True Belief is a Mind Killer

 

A true believer claims to possess clear, unambiguous and unassailable answers to all possible questions that ordinarily confound human intelligence. Some of these questions have been plaguing philosophers over the thousands of years of human civilization. Some of these questions include: How did the universe begin; How did life on earth begin; Is there intelligent life beyond the confines of our solar system; Does God(s) exist; What is life about; What is the point of existence; What does the future hold for humanity? to name just a few.

A true believer does not falter in the answers to any of these questions. Interestingly, within the mind of the true believer is the conviction that the answers given are surprisingly brief and are held onto with rigid tenacity. According to the true believer, anyone who does not accept the answers given, is immediately held suspect and is usually seen as inherently dangerous. A true believer demands absolute allegiance from anyone who is considered to be a friend or an ally.

A true believer does not base allegiance to what is believed on any form of rational analysis. True belief, by its nature, does not generally conform to the real world as ordinarily perceived by the sentient human brain. True belief generally lies with the realm of delusional thinking.

True belief is essentially a mind killer. In fact, no complex issue has a singular answer and is generally not amenable to a simplistic solution. True belief by its very structure encourages ignorance and invites violent and drastic reactions to that which endeavors to find the true nature of things. True belief demands a definitively anti-science sentiment and abhors any expression of human intelligence.

True belief is a mind killer.

Immigration, Education and Health Care - Essential Ingredients for the Continued Longevity of the United States

 Immigration

My immediate ancestors emigrated from Italy during the early part of the twentieth century.  They came only with what they could carry onboard the ship that provided them with passage.  They came with their families driven by the hope and desire to find a new life in a totally alien environment.  They came to America to better themselves; to carve out a more propitious future for their offspring and for their descendants.  They arrived at Ellis Island in the shadow of the Great Lady of the Harbor ready to work, ready to learn, and ready to contribute whatever was required to live and to prosper.  They were few among millions who made this remarkable journey – of the ten million Italians who chose this path, for example, they left approximately thirty million descendants who all helped navigate America through the twentieth century and beyond.

This is my own personal story; a story that is amplified millions of times by the very armies of immigrants from around the world that have set upon the shores of these United States.  That collective energy; that communal desire for a better life; that infusion of different and differing perspectives helped to shape the character and future of this country.  Our capacity to embrace immigration to our shores is what has helped maintain our vitality and prosperity as a nation. 

It is a monumental tragedy to deny or ignore this truth and proceed, as we seem to be doing, to demonize immigrants, to expel those who have come here illegally with callous indifference and with vehemence, to incarcerate and separate families and to undermine the intrinsic value and benefit that immigration provides to all of us.  To continue to behave in this manner is to do irreparable harm to our relationship with the rest of the world, for it puts us at odds with the very concept of a civilized society.  In fact, all of these outrageous and destructive behaviors are completely avoidable.  We have had many opportunities in the past to craft appropriate laws and reasonable procedures to correct the overweening issue of illegal immigration.  It would be a tragedy of remarkable proportions to apply fallacious and dangerous fascistic principles embodied in white supremacy in dealing with immigration, for it will guarantee a horrific and chaotic future for us and our descendants.  

 

Education

The United States is a constitutionally based democratic republic.  As such, the leadership of the country is chosen and retained by its citizens through the voting process and not through the arbitrary and essentially non-democratic decisions coming from a well established and entrenched autocracy.  Ideally, this democratic process should yield a government dedicated to serving all the people.

However, for a democratically conceived government to produce laws and policies that reflect the national interest, the general population should be well educated so as to make decisions based upon a reasoned and thoughtful consideration of reliable information and data.  An educated people would be well-versed in matters of science, history, mathematics, art and government.  An educated electorate would be capable of discerning what is true and conversely, what is patently false.   An educated population would not be swayed by transparent and self-serving propaganda.  An educated populace would be appropriately skeptical and always ready to ask questions and demand explanation whenever required.  An educated people would not be satisfied with simplistic answers to complex questions.

In reality, a substantial segment of the population of the United States believes that the reality of climate change, overwhelming supported by a substantial weight of scientific evidence, is a hoax.  Also, a sizeable proportion of the population believe that vaccines designed to prevent the spread of serious infectious diseases are not reliable and should be shunned in spite of the evidence to the contrary.   The entire premise of white supremacy that so many support is based upon a belief that flies in the face of the biological reality of the species, Home sapiens – that includes all of humanity.

In my estimation, the evidence that is shown above reinforces the idea that the education of our people has failed and this failure has serious implications for both the present and the future.   This failure is evident in the early grades where the teaching of science and mathematics is inadequate at best and wholly lacking in some regions of the country.  Also, higher education has become so prohibitively expensive that it is effectively out of reach to a considerable portion of the population.  This translates to the reality that so many young people are prevented from discovering and developing their inner talents and abilities and have become relegated to a subsistent standard of living.

It is therefore imperative that federal and local governments subsidize public higher education so that it can become accessible to all regardless of income.  Although this may seem costly, the payback will be enormous in the long run - thoroughly educated people will enrich not only their individual lives but help the entire nation become more prosperous.  They will necessarily make political decisions based upon thoughtful and deliberate considerations that in the long run will benefit everyone.

 

Health Care

The United States apparently is a prosperous nation and ranks very high in regard to its gross domestic product (GDP).  However, this perspective is quite misleading, because its wealth is skewed disproportionately to an extreme minority of its population.  In fact, 10% of its people collectively possess 85% of the nation’s wealth.  This overall statistic does not incorporate the accumulated wealth sequestered in so-called “hidden assets” estimated to be in the trillions of dollars.

This reality shows itself in many aspects of the quality of life for the majority of its citizens.  One of the most revealing of these is access to meaningful health care.  The following table reveals this reality from varied and important perspectives.

 

Perspective	Statistics
Global Standing in Providing Adequate Healthcare to the General Population	Ranks last among high income nations.
Lack of Adequate Healthcare Coverage	Thirty-five percent of the population experience inadequate care – approximately ninety-one million.
Estimated Yearly Deaths Due to Inadequate Health Coverage	35,000 to 68,000 with the most conservative estimate – 26,000 provided by the government (NIH).
Life Expectancy Related to Wealth	Life expectancy of the wealthiest 1% is ten -fifteen years longer than the poorest 1%.
Infant Mortality	33rd out of the thirty-six countries reported by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED).

 

These statistics come from a variety of sources and are very revealing.  Collectively they illustrate a disturbing reality for the vast majority of the nation’s population.  They demonstrate that a substantial number of individuals and families suffer unnecessarily from the lack of adequate healthcare.  Additionally, this imbalance negatively impacts the health and well-being of the entire country.   

 

Conclusion

Immigration, Education and Healthcare are important and essential areas of our communal life as a nation and require our serious and devoted attention.  Our failure, as a people, to pay appropriate attention to them, or exacerbate the problems surrounding them is, in my estimation, to do great and substantial harm to not only the present but more importantly to the future of the nation.

Reclaiming Our Democratic Principles

 

The evidence is clear regarding the real consequences of choosing a President who is wedded to the bankrupt idea of white supremacy; who, in his own words “hates Democrats” who represent more than half of the people he is sworn to serve and protect. This is a President who is ignorant and incompetent in so many areas of public life especially the reality of climate change, the necessity to deal with the issue of illegal immigration with rational and reasoned policy buttressed by sound laws and procedures, and the nature and importance of international trade.

This is a President who is seriously mentally challenged. This is a President who is obviously incapable of carrying on a conversation that reflects any evidence of a thoughtful and a well-reasoned perspective. This is a President who is corrupt to his core without any evidence of having a moral compass. This is a President who lies constantly without demonstrating any adherence to the value of truth. This is a President devoid of nuance and incapable of wrapping his mind around any complex issue – The evidence of this reality is quite literally everywhere with one outstanding example - confronting and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic during his first sojourn in the White House.

We live in dangerous times with Democracy and the Rule of Law hanging precariously in the balance. The horrific future that this continued leadership suggests is easy to envision, unless we speak out against all lies and misinformation, and unite on common ground. With a singular and determined voice we must speak for those who cannot speak for themselves; we must declare our allegiance to all those who suffer unnecessary within a corrupt system that focuses its attention on those with inordinate wealth and power; we must demand that government work for everyone and insist upon just and sustainable laws that serve and protect all our people. Lastly, we must use the collective power we do have through the vote and strive for a sound and meaningful future for ourselves and future generations.

The Conscious Life

 

Many years ago, when I was a young man I had a close friend, Ralph, who was a fellow teacher but fifteen years my senior, who commented to me that “The great challenge in existence is putting to good use our conscious life.” This observation has stuck with me all these many years.

Consciousness is, after all, the essence of our sentient nature – that ability to see ourselves as separate beings; to recognize the existence of the natural world and human worlds that surrounds us, and the insatiable desire to understand the nature of that reality.

The challenge for each of us is how to best utilize this state of consciousness from moment to moment. This is no easy matter, especially in this technologically driven modern era, where there are so many distractions coming from all directions that constantly compete for our attention. A preoccupation with this media bombardment can exert a negative impact that can trivialize the very nature of existence and reinforce a delusional state of mind – where the true nature of reality is supplanted by a world of ideas and conclusions that have no real substance.

For me, it is important to remain cognizant of the real and tangible existence of the amazing planet on which we live; the complexity and the beauty of the natural and human worlds we move through, and the immensity and wonder of the cosmos in which we are immersed. For me, it is equally important to recognize delusional states of existence that place undue focus on that which paints an image of reality that is patently false. Conscious life is far too precious and ephemeral to be so distracted.

 

ICE

A long dark

convoluted road

we travel on.

 

Immersed within

foreboding shades of the past

Gestapo, Brownshirts

the Klan.

 

Hiding Identity

behind masks

with enough armament

to invoke slaughter and mayhem.

 

Enough firepower

to kill innocents,

to intimidate

with mindless intention,

to suppress

protest,

to stifle

conscience,

to murder

goodwill,

to decapitate

community.

 

A long dark

convoluted road

we travel on.

 

Subject to

the iron will of

despots,

the capricious

whim of

mindless leaders

without any sense of grace,

lacking moral compass

devoid of empathy and compassion.

 

History is rich

with such examples

of horrific and needless

suffering,

where blood and death and anguish

abound.

 

A long dark

convoluted road

we travel on.

Evil Remains Resident to Us All

In the modern world we often find ourselves caught up in what we consider to be the latest news. We also have quick access to the news that occurs all around the world almost as quickly as events transpire. We comfort ourselves in believing that the evil so evident and the tragedies it fuels are disparate from the lives we lead.

However, history teaches us that evil has been present since the dawn of human civilization. The evil that history clearly and categorically demonstrates through actual data and real evidence remains present to this day. It is convenient and somehow gratifying in choosing to believe that evil is perpetrated elsewhere and does not really impact us in any substantial way. Reality, which reflects the true nature of things, tells an entirely different story. Most nation states and sovereignties were founded and were sustained using violent means with the inevitable consequence of many lives lost, much blood spilled, and much grief endured - enfolded by actions and events shaped by evil intent. Here, I define evil as strategies envisioned and precipitous actions taken without concern for the usually disastrous consequences of these actions on the real lives of human beings. These actions are usually inspired by an insatiable quest for power and dominance with the real cost being ultimately born by the powerless.

A relatively unsophisticated search of the brief history of the United States readily demonstrates the evil that was perpetrated as an integral part of the development of the burgeoning nation – this of course includes the near genocide of the native populations, the enslavement of a people captured in Africa, compelled against their will and forcefully taken to America, the horrific wars against defenseless peoples around the world (Central America, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Iraq, etc.) leaving millions of deaths and shattered lives in the nation’s quest for economic and political hegemony.

As a people, we cannot escape this history, but we are completely capable of recognizing our collective failings and purposefully fashioning a better world for not only ourselves but for future generations to come. We can do this by speaking out against evil and working towards a more equitable environment for all of us.

The Ultimate Issue Facing the Survivability of Homo sapiens

 

Currently, there are over eight billion humans populating planet Earth.  There are over eight billion humans - each one of us having a clear perception that we are individuals on our personal journeys.  Each of us has been shaped by our genetic inheritance (i.e. genes), our particular life experiences, our families, our historic perspective, our unique cultural worldview, our language, our religious and spiritual inclinations, our philosophical point of view and many other factors.  In other words, each of us is uniquely different.  Even within the same family, even among identical twins, everyone is different. 

As members of the same species, Homo sapiens, we share common characteristics directly related to the human brain. These include intelligence, language, our ability to make tools and with these, build civilization. We share the same panorama of emotions, wishes, desires and needs. This has been true ever since the beginning of our species; some estimates have determined this to be about 300,000 years. So far, we have survived quite successfully as our numbers attest. So, what is different about the current epoch

Due to the nature of the rapidly evolving technological changes that have transpired over recent human history, inspired and promoted by the Industrial Age, we now collectively face the prospects of a future living on a planet with a seriously degraded natural environment possessing a profoundly diminished capacity to support highly evolved species like our own.

Although our higher order brain capacity recognizes, understands and appreciates the nature of this present danger, the powerful and emotionally charged affiliation to tribe or nation, our ever-present fear and suspicions about those different from us, our collective affinity towards delusional states of being have clouded our judgment. This dilemma is of a profoundly serious nature, for our future as a species is irrevocably tied to the collective choices we make – reality is unforgiving in this regard.

Currently there is no clear or unambiguous way forward in meeting this ultimate challenge. From my perspective, since this is a dilemma that encompasses the viability of the entire species, a globally based solution is an absolute requirement. Unfortunately, there are forces operating in many human communities that are directing collective energy towards moving backwards to a more insular mindset that can exacerbate the underlying issues. In my mind, this tendency is wrong-headed and dangerous, for it interferes with the kind of communication between people that this kind of all-encompassing problem mandates.

What is required is a radical departure from collective action based upon irrational and delusional thinking and a movement towards a concerted effort to come together with the recognition that all humans are members of the same human family. After all, the science is clear and a multiplicity of tools are readily available to thwart the unrestrained progression towards planet-wide degradation of Earth, our extraordinary home. The teaching of science should be a fundamental part of any curriculum in early education; science is the gateway to an appreciation of reality. It is after all, in the best interests of everyone to find a global solution to the threat of an environmental catastrophe.

There are many young people with boundless energy, imagination, creativity and focused concern that are actively engaged in reshaping the future. My hope and optimism lie with them, for it will soon be their world to manage and sustain.

The Delusional State of Mind

Rigid Ideological constructs, unwavering true belief, religious fanaticism reinforce and sustain a delusional state of mind and being.

By its nature, a delusional mindset denies the efficacy of reality, obfuscates the truth, and encourages lies and misinformation.  These lies are used to support preconceived belief systems.  An example of this from an extremist religious perspective would be proclaiming climate change to be a hoax, because God would never allow the bleak scenarios described by climatologists to materialize as a result of inaction.

In such a delusional realm, real problems that impact the larger society are denied or ignored and thereby left unattended.  This state of inaction has profoundly serious implications in regard to the larger society for when real problems are allowed to fester, they can only worsen.  The future prospects for humanity are dependent upon choices that are made in the present – this is the nature of reality.

Within contemporary American culture there are numerous examples of serious social issues that remain extant on account of the lack of resolve to find reasoned and effective solutions.  These include: alarming numbers of children without adequate nutrition for development and growth, the enormous burden placed upon the large proportion of individuals and families living in poverty, a woefully inadequate healthcare system, millions of individuals suffering homelessness and living on the margins, a primitive and nearly barbaric prison system that excels at punishment at the expense of compassion and caring.

This failure to act is encouraged and sustained by the vanishingly small population of individuals that control most of wealth and wield an overwhelming proportion of power.  If this dynamic continues into the future, the reality of the consequences of such inaction will ultimately prevail.