As Traditional Values collide with Progressive Hopes and Visions. The old are syncretized to fit the new. As a Noticer, I observe, I research and I share. Join me in exploring the effects of CHANGE and the events that drive it in culture, media and politics through dynamics in Practice and Policy across the globe. This is truly an amazing time to be living! For other types of postings, paste www.jackandcarlayoutube to your browser and open and explore posts and Powerlinks.
I recently got a question from someone I think very highly of and was surprised with what I found in answering his question.
Hey! I thought I'd share this and ask your opinion. I feel that this is not a particular incendiary video in this day and age....
Do you think the guy being interviewed is misinformed or spreading false information? He kind of represents what I was trying to communicate about Israel and Palestine.
Human Rights Watch Founder - and Holocaust Survivor - Accuses Israel of Genocide on CNN
I listened carefully to the response presented by the international
activist Aryeh Neier, who Co-founded, “Human Rights Watch,” and was active President
of the George Soros Open Society Institute for almost two decades. Neier is a new
name to me but Soros is not and Soros’ reach and connections are very vast and very
wide. But before I talk about Soros and Neier, I want to respond to the content
of the video.
First, it equates the remorseless attackers as displayed by
continuing rocket attacks and the continued holding and killing of hostages with
those seeking to protect their population and eliminate a proven overwhelming
and deadly threat as being equal in guilt for their actions. They are not.
The tasks they are trying to achieve are completely different even if the
results of their attempt result in similar destructive outcomes. This was not the first attack, and the only reason that the Nation of Israel still exists is her success in fighting off and disincentivizing her attackers. These attackers are very motivated.
But many of the actions taken by the Israeli Government to implement their internationally sponsored occupation through the transfer of land ownership has had tragic results. Therefore many hope for a second Palestinian State or a constitutional process that creates greater equality and representation for minority ethnic groups. The very informative video at the end of this posttitled, "The Story of Palestinian Christians | The Stones Cry Out | (2013) full film, presents the Palestinian Christian situation. Their struggle does not include the extremes of Jihad with the destructive annihilation of the Jews. So diplomatic problem solving options are more reasonable.
Second, his report misrepresents the situation by failing to
present the facts of the battlefield they are forced to fight in including the
tunnels network.
Third, Hamas gave no warning other than decades of public training
for and verbally teaching their children the concept that killing their Jewish
neighbor is something to be honored with lifelong respect and financial reward to
the families and public recognition of the fighters in their culture. This is
the most difficult factor in the conflict. This honoring is displayed well in
the Palestinian Prison video below.
Fourth, Instead of developing wealth and tourist infrastructure
along their coast, Hamas’s 18 year priority has been to create an underground military
operations network and amass vast amounts of armaments and train a virtual army
for the task of brutally celebrating the public extermination of their
neighbors as occurred in the October 7th event.
Origins of the conflict. Palestine was not
vanquished by the aggressive aspirations of her neighbor Israel. The conditions Palestine experienced were first imposed by international
edict at the end of WWII. Palestine’s
military losses came only as a result of their earlier aggressive activity and attacks
on the newly formed State of Israel.
In comparison, Israel takes steps to reduce
civilian casualties and routinely gives warning requesting noncombatants to
leave the areas of conflict before most planned operations. But Israel has no
power to remove Palestinian residents that are willing to die as martyrs (displayed
in the video) and who refuse to leave or are not allowed to leave and
intentionally kept in harms way by Palestine’s governing authorities (Hamas) who
have established near dictatorial power over their population, although this
same population is deeply committed and remains the source of where they draw
their fighters and public support from.
This is important because Hamas leadership and fighters have
intentionally created and located themselves in a tunnel network that often extends
under public buildings including schools and hospitals. These tunnels require
much larger scale munitions to destroy than routine surface targets.
Hence
the legitimate need for the heavy weapons.
The problem Neier describes as the failure to provide
relief, and the collateral destruction of personal gardens and farms, food
shortages, and the ensuing condition of famine that is inevitable unless Hamas
surrenders is a historical key ingredient of successful warfare. It has been
strategy #1 for centuries, like using water when you wash your car. The
solution is for Hamas to surrender. If Hamas surrenders the killing and
starvation of the supporting population will end immediately. Most of the
fighters will be imprisoned and live in relative safety, (as shown in the
video.) Due to their long established culture of honoring terrorist fighters they
will be regarded as heroes during their incarceration and their families will
be honored and financially cared for by their government.
Consider this excellent film that presents the Palestinian
perspective of the fighter’s idealism of suffering for their cause as well as Israel’s
attempt to control this socio-religious-cultural problem in a humanitarian way
and tell me which approach you think is more just. It is titled,
What Are The Conditions Of Palestinian Prisoners In Israeli Jails? | Hot House (2006) | Full Film by Journeyman Pictures
And now to Soros…
Soros is a complex and very, very powerful person. His power
extends on an international, even global scale into all areas of culture and
finance.
He is able to operate in this fashion through his personal
wealth that he expanded from what was amassed by his father and others who
assisted the Germans in pillaging the wealth of his fellow Jews during the
holocaust. In this sense, he and Neier have a lot in common.
Since WWII George Soros and his followers have been
responsible for intentionally creating multiple extreme financial disruptions,
sometimes on a near global scale. He is the virtual oligarch of the oligarchs,
and could fit the typology of an “anti-Christ,” better than anyone else that I
am aware of. Consider the 60 minute interview below From the time it was made
in 1998, Soros’ power and wealth and influence have only mushroomed. The second
video is a description of some of his activist political action. Here it is done
against a loyal leftist candidate that fully supports the Soros agenda, but his success would interfere
with the success his opponent that Soros favors, so Soros intervenes to control the outcome. His billions have repeatedly
organized and financed massive global protests and riots on a near continuous basis
including many of today’s anti Israel
riots.
Billionaire George Soros Puts Big Money Into Local Races
(HBO)
Going back to the 60 Minutes video… I find it interesting that
he was so directly involved in creating the current Haiti situation and that he was compared
so directly with Donald Trump. Certainly their aspirations are often similar.
Have you been following the Haiti
situation? Criminal cartels hired by the political parties to enforce rule? How
about Mexico’s
election and the 250 murdered candidates? Last election it was only 136. Do you
think we are going to see the failure of Democracy on a global scale?
(PS) Currently your older brother is very concerned about our
situation here in America.
He worries about our political/religious condition. He sees the politically
powerful as intentionally trying to radicalize vulnerable Trump followers. He
believes that the ongoing and very blatant persecution of Trump and his family
are intentional pre-planned strategies to instill anger and fuel rage in the
population that will result in armed conflict, much like the Hamas fighters. Not
just protests, but armed organized conflicts that will ultimately justify our
Government in taking our freedoms away,
All this is much like what Edward Bernays’ said in his 1928
book titled, “Propaganda.”
A quote from the book.
“"The conscious and intelligent
manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important
element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of
society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power.”
I see it as a sort of control directed by ideas and expressions
of idealism. To be honest, recognizing this kind of power is the motivation
behind why I write.
Personally, I liked the kind of idealism that was displayed
in the HBO John Adams story much better. But understanding other cultural
expressions of idealism is necessary if we want to gain understanding.
In Early America, this role was played by church leaders and
a, “melting pot,” prioritization system occurred. There, good leadership
resulted in seeking mutual respect of humanity in very challenging social environments. But it was
preceded by course manipulation. Remember our talk about the religious wars of Europe and leaders that created offences and the need to
kill those who ate the (actual body) of Christ with their teeth, even as they
personally viewed this teaching as superstition. It was a deadly form of self
righteous hypocrisy!
Today, since the free distribution of cell phones to the
masses under Obama, and the elimination of our historical voting requirements
due to expectations of inclusion, our dumbed down population seems to be fed a diet of shallow
narratives aimed at those with little to no real interest or attention span.
Today, truly informed voters are sure to be a very slim
minority.
Will you choose to look beyond the prescribed narratives?
So enough of my thoughts. In light of all of this. What do you see?
PS... for balance, I have included the following video. Above I minimized the extreme actions of the Israelis due to the extreme circumstances they face with their Arab neighbors. But the video below gives history on how extreme their action have been to all of the residents of Palestine since they were first given control in the late 1940's. These extremes actions and policies are certainly the key to the continuing conflict.
The Story of Palestinian Christians | The Stones Cry Out | (2013) full film Journeyman Pictures
His Response...
I am amazed in the current world how differently the same information is processed and viewed by people living side-by-side. I often wonder if that has to do with information being so available and us people getting overloaded with it all. I will try to stick mostly to your responses and I think you will see what I mean.
1. You stated that the video I shared "equates" the remorseless terrorist attacks of Hamas with the actions of Israel to protect its people. I did not get that from the interview at all. The opening states that the International Court of Justice called for the arrest of Netanyahu alongside Hama's leaders for crimes against humanity and genocide. Otherwise, Hamas is almost not mentioned at all. I don't think that Hamas is mentioned in the interview because there was no doubt in either mind that Hamas is truly guilty of crimes against humanity... so there was nothing to discuss there. In my opinion, no serious-minded and informed person thinks Hamas is acting in good faith. It is a parasite kept strong by the tension between Israel and Palestine and the lack of power and safety felt by many Palestinians. The fact that they discuss Israel's tactics is an admission that Israel is at least trying to appear to act in good faith on the world stage... and it seems to be losing that battle.
2. It fails to report facts of the battlefield when forced to fight insurgents in tunnels. This is true, but seems immaterial to me unless you consider it a good reason to drop bombs that take out city blocks in order to destroy tunnels. Rafah is a 25 square mile place... about half the size of Vancouver, WA. There are 1.125 million people there... that is about 45,000 per square mile, VERY populated. I share the concern of Neier with the use of large ammunition that can "kill someone from 2 football fields away" in such a location. When Israel was bombing such population centers in Jan-Feb, they were averaging about 60-70% of deaths being women and children. Things have improved since the US stopped giving them such weapons. To me, that was not a fair trade-off for the cost of war to take out underground tunnels, but the interview actually gives Israel a "free pass" on that and focuses on forced famine.
3. Hamas gave no warning for its attack and has built a culture that wants to kill Jews. This is not discussed in the video, but I have no argument against this statement. For the most part, Palestinians have not accepted the changing of their borders by outside governments from the beginning, since Jewish people started arriving there due to Russian pogroms... but protected by Russian citizenship. There is classic 1900s anti-semitism attached to this sentiment that stretches back to well-before before WWII.
4. Hamas has not invested in Gaza, focusing on building tunnels and training fighters. Again, not part of the video, but there is certainly some truth there. I think it is a bit simplistic to say that, but mostly true. Hamas derived its power from conflict with the "bad guys", much like Netanyahu has. Every conflict over the years has bolstered support for both sides. Politically, there isn't really an incentive for peace for those in power. It is a travesty that Hamas does not take care of its people in other ways better. Does that mean the Palestinian population deserves bombing and famine? I would argue no.
5. Farm destruction and famine is a cost of war. Hamas needs to surrender if it wants its people fed. That is a perspective I would push back on a bit. You just said that Hamas is not interested in anything but perpetuating a war, building tunnels, killing Jews. If that is true, why make an argument about what they should do like they are going to suddenly change priorities.
Also, as Mr. Neier discusses the targeting of supplies by Israeli settlers and even troops in the west bank, photos are shown of food trucks tipped over on roads in Israel, spoiling the food. I don't see the obstruction and despoiling of food meant for a starving population as a "cost of war". I see it as a war crime. There are currently hundreds of thousands of people without running water, without hospitals, and without food and aid has been pretty systemically blockaded by Israel. I cannot lay that all at the feet of Hamas. It is a war crime to “intentionally use starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by depriving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions.”
If Israel is withholding supplies with the goal of forcing Hamas to surrender, as you intimate: That is defined as a war crime.
If Israel is withholding supplies with the goal of making people evacuate the Gaza strip as refugees, that is a for of Genocide. Ironically, that is the for of genocide that gave birth to Israel in the first place!
If Israel is just engaging in war and withholding and despoiling supplies is part of that, with no "goal", then they are not engaged in an ethical war like they argue.
Basically, I think that Israel has some things to answer for. That does not remotely exonerate Hamas. That does not equate the two things... Hamas and Israel are two completely different bodies that cannot be compared in that way.
As for prisons, I agree that most prisoners in Israel are treated well. Certainly better than prisoners of Hamas!
As for Soros, I think your fascination with him distracts from the other stuff and clouds the issue. Whether he is a good or bad guy has little to do with Israel and whether Neier knows him has little to do with whether I can trust his statements. For the same reason, I don't engage in speculation about what kinds of shenanigans Trump got into with Epstien. To me, those kinds of speculations are not as productive as they seem at first. :-) Perhaps we can discuss Soros another time seperately?
Anyway, that is what I see. Either the statements are lies or they are true. I feel that they are true and that Israel, despite its arguments, is engaged in near total war in a major population center against a weak adversary and is punishing the general population unduly. I think that there is no great new threat to Israel that requires these actions. I think that their actions are cutting them off from the support of the world and ensuring a strong Hamas for decades in the future... also likely ensuring the political power of Netanyahu and his zionist allies.
I worry that cooler heads do not prevail in the current climate. I believe that the MAGA religion is a part of that and can sympathize with my brother's concerns, though I don't look at things and see any "blatant" persecution... just a guy who is great at complaining to his many religious followers. I am not looking forward to next January no matter who wins... which is a sad state of affairs.
I think that is all I have for the moment. I hope that we can keep communicating. That is important to me!
Thanks for taking the time to look at my response. The CNN piece was (typical) for both CNN and FOX News. Rather than presenting the who, what, where, when, and why it went directly to summary and then to authoritative/activist, criticism much like Saul Akinski trained activists are encouraged to do.
Mr. Neier didn't even bother to qualify his criticisms. This is the narrative effect in a nutshell. It's purpose is to create emotional response, not to provide history or context. In the bombings of London by Hitler that I mentioned in my earlier post, the population was spared for the most part by the use of subway and subway-like bomb shelters. In Gaza, Hamas, not the civilians have continued to occupy the underground network. This is the fact that requires Israel's use of heavy munitions. If the target is Hamas, they have no choice but to use heavy munitions. Israel must either accomplish their goal of conquering Hamas, or accept a continued Hamas presence. Hamas is the enemy that escalated the conflict to multiple organized mass attacks and the killing of whole communities. This is the critical piece of information that Neier chose to minimize and ignore.
In this type of interview, the speaker's credentials become the critical swaying ingredient. The facts are secondary or even absent. But I am not surprised. Mr. Neier has met my expectation. In my opinion and his credentials are below toilet grade.
I have been following the People for the American Way and other Soros organizations for decades, and Mr. Neier was President there for over 12 years. He is very likely to be criminal like Mr Soros. Watch the Soros material. (You will hear him speaking unapologetically about intentionally destroying regional economies single handedly.) Unfortunately there are no laws to protect from the kind of harm he often commits.
On the integrity level, I refuse to take a position without context. Therefore, I added the videos.
To add context, not opinion. The GAZA situation is tragic at best, but the Jail video covers the election of Hamas and how the prisoners' very lives drastically improved due to their incarcerations. It also allowed them to present their POV's for me to hear directly from them, to gain context. I want to hear their opinion. Not those that claim to speak for them. The other, "Stones Cry Out," video tells the tragic effects of the Post War, UN imposed boundaries on all non-Jewish ethnic groups. This video is very critical of Israel's actions and does look not favorably on the Jewish National leadership. Both videos were made by the same website. Together they present at least some context.
Additional context,... Israel has had a death penalty on their books since they formed, but it has only been carried out two times in the country's 75 year history. The culture of the surrounding countries freely impose the death penalty on tens of thousands for violating of common Western cultural norms, and their Holy Book, glorifies the act of exterminating all, "non-submissive," Jews. Therefore, Israel's sense of threat and necessity to show themselves strong to survive is real, not imagined.
(Click link below to see chronological list up to current date.)
The list above has an extensive accounting of bombings and other attacks. Considering that the 2023 score of the list is 4,890 Israelis killed and 18,787 injured, compared to 2 capital punishment deaths. (And yes, I know tens of thousands of Gazan's in collateral damage.)
It appears that when the Israeli's have other options, they choose the others. These also are often very harsh by Western standards, like seizure of their property and incarcerating activists with very long sentencing, and even blowing up the family home......
But a Hamas surrender would at least stop the bombings in Gaza. Perhaps restarting the conversation for seeking (MUTUAL) improvements at the UN, or with other negotiators could be accepted. But unless Hamas surrenders the tragedy will continue to escalate. I am convinced that international pressure for Hamas to surrender could lessen the loss of civilian lives greatly! Especially if an effective ceasefire were to occur. But I also think this is unlikely as Hezbollah's support is already heavily engaged in the conflict as a direct ally of Hamas.
But a Hamas surrender would at least stop the bombings in Gaza.
A couple of more links that present more on the history of this troubled region of the world, including what appears to be a religious social system that parallels Western Sociaslism.
A STRUGGLE FOR THE SURVIVAL OF CHRISTIAN CIVILIZATION
Winston Churchill, was courageously unpopular, and ridiculed
for proclaiming the stark realities of his day.
Eventually he became Prime Minister of the English Empire,
and on June 18th 1940, he spoke about dignity and purpose and their need to
take their place… “IN THEIR FINEST HOUR.”
He described it as a FIGHT FOR THE SURVIVAL OF CHRISTIAN
CIVILIZATION against a Nazi (Socialist System). The NAZI SYSTEM claimed to seek
SOCIAL JUSTICE and REPAIRATIONS through the return of the Sudetenlands to Germanic rule and had a plan to SAVE THE PLANET from what
the leading educators and global elites of that time saw as critical genetic degradation.
The Nazi, "FINAL SOLUTION," was to EXTERMINATE all, "nonproductive individuals," that they labeled, “useless eaters,” and WHOLE ETHNIC POPULATIONS
that they labeled as, "genetically inferior," starting with the Jews. (Much like
the genocide Hamas is calling for today for religious reasons.)
Churchill’s resolve, … NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!
Unlike the residents of Gaza
where evacuation to neighboring countries could be possible if their Arab neighbors
were willing to cooperate; England’s
only neighbor, France had already been conquered. In one 6 month period, over
43,000 English citizens were killed even with extensive use of bomb shelters
and over 1,000,000 homes were destroyed. But England’s population endured and
eventually prevailed.
Compare today's U.N. and Arab failure to avert civilian carnage in Gaza with the inspiring Christian response of Denmark and Sweden during WWII. (Click picture below for first video in list and video link below it for full list)
Today most of us have forgotten the fierce struggle Europe fought for the, “Survival of Christian Civilization.” Today we casually bend or
abandon our, "Christian Convictions," to embrace the progressive Humanist
views presented by our educators and leaders. When consequences erupt, we become troubled and even angered when our hypothetical expectations are
interrupted by the consequential realities of real life. But in spite of our blindness, some grow stronger some grow wiser.
Today, in a parallel struggle of competing values and questions about human purpose and dignity, a similar struggle has erupted. This struggle has already taken the lives of hundreds of millions, exceedingly more than the extermination deaths of WWII. It has been occurring silently for decades and with today's legal changes it is now being used to define personal freedoms in America. But the question is, it this freedom truly private and personal? Or a mutual experience.
Below, Gianna Jessen speaks with a similar resolve and courage about her struggle for life and the decision that her mother made.
She tells of her struggle for survival and her personal
travail against the brutality and injustice of this time against those that sought to kill her, and those like her. She also speaks of the GRACE that gives her hope.
Have our youth and many of our key institutions been engaged in a, "Culture of Revolution?" And for how long? Certainly, a culture of unrest has been present as far back as the 60's. Consider the lyrics of this 60's Beatle's song.
"...I look at the world and I notice it turning, While my guitar gently weeps, With every mistake we must surely be learning? Still my guitar gently weeps. Yeah I don't know how you were diverted, You were perverted too, I don't know how you were inverted , No-one alerted you..."
In searching I found; While My Guitar Gently Weeps, was written by George Harrison, "as an exercise in randomness." It was inspired by the Chinese I Ching lamenting our failure to achieve unity in our human potential for universal love.
Relating this to a similar randomness a more recent Chinese leader actually championed chaos in his effort to create unity. At one point in his revolution he delightfully stated, “Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent!”
He preached that, “Marxism consists of thousands of truths, but they all boil down to one sentence: It is right to rebel.”
To rebel against Old Ideals, Old Culture,
Old Customs, and Old Habits!
Through imposing mob chaos Mao systematically destroyed competing institutions along with their history, heritage and culture. Through intimidation and lawless mob rule he achieved unquestioning group allegiance and superficially erased ideals of western independent thought and self directed liberty.
Could we also be erasing our, Olds," in America today? In a similar way? At a slower pace? And if so, will this lead to similar outcomes at a similar cost?
Could revolution be behind the chaotic confusion we so frequently see around us? Were the global B.L.M. uprisings that caused the destruction of America's once beautiful city centers only the beginning?
At least 25 Americans were killed during protests and political unrest in 2020
Today struggles for political power have also caused a revolution in our sciences. Consider how Governmental controls in science affected both the creation of the Covid virus and the implementation of the Global Covid Mandates. Instead of hotlines and an international pooling of data, we saw professional disinterest and even overt resistance to ongoing research and discovery by medical practitioners. Both on the national and international level. This is a stark departure from historical disease control responses.
Today foundational scientific facts are commonly replaced with the politicized theories propagated in our social institutions. Instead of science, we now teach philosophical views about human existence and sexuality that are scientifically inaccurate. Through these philosophies, humanness is considered, nonexistent if one is not fully self-aware and subjective emotional comfort has become the defining measure of accepted gender and personal identity? How did these claims replace what we know to be true? How did science become a primary battleground for waging a social revolution?
The structure of America's Government is also under attack as Federal Control is being superimposed over State's Rights.
Most of us are aware of the influx of illegal immigration. But most are not aware of recent governmental policies to forcibly funnel vulnerable illegals into strategic states with the promise to provide voting privilege's.
So far the courts have ruled that non-citizen voting is still unconstitutional. At least in New York, for now.
And today in many states. New State hierarchies are removing Parental Rights and children are being taken from their parents without trial when disagreement over gender expression occurs. Is this simply, "timely progress," or is it also, "Revolutionary?"
Was Vice President Kamala Harris, "A Revolutionary Voice," when she repeatedly said that the, 2020 Anti-Trump Post Election Riots and the Black Lives Matter Protests, "Must Continue?" Even after scores of innocent lives were lost and many, many millions of dollars of damage destroyed the centers of our major cities.
They're Not Going To Stop:The Nationwide Protests Are A Movement. ( see minutes 4:29-6:22)
Were these the beginning of an American, "Cultural Revolution!"
(After the tragedy of China's, "Great Leap Forward," described in the video below, where 55,000,000 Chinese citizens starved. Mao staged a, "Cultural Revolution," to reestablish his rule, pitting the youth of China against the older generations of that time.)
Consider the lessons presented in the video below to see how Mao's photo was used to trigger China's Cultural Revolution, The Great Leap Forward."
History shows that activist led civil conflict is rarely about universal fairness, or achieving balanced positive change to benefit all. That is the job of our Legislature and Legal System.
But todays activist conflicts are promoted through mob rule and lawless intimidation even in America. Consider the mob that dominated Seattle's CHOP district. There angry activist crowds overwhelmed the police, burned the police station and murdered six civilians. This is a drastic departure from the nonviolent and often passivist protests of our recent past.
I grew up in the 60-70's era that legislated, "Affirmative Action."
At that time our youth were taught to learn from history and find ways to make, "humanitarian improvements." It was an era of increasing inclusion. Of equipping and inviting the under privileged to achieve the prosperity most shared through opportunity.
Affirmative Action was created to increase opportunity for minorities and women while still maintaining at least some sense of Liberty for all.
But very recently Affirmative Action was challenged and portions of it were found, "Unconstitutional," in 2023 as our Supreme Court ruled that racial and gender discrimination could not be used for guaranteed acceptance into colleges. But in the 70's they could.
And in the 70's, even though white males like me were last in line for many job opportunities. I and my high school class were so positive about diversity and equal opportunity that we elected our only male black student as Class President. But today I am being told that we were oppressors and now owe reparations to our victims. Really?
In the Soviet Revolution, the division they created was more subtle. It was also about wealth and privilege. But those being punished were not unlike their neighbors. The dividing line could be as little as having an upstairs in your house, noticeable fashion or one too many cattle in your stall. If called out, you could be labeled a Kulak and punished. Their goal... To create chaotic division and create an enemy to punish.
Today, in America progressive leaders champion displays of piety, taking pride in their extreme acceptance of all forms of promiscuous behavior. This theme of promoting radical acceptance has become a central theme in our government. This is celebrated in the videos below.
You may remember former President Clinton's expression of tolerance in addressing various forms of promiscuity during his Presidency? He suggested, "Don't ask, Don't tell." Then, "privacy," was the social standard across most of our culture. But in today's, "Revolution," privacy has been replaced with loud and proud expositionism even among our very young. This is, truly, "Revolutionary!" There is a huge difference between adults talking privately and openly promoting sexualized behavior identities in front of our preschoolers at our local libraries.
Some might now accuse me of being overly protective and hyper-religious. But listen to what our political leaders have to say..
In reality our passivity toward often misguided and potentially harmful behavior increases victimhood. As caution is sacrificed and the aberrant behavior (including the legalization of harmful drugs) is celebrated and even promoted among vulnerable peers, victimizers are empowered. Our lack of caution encourages reckless experimentation and celebrates potentially harmful deviations. Instead of protecting, we now pride in ourselves in celebrating experimentation. We celebrate sexualized chaos, redefining the purposes of sexuality and the meanings of sexual identity. This experimentation is much like the experimentation that happened in the 60's with mind altering drugs.
Sadly, Drug Overdose is todays leading cause of Death in Americans under the age of 45.
It was my generation that normalized the expansion of these intoxicants into our youth culture through our experimentation. Now we are legalizing most gateway drugs and decriminalizing possession of small but often lethal amounts of deadly drugs. Consider the pain that this has brought to America's families. Consider the wealth and power it has transferred from working communities to the Criminal Cartels that dominate the populations of vast regions south of our border.
And consider the pain that our rejection of traditional family mores in sexual behavior has brought through broken homes as traditional family values have declined. Pain even in President Biden's family. Especially to his daughter in law Kathleen and the grandchildren she gave him.
Is showing approval of Hunter's family abandonment to engage in an adultetrous relationship with his brother's grieving widow, really an appropriate way to display the virtue of tolerance?
News reports Joe and Jill's full approval of Hunter's romantic involvement with Beau's widow while still being married to Kathleen.
Beyond family, our corporate and business policies have also been "Revolutionized!" Today we also enforce and punish those who fail to comply with the progressive ideals of, "social equity." and, "politically correctness."
Less intense than the, "Red Guard," presented in the video above, but in close harmony. Sadly, the children of China in that generation either had no awareness of their very recent past, or were unable to resist the pressure they faced in their own, "Culture of Revolution."
If this, (Swimming Event Video), was presented, here today, I think many of our University trained "Disciples of Progressive Culture," might describe it as...
"A small triumph for justice and equity against all racial bigotry and oppressive historical ideology. We celebrate your vision! A progressive vision of freedom, moral equity and redemptive social justice! We gratefully forsake the distractions of family, past culture and ethnic history! We utterly reject all who look backward and hinder your path forward!
The 1960's were also a time of turmoil. The, "White Album," released in 1968 by the Beatles included the song, "Revolution." Presented below.
"Revolution," was written during Mao's Cultural Revolution.
Have you subscribed to the, "Revolution?" Have you examined it's history and message? Although not necessarily inspired by these events, the Beatles song at the beginning was written during their revolution.
After searching and reviewing many videos on the topic. (The story links) below clearly shows how unexamined devotion and even a fear of being excluded can cause even the most idealistic among us to assist in the destruction of all that we cherish for what is presented as the very best of reasons. May we avoid the fate of failing to learn from these tragedies. May we truly learn from the past and avoid the fate of following in their footsteps.
In response to these events in China, the video below was created. It explains the chief differences a pure Democracy and a Republic with checks and balances. A worthwhile review. I wonder if this information is still taught in our schools. I found it very informative.
Several years ago when I was volunteering as Camp Nurse for our church youth group, I had a very challenging experience. It was during the NOROVIRUS outbreak, an outbreak that was so contagious that it completely shut down the mental health unit at my hospital, all of the staff and all of the patients became violently ill. The unit was shut down for weeks of deep cleaning.
A few weeks later I left to work as Camp nurse for our church's, "Kidz Kamp." A week long church/bible camp offered to grade school aged children that incorporated high school and Jr high school aged counselors and helpers.
On our departure from the church we had 120 people on two buses going to the camp facility at the beach.
When we arrived, before leaving the buses, I asked the riders if any of them had been around anyone who was sick in the last week.
Three girls responded and one said she was feeling, "kinda icky", but also said, "I get car sick a lot." Fortunately these three all sat together on the bus and all were assigned to the same cabin at the camp. I talked with their counselors and asked them to keep an eye on the girls and let me know if any thing got worse.
Within an hour one of the counselors was at my door with a girl who had just thrown-up on her mattress. Immediately, I went to the cabin and had all of the Kidz go to wash their hands before closing and locking the door. I asked them to sit together and talk as I went to the local supermarket to get a spray bottle, some Chlorox, 3 pair of kitchen rubber gloves and 3 pair of cheap, small garden gloves.
I mixed a spray bottle of 10% bleach water and had everyone in that cabin hold their hands out to have them sprayed as we sang a multiverse washing song. Then I had them go back into the restroom and wash the bleach water off their hands.
I taught the counselors how to clean up the mess wearing the kitchen gloves with bleach water. I taught them how to clean the whole area, "at least twice as big as the mess." and then to do the spray and rewash their hands when done.
I had the sick girl wear the garden gloves with the instruction to always take them off to touch her mouth or face in any way and when she ate or went to the bathroom. After taking them off she was to wash with the spray and then soapy water before putting them back on. I also told her counselors to do the spray, wash, song ritual every time after they touched one of the three girls.
Even though they followed the rules, through the week each of these girls got sick, and eventually their parents came to take them home. Their two counselors and one of the male counselors that helped them also got sick and went home. One counselor became so ill that, I had to take her to the emergency room after she fainted after intensely vomiting. Her mother, our camp photographer took her home. The last, the male counselor became sickened on the last day an rode home with me in my car clutching and retching into a plastic bag as we drove. So of the 120 on the bus, 6 became ill, and only 3 were infected at camp.
I and the others were most fortunate, as at an earlier camp everyone that attended became violently ill!
The key to success? clear and simple...
I believe that the garden gloves made it much easier for the sick children to remember to follow the rules of systematic hygiene.
The gloves also made it much easier for those who were not sick to know who they should be more careful with for appropriate social distancing.
Since that time we have all gone through a Global Covid Pandemic.
During the pandemic political narratives of allegiance rather than applied innovation according to effective reasoning, resources and rational were used to control and punish with very poor outcomes.
Could we have done something similar during Covid? Could we deliver food and check in on the sick through phone contact and social media? Would this have encouraged the sick to stay home for infectious period of the illness?
Perhaps using a red scarf rather than garden gloves to identify the ill or vulnerable?
or even better...
Air Filtering Pressure helmets! to protect our most vulnerable neighbors from exposure.
I believe the discipline of stopping to evaluate levels of risk and safety through a social mitigation process could have been a great community building opportunity.
Even in our failure, it can be a teaching tool, forcing us to look at the true risks and unnecessary losses we impose on those around us. We are now in a good position to continue as we eventually modify our strategies to provide even more effective protection to our high risk groups.
We could have sought to increase ventilation in public areas and lessened the early increase of self exposure that comes with rebreathing virus particles while wearing masks. We could have suggested wearing them only while in very close quarters. And we could have provided our high risk populations with a social marker like, (a red scarfs), or similar marker to signify to others that they are isolating and desire more personal space, (perhaps 20 feet outdoors).
We could also provide pressure filtration helmets for their use to protect them when they are required to be in closer contact like public areas. Our electronic Medical Health Record could also be used to identify high risk individuals and trained health care workers could provide teach-back education of the specific best practices to avoid exposure to infection.
In time the rest of us would eventually return to business as usual, even as our most vulnerable may be forced to wait anxiously for a safe and effective vaccine to be created.
The costs of providing the (PAPR), Powered air purifying respirator helmet, above would be hundreds of times less costly than the forced shutdowns we experienced. A fraction of the cost of treating the Covid-19 illness in the ICU for just one day. One statistic showed the average hospital stay is 6-days at a cost of $73,000 according to CNBC.
These helmets could be returned after the pandemic and refurbished for future use by hospital staff or the public preparing us for the next pandemic which is sure to come.
Consider the similarities of the populist leader of Brazil, and that of America. In Brazil, did legal activism through the courts win? Or were the outcomes just?
With all of the fear and dread floating so thick in the air today, a person's sense of well being, and even their mental health can feel compromised, even unstable.
Do you know what to do when this happens? Did you know that you have options? That things can improve?
We all have choices in our behavior. Choices, that if habitually practiced will improve and strengthen our very souls.
Do you know what these choices are, and where to begin?
To begin, we can choose to be deliberate. To deliberately embrace truth and health and growth and actively reject the temptation of destructive habits and influences.
We can become intentional and choose to lessen loss and grow to increase in personal strength and depth of character.
Instead of being swept away by the emotions of the moment. Be it personal hardship or the distraction of social activism, or recoiling in fearful opposition to cultural change.We can choose sanity and become intentionally focused and purposeful in living out our own internal values.
There is a saying that, “talk is cheap.” But in reality obsessive talk devoid of understanding can become painfully confusing and costly in the long run. Especially on the emotional level.
What do you see going on in the world around you? Is it beckoning you toward reactionary fear? What is the fruit of the perspective you have been feeding? Is it toward personal growth? Or creating a growing sense of emptiness and looming personal chaos?
Gaining and maintaining accurate perspective can be immensely helpful! And providing help to others, and receiving help from others in a helping community can be life altering! We can find personal accountability and even recovery in support groups, churches and structured community involvement. Even personal interest groups and shared hobbies can replace the loneliness of self absorption with experiences of connection, accomplishment, strength and gratitude.
But consider carefully, the paragraph above describes activities and gatherings that are committed to, "Creativity and Order."
Not ones prone to emotional reaction, social agitation or displays of intimidating power. Not aggressive activism and not, gatherings centered around, celebrating intoxication or careless licentiousness in any form.
Today, the variety and options for using intoxicants has exploded!
And these have become the first choice of relief from many suffering from anxiety and stress and boredom. Stress often maintained and accentuated by an echoing deluge of fearful narratives from associates and media sources.
Today, even a sporadic or casual use of intoxicants can be fatal as accidental overdose is the leading cause of death among those under 35. And the chaos of intoxication has become the lifestyle norm for an ever-growing portion of our culture.
Today, we are quick to celebrate, "Change." Even as we ignore the realities of, "Loss." We even celebrate our blindness, as we embrace what is revolutionary in the, "Destructive," sense. Ideas that bring both personal and societal destruction!
In the past revolutionary ideas of, "Peace," were celebrated. But today these Revolutionary Ideas are catapulted forward through Social Influencers, Agitators and Activists to the status of modern Sainthood.
Today, being agitated or agitating others is considered desirable, even heroic! But we must remember that being agitated is very unpredictable at it's core, and there is often very little difference between an Activist led gathering and a Destructive Angry Mob. They may even be one and the same.
Historically social breakdown and even anarchy occur as these groups, disregard civil discourse and throw off legal restraint to intimidate and manipulate the the greater population. They coerce submission through destructive violence. This is what we saw in Seattle as the police station was burned and the murders took place.
The most famous and most effective protest of this type was, Kristallnacht, on November 9th of 1938. It virtually silenced public opposition to Hitler's abuses.
These gatherings and events of this type must be shunned. Don't be fooled, if nonviolent protest was the goal, than why didn't the leaders and crowds leave when the violence and destruction erupted.
If eliminating the destructive effect of chaos in your life is your goal, these type of events must be shunned.
The destruction of our inner cities in much of America today, shows the terrible cost of our failure to understand this. It may be a shock to our senses, but this isn't new. The history of this last century repeatedly bears this out. Consider the chaos, and the subsequent “Inspirational Stories,” that are compiled in this playlist. I compiled it about ten years ago. It is titled:
"For Freedom's Sake, Displaying Sanity in the Face of Opposition"
The playlist has six inspirational stories. The first is pictured in the (picture link) below. If you like this one and want to see more, click the (internet link below the picture) to see the other five. (If you are on a computer) There, you can also click the title (on that page) to see the connecting text that goes with these stories. It will appear on the Left of the screen. On my phone internet link auto-played the videos, but I couldn't click through to the text potion for reading.
On a more personal level, did you know that there are other positive ways to escape from internal chaos and negative emotions. But it usually requires more focused help and encouragement from others. Isolated we are vulnerable and captive to our own habits. But with real help we can find real escape, just like the Jews in Denmark did in the story above.
Have you ever wished you could exchange your fears and compulsions for genuine strength and courage?
Details for this option are presented in the Faith, Mental Health and Recovery messages below. Click the Helicopter (Picture) to hear the stories and testimonies. To see the corresponding written text you will have to click the link below the picture, Then on that page, click the text in the description, or (more) below the video to read it. This did work on my phone.
Consider BOTH the TALK and TEXT. Both were prepared to encourage you to take the deliberate steps that will strengthen you in your sense of wellbeing and personal integrity, as well as navigating in the mental health system. If you are having a crisis read the text and follow the instructions.
And finally consider this much more recent lesson from the past. Just a few months ago Israel celebrated their 75th National Anniversary. The video below highlights portions of their 2023 Yom HaShoah observances that occurred at the same time.
In it, Israel's President Herzog reviews past Academic and Social Anti-Semitic Propaganda. He shares how it was used to reshape public education, social institutions to create ridicule, apathy and hatred across much of Europe toward the Jewish populations. He explains how it separated them from past traditions and the values. And talks about many who displayed noble strength and courage in resisting.
He talks about how it was propagated through misapplied, "Science," to align the culture from early childhood with the, "Evolutionary Assumptions," held by Hitler.
President Herzog called for greater social accountability among Israel's political leadership and elites.
To me it displayed how our poorly examined thoughts and attitudes, and our failure to educate can allow seemingly good people to accept and promote unjust and evil policies. Policies leading to actions far worse than anything they ever would have imagined. But it ends with expressions of support and commitment to our fellow man, similar to the inspirational stories above.
And finally how accepting the concept of, "being created in the image of God," has shaped our morality into a "Sanity," of grace, accountability and individual challenge, and quells the chaotic confusions that comes with self absorption.
