that person was involved in child abuse or rape. However, it does potentially open one up to being investigated for such activity.

So why haven’t Ms. O’Brien’s and Ted Gunderson’s allegations been thoroughly and objectively investigated? Why haven’t any of the people Ms. O’Brien named moved within the court system to erase her book from the face of the Earth? Could it be the last thing they want is a day in court? In all of these allegations the honesty and integrity of at least a few Secret Service Agents is also called into question. Ted Gunderson made some allegations in this regard about some of the deaths of Agents which occurred at the siege in Waco, Texas at the Branch Davidian compound.

Which brings us back to the question of how, with all the tools and manpower law enforcement agencies worldwide possess, does this international atrocity of millions of abducted, raped, beaten, tortured and sometimes murdered children continue as an ongoing reality? For an answer to this question we find a major clue in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s statement: “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it does, you can bet it was planned that way.” With this last sentence I imagine I have either lost or am in the process of losing a few readers. To suggest that brutal child abductions continue to take place in the world because some leaders of nations, captains of banking and industry, some of the wealthiest and most politically powerful men and women on the planet want it to continue, is going to be a concept some, possibly many, people just do not want to, or are unable, to consider. Yet it is the only logical explanation which takes in all the factors necessary to encompass the vast level of child abductions and trafficking which is taking place.

In the media what we are conditioned to expect is that the people who engage in drug trafficking and human trafficking are of the fringe element of society. Occasionally some rogue, apparently “upstanding” citizen may be involved, but, in the movies and TV shows anyway, those cases are presented as rare and the men and women of law enforcement will inevitably root them out. Even in the movie “The Sound of Freedom”, we see Tim Ballard exclusively spending his energies investigating in and among the more sordid and disreputable people and places. Even with that condition being met, the movie had a hard time finding it’s way into theaters. Imagine what problems it would have faced if it had implicated the rich and powerful who inhabit the halls of power? I doubt very much it would have ever seen the light of day. Cathy O’Brien and Mark Phillips have stated they needed to self-publish their book “Trance Formation of America” because they realized that if they sold it to an established publishing house it would never have been published.

Of course not all the men and women working in all the various elected positions, governmental offices, law enforcement, and the media are corrupt. However, the current reality around child trafficking suggests, if not demands, that some in key positions with the power to decide what large scale investigations take place, who they investigate and to what lengths, are entirely complicit in the ongoing international child trafficking. Maybe they are directly involved, maybe they are taking money from those who are, or maybe their boss does and they are just “following orders”, but in the end the result is the kidnapping, selling, rape and torture of millions of children a year continues.

If we as a species continue to allow the very worst crimes against humanity to continue because it offends our sensibilities and deeply held beliefs to even look at what is taking place, then aren’t we all a part of the problem?

I have no doubt that Tim Ballard is not the only Federal law enforcement agent to have a conscience and who actually cares about the people we expect law enforcement to be involved in the protection of. I imagine there are many. However, if their “superiors” insist on keeping them shackled and blinded, unable to pursue the leads that would take them to the top profiteers, the true forces behind child trafficking in the world today, can we expect the problem will be addressed? No, we can’t. The same principle applies to many, if not all, of the most profitable international criminal enterprises in the world today.

This post is not intended to be a glaring indictment of the people and/or classes of people mentioned in it. I, as a private citizen, could not even begin to compile the evidence it would require to support that. What I do hope is that in reading this your curiosity is piqued and you will be more receptive when news reports and/or articles appear before you which add to the growing body of evidence, circumstantial or without supporting physical evidence as they may be. We have to remember any rich and powerful personages who inhabit the halls of power, who are engaged in or complicit in human trafficking, are not idiots. I’m sure they can figure out how to cover their tracks fairly well. The U.S. Office of Justice Programs estimates between 300,000 and 400,000 children are trafficked across international borders each year. That is substantially more children than there are people of all ages in the population of Spokane, Washington. A city of children are being trafficked each year. How? How can all the national police forces, the intelligence services, the various immigration and customs services be so blind, so incapable as to allow this to go on? The organization ERASE Child Trafficking and the United Nations (UN) both seem to concur that only 1 or 2% of these victims are ever rescued.

Are we cursed in this world with an international body of highly incompetent law enforcement officers? Or are some in positions capable of steering such investigations down dead-end avenues doing just that? Making sure the cash flow from this lucrative, atrocity filled business continues to line the pockets of the “right people”?

The technocratic takeover of the U.S.A. and other countries.

by kendunning, posted in Community, Covid-19, Law, Oppression, Politics, Psychology

Apparently driven by questionable motives including the profit motives of big pharma, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) along with the cooperation and involvement of various Governors and other governmental office holders, have turned the United States into an authoritarian nightmare that people who lived during the first 60 years of the twentieth century would not recognize. The dream of a “Beacon on the Hill” has devolved into an anything goes scramble for wealth and power. The COVID debacle has been working to play upon fear and bring out the worst in many government officials. Not just in the U.S., also in other countries. After firing people from their jobs because they would not concede to an invasive medical procedure (COVID vaccines), they now bemoan the lack of workers. And after instituting sweeping quarantines which resulted in the permanent closure of many small businesses and much loss of income, poverty and homelessness is a true pandemic. Perhaps one reason people are having difficulty recognizing the money/power grab that is taking place is the fact that it is playing out on a global scale. The means to implement such a scheme have not been available until now. The developments which enable such a scheme include; large international corporations, big media controlled by a few corporations, a large percentage of the world’s wealth captured by a small group of people, politicians dependent upon corporate donations to maintain viability in the arena of big money election campaigns, the list goes on.

Following the example set by historical authoritarian dictators, those behind the curtain of the COVID/”vaccine” campaign fear common people engaging in critical thinking and especially fear information contradictory to their agendas being widely disseminated. They are engaging in grievous violations of the First Amendment guarantee of free speech (among other constitutional protections) and are engaging in defamation and witch hunts of medical and scientific professionals who dare spread information which contradicts the “mainstream” narrative around COVID and the vaccines. Their actions demonstrate the dystopian, authoritarian practices we who grew up during the 1950’s and 60’s were told are some of the methods which communist, totalitarian governments use to brainwash and control their populations.

Now, on the international scene, the G20 has agreed to institute “vaccine passports” purportedly to boost travel and tourism. It seems to me to be placing an artificial constraint on the free flow of people in the world. I grew up watching black and white movies and television shows in which fascist soldiers would come onto trains demanding to see people’s “papers”. I recently experienced something similar on a train trip from Denmark to Germany. At the German border officers walked the aisles of the train to make sure passengers were putting on masks. Even though the passengers had been traveling for some time without masks. When returning to Denmark the authoritarian absurdity of it all was demonstrated again when, at the Danish border, almost all, if not all, passengers removed the masks we were forced to wear in Germany.

We aren’t being protected from COVID, we are being trained to comply. To comply mindlessly and without critical thought. I used to wonder how 6 million Jewish people could allow themselves to be rounded up and marched into ovens. I wondered how the good people, the average citizens, of Germany, Austria and some other countries could have sat by while such an atrocity took place. The answer is to be found simply by taking a hard look at what is happening in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Germany and other countries in which the dictatorial, authoritarian medical technocracy is exerting itself. In the process it is pretty effectively transforming the U.S. constitution from the law of the land into a mere list of suggestions.

Our unsustainable, schizoid, economic reality.

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Oppression, Personal Development, Politics, Spirituality, Sustainability
Photo: Ken Dunning

I was listening to a program on Public Radio this morning. The reality of refugee children, their usually traumatic, desperate life experiences were being detailed. I suppose, for someone living in the U.S. or another country which refugees are fleeing to, one reaction to such a presentation is to feel good that safer harbor is being offered. That is a good thing. However, that is not an ultimate answer to the problem which the current masses of refugees are a symptom of. The overriding problem is the creation of nonviable, unsafe, violent, often deadly conditions in the countries, cultures, and communities from which the refugees are fleeing.

I’m sure that some analysts can point to a myriad of reasons for the horrible conditions which are manifesting in country after country around the world. The Ukraine is the latest country receiving world wide news attention to be experiencing such a descent into hellish conditions. I am fairly confident that there are other countries, other populations, also experiencing such a descent at this time which are not receiving such wide news coverage.

Analysts can take a great amount of time and energy pointing at historical events, cultural proclivities, past wars, historical animosities, and assigning current ravages to such causation can all seem very convincing, and hopelessly complex and irreconcilable. I’m not saying that there are not real contributing reasons to be found in such analyses. However, whenever there is a population experiencing cultural deterioration and the rise of hellish conditions, there are causative factors which are not so complex, culturally specific, nor so perplexing and/or mysterious. There are a few key factors which are common to all such descents into hell being experienced in countries, and among populations, around the world. These factors are:

  • People who occupy key social/political/economic positions that are infected by a compelling lust for the acquisition of wealth and power.
  • Persons of similar mindset who hope to share in the plunder by adopting a subservient attitude toward those waging campaigns of acquisition of wealth and power upon the world.
  • A callous disregard or contempt for the lives and well-being of the general populations held by those involved in the quest for wealth and power and those that support them.
  • An inability, or unwillingness, on the part of the population to resist the depletion and/or destruction of their communities and lives. Sometimes segments of the population may support the cruelty and violence on the part of those in power toward other segments of the population. Thereby becoming accessories in the descent into hell of their country, and ultimately of themselves. This can be the result of a strategy of divide and conquer being implemented by those in power.
  • A desire to exact retribution/revenge on the part of the persecuted segment of the population toward their persecutors. This opens the door for an ongoing cycle of violence, misery, and hell on Earth.

It is important to note that while material wealth and cultural/political power are the currencies of such situations, the driving forces involved are spiritual. The greed, lust, hate, contempt for the lives of others, that underlie all such situations are symptomatic of a toxic, ailing, spiritual reality. One in which all affected know little or no peace nor harmony with the world around them. In essence, the internal spiritual toxicity and sickness of those in power becomes expressed in the conditions of the countries and populations over which they wield power/authority. It is not required to somehow address all the historical factors for healing to occur. What is required is for the persons in the here-and-now, the present, to recognize the destructive reality consistently brought into the world when people lose sight of the innate spiritual need for people to treat one another as we want to be treated. For people to adopt life oriented, life affirming, egalitarian values and actions. To recognize the pervasive divine spirit of life that flows through and connects all life on Earth and throughout the universe.

It may present as a simple proposition, however, it entails people voluntarily, with dedication and commitment, entering into a monitoring of their own thoughts, feelings, and actions. It requires consciously transforming intentionally or inadvertently destructive and/or malevolent motives into benevolent ones. Reorienting the thinking and behavioral patterns that have engendered the descent into hell. It is imminently possible, it does require commitment, dedication and work. I would suggest to anyone entering into that discipline, that a place to start is in recognizing when any thoughts or feelings which entail doing direct or indirect harm to others to take place within your mind then redirect that energy into addressing the provocative issues in a constructive, benevolent manner. What on Earth could be a motive powerful enough to motivate a person to such a reorientation? The realization of what the world can be if humankind can succeed in such a transformation. Studying the works of the saints, prophets, healers, shaman, can help provide material to aide in redefining, reorienting, one’s ingrained, dysfunctional, self-destructive thinking patterns.

So where does the “schizoid” aspect of it all enter in? Contemplate this: in the U.S. and some other Western countries, tax dollars are used, public money, to spend extravagantly on military purposes which often seem to be in support of corporate agendas. Agendas which too often involve killing people and destroying infrastructure in poorer, often Middle Eastern, African, and Asian countries. While there may be some form of industry which takes place as a result, this industry is too often predatory. With a priority on corporate profits the resources, both material and human, of the affected nation are plundered with the nation being left poorer, often fragmented and further traumatized.

“We the People”, via the Government and U.S. corporations allow, subsidize and/or provide weapons or literally are the military force for much, of the murderous destruction that is taking place in the world. Then we have fund raisers and charities and offer refuge to the hapless victims of the enterprises of those enterprises. Band aid responses to sledgehammer blows. If that isn’t schizoid nothing is. However, then we the citizens of the countries in which are home to the persons, corporations, who are the actual driving forces behind all the carnage, the principle profiteers of the plundering and carnage taking place, may feel resentment to the refugees of that plunder and carnage. A resentment born of the perception of increasingly scarce resources going toward foreigners who have not earned those resources.

Often the general populations of the U.S. and other involved Western countries may have an apathetic attitude toward it all, or even support the carnage. Usually while under the trance of the professionally thought out, compelling narratives, those most directly involved and profiting from the carnage are broadcasting. And it gets even worse, The very same people and corporations that are driving and profiting from the aforementioned carnage are also driving and profiting from the policies and practices which are creating the aforementioned increasing scarcity of housing, jobs and other resources in the U.S. and other involved Western Countries.

Most of the work being done to support these wealth and power driven individuals and corporations is being done by people whose own lives, or those of their children, grandchildren are, or will be, negatively affected by the fruits of their labors. It is as irrational a situation as could exist.

We, the people of the world, need to come to our senses, stop aiding and abetting the madness, and treat each other fairly, with understanding and compassion.

It’s time we stopped the brutality of the mandates and the widespread suffering they perpetuate.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Covid-19, Health, Healthcare, Oppression, Politics, Vaccines

For over a year we have seen small businesses closed, people isolated, depression on the rise, suicides on the rise, homicides on the rise.  We have seen billions funneled toward Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson, and Astra Zeneca.  We have seen the “big box” stores;  Walmart, Costco and others, including the online store Amazon, reaping billions from the shut down of competition.  Now thousands, if not millions, are losing, or will lose, their jobs due to the draconian mandates by President Biden and many State Governors.  There are millions experiencing death and crippling reactions from the so-called “vaccines”.  The most authoritative report on the subject, the “Lazarus Report”, more formally entitled “Electronic Support for Public Health-Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (ESP:VAERS)” in their study of the adverse event reporting system, data collected from 6/2006 to 10/2009, they found that only 1% of vaccine adverse reactions are reported.  The current VAERS report of deaths from the COVID vaccines is 16,766.  Using the aforementioned Report’s findings, that predicts deaths from COVID vaccines are more in the area of 16 million.  This is not even counting crippling neurological reactions and other adverse reactions. 

There has never been such an egregious case of the “cure” being worse than the disease.  Yet, driven by the media’s fear mongering, millions of Americans, blinded by that fear, continue to support harsher and more pervasive mandates. All being done under the misguided, if not criminal, pretense of protecting the public.  All in response to a virus which has negatively affected far fewer lives than has the brutality of the official responses; shutdowns, mandates.  We are seeing first-hand how fear can drive people to abandon both rationality and civility.

In the midst of all this we should not lose sight of the fact that an elite few are reaping windfall profits from the ongoing events.  And that those few occupy positions of extraordinary influence within the halls of government and industry, including all forms of media. 

Now the profiteers are looking to expand the sales (and it is sales, we do pay for the injections people are receiving “for free”, via our tax dollars) to inject children over the age of 5.  Considering the extremely high probability that most of the damage being done by these “vaccines” is going unreported, being almost entirely ignored by media, this is a move which is heinous in it’s disregard, if not it’s contempt, for the lives of the children being targeted. 

The Noble Failure

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Integrity, Manifesting our Future, Oppression, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality
(c) mrdoggs http://www.fotosearch.com

The Noble Failure is a character in American politics which has been showing up with increasing frequency. The Noble Failure knows what people want. When campaigning for office, the Noble Failure speaks to the needs and wants of the people, and does so convincingly. The Noble Failure will emote, inspire, speak of noble aspirations and a better, fairer, more equitable world. People will be led to believe if only they can get the Noble Failure elected, things will improve. The thing is, that is all just part of the show, the main attraction. It is intended to draw voters, and the reality of Presidential elections last few decades show it works. Why wouldn’t it? People aren’t going to vote for what they don’t want to hear.

However, the promises are never, not from day one, meant to actually be fulfilled once the Noble Failure is elected. Once in office the excuses are pulled out of the closet. “The Legislature won’t get on board.” “The projects can’t be funded.” “We need to first increase the military budget.” “It’s not a good idea to increase the national debt.” “We need to infuse cash into our big corporations to compete internationally.” “It’s the damn ________________ (Democrats/Republicans, liberals/conservatives).” “We need focus our energies on attacking _______________ (fill in the blank).” Or, maybe, the new standard: “It would be a socialist program.”

So, the Noble Failure puts forward the face of grief, of sorrow, maybe even of having been betrayed. They bemoan the inability of others in power to appreciate the vision they sold to the American public. They may villainize those identified as obstacles to their stated campaign goals. This is the 21st century American Presidential/political reality. It didn’t begin in the 21st century, but it’s the only one we’ve had since the turn of the century. It’s the contemporary script: align your stated goals with what the people want and need. Make a few gestures toward fulfillment, then blame someone else for the failure to produce. Repeat in the next election cycle. The only people who don’t get excuses after the election are the 1/10th of 1%’ers who always come out ahead. Sometimes more than others, but the national wealth, the wealth resulting from the work of millions of people, just keeps flowing into their bank accounts. Policies keep coming which support their goals.


At the end of the day, the key players attend their private clubs, extravagant parties, concerts, events, have a few drinks and pat each other on the back. Maybe arrange to give each other official accolades and medals. Or, quite possibly engage in some dark rituals or forms of entertainment. A troupe of Machiavellian actors showing up for the after show reception.


It was the script from the beginning of the campaign, as it has been for several decades. It’s one reason why, from the perspective of the Noble Failures and their cronies, control of the White House, and the Legislature, cannot be allowed to slip from the control of a small circle of “their” people. They have been exercising an increasingly pervasive control that has been jealously guarded since 1963.

What does the general population get from all this? Frustration, disenfranchisement, increasing debt and poverty. One thing we can see from all this is that when the majority are not able to see the issues that are negatively affecting their lives addressed at the source, people will turn on each other. Like an animal caught in a trap. The animal can’t open the trap, so in order to escape, it chews it’s own leg off. “We the People” turn on each other, divide and be conquered. And those who occupy the seats of power and control the monopolized media are all too ready to throw some fuel onto those fires.

The difference between us and an animal caught in a steel trap is we that have minds capable of finding better solutions. We need to stop inadvertently, or as “wannabes”, cooperating with corruption, the disease, that is destroying the dream of a society that can work for all. Quit turning on each other. Quit buying into the incessant fear mongering dispensed to keep us distracted and paralyzed. Treat each other right; personally, economically, and in every way. Not just within the United States, also internationally. Create a culture that doesn’t have to kill and conquer in a misguided attempt at creating international “cooperation”. Create a culture that others want to emulate because it works and works well. Create a culture with the organizing principle of human wellbeing, reflecting our mutuality rather than fear and greed. Stop blindly following, believing in, the proclamations of those whose goal it is to keep us distracted, disorganized, fearful, and subservient.

In the Absence of Representative Government

by kendunning, posted in Community, Covid-19, Integrity, Mental Health, Oppression, Politics

In Washington State a State Senator recently bemoaned the ongoing nature of the special emergency powers ceded by the Legislature to Governor Inslee. This is a very important, very timely issue. It appears that on both the Federal and the State level, Chief Executives have gotten way too comfortable with a unilateral decision making ability. It is time we restored the democratic republic to the form it was intended to be. Would we be experiencing, suffering from, the ongoing oppressive mandates, nominally justified by the, again, nominal Covid pandemic, if the experiences and the wisdom of the people were indeed being followed by a representative government? I don’t think so. The fact is a relative few people have experienced the kind of devastating illness potentially resulting from Covid that the media persists in broadcasting as if it were the reality in every house next door.

This is not to trivialize the suffering of those who have been the hardest hit by the virus, but that being said, we cannot continue to react to the experiences of an extreme minority as if that is the reality for all. While giving such minority experiences the time and attention they deserve, it is not wise governance to base the parameters of the functioning of the entire society upon the abilities or vulnerabilities of the most vulnerable among us.

If the vast majority of Americans took inventory of their own first-hand reality and urged our State and Federal legislators to either enforce, or lift, the harsh mandates based on that inventory, mandates which have led to many citizens losing their jobs, incomes, mental health, physical health or even their lives, we would have seen the mandates lifted months ago, for good. If we would have ever seen them imposed in the first place. I tend to think we may have opted for the initial “flattening the curve” 2-3 weeks, but not the ongoing, oppressive marathon we have experienced.

But that is not the reality we are facing. When it comes to the Covid mandates, we are not being governed by a representative body. We are being dictated to by an authoritarian few, often in an arbitrary manner with only the sketchiest, if any, actual evidence to support their dictates.

It is past time for us to insist upon the reassertion of a genuinely representative government.