Tool of the Super-Rich

This photo exclaims a true statement. What it does not tell you, and what you did not learn in public school, is that Democracy is an "ideal" to which we aspire. America IS a republic. And the Republic is designed to protect the super-rich from you, the majority, the 99%.

When this country was formed, a distinct difference was made between those who owned property and those who did not. Voting was only allowed by white men who were property owners. This is the demographic the republic was designed to protect.

The concept of democracy requires people to be educated about their social situation as well as others. It cannot work with the super-rich pulling our strings, teaching us to repeat the words they put in our school books to support their way of life -- at our expense. This is the reason education reform needs to be among our highest priorities AND also the reason it is NOT.

Education doesn't just cure ignorance -- it cures poverty. The super-rich know it is imperative to keep us pitted against one another to maintain the status quo. They keep us busy fighting over race, ethnicity, and now religion. However, an unintended result of the Occupy Wall Street movement was some higher education for the masses. We have learned, and must remember, there is only one color, and that is green.

What purpose would the super-rich have for offering free, public education? Surely it was a kindness, right? [Sarcasm] The history of public education shows us it was designed to accomplish one purpose: To create a workforce. Immigrant labor was in abundance. But people could not communicate with each other. Too many languages were spoken by workers and that slowed efficiency in the workplace. The language barrier, as well as simple work skills, contributed to a significant number of accidents, which also interrupted production -- aka profits.

Enter public education. Let's teach everyone English. Accidents will decrease and productivity will increase. Simple.

Soon the super-rich learned they could also use public education to grow loyal patriots. Soldiers willing to fight and die under the guise of preserving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- for the super-rich. No war is fought FOR "The People". Perhaps WWII but there are always motives beyond what we are told. I am fairly certain we all know war is about putting money in the pockets of the super-rich. Most every war that our soldiers have fought has been for oil.

Currently, the price of gasoline is around $4.35/gal in California. We have a president who actually cares about doing the right thing for America. (Recommend reading 'The Audacity To Hope' by Barack Obama) However, with all his good intentions, he is swimming upstream without a paddle. His efforts to significantly reduce dependency on foreign oil, and move us toward clean energy, will be uncomfortable at best, with the super-rich kicking and screaming the entire way.

Nobody thought Obama could push the healthcare bill into being. Not even his own administration. But President Obama is just getting started. Healthcare reform was cake compared to moving the country away from dependency on foreign oil.

The statement in the photo above is propaganda. It serves the super-rich. It is a ruse; a trick. There is no limit to what the ruling class will do to preserve their status. If you think these elite are not trying EVERYTHING to get inside your head, then they are winning. Don't let them.

I support President Obama and I think you should too. Solidarity of the people, for the people and by the people.

[Related post - Human Evolution: A spiritual endeavor]

Happy 100th Birthday, Mom. The story begins...

On this day, January 12, 2012, the mother who raised me since birth, and died when I was 14, would be celebrating her 100th birthday. She was an extraordinary woman who lived a harsh, stressful and criticized life. Intelligent, independent, compassionate and thoughtful, she was hunted and brutalized by a husband who beat her mercilessly. For 43 years she endured before she was able to divorce him and successfully escape.

People always want to know why a woman takes abuse. There are so many reasons. In her case, she made a promise to her dying mother-in-law not to abandon her son. Sarah's story is a tale to tell.

My mother's story is a true story, a woman's story. Sarah was a first generation Puerto Rican American, and one of 12 children. Conceived and born on the sugar plantations of Hawaii before it became a state, acquiring US citizenship in 1917, along with all other Puerto Ricans. 

Sarah's life was always complicated by the fact that she did not have a birth certificate. Lack of documentation of her birth was a result of her family working off their freedom as so called "indentured servants" of the sugar industry. However, in actuality, they were political prisoners of the United States. Victims of political circumstance when the US paid Spain a few bucks at the end of the Spanish-American war, in 1898. Those Puerto Rican families who displaced the indigenous workers of Hawaii were given a choice: Surrender to your fate as a slave of the US sugar industry or stay in jail for treason against the new government of the United States.

Puerto Rican history is fascinating. Often overlooked and widely misunderstood, Puerto Rican history documents one of the many crimes against humanity that has gone unaccounted for by the United States. It was easy to do away with that nasty business because it only affected 6,000 people. That's the number of political prisoners they shipped from Florida to San Francisco in railroad cattle cars, like Auschwitz. 

My own birth certificate is a story unto itself as well. My adopted mother was like a mother-figure to my biological mom, and they were friends. After my teenage mother of Irish/Dutch decent, orphaned at age 11, had signed over her legal rights, Sarah took me home from the hospital. She had already raised two sons and was a grandmother when I was born.

When Sarah and her husband tried to legally adopt me they were denied. They were dark, Puerto Ricans, older and poor. My birth mother, on record, was white. My father was not listed correctly, nor does he know that I exist. My controversial conception was the result of a two week relationship with an older man who turned out to be married. A short, brown California born, Mexican-grown man with two children. The court had no idea I was already with my new family. So Sarah just kept me and didn't say anything.

My adopted father was a retired longshoreman, also a first generation Puerto Rican American. As an adolescent he bootlegged alcohol, ran numbers for bookies and prostituted his older sister. He was a bad dude. He got me a fake birth certificate, and they had me bean-dipped in the Catholic church. With that baptismal record, I entered public school. Those records alone determined who I was until I attempted to marry in my twenties. Imagine my surprise when I learned that I had no birth certificate. How that drama unfolded is yet another story.

I know, intense right?

Indirectly my unusual birth certificate saved my life while on a recent cruise of the Mexican coast, a story I intend to write. In brevity, I had dreamed of going on a cruise for more than 20 years, specifically of the Mexican coast or Alaska. With less that 40 hours to prepare, I was offered what I considered an opportunity of a lifetime. For a small fee to change the name on a preexisting booking, a Facebook friend (fellow teacher whom I had never met) privately asked if I'd be interested in replacing her cabin mate. This is where Horror Cruise innocently begins. (Posting soon)...

Happy birthday, mom. Thanks for doing your best to protect me from the storm. Your sacrifices are still alive in me, and they were not in vain.

Technology speeds up a natural process without killing anyone

Human activity upon the planet became interesting when groups of us began to explore strange, unknown places, seeking opportunity. Along the way other humanoids were discovered. These interactions became an adventure in culture.

Fundamental to Sociology is the premise that 'environment shapes culture and culture shapes language'. As people trade, travel, marry, wage war, conquer, and solve common problems together cultures and languages merge. History reveals to us a dangerous and violent process. Modern day warfare has stepped up its game. Far fewer lives are lost, comparatively speaking, as Internet technology and its wide-spread appeal speeds up a natural process of cultural assimilation --without killing anyone.

The human gene pool is widening rapidly. No longer can we be isolated from one another. That seal has been broken. The veil has been lifted.

When languages merge they also morph. Human communication problems arise. Misunderstandings develop over semantics. Entire bodies of thought are born from misunderstanding language and culture. This phenomenon is often exploited by the politics of the day.

Computer technologies, communication and advancements in transportation all contribute to the blending of ideas; the meshing of cultures.

The consequences of our material creations generate a momentum of collective thought with capacity to disseminate knowledge and ideas instantly.

Religious and anti-religious views; political and economical views; advocates for slaves, former slaves and indigenous view points, all coming together --right now.

Intense.

Each group is passionate about their beliefs. Passion seems to increase when the group gives birth to an individual.

Individuality is a relatively new concept. Like everything else in the material world, we created it. It has its consequences. For example, individuals move away from their families and set out to make their mark in the world. It's progressive but it also separates families, increases isolation  and furthers the need for psychiatric services.

Realize that individuality Itself is literally something we humans made up with our thoughts and selfish desires.

Each of us is responsible for the evolution of existence. There is nothing outside of our collective consciousness that is not connected to us. Lets not allow 'details' to distract us from our genuine potential, or our responsibility as co-creators of this existence.

Everything is perception.

Evolve your mind.

Embrace the Good.