Today is the day... We tried the ballot, we have received bullets, we have been peaceful, they have not, we will fight back, we will be armed with intellectual properties aimed at them to once and for all take over!

This is a complex question, and something that has been dissected by political scientists for decades. Obviously the more grassroots campaigning we have, the better. That however has been a beaten dog. There is something bigger brewing, I think. In the last 6 years we have seen an immense growth in the patriot movement in the United States. We have seen everyone form every race embraces the Patriot movement (for the right or wrong reasons). I really think now that we have a lot of politicians speaking of a "new movement", and its time for them to step up and make some drastic changes. While I am still a little skeptic about voting machines, I don’t think that is even close to our biggest problem. Citizen awareness and voter turnout are our biggest obstacles. While voter awareness as been pushed heavily, I don’t think that it is an area that can really be dissected as much as voter turnout. We have heard the song and dance about making Election Day a holiday. I think we should take this seriously. If our government is based on a democracy by the people, it should be of tremendous importance for us to make it as easy as possible for people to get out there and vote. If we can celebrate holidays of activists, Christian holidays, and exceptional presidents, then we can make a holiday for the day that promotes all the things that those famous people we celebrate strived for. I understand if it cannot be a national holiday as Christmas or Thanksgiving, but a day such as Martin Luther King Day would work exceptionally well. It would allow students to take off school. College kids could have an easier access to vote (our lowest demographic) and for professionals it would allow them some free time during the day were they might not have to do child sports or activities or pick them up from school which could give them some extra time needed to get to their local polling place and vote. Also absentee ballots are absolutely a disgrace. It has become such a confusing process which I am sure the average voter feels very overwhelmed. Some type of open forums I think need to be publicized a lot more in the media. That was a catalyst for good political and social awareness in the 30's and 40's. Its high time we made some structural changes in our government, and getting as many people in that process will only benefit a nation that has seemed to have lost its drive for the political process, but as 9-11 shows that everyone is on the cusp of being extremely involved, they just need a leader to show them the right way.

“In a free and open society groups form the peruse policies that favor themselves at the expense of broader national interest.” I strongly disagree with this statement. I do feel that people should be allowed to form groups to help promote their interests. The second part of the statement however is completely backward. All of are interest are important, but our national interest should be our main focus. In society today, we are seeing this quote ingrained into our policies. The NRA is a prime example of this. In President Jimmy Carter’s book “Our Endangered Values”, he talks about this. Over 70% of the nation supports gun laws restricting the quickness of buying a firearm, and the ban of selling certain automatic weapons, that are specifically made for causing mass damage, instead of sport hunting. Because the NRA is such a powerful interest group (class of members, not amount) they have been able to dictate and reconstruct a lot of the legislation that directly effect them. This is a prime example of the misuse of special interest. Everyone’s interests are important and should always be addressed. First off we need to take care of our nation, and the only way to do that is to put its priorities first.

thoughts on evolution of government
Cohesion through Diversity"
"The Complex connections between religion and the transmission of moral values"

I think sometimes as a so-called free society we take for granted that besides from some of man's inherent nature, we do have a lot of different moral standards in our society today. While, we all already have a common understanding of rules like: its not right to kill a man, to not take something that is not yours, to respect the things you possess, to treat people of high birth with respect, to give back what you take; there are a lot of other things in religions, that, the ones of that religion take serious because they are different from the others, that what's makes their diversity, and that's what allows them to take personal property of their beliefs. Not idolizing figures, the degradation of women, the absolute rule of one man in a church, these things have all lead men from all different walks of life to give up their own, as well as take others. I think that in itself is why they use the language "complex connections" and "transmission of moral values"

When we use the phrase "moral values" we as people will all too often revert back to our religious backgrounds for our own perspective and that is were it all begins. In an ideal situation we would have a concrete written expression of the First Amendment. Church and state would be separate; we would be able to teach moral values and the right way to be by our written constitution, and Bill of Rights. This, however, is not a perfect situation. Our Country's written word was comprised over 200 years ago by great men "of their time." The conception of the world was vastly different then. We all know the differences in the times, so I will not go into detail on that. But, if we as a government cannot revert back to our by-laws as our manifesto on a good standard of living then what does that say about how we feel about the solidity of the document in the first place.

We know that Thomas Jefferson had originally wanted there to be an annual congressional meeting to continually update the constitution, it was dis-guarded because it was thought not to be realistic economically and time wise. In my opinion I disagree. We are continually going back and amending the constitution and ratifying it for one progressive reason or another, and we in my opinion spend vastly more money because these are usually things that are serious issues that have a lot of animosity built with them, that all of a sudden have to come to the for front because it is this years political hot topic. If we were to budget the time and costs to begin with we would at least be prepared for the all debates and be given more time to come to more rational, progressive and responsible decisions. I understand that the movement of the people is what drives the political force, but in these cases our ELECTED OFFICIALS would come out looking like they are actually thinking outside the box, because they will be given allotted time to think about the different progressions of society with like-minded individuals and be on the for front of progression instead of the back-burner.

I live in a world where love is dim and fainthearted.

 People look at one another and don't see anyone, but you must know the soul, you must see the pain,

that man has loved, lost and lived just the same,

he grew up with dreams of destiny and success that only the special few can obtain

 and as age his age has beaten him down, life has done the same.

No longer can he contain the world in the palm of his hand

now he struggles just to catch the glimpse of light as he passes the day, struggling, toiling, doing anything to say`

I am a man,

 I am proud,

 i will be a great man....

Those sadly are just his thoughts, because those cannot be,

he is just another man,

like me..

The symbol of my fear is blocking me from my eternal bliss

Where bliss once was coming and going delivering my inner love to its womb of belief

Do I know where the true stand of bliss may be ?

 is the simplest of compounds something that can be perverted into any matter my mind may bend.

I do not know of things that my mind does not speak but I know in time my heart aches

lingers with the loss of life, love and liberty only the imagination knows

Dark spirit, take down your strong arm barricade and let your righteousness defuse your belief that you may tell me where my soul may enter during its

time of awakening.

You willl not rule my day

come believe my life believe in me, for you will not rule my day

the day is mine, mine in this time and you will not speak of a clock that i do not understand because my true words are true time is what makes or breaks the possibility of your existence,

do not stare me down, because it is i who stare at you, I judge you, you do not judge those who just may go in peace because you are the opposite sitting beast that does not know this peace.

Leave for now i have the time to explore the wonders of my mind and you will not be apart of my great peace you will not be a part of me

thoughts on civil public square

A spiritual awakening I think first when we are faced with an issue that has already woven itself into everyday thought we need to first take a look at being able to exit the cause without offending the participants. Whether we like it or not, the two major political parites have become apart of our everyday sociology, and life. By no means am I ridiculing any political affiliated person by this either. To understand why politicans are so adamant about their ideals is because they believe it is the right way to act. It is a moral standard. If they do not live up to what their faith tells them to then they are not being a beneficial member of their society.

I do think that Guinness' “civil public square" Is a possibility. However, to accomplish this we must first understand that moral moral value should always be at the fore- front of our societies political ideology, politics, however, by definition is a set of "rules" and "beliefs" by a organized group, so therefore, by entering a set of rules from one organized group to another would be unfair infiltration, and morally bias.

thoughts on authority

The Last time I mentioned the right to peoples opinions I was very stern to the fact that I just don't listen to the people unless I think they are educated on their views, as well as saying that I should basically just ignore them and go on about my day. I never really got into explaining my detailed definition of “educated” and honestly maybe I should of questioned it a little more before I said it. Yesterday, I went to work with my father down in Sanoma. It was a wet morning and we had to leave early. He came and picked me up around 4am, which to most of us is practically the time we go to bed. It was around a 3 hour drive and we had to find some things to discuss for fear of falling asleep and dieing. Well, because we both have very stern views on politics, and him loving to listen to political talk radio, we began to discuss current events and just opinions on a lot of broad political things. I guess because of the role that he plays in my life, our conversations always seem to be about me trying to prove something to him, or his respect of what I believe, so during our discussions he would always seem to fire back with, “ I think I’ll listen to the more educated, or “smarter” people,” mostly referring to the man on the radio shouting his politically bias, often over adjective, and routinely hateful rederic. I often thought during that conversation about the way it frustrated me, that even if there was more educated people out there, that I still; while being less educated but still well informed; wanted to speak my opinion. I wondered why my views should be respected any less, because we live in a democratic society where every one person SHOULD have equal value to the next. So, I have unfortunately been belittled by my own words towards those with “less educated” views… Something to ponder……

Thoughts on Empire

Who I am is one person. The things I can do as one person are somewhat limitless, but WE as a collective society can create a movement. There are a lot of issues that the citizens of this country (including myself) let fall to the waist-side. All of us are finding complacency in the little things that make us happy, but we need to instead look at the things that are going terribly wrong in this country. We are overspending on numerous textiles. Our environment is being depleted day by day, while over two thousand solders have died because of thoughtless overpowering issues that we feel are important to us as a government, but in actuality, it’s important to the elitist of our society. We must become aware, and make a change. Right now our government is slowly taking away our personal freedoms and making us puppets and pawns for the establishments own personal game of “RISK". Instead of little plastic men (which they consider us) we are true humans with lives to live, not lives to be controlled by a fascist group of individuals
.. People who think outside the box... and are willing not to listen to what everyone else tells them and make their own EDUCATED choices! Ive come a conclusion as of late...that conclusion is that the world is as fucked up as it is because of Capitalism...but not so much the principles of capitalism...but what it represents...and what it promotes in the greedy individuals that would proudly call themselves capitalists. The problem with this society is that apathy and a lack of compassion and humanity has become more and more apparent as consumerism, capitalism and greed have replaced the morals and values of everyone who participates in the game. Take a non-profit organization for example...one that begins to turn a
profit...and then begins to grow in size...as these things begin to happen...the actual people become less and less important to those that are in positions of power...and all of the morals and values that the company was initially built upon become obsolete in the quest to see how much more money can be made and then is made at the end of every fiscal year.

So, we know the problem. We as individuals must choose to fight the forces of apathy, inhumanity, corruption and greed on a day to day basis...and there aren't a whole lot of ways to do this. In most cases good deeds tend to go unnoticed...and if the person committing these good deeds is committing them for altruistic reason...then they themselves would not even notice that no one is noticing the deeds. What the world needs is more charity. What the world needs is more people out there doing as much good as they possibly can on a daily basis. Also, it is important to educate people. Most people dont even realize how amoral (borderline evil) their day to day lives have become in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. Another of the big problems is that Some people know goddamn well what they are doing...
and will do it anyway. Let us call these people "the blind".
A good example of that is The American Healthcare system as represented by pharmaceutical companies...and what their operating procedures both boil down to is the supremely capitalistic notion of making money being more important then healing the sick, helping the helpless and making the world a better place for our children as well as future generations to come. Another perfect example is the  energy market. Before the end of my lifetime I am certain that the state of Florida  as well as California(my home)(and maybe even the entire eastern seaboard) will be under water. It is a scientific fact that the icecaps are melting and the reason for this is the use of fossil fuels..and yet...there is so much money and politics wrapped up in oil...that we will continue to use these fuels until there simply isnt anymore. By that point, my home will already be
submersed in water, and I will more then likely be alive to see it. Its not even as if a cleaner/cheaper/safer alternative ISNT available because it is. Hydrogen cars are science fact, and those are besides hybrid cars...which are unpopular enough to barely bother mentioning. I digress however, back to my main point. We are all aware of the problems facing this world/society/country...but few of us really take the time to look for a solution. Well, I may not have a definitive solution, but I do have a solution for all who care enough to attempt it...and that solution is simply that we should all be out
there trying to do more for the good of humanity. I dont care if its volunteering at a soup kitchen/old folk's home or simply helping out a friend in need...but we are capable of doing so much more for this society, and beyond that...our good examples will be a light that shines a way through the darkness...and hopefully the few of us left that arent blind will see that light, and help to show others the way. Of course...there will always be those in this world who are blind to the light...but by not doing our civic duties we are no better then they are. As a wise man once said "The only time evil truly succeeds is when good men do nothing". I urge all who read this to heed my words very carefully, because they are coming from a very unselfish place. I do not wish to see mankind over saturate itself to literal death. I do not want to see our world destroyed by the forces of greed and apathy. My expectations are not unrealistic...I dont expect anyone to change anything just from reading this but I do hope to send out a reminder to all those who feel the sting of apathy on a daily basis. Im hoping to give all of those who think in the back of their heads about these very things a push in the right direction. I know its overwhelming, and it seems like the small things that we do are
really just a drop in the bucket...but if we arent doing the things we can for each other, no matter how small...then we might as well be giving in to apathy. We might as well be blind.
I refuse to believe that the ones I love are incapable of doing just a little bit more for this world. I dont know what we can all do...other then volunteering to help out where we can, but my hope and my intention for getting these thoughts out are that together we can think of something to do to help out.
I have seen the likes of other such idealists who believe that the only thing they can do...and will do...is to try to educate all those who would listen...but I would like to personally tell anyone who fits into this catagory that educating isnt enough. Its a huge part of what we all need to be doing but it isnt enough. If you are one of the people im talking about,then know this: You must act. You must do whatever you can. Put down your
fucking bong and your goddamn video games and get out there. If you cant think of anything helpful to do, and volunteering isnt your thing...then perhaps together we can think of something.
I guess that what I am trying to do is get a movement together. If we all had superpowers, helping out would be much easier...but sadly, all we have is what we were born with...but if you dont think thats enough, then you are slowly fooling yourself into blindness.

In conclusion, I urge everyone who feels what I do (even if those feelings are fleeting) to join together in an attempt to try to figure out a way we can all put our collective resources together for the sake of the common good. We can do it people...all it takes is a little effort.
Together we can save tomorrow.