Vision

  All this mass communication sure can distort your vision of the world. I'm listening to the evening news and they are showing tweets and interviews of people applauding the guy that shot the CEO. Yes, celebrity personalities and everyday people saying that was a good thing. I heard where "free Luigi" is trending. He is now lawyered up and fighting extradition to New York. His lawyer on television saying, "what happened to innocent until proven guilty?" Well, that ship sailed a long time ago my friend. We are now attempting to impeach presidents on accusations alone. 

 I am under no delusion that any of that is a new thing. It most certainly is not. The big difference is that now we all hear about it 24/7 365 days a year. It is almost unavoidable. You would really have to be off the grid to not hear about all this stuff going on. This time there was no scary assault rifle involved but a "ghost" gun that was three D printed. The results were just as deadly. It was a semi-automatic weapon and more people could have been injured had he chosen that route. It wasn't the gun, it was the individual. We hear about all these Trans people. There have always been trans people but we didn't hear about that much. Today we are hearing about trans-children. All that does change your vision of the world.

  Your vision of the world is formed by your parents, your siblings and your friends. It is all dependent upon environment. Your world is what you see. Today we are seeing it all and it is quite shocking! The results of that are what we see in the news. What we are seeing is a lack of restraint, discretion and good sound judgment. The old adage about not pleasing all the people all of the time is very real, you can't do that. For that reason it is best to temper your reactions to every situation. That is not an easy thing to do. Religion plays an important role in that. The belief in reward for acting in an appropriate fashion being that motivation. The promise of "heaven" whatever you conceive that to be. Setting aside that belief what motivation exists to conform to any standard? That is the function of law and the threat of punishment. 

  I was struck by hearing those calling that guy a hero. Some saying it is a fight for universal health care. They should get free medical care and are willing to kill those that will not provide that. Some declaring universal health care is a human right. The truth is people have a right to be treated humanely. Does your human rights include free housing, food, education through college, a new car, a computer, the internet and electricity? There are those declaring they should receive all of that and more, like a monthly stipend. If those things aren't provided violence is the answer! A revolution should take place until everyone gets whatever they want. 

  Mass communication should be a good thing. That is the ideal situation where everyone is informed. The unfortunate truth is mass communication is dependent upon one thing, revenue. In order to generate that revenue sensationalism is the order of the day, that is what sells. The squeaky wheel gets the grease is another old adage that states a basic truth. Even when that squeak is nothing more than an annoyance, it will be addressed. Now we are all hearing that squeak, over and over. All these media outlets are competing with one another, to gain that attention. Even media that is generated by the people! Yes, isn't that the function of tweets, Instagram, Facebook or whatever? We are all struggling to be heard. We are all that squeaky wheel now. I'm not excluding myself from any of that, just sharing my observations and thoughts.

  It really is a simple thing if you think about it. Too many people in the club, and problems will come with them. The United States of America enjoyed a time when we were all Americans. Even those that emigrated became Americans, as that was the goal in emigrating in the first place. To come to a land filled with opportunities. Slowly, over time, more members came to the club and began changing the rules. It wasn't about opportunity anymore, it became about entitlement. It is at that point where the excuses, the exceptions to the rules began to come into play. They go by various names, but all have the same goal, to give an advantage. They are great when they benefit you, not so much when it benefits others. 

     "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." (excerpt from the declaration of independence) 

 What have we become accustomed to? History has shown us that a democracy lasts about 250 years before evolving into something else, something inferior. Perhaps the reason for that is that we are "disposed to suffering evils" rather than right the wrongs. Perhaps we have implemented changes that are counter productive. Perhaps we should abolish those forms we have become accustomed too. Or perhaps more importantly we should consider what we are allowing ourselves to become accustomed too. Those things we think of as normal. We need to ask ourselves, has the vision changed? The vision was for Independence with government acting as a moderator, not a ruler. Is that still the goal?