Main Entry: em·pa·thy
Pronunciation: \ˈem-pə-thē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek empatheia, literally, passion, from empathēs emotional, from em-pathos feelings, emotion — more at pathos +
Date: 1850
1 : the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it
2 : the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also : the capacity for this
Monday, May 31, 2010
Word of the Day: Empathy
Empathy
Saturday, May 22, 2010
American Neo-Conservatives want your children ... as slaves.
Family Responsibilities
Last year about this time I got married to a lovely woman. Earlier this year I became a father to a lovely little girl. Part of both of these experiences is the continuing knowledge that I have to take more responsibility for my actions (and in-actions) to safeguard my new family and our future.
A Texan And An American
I consider myself a Texan. Always have. I've been living in eastern Europe for almost 4 years now. It was not a permanent move by any means but one of the many adventures that life offered me and I took it. I love my country (America) and love my State (Texas). When people ask "where are you from?", I don't say America, I say Texas. I have always been proud to say so.
My family and I draw near to the point of decides "what and where" is next. One of these options is to return to "my" State.
America's Disaffection with Truth and Fact
Disappointingly, I am very aware that my country has not always been so attached to "The Facts" and "The Truth" of many things. Oh, the political and media of America uses these words truth and facts very often but only to explain things that are neither fact nor truth. I've noticed this tread of denying reality in favor of the political or economic "fashion of the day" for the past decade, most especially during the previous president's terms in office. But this problem isn't just for Presidents; seems that many of my fellow countrymen suffer from the inability to determine truth and fact from misdirection, opinion, desire, fiction, "spin" and outright manipulation (lies.)
A Broader View of Rhetoric, Propaganda and Marketing
And yes, it's not limited to America. These days it's rampant everywhere. Iran and North Korea regular engage in this kind of misdirection, spin and revisionistic behavior as does Turkey, China, Germany, Russia and every country between during the last one hundred years (and longer to be certain.) "The victors write the history", as the saying goes.
However, the "bending the truth" had reached a very, deeply alarming level, boarding firmly in unsubstantiated fiction. Without real Fact and Truth, there can be no maintenance or progression of human societies and culture and will result in civilization decay.
Gifts from Texas Teachers to Me
As an adult, I can choose to believe (never) or ignore (always) lairs, cheats and blow hards. The falsely "religious" are one on this lists of folks I routinely ignore but they aren't the only ones. I was lucky enough to grow up a time where Texas public high school teachers taught students to look at data and information, to think, to research and to discriminate facts from opinions. But, young children (pre-High School) today are not afforded this skill (too young to get the education, training, life experience necessary to discriminate data.) Thus, young children should continue to be be a protected class, especially in "the greatest nation on Earth."
The Horrible Truth Unfolding
So, as I ponder what's next for my family and keeping my responsibilities as a father in mind (namely to protect my child (and wife) from all dangers) I am completely floored, aghast, mortified, horrified and thoroughly revulsed by the pending behaviors by "my" State of Texas and it's pending planned contamination of all American schools:
While this title doesn't convey fullness of my extreme distress, the article describes the promotion of the (Republican version of) God and (Conservative version of) Country, economics and military technology as paramount of importance and attempts to remove the remaining sciences (they've already killed the arts years ago) and replace it with what is akin to "Grim Brother's Fairytales", then extol the "virtues of slavery" (by praising American slave owner's "accomplishments"), minimize the absolutely critical importance of the Separation of Church and State as a foundation on which America is rightly built on, and taint the reputation of anyone not holding compatible Conservative Republican beliefs and views.
My Political Awareness
I know the American political system is (unnecessarily) complex. Mostly, the complexity comes from groups "named one thing" but "doing another" as a matter of ideology.
Generalizing to an extreme degree:
Rewriting American History: indoctrination and enslavement of children
But now, the Texas neo-conservative movement, elected into the State government, is attacking defenseless children when and where the parent's are not closely watching: in public schools.
They are doing this by rewriting history for public text books as a works of pure fiction, to bring their "God and Guns" ideas into class as part of the lesson plan. By instructing children that Guns, (Neo-Conservative) God and, yes, even slavery is good, they are actively seeking to undermine and destroy the character, the strength and purpose of America which once made America the most cherished country of opportunity - by unapologetically indoctrinating children to be Neo-Conservative Texas Republicans ... as slaves.
"No Child Left ... Unbranded"
To say I am offended is to strongest understate my feelings. I view this attempt to boaster Neo-Conservative Republican membership by "child branding" Texas children (and because of economic conditions, all America children) to be somewhere between the several recent killings of grade school children by the mentally diseased in China and the abduction of native Africans by several countries and forcing them into slavery in early American history. Absolute abomination!
Children: Pawns in Cultural Wars
This neo-conservative text book revision movement claims the need to change history is to "remove liberal corruption" from text books. You can not remove corruption by superseding it! These kind of changes is a subject for academic debate OR private home schooling but not for putting children on the front lines of cultural battle lines. Nor is it not a permissible to mass indoctrination of children to your religious views as a matter of government enforced education!
It is not only inappropriate, it borders on the most base of evil intentions: removing the freedom of truthful, factually, educated choices will result only in leads to polarization and thus of social and cultural slavery.
Why aren't public education text books subject to academic review, scrutiny and approval only by academia before handing to young, impressionable children?
Let it go, If only...
If neo-conservatives were truly "perfect", above all reproach and moving in the right direction (or even making an honest, positive attempt), I could more easily "let this go". but, they are not. They are human beings like everyone else, riddled with the same or similar flaws and insecurities. The difference seems to be they want everyone to come down to there level or "just disappear."
Who's laughing now?!
I believe neo-conservationism got a foothold in American culture because, with all the Neo-Conservative outrageous antics, nasty accusations, nationalistic flag waving and God touting, we though they were amusing, laughable ... for a while. But they are bringing their insanity to the doorsteps of all American homes, all American schools and, by preaching to our children, endanger the very fabric of American goals and pose a real danger to global stability.
(Brief) History of "God's People": Puritans
If you aren't concerned, I submit you should be. Here is why: I believe the Neo-Conservatives have deified the 17th century American Puritans with the primary belief that America was created "by God for Puritans" and thus, by extension, for neo-conservatives. In more historically relevant terms, the Puritans were thrown out of Europe and came to America for "religious freedom" ( but I honestly believe that primarily mostly religious freedom of Europeans, not the Puritans.)
So, answering the question "why were the Puritans thrown out of Europe" and how they behaved when they settled in the Americans should concern you. Puritans believe firmly and passionately in legislating religious beliefs of all citizens and enforcing them punishable and even religious executions. Many competing religious settlers to the Puritan ideology were executed for not being correctly religious, "saying the wrong prayers".
History Aligned to Repeat?
I fear Neo-Conservatives are maneuvering American back the religious culture of the 17th century where anyone not praying the correct pairs or believing in the correct Jesus just the right way could be executed in vile and torturous ways.
History Alive and Well Today
Think religious executions can't or don't happen in the 21st century? Perhaps you should look at the current religious political and cultural models still in play in the older Islamic countries include Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq (and others I am sure.) Hard to swallow that our 17th century America directly mirrors some of these loathsome religious laws and truly gruesome executions, all in the name of God.
Looking Forward, Backwards to The End
Taking the a step further, using Puritans as the cultural model and currently apparent war-mongering of the Republican party in general, more concerning is once a Neo-Conservative Religious America "is purged of the non-faithful" from the "homeland" via deportation, exile, interment and finally execution, these Neo-Conservative can move to the next level of monstrous acts by feeling fully justify attacking other nations of Earth in the name of their God in the name of militant Christianity. America has nuclear weapons and, like Iran, I fear someone will paint a religious symbol on them and, in the name of some god, end humanity's brief existence in ugly, searing pain.
Permission to Stage for Genocide Requested
One of America's past strengths over the conflicted and religious "middle East" is that "we don't throw stones at each other over the name or word of God." We were not a polarized country of haters and fanatics. But that page of our history is about to be turned I fear. Can American and the world afford even for one more moment to humor these neo-conservative miscreants by allowing them to taint school-room history with their false religious fervor and cultural intorance?
We, as Americans, have fallen so very far from any moral and philosophical center that we sit at the edge of joining those who wish to return to live in the darkest of the Dark Ages, steeped purposefully in ignorance and would murder the progress of the whole humanity to simplify their apparently meaningless and empty lives.
Path of Doom
How did we, America, get here? Simple: good people were too polite to tell bad people "no." Good people decided not to stir up problems by asking questions. Good people went home, watched increasingly mindless, meaningless and finally culturally corrupting entertainment and failed to see themselves slowly being cultivated to uncaring, unmoved citizens: Undead voters of apathy ... with children.
I don't think we got here alone, mainly because people are generally good and have to be lead force-ably or subtly into these aforementioned places. We were lead here by the power hungry and the mentally unstable amongst us. And we said nothing, did nothing and continue to do and say nothing.
Mixed Desires for Homecoming
To this I say: would like to come home. But I fear my home has changed into something dark and sinister; lurking shadows to ever so secretively to put the yoke of mental, emotional, economic and spiritual slavery around the necks of my family.
My Child, My Voice, My Movement
I will not throw my child on the fires of idealogical idiocy for the enslavement and amusement of the ignorant, power-hungry, short-sighted, religious hypocrites who are actively divorcing themselves and their weak-minded ilk from reality, insisting that everyone come under their influence and to do the same.
Last year about this time I got married to a lovely woman. Earlier this year I became a father to a lovely little girl. Part of both of these experiences is the continuing knowledge that I have to take more responsibility for my actions (and in-actions) to safeguard my new family and our future.
A Texan And An American
I consider myself a Texan. Always have. I've been living in eastern Europe for almost 4 years now. It was not a permanent move by any means but one of the many adventures that life offered me and I took it. I love my country (America) and love my State (Texas). When people ask "where are you from?", I don't say America, I say Texas. I have always been proud to say so.
My family and I draw near to the point of decides "what and where" is next. One of these options is to return to "my" State.
America's Disaffection with Truth and Fact
Disappointingly, I am very aware that my country has not always been so attached to "The Facts" and "The Truth" of many things. Oh, the political and media of America uses these words truth and facts very often but only to explain things that are neither fact nor truth. I've noticed this tread of denying reality in favor of the political or economic "fashion of the day" for the past decade, most especially during the previous president's terms in office. But this problem isn't just for Presidents; seems that many of my fellow countrymen suffer from the inability to determine truth and fact from misdirection, opinion, desire, fiction, "spin" and outright manipulation (lies.)
A Broader View of Rhetoric, Propaganda and Marketing
And yes, it's not limited to America. These days it's rampant everywhere. Iran and North Korea regular engage in this kind of misdirection, spin and revisionistic behavior as does Turkey, China, Germany, Russia and every country between during the last one hundred years (and longer to be certain.) "The victors write the history", as the saying goes.
However, the "bending the truth" had reached a very, deeply alarming level, boarding firmly in unsubstantiated fiction. Without real Fact and Truth, there can be no maintenance or progression of human societies and culture and will result in civilization decay.
Gifts from Texas Teachers to Me
As an adult, I can choose to believe (never) or ignore (always) lairs, cheats and blow hards. The falsely "religious" are one on this lists of folks I routinely ignore but they aren't the only ones. I was lucky enough to grow up a time where Texas public high school teachers taught students to look at data and information, to think, to research and to discriminate facts from opinions. But, young children (pre-High School) today are not afforded this skill (too young to get the education, training, life experience necessary to discriminate data.) Thus, young children should continue to be be a protected class, especially in "the greatest nation on Earth."
The Horrible Truth Unfolding
So, as I ponder what's next for my family and keeping my responsibilities as a father in mind (namely to protect my child (and wife) from all dangers) I am completely floored, aghast, mortified, horrified and thoroughly revulsed by the pending behaviors by "my" State of Texas and it's pending planned contamination of all American schools:
Texas schools board rewrites US history with lessons promoting God and guns
Additional article here.While this title doesn't convey fullness of my extreme distress, the article describes the promotion of the (Republican version of) God and (Conservative version of) Country, economics and military technology as paramount of importance and attempts to remove the remaining sciences (they've already killed the arts years ago) and replace it with what is akin to "Grim Brother's Fairytales", then extol the "virtues of slavery" (by praising American slave owner's "accomplishments"), minimize the absolutely critical importance of the Separation of Church and State as a foundation on which America is rightly built on, and taint the reputation of anyone not holding compatible Conservative Republican beliefs and views.
My Political Awareness
I know the American political system is (unnecessarily) complex. Mostly, the complexity comes from groups "named one thing" but "doing another" as a matter of ideology.
Generalizing to an extreme degree:
- Republicans say they want a small, weak central government with low taxes but do spend money recklessly without regards to the future, engage in highly dubious acts of global aggression and war ("for American's Safety") resulting in the need strong centralized government to manager the military engine, resulting in need for higher taxes to cover the costs of war, resulting in national economic distress which drives the very poor into the military, resulting in pushing the middle class to the edges of sanity and poverty and resulting finally in boasting the wealthy another notch up the economic ladder. We can also see they historically incite global unrest with divisive responses to other countries. And then, after all that, say (usually indirectly) "God made me do it" or "Its what America needed" and leave the Democrats to raise taxes to clean up the mess they leave behind.
- Democrats say they are for a strong government and strong social programs but give do seem to fund some rather frivolous and outrageously expensive social programs which do not work in the short term nor can exist for the long term (instead of funding those which might actually have a real impact on American's life and culture), and thus drawing the ire of all. They aren't much better than the Republicans but spend most of there "in office and in control" time "with a mop", cleaning up the tax and nation deficit mess that Republican's made during their terms in office. It's a parasitic cycle with these two "parties", each reinforcing the need for the other political party (and no others!) And, when Democrats get bored in office, they do the same things the Republicans do: steal some American tax payer's money and hide it in their freezer, have sex with interns and prostitutes (and then lie about it) and see what they can screw up in someone else's life.
- So called Independents say they want to fix American but can't seem to find a way into the political "two party" process and therefore are not effectually a political party; just a nice idea.
- Liberians say they want be truly conservative government (responsible or conservative spending programs and apparently independent of state sponsored religion) but they do couple themselves to rather fringe ideas that I have not had time to research.
- and there is the unnamed political group I will call "Neo-Conservative Republicans" of which I have the most ideological, philosophic and moral problems with. What they say is they are men and women of God and/or Jesus and live pious and principled lives accordingly. But what they do breaks almost every Jewish Ten Commandment "law" and all of those bad behaviors that cultured societies have accessed as good in the last two or more millennium. They are vile in their hypocrisy, condemn and incite hatred and violence, divide people with mythical conflicts and outrageous proclamations and seem to be trying to incite cultural warfare using intolerance, racial tension and use every dirty trick to bring about the chaos that they will then use to (re)justify their draconian cultural, legislative and finally military responses. I view them as more organized, more radical and prepared version of neo-Nazi skin heads. I think very poorly of this two groups of people.
Rewriting American History: indoctrination and enslavement of children
But now, the Texas neo-conservative movement, elected into the State government, is attacking defenseless children when and where the parent's are not closely watching: in public schools.
They are doing this by rewriting history for public text books as a works of pure fiction, to bring their "God and Guns" ideas into class as part of the lesson plan. By instructing children that Guns, (Neo-Conservative) God and, yes, even slavery is good, they are actively seeking to undermine and destroy the character, the strength and purpose of America which once made America the most cherished country of opportunity - by unapologetically indoctrinating children to be Neo-Conservative Texas Republicans ... as slaves.
"No Child Left ... Unbranded"
To say I am offended is to strongest understate my feelings. I view this attempt to boaster Neo-Conservative Republican membership by "child branding" Texas children (and because of economic conditions, all America children) to be somewhere between the several recent killings of grade school children by the mentally diseased in China and the abduction of native Africans by several countries and forcing them into slavery in early American history. Absolute abomination!
Children: Pawns in Cultural Wars
This neo-conservative text book revision movement claims the need to change history is to "remove liberal corruption" from text books. You can not remove corruption by superseding it! These kind of changes is a subject for academic debate OR private home schooling but not for putting children on the front lines of cultural battle lines. Nor is it not a permissible to mass indoctrination of children to your religious views as a matter of government enforced education!
It is not only inappropriate, it borders on the most base of evil intentions: removing the freedom of truthful, factually, educated choices will result only in leads to polarization and thus of social and cultural slavery.
Why aren't public education text books subject to academic review, scrutiny and approval only by academia before handing to young, impressionable children?
Let it go, If only...
If neo-conservatives were truly "perfect", above all reproach and moving in the right direction (or even making an honest, positive attempt), I could more easily "let this go". but, they are not. They are human beings like everyone else, riddled with the same or similar flaws and insecurities. The difference seems to be they want everyone to come down to there level or "just disappear."
Who's laughing now?!
I believe neo-conservationism got a foothold in American culture because, with all the Neo-Conservative outrageous antics, nasty accusations, nationalistic flag waving and God touting, we though they were amusing, laughable ... for a while. But they are bringing their insanity to the doorsteps of all American homes, all American schools and, by preaching to our children, endanger the very fabric of American goals and pose a real danger to global stability.
(Brief) History of "God's People": Puritans
If you aren't concerned, I submit you should be. Here is why: I believe the Neo-Conservatives have deified the 17th century American Puritans with the primary belief that America was created "by God for Puritans" and thus, by extension, for neo-conservatives. In more historically relevant terms, the Puritans were thrown out of Europe and came to America for "religious freedom" ( but I honestly believe that primarily mostly religious freedom of Europeans, not the Puritans.)
So, answering the question "why were the Puritans thrown out of Europe" and how they behaved when they settled in the Americans should concern you. Puritans believe firmly and passionately in legislating religious beliefs of all citizens and enforcing them punishable and even religious executions. Many competing religious settlers to the Puritan ideology were executed for not being correctly religious, "saying the wrong prayers".
History Aligned to Repeat?
I fear Neo-Conservatives are maneuvering American back the religious culture of the 17th century where anyone not praying the correct pairs or believing in the correct Jesus just the right way could be executed in vile and torturous ways.
History Alive and Well Today
Think religious executions can't or don't happen in the 21st century? Perhaps you should look at the current religious political and cultural models still in play in the older Islamic countries include Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq (and others I am sure.) Hard to swallow that our 17th century America directly mirrors some of these loathsome religious laws and truly gruesome executions, all in the name of God.
Looking Forward, Backwards to The End
Taking the a step further, using Puritans as the cultural model and currently apparent war-mongering of the Republican party in general, more concerning is once a Neo-Conservative Religious America "is purged of the non-faithful" from the "homeland" via deportation, exile, interment and finally execution, these Neo-Conservative can move to the next level of monstrous acts by feeling fully justify attacking other nations of Earth in the name of their God in the name of militant Christianity. America has nuclear weapons and, like Iran, I fear someone will paint a religious symbol on them and, in the name of some god, end humanity's brief existence in ugly, searing pain.
Permission to Stage for Genocide Requested
One of America's past strengths over the conflicted and religious "middle East" is that "we don't throw stones at each other over the name or word of God." We were not a polarized country of haters and fanatics. But that page of our history is about to be turned I fear. Can American and the world afford even for one more moment to humor these neo-conservative miscreants by allowing them to taint school-room history with their false religious fervor and cultural intorance?
We, as Americans, have fallen so very far from any moral and philosophical center that we sit at the edge of joining those who wish to return to live in the darkest of the Dark Ages, steeped purposefully in ignorance and would murder the progress of the whole humanity to simplify their apparently meaningless and empty lives.
Path of Doom
How did we, America, get here? Simple: good people were too polite to tell bad people "no." Good people decided not to stir up problems by asking questions. Good people went home, watched increasingly mindless, meaningless and finally culturally corrupting entertainment and failed to see themselves slowly being cultivated to uncaring, unmoved citizens: Undead voters of apathy ... with children.
I don't think we got here alone, mainly because people are generally good and have to be lead force-ably or subtly into these aforementioned places. We were lead here by the power hungry and the mentally unstable amongst us. And we said nothing, did nothing and continue to do and say nothing.
Mixed Desires for Homecoming
To this I say: would like to come home. But I fear my home has changed into something dark and sinister; lurking shadows to ever so secretively to put the yoke of mental, emotional, economic and spiritual slavery around the necks of my family.
My Child, My Voice, My Movement
I will not throw my child on the fires of idealogical idiocy for the enslavement and amusement of the ignorant, power-hungry, short-sighted, religious hypocrites who are actively divorcing themselves and their weak-minded ilk from reality, insisting that everyone come under their influence and to do the same.
US Government Fails Foreign Voter(s) (Again)
Note: This post as originally started in 2008. I decided to finish and post it today.
Ok, so you might be thinking "Hmm... what is Mike blowing out of proportion now?" Well, nothing.
As a dutiful United States of America citizen, I wanted to vote. I wanted to vote:
But wait. Seems like that's not very popular activity, if you're a citizen that doesn't live IN The States. As a dutiful citizen, I waited until told to send postal mail to request my voting ballet from my state. I did so immediately. I know there is less then 40 days for this task to be completed and I am on the ball.
3 weeks later (21 days), I have no ballet. My state apparently is having a problem find it's backside with both hands, much less doing it's appointed duties to issue voting ballets to citizens residing outside the state and country.
I try not to get bent out of shape since I have an information about getting and using an Absentee Ballet. I fill it out but then reach the next problem. If the problem isn't with my state but with the mail system between "here and there", I can't trust the mail systems for something as critically important as my vote. I start looking for other options.
I know the local Embassy can send secure mail to The States. So, being a dutiful citizen, I email them for the specifics of how to deliver my vote for the restoration of Freedom, Liberty and America through the local Embassy.
The response was in fact very quick, thorough, professional, polite and remarkable disappointing. I am told that this is a known problem getting voting materials in time. My state seems to only support voting in person or by U.S. Postal mail. I am told not to rely on the Embassy mail as, while it is secure, it is not guaranteed to be sent to The States with the remaining 15 days. Further, should I take this option anyway, I will have to post U.S. Postage on my envelope which is then put into the regular U.S. Postal mail service once the Embassy mail is state-side. I am in fact about 7 time zones from the nearest U.S. Post Office. This is the same service which may or may not have discarded my voting ballet in the first place. Further it's suggested that I can use the "free postage template from the web site." Funny, I can't find it, even if I wanted to trust the U.S. Postal system to deliver my vote.
What's left? Its suggested that I use a 'popular private sector delivery service' to make certain my vote arrives as its designation on time. As I struggle to summarize to myself this situation, I realize that I'm being told by a representative of my government that its a known problem and you should not use the government agencies or services to insure your vote arrives to be counted.
So, I will arrange to send my vote, ponder if I should spring for the additional fees to have it carried by hand to its destination or trust that the normal "priority" way will get there in time. I feel like I'm buying the right to vote but I know this is only situation because I wanted to see the world.
As the last almost 8 years have very much underlined for me, it seems that one of the American Values that has been lost in the past decade (and probably longer) is the commitment to do a good job completely and assist people above and beyond the call of duty and job descriptions to be successful. While I know there are men and woman that work for and within the government of America who clearly understand and execute this American Value every day (many working, living and dieing [at the whim of corruption] in foreign countries merely because they were asked to serve,) seems like a fair amount of the rest the men and women suffer from an apathy, a degradation of spirit which is distinctly "not American."
Certainly, We The People can do better.
Ok, so you might be thinking "Hmm... what is Mike blowing out of proportion now?" Well, nothing.
As a dutiful United States of America citizen, I wanted to vote. I wanted to vote:
- vote against tyranny disguised as democracy at home and abroad
- vote against encouraged rampant consumerism disguised as economic stimulus
- vote against suspension of First Amendment Rights disguised national security
- vote against suspension of the reasonable expectation of privacy disguised national intelligence
- vote against hidden courts and warrant-less search and seizures disguised as intelligence gathering
- vote against kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, "humane" forced-feeding tubes and torture of foreign nationals disguised as ... well ... just plain hidden!
- vote against cronyism disguised at political appointments
- vote against lies disguised as a political party platform
- vote against blatant ignorance disguised as leadership
- vote against big business corruption disguised as deregulation legislation
- vote against "more of the same" not well disguised as "4 more years"
- vote against fear disguised as short term memory loss
- Human Integrity (formerly known as American Integrity)
- American Ingenuity
- American Freedom
- an Open America
- America's support of Basic Human Values (even for those that are not Americans)
- an America embracing the path of light, truth and global uplift not darkness and decay
But wait. Seems like that's not very popular activity, if you're a citizen that doesn't live IN The States. As a dutiful citizen, I waited until told to send postal mail to request my voting ballet from my state. I did so immediately. I know there is less then 40 days for this task to be completed and I am on the ball.
3 weeks later (21 days), I have no ballet. My state apparently is having a problem find it's backside with both hands, much less doing it's appointed duties to issue voting ballets to citizens residing outside the state and country.
I try not to get bent out of shape since I have an information about getting and using an Absentee Ballet. I fill it out but then reach the next problem. If the problem isn't with my state but with the mail system between "here and there", I can't trust the mail systems for something as critically important as my vote. I start looking for other options.
I know the local Embassy can send secure mail to The States. So, being a dutiful citizen, I email them for the specifics of how to deliver my vote for the restoration of Freedom, Liberty and America through the local Embassy.
The response was in fact very quick, thorough, professional, polite and remarkable disappointing. I am told that this is a known problem getting voting materials in time. My state seems to only support voting in person or by U.S. Postal mail. I am told not to rely on the Embassy mail as, while it is secure, it is not guaranteed to be sent to The States with the remaining 15 days. Further, should I take this option anyway, I will have to post U.S. Postage on my envelope which is then put into the regular U.S. Postal mail service once the Embassy mail is state-side. I am in fact about 7 time zones from the nearest U.S. Post Office. This is the same service which may or may not have discarded my voting ballet in the first place. Further it's suggested that I can use the "free postage template from the web site." Funny, I can't find it, even if I wanted to trust the U.S. Postal system to deliver my vote.
What's left? Its suggested that I use a 'popular private sector delivery service' to make certain my vote arrives as its designation on time. As I struggle to summarize to myself this situation, I realize that I'm being told by a representative of my government that its a known problem and you should not use the government agencies or services to insure your vote arrives to be counted.
So, I will arrange to send my vote, ponder if I should spring for the additional fees to have it carried by hand to its destination or trust that the normal "priority" way will get there in time. I feel like I'm buying the right to vote but I know this is only situation because I wanted to see the world.
As the last almost 8 years have very much underlined for me, it seems that one of the American Values that has been lost in the past decade (and probably longer) is the commitment to do a good job completely and assist people above and beyond the call of duty and job descriptions to be successful. While I know there are men and woman that work for and within the government of America who clearly understand and execute this American Value every day (many working, living and dieing [at the whim of corruption] in foreign countries merely because they were asked to serve,) seems like a fair amount of the rest the men and women suffer from an apathy, a degradation of spirit which is distinctly "not American."
Certainly, We The People can do better.
Winds of Change
Note: I originally started this entry last year but decided to finish it today.
In less than a week, I will get married, for the first time. At 40-something, I wasn't sure that this would or could even happen. Change is good, if somethings a little scary.
Change...in our little world where (at least in the US), "people who know more than I what's good for me" (also know as "The Government") can enter my home, tap my phones, sniff my wireless and hack everything else without following the "Guidelines of the Land" ( formerly know as the American Constitution,) I have to wonder: haven't we, as a social species, gone too far? I don't mean a single step "oops! I'm a little over the line" but closer to "over the line, down the block and around the corner to just plain wrong"?
Change... not something that JUST happens to you, not something that just happens TO you, but also something that happens BECAUSE OF, BY and FOR you. "God helps those that help themselves", a wise and pragmatic man once said (reportedly). Seems we are all forgetting about this concept of self-determination, self-leadership, not to mention true compassion for our fellow man.
I know the bag of chips, a comfy chair and the TV remote are familiar comforts to most of us but what about the very often uncomfortable pursuit of higher, more noble ideals? Anyone remember any of those? Higher, more noble ideals like working together to create something new, strong, powerful and positive for our species (and that doesn't involve personal financial arrangements negotiations as the primary goal.)
Instead we have patent lawsuits, executions both legal and illegal, government invasions of foreign sovereignty and domestic domiciles and government buildings in complete violation of trust and law; posturing saber rattling and "peaceful" missile test firing, "mine not yours!" childishness and arrogant "first strike", "preemptive strike", "night time strike" and "unclaimed responsibility strikes"; family meal time television distractions about how best to betray your love, your enemy and a complete stranger, interlaced with overly sexualized commercials every 5.25 minutes to keep us just off balance enough to not ask questions and to influence us about how you'll have more luck with whomever you prefer to have sex with if you only use our product; IPods to block the sound of the living, dark "sun" shades to block the light of day and limit the site of your face just in case a feeling of anything should show up on your face; "don't look at me" glances and defiant "don't touch me glares"; my personal square meter of personal space excludes you; my personal economic forecasts; my big, useless car manufactured with 50 year old technology to be the bottom end of mediocrity to maintain an archaic industry power structure more than a century out of date at the simple cost of belching a little more black and gray smoke and a few more degrees of atmospheric heat before the next ice age to justify the need to fly around the world to blow up something that doesn't belong to you in the first place; human breeding programs to see which religion can out breed the others while abandoning the children after shortly after birth to wind-swept fields of sand and stone because the head count of the faithful has moved on, Mohamed, Jesus and Moses be praised; Eat this, it tastes good because it, as it's very base, in the same as everything else: sweet, salty and high in fat and only resembles "real food" which is confused as "fresh food", picked well before it's nutritional prime, colored for your acceptance and you can't understand why the "fresh food" from the mega-grocery just doesn't seem like food at all. Kick the dog, beat the kids, kill the family, bomb the church, shoot the airplanes down, sink the war ship, bomb the village from beyond the horizon and count the unknown dead as "probably terrorists", insult the masquerading dictators; be more important than the safety of others, complicate things to feel important and to prolong the opportunities to feel so. Above all other else, get all you can while you can at the expense of everyone, both now and tomorrow; "what about the children?!" idiotic homophobes, heterophobes, genophobes and sexophobes, metathesiophobes and phronemophobes, and then end up killing their families "as a mercy to them or a service to society" because they never actually had to deal with reality and decided now wasn't the time to start. And then finally, at the end, blame it on some one else: he touched me, they stole this, their watching me, she left me, they hate me, she loves me, he's afraid of me, they are jealous, I don't feel important.
How boringly, disappointingly, predictably continuous of us, all of us. Can we be done with this selfish, self interest dribble and get on to the reason for living? I assure you it isn't just to eat, sleep and "procreate".
The more I think about it, the more I realize that, contrary to popular beliefs that "God is protecting me and my group specifically", we are very lucky to be alive as a species on Earth and it's only a matter of time until we truly will have a challenge to that status. Climate change and our considerable contributions to that aside, we can be eradicated from our Earthly home at almost any moment for the Cosmos doesn't know anything about religion, political boundaries or care much about atmospheric densities. The Cosmos does as It wills and we, as a species haven't learned to dodge (comets) yet.
If we keep up the "small games on planet Earth", we won't make the next evolutionary leaps in thought, sociology and philology needed to have grandchildren of our grandchildren. Carrying gun outside a church, an assault rifle while wearing a yamaka on patrol, or high tech, sand resistant combat gear in the trenches will not stop a meteor from hitting the Earth, a truly awesome blast of Comic gamma radiation radiating the entire solar system, or an old star sending a little bit extra sunshine to boil away all life from the surface of our world.
Change... quick, pick something, anything, change it for the good for someone else. Tell someone and then do it again. Repeat until you are dead. That's the very minimum level of trying to improve things, the very minimum.
Change... I will get married next week and try to start a family. If I have the opportunity, I will teach my children the apparently outdated, archaic concepts of what it means to be a "good human being."
In less than a week, I will get married, for the first time. At 40-something, I wasn't sure that this would or could even happen. Change is good, if somethings a little scary.
Change...in our little world where (at least in the US), "people who know more than I what's good for me" (also know as "The Government") can enter my home, tap my phones, sniff my wireless and hack everything else without following the "Guidelines of the Land" ( formerly know as the American Constitution,) I have to wonder: haven't we, as a social species, gone too far? I don't mean a single step "oops! I'm a little over the line" but closer to "over the line, down the block and around the corner to just plain wrong"?
Change... not something that JUST happens to you, not something that just happens TO you, but also something that happens BECAUSE OF, BY and FOR you. "God helps those that help themselves", a wise and pragmatic man once said (reportedly). Seems we are all forgetting about this concept of self-determination, self-leadership, not to mention true compassion for our fellow man.
I know the bag of chips, a comfy chair and the TV remote are familiar comforts to most of us but what about the very often uncomfortable pursuit of higher, more noble ideals? Anyone remember any of those? Higher, more noble ideals like working together to create something new, strong, powerful and positive for our species (and that doesn't involve personal financial arrangements negotiations as the primary goal.)
Instead we have patent lawsuits, executions both legal and illegal, government invasions of foreign sovereignty and domestic domiciles and government buildings in complete violation of trust and law; posturing saber rattling and "peaceful" missile test firing, "mine not yours!" childishness and arrogant "first strike", "preemptive strike", "night time strike" and "unclaimed responsibility strikes"; family meal time television distractions about how best to betray your love, your enemy and a complete stranger, interlaced with overly sexualized commercials every 5.25 minutes to keep us just off balance enough to not ask questions and to influence us about how you'll have more luck with whomever you prefer to have sex with if you only use our product; IPods to block the sound of the living, dark "sun" shades to block the light of day and limit the site of your face just in case a feeling of anything should show up on your face; "don't look at me" glances and defiant "don't touch me glares"; my personal square meter of personal space excludes you; my personal economic forecasts; my big, useless car manufactured with 50 year old technology to be the bottom end of mediocrity to maintain an archaic industry power structure more than a century out of date at the simple cost of belching a little more black and gray smoke and a few more degrees of atmospheric heat before the next ice age to justify the need to fly around the world to blow up something that doesn't belong to you in the first place; human breeding programs to see which religion can out breed the others while abandoning the children after shortly after birth to wind-swept fields of sand and stone because the head count of the faithful has moved on, Mohamed, Jesus and Moses be praised; Eat this, it tastes good because it, as it's very base, in the same as everything else: sweet, salty and high in fat and only resembles "real food" which is confused as "fresh food", picked well before it's nutritional prime, colored for your acceptance and you can't understand why the "fresh food" from the mega-grocery just doesn't seem like food at all. Kick the dog, beat the kids, kill the family, bomb the church, shoot the airplanes down, sink the war ship, bomb the village from beyond the horizon and count the unknown dead as "probably terrorists", insult the masquerading dictators; be more important than the safety of others, complicate things to feel important and to prolong the opportunities to feel so. Above all other else, get all you can while you can at the expense of everyone, both now and tomorrow; "what about the children?!" idiotic homophobes, heterophobes, genophobes and sexophobes, metathesiophobes and phronemophobes, and then end up killing their families "as a mercy to them or a service to society" because they never actually had to deal with reality and decided now wasn't the time to start. And then finally, at the end, blame it on some one else: he touched me, they stole this, their watching me, she left me, they hate me, she loves me, he's afraid of me, they are jealous, I don't feel important.
How boringly, disappointingly, predictably continuous of us, all of us. Can we be done with this selfish, self interest dribble and get on to the reason for living? I assure you it isn't just to eat, sleep and "procreate".
The more I think about it, the more I realize that, contrary to popular beliefs that "God is protecting me and my group specifically", we are very lucky to be alive as a species on Earth and it's only a matter of time until we truly will have a challenge to that status. Climate change and our considerable contributions to that aside, we can be eradicated from our Earthly home at almost any moment for the Cosmos doesn't know anything about religion, political boundaries or care much about atmospheric densities. The Cosmos does as It wills and we, as a species haven't learned to dodge (comets) yet.
If we keep up the "small games on planet Earth", we won't make the next evolutionary leaps in thought, sociology and philology needed to have grandchildren of our grandchildren. Carrying gun outside a church, an assault rifle while wearing a yamaka on patrol, or high tech, sand resistant combat gear in the trenches will not stop a meteor from hitting the Earth, a truly awesome blast of Comic gamma radiation radiating the entire solar system, or an old star sending a little bit extra sunshine to boil away all life from the surface of our world.
Change... quick, pick something, anything, change it for the good for someone else. Tell someone and then do it again. Repeat until you are dead. That's the very minimum level of trying to improve things, the very minimum.
Change... I will get married next week and try to start a family. If I have the opportunity, I will teach my children the apparently outdated, archaic concepts of what it means to be a "good human being."
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