NO SYRIA ATTACT

NO SYRIA ATTACT I'm just sharing something on Syria that doesn't need many words. The hypocrisy of our leaders has taken on an even bolder face in recent years. If I understand our president he adds to other absurd reasons for attacking Syria by saying, 'We don't have evidence they did it but the chemical weapons they have might one day fall into the hands of our enemies – America could be attacked one day.' I've understood other voices in national leadership to say, 'We're not trying to force a regime change but just punish it for using a chemical weapon.' Our country is openly supporting the rebels in a civil war. Do our leaders believe Americans are so dumb we fail to see that an attack would likely help the rebels win the war and overthrow their government? In the language of the street, if you gonna fuck me at least give me the option of using a lubricant – it would also be civil to kiss me once in a while.

STOP and FRISK is CORPORAL PUNISHMENT

Just thinking aloud – hope you find something of interest in it. My mind is in New York and the controversy around the Stop and Frisk Law. The law is not new to people of color and poor people in general – they've always been stopped, searched, and their homes entered by officers of the law, often without pretense or warrant. When the issue first started to generate some heat in the press I thought it curious that what was already a fact in some communities had become a matter of law and policy. Then my mind as always, started to grapple with the why of it. It wasn't long before I ran smack into the truth of it. There's a tactic used to control group behavior – it's referred to as "Corporal Punishment". When one person of a group does something objectionable all members of that group are punished as if each is responsible for the act. The idea is that innocent members of the group would be encouraged to point out or stop the guilty member from further objectionable acts. All those with power and influence have or will use the tactic to maintain power – governments, law enforcers, wealthy individuals, large organizations and institutions. It seems odd, but people with power gain an ally when they use the tactic of Corporal Punishment – people who are punished without just cause are often all too willing to help those in power achieve their goals: there is usually favor in doing so.

RACISM faces SOLUTION

VESTIGES OF RACISM CANNOT BE SOLVED BY STATE AND LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES I share, perhaps, a slightly different perspective on the post Trayvon Martin discussions. I really don't think much will come out of talk on changing the life experiences of black, brown, poor boys and girls in our country. The reason is there will only be discussion around symptoms – such as the actual shooting of Trayvon, police shootings of our youth, profiling , our young filling the prisons faster than they can be built, our young killing each other, our youth seeing no value in public education, female headed households, and so on. President Obama, in his recent comments on Trayvon, stepped away from the notion of some large federal program being the source of cure for some of these symptoms – (if I understood him) he believes instead that states should handle their own problems. I think we should look at the fact that the slave trade was a federal effort – the whole nation threw it's money and might into making it a success and reaped fortunes as a result. The use of free labor did more than make a few slave owners wealthy; it fed the growth in America's legal, political, financial and industrial systems. The whole of America grew and enriched itself on the backs and blood of slaves. Now to my different perspective: When you take a people, strip them of all the things that make them unique – their spirituality, their art, their religion, their language, you take away their soul, the center of their being, the thing that gives them a right and reason to be. When you make them accept your spirituality, your education, your art, your religion and your language, but force them to maintain a slave mentality – you have a mass of people headed down hill toward self-destruction. What our country needs now is the best willing minds from virtually every discipline in higher education to apply their focus on undoing the harm that's been done to many citizens -- while at the same time creating and applying proven remedy. An aside note but to the point: Detroit should've never have been allowed to die. It says to the rest of the world, and more importantly to our selves, that America is willing to hold its nose as a part of it rots and stinks. It really does suggest that a very shallow mind set is at work.

JUSTICE NOT BLIND -- IT'S FLAWED

JUSTICE IS NOT BLIND – IT IS FLAWED Some elected politicians, their appointees, and the folks who elected them have, throughout history, blamed victims for their own death or a death of their kind. Not just African Americans, but women – still struggling for a lead voice in shaping their own future, also those who chose a different sexual preference, and other people of color, or people of a different nationality – you can add others. The written or spoken blame generally contains the statement, "But for the actions of the victim he/she/they would still be alive." It is inferred if not plainly stated, that we should tell our sons, daughters, men, women to conduct themselves in a more appropriate way and no more of us need die. Some politicians go so far as to admonish the grievers to accept blame for the death of a victim and demand they commit to changing the behavior of their children, and their brothers and sisters. Some survivors of victims have been forced to their knees to ask God's forgiveness for their neglect. Is the American Justice System blind? Hell no! The Founding Fathers of our Constitution were all flawed individuals – it follows then that our constitution is flawed. Individuals who write our laws are flawed – it follows then that our laws are flawed. Individuals who make up our Judiciary are flawed individuals – it follows then that court judgments are flawed. Individuals who enforce the laws are flawed – it follows then that our law enforcement is flawed. Does this mean that Americans would be better off without a constitution, lawmakers, judiciary, or enforcement – hell no! What we have beats nothing by far. Change in what we have is obviously necessary for all citizens to be equally protected before the law. The big question is how do we accomplish that short of a revolution – a complete overthrow of our present system? An even larger question is what do we replace it with?

A NOTE ON RACISM

Racism is a visceral part of America's mythology – it's like the brain and heart in the human body. America would not exist without it. Some people believe that America is a melting pot – that the skin color of American's will eventually be a range of Brown Tones. This misguided thinking is thought be a solution to racism. Not all people will meld together no matter how long America cooks them. I tend to divide our country into two areas of concerns – the 1st is People-Concerns and the 2nd is Political-Concerns. People concerns have to do with providing for one's self and one's family. Political concerns have to do with who gets what, when, where, and how. When people have the things they need, race is not a problem – most don't give a shit what color another person happens to be. Politicians, the policy makers, on the other hand do care about race and which one has the most influence. Because resources – land, water, food, fuel, jobs, education – are always scares, policy makers grapple with who will get those resources. It has always been and continues to be the most powerful individuals, in terms of wealth, physical strength, and political power, who set the policy as to how scares resources will be divided. At present those individuals are white and they intend to maintain their positions of power.

A SALUTE TO DEATH 19

I cringe whenever I think of the number 19. With the number comes the thought of the firemen who gave their lives trying to keep flames away from the lives and property of others. I don't talk about it a lot but I have a deep respect for those who serve and protect the rest of us. Whatever uniform or duty they are a special breed. Politics will often distort and fuckup the honor due them – but they are a special breed. My best thoughts of thanks and peace go especially to those who are directly affected by Death 19.

INCOME DIFFERENCE AND POLITICAL POWER

INCOME DIFFERENCE AND POLITICS I'm just sharing my thoughts about income disparities and political power. As I look at the political landscape in our country my sight informs me that the superrich have more political muscle than the rest of us. Don't jump to the conclusion that I dislike rich people – I don't. I'm an independent writer and actor – I decide what materials I write and make available to prospective buyers; I decide which producers I allow to rent my acting talent. I select and pay professionals to help me in my efforts to make a profit. My bank balance doesn't show it yet but I like to make money – I like deciding what I do, when, where, how, and who with. The superrich continue in their efforts to privatize anything that has the slightest chance of making a profit – they're buying up public resources, they're stripping the government of any regulatory powers while diluting existing policies designed to enhance the economic growth of others. With their money they're shaping the future of ordinary citizens by controlling the pathways to economic wealth – education, jobs, mobility, taxes, investment, etc. The verbiage of the superrich is laced with belief in a god. It implies that they have been chosen by god to set the economic lives of everyone else. There is fervor in the talk that almost convinces me god actually ordained them to be my economic savior – if I did believe in a god they may have had a convert. https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/adolphusaward