Corporations Ain't People, So Why Do They Have the Power of Citizens? | | AlterNet

Corporations Ain't People, So Why Do They Have the Power of Citizens? | | AlterNet

GOP Presidential Hopefuls Are Alienating the Rest of the World by Fusing Christian Superiority with Blatant Revisionist American History | | AlterNet

GOP Presidential Hopefuls Are Alienating the Rest of the World by Fusing Christian Superiority with Blatant Revisionist American History | | AlterNet

A Word to the Wise

It's early afternoon and I've been reflecting on President Obama's State of the Union address. It makes me cringe each time a pundit remarks that what many heard was jaundiced by the color of the president's skin. For God's sake! Haven't we made any progress at all? The answer provided by current events is that what we label 'progress' is the development of technological prowess aimed at possessing the greatest capacity to kill. The separation of Church and State is no excuse for taking morality out of the equation. Perhaps historians will someday uncover one, but I know of no American president who did not acknowledge a power, an authority, greater than themselves, and to the degree that each man (and, someday, woman) acknowledged that this was so, his intelligence was graced by wisdom. Technology itself is amoral, but the human application of it is moral or immoral. Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18, KJV) We are dangerously close to learning the consequences of monumentally unwise--immoral--human choices, paramount among them the premeditation of murder (e.g. war; capital punishment, etc). At this critical point in our evolution, we will choose to either continue on an evil path of immoral arrogance, or to change our course in the moral direction which promises abundant life. I thank God for our president's wisdom in knowing the difference.

Remarks of President Barack Obama

as prepared for delivery

A Twentieth-Century Prophet

George Carlin -- The American Dream

Above the Law

exceptionalism: the belief that particular laws do not apply to those who see themselves as, for a variety of reasons, superior.

exceptionalism

I can understand how it may appear that I have lost my way, but I really do think that I am managing to stay on track in my pursuit of humankind's ultimate destiny. Killers are bullies who regard themselves as exceptions to the ancient prohibition against murder. Bullies incorporate the paradigm of fear to manipulate their victims, with bully murderers capitalizing on death as the ultimate threat to those they wish to control. This only works when death is perceived as a fearsome thing to be defended against by any means necessary. It is in this way that the 'I am going to kill you before you can kill me' mentality evolves, even into such sophisticated global strategies as mutually assured destruction. I generally do not adhere to black and white propositions, but the scriptural prohibition of murder is absolute; i.e. no exceptions.

The Killing Field

murder: the killing of a human being by another

murder

Very simply, one human killing another human is murder. As the authoritative definition specifies, law qualifies whether the murder is considered legal, illegal, justified, unjustified, etc. Again, human hubris enables legalism to trump morality with murderous results spanning from the dawn of our species until the present. Since it is, after all, Sunday, I'm going to invite you to read Genesis 4:1-16 and then spend a little while thinking about it. The easiest way out of this assignment is to dismiss scripture as irrelevant and be done with it. But for you who believe that humans are called to something more than murder, it is time for us to begin the conversation about how we go about achieving that. This passage is recognized by all three of the Abrahamic traditions and, taken seriously, should serve as a challenge to any attempt to justify murder for any reason. One of the greatest achievements of the reformation was opening up the Bible to Everyman, empowering each and every one of us to read and understand for ourselves. I seek your comments, especially if you believe that there is any rational argument for murder.

They're Everywhere!

Violence is destructive whether the result of natural or human behavior.

violence

This is kind of fun comparing my made-up definitions to the real deal.

The human being is perhaps unique in its ability to be intentionally violent. One's theology is immediately drawn into play at this point with regard to one's understanding of what causes naturally occurring violence; e.g. God. Another distinction may be that while natural violence can actually transform into creative construction (e.g. a volcano), violent human behavior is seldom if ever constructive. Violent human behavior is intended to destroy.

Bullies threaten physical violence to exert control over the bullied, often following through with execution of the threat just for good measure. Bullies instigate the fight or flight response in their victims and generally generate the latter because of their uninhibitedly violent demeanor. Bullies employ force, up to and including lethal, to have their way, and what I consider to be intelligent human beings are those who choose whatever means necessary to effectively remove themselves from the bully's sphere of influence.

I recollect having the wind punched out of me four or five times before becoming a teenager. Each time it was a violent expression of my attacker's great disdain for me. The threats didn't diminish until, as I said, college provided a less violent environment (there were bullies my freshman year, but liberation from public school made it much easier to avoid them). Not being educated in retaliation, I eventually realized that my most effective defense was not to run (not when you run as slowly as I do) but to think--quickly! Over time I have developed defensive behavior that I suppose could be thought of as a kind of intellectual retaliation. This strategy has been successful to the degree that I haven't been physically assaulted since high school (with the exception of in the line of duty in 1976; that will have to be another post).

The whole issue of bullying becomes more complicated when verbal and emotional assault is included, attacks that in the human context can be as devastating as physical violence. For now, let it suffice to say that there are bullies everywhere, and that our future will be shaped by the ways we choose to deal with them.

A New Direction

bully: a person who invades another's sanctity, often through violent aggression

bully

I thought it would be fun to write my own definition and then follow it with an "official" one. I first need to thank those patient souls who have accompanied and sometimes guided me along my journey of self-discovery. Through such a current experience I am beginning to "see" something about myself as if for the first time. I am defensive.

As a child I was raised to be passive rather than aggressive. This was reasonably consistent with the worldview of my parents. My minister father was never, as far as I can remember, in a fist fight, nor was my mother. My upbringing focused upon harmony and togetherness (justified by that particular interpretation of the Gospel), so I was not exposed to the lessons of how to be mean spirited.

Those idyllic early years ended when I started school. Totally unprepared, I encountered aggressively dominant personality types who controlled by force. Just as these persons apparently hadn't received the peace and love message I had, I was completely ignorant of how to subject others to my will.

As a result, I was vulnerable to bullying. I am not revealing this discovery about myself to receive pity. Quite to the contrary, I am celebrating a new and better understanding of who I am and why I behave the way I do. The adage that the best defense is a good offense doesn't make sense to one who is not schooled in offensiveness.

Particular bullies introduced me to the concept. They were regularly replaced by others until I emancipated high school. The delight of college was discovering it to be a relatively bully-free environment because, I suppose, many bullies found themselves better suited for more aggressive endeavors.

What strikes me right now as significant about all of this is that bullying isn't restricted to just schoolyards. Depending upon how we define it, bullies permeate the human population and have since the beginning. When I asked my uncle to teach me how to fight (to defend myself against my first grade nemesis) he responded that if you can't lick 'em, join 'em. This is how power and control is exerted by those who have no sense of compassion or kindness over those who don't know how to--or choose not to--fight back.

Current events are making it perfectly clear that our species has not yet learned how to get along. Given that there are soon to be seven billion of us, this is not especially good news. If the only way to deal with bullies is to bully back, then we may as well bend over and kiss our sweet asses goodbye. I'm going to spend some more time thinking about this, and it sure will make me feel a lot better to know that I'm not alone in doing so.

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

Twenty-seven years ago today my belief in miracles was transformed into utter conviction. Rachel, our blessed gift from God, has every day since her birth affirmed the miracle of life. While she is extraordinarily precious to her mother and me, Rachel's miraculous life is not unique to her. Every life is irreplaceable. Every life is an inimitable miracle. I thank God for the privilege of being a part of Rachel and Rebecca's lives. The miracle continues as my little girl now becomes a mother herself (my money's on Independence Day). It is impossible for me to describe the inexplicable joy that Rachel brings me, so it will simply have to suffice to wish her all happiness for the rest of her miraculous life.

Text of President Obama's speech at tonight's memorial service in Arizona - Capitol Watch

Text of President Obama's speech at tonight's memorial service in Arizona - Capitol Watch

Murder Is Never Justified

"We don't know why God saw this as necessary." --Nancy Pelosi

For as much as I respect the Minority Speaker, her statement reflects theological retardation in the first degree. It shares the same idiocy which afflicts the Westboro Baptist Church congregation which has been banned from protesting at the funerals of the Tucson slain. It is their sacrilegious contention to "know" that God is instigating the murder of "his" own because "he" hates homosexuality. The ultimate sin may well prove to be the claim to know the mind of God.

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live..." (Deuteronomy 30:19, NRSV). Murder (of all kinds) is blasphemy! We are the people who know so much about everything that we have declared God dead. Even those who claim that this is not true worship gods of their own contrivance.

Can there be a better time than now to stop the killing? If not, I beg you to tell me when it will be.

A "New" Commandment

As with Timothy McVeigh, the death penalty awaits Jared Lee Loughner. As with Timothy McVeigh, to use death as a punishment proves beyond a reasonable doubt that our society has no understanding of Jesus' purported words, "As you know, we once were told, 'You are to love your neighbor' and 'You are to hate your enemy.' But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for your persecutors. You'll then become children of your Father in heaven. (God) causes the sun to rise on both the bad and the good, and sends rain on both the just and the unjust. Tell me, if you love those who love you, why should you be commended for that? Even the toll collectors do as much, don't they? And if you greet only your friends, what have you done that is exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, don't they? To sum up, you are to be unstinting in your generosity in the way your heavenly Father's generosity is unstinting." (I've used here the Revised Scholars Version of Matthew 5:42-48.) While they may claim to be Christians, anyone who condones the murder of anyone belies their discipleship. Our only hope is to become faithful followers of the Christ.

We're Killing Ourselves

It must be what it means to be human because humans killing other humans is as old as our species. It is obvious that a plethora of excuses are used to justify the exponential increase in humans murdering other humans. Murder is defined as the killing of a human being under conditions specifically covered in law. Our American hubris leads us to think of statutory legalism because we have dismissed wholesale such intangibles as "God's law". Our species has yet to practice the prohibition against murder because we have focused our attention upon justifying it. There are no amendments to the Ten Commandments, and we would do well to start trying to figure out why this is so, rather than dismissing the ultimate moral code of ethics as invalid. It is time to stop the hate by the power of love which radically embraces zero tolerance for murder--of any kind.

A Rose By Any Other Name

Born to die is not the same thing as born to kill. Death is the natural order. Murder violates that order by virtue of human intervention. It does not appear that our species has yet learned this truth even though it has been proclaimed throughout the ages. The failure to understand the precious gift of life leads to the arrogant hubris of believing that there are circumstances which justify taking the life of another. The often disparate rationalizations used to justify killing become moot in that they all reach the same conclusion: murder. We Americans have gone so far as to institutionalize killing, ranging from capital punishment to warfare. Christianity first became legal only because Constantine credited his vision of the cross as the reason for his victory in battle. The extent of our hypocrisy is revealed in the realization that we are barely two weeks past the pagan celebration co-opted to proclaim the birth of the Prince of Peace before murder once again shocks our nation. Kill the killers before the killers kill us. This is the primitive, unenlightened mindset that may very well destroy us unless we awaken now to the redeeming power of love revealed by the Christ.

Thou Shalt Not Kill

Death in its universality becomes so commonplace that thousands die every day without any notice whatsoever. A statistically minute number, however, draw national and global attention from the media responsible for reporting the news. Such is the case with the shootings today in Arizona. I think that this is because we humans have not accepted that our ignorance on the subject deceives us into thinking that we know all that there is to know. It can only be in this context, then, that some deaths are deemed more significant than others. This naturally follows a line of reasoning which supposes that some living human beings are more important than others. Without trying to derive purpose from a quest for the meaning of our mortality, a distorted thinking emerges which condones death as a form of punishment, as an act of aggression, and so on. Hence, evil erupts manifest in those who choose to impose death upon others. The commandment to not kill has been so violated generation after generation that it now poses truly apocalyptic ramifications for the species that has mastered murder.

Gratitude Generates Generosity

Several theologians have posited that the experience of waking up in the morning is akin to resurrection. One way of looking at the new day is that we have once again cheated death. Another (and the one I strive for) is that I am the recipient of a precious gift that brings me yet another day closer to my destiny. I am fortunate to know many generous people, and the thing that I have noticed they all have in common is a sense of profound gratitude for what they have. For as long as I am alive I am the recipient of the greatest gift of all, and I find it difficult with such an understanding to not want to share this blessing with everyone I meet. I may never know why the human propensity to compete so easily succumbs to greed rather than a spirit of outdoing one another doing good. I can only guess that those who aspire to be the mightiest and wealthiest aren't really grateful for anything but their own material gain. I choose to join those who are indescribably thankful for all that they have and who are moved by that gratitude to generously share the gift.

Incident Report

Three out of four agree with my New Year's Eve post. My thanks to Bill for commenting that he's interested in knowing everything about me :-)

I spent six years as a Certified Peace Officer for the State of Colorado by serving on the Edgewater Police and Jefferson County Sheriff's Departments. A large part of that experience involved report writing. We were taught at the academy that law enforcement officers are at the top of the list when it comes to work-related writing, and in retrospect I think that my ability in this respect contributed significantly toward graduating at the top of my class.

So, it occurs to me that I can convey this most embarrassing moment from the third person as if it were one of the hundreds of such reports I have had to write:

Background: Perpetrator was in the Washington, D.C. area with his family to attend Jon Stewart's "Rally to Restore Sanity" on 10/30/10. Perpetrator arrived at BWI on 10/28/10. On 10/29/10 perpetrator arrived by train in Washington, D.C. at approximately 1200 hours.

Occurrence: Perpetrator entered the Library of Congress security screening area at approximately 1515, emptying his pockets of their contents in addition to his watch, cell phone, hat and sunglasses and placing them on the x-ray conveyor. The perpetrator was then instructed to walk through the magnetometer, at which time he pointed to his left knee to alert security personnel to a prosthetic replacement. When the alarm sounded the perpetrator was instructed by an officer to walk back through the magnetometer at which time the alarm sounded a second time. The perpetrator was instructed to submit to verbal questioning by the officer at the x-ray station for the purpose of determining if there were still articles on his person. The perpetrator again stated that he had a knee replacement and was instructed to pass through the magnetometer a third time. A security officer approached the perpetrator and ordered him to spread his arms and legs for a wand inspection. The perpetrator complied but angered the officer by assuming the position for arrest. The officer then informed the perpetrator that he would do exactly as he was ordered or he would be charged with criminal trespass. When the perpetrator questioned the validity of the order, the officer attempted to escort the perpetrator from the premises. The perpetrator then protested the officer's authority to evict him, at which time the officer placed him under arrest. The United States Capitol Police proceeded to lock down the Library of Congress and had the handcuffed perpetrator face the wall for approximately one hour while transportation to the detention facility was arranged. Upon transport to said facility the perpetrator was booked, handcuffed to the interview room wall for approximately four hours, charged with unlawful entry and unlawful conduct, and released on his own recognizance with a citation to appear in court on 11/18/10.

I would like to be able to tell you that this was the end of it, but the D.C. court has appointed an attorney to represent me at my February 8 arraignment. I have been advised that my failure to appear will result in a warrant for my arrest, and that if found guilty I could face a year's jail time. The only word that truly describes my feelings about this whole matter is 'incredulous'! I maintained a spotless record for nearly sixty-one years until this arthritic, leukemic old man protested his treatment by an immature, poorly-trained "officer" of small stature (you always want to watch out for the short ones), and ended up guilty-until-proven-innocent of a criminally bad attitude.

One of My Favorites

1. Now the day is over,
2. Night is drawing nigh,
   Shadows of the evening
   Steal across the sky.
3. Jesus, give the weary
   Calm and sweet repose;
   With Thy tend’rest blessing
   May mine eyelids close.
4. Grant to little children
   Visions bright of Thee;
   Guard the sailors tossing
   On the deep, blue sea.
5. Comfort those who suffer,
   Watching late in pain;
   Those who plan some evil
   From their sin restrain.
6. Through the long night watches
   May Thine angels spread
   Their white wings above me,
   Watching round my bed.
7. When the morning wakens,
   Then may I arise
   Pure, and fresh, and sinless
   In Thy holy eyes.
8. It's the easy way out, I know, but these closing thoughts on the day have meant enough to me over the years that it gives me great pleasure to share them with you. (I realize this is ambiguous with regard to agreement, so let's just agree that 'agree' means I took the easy way out.)

Feels Like the Last Time

I shower daily. From the days I worked for Uncle Dale farming in eastern Colorado, the routine was borne out of necessity and carried over into my normal way of life. I've been of the belief that showering every day is virtually required to maintain personal hygiene and good hair. It is only as I have grown older that I am beginning to realize what a luxury this habit of mine is, that for years I have taken for granted something that a great number of my brothers and sisters on this planet cannot even fathom. I am using this example because it illustrates how my attitude toward my mortality can elevate this thing I have done so casually to the level of what I now consider sacred. I do not know how I as an individual could make a daily shower possible for every person on Earth, but I alone can choose to think of each cleansing as possibly the last. There is no guarantee that I will shower tomorrow, and that realization transforms each time under the shower head into a miracle of sorts. Knowing and accepting that I am mortal becomes a source of genuine gratitude for the moment, thankfulness that is not dependent upon anything more or less than acknowledging that this and every moment of life is precious. I think the world could become a truly better place if each of us treated every experience as if it were our last.

Be Not Afraid

The ancient axiom is to write about what you know. The only thing I know with absolute certainty is that I am going to die. Such knowledge is touted as uniquely human. Whether or not it actually is doesn't really matter because Truth is universal whether perceived or not. The subject matter is, by definition, morbid. This, however, should not make it taboo. I contend that most of the ills which beset humankind result from denial of the inevitable which results in an apparent default to avoidance of death as a fearsome thing. This helps to explain why death as a form of punishment is so prevalent throughout the human record. In other words, it is apparently easier to be afraid of death than to cultivate an enlightened attitude toward it. We need to be more open about the fact that each and every one of us is going to die, to the hopeful end that from such discourse will arise a living faith capable of dispelling the fear.

Know What I Mean?

Last December 2 I posted a link to the article: People Who Think Life Is Meaningless Still Enjoy Their Lives. I wondered then as I continue to wonder now if it is truly possible to 'enjoy' meaningless. What is enjoyment? What is enjoyable? When does human experience transcend pure sensation by becoming perception grounded in interpretation? The term itself is meaningless in the absence of meaning, the very basis by which we judge ourselves to be human. As miraculous as human language is, it still has its limitations when it comes to subject matter such as this. Just as I have found that the claim to atheism is generally not pure--but is instead a rejection of popular religious dogma--so do I think that anyone who says life is meaningless doesn't mean what they're saying. The human experience of living involves the interpretation of sentient perception resulting in meaning. Life without meaning is impossible for us.