I took the most important parts of yesterdays blog and summed up the information I've uncovered in the last month in a few paragraphs. Enjoy.
The True State of the Nation There is as problem in the United States. There is a reason that the average American worker is disgruntled, dissatisfied with the economy and with the government. This problem seems to baffle analysts, it baffles Washington D.C. and the top five person who make more than $250,000. These people are so far removed from the paycheck to paycheck life style that they are completely unaware of why there is unrest among the rest of the 90% of the population. This is why the majority of people in D.C. do not resonate with the average United States citizen. The minimum wage is a concept that is over a hundred and twenty years old introduced by New Zealand and Australia far before FDR put it into place in response to the Great Depression. The Stock Market is a concept equally old and has not faced any form of reorganization or scrutiny from the general population of the United States. Both of these ideas have years of history and we can see in graphs the obvious timing of when the wealth of the United States left the United States. The true middle class United States Citizen makes a median income of $51,939. That's how much money that the average household income in the United States makes per year. That hasn't changed much since the 1980's and during that age it was good money. Houses cost around $27,000. The American Dream of owning a house, having a car and comfortably raising a family was well within reach for the American family during that era. In the 70's we saw a change. Investors took the profit created by the Untied States and place it elsewhere. They became global citizens and left the rest of the United Citizens in the dust. They took their profit and invested it in growing economies. The United Sates citizen has not seen an increase in their wages since the 1970's and in some industries (line cook, for example, which were filled with undocumented immigrants) went down. Then, as prices increased to adjust for this financial windfall of the 1970's mom had to leave the home. She went and began earning a income just slightly lower than her husband. This allowed the American Dream to continue uninterrupted and we experienced a boom in the 1980's. Then, there was an adjustment in the nineties, and people began to depend heavily on credit and took out interest on their burgeoning home values to continue the American Dream. With the Great Recession of 2008 that tactic to keep up the American Dream came to an end. Portions of Generation X were able to achieve the American Dream by taking advantage of the boom of the 90's. The bulk of Millennials do not have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. With wages being the same (when adjusted for inflation) as they were in the 1970's they are emerging from college in their mid-twenties in debt. They are pushing back the time when they can have children to their thirty's in the hope that by that time they will have developed a decent career somewhere in middle management. There is a problem. The middle management jobs have been cut out during the Great Recession. The productivity and the profit of the United States companies are at an all time high. Yet, the jobs that once appealed to people fresh out of college have been removed from the economy. They are being outsourced to India and other countries where people will work for less money. Further, the millennial already has an outstanding debt that they must pay back. Some never enter the workforce, others end up at an entry level job making minimum wage hoping that a mid-level management job will eventually open up. Pensions in non-government jobs are non-existent so those Millennials who do secure a job are dependent upon 401k's and the stock market for their retirement...no one even considers the paltry amount they have been told they will never receive from Social Security because that government program is doomed to fail. The Baby Boomer generation stubbornly refuse to retire. There is yet another problem that has compounded the issues already facing the Millennials. Big business did some projections, they analyzed the data and they realized there was going to be a labor shortage. The labor shortage was predicted to begin in 2010. At that time the amount of retired Baby Boomers would outweigh the amount of working citizens leaving great gulfs in the labor supply. Companies began actively outsourcing jobs and bringing in immigrants to do the work that these shortages were supposed to provide. These immigrants were supposed to fill in the labor at the bottom of the wages but that hasn't happened. Instead, they are competing with Millennials that are unable to put their degrees to work for the same minimum wage job and the rest of the immigrants are working under the table while collecting Food Stamps. There are industries that are experiencing labor shortages, Construction, but the Millennials with degrees have no interest in working manual labor (that's why they went to college right?) and the immigrants are showing that they have little to no interest in the jobs either. Meanwhile, the general population watches as those who were Millionaires became Billionaires, and then Trillionaires. Companies keep looking at their Year over Year profits and in so doing there is no reason to increase the wages of their workers. Meanwhile, companies wonder why sales are down, people wonder why the economy continues to be sluggish and the Recession has never left 90% of the population that are struggling to get by. Mom working is no longer making up for the stagnate wages, credit cards can no longer fill the gap (it has become popular not to use credit if possible in day to day life), and an overwhelming amount of the population that now have a college education are living at home with mom and dad wishing they could afford a place of their own. Meanwhile, the government continues to use Quantitative Easing keeping the interest rates low so that these Millennials can't even make money off of their savings accounts. The problem is that we are still waiting for the next FDR and the next restructuring of the United States in response to our knowledge thanks to the Great Recession. Using ideas that are over a hundred years old, such as the Minimum Wage, isn't working. Further, we are not even adjusting minimum wage to keep up with the productivity United States as it was meant to be used. Letting Wall Street operate the same way they did a hundred years ago and for the last forty years isn't working. We need someone who will prompt companies to reinvest in the United States and bring that wealth home so that the average United States citizen can enjoy it- not just the top 5% investor class who make $250,000 and more. The best way to do this, in my opinion, is a three fold strategy. Lowering the taxes on the average United States Citizen who is just barely doing better than the people earning minimum wage. This is the bulk of the population- at 90%. This at least, for a time should give the economy a boost as Generation X and the Millennials (people in their late twenties, thirties, and forties- in other words the working age) can spend some money and get the economy going. Next, companies need to be given an incentive to give back to their employees that have been working their butts off the last thirty years. This comes into a generous one time tax break from the government based on a percentage wage increase for all of the companies employees, the pledge to add middle management positions earning 70k-120k back into their companies and a pledge to keep those percentage of those positions and those wages permanently. Companies need an incentive to leave the Stock Market. Again, this comes in the form of a significant tax break to help companies that have reached market saturation in the United States (potentially the globe). This will discourage companies buying other companies (forming the modern day monopolies but keeping the names of the acquired companies different so the average citizen doesn't realize how little competition there really is) and encourage them to reinvest the money that was going to investors back into the companies. This will return the Stock Market back into the tool that it is meant to be for growing a business and not making a business that is already grown reach for impossible profit margins that prevent wages of the employees from increasing. Finally, outlaw companies from retaining the former names of companies. If a company is going to buy a new company they need to put the parent companies name on it. This way the citizens of the United States know how little competition there is and should discourage the behavior. This will prevent companies from being too big to fail. In many ways the situation that we are facing now is the same as the Great Depression. The only thing is that there was hardly a whimper from the Government in response to the growing crises. No one has stepped up to solve the problems. In fact, Government officials seem to be baffled by the civil unrest that produced the Fight for $15 and even the Occupy Wall Street movement of September 2011. These issues will and uprising will continue to become worse if we do not fix the problem. The problem is quite simple if you look at it from the bigger perspective, leave out the experts, the equations and people who want to make it complicated. Just using common sense gives us the perspective and the answers that the average American Citizen should be demanding.
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By far this is has probably been one of the most interesting years politically in some time. There is always anxiety when electing a new president. I can only hope that one day that there will be as much hype about city mayors, state governors, state representatives and senators. For now, all of us are being distracted by the sacrificial figure head of our government.
Overall, however, there is a tension in the air this year. People are being cheaper when it comes to how much they spend on purchases and yet I've seen an increase in over all customers where I work. Further, the people who are spending money are genuinely short tempered. This might be due to the dissonance that is occurring in our nation challenging the status quo politics. However, I see this election cycle as the culmination of a political cycle. For the past thirty years our federal government has been deeply distracted by Global Politics and goals. This distraction has, undeniably hurt the U.S. economy and the U.S. citizens might just be getting sick of it. Centralization of Power to Federal Government To really view this cycle that I'm talking about we need to look at the big picture. We're going to go back in time to 1868 and the 14th amendment. While the 14th amendment was a tremendously important victory concerning slavery it did something very strange. The moment the 14th amendment was ratified it shifted power from the Sovereign Authority of the individual States to the Federal Government. Originally, the United States, when conceived by the Framers operated much like the European Union was to operate. Each state had it's local government and they looked to the Federal Government only to gather and organize for war and to organize trade between the states. However, when the Union look as though it may fall apart with the Southern States forming their own Union the Civil War occurred and as we all know we became on nation again. The government that emerged from the Civil War was very different than the one that the original Framers created and far more centralized. Over the last 147 years the importance of local and state authority has waned to the point where they hardly get any mention in the local news coverage. Few people even know the name of the mayor in their home town. This has led to a since of frustration as the further the center of power is from the individual the less influence they can have on it and that leads to disenfranchisement. This might be one reason why subsequent generations feel they have no influence over the government and have very little interest in voting. Global Citizenship Ever since the end of Isolationism thanks to the World Wars the government of the United States focus shifted. That shift led to the concept that Franklin D. Roosevelt put into place in 1942 with the United Nations. (http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-nations-created). This shift to a more global view of the world gave rise to huge fortunes in the families that could invest in globalization. This also introduced the idea of a Global Citizen as opposed to just a national affiliation. For years the federal education system and the college system have placed a lot of attention on the role of Global Citizenship. Global Climate Change plays directly into global stewardship in the modern age. For the millennial generation this particularly true thanks to shows like Captain Planet and the educational system. The emphasis is on the United States acting in accordance with other nations in much the same way the states were added to the union. Each country acts with an independent sovereignty but in accordance to a collective perspective regarding the World Market. One example of this type of strategy is the European Union. The European Union, due to some countries being more of an economic burden then others seems to be destabilizing and may possibly break apart. However, this is a statement that has been made about the United States by European Countries for many years. The idea of a union of countries is still a fairly new development in the realm of politics and the United States is seen as being in a political infancy with too many diverse ideas that cannot last. Meanwhile, other countries may act as global partners in the U.N. as far as trade they have made it clear that organization will not influence their policies at home. For example, no matter how much Climate Change might be championed by influential leaders such as the pope it is highly doubtful a country like China will institute political change to end pollution. In fact, overall, there is a feeling when reading international articles that the United Nations is a highly ineffective political vehicle that doesn't serve any practical function. The Presidential Race As much as people love to hate both Trump and Sanders I am glad that they are have gained a foothold in the election. This gives me hope that in future generations we may evolve as a society and see candidates as more than just Democrat and Republican. In a previous post I examined that anti-politicians is becoming more mainstream and the reason for that might be an increase in the awareness in the citizens of the United States that some are benefiting from current politics while others are not. In fact, none of the candidates that are being considered can be viewed as "normal". Hiliary Clinton, by far the most "normal" presidential nominee is running despite a inquiry into emails that may prove that she leaked government intelligence information leading to the death of a diplomat and possibly the deaths in Benghazi. The fact that she's a woman doesn't seem to be impacting anyone's opinion on whether or not she will be president. Sanders is running on an openly Socialist ticket. I find it interesting that from 1950-1956 people were put on trial for having similar ideas thanks to McCarthyism. While that wasn't the best moment in our history it isn't without some merit that at one point our nation was so against socialism during the "Red Scare" that peoples lives were ruined...but sixty years later there are millions of people willing to have an openly socialist president! However, the supporters point to European countries that have really strong social policies such as free college education. Finally, Trump is easily an enigma or loose cannon. He's not really easy to pen down concerning a particular point of view in this election. Previously a democrat for several years it is interesting that he is running on the Republican ticket. His primary focus is on bringing jobs back to the United States and has a perspective that runs at odds with the Global Citizenship movement. In fact, in many ways the stance he takes politically is more on the side of isolationism then an emphasis on the role United States has globally. This is, no doubt, the reason why even President Obama has spoken out against a possible Trump presidency. Is the Global Citizenship Ideology Falling Apart? Notice how Obama emphasizes that our leadership is really important to other countries. Given that we send $37,680,000,000 in foreign aid to other countries the idea of those billions of dollars being cut off is undoubtedly scary. One of the most fascinating reasons why Donald Trump has garnered so much support is that his point of view is extremely Isolationist. When I investigated why people were voting for Trump I discovered that he was campaigning on a very rare platform. He is the only politician talking about jobs (aside from Hilary saying that the Economy is not doing well she has had absolutely no suggestion how to fix it). The way he suggests that the United States will be great again is by closing borders and bringing back manufacturing. This point of view is so strange to us after years of being focused on a "Global Point Of View" that it is jarring to the generations that grew up focused on the fact that we are global citizens. We have been told that having open borders is the modern and just way of operating our country. Free Trade is tantamount to the American Dream. While an entire generation has been conditioned to support the Global Citizenship ideology this particular Politically Correct boat might be running out of steam and Trumps unusual campaign might be the first indication people are waking up. Globalization and The Labor Shortage As wages have been frozen for approximately a generation, yes that same generation that grew up as Global Citizens, the idea that the United States is better off thanks to Globalization is questionable. In fact, in 2011 CNN Money stated that globalization may be one of the reasons (along with technology) that has kept the middle class income in stasis since 1917! They stated that the incomes for 90% of United States citizens have remained the same for the last thirty years. For example, in 1988 the average United States tax payer income was $33, 400 and 1998 the average income actually went down to $33, 000. (http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/16/news/economy/middle_class/index.htm) But don't take the CNN Money article as the only authority here are a couple of other articles stating the same thing: http://www.epi.org/publication/the_sad_but_true_story_of_wages_in_america/ and http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/09/for-most-workers-real-wages-have-barely-budged-for-decades/. When looking how the wages of the United States citizen has actually gone down despite increased productivity we must also take into consideration that there was a predicted labor shortage starting in 2010. Businesses and the government believed that they were saving the economy by pumping in as many immigrants as possible to compensate for a labor shortage has never actually happened ( http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/what-you-need-to-know-about-labor-shortages/). Surprisingly, the government did fix the problem with the labor shortage but to the detriment of it citizens. A huge amount of United States citizens are either being underpaid given their education or they are simply no longer looking for a job because there is too much competition when there should be too many jobs available. There has been a lot of talk since the Iraq War that the citizens of the United States are tired of being the Global Watch Dogs. The clear and distinct voice of the people was heard when the Obama administration wanted to enter Syria for yet another dust up in the Middle East. Is it possible that the rhetoric that inspired the Global Citizenship movement, that has put money into the pockets of the 1% but have not improved the lives or wages of 90% of the citizens of the United States in nearly thirty years might be coming to an end? There certainly been movements that address the discrepancy between the income levels. However, instead of identifying the cause as being Globalization, trade agreements and global policies that have a negative impact on the people of the United States it appears the millennial generation is turning to Socialism for answers. After all, we cannot turn our back on our very important work in changing the world as Global Citizens. Conclusion The truth is I never before considered isolationism on any level. However, after researching the history and looking at the big picture there is a very clear indication that the overly global policy that the United States has had has not benefited the average worker. The path that allowed for these policies to take place is clear and dominates much of the United States existence. One of the major factors affecting the political process in the United States is the focus of power in the Federal Government as opposed to the State Governments. This emphasis started over a hundred years ago and is very unlikely to change. This shift started the dramatic decline in participation in the local and state level leading to large amounts of people being disenfranchised regarding the political process. The success of a particularly Federal point of view on issues today is partly due to a news media that favors national and global stories over those of local stories. This form of news helps to keep their shows more entertaining because they can include bad news from around the world. With the end of the World Wars the focus shifted from a National point of view regarding the Role of the United States Federal Government to the that of Global Policies. As attention has shifted further and further away from federal issues to focus on Global Citizenship there has been an even larger amount of disenfranchisement. *Strangely, the differences between the Republican and Democrats when it comes to globalization is minimal and this has given rise to Conspiracy Theorists and the belief that the Federal Government is 'rigged.'* The only thing that has become clear is that in the era of anti-politicians the people of the United States are sick of the rhetoric that has lead to a stagnant economy. This election, in the very least, indicates people are starting to look beyond the party establishment for leadership. Hopefully, the next thing they will do is start to look beyond the politics as usual for the answer to why the top percentage of citizens in the United States continue to become rich while the majority of the population wages has been in stasis. If the economy goes through a crises prior to the Presidential Election we might end up with a candidate no one could predict. However, at this time due to the natural tendency of people not to change my bet is that Hilary will win the election. The fact that she is the most politics-as-usual candidate makes her the most obvious choice for those who want to play it safe but even if she does win there is the hope that people are becoming more aware. Perhaps, with this knowledge in mind there will be a change in the government that will benefit the people. Perhaps the electorate will fall away as the outdated means of election that it is, term limits will be put into place for the House and Senate, and there will be more of a focus on setting policy within the state and national borders of this country instead of globally. I can certainly dream that is the case. One may even say that the rise of the Islamic Terrorism is another ill that was conjured by the United States in trying to implement it's Global Strategy on the rest of the world. In many ways, since we went to their countries to protect our own selfish interests and left their citizens standard of living dramatically worse off we can say that too was a failed policy of Globalization. Even if we somehow end up with the typical politician of the last twenty years who's globalization goals have failed domestically and abroad...at the very least this election cycle indicates that people recognize that they are sick of the politics that have dominated our country for the last thirty years. Perhaps a little bit of isolationism will start to sink in and we will fix the problems at home before trying to solve the world's problems.
The Desire For Change
The overwhelming impression when considering the current political landscape is that it is very much the idea of not having politics as usual that's getting the most attention. Trump and Bernie Sanders are by far the biggest outsiders to really get attention and stay in the race in the last twenty years. The same people who voted for the change that Obama spoke about during his campaigns for president seem to be torn in between the two more extreme non-traditionalist candidates. Given that this is the third election in the a row where people are overwhelmingly turning to alternative candidates to the traditional Bush's and Clinton's it is defintely becoming a trend but what does it mean? Anti-Politics In David Brooks article The Governing Cancer of Our Time he argues that this move against politics as usual has occurred for the last thirty years. He's basically proposing that anyone who has become president after the ninety seventies are non-traditional politicians. The list of presidents at that time start with Jimmy Carter, then there is Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Bush Jr., and Barack Obama. What is obvious when reviewing this list is that Brooks is correct. None of these men were traditional politicians as we had known them. Part of that might be because of the role that television has played in the election process. Among people my age that were born during this "anti-politics" reign we have nothing to really compare it to in our experience. This seems to be the natural order of things. However, it seems that this group of anti-politics leaders has actually disillusioned the American populace even more regarding politics. So every time that a campaign promise that is supported by the people fails to be fulfilled the next presidential election guarantees that there will be even more radical options for the presidency. Brooks, David. The Governing Cancer of Our Time. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/26/opinion/the-governing-cancer-of-our-time.html?_r=0 Change Politics as usual has failed to actually bring about the changes promised during campaigns in both parties. Obama promised to root out the special interests in Washington D.C. A major part of his platform was the fact that he was an outsider and was not beholden to anyone in the capital. However, when elected and with a majority Democratic congress and senate Obama failed to produce any change regarding the special interests hold on government officials in D.C. He did not stomp out the lobbyists that he spoke so vehemently against during his election. The only thing he managed to do was get the congress and senate to pass a bill they were not allowed to read- the Affordable Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Which, while part of the bill was brilliant as it included that Health Care companies could not exempt people with pre-existing conditions and that birth control is free- has some major problems (among them that it included a Tax even though Obama promised that it did not). Strangely, eight years after Obama's promises of not serving special interests out of Washington D.C. a republican candidate with no governing experience is promising the same thing. Only this time he is claiming to be funding his own campaign and the reason he can kick special interests out of D.C. is because he has no desire for their money because he's already a millionaire. Not too surprisingly there are a lot of people, including swing voters, who are supporting this out of the box candidate. Hilary Is Sure To Win If Hilary is to win it will mark an unprecedented change in the way that our country is governed. The biggest change is that democrats will have held office for over a decade. Obama, a democrat, has been in the office for eight years. An additional four years of Democrats holding the presidential seat would be a first. Strangely, I don't know a single person that would vote for her. However, it seems that the people who are more inclined to approve of traditional politics would gladly vote for Hilary over Trump if he wins the Republican election. In fact, making Trump the main Republican candidate might play into Hilary's hand so that she is the assured victor. Given that Trump has, in the past, endorsed the Clinton's bids for the presidential election and was an avid Democrat it does bring into mind the idea that the election is rigged. Trump may be acting so politically abrasive that swing voters will be pushed to vote for Clinton. Hilary supporters have unwavering belief that she would be the winner. If not because she is a household name than because she is a woamn. Jonathon Chait already wrote an article titled Why Hilary Clinton Is Probably Going to Win the 2016 Election way before Trump appeared to be a real contender. In the article he explains how the Democratic party holds the majority in the United States and continues to grow. The Republican party has been in decline. Here are a few interesting quotes from the article: "Unless the economy goes into a recession over the next year and a half, Hillary Clinton is probably going to win the presidential election." "She cannot promise her supporters a dramatic change or new possibilities; she is personally too familiar, and the near certainty of at least one Republican-controlled chamber of Congress suggests continued legislative stalemate." Chait, Jonathon. Why HIlary Clinton is Probably Going to Win the 2016 Election. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/04/why-hillary-clinton-is-probably-going-to-win.html# Gass, Nick. Trump Has Spent Years Courting Hillary and Other Dems. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/donald-trump-donations-democrats-hillary-clinton-119071 List of Democratic Presidents: http://thefreeresource.com/list-of-democratic-presidents-what-presidents-were-democrats/ The Financial Crisis Unfortunately for Clinton there has been a lot of talk about a Financial Crisis hitting this year. From predictions from sources like Jonathan Cahn who makes a decent argument regarding the seven year pattern that Wall Street analysts couldn't explain to even more esoteric sources such as the channel Bashar. There are even analysts that are coming out of the woodwork to say this is the year that it might happen. While I'm not a huge fan of InfoWars.com or the idea of a Financial Armageddon here is an interesting interview with Martin Armstrong where he actually predicts the Republican party splitting as it is starting to do with Trump/Cruz/Rubio:
The most interesting problem in the economy is that the raising of the interest rate and a problem with the government bonds. Since Obama has been elected The Fed has been offering a near to nothing interest rate. This has lead to a false economic boom in the housing market. However, it has been announced that in June the Fed will raise interest rates and it will directly impact the average american citizen.
Further making the argument of a possible financial crisis is the fact that whenever it appears that a democratic president is going to be elected the Stock Market dips. In 2012 the Dow dropped 313 points after Obama won. If it appears that Hilary is going to win there will be an inevitably going to be a dip in the financial market around the end of this year. Further hurting this situation is that Baby Boomers are more than ready to yank out their 401k and stocks if it even begins to seem that the Stock Market is going to crash. Not willing to see their life savings go down in flames they are even willing to face severe penalties for pulling their money out. Shell, Adam. Stocks: Dow Ends Down 313 Points After Obama Win. Gillespie, Patrick. What An Interest Rate Increases Means For Real People. http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/19/news/economy/federal-reserve-statement-interest-rates/index.html The Donald Personally, I don't trust Trump. He has all of the tactics and personality of a used car salesman. As anyone who has bought a used car off of a lot has experienced a salesman will say whatever he can to get someone to buy a car. The problem is that when you get the car home you find out it as an oil leak and a transmission problem that had a temporary fix put on it at the car lot. I would love to be proved wrong but the shallow promises that he has made really casts doubt on his ability to fulfill his promises. In fact, his promise that Mexico will build a wall along the border to keep out their own citizens has already caused political problems with the Vice President Biden apologizing for Trumps words. However, I must admit that it was a glorious moment when Trump prompted Jeb Bush to drop out of the race. One of the families that seems to believe that they are American Royalty (much like the Clinton's) when name recognition almost guarantees that they will win was encouraging. Bernie Sanders Surprisingly, a self proclaimed Socialist is also running. Although, he appears to have been spanked by Hillary Clinton on Super Tuesday the mere fact that he has garnered so much support by so many is encouraging. At the very least Hillary has not gone uncontested in the race. However, there isn't much that Bernie offers that is vastly different from Hilary. Yes, hes promised free education by taxing Stock Trading. However, after seeing what happened with Obama's supposed free Universal Health Care Act I highly doubt that Bernie would actually produce such a bill that would make it past the Senate and Congress. What's hilarious is that from the start John Stewart on the Daily Show said that Bernie had no chance but given that there is just a vacuum of candidates Bernie has hung on. Libertarian While I'm not a serious libertarian I have voted libertarian for the last two elections. I support smaller government and getting rid of the national debt. As Ron Paul pointed out there is no difference between the the authoritarian politicians on both sides of the Democrat and Republican Parties. The truth is no matter which way we go there is going to be someone in Washington D.C. that wants to tell us what to do and create regulations as to what we can and cannot do in our personal lives. Often when we have the wide spread opposition to government (which can see with members of the same groups protesting both Republican and Democrat rallies) and police is an authoritarian response. Often such a response leads to the infringement of personal and civil liberties.
Conclusion Again, I do not support the idea that any of this is the "End of the World" doom and gloom. Overwhelmingly, no matter what the outcome of this election I believe that there will be a change. The general populace seems to have agreed that the politics of the last few decades didn't reflect the will of the people. Whatever candidate wins this election will have a daunting task of trying to repair the country. However, in many cases the suggestion is that after the crash there will be economic reform that will lead to a boom in our country.
Our country and economy has been limping along for the last eight years during the Obama Administration. Just seeing a change so that there will be the option of the growth will be incredibly encouraging. Finally, let's end with a lighter tone with Chad Prather's take on this election cycle:
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"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them -" "You beat them." For a moment she was not afraid of his understanding. "No, you don't understand. I destroy them. I make it impossible for them to ever hurt me again. I grind them and grind them until they don't exist." (Ender's Game Chapter 13 Titled Valentine). This is a topic that I want to cover at a very important time in our history. I have so very much to say, my cup is full (spiritually speaking) of so many truths that I am trying to pour it all out to you. Trying to separate them into cohesive units is a bit difficult! This is a very complex topic and my thoughts are a verbal journey. So, if you will, take my hand we will go through this winding path together. (As always, I will include videos at the end of this blog as a sort of testimonial or validation of what I see. My gift is unlike any other I have ever heard of because I can see the strings that attach us all to one another through our religion, our society, our culture...and I can weave it into a tangible form. I see the pattern of the Collective Consciousness (Jung's Collective Unconsciousness). Yet I know that we are each a vibrant thread in this complex tapestry that we have made together and that we MUST NOT remain silent. We must each express our own part in this vibrant play least it not exist at all. This I may expand upon in a future post.) War The world seems to be battling it out over an inclusive or exclusive point of view. War is against human nature. In order to go to war at all we have been conditioned on levels that we are not aware. Men shot over other men's heads in the first two world wars. Those who survive war are scarred mentally by it in the form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. They cannot help but relieve the terrible moments of death over and over again preventing them from moving on with their lives. The book Ender's Game covers so many great things, but in it Ender believes everything is an illusion and so he does the suicidal thing of destroying his own people to defeat the enemy. When he realizes what he has done it destroys him. There is a battle going on, perhaps a battle that was started when Yeshua first came to this planet. He did not come as the Prince of Peace so many think that he was but bearing a sword. "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the Earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." Matthew 10:34 That sword is of Free Will, where we can choose to be the negative or positive/ exclusive or inclusive and it cuts both ways. The Jewish people were thinking that they were calling out for a Great Warrior to save their people. In a way, Yeshua was the ultimate warrior (akin to the Bodhisattva warrior also known as the the peaceful warrior) for he shows how to conquer the negativity within himself and show's everyone the path to Self-Authenticity. I see this playing out on every level of this world from politics to music to societies in different countries. However, he cautioned all those who would take up the sword: "Put your sword back in it's place," Jesus said (to his disciple), "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword." Matthew 26:52 The non-believers are right in that Religion has caused more wars, and some of the ugliest, on our planet. However, this was done on purpose by Spirit/God/the Universal Order to teach a lesson. Yeshua brought us the war that so many sought just as the Nation of Israel asked. However, it was not a war that proved their supremacy as they had wished. Instead war was their undoing as a nation and it was another war that restored their nation. The sword of Free Will is not to be forced upon others but it is to be used to slay our own inner dragons, our demons, our fears and our night terrors upon our Hero's Journey. This is not to be used on another to bend them to our path because they have their own sword that they must bear. Many Path's One Source - The Inclusive Path I am not like everyone where I see that there is just one path to be walked when it comes to religion or spirituality. The way I see it there was one original set of teachings. Then different groups, thousands of years ago, took that teaching and put their own spin on it. They hid the teaching to keep it safe so that it did not undergo the "telephone game." As most of us know the "telephone game" is where the message becomes extraordinary distorted by too many people telling the story. An elite group was formed in every society that knew the secret teachings and only those that were truly interested were allowed to learn the secrets. The common populace was given a "watered down" version of the original teachings. Eventually, however, there was a falling away from these teachings because people lost touch with the original meanings, they lost contact with the part of themselves that was capable of comprehending metaphor (the language of spirit) and religion was born. Then the small group of elite people even set themselves up as rulers (even though the idea of separation of church and state was obviously practiced by the ancient Egyptians). However, within the different religions there remains the kernel of truth, disguised in many ways, but the original teachings are being made clear in our century. I can see the kernel in each religion and, for me, they are all correct. I am inclusive in my spirituality. The Free Masons capture this idea the best. They unite people in the sacred rituals that have been handed down though the ages from the original teachers of what Laird Scranton calls, "The Civilizing Plan." I do not doubt that there is a connection between the pillars in Gobekli Tepe (where the masters taught the students and they created pillars, more or less Totem's much like the Native Americans) and Rosslyn Chapel's three pillars in Scotland. The Free Masons appear to perform the sacred rights that go back to antiquity although many of them might not understand them. Further, metaphysics is a group that are stitching these beliefs back together for the common populace. Not that there aren't those among them that are spinning things very negatively and therefore I dismiss them. Yeshua said to weigh the content of a person's words and to measure them by their heart. Negatively charged people always produce vile verbal garbage even if it is peppered with truth, they spread discrimination and hatred. Unlike those who teach comparative religions and say that because every story is the same, just as Joseph Campbell so compellingly shows, this does NOT prove the message incorrect. Spirit talks to everyone, our souls are all linked in the same chain of experience. Instead, I walk the spiral of these religions and I see the commonality as a reinforcement- the reason to believe that there is something more beyond our paltry physical experience. More to us, more to the universe and much more to the Great Spirit (God). Science seeks to find this commonality, this Universal Source, but as long as Science leaves out the contemplation of Spirit there will be gaps in their theories that they cannot explain. Some scientists see the Great Order to the Universe but they do not call it God. To sum it up I would call their view the "Unifying Organizing Force" that uses mathematics as it's language. This is true and in so many ways was already expressed in some ancient spiritual practices (sacred geometry that has been indicated particularly in The Secret of the Golden Flower by Richard Wilheim and C.G. Jung). The key thing is that the Scientists are coming to the same conclusions as ancient sages but through a different more skeptical path. I hear the profound song of the Universe, of Creation, of God in all of these groups singing the same tune and that causes me to believe more fiercely. All the paths lead to God. None is wrong, none are entirely right, but each holds that kernel of truth that is the Elixir of Life. Only One Way- The Exclusive Path The problem is that the world has become a place where everyone wants to claim that there is only one way to practice religion and live in general. Each person wants to force their belief systems and their path on everyone else. The real crystallization of this method occurred with the Roman Catholic Church. In the name of the church the warrior was given the sword in the name of Christ and they slaughtered thousands. Then when the New World was conquered in the name of Christianity we again saw this playing itself out as the Native American people were slaughtered. This was a great injustice that continues to resonate through the world. The Muslim Community, after being one of the targets of this method of conversion in the Middle Ages during the Crusades, is now going on their own Crusades by way of suicide bombers and rogue shooters. Those who choose the path of negative polarity, the Exclusive Path, choose not to connect with God (often out of shame or fear both of which we are taught). Current Political Issues I want to start off by saying I do not believe that any race is better than another nor any country greater than another. I, myself, am Cahuilla, Cherokee, Scottish, English, French and German. I am a mutt. I follow the narrow road of Yeshua (Jesus), the Great Red Road of the Native American's and the path of the Bodhisattva Warrior. I write these current events as an outsider from all of the groups mentioned because, as of yet, there is not a group that identifies themselves as a Mix or Mutts. I see this issue of Inclusive or Exclusive playing out in the United States and the world. First, there is the division of people in the form of politics where it has become a two sided affair. Each side refuses to consider the other side with extremely different views of how things should be done. Some are anarchists, others would repeat the mistake of having religion rule us, and others want to maintain the status quo. Overwhelmingly, people simply want a change. Second, I see it among the five races in the United States. The United States was once a melting pot where all of the five races were becoming one. Yes, it was predominately adopting the "Caucasian" point of view. However, we have become a mixed salad. Everyone wants to be different, separate, and yet have the benefits of the community. All of the races in our community are deciding between the idea of integrating into the overall fabric of the United States or breaking away to make their own communities. Third, I see it in Israel and the Middle East with the conflict of the Muslim's not wanting to integrate with the pervasive Jewish/Christian society. The battle is the worst there because it is a family battle of the Arabs who are the sons of Ishmael and the Jewish, the sons of Isaac (Christianity being an inheritor of that lineage). To me this is truly heart breaking. The One World Order that so many are afraid of from the Book of Revelation has already happened, a long time ago, when Global trading began to happen. So, if we all choose to be the family of humanity (instead of fearing the prophecies of The Revelation and fearing Satan) there is nothing to lose. Yet, we fight among ourselves as though thinking that we will lose something of our own identity if we stand as one. A Critical Juncture/Prophecies I believe that we had the opportunity for this crossroad back in 1998 and again about 2007. We are a world torn by the question of our own identity. I see this manifesting itself in Hollywood and several faucets of life on this planet. The set of movies that are coming out this year really signify this pole shift of people. There are those who are stacking up on the negative alignment side and those who are stacking up on the positive alignment side. I will write a blog on this specific topic soon because there have been some revelations regarding it but suffice to say that the two polarities are separating. The Inclusive and the Exclusive paths are splitting apart and it is clear to me where the Exclusive Path is going. Their path will be conquered by Saturn who so eloquently told me in my dream that he is, "The Grinder of Men." (I will cover this in a future post). A Dream I want to step aside a moment and tell you a dream that I had. In the dream I was going through discount earrings. They were all Jack-O-Lanterns for Halloween. Much of them did not match. However, I found a pair that did match. I found one pair that matched that were bits of Carnelian that were long. Other people were trying to push me out of the way once they had found what I did. There was one who went to the register and it turned out it would be full price for the earrings despite the fact that they didn't appear to have matches because some of them were 'designer.' This is what I feel that I am doing. I'm connecting old legends and stories that have been discounted by the majority of people in the World as being the stories of savages (inferior people). I'm putting them together in a way that people can see it. More or less, recreating the old Hall of Records from the Universal Unconscious and validating it by sharing how it's coming up in Popular Culture. I can read popular culture like someone reading a book being shown to them in a mirror. That's what the silver screen and pop culture does- it mirrors the culture. Conclusion I believe that when it comes to religion everyone has a different perspective on the same Kernel of Truth. We each give meaning to what we want that Kernel to be but I see a unification happening in the world. I don't see an world on the brink of the End of Day's per se, but on the brink of learning a new way...a new song, a new dance. The challenge is that everyone needs to sing in order to help this new vision come forth. We can't be guided by anyone else or want to be puppets who's strings are pulled by religion, the government, our higher selves, or anyone else. The choice is to decide to declare sovereignty over our own lives, realize that we do make a difference, to be that, "lone voice calling out in the wild". The most awesome thing is when we hear a reply. The shift has been gradual towards these events where people are sorting themselves into which polarity they want to be and I think that it can be made conscious to some degree. I do not understand fully the scope of what is happening nor my role in it. However, I do know that we are going through a period of Civil War as a world. Thankfully, in this nation we have put the majority of it on the Silver Screen so that we can watch it and not have to actually battle it out on the streets (I personally would give up my own life before doing so). There are those who are battling it out in the war zones of this world and for them I offer my sincere prayers. My greatest wish is that we will all wake up from this madness and this business of war will be put away forever. Let it exist on the silver screen and not in our streets, our homes or our nations any longer. I will say this for certain...there is a split in the path. I don't understand it, that's a spiral or a 'download' as the people who channel like to call it, that I haven't gotten to yet but the pattern is emerging on a larger scale than I can comprehend. I will cover what I can understand in a future post. I see no reason to fear any of this experience anymore than I would fear the dives and turns in the Star Tours ride at Disneyland. I'm ready for the economy to fall and finally be set right. I don't believe that it will lead to chaos and disorder. Instead, perhaps it will lead to something new which is what we are in need of right now. That is, overwhelmingly, the feeling I get on the street. There is a desire for change in whatever form it may manifest. The thing is there seems to have been a card in the deck that was not accounted for on someone's part. That's why we have so many radical answers popping up right now. Right now I'm thrilled with how it's manifesting in Hollywood. I personally, as I have said before, am singing out to counter effect those who are polluting the water with negativity. They are interpreting this through very negative filters and it's effecting a whole lot of people. The one thing I do know is that I'm here to balance out that negativity and show a different path then the one everyone seems to be marching down at metaphorical gun point. I will say that I was an unbeliever. I am not someone who wants to believe that I am a channel. There was a time that I really didn't know if I believed in a God or Source. I'm struggling with this a bit by trying to channel a comprehensive message. Most people let their ego step aside and don't remember what they channel but my gift doesn't work that way (nor would I want it to do so) but it is a challenge to draw these connections in a way people can understand. Time itself is part of this equation, there seems to be a line of continuity that is back tracking, the pattern is something that has occurred for the last couple of years as a garbled message. All of this was written out years ago, but I will go into that in a future post as well. If it seems as though I'm leaving bread crumbs, it is true. I'm going slowly through this because I want to get it right. I know it's a message that I'm driven to get out now (which I don't like the lime light so this is unpleasant) but I have every intention of enjoying this process if I'm to go through it. You Tube Videos First, we have Pippin from Lord of the Rings The Two Towers singing "Pippin's Song." That pretty much captures the essence for this moment in time for this year. I will interpret this further (in my next blog). I can connect it to Revelation 6:11- "Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been." X-Men: Armageddon is a movie I wanted to avoid because it seems to insult religions, however, it's not quite like that at all. This is a spin off of the reboot where a time line was changed by X-Men: Days of Future Past. Mystique is no longer a villain. She's a good guy. In fact, if anything she's leading the X-Men on this outing. I want to juxtapose this to the movie Inception. Inception is very much how this world works. These two go together. It's as though Earth were an idea and someone is coming to destroy it...it's an incomplete story but that's what I have for now. The woman screaming to be awoken refers to the Female essence of the trinity. Then we have Captain America's Super Bowl Ad and that one is clear. Divided we will fall as a species during this shift. If we are united we will stand together, this is on a world level not just in the United States although the US tends to act as a microcosm for the world as a whole. We were created as a new Atlantis. There is a thread here as well that needs to be it's own future post. All I can say is that Russia and the USA are working together against the 'Iron Man.' I'm not entirely sure what that is but that's what I see. The God's of Egypt is obvious. There is a battle going on for this entire world. We are on the brink of extinction on some level (not Global Warming per se but on an idealistic metaphorical level). Two God's are battling it out which you can see in the Islam vs. Christian mentality we are experiencing. This is the classic story of Horus vs. Seth. Horus is the son of Isis, her husband Osiris was killed by his brother (or at least that's what everyone thought). Osiris, in Egypt was known as the Bull of Heaven (he was killed by Gilgamesh in the Sumerian legend). The Horus that is pictured in this movie is very much the spitting image of Odin (the God of Norse legend). This is not a mistake. Batman vs. Superman is another big one coming out this year. You will notice that I am leaning a lot on trailers and on the comic book world. There is a really good reason for this because we are being given the option of what universe we want to belong to idealistically. The DC universe vs. the Marvel Universe has been a big thing in the past for those of us who are nerds. (Don't even get me started on the Star Wars Universe lol). These two are really good at battling it out with one another. Here though, notice what's going on. A third player sets up a battle between Man (Batman) and God (Superman). When they won't destroy each other he introduces a new enemy calling him The Devil (Zod). Then Superwoman shows up to save the day. A female aspect again seems to be the thing that changes the tide. Finally, there is Deadpool. What makes Deadpool so important is that he is the epitome of what happens if we try to change our genes to something else and become super human. This is someone who wants to be a super hero. Then he admits he's not a super hero after he undergoes a very difficult process. (That really sounds familiar to me.) However, he has to become a super hero because his favorite girl is threatened. We find out that the woman has played many roles but damsel in distress is not one of them. Deadpool also has the ability to know that he is in a movie and interacts with the audience. We see this in the brilliant marketing scheme already. This breaking of the fourth wall could be the breaking of the "fourth dimension" (I know the scientifically bent mind will hate that phrase because it is a metaphysical one). We are currently in the third dimension, so the fourth wall is a big deal. This is where reality and fantasy meet. Shakespeare was the first to break the first wall with his soliloquies where the actors shared their thoughts (Hamlet being my favorite). Recently, I've been on a bit of a predictions kick. This was spurred by pictures of a lot of white animals showing up- White Deer, White Buffalo...etc. To the Plains Indians this is a fulfillment of their White Buffalo Woman prophecy. You can read about it here (http://www.nativevillage.org/Inspiration-/white_buffalo%20a%20living%20prophecy.htm)
The key take away from me is the idea that the white animals that have appeared at an appallingly high number indicate a very important sign. That sign basically is a choice between two different outcomes. One outcome is a major destructive event and an outcome that is not terribly pleasant. The other outcome is change on a broad scale environmentally, government wise and economically. This also reminds me of the Hopi Prophecy Rock prediction which I have shared before with a long YouTube Vidoe. In that pictograph is clear that there is one line (of the one heart) where it continues and they say the Great Spirit returns. The other option, the line of the Two Heart, leads to destruction. At one point there is a line joining the two paths which is a period when people could make the choice to change from the two heart path to the one heart path. You can read a brief article about this here: (http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-americas/hopi-prophecy-and-end-fourth-world-part-1-002280) In addition to that you have the channel Bashar. He described 2012 as a time period where we would make the individual decision to be on a certain 'train'. He described to different paths that the trains travel- one where it does not end up so good and one where it leads to what is considered a golden age. Further, when he talked about Atlantis he said those who lived during that time period are dealing with a similar circumstance where they will decide if they want destruction again or a change. Personally, I want change. I recently came across this video https://youtu.be/dfBSycK_hLM Economically As I researched Economics more and more the less I'm enthralled with our current system. Academics can claim basic Economics is some mathematical formula that those of us who can't follow it will never understand. However, it is clear how Banks actually work. There is absolutely no way to say they do not create money out of thin air. They give out credit based on the money that they are holding at the bank for other people. The people who the money belongs to can withdraw it at any time....but at the same time someone else who was given a loan already spent the money. That, rationally, means that the money that was in the loan is a second set that really honestly was created out of thin air. While some belly ache that such a system is fraudulent, that paper money (and digital money) have less viability than actual gold..I don't see the problem and I see it as opening up an entirely new door to new possibilities. Money has become more of an abstract metaphorical concept, representing the value of work performed, than it does anything else. The truth is, we trade our time and our energy for the paper or digital information that is downloaded to our bank account. We are receiving an abstract representation of something that does not have an actual physical existence. We then use that symbol to buy food and products. What I would love to see happen is a movement away from our current economic model with it's emphasis on constant unsustainable profit growth for investors (i.e. Wall Street). I wouldn't mind terribly if Wall Street was liquidated, with the people who made investments in the form of 401k's paid out and that decision that entire idea was just bad from the start. The misconceptions about the purpose of Wall Street and the unethical behavior of a few that exploit the system are reason enough for me...not to mention the need for constant profit growth year over year as a standard for a healthy company can be tossed out the window with very little impact on the average person. A Strange Idea Further, I would like to see a certain allotment in money given to each person at birth. That allotment would pretty much be akin to what is assumed a person needs to get by, just themselves, for the first portion of their life. That way they can afford to buy a home, a car and the other basic necessities to start a family and live comfortably working minimum wage. The person would receive the money when they turn eighteen. They could use it to go to college if they choose. They could buy a house if they choose instead of going to college. They could make the choice where they never really had to work but would live a very disciplined life on their initial amount trying not to run out of money while just scraping by without kids or extras. Or they could choose to work and depending on their choice they could live a different lifestyle and make a higher wage where they had a more comfortable living. I think it would completely negate the idea that some people start off with nothing and others have 'privileges' that give them advantages. Everyone would have a choice as to how they spend their money, everyone would start off with equal footing, and the person would choose what they would do with it. Of course, then people will wonder about inheritance and what not. They would say that the people born of those who had extra money they could pass down would have an unequal advantage. I don't believe that because those people suffer the loss of their parents and that's tragic. I think it's wonderful that parents would leave money to their children to make their lives easier and that everyone should strive to do so for their children and grandchildren. Again, that would be a choice and I think it would be fair if such large sums were metered out so that the children did not receive them in a lump sum. Politics Personally, I believe that we live in the most spiritually absent and morally corrupt time when it comes to politics. In the past politicians had the decency to at least pretend they were good people who were morally upright with a stable home life. Now, we have politicians making a spectacle of their race and gender. I'm proud that we do have a larger variety of people in this election then we ever had before of many races and genders. I love that we have out of the box candidates like Trump and Sanders running. Then we have non-traditional but more normal candidates such as Clinton (Female) and Carson (African American). In fact the one traditional candidate, Jeb Bush, seems to have been kicked to the curb early on by voters and I think that's awesome. The election of 2016 seems as though it will be historic if just for that reason. That said, as far as celebrities and politicians go...the United States has chosen people who might have a lot of personality and behave widely...but morals seem to be lacking. We seem to be more interested in being entertained then having good strong leaders in any field whether it's entertainment or politics. The wonderfully brilliant role models of yesterday are strangely missing from News Headlines. Those awesome inspiring role models that are out there, Neil Degrasse Tyson and Ceasar Milan for example, don't get half of the attention they deserve. To me, the role models and the hero's that society is proffering and pushing on people today is a troubling sign of an unhealthy population. Conclusion These are just ideas I'm tossing out into the Universe. I think we live in exciting times. I am curious to see if anything incredible does happen in the next five years. I'd love to think that by 2020 things will be incredibly different economically and politically in a positive way. I hope we don't continue to focus on what separate's us whether it's economic, skin color or religion. I would love to see intelligent brilliant people getting the spot light and attention they deserve instead of the sensationalist drama queens. I'd like to see an end to the endless war in the Middle East. I'd he happy if the Blue Kachina of the Hopi legend danced before the uninitiated children causing everyone to be shocked and lose all faith for a time. Whatever shocks the entire world into realizing that our differences amount to nothing uniting us as one is welcomed by me. I don't want this world to be rescued by some other race of intelligent beings or even God. I don't want to see the world destroyed or mankind destroyed as we have achieved so much. I believe that we have the ability and ingenuity to undo any harm we have done if we work together. I'd like to see us create our way out of the current chaos into something new and sublime. |
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Brave Soul! May Your Journey On The Path Of The Seeker Bring You Joy and Peace! I'm currently posting every Saturday. With a new addition the family I have pre-scheduled most posts through December 2022. Full Moon Posts will contain up-to-date content when I can get to them. Thank you so much for your support and understanding! This is a place where you can encounter new spiritual ideas that have helped me develop as an Individual On The Path of the Seeker. Take or Leave this information as you see fit. Archives
April 2024
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