The difference between the left-wing and the right-wing fringes:

The left-wing are consumed by concerns for "gay rights"

The right-wing are consumed by concerns for "gun rights"

And if your own concerns are for the more "human", spiritual, and pragmatic issues, good luck finding anyone interested in seeking out any REAL solutions to any REAL problems.

                                               Musing For Today

When someone wrongs us in some way our first response is for "revenge", or a backlash of some kind in response.

Should someone screw with us, or behave spitefully or condescendingly toward us---especially if we've done nothing to deserve it---we relish the thought of somehow "dishing it back" to the offender.  Make them "answer for" what they did to us.

It's at this point where someone from your distant past ought to appear out of nowhere and beg to remind you of that "shoplifting spree" you went on when you were 18 and 19, and that when you were finally caught and nearly ended up with a criminal record for "petty larceny" you lucked out and store security decided against prosecuting and simply banished you from ever being allowed to reenter their establishment.

And now you dare to shamelessly take a "victim" stance because someone "violates" you in some way?  Never mind the reason they did whatever it is they did might be on account of some narcissistic rationale based on some kind of "entitlement" they may feel "deprived of", or maybe an act of "retaliation against the world", or some other kind of foolishness on their part.

This is but yet another reason civilization will never get a handle on the age-old phenomenon of "bullying".  Often the "victims" are not all that "innocent", and the culprits are engaged in their own "revenge" motives when acting out.  

A lot of folks, when they get fucked over enough, start losing (or abandoning) their moral sensibilities. 

How is it any time someone mentions government-provided single-payer health care or more investment in public transportation systems you hear all this outcry of "Socialism"?

Of course they're also another example of a "socialism" mindset.
Countries ARE societies, after all.  And what is the root word of "society"? "Social", right?  The same root word of "socialism", no?
All societies are (at least in part) socialist in nature.  Otherwise why call them "society"?  It's been that way since the beginnings of civilization.  The only alternatives would be self-rule----which would require large sparsely-populated ultra-rural areas wherein one could have full control over their physical and natural environment.  Or anarchy, which entails being strong-armed into submission by whoever has either the most brute physical strength, the most charismatic persona, or a tremendous aptitude for influencing others---in the name of establishing some kind of "social order"---itself a perverse incarnation of the "socialism" concept.

We live in societies that provide streets, roads, and highways to travel on
...that write laws "everyone's expected to abide by" under consequence of punishments (inequitable enforcement aside)
...that are affected by whatever industries and corporations are successful in providing select goods and services to the civilian population, business, and government factions for an exchange (a.k.a.: financial profits)
...that have educational systems whose officials are in charge of providing whatever materials they deem fit to teach those still growing up
...that have authorities who act as "agents for the system", whose job is to coerce the general populace into complying with the ways of their society, under threats of various punishments for anything perceived by the "system" as being of a defiant or heretical nature
...that have government agencies regulating finance, environmental clauses, "safety net" benefits, traffic/transportation safety and operations, business practices and ethics, revenue/taxation---and the like.

So, to those worrying about the "free" western world slipping into a "socialist" state----you're wasting your time.  All societies are "socialist" by nature to begin with.  Always have been, always will be, regardless of professed form-of-government.  A society could never be a "society" otherwise.

Oh, ahhh...
Be sure to file your tax returns on time.  Wouldn't want to piss off Uncle Samuel, you know.  "He" has authority to take all your money, all your property, all your assets if "he" so chooses, as a lot of you well know.

A Good Example Of Just WHAT Kind Of A World We're Living In
At a U.N. meeting in the early '60s, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev were sitting face-to-face

...the Secretary of State then asks the Soviet Premier "When are you going to dismantle those missiles you have placed in Cuba and aimed toward us?"  Khrushchev then proceeds to deny any knowledge of strategically-placed missiles on the northern Cuban shores.  Rusk then presents aerial surveillance photos of the missiles taken by U.S. Air Force reconnaissance planes
...then repeats the question:  "Mr. Khrushchev, when ARE you going to dismantle those missiles you have in Cuba, and aimed directly toward us?"

This got me thinking:  If my existence has always seemed a bit counterintuitive it may not necessarily be because something is "just a bit off" about me.
It's quite possible I could often be a victim of frequent gaslighting and other manners of social sabotage.

It seems absurd that a bunch of impoverished outsiders with no money, no passport, nothing to offer this culture should be allowed to freely enter this country and take advantage of its services and resources
...while those of us who ARE citizens can't even as much as VISIT another country without having an abundance of financial resources, a valid passport, a valid reason for entering that other country, and can still be turned back for having elements of "questionable character" on public records.

Or that medical and dental care should be viewed as a "consumer service", much the same way as eating out in a restaurant, or as a "financial transaction" much the same way as buying a flat-screen TV or a smartphone.
Or that we, as individuals, should be "responsible for" our own health and well-being so as to not be "constantly bleeding the nation's health care facilities dry" financially.  Like, for example, should I be enhancing my telepathic capabilities so that I can read the minds of the motorists I share public space with, so that, even when crossing with the WALK light, I can know in advance when one of them are about to make a sudden turn without signalling or slowing down because I'll already know they're not paying attention and don't see me---so that I can know to stop in my tracks momentarily and avoid ending up in the emergency room, since it's completely on me to maintain my health and well-being?

Likewise, each time things don't work out as they should it "must be something I forgot to do", or "something I did wrong", or "something I failed to mention".  Responsibility is all a one-way street.  Even if the other person made a mistake, it's still because I "didn't catch it soon enough" and "speak up" right then and there
...as if anyone would ever listen to anything I have to say anyway ....

Loaves and Fishes

Here we have an oft-quoted passage from the Bible (John 6: 1-15) about how Jesus transformed a mere two pieces of fish and five thin slices of barley bread into enough to feed a large multitude.

I'm not going to dwell too much on the many ways one could interpret this alleged event.  But I will go ahead and put a couple spins of my own on it:


1) It could be a metaphor for not giving up on an idea or a project due to not having enough resources to carry it out.  To do whatever you can with however many or however few resources you DO have on hand at the time.
Accomplish SOMETHING at least.


2) It could also mean that, as individuals, we alone do not possess enough to carry out agendas and plans.  That we need to pool whatever resources we have with those of a trustworthy agent or benefactor in order to accomplish anything on a grand scale.
Remember, Jesus had "connections" with the One "who created all things in existence".  A synergy with Him could yield most anything, as He has access to the ultimate of unlimited resources.

                                                Adage For Today
                True freedom is never having to care whether or not you offended the wrong person


                                                  Musing For Today
                       A society becoming too dependent on its own technology:
I can understand being dependent on your car or the buses and subways.  Or on the utilities---electricity and water.  Or on the merchants and banks

...but relying on your smartphone for doing everything outside of eating, sleeping, pissing and shitting?  Or abiding by whatever the algorithms, professionals, and authorities tell you?  Or being so totally dependent on your GPS you can't even find your way around your own home town without it?
You guys can't be THAT lacking in instinct, perception and sense of direction!  Or that far removed from the reality around you!