Just a couple thoughts

I’m not quite ready to cut loose. It isn’t that I’m stuck so much as it is I’m waiting. It is hard to explain but I know exactly what I mean so it is all okay. I’ve got some random thoughts I thought I’d drop on the universe tonight while I wait. It isn’t all waiting, exactly, there is some doing and some being and some just living mixed up in all this so maybe sorting is what is going on within. I have dumped in an incredible amount of new information, things new to me I mean, and that always mimics the biologic process of creation. First we ingest, then we break down and assimilate that which is needed, store that which is not or which is excess, and excrete that which is of no use to us. This, by the way, is not excretion, giggle. I think of it more in terms of determining which nutrient goes where only I also care, in this instance, why it goes there. So putting a lot of raw material into me requires internal digestion before I am ready to make use of it. That is what I’ve been engaged in over the past weeks. The end result of that, well, that is yet to be determined. We’ll see what comes of it later, or I will.

Anyway, I was thinking about the middle east. It really isn’t much different now than it was 6000 years ago, in fact, I think some of the revenge killings going on now go back that far, or nearly so. But as I think of it, and the NRA is going to hate me for this, but I can’t think of a better argument for gun control. Not just gun control. Weapons control.

When I was a child I was raised in the Lutheran faith. There was an internecine war of sorts and Lutheran’s split into two camps, the ELCA and the LCA. I “think” they have made peace, of sorts, but I also think they still use those acronyms. It was a liberal/conservative split as I recall. Not at all unlike that which came when Martin Luther translated the Bible into vernacular German, in order to make it available to the masses whilst the Catholic church preferred it remain in Latin and therefore unavailable to the unwashed masses. Nor when he nailed his 95 theses to the door of that Catholic church challenging the Papacy and more or less calling the Catholic church anti-Christ. His assertion that the Bible be the ultimate authority, not the pope, is what led to the rise of Protestantism. Which, let me tell, is not something I agree with, the Bible as ultimate, literal last word on life or anything else. It is far too “loose” to be taken, or used, literally. What brought this to mind, why I thought of it, was that I saw today, or maybe yesterday, in the paper that Muslims now outnumber Catholics in the world. So I got to thinking what that might mean.

When I think along those lines, I wonder what sort of people have stockpiles of automatic weapons, mortars, anti-tank and anti-aircraft armaments stored in their church basements. Or mosque basement. What would the United States look like, today, if under every church, there were caches of weapons, large caches of weapons, and every male member of each church an active member of that particular church’s militia? What would happen here if whenever the Lutheran’s down the street did something that annoyed the Presbyterians two blocks over, they began shooting at each other? Or, when our Congress passed a law or considered passing a law with which one of our myriad sects disagreed, they just took to the streets with automatic weapons, fighting our army and our national guard, bombing and killing our police? What sort of world would it be if the world mimicked what is happening this night in Basra?

What would our world look like if each of those Sunday Morning warriors for God on television, actively recruited not only for dollars, but weapons and men with the will to use them. What if the “Winner’s Way” was the way of the gun or the strap on bomb? Could our national forces fight all of us? Could the church across the street stand against the one on the other side? And when the police showed up because of the shooting and were themselves shot at by both sides, who would they fight? Both churches? Do you have ANY idea how many churches of various faiths we have in America? A quick google search says that this organization claims it can provide a list of 380,000 American Churches as sales leads. Other search attempts show that Wiki is actively seeking the answer and the few places that claim to know want me to pay them for the information, giggle. Unlikely, that. Virtually every town of any size has multiple churches, not to mention those like the one in which I was raised which is not in a town at all but out in farm country built by my family long ago and supported by the local populace. So, if there are 380,000 churches which can be purchased on a list as sales leads, I think we can safely say that is the low estimate. What if they were all armed? What kind of world would this be?

Is what is happening in Muslim countries acceptable to the world at large? Is it not a danger to the world at large to allow such things? When we leave Iraq, even if after John McCain’s unfortunate 100 years, and those mosques are all still there and still well-armed, what do you suppose will happen? How can the world be safe for any when we are so cavalier with weaponry? And there are those who would, seriously believe – and MANY of these are members in the American Congress – that what the world needs now is not love, sweet love, but more guns, bombs and planes to deliver them with. And this in a “Christian” nation. What of those nations without our sterling principles of freedom for all and equal treatment under the law? Might it not be even more dangerous there? Isn’t it now? We can still sit a sidewalk cafe and have a cup of coffee or a meal and feel pretty safe. It isn’t that way in many parts of our world. It certainly isn’t that way in the Middle East. Will it ever be?

I mean, do you suppose the people of the Middle East will EVER be able to sit at a sidewalk cafe and feel safe? BE safe? Or will that poison which is currently killing people all over the Muslim world spread like a cancer to the rest of the world, as they have overtaken the Catholics will they overtake us all? That seems to be their goal, convert us all infidels, even if that requires killing us. Is there an antidote? One that people will TAKE? Because right now, were there a cure for the urge to kill those who disagree with you, a lot of the people in this world would NOT take it. They would rather die than be love. I mean, that really is the choice isn’t it? We either decide to be love, and live and act it, or we decide to kill all those who believe anything else. Tolerance is not a friendly word in these times. Not even here in America. Listen to right wing radio, read the newspaper, listen to the speeches, and sermons, given around our country every day and tell me they are all speaking of nothing but loving each other and understanding that being different from them is not only okay it is a good thing.

There are still those who would kill the Dixie Chicks for having had the effrontery to criticize the President while on foreign soil. Those are not “crazy” people from the Middle East, they are average, ordinary, run of the mill, American citizens who do not understand the first thing about our own constitution nor what freedom of speech means. There are people HERE who would kill, gladly, over mere words. Sticks and stones, we sang as children, can break our bones, but words can never hurt us. Hmmm. What if those words so incite someone that they pick up a stick and bash another with it. Or what if, in their church basement, they had access to weapons that could blow those Dixie Chicks right off the stage permanently. What matter that a few thousand infidels who proved they needed killing too because they were there at that concert happened to be there because they bought tickets to that concert also died? Small price to pay, right, for wiping out three young women who dared speak their mind outside the shores of our land. Does ANYONE really think it would have mattered had Natalie Maines said what she did at a concert here? The big criticism is that she did it on foreign soil. Not that she spoke her truth. Where she spoke it. And for that horrible crime, well, listen to her “Mad as Hell” and hear what the average, run of the mill, ordinary American is capable of saying to her and to anyone who might criticize this present administration, no matter where. Only that.

What kind of world are we building people? What kind of life form are we? And, if what we are being, is humanity at its best, does it deserve God’s salvation? Mightn’t a loving God, who created our form in His own image, look at what we have wrought and think, chit, THAT did not turn out the way I hoped!

Perhaps those among us who so quickly kill each other over words and ideas and who are so threatened by any idea that is different from their own are the real danger. Perhaps a country with a “defense” budget, including all national security requests, of 802.9 BILLION dollars could be considered a threat to the rest of the world? Mightn’t a country willing to spend that much money on death and destruction, in the name of National Defense, a country which has fought but ONE foreign war on its own soil and that more than 230 years ago, make the rest of the world a little bit nervous? They make ME nervous and I was born here, I served in our Army, and currently, this administration scares the hell out of me. I really do think they are capable of starting a shooting war with Iran as their final legacy. I am sure there are some who want nothing more.

In the immortal words of Walt Kelly’s Pogo, the wisest opossum what ever lived, “we have met the enemy and he is us.” All of us.

It is time we sat down at a table together and broke bread, not necks, and figured out a way to make this world a safe place for all of us. That we came to a reasonable accommodation that guaranteed freedom of speech, thought, movement, religion and the right to the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness to all. Not just to Americans. To all citizens of this one world we all live on? I think this is an idea whose time has come. I think this is an idea that must begin flooding the world. I think it is an idea that must spread like wildfire, like the best virus imaginable, that it must infect the very soul of every person on this planet, that it must make them all want the SAME THING, peace, love, freedom and prosperity for all, regardless of race, creed, color, national origin or anything else. It is time.

Just look around at the world we have made and you will know it is time we change. This is not an idea which can die, not one to be shunted aside in the name of religion, for it is religion that divides us, and spirituality which makes us one. We are one people on one world and it is time we began to act it. We’ll talk about how next. When I’ve done a bit more assimilating, giggle. much love, :^) gene

If today brings even one choice your way
choose to be a bringer of the light :^) gene

Answer

Interesting turn of events today. Jenna told me why she’s been singing answer to me, what it means. Not prepared to shout it from the rooftops because it is decidedly personal, but she’s not done this in this way before. So that I could understand I mean – I can be a little obstinate. Sometimes. :^). And, in truth, I’m still not sure of what this does in any practical way in my life. I will be though. When all the stars have gone out, home will be still be burning so bright. That’s in CWG too. An infinite promise. What other kind could we expect of our Creator? There are some very unusual things happening in my life at the moment, I am not in control of any of them, and I never like that. But I am still sure that it will be okay. Everything at the end of the line. And the one thing I am in control of and sure of is that I need Jenna in my life. It really isn’t life anymore without her. I think that is true for each of us, though virtually none of us know it. What a place this could be if we did. Will be, she says. Things to tend to, so this is it for tonight. I think tomorrow night we’ll get back on track. much love, :^) gene

Two little things tonight

I’ve been engaged in another project of sorts, I mean to say Jen’s kept me away from here, though I’m about ready to resume, I think. So for tonight, I want to share a little piece from Steve Goodier, immediately below. Below this post is one in which I cited a song, Sarah, as always, that Jenna’s been singing me for a month or more, in fact had me find the lyrics, copy them down and carry them around with me to look at from time to time during the day. Odd. I am still doing exactly that, have it in my car’s cd player and listen to it on the way to and from the park and ride every morning and as I am out and about. As she is being circumspect, I’m not entirely sure why she is doing this, only sure really that I will know why when it is time to predict the future, giggle. So look at what Steve has to say about that. much love, :^) gene

Taking Care of My Future
It is difficult to predict the future. But one group that has had
some success with gazing at the “crystal ball” is the World
Future Society. In 1987 the society met in Cambridge,
Massachusetts and predicted that the 21st century will include:

1. A transition from an industrial to an information and
service society.
2. A terrific increase in the rate of change.
3. Globalizations in every area of business and life.
4. Re-spiritualization of society (reversing the
secularization trend of recent centuries), tying knowledge
to vision and direction.

Early in the 21st century we have already seen these trends
evolving. I find all four fascinating, but the last one
particularly intrigues me. My friend Oak Soo from Korea sent me
this quote from anthropologist Jane Goodall (REASON FOR HOPE,
Warner Books, 2000). Goodall, a scientist, said this about
spirituality:

“Thinking back over my life, it seems to me that there
are different ways of looking out and trying to understand
the world around us. There’s a very clear scientific window.
And it does enable us to understand an awful lot about
what’s out there. There’s another window; it’s the window
through which the wise men, the holy men, the masters
of the different and great religions look as they try to
understand the meaning in the world. My own preference
is the window of the mystic.”

I may not reliably predict my future, but I ask myself if my future
will give adequate attention to my spiritual life? I gaze at my world
through the window of my mind, but I wonder, will I also gaze through
the window of my soul? And will I nurture my soul along the way?

I had better take good care of my future now — I’ll be spending the
rest of my life there.

– Steve Goodier

Just not writing this week

I always know when and when not, I have this little helper within me and she’s had me occupied with other things within for a bit.  I’ve got lots I want to, and will, say but not just yet.   Today, one of my little pieces of information said:

“Today I am free. I have accomplished my mission and feel on top of the world. I will enjoy the experience to its fullest. I have come full circle on my path. My job is done, my dream fulfilled.  Accept and embrace the journey taken. It has served great purpose in my growing wiser and stronger, and has provided a sense of relief in that now it’s complete.”

I’ve felt this for a while now.  Done.  As if I have accomplished what I meant to do when this journey began 58 1/2 years ago.  Yet, Jenna says, yes and no.  So we’ll see what she has in mind one of these days perhaps.  But not today.  Today I need stay within.  But, like it or not, I’ll be back.  much love, :^) gene

A Little Faith

I’m going to be brief tonight. :^). He says. So is the plan. I got a very nice little article today from Steve Goodier which I’ve reprinted below. I’ll be back after that.

A LITTLE FAITH

The temporary church-school teacher was struggling to open a combination lock on the supply cupboard. She thought that perhaps she’d forgotten the correct combination, so she went to the pastor’s study and asked for help.

The minister came into the room and began to turn the dial. After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment. Then he lifted his eyes upward and whispered something too faint to be heard. He finally turned back to the lock, entered the final number and opened it.

The teacher was amazed. “I’m in awe at your faith, Pastor,” she said.

“It’s really nothing,” he answered. “The number is taped to the ceiling.”

Of course, he still may have been a man of great faith. Or he may have been a man of little faith. Not that it matters, for even a little faith can move a mountain-sized obstacle.

Often, if we just begin with a tiny bit of belief and fertilize it with desire, even some of the most impossible obstacles imaginable can be surmounted and some of the most outlandish aspirations can be realized. Just a little belief, firmly held, can accomplish a greatthing.

Many Warsaw Jews died during the German occupation of their city during World War II. But some survived, and some were sustained by faith. During those dark years, an unknown hand wrote this graffiti on a Warsaw ghetto wall:

I believe in the sun, even if it does not shine.
I believe in love, even if I do not feel it.
I believe in God, even if I do not see Him.

Faith, little or great, can make a big difference.

– Steve Goodier

Now then, I have a song that Jenna’s brought to my mind, many times over the past weeks, from Sarah, of course, and I will be back after it, :^).

Answer

At the end of the line
I will be there for you
While you take the time
In the burning of uncertainty
I will be your solid ground
I will hold the balance
If you can’t look down

If it takes my whole life
I won’t break, I won’t bend
It will all be worth it
Worth it in the end
‘Cause I can only tell you what I know
That I need you in my life
And when the stars have all gone out
You’ll still be burning so bright

Cast me gently
Into morning
For the night has been unkind
Take me to a
A place so holy
That I can wash this from my mind
The memory of choosing not to fight

If it takes my whole life
I won’t break, I won’t bend
It will all be worth it
Worth it in the end
‘Cause I can only tell you what I know
That I need you in my life
And when the stars have all burned out
You’ll still be burning so bright

Cast me gently
Into morning
For the night has been unkind

Now, a quote from Book 1, page 52:

“…Such was Jesus’ compassion that he begged for a way – and created it – to so impact the world that all might come to heaven (self-realization) – if in no other way, then through him. For he defeated misery, and death. And so might you.”

Okay, that is it for quotes and songs tonight. All I intend do now is make an observation. Elsewhere in books 1 and 2 God says, ALL souls are masters, we simply do not remember this as we experience our life in this realm. Indeed the point of this life IS to experience it as we do and decide what we wish to be in response to the world around us. I make no claim to sainthood, lol, I am as far from that as I am from home, but what Jenna has told me about the light experiences is so simple. In its own way, it is the same thing Jesus did. If you cannot believe in life after life on your own, then read and understand what I have written in the light stories. They are true, each and every word. If you cannot have faith on your own, then perhaps, you can have it through what I have written there, through what I have seen. I have absolute certainty that THIS is not all there is through those experiences. Has that changed my life? You know, no, not really. I didn’t connect the dots until I was 46 and had the third experience and it has taken me many years past that to understand that what I saw is where we come from, what I felt is what home feels like ALL the time. That feeling is more powerful than the strongest drug, though I will admit during one of my procedures, fentanyl, a drug 80 times more potent than morphine, produced a sense of well-being, peace, that flickered around the edge of what I felt in the presence of those lights. The difference was that the drug produced drowsiness, a desire to sleep, while the lights produced only an overpowering sense of well-being, love, all encompassing love – much more powerful than the drug, so strong its effect on me – with NO drug of any kind in my system, just me, and those lights. So, perhaps, all I am meant to do is share that experience, as I have, and perhaps some may find that though they struggle to find faith in their own lives, that through my experience, they might feel just a bit safer, a bit less fearful of what comes after life, and maybe even, just a bit less fearful of living the life they are here now. That doesn’t feel like enough for me, giggle, and Jen says it isn’t, but if it was? I could go home tonight and be pleased with what I have done here. Share. Just share what I know, what I saw, what I felt. Though that isn’t happening tonight, were it so, I would leave content. As it is, there are paths yet to walk, Jen tells me, so I will walk with her a while longer, but I wanted to tell YOU, she wanted me to tell you, what I have here in this long, brief, paragraph. much love, :^) gene

If today brings even one choice your way
choose to be a bringer of the light :^) gene

The difficulty of Being

I’m skipping to the end of a chapter tonight, one that is really important, meaty important, but that I intend to come at from another angle, just not right now, I intend to summarize this one, in my own words, mostly, but for what I am publishing tonight. She has her reasons, I just am not entirely sure what they are, giggle. And I’ve learned that trying to evade her is fruitless, useless, pointless and ultimately a waste of time as I always end up where I am supposed to be regardless. Which is okay actually. It is the getting there that can be difficult. But also what makes there worth getting to. :^)

God tells Neale that what our world needs is a change in consciousness, not circumstance. Neale responds, reasonably, “How can we find inner peace when we are hungry? Be at a place of serenity when we thirst? Remain calm when we are wet and cold and without shelter? Or avoid anger when our loved ones are dying without cause?
You speak so poetically, but is poetry practical? Does it have anything to say to the mother in Ethiopia who watches her emaciated child die for lack of one slice of bread? The man in Central America who feels a bullet rip his body because he tried to stop an army from taking over his village? And what does your poetry say to the woman in Brooklyn raped eight times by a gang? Or the family of six in Ireland blown away by a terrorist bomb planted in a church on a Sunday morning?” Gene adds – had this book been written in this year, 2008, the examples would be no less horrific, we have not changed, we humans, very much at all in the past 11 years.

God responds: “This is difficult to hear, but I tell you this: There is perfection in everything. Strive to see the perfection. This is the change of consciousness of which I speak.
Need nothing. Desire everything. Choose what shows up.
Feel your feelings. Cry your cries. Laugh your laughs. Honor your truth. Yet when all the emotion is done, be still and know that I am God.
In other words, in the midst of the greatest tragedy, see the glory of the process. Even as you die with a bullet through your chest, even as you are being gang-raped.
Now this sounds like an impossible thing to do. Yet when you move to God consciousness, you can do it.
You don’t have to do it, of course. It depends on how you wish to experience the moment.
In a moment of great tragedy, the challenge is always to quiet the mind and move deep within the soul.
You automatically do this when you have no control over it.
Have you ever talked with a person who accidentally ran a car off a bridge? Or found himself facing a gun? Or nearly drowned? Often, they will tell you that time slowed way down, that they were overcome by a curious calm, that there was no fear at all.

(gene inserts: I have had this experience, many more times than once, I have described some of them on my main site, there are many others I have never mentioned to a living soul, there are events I should not have survived, but did, in which exactly this “slowing of time” happened, but I’m going to tell you of one from last winter that was in no way life threatening, but nonetheless, could have resulted in some real damage, lol, but only to my face. I was at a hockey game, University of Minnesota, with my son, we were watching the play, about 20 rows up from one of the goals, a puck ricocheted off the ice and flew straight at me. I watched it from the moment it left the stick, traveling upwards, I am sure, of 70 mph, the fastest shot ever recorded was 118.3 mph, so it was coming FAST, but I just watched it, I never felt ANY sense of fear and it was, honestly, as if time slowed down, as if it were coming in slow motion, I could see there was no way to avoid it, so I just watched it and as it grew close enough so that I knew where it was going to strike, as it was curving slightly toward me, I just moved my head to the left slowly and it went past me under my right ear, just brushing the bottom of my right ear lobe, no pain, a brushing feeling, almost a tickle, and it slammed into the leg of the fellow in the row behind me – sorry about that part. But THIS precise experience has happened to me before in times of real crisis and this, I am absolutely positive (Jenna is telling me so) is what God is describing here)

“Fear not, for I am with you.” That is what poetry has to say to the person facing tragedy. In your darkest hour, I will be your light. In your blackest moment, I will be your consolation. In your most difficult and trying time, I will be your strength. Therefore, have faith! For I am your shepherd; you shall not want. I will cause you to lie down in green pastures; I will lead you beside still waters.
I will restore your soul, and lead you in the paths of righteousness for My Name’s sake.
And yea, though you walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death, you will fear no evil; for I am with you. My rod and My staff will comfort you.
I am preparing a table before you in the presence of your enemies. I shall anoint your head with oil. Your cup will run over.
Surely, goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life, and you will dwell in My house – and My heart – forever.

And now a tiny piece from Book 1, page 14.

“And this is the second great illusion of man: that the outcome of life is in doubt.” “It is not, the ultimate outcome is assured.”

And page 81,

“You see, to a doctor or a nurse, death is failure. To a friend or relative, death is a disaster. Only to the soul is death a relief – a release.”

Then, Book 2 again, page 36,

“Yet what if I told you that what you call “death” is the greatest thing that could happen to anyone- what then?”

Neale: “I’d find that hard to accept.”

God: You think that life on Earth is better than life in heaven? I tell you this, at the moment of your death you will realize the greatest freedom, the greatest peace, the greatest joy, and the greatest love you have ever known…”

That last paragraph? Describes what I felt in the presence of the white and golden globes as I wrote on the main site. And is why I believe, with every fiber of my being, that paragraph is literal truth. I have been given a glimpse of what is down the rabbit hole, or up in heaven. It matters not where it is, I KNOW WHAT IT IS. And, it is as God described it. And it is why, I believe all of what I’ve transcribed here today. Those events Neale mentioned and the ones that have transpired since he wrote those words are horrific but only in human terms. And we are not human. We are not our bodies. We are souls living in a body. I liken it, Jenna has helped me with this, to a beneficent almost parasitic relationship, while we inhabit these bodies, we are NOT these bodies, they are simply our vehicle, our shelter as we experience life in this physical realm of existence. This realm given us by our Creator that we might understand completely how wonderful our “home” really is, by experiencing in the flash of a human lifetime, what it is like to NOT be there. Death is not to be feared, it is not fearful, in the moment of our release, we are again in the loving arms of our Creator and our siblings, Her children, His children, we are. Gender isn’t there, what it is here, God is all things, and so are we. And the most important thing we are and understand again in the moment of our return home, is that Love really IS all there is.

We’ll come back to our earthly experience and what we do here shortly, this interlude has been brought to you by the immense push of the love that drives my own soul to do what I am doing here. Today and all the days of my life. What brought me to this place, this planet, this lifetime. Love. So with that, I am going to go give some love to my sick puppy, Cisco, and as I do, tell you each, again, I love you too. much love, :^) gene

If today brings even one choice your way
choose to be a bringer of the light :^) gene

Now then onward with our discussion of government

We ended the previous installment from CWG Book 2, at the bottom of page 138, with God seeming a little put out that we called ourselves a “great society” when so many of us experience no such thing, when greatness is reserved for those well-born, or well-place, or exceptionally gifted, while the sick, the infirm, the elderly and the children, those with no voice speaking for them make do with so little.

Neale responds: “You make things sound pretty bad. Yet America has done more for the underprivileged and the unfortunate – both here and abroad – than any other nation on earth.”

God responds: “America has done much, that is observably true. Yet do you know that a percentage of gross national product, the Unites States provides proportionally less for foreign aid than many much smaller countries?”

gene inserts: This is from testimony in Congress in 2004. “U.S. Foreign Aid in Comparison to Other Developed Countries —According to the most recent (2001) foreign aid figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States ranks 22nd in the world as a giver of foreign aid as a percentage of Gross National Product (GNP). The U.S. level is about one-tenth of one percent of GNP, which is about one-fourth of the average effort of developed countries. In absolute amount of foreign aid, the United States ranks first for 2001, after ranking second to Japan for several previous years.” I cannot imagine we have improved our ranking since then given the almost 1.7 Trillion dollars we have squandered bombing Iraq into a fundamentalist Islamic state

“The point is that, before you allow yourself to become too self-congratulatory, perhaps you should look at the world around you. For if this is the best your world can do for the less fortunate, you all have much to learn.
You live in a wasteful, decadent society. You’ve built into virtually everything you make what your engineers called “planned obsolescence.” Cars cost three times as much and last a third as long. Clothes fall apart after the tenth wearing. You put chemicals in your food so they can stay on the shelf longer, even it if means your stay on the planet is shorter. You support, encourage, and enable sports teams to pay obscene salaries for ridiculous efforts,

(gene inserts: 1997, this book was written in 1997)

while teachers, ministers, (gene wonders in blue, if it is a coincidence that minister and sinister are so similar to each other?) and researchers fighting to find a cure for the diseases which kill you go begging for money. You throw away more food each day in your nation’s supermarkets, restaurants, and homes than it would take to feed half the world.
Yet this is not an indictment, merely an observation (gene observes again in blue, hell, yes it is an indictment, or it is for ME). And not of the United States alone, for the attitudes that sicken the heart are epidemic around the world.
The underprivileged everywhere must grovel and scrimp to merely stay alive, while the few in power protect and increase great hoards of cash, lie on sheets of silk, and each morning twist bathroom fixtures of gold. And as emaciated children of ribs and skin die in the arms of weeping mothers, their country’s “leaders” engage in political corruptions which keep donated food stuffs from reach the starving masses.
No one seems to have the power to alter these conditions, yet the truth is, power is not the problem. No one seems to have the will.
And thus it will always be so, so long as no one sees another’s plight as his own.”

Neale: “Well, why don’t we?” How can we see the atrocities daily and allow them to continue?

God: “Because you do not care. It is a lack of caring. The entire planet faces a crisis of consciousness. You must decide whether you simply care for each other.”

Neale: “It seems such a pathetic question to have to ask. Why can’t we love the members of our family?”

God: “You do love the members of your own family. You simply have a very limited view of who your family members are.
You do not consider yourself part of the human family, and so the problems of the human family are not your own.”
Neale: “How can the peoples of the Earth change their world view?”

God: “That depends on what you want to change it to.”

Neale: “How can we eliminate more of the pain, more of the suffering?”

God: “By eliminating all separations between you. By constructing a new model of the world. By holding it within the framework of a new idea.“

Neale: “Which is?”

God: “Which is going to be a radical departure from the present world view.
Presently, you see the world – we’re speaking geopolitically now – as a collection of nation-states, each sovereign, separate and independent of each other.
The internal problems of these independent nation states are, by and large, not considered the problems of the group as a whole – unless and until they affect the group as a whole (or the most powerful members of that group).
The group as a whole reacts to the conditions and problems of individual states based on the vested interests of the larger group. If no one in the larger group has anything to lose, conditions in an individual state could go to hell, and no one would much care.
Thousands can starve to death each year, hundreds can die in civil war, despots can pillage the countryside, dictators and their armed thugs can rape, plunder, and murder, regimes can strip the people of basic human rights – and the rest of the world will do nothing. It is, you say, an “internal problem.”
But, when your interests are threatened there, when your investments, your security, your quality of life is on the line, you rally your nation, and try to rally your world behind you, and rush in where angels fear to tread.
You then tell the Big Lie – claiming you are doing what you are doing for humanitarian reasons, to help the oppressed peoples of the world, when the truth is, you are simply protecting your own interests.
The proof of this is what where you do not have interests, you do not have concern.”

Neale: “The world’s political machinery operates on self-interest. What else is new?”

God:”Something will have to be new if you wish your world to change. You must begin to see someone else’s interests as your own. This will happen only when you reconstruct your global reality and govern yourselves accordingly.”

Neale: “Are you talking about a one-world government?”

God: “I am.”

We’ll come back to this topic. It is, I believe, inevitable. I do not think there is a way we can continue for much longer to pretend that the invisible little lines we draw on maps matter. I do not think we can continue to pretend that 197 individual states, or whatever the number is up to now, can do whatever they want within their own boundaries to OUR family. I have been saying, and posting, and writing for years, that we MUST expand our definition of family. We do not, most of us, intentionally harm our family, but we define family as siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins – blood and blood by marriage relatives alone. We have to go much farther than that. Do you begin to understand why I chose the name for this website that I did? THAT is the answer. We are one people, living on one world, and we ARE the family of man. Period. We do not blow up our mothers as they have afternoon tea at a restaurant. We do not walk into our children’s school with a bomb strapped to our chest and kill as many of them, and ourselves, as we possibly can. We do not do these things to our family. And all of humanity IS our family. THAT is the view we must take, will eventually, inevitably come to.

There are many ways to do this. One such is to enact a true world government, an elected body with representation from all parts of the globe, with no part of the globe being more important than another. We could base this on the American system of government with a tripartite system consisting of three equal, but separate, branches – legislative, judicial and executive. The system could be based on a parliamentary form of representation, but containing the same elements. Two houses of legislative authority, one based on population – so building consensus will be paramount, and one based as is our Senate of two persons from each country to ensure that the small are not dominated by the powerful. It CAN be done. And eventually, it will be.

What has been has not worked, does not work and will not work for much longer. A new way of thinking must take precedence and all people of this planet must be provided for equally. It is only fair, we all share the same bright blue ball of light and love that God gave us as our home. We need only learn a bit more about how to share it with each other more fairly than we have managed to do so far. And we need the WILL to do this. We aren’t quite there yet. But we will be. There is a new generation of leaders coming who will see the wisdom in what God proposes in Book 2. They aren’t in power yet, but they will be, and the world will be the better for it, and we will come to a time when we will make war no more.

I’ve got a LOT to say about this, giggle. And I’m going to say it here. I’m going to share this stage with Neale Donald Walsch and God – I am happy to have both at my table, may it always be so. But I would welcome Osama bin Laden to this discussion as well, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. It is time for statespeople to become in truth what they are in name. So, I’m going to leave this bit for now. I’m not sure I’ll come back to this idea for a bit. I have some other things I want to talk about too from Book 1 yet, and a lot more from Book 2. So, sit with me, read, argue if you wish, or not. As always, much love, :^) gene

If today brings even one choice your way
choose to be a bringer of the light :^) gene

A bit of an interruption to God’s continuing civics lesson :^)

Is going to continue but I have to do two other things first. Jenna has had this song in my head all day long, I Want To Know What Love Is, a wonderful song from 1984, George Orwell’s year. I like their vision of 1984 much better.

I gotta take a little time
A little time to think things over
I better read between the lines
In case I need it when Im older

Now this mountain I must climb
Feels like a world upon my shoulders
I through the clouds I see love shine
It keeps me warm as life grows colder

In my life theres been heartache and pain
I dont know if I can face it again
Cant stop now, Ive traveled so far
To change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

Im gonna take a little time
A little time to look around me
Ive got nowhere left to hide
It looks like love has finally found me

In my life theres been heartache and pain
I dont know if I can face it again
I cant stop now, Ive traveled so far
To change this lonely life

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
And I wanna feel, I want to feel what love is
And I know, I know you can show me

Lets talk about love
I wanna know what love is, the love that you feel inside
I want you to show me, and Im feeling so much love
I wanna feel what love is, no, you just cannot hide
I know you can show me, yeah

I wanna know what love is, lets talk about love
I want you to show me, I wanna feel it too
I wanna feel what love is, I want to feel it too
And I know and I know, I know you can show me
Show me love is real, yeah
I wanna know what love is…

I think it is time we began showing the world what love is. All of us. It isn’t what we read in the papers, see on television news or reality shows, it is what we see in our daily lives. The opening, or holding of a door for someone, the secret smile given to a complete stranger, the small kindnesses we perform each and every day. And in how formulate the policies that will lead us into a new generation of peace. The elections of 2008 are important. I hope we choose wisely.

Now I want to share two little stories from Steve Goodier, then, we’ll go back to our talk of governance. :^)

THERE IS MORE IN YOU THAN YOU KNOW

Not many people realize that U. S. President Calvin Coolidge did not
always live in the White House. As Vice-President, he became
President upon the death of Warren G. Harding. Mrs. Harding continued to live
in the White House for a time, so the Coolidges remained where they had
been living – in the third-floor suite of nearby Willard Hotel.

Once in the middle of the night, the new President awoke to see an
intruder going through his clothes. He watched as the thief first
removed a wallet, then unhooked a watch chain. Coolidge calmly spoke
up from the darkness: “About that watch, I wish you wouldn’t take
that.”

The startled man, gaining his voice, asked, “Why?”

Coolidge answered, “I don’t mean the watch and chain, only the charm.
I’m very fond of that charm. It means a great deal to me. Take it near
the window and read what is engraved on the back of it.”

The burglar read: “Presented to Calvin Coolidge, Speaker of the House,
by the Massachusetts General Court.” And now he was more surprised!

“Are you President Coolidge?” he asked. He evidently did not think
he’d find the President sleeping in a hotel!

“Yes, I am, and I don’t want you to take that charm,” he said. Then he
asked, “Why, Son, are you doing this?”

The young man explained that he and a friend traveled to Washington
during their college break. They spent all of their money and had no
money to pay the hotel bill or pay for train passage back to school.
“If you don’t mind,” he said, “I’ll just take the wallet.”

Coolidge did mind. He knew he had about $80 in his wallet. So he
said, “How much will it take to pay your hotel bill and get you and
your friend back to the campus? Sit down and let’s talk this over.”

Coolidge added up the room rate and two rail tickets. It came to $32.
That may not sound like much now, but it was a considerable sum then.
“I’ll give you the $32 as a loan,” the President said, “and I expect
you to pay me back.”

The youth thanked him. Coolidge then advised him to leave by the same
window he used to enter the room, as secret service agents were sure
to be patrolling the hallway. As the young man climbed out, Coolidge
left him with this admonition: “Son, you’re a nice boy. You are better
than you are acting. You are starting down the wrong road. Just
remember who you are.”

It wasn’t until after the death of Mrs. Coolidge in 1957 that this
story was allowed to come out. It was first published in the “Los
Angeles Times.” And most interesting of all is that the President’s
notes show that the young man was indeed better than he was acting.
He repaid the $32 loan in full.

Kurt Hahn, the founder of Outward Bound, said this: “There is more in
us than we know. If we can be made to see it, perhaps, for the rest of
our lives, we will be unwilling to settle for less.”

And, this, which to me speaks of the elections of 2008 and what we Americans (with apologies to any foreign readers) will choose this fall. I think we tried the first time to plant this seed more than 20 years ago, in 1992, the second best time to plant it is now.

THE SECOND BEST TIME TO BEGIN

Philosopher and economist Friedrich Engels said, “An ounce of action
is worth a ton of theory.” Perhaps it is easier to talk about what to
do than to do it.

U.S. District court judge Woodrow Seal was active in a philanthropic
organization known as The Society of St. Stephen. It is an
internationally recognized organization with the sole purpose of
helping people in need.

One day a church invited Mr. Seal to speak to their congregation and
explain to them how they might begin a Society of St. Stephen. The
plan was for the him to speak on the various programs of the society,
then follow up with a time for discussion.

The people took their seat and the minister introduced the featured
speaker. The judge helped himself to cookies and poured a cup of
coffee. When the introduction was completed, Judge Seal walked over to
the piano, put his coffee cup on top of it, and began to fumble in his
coat pockets. Finally, he pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper and
from it read the name of a mother and her four children, including
their ages and clothing sizes.

He noted several other unmet needs of the family and mentioned that
their address was on the paper which he carefully laid on top of the
piano. The judge then said, “If you want to start a Society of St.
Stephen, then you should contact this woman by 11:30 tomorrow morning.
If you are not able to help her, don’t worry, I’ll be in contact with
her tomorrow and I’ll get her help by mid-afternoon. “

With that, the judge turned to leave. “Now, forgive me,” he said, “but
I really must be going. Thank you for inviting me and for the coffee
and the cookies.”

Before anyone could respond he walked out the door. It all took less
than five minutes.

Here was a group of people who thought they were going to spend an
hour listening to a program on how to help others in need, and maybe
discuss its merits for a while. Instead they spent an hour deciding
how to help one family – and the next day they did it.

Judge Seal wasn’t content to sit around helplessly waiting for people
to make a decision. The problem for most of us is not lack of
knowledge but lack of action. When all is said and done…more will
have been said than done. But like the Chinese proverb teaches, “The
best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time
is now.”

What are you trying to plant? The second best time to do it is now.

– Steve Goodier

Continuing on :^)

Yesterday we stopped with God talking about the inability of we, the people, to see other than the extremes of government, the debate between those who would have government be all things to all people at all times and those who would prefer no government at all, essentially, other than roads. They do want roads. I had a few things to say about all that. Hey, it was yesterday, scroll down, if you’re curious. I am moving on today with the discussion between Neale and God. Although, first I will repeat that I am in the camp that believes love is the answer to every question. We’ll go much deeper into that idea in time, but I want to say here, that it most certainly does not mean “turn the other cheek”, it is not as simple as that, there are times when even love must stand up and be counted or it is not love. We’ll talk about those times in days to come, today and for the next few, we’re going to stick to government and its affect on our lives.

Neale raises some very good points near the bottom of page 134 in Book 2, in response to God’s observation about the two extremes in our society, United States society, specifically: “Yes, and the problem is that there are so many who can’t provide for themselves in a society which gives the best life opportunities to those holding the “right” credentials (gene inserts: this book was written in 1997 – long before anyone knew George W. Bush would become our next president, but George W. is the perfect example of what Neale is talking about here) (or, perhaps, not holding the “wrong” ones); who can’t provide for themselves in a nation where landlords won’t rent to large families, companies won’t promote women, justice is too often a product of status, access to preventive health care is limited to those with sufficient income, and where many other discriminations and inequalities exist on a massive scale.

God responds: Governments, then, must replace the conscience of the people?

Neale says, “No. Governments are the people’s conscience, outspoken. It is through governments that people seek, hope, and determine to correct the ills of society.”

God responds: That is well said. Yet, I repeat, you must take care not to smother yourself in laws trying to guarantee people a chance to breathe!
You cannot legislate morality. You cannot mandate equality.
What is needed is a shift of collective consciousness, not an enforcer of collective consciousness.
Behavior (and all laws, and all government programs) must spring from Beingness, must be a true reflection of Who You Are”

Neale: “The laws of our society do reflect who we are! They say to everyone, “This is how it is here in America. This is who Americans are.”

God responds: “In the best of cases, perhaps. But more often than not, your laws are the announcements of what those in power think you should be but are not.

Neale: “The “elitist few” instruct the “ignorant many” through the law.

God: “Precisely.”

Neale: “What’s wrong with that? If there are a few of the brightest and best among us willing to look at the problems of society, of the world, and propose solutions, does that not serve the many?”

God: “It depends on the motives of those few. And on their clarity. Generally, nothing serves “the many” more than letting them govern themselves.”

Neale: “Anarchy. It’s never worked.”

God. “You can grow and become great when you are constantly being told what to do by government.”

Neale: “It could be argued that government – by that I mean the law by which we’ve chosen to govern ourselves – is a reflection of society’s greatness (or lack thereof), that great societies pass great laws.”

God: ” And very few of them. For in great societies, very few laws are necessary.”

Neale: “Still, truly lawless societies are primitive societies, where “might is right.” Laws are mans attempt to level the playing field; to ensure that what is truly right will prevail, weakness or strength not withstanding. Without codes of behavior upon which we mutually agree, how could we coexist?”

God: “I am not suggesting a world with no codes of behavior, no agreements. I am suggesting that your agreements and codes be based on a higher understanding and a grander definition of self-interest.
What most laws actually do say is what the most powerful among you have as their vested interest.
Let’s look at just one example. Smoking.
Now the law says you cannot grow and use a certain kind of plant, hemp, because, so the government tells you, it is not good for you.
Yet the same government says it is all right to grow and use another kind of plant, tobacco, not because it is good for you (indeed, the government itself says it is bad, but, presumably, because you’ve always done so.
The real reason the first plant is outlawed and the second is not has nothing to do with health. It has to do with economics. And that is to say, power.
Your laws, therefore, do not reflect what your society thinks of itself, and wishes to be – your laws reflect where the power is.”
Neale: “No fair. You picked a situation where the contradictions are apparent. Most situations are not.”

God: “On the contrary. Most are.

Neale: “Then what is the solution?”

God: “To have as few laws -which really are limits – as possible.
The reason the first weed is outlawed is only ostensibly about health. The truth is, the first weed is no more addictive and no more a health risk than cigarettes or alcohol, both of which are protected by the law. Why then is it not allowed? Because if it were grown, half the the cotton growers, nylon and rayon manufacturers, and timber products people in the world would go out of business.
Hemp happens to be one of the most useful, strongest, toughest, longest-lasting materials on your planet. You cannot produce a better fiber for clothes, a stronger substance for ropes, and easier-to-grow-and-harvest source for pulp. You cut down hundreds of thousands of trees per year to give yourself Sunday papers, so that you can read about the decimation of the world’s forests. (gene inserts – and which forests produce the very air we breathe) Hemp could provide you with millions of Sunday papers without cutting down one tree. Indeed, it could substitute for so many resource materials, at one-tenth the cost.
And that is the catch. Somebody loses money if this miraculous plant – which also has extraordinary medicinal properties, incidentally – is allowed to be grown. And that is why marijuana is illegal in your country.
It is the same reason you have taken so long to mass produce electric cars, provide affordable, sensible health care, or use solar heat and solar power in every home.
You’ve had the wherewithal and the technology to produce all of these things for years. Why, then, do you not have them? Look to see who would lose money if you did. There you will find your answer.
This is the Great Society of which you are so proud? Your “great society” has to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to consider the common good. Whenever the common good or collective good is mentioned, everyone yells, “communism!” In your society, if providing for the good of the many does not produce a huge profit for someone, the good of the many is more often than not ignored.
This is true not only in your country, but also around the world. The basic question facing humankind, therefore, is: Can self-interest ever be replaced by the best interest, of humankind? If so, how?
In the United States you have tried to provide for the common interest, the best interest, through laws. You have failed miserably. Your nation is the richest, most powerful on earth, and it has one of the highest infant mortality rates. Why? Because poor people cannot afford quality pre-natal and post-natal care – and your society is profit driven. I cite this as just one example of your miserable failure. The fact that your babies (gene interjects: STILL, 11 years later) are dying at a higher rate than most other industrialized nations in the world should bother you. It does not. That says volumes about where your priorities are as a society. Other countries provide for sick and needy, the elderly and infirm. You provide for the rich and wealthy, the influential and the well-placed. Eighty-five percent of retired Americans live in poverty. Many of these older Americans, and most people on low income, use the local hospital emergency room as their “family” doctor, seeking medical treatment only under the most dire of circumstances, and receiving virtually no preventive health maintenance care are all.
There’s no profit, you see, in people who have little to spend…they’ve worn out their usefulness.
And this is your great society.”

And here endeth today’s lesson. Tell me. Just tell me, given that this book was published in 1997 WHAT HAS CHANGED? The circumstances God is castigating our society, our CULTURE about, in 1997 exist today, exactly as they did then. We still have no national health care, we still have no dignified way to care for our poor, elderly, infirm and those unable to care for themselves. We have “safety nets” that are no such thing. We STILL have poor and elderly people using emergency rooms as their ONLY source of health care. We have proven in study after study that preventive health care produces healthy populations and we STILL do nothing about it. We still cling to this silly, outmoded, NEVER TRUE, nonsense propagated by the right wing, that “I made it myself, so must everyone else.” As if that were actually true. Every day I read letters to the editor claiming exactly that. NO ONE makes it by themself. NO ONE. We all had parents, teachers, mentors, guidance and help along the way. We did not emerge into this atmosphere from our mothers womb and have NO HELP AT ALL from that moment on until we ended up in our gas-guzzling monstrosity of a vehicle spewing forth poisons that corrupt our health, our air, our groundwater and our land. We all had help. Lots of it. To claim otherwise is a bald-faced lie. Yet, many people in this nation make exactly that claim – beginning with right wing media, print, radio and television. They prove the old adage, we touched on yesterday, that if you repeat a lie often enough and loudly enough, eventually people begin to believe it. And we have a nation full of fools who do believe exactly that. They got from mama’s womb to that three million dollar house in the suburbs completely on their own with no help from anyone. They actually believe that. Because they’ve been told that, over and over and over, by whom? By those who profit most from the continued obeisance and votes of those poor fools making $100,000 a year with two incomes who firmly believe they are part of the elite, that when the power brokers of this country make decisions, they are making them with them. They believe they are part of that inner circle, when the truth is they are one lost job, one down-sized position, one tragic accident from the poorhouse, just like those paycheck to paycheck living slobs they consider so far beneath them and with such utter contempt that they care not how many of them die beneath bridges this night – they should have done better for themselves, their deaths are their own damn fault. Lazy, good-for-nothing layabouts that they are. If they WERE worth anything, they’d be living out in the ‘burbs, making their own way, just like those poor fools who have bought the republican party mantra, hook, line and sinker. Lest you think this is going to turn into a leftist diatribe, let me assure that it is not. I, and God, are coming back to that side of the power gap too. There ARE issues there that need addressing. Some of them created by well-meaning but short-sighted policies and programs with no sunset provisions and on built-in measures to PROVE that the results intended are being achieved. We’ll talk about those things too. In detail. For tonight thought, this is enough to chew on. I’m not saying take this as gospel. I am saying, read it, think about it, and come back for more. We’ve a long road to travel together. We’ll become friends along the way, I promise. much love, :^) gene

If today brings even one choice your way
choose to be a bringer of the light :^) gene

About government

Okay, so what I am going to do here is excerpt from Book 2 somethings God has to say about government. Then, talk a bit about them from my own perspective. Fair warning – this will be a little long. :^)

To begin with this comes from chapter 10 in Book 2 of the CWG series when Neale asks God if it is wrong for countries to conduct foreign policy based on our own vested interests. I am making an assumption here, which may well be incorrect, as to why Neale raises this question, remembering this book was written in 1997, and memory of the Nixon years, where the United States, under the guidance of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, actively promoted governments around the world that were the antithesis of American democracy, right wing dictators, enormous human rights violations, with money, weaponry and on-the-ground advice from CIA operatives. Governments, who did things to their own citizens, that we, in my opinion, should have fought to the death to prevent. We, the United States of America, sold our own soul, to oppose that which we deemed a greater evil, communism. I am not a believer in the common idea that the end justifies the means. At all. Ever. For to me it is what we do and how we do it that matters most, if we forget that, if we deviate from that for whatever “lofty” purpose then we become that which we abhor. And that we became through the amoral tutelage and guidance of Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon. This continued through the Reagan years, though he is credited with bringing down Soviet Russia, in truth that system collapsed of its own accord and the enlightened leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, one of the few real statesmen of the second half of the 20th century. I imagine these ideas and acts were what prompted Neale’s question to God. It is the answer I am most interested and now we come to that.

God says in response to Neale’s question about it being “wrong” to conduct foreign policy as I described above,

No. First, from my standpoint, nothing is “wrong”. But I understand how you use the term, so I will speak within the context of your vocabulary. I’ll use the term “wrong” to mean “that which is not serving you, given who and what you choose to be. This is how I’ve always used the terms “right” and “wrong” with you; it is always within this context, for, in truth, there is no Right and Wrong.
So, within that context, no, it is not wrong to base foreign policy decisions on vested interest considerations. What is wrong is to to pretend that you are not doing so.
This most countries do, of course, they take action – or fail to tak action – for one set of reasons, then give as a rationale another set of reasons.

Why? Why do countries do that?

Because governments know that if people understood the real reasons for most foreign policy decisions, the people would not support them.
This is true of governments everywhere. There are very few governments which do not deliberately mislead their people. Deception is part of government, for few people would choose to be governed the way they are governed – few would choose to be governed at all – unless government convinced them that its decisions were for their own good.

gene inserts: I see a parallel here between religion and government, anyone else? :^)

This is a hard convincing, for most people plainly see the foolishness in government. So government must lie to at least try to hold the people’s loyalty. Government (gene says AND religion!) is the perfect portrayer of the accuracy of the statement that if you lie big enough, long enough, the “lie” becomes the truth.
People in power must never let the public know how they came to power – nor all they’ve done and are willing to do to stay there.
Truth and politics do not and cannot mix because politics is the art of saying only what needs to be said – and saying it in just the right way – in order to achieve a desired end.
Not all politics are bad, but the art of politics is a practical art. It recognizes with great candor the psychology of most people. It simply notices that most people operate out of self-interest. So politics is the way that people of power see to convince you that their self-interest is your own.
Governments understand self-interest. That is why governments are very good at designing programs which give things to people.
Originally, governments had very limited functions. Their purpose was to “preserve and protect”. Then some added “provide.” When governments began to be the people’s provider as well as the people’s protector, governments started creating society, rather than preserving it.

Neale: But aren’t governments doing what the people want? Don’t governments merely provide the mechanism through which the people provide for themselves on a societal scale? For instance, in America we place a very high value on the dignity of human life, individual freedom, the importance of opportunity, the sanctity of children. So we’ve made laws and asked government to create programs to provide for the elderly, so they can retain their dignity past their earning years; to ensure equal employment and housing opportunities for all people – even those who are different from us, or with whose lifestyle we don’t agree; to guarantee, through child labor laws, that a nations children don’t become a nation’s slaves, and that no family with children goes without the basics of a life with dignity – food, clothing, shelter. gene inserts: THIS was written before the Welfare Reform Act of the late 90’s – these things are no longer guarantees and their are time limits on them.

Such laws reflect well upon your society. Yet, in providing for people’s needs, you must be careful not rob them of their greatest dignity: the exercise of personal power, individual creativity, and the single-minded ingenuity which allows people to notice that they can provide for themselves. It is a delicate balance which must be struck. You people seem to know only how to go from one extreme to the other. Either you want government to “do it all” for the people, or you want to kill all government programs and erase all government laws tomorrow.

I’m going to leave the excerpt at this point for today. And will continue it tomorrow, for as this is a multi-generational, multi-national issue, it deserves the benefit of at least a few days discussion, don’t you think? Well, I do. What I want to say here is simply that the “Great Society” idea of the 1960’s, Lyndon Johnson’s greatest accomplishment, was an abysmal failure, for it created a permanent underclass of our poorest citizens, destroyed the urban, mostly black, family with its short-sighted rule that a household could only qualify for assistance if there were but one able-bodied adult in the home, which forced families to either lie about who lived with whom, to forgo marriage, drove the rate of children born out of wedlock through the roof, and created a situation in which black males were devalued, needed only for their reproductive qualities. That program, AFDC (Aid to Families With Dependent Children – what a misnomer THAT was), had one piece that was helpful and that was tossed out along with most of the original program during the welfare reform slash and burn of the late 1990’s. That piece was the ability to allow a parent to remain on AFDC long enough to get a four degree OR substantial technical training sufficient to allow her, almost always her, an opportunity to earn a living wage. That piece is gone now – the time alloted for training under TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) is not enough to allow one to acquire more than the skills necessary to flip hamburgers for $6.00 an hour. Why this country does not see the benefit in educating its children is beyond me. It DOES require the ability to look beyond the election cycle, which is two years, to see far enough enough into the future to realize that an educated workforce is a good thing for all of us.

My personal opinion is that “No Child Left Behind” should MEAN free public education through a four college degree OR an advanced technical school if that is what a particular child wants. It is much cheaper to educate our children than it is to incarcerate them. As things stand now, public education is woefully underfunded and undervalued and it ends after high school. Those few fortunate enough to have wealthy families or the intellectual, or athletic, capacity to acquire scholarships are far to few to sustain the rest of society. An investment in the infrastructure of our society in which we guaranteed each child an education to a baccalaureate degree or a technical school degree along with complete health care for all Americans is what is required for this to again be a “great society”. This will require a shift in the national thinking. For, as God pointed out, we seem capable of thinking only in extremes, and a majority of our society has been at the far right of thinking for most of the past 14 years, that segment being the one which which wants to kill all government programs today and provide only for defense – which is a society based on fear. If we fear the world, we must defend ourselves against it, if we love the world, we must open our arms to it. We’ll resume from this point tomorrow. Oh, you must know by now, I am in the camp which believes that love is the answer to every question, not weaponry. much love, :^) gene

Now, government

Okay this is the post I started writing two Fridays ago. :^). 13 days ago. Jen’s had me occupied with other things. And I still am but I’m going to put this little bit out anyway. And I will come back to the meat of it this weekend, Saturday morning I hope.

So, government, of the, by the people, for the people, of the people kind. This is going to be mostly an excerpt from CWG Book 2, the beginning of Chapter 10 actually, where Neale asks God several questions related to government. I’m not sure if I’ll leave it as stand alone material and comment on it in another post or if I’ll do that here after, mostly because this will be quite a lengthy excerpt. It’s necessary though to set the stage for other political commentary I’ll be making over the course of the current American campaign season. I have ideas, lol. And I’m going to talk about them here. Some in detail, some more as a statement of what I think we can, or should, do. Together. Government is not standalone, it comes in various forms but nowhere but on a desert island with but one person on it does it involve just one person, whether that be with the consent of the governed, as in a Republic, which is what we have here, or a monarchy, or a dictatorial government, or any combination. Some call themselves one thing while they are really another. For instance, and not to pick on them, but the People’s Republic of China is no such thing in that the “people” of the country have virtually no say in what government does or does not do. It isn’t all that different here really. We don’t elect representatives to do OUR bidding, rather we elect representatives who do what THEY think is best for us, actions we, the people, may or may not agree with. Our asset, and it truly is one, is that we really do have a chance to turn the rascals out every two years and the greatest thing about our system is that we accomplish a peaceful transition of power every two years in our House of Representatives and Senate (though, of course Senate terms are six years, they are staggered evenly) and every four years in our executive branch. That we do this without killing anyone speaks well of our system. It does not make our system perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but we DO it without killing each other. This must be the basis for any form of civilized government. Anything less is not government, it is barbarism.

My primary (yes that is a play on words) concern with our particular form of government at the moment is that the Republican party has its nominee and the Democrats are now prepared to, as I so poorly worded a sentence in a prior post, take the gloves off. I worry that the Democratic party will splinter itself, as it often has, fracture itself so badly that once again we might face a Republican White House, this time one prepared for a 100 years war in Iraq. I’m not prepared for that. Are you? John McCain is. He says so flatly and with conviction. I believe him. That makes him a very dangerous man in my opinion despite the somewhat moderate stance he has taken from time to time on various specific issues, I don’t think a hundred years war is anyone’s best interest. Neither was the last one. We’ll come back to that. And we’ll come back to the efficiencies and deficiencies of our particular form of government too. Not only that but we’re going to hear what God has to say about all this. Or at least what he’s told Neale Donald Walsch and I think we are going to get a bit of what Jenna’s told me along the way as well. Appetite whetted? Goooood. :^) much love, :^) gene

If today brings even one choice your way
choose to be a bringer of the light :^) gene