Category: Politics

In today’s worldwide culture of pervasive greed, deceit and competition, is it still possible to genuinely be of service to one’s community?

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

The short answer: yes! However…

How many average citizens foresaw the kind of dystopian world we are facing in 2022?.  There were some prophets who did foresee such a world, Biblical prophets and prophets within other spiritual disciplines.  There were prophets within literature and other media.  George Orwell for one, and others whose names aren’t coming to me at this time.  In the United States of America, and in many other countries, the agencies, laws, standards of community behavior which humanity as a whole has been working to develop for centuries, millennia, have to a great degree been perverted.  In every field of human endeavor, the various disciplines and fields of science; medicine, public health, banking, insurance, education, psychology, sociology, religion, agriculture, energy production, communication, journalism, and government, have all to a significant extent seen their original purposes, their organizing principles, deviated from the service of promoting the well being of individuals, communities, and societies to the service of the acquisition of power and wealth by a relative few. A relative few who are willing, and increasingly able, to inflict whatever injustices, assaults, and other harms upon humanity they deem necessary or desirable in order to achieve their aims. 

Medicine is no longer about the health of the patient, it is increasingly about turning a profit.  Public health is about seeing that regulations which would hamper the machinations of the profit motive of industry do not become reality.  Agriculture is no longer about the production of healthful, wholesome, nutritious food, it is about producing profit.  Energy production is not about producing clean, abundant energy for communities and industry, it is about keeping the profits flowing to owners of the existing obsolete energy production systems.  Psychology is not primarily about increasing our understanding of human mental functioning in order to promote health and well-being, it has shifted to primarily serving the goals of manipulating populations to serve the agendas of those relative few in their pursuit of power and wealth.  Communication: the media, television, radio, movies, and journalism have in large measure become merely the public relations devices for that relative few.  Education has become about children learning how to follow the rules and perform the tasks within industry and the military which they foresee needing.  Banking and insurance are no longer primarily about providing services which help keep individuals, communities, and societies economically whole and healthy but are, again, turned to serving the acquisition of power and wealth by those relative few.  Within religion, the saying that religion is the opiate of the masses has never been more applicable.  And government? There may never have been a time when more governments around the world, most assuredly including the Government of the United States of America, have prostituted themselves more completely to the interests of the moneyed few.

It is necessary to qualify the above statements with the statement that every single field of endeavor which is mentioned above still has practitioners, workers, who are motivated and struggling to serve the benevolent goals which generally were present when that field of endeavor came into being.  And we certainly need more. 

Again, however…

The challenge facing individuals who aspire to a life of benevolent service is the increasing power within the respective systems of those whose hearts and minds are captured by the lures of wealth and power. Too often such individuals have captured the reins of control within the respective endeavor and use that control to render even those of genuinely benevolent motive subservient to their agendas. 

Can a person of genuinely good intent manage to negotiate the obstacle course of perversions within their field of study and manage to acquire useful knowledge and bring their aspiration of genuine public service to fruition?  Yes, just as it has been possible at any time in all of human existence, it is possible now.  However, for such individuals to be able to keep the integrity of their honorable purpose, it requires work.  Work in developing self awareness and a constant vigilance for the sometimes subtle, sometimes tempting, and sometimes intimidating attempts at corrupting that honorable purpose and their (your) personal integrity, which they (you) will face.

Of all the challenges a person who genuinely seeks to serve humanity, and of course earn a decent living will face, the one which manages to derail the honest intentions of the greatest number of people is the lure of greed.  Either you will be expected to accept as normal the greed of the people whom you work for; to serve it and feed it.  Or you will be groomed to believe that you deserve an inordinate, exorbitant income yourself.  And of course your bosses deserve more because, well, they’re your bosses.  Contemporary civilization has not only almost completely ignored all the warnings of the prophets and sages against greed, it has been glorified.  

It is an inescapable reality that no matter the nobility nor the utility of the products or services which an individual or group of individuals may contribute to a people, the benefits provided can be ultimately outweighed by the harms done if the economic costs to provide the product or services captures an inordinate amount of the economic resources of those purchasing those products or services.

To withstand the lures, temptations and intimidation of those who have captured enormous wealth and power, largely through their narrow focus on the pursuit of those things, it helps greatly to have some understanding of the true, enduring nature of our existence. The more, the better.  There are enduring, spiritual reasons why, for centuries, actions such as lying, stealing, cheating, greed, murder; in general harming other people through overly self-centered actions, have been discouraged.  Someone might say, of course they were discouraged, they are wrong.  However, why are they wrong?  Are they wrong merely because they defy some arbitrary rules which humans made up because they seemed like the thing to do?  No, the reasons run deeper than that.  The reasons such actions have been so universally discouraged through the ages have to do with the interconnected nature of humanity.  Routinely and callously engaging in actions which foster distrust, hatred, fear, and poverty in others erodes the spiritual/social fabric we all need to be healthy. The spiritual/social fabric we need in order to achieve our highest potential as a species on this planet.

In summary, it is possible to have a life of service to humanity. Not one of self-sacrifice, but one in which worthwhile service is rewarded with a worthwhile wage. However, there is no shortage of individuals, groups, corporations, who will strive to see that service turned to their exclusive benefit regardless of however harmful the result may be to humanity as a whole. They are skilled at appealing to a person’s ego in achieving that goal. Such individuals, groups, corporations are regrettably short sighted. They have yet to realize that ultimately such an agenda is as harmful to them as to those whose well-being they routinely hold in contempt.

The solution to this situation is one which spiritual leaders and many religions have been proclaiming for centuries, not always phrased exactly the same, the meaning is: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Applying this concept to our lives is not always as simple as saying it. It takes effort, self-knowledge. However, ultimately, we see everyday in many horrible situations around the world where the alternative leads us. It’s time to embrace idealism.

The infamous “rabbit hole”: created by the frequent and grievous practice of deception. Maintained by the practice of blind obedience.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Mental Health, Personal Development, Politics, Spirituality, Sustainability
Image: (c) Dazdraperma http://www.fotosearch.com

If you pay much attention at all to the reports, investigative journalism, conspiracy theories and undeniable conspiracy reality that is increasingly present in many different media these days, sooner or later you are going encounter the term “rabbit hole”. The rabbit hole is, metaphorically speaking, the long dark tunnel (of information, facts) that one must work one’s way through to penetrate the superficial, artificial, mental image of the world which certain aspects of the government, media and various other industries, do their best to assure is the one which most people of the world carry with them. Those who have dared delve into the realms of the realities which are kept hidden as well as possible from the average citizen often pay a price. I’m not referring to sinister operatives who abduct people from their homes and hide them away in some covert prison or another. Or who maybe kill them. Although those atrocities are documented to have happened to honest, caring individuals who have uncovered and revealed truths, or produced products, which certain powerful individuals did not wish to see revealed. Just ask Julian Assange about that, if you can get to him in whatever dark hole he’s being imprisoned in. You might ask Cathy O’Brien, or Dr. Jeffrey R. McDonald, except he’s locked up for life. Or Stanley Meyers, or Ted Gunderson, but they’re dead.

The list could go on and on. But that is not the price which I am focusing on in this article. The price I am referring to is the breakdown of one’s internalized worldview. A reality which can often be a far more traumatic, disorienting experience than the mere mention of it even hints at. It can leave a person isolated, paranoid, unable to function well in day-to-day life. Or it might even prove fatal if the resulting debilitation is not successfully remedied. I think some intuitively sense that digging too deep into the affairs of the world might hold unpleasant consequences and consequently they avoid doing so. They usually also avoid listening for too long to someone who has been actively digging. But there are those whose thirst for knowledge, whose need to feel informed, connected with the actual reality of what is going on around them, is so compelling that they are going to seek the truth. Period.

The fact is, it seems that for those in positions of worldly power; governmental, economic, military, or even religious power, the methods they often utilize in dealing with the general public are to deceive, inveigle and obfuscate.

The vulnerability which many of us have is that we have allowed ourselves to internalize the system’s explanation of what’s going on in the world as absolute reality. If we could genuinely rely upon the system to be honest with us, we would not be at such a risk of finding ourselves traumatized and disoriented by the eventual emergence of reality. Unfortunately, in the U.S. and many other places that is not the case. I venture many people in the U.S. and many other countries are experiencing some degree of traumatization following coming face to face with actual reality. Some are experiencing severe symptoms resulting from it.

What can we do to protect ourselves from, or to help heal ourselves from the very real attempts to instill us with an illusory worldview and the inevitable cognitive dissonance we face as a result? To begin with, stop blindly believing in the proclamations coming from those who hold high office. The current dismal global reality is that if there is big money involved there are almost certainly big lies and deep corruption involved. We need to question, investigate, analyze, be skeptical, get grounded in grassroots level reality. Honor the basic values of truth, honesty, fairness, neighborliness. Recognize, understand, and express to the very best of our abilities, our mutuality here on this planet. If we’re not thinking “all for one and one for all” on a global level, we’re thinking “all for none and none for all”, and that is not going to serve us well.

Lies, deceit, greed, corruption are not the unavoidable way of life on planet Earth. They are what humankind through either short-sighted participation, ignorance, complacency or apathy have allowed to become widely manifest. It is important to realize that the use of such corrupt methods are not new to this century, or even this millennium. Our current world culture has seen such methods employed in the pursuit and the exercise of worldly power for millennia, possibly since the beginning of recorded history. But that does not in any way indicate that such behaviors are unavoidable or insurmountable. We, as a species, have overcome many of the challenges which, through our ignorance in whatever developmental stage we were in at the time, we have found ourselves facing. Human beings are responsible for the poisonous corruption when and where it is taking place, and we as human beings can see it stopped. It requires our will to do so and our efforts to be consciously aware and constantly endeavoring. Constantly endeavoring to refuse to participate in the thinking and practices which are undermining our nations, our communities, and our lives. And constantly endeavoring to replace such behaviors with positive, sustaining, honesty, truth and an applied understanding of our mutuality.

Through our cooperation and obedience, we are the strength of our oppressors.

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.

If you have to ignore world events to maintain a positive attitude…

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Environment, Health, Mental Health, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality, Unified Field

If you have to ignore world events in order to maintain a positive attitude, you’re in trouble on two fronts.

1. As technology has given unprecedented access, for good and for evil, to nations, communities and people worldwide, isolationism has become obsolete. There has never been a time when personal involvement in political and economic affairs has been more important. Right now it may look hopeless because things have gotten out of hand, but that is an illusion. The Divine Creative Spirit flows through us all and through the entirety of our world. We are affected by it and we affect it. Our thoughts, our words our deeds, all these things create ripples thoughout our world. We are either acting consciously or unconsciously. It’s time we take back the creative processes of our world to thoughtfully form the world we want for ourselves and our loved ones. Even the thoughts we hold make a difference.

2. If internally you are overly vulnerable to the spiritual content of the individuals and groups who are engaging in hurtful, destructive, and maliciously manipulative actions, you are out of touch with your own, personal, source of strength and renewal. It’s time to get back in touch with the spiritual reality you are a valuable part of. The Divine Creative Spirit, God, is ever present, the strength and resilience of this Great Spirit, is available to all who seek it. There are many books, articles and videos made by others who are seeking and have found various valuable spiritual realities which they are sharing for the benefit of all. I have found “The Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East”, by Baird Spalding to be a source of strength. I’ve been told “A Course in Miracles” is also a valuable source. There are many, many more. And, there are men and women, ministers, priests, rabbis, imams, shamans, not all, but many, who also are personally in touch with the Divine Creative Spirit and can be valuable in offering information, suggestions and support to us on our path to a greater understanding and more enlightened participation in our own lives and in the world at large. Beware of any who claim to be a necessary intermediary between yourself and the Divine Creative Spirit! Embrace those who encourage and aid you in the development of your own personal awareness and connection.

How can the human culture, as a whole, establish and sustain dynamic viability?

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Politics, Science, Spirituality, Sustainability
Why do I use Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs so often in my articles? Because it informs us of a concept key to a successful life as a person or for a culture.

We are facing what happens when we, as a culture, do not manage our Earthly resources in the same manner our bodies internally manage resources. We have allowed individual people and small groups to acquire inordinate amounts of wealth which they are now using to impose their whimsical ideas of what humanity should do, and be, upon the world at large. They routinely ignore the knowledge which we, as a species, have acquired over centuries regarding how we can manage our resources to create and sustain a dynamic, vital, human culture on this planet.

Yet, if they are determined to control humanity, how can they not ignore it? The knowledge base we as a species have collectively accumulated is so immense no single individual, nor small group, even with the most advanced computer systems in the world, can effectively draw on our knowledge base and appropriately apply it within all the various localities. How can a single individual or small group take into consideration all of the variables which exist, or can emerge, in all of the people or communities? It takes all of us, or at least the vast majority of us, working together with the intention of cooperatively applying our knowledge, not our dogma nor individual fondest wishes; our knowledge, to make such a reality come into being.

It takes humans working together. We need the participation of all people who, collectively, have taken the time to become well informed within one or more of the various areas of knowledge. Areas of knowledge which apply to human wellbeing. We need people who have the capacity to “read” the fine points, the subtle cues, of both human reality and the contextual reality of their environment. We need people who are invested in, who realize their innate investment in, responding to our personal, social and industrial needs. It takes cooperatively communicating, sharing, listening, analyzing, considering the information available. We need to be creating interacting networks of caring people who share the same goal: the wellbeing of all of humanity and life on Earth. We need to look to our own bodies and in doing so realize we are looking at a basic model of how a complex organism can successfully organize and operate around meeting it’s needs.

Doing this with the proper understanding and regard for our shared basic needs, and recognizing that as human beings we also have higher order needs which we must individually pursue, we can realize the potentials of our existence which currently too often go unrealized. We must keep in mind that no single human’s desires, nor small group’s desires, must be allowed to usurp or sabotage the management of resources for the meeting of the basic needs of the entirety of our human culture.

In order for humanity to survive, we must, without situational exceptions, pursue and express truth.

In his farewell address to the nation, President Dwight Eisenhower cautioned us: “…we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” We need to heed his warning and expand it to individuals and any small groups. We now can see that it is by the acquisition of inordinate wealth that unwarranted influence is acquired.

Vital, thinking human beings are not meant to be turned into mindless automatons.

by kendunning, posted in Building our future., Community, Manifesting our Future, Mental Health, Personal Development, Politics, Psychology, Spirituality, Sustainability
A path in the beautiful North Cascades.

We are consigning children’s education to school systems which teach them to blindly trust and obey the people who occupy the governmental offices within our society.

For the survival of the human race, that needs to stop. Governments and the people who work within them are only beneficial to a society to the extent that their primary goals are the genuine health and well-being of the society which they serve. This necessarily means working within certain parameters. An essential quality which must be present within the parameters any and all governmental bodies operate within is truthfulness. Hand in hand with truthfulness is openness. Merely saying that the government is not going to allow it’s citizens to know what the criteria are that governmental officials are considering in their decision making does not meet those criteria. Not even close. Somewhere along the line, since the second world war, Americans allowed the Government to take the stance that America is on a permanent war footing and that the type of secrecy which was put in place during the war needed to exist on an ongoing basis. This culture of secrecy creates a fertile ground for corruption, lies, misdirection and unexplained actions. If we treat the whole world as a real or potential enemy, we create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I believe John F. Kennedy either intuitively or intellectually knew this. One of his primary goals was to take America out of the war-mindedness which had continued after WWII ended, and put America and the world on a course for true, sustainable, friendships and harmonious coexistence between all nations. This flew in the face of the aspirations of wealth and power hungry, militant, individuals who believed they saw a path to their desired version of the future. A path which President Kennedy firmly rejected. Having any nation, or group, especially any with predatory economic goals, act as an ongoing dominant overlord of the people of the world is not a viable, sustainable condition. It is clearly something most people in the world will loathe and reject if an attempt is made to force it upon them.

For sound mental, physical and spiritual health, people desire, need, to feel a vital, reciprocal, interaction with their environment, their world. That desire/need is an innate quality of being born into the human race. However, the connection to, the awareness of, this quality can be dulled. Through repetitive instruction from trusted adults and authority figures, a child’s attention can be redirected from this innate desire designed to support and sustain human beings throughout life, to a dependency upon the declarations of those aspiring to godlike power within the lives of others. However, this innate desire of humanity cannot be dulled indefinitely.

The first allegiance a person should learn is the allegiance to the positive human values we know work toward creating and sustaining healthy people and healthy communities: honesty, fairness, intelligence, analytical thinking, reason, compassion, ingenuity, resilience, strength, love and kindness.

Egalitarianism vs. Socialism (vs. Capitalism)

by kendunning, posted in Community, Economics, Politics, Socialism/Capitalism

This is a brief examination of the essence of the concepts of egalitarianism and socialism. While capitalism is mentioned, I think most people are all too aware of what capitalism is and how it is playing out in our world. I am very confident that, in the world today, there are many people who claim to want a socialist society when, in reality, the concept they have in their mind is of a more egalitarian society. In 20/20 hindsight, I know I have made that semantic error. Words are powerful. Using the correct term to accurately express the concept we have in our mind is important. I think we often fall into the error of the misuse of a term, especially when that misuse is common around us.

According to Merriam-Webster, “egalitarian” is defined as:

“: asserting, promoting, or marked by egalitarianism“.

Egalitarianism is defined as:

“1: a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs

2: a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people”

I think, when a lot of people use the word “socialism”, the above qualities are actually what they have in their mind. One other notable aspect which I think often accompanies the use of the word “socialism”, is that when thinking of increased equality, it is common for a person to be thinking only in terms of the rewards, the benefits, available within a society. True equality also means sharing in the work involved in developing and maintaining a society. There is much needed, in many different areas, to maintain a healthy society. Everything from picking up the trash on the side of the road, to brain surgery. It all matters. There cannot be viable equality in a society in which some only receive, or in which some only give. The imbalance will cause the society to topple. It’s such a simple principle, yet one that is so often overlooked: imbalance engenders instability which can, and will, result in a toppling.

All that being said, Merriam-Webster’s definition of socialism is as follows:

“1: any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods

2a: a system of society or group living in which there is no private property

b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state

3: a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done”

I do not believe that this is what most people today who are using the term “socialist” or “socialistic” have in mind. I have a great deal of confidence that most people in the United States who use this term do not have “no private property” in mind. I know I don’t. I want to be able to leave my home in the morning and return to find it is still my home. The same with my car, tools, and essential personal property. On the other hand, sometimes working and contributing together to see that essential goods and services are available to all is a very good thing. Such a method is used widely to provide schools, police, fire fighter, and emergency response services. There are more essential goods and services which using a similar societal/cooperative approach in the provision of, could stand to benefit humanity greatly. That is another topic, not for this article.

It seems to me that the common use of the term “socialism” in the United States is a reaction to the extreme economic imbalance which is only increasing under the current under-regulated capitalistic economic system. In every city, I venture every town, in the United States today we see people being marginalized. People are experiencing their needs going unmet, often not for a lack of actively contributing to the wellbeing of their community. We are seeing the end result of allowing the predatory reality, which is a purely capitalist system, unfettered by adequate social responsibility and concerns, to determine our economic reality. However, in contrast to egalitarianism, socialism opens the door just as wide as capitalism does to an extreme imbalance in economic reality and political power. In putting all property in the hands of the governmental body, it puts great temptation in front of those holding high office within the government.

A reality we perpetually face is that any system is ultimately going to be as viable and sustainable as those in power opt to make it, or not.

I recommend those using the term “socialism”, as an alternative to “capitalism”, more closely examine it’s definition. Then examine the definition of “egalitarian”. Words matter. What term more accurately describes the reality you want to see emerge in the world?

It is time to remember our humanity.

by kendunning, posted in Community, Covid-19, Healthcare, Integrity, Medicine, Politics, Vaccines
Image (c) AlexMax http://www.fotosearch.com

Over the past 6+ decades “our” Federal Government has lied to us about the JFK and RFK assassinations. Also, the Vietnam war, the Oklahoma City Bombing, the first WTC bombing, MK Ultra, UFO’s, 9/11, WMD’s in Iraq, and more. Why are so many people so willing to blindly accept that we are getting the truth about COVID and the “vaccines”? To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a time, nor a set of issues, when so many qualified, independent, professionals have felt compelled to speak out against what the Government and “mainstream” media are presenting to us. Professionals from various medical, biological, other scientific and legal disciplines are putting their professional credibility, their livelihoods, on the line to speak out.

What is the reason for the “tunnel vision” that has gripped so many educated, caring people? The “masses” have blindly followed the directives to destroy livelihoods, to impose isolation, to deprive youth of educational opportunities, to witness dramatic increases in poverty, depression and suicides. To be complicit in coercing neighbors to be injected with an experimental substance which those people did not want inside their bodies. All this based in fear of a disease, which, if left totally untreated, has a 99.9% + survival rate. If the WHO had not unilaterally redefined the term “pandemic”, from it’s traditional meaning, during the time of the Swine Flu, what is going on would not be a “pandemic”.

It is time to remember our humanity, our individuality. It’s time to stop trying to force our own health care decisions upon everyone. The value and necessity of individualized care has been a standard within the medical field for some time. Prior to being “vaccinated” or treated for COVID, are people being truly given the benefit of informed consent? Are the options which are recognized and utilized with success in other countries being made available? To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a time when those at the top of the pyramid of the medical, political and media establishment in the United States have worked so diligently to keep accurate information about a disease, and about viable treatment options, away from the general public. And there has never been a time when the American public has been so amenable to such censorship.

It’s time we recall our humanity. It’s time we remember that while we all are of essentially the same biology, within the basic similarity there are many significant differences. Differences which have come about via genetics, injuries, and/or exposures to a variety of experiences. Some of these individual differences can have a determination upon how various medical treatments and pharmaceuticals affect us. That is an essential reality of our human experience. Is it something we are ready to cavalierly dismiss in deference to…what…corporate profits?

It’s Time to End Partisan Politics

by kendunning, posted in Community, Politics
(c) trekandshoot http://www.fotosearch.com

Nothing kills the ability of individuals to run for office and make a difference like partisan politics. Once a country has accepted the presence of political parties, and those parties become so powerful it is all but impossible for an average citizen to successfully run for a national office without their support, they, the parties, own the system. And therefore, those who run the parties run the system. Those controlling the parties become the political “bosses”.

Within this type of political structure it doesn’t matter who runs for office, because, whoever is elected is only going to be the new mouthpiece for the bosses. Yet, the bosses know it helps obfuscate their presence by running candidates who at least have the appearance of being distinct political personalities.

It’s time we end political parties. Let individuals run for office. Return to a system wherein the media must give equal time to all candidates. That will also limit the number of repetitive political ads we’re subjected to. I’m sure the media will be happy to simply run one or two informative programs or articles on who the candidates are and what their positions on the issues are. In such a system we have an infinitely better chance of a candidate actually following through with their stated positions if they’re elected.

The world is in turmoil. What can we do?

by kendunning, posted in Community, Covid-19, Health, Healthcare, Medicine, Politics, Science, Vaccines

Much of what’s taking place in the world today has been made possible by amazing communication technologies. While these technologies bring much of positive value to the world, as with so many other developments, they also offer those with dishonorable motives new avenues through which to prey upon communities. The latter application of these technologies has reached such proportion, If I wasn’t seeing it happen, I’m not sure I would have believed it to be possible. I grieve that it is.

I was born in 1950. I remember the U.S. Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy. I remember what I saw as a child of life in those times. I remember the post WWII mind set which was predominant in those days in the midwestern United States. There was an undercurrent of optimism, positivity. Diseases were being conquered, diplomacy, rather than war, occupied the headlines. People felt good that tyranny, authoritarianism, genocide, had been defeated. As is all too clear now, the world wasn’t as free of some of these human problems as many believed.

It’s not that everything was ideal, not at all. There were (and sadly still are) issues of ignorance, misunderstanding, fear, hatred, between people of differing races and religions. There were the major rifts between the nations identifying with capitalism and those identifying with communism. However, during WWII, people from many nations, nations with histories of distrust, antagonism, had pulled together to defeat a common enemy. There was optimism that the common values which had surfaced during the war could be built upon to establish lasting peaceful relationships. It was a time of the belief in unlimited possibilities for a better world.

What is absolutely apparent now, is that those who perceived the possibilities for improving the conditions of life for all people, weren’t the only ones seeing unlimited possibilities. There were those who saw the potential of using the new technologies, the developments in transportation, communication, psychology, medicine, and other disciplines, as tools for plunder. Rather than embracing the opportunities to engage in massive development, to facilitate improvements for the common good, they saw, and continue to see, human deficits through the lens of exploitation. Not as areas of need to be addressed with pervasive development and education, but as openings to be exploited in order to establish themselves in predatory positions of power within the systems of the world.

It is apparent now, that post WWII, those seeking personal wealth and power have been working, manipulating public perception. Often co-opting the very symbols which had represented the defeat of tyranny, authoritarianism and inhuman behaviors. They employ words and symbols which once stirred the most positive motives within people to obfuscate and shield their predatory agendas. One of the first major coups these people won was, via magazines, television, and other media, establishing the idea of unrestrained pursuit of personal wealth as a positive primary value in the psyche of people around the world. Once that lie, a lie which ignores basic values necessary to maintaining both healthy individuals and healthy cultures, was pervasively established in the minds of the population, the door to pandemonium was opened.

Competitive economics establishes a system in which those at the top have the distinct advantage. The oppressive, sometimes murderous, methods used to maintain and expand the wealth of those at the top become just the methods of “business as usual”. After all, it’s what you would do if you had all that money? Isn’t it? It’s the value system the media repeatedly portrays as the way of the world. And many, especially those who have never been exposed to something different, simply assume that impression to be the global, inescapable reality.

Abraham Maslow provided us with a working framework, a skeleton, within which it is possible to “flesh out” not only healthy, thriving individuals, also healthy, thriving cultures.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

How do we know what is needed to “flesh out”, to establish a viable, worldwide, thriving human culture? We have the findings of the work done in many scientific disciplines over many centuries to guide us. Psychology, sociology, medicine, agriculture, engineering, all of these disciplines, and more, hold information which provides the necessary answers. There are the developments in science and the arts which provide much instruction for the establishment and maintenance of a healthful, thriving human culture. There are answer available to us to the problems of housing, health, energy, pollution, and more. Sometimes these answers go unused because they interfere with the profit motive of those in positions of power. And we accept it because the culture of competitive economics has become normalized.

The thing is, we have got the tools we need to establish a world in which people of many different backgrounds can live together as vital aspects of our world ecology, interacting and enhancing each other’s experience of life. What is missing is the focus to make it happen. I would have said the “will” to make it happen, but I believe that will is present, inside every living human being. Sometimes it is dormant, sometimes it has been covered in so much pain and trauma, so many lies and misdirections, that it expresses itself in twisted, destructive ways. But it is there.

As a teacher of mine once said: “Life takes work, it’s death that’s easy. Just do nothing and you will die.”

All people emanate from and are inextricably a part of the Divine Creative Spirit. This aspect of our existence is represented by the golden circle in the center in the diagram above. The next area, the circle which surrounds the center circle, is the “Worldly Persona” which is the identity the rest of world knows us by. It is defined by our words and deeds which are observable to the rest of the people in the world. It is this persona that is the product of the process described below. Our persona reflects the sum total of our worldly experiences, desires and decisions.

There are no “bad people”, there are no “good people”, there are only people. What makes the difference between tyrants such as Adolf Hitler, Mary I of England, or Pol Pot and revered personalies such as Gautama Buddha, St. Teresa of Calcutta, or Martin Luther King Jr.? It is not some mysterious, unknown variables. The difference lies in the sum total of their individual experiences (education, indoctrination, relationships, interactions), their desires, and their decisions. It is important to note here that the “sum total” may include the experiences, desires and decisions of many lifetimes. Also that biology and/or injuries can play a major role in the development of an individual’s persona.

However, we are thinking beings with free will. We have the potential to change. We can mold not only ourselves, but the world we live in. If we decide we desire a better, more harmonious, world, and we act upon that desire, we can bring that vision to reality. It may take time, but the sooner we start, the sooner we arrive.

With the determination to do so, bitterness can be transmuted to understanding. Fear and hatred can be transmuted to caring and love. However, we must stay aware that the opposite is also true. Caring and love, with enough abuse and trauma, especially when accompanied by input and reinforcement to do so, can be replaced with hatred and cruelty. We must end the mistreatment, the cruelties we impose upon one another. We must see each other as being the children of the same Creator, which we are. As we now know, we are all inextricably interconnected. Isn’t it time we established the positive, harmonious, joyful, reality we all, at the core of our being, long for?

In summation, while we all can, at times, be negatively affected by the world around us, through enlightenment, education, understanding, we can transmute negative impulses into constructive actions. We can play a more positively determinate role within our own lives, within our relationships, and within the world around us.

At this time, around the world, we are being advised by individuals and agencies, which wield substantial worldly power, to be fearful. We are being urged, coerced, to be compliant, to follow the instructions we’re being given. Instructions which appeal to the fear the media and corporate powers are largely responsible for instilling. In their positions of power within the media, the corporate powers are wielding an incredible ability of censorship over information. They routinely do not publish truths which disagree with, which dispute the predatory agendas they are implementing. A predominant one at this time is the COVID/”vaccine” agenda. Any information which contradicts the fear based agenda they are pushing, is either censored in corporate media, or, if it is referred to, it is done so in such a way as to discredit that information.

A collection of various and sometimes overlapping people have introduced a previously unknown disease into the world apparently in the pursuit of a homicidal, special interest, agenda. And they may introduce more. They are offering toxic, death-dealing treatments and doing all they can to repress the knowledge of the existence of safe, effective treatments. And throughout it all, they are engineering the flow of vast amounts of the world’s wealth into their hands. Yet we can make the decision to comply with this heinous agenda, or not. We have the final decision in whether or not to allow the pollution of our minds and spirits with the fear and hate they are promoting. And, we have the final decision whether or not to allow the pollution of our bodies with the toxic substances they are pushing.

Changing the focus back to our inherent divine origin and heritage, even when we are being motivated by fear, anger, hatred, even then, through the filters of our mind which are active at that time, we are expressing the innate desire for life which is present within all of us. However, if we desire a more harmonious, healthful, joyful life, we need to discipline ourselves to refrain from expressions which lead to more harm, more trauma, more fear, anger and hatred in the world. While we cannot ignore such emotions when they are present, we must learn to see through to the primary, underlying reality of the desire for life which is there. We must learn to see it not only within ourselves, but in “the other”. When we can do that, and when we embrace the values of negotiation, understanding, mutuality, and the desire for resolutions which enhance the harmony of human interactions, we can have a genuine heaven on Earth.

All through my life I have heard skeptics, cynics, say that such a thing is “too idealistic”, not practical, not possible. Even they, in doing so, inadvertently acknowledge the ideal nature of such thinking. If we aren’t devoting our time and energies toward seeking and establishing the ideal, what are we spending them on? Seeking and establishing the mediocre? The dysfunctional? Or are we just letting entropy, the slow slide into dissolution, be our guiding motive?

Ultimately, whether in the United States or someplace else in the world at large, the term coined in the U.S. by the authors of the Declaration of Independence, “We the People“, represents a reality which can stop tyrannical abuses and elevate humanity. It is within our individual decisions, that we collectively possess the ability to determine the direction this period of history will follow.