Get serious

 I keep hearing stories on television about the issue with porch pirates. I just wonder how we took to calling thieves porch pirates, like it is a cute little moniker. Aye matey, we be plundering! They are just thieves, low life individuals lacking any sense of morality. It is almost like it has become a game, how to fool the pirates. Are we going to start calling shoplifters pirates too? Why not, they are doing the same action. Or are we going to start calling all of that undocumented acquisitions. That way we won't offend anyone by calling then what they are, thieves. 

 I do not have a camera rigged to photograph any one coming to my door. I have enough problem with all the other tech stuff I do have. The town does have a few cameras on main street but nothing covering my area. Yes I know I can just buy that ring doorbell and it comes with the app and all that. In fact I purchased one as a gift for my son, that was a few years back. It still works to this day. I have no desire to have one. I am not concerned about pirates. I do order frequently from Amazon and those packages are sitting on my porch. I haven't lost any so far. I am offered a safe drop box where I can go to get my stuff if I want to do that. I don't see the point. If I wanted to go somewhere else to pick up my package I wouldn't order it sent to my doorstep. I would just go to the other place. 

 In Maryland theft under 1500 dollars is just a misdemeanor. A slap on the wrist and an admonishment to not do that again. It doesn't matter how many times you are caught either, it's an unlimited plan. The courts in Baltimore report a very high number of repeat offenders, especially juveniles. Nothing really happens to them. They are sent home and told not to do it again. Being juveniles when they become adults all of that is sealed, so you could be hiring a career criminal and not have a clue about that. Then they can steal less than 1500 dollars from your business and still just get a misdemeanor charge. Not only that they have special "programs and incentives" for those being caught, you know, to help them get on the straight and narrow. Well, their brains aren't fully developed yet so it's not their fault.

  Now it's important to know that the value of stolen goods isn't cumulative. Each theft is an individual misdemeanor. I could take a package off every porch on the block but I only get charged for the value of each package individually, not the total amount. Each homeowner would have to press charges individually. The kids, even with those underdeveloped brains, are well aware of this and use it to their advantage. Well they are just porch pirates, isn't that cute. And it is illegal for you to set up any sort of trap or device that may harm them in any way. You are subject to being sued should any harm come to the pirates. I've seen lots of videos about that, all very funny stuff, but illegal. I'm thinking they have all been staged. You can't believe what you see. 

  Times change I understand all of that. When I was a kid stealing was a very bad thing to be accused of. And like most kids I was tempted to give that a try at the 5&10. No one would notice if I just took one piece of bazooka joe. I did and Mom noticed! I got almost to the car before being discovered. I was marched right back into that store and made to confess to the cashier exactly what I had done. Mom paid for the gum, I was thoroughly embarrassed. I was told, I'll be keeping an eye on you from now on. 

After we got home I wasn't traumatized by my punishment because I knew I had earned that punishment. Yes, earning something didn't always equate to it being something you wanted. I never stole anything again. As a child I was told that messing around with the mail was a federal offense and you would go to the big house for that! You didn't open another's mailbox, you didn't open someone else's mail, not ever. Had a neighbor that was drinking, took a baseball bat and smashed a mailbox for fun. He went to jail! You don't mess with the mail! 

  Porch pirates. Thieves is what they are and they should be locked up! Should be a federal offense to steal any packages from a porch. True Amazon isn't the United States Postal service but those deliveries should be treated with the same seriousness. As far as misdemeanors I'd add them up with those juveniles. If you have now stolen over 1500 dollars worth of goods, that's a felony, even if it took you a year to accumulate that much. Yeah, no more free passes as long as you moderate you thievery! Theft is theft regardless of the price of the object. You want to be a pirate? You can walk the plank as far as I'm concerned. Steal from Davey Jones locker if you can.

                                                                                    

Passing the test

  It was discovered that a man attending fire school in the city of Baltimore was planning a mass shooting event. He had lots of guns, a plan and also planned on killing himself in the process. Now the big discussion about what could have been done to prevent that. It is being suggested that mental health examinations should have been required before allowing him in that school. Yes, I suppose that a mental health examination may have revealed he had issues. The thing is this, even if they had administered a mental health examination and determined his mental state wasn't quite right, all they can do is not allow him to attend the school. You can't be locked up, put away anywhere, until you actually do something. 

 It began in the 1950's, the closing of state institutions for the mentally ill. There were abuses no denying that and that was a leading factor in the closing of those places. Today you can't be paced in a mental facility unless you consent to that. That wasn't the case back in those days. It's a tricky thing, mental health. It's my feeling that no one of us is free from some "issue" if we were given a test. The tests themselves are very subjective and open to interpretation. One expert saying this, and another saying that. It's why the "manual" is occasionally revised. What was a mental issue yesterday, is just fine today, in fact it should be celebrated! What changed? Nothing. 

 I was interviewed by a mental health professional as a part of the qualifications to become a Navy recruiter. I guess I wasn't nuts, I got the job. I don't really remember what the questions where about. I do remember the doctor asking me if I had any questions. I replied, who decides if you are alright? He seemed offended by that question, told me his collogues performed that function, and the interview ended. Personally, I think the guy had a screw loose.

  Now I realize mental health is a hot button issue these days. I see a lot of commercials on television for products that will help with your progress. You are already taking some medications but need a bit of a boost, there is a product for that. You can put your sad face card back in your purse. By taking more drugs you are making progress. Drew Carey on the Price is Right urges you to take care of your mental health. There are billboards addressing that as well. You can get counseling online too, no need to see a therapist in person, it might even be free. No judgement! Well, isn't that the function of that trained expert? Aren't they supposed to judge your mental state? Their only course of action however is to give you a prescription! Hopefully it alters your consciousness enough that you don't hurt others or yourself. Never mind the medication may have side effects like liver failure or death, that rarely happens.

  Are we now going to require a mental health examination before you can get a job, go to school or interact with people in any way? Are we going to require you carry credentials that you're fine. Will it become like Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory? I'm not crazy, I've been tested. Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? Just what does happen if you fail that test? Those examinations are not perfect and neither is any one individual. The only legal ramifications from failing a mental health exam may be a custody battle, a criminal proceeding, where you can claim you are nuts btw, and losing your ability to make a decision for yourself. You know, when someone else wants your inheritance, estate or control of your money. Think Brittany Spears. Of course, you may be denied employment or attending a school or anything else based on that assessment. Your only course of action would be a legal challenge. Thing is, mental health can't be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. It really does depend upon that expert opinion. 

  The whole institutionalizing of those with mental health conditions, by the state through legal means, did become a disaster. Many where sent there that shouldn't have been. The conditions were generally horrible and the treatment of the patients terrible. The oversight just wasn't there. But with the closing of those institutions there are many on the streets today that do have serious mental problems. And all that can be done is to appeal to them to seek help. Yes, we are relying upon the mental patients to check themselves in. When they do not and commit some serious crimes we prosecute the crime. Sometimes we don't prosecute the crime, instead excusing it because, well, they are nuts! They can't be held accountable for that. They can be ordered into treatment at that point though. We could have prevented the crime from happening if we had institutionalized that person before the crime happened, but we can't do that. Maybe we should give everyone a test. 

  Take care of your mental health. What am I supposed to do? Should I take medications every time I feel sad, depressed or have feelings of anger? Or should I go online and talk to a therapist. Someone that can tell me, you're fine you just need to take a few medications to boost your progress. Is that taking care of my mental health, the search for reassurance and acceptance. That reassurance and acceptance must come from outside sources, otherwise I may be having a mental health crisis, becoming a narcissist or egotistical. You know that is a disorder don't you? Seek help immediately. Nothing can be done legally until it's too late! You really should get tested. Yeah, there's a form for that.

                                                                                   

                                                                         

Motivation

  Is America changing? Well of course it is. Everything changes over time. Isn't that the basis of evolution? The hope is always the changes are for the better. In nature that always means survival. An adaptation to the physical world. With governments, that isn't always the case. In fact, historically speaking, governments rarely evolve into anything better that survives. Many scholars have written about that. The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire is probably the best known of those works. Rome didn't begin as a republic, it began as a Kingdom. The romans overthrew the king and formed the republic which lasted for 450 years until it was replaced by the Roman Empire. That's when they had emperors. That surely didn't work out well in the end. 

 I shake my head as I listen to many people today wanting to change our republic into something else. A socialist state seems to be leading the pack of possible alternatives. Changes that would destroy the republic. I hear the argument that the constitution is a living instrument and should be changed, it should evolve with the times. I'd argue that it has done just that with the addition of amendments. Most notably the first ten and those concerning civil rights. Other amendments were added to favor the government itself, rather than the people. But that is a discussion for the scholars. It must be remembered that the core principles remain the same. All men are created equal, an ongoing process that continues to this day. Equality doesn't mean any one group gets the advantage over the others! The freedom to speak out and address the government when you feel wronged. That's because you are the government, not those elected to represent you. 

 When I was in grade school we did say the pledge of allegiance in the morning. It included this phrase," and to the republic for which it stands" it did not say to the democracy. You hear a lot about democracy these days, our democracy. Yeah well our form of democracy is a Republic! If history teaches us anything at all it is that we must never let our Republic decline into a democracy. Aristotle stated that plainly enough and we should heed that warning and advice. Democracies decline into despotism. It's something the Democrats like to say about Trump, that he is becoming a despot. Last I knew the legislative and judicial branches of the republic were still in full effect. That's the way the republic was designed. 

 Aristotle also said. "Happiness belongs to the self sufficient." That is exactly what the United States should be, self sufficient. Some call that isolationism. I think of it as independence. Now I enjoy getting help when I need it, I like getting goods or services that I don't have as much as anyone else. I just don't want to be dependent upon them! There's a big difference between what you want and what you need. The purpose of government isn't to provide those needs, it is prevent others from denying your ability to acquire them. That is what true freedom is. Dependence upon government is not freedom. In fact, dependence is the surrender of freedom. Dependence is what will create the necessary circumstance for a despot to gain control. When government controls your means of production, your means to provide for yourself, you become dependent upon that government. Government should be the tool that ensures your freedom, not the shackles that restrict you! 

 Motivation does not change the objective. We hear an awful lot about motivations these days. We hear about why the pilgrims came to this land, why all the others followed over the years. We hear about the search for freedom, the American dream. Yes, the American dream and just what is that dream? Freedom from government oppression. Independence! Give me liberty or give me death! What is liberty? Freedom, that's what the word means. Freedom from restrictions imposed by government. 

 Liberty to the founding fathers began with ensuring individual liberties and is dependent upon civic virtue. What is civic virtue? Their conception of that was based in Christian beliefs. Virtue and morality go hand in hand. Virtue morality is not dependent upon words written in a book, ie: the Bible, Quran or Torah, which is why we have that separation of church and state. Rather it is based on just being a good person. The whole treat otters as you wish to be treated philosophy. Charity begins at home, not in the halls of government. 

 Is America changing? You bet it is and not for the better. It is not going to be a sustainable future when the population becomes dependent upon government. It really is as Margaret Thatcher pointed out, you will run out of others peoples money. She was talking about socialism. Socialism, a system that says everything should be controlled by the community (government). The hippies in the 1960's America tried that method, calling them communes. Communes, socialists, communists, all the same philosophy. no liberty for you! Those communes all collapsed. Disheartened and disillusioned the hippies just went back home. I wonder where will we all go if the Republic collapses? We must remain vigilant! 

 Our survival depends upon our motivation. What controls our motivations? Our individual moral and ethical values. What was it that Aristotle said? Happiness belongs to the self sufficient. Are you really self sufficient when you are willing to abandon all civic virtue for personal gain? Remember the Republic can only exist when the citizens of that Republic exercise sound moral and ethical values. In short, be good people. Being a good person does not involve forcing others to provide for your wants and needs. The purpose of government is not to provide charity, it is to govern the actions of those that would not act in a moral and ethical fashion. That is the purpose of government, the rule of law. 

 What is the motivation for you to be a good person? For the religious it may be eternal life. It may be just having a sense of purpose. It could be popularity, the desire to be seen as a good person. Whatever the motivation may be, it involves a reward of some type. Seems to me it depends upon just how soon you want that reward. Urgency often leads to bad decisions. I don't have any real sense of purpose here, I'm just a tiny piece in the big picture. A single pixel. Whatever reward I receive, I will have earned, that's my feeling about that. What motivates me? Not sure about that, but I have to keep going to find out I suppose. Curiosity is a good motivator. I have observed this much, "emotions are great motivators but seldom good guides" Stay calm folks. 

                                                                                

That's illegal

  I remember when the big conversation was about black people. The "descriptor" has changed over the years from the "n" word to African Americans, at least in some circles it has. I'm not certain what the politically correct term is today and do think it is dependent upon just who you are talking too. Well, its always been that way really. It always depended upon the circumstance of social standing. But now I keep hearing about the "brown" people. I have heard politicians using that term insisting that Trump is targeting the brown people. I'm assuming they are referring to those from Latin American countries, as well as "Indians" or "Pakistanis." What are those from Somalia? According to goggle they are from Africa but are not black or Asian. It doesn't say what they are called, just that they are an ethnic group. I don't know anyone from Somalia to ask.

  The "brown" people are those in between the black and white people. Their skin tone ranges from light brown to almost black, it also includes those with "yellow" skin. I wonder how black you have to be, to be black. I do recall when I was in elementary school a couple of kids arguing with each other about just that on the playground. They were "colored" kids. My school was fully integrated as I am from the north. But one day these two were arguing, the one saying the other one wasn't black, he was brown. The other kid saying, he was too black, his parents said so. I found that interesting as I had never given any of that a thought before that time. Did the different shades hold any significance? Apparently it did among that community, at least that was the impression I got from that argument. I never asked. 

  Now all these years later the brown people are being discussed. I guess we didn't have any brown people when I was in grade school. At least no one I ever noticed. There was this girl on the bus that looked different, I was told she might be from Mexico or maybe Puerto Rico as she had that long black hair and a darker skin tone, not like a good tan, but tan anyway. I was interested, she was not. 

 The brown people are being deported! Well, could be that is because those brown people came from another country and are not Americans. If I were living in Mexico or India I would expect people to think, he's a white guy, probably not from here. If I couldn't speak the language, or read it, that would be a real good indicator as well. Nothing prejudicial about that, just logical thinking is all. If I want to find a potato, I'm not looking in the cabbage patch. I'm not prejudiced against potatoes, just know where they are most likely to be and what they look like. 

  It's a funny thing these descriptors we use. If you give an accurate description of the individual you are often accused of being prejudiced! You may even be told you are stereotyping people. The police have taken to using numbers, like a number one male. That's a black guy, number two is a white guy. There is no number for the brown people though. No numbers for all the other genders either. Not sure how they report all that on their radio and in their reports, I'd have to ask a cop.

 Consider those black people. They have what type of hair? The official term is type 3 and Type 4, characterized by it being curly and s shaped. Afro-textured in polite company. Is that a stereotype? No, it is just the most common type of hair found in black populations. What about brown people? Google says that is a "racial classification" usually a political and skin based category. Everyone is skin based just not political?  And white folks, why we are just all prejudicial people, we are prejudiced against the black and brown people. What do white people look like? We have white skin. 

  In 1908 a play by Israel Zangwill titled "The Melting Pot" popularized that term. America was the great melting pot. Immigrants came here to assimilate into American society. That was the dream, to become a citizen of the greatest nation on the face of the planet. Those immigrants were well aware of the requirements to be met to obtain that status, citizenship. It began with legally entering the nation, obtaining the necessary documents to live and work here. The objective was to become an American. It wasn't to change American values, traditions, moral or ethical standards or impose their ancestors traditions and customs on Americans. 

 The objective was to integrate those with America. It requires the abandonment of all those traditions and values that do not align with America. The ideal is to have a blended society, all melted together to form one nation. An American society. It may have started out with predominately white people ( Europeans) but has always welcomed anyone that wanted to immigrate here. It's true in 1917 an immigration act was passed to prohibit certain folks from entering the country.  "According to the law, these included “all idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, epileptics, insane persons … persons with chronic alcoholism; paupers, professional beggars,” and those with tuberculosis and other contagious diseases. It barred felons, polygamists, prostitutes and their traffickers, and – similar to Trump’s ban – it blocked entry to those who “advocate the overthrow by force or violence of the Government of the United States, or of all forms of law” and anyone who would “advocate or teach the duty, necessity, or propriety” of killing of US officers or officials. " 

  I don't know about you, but all that seems reasonable enough to me. We have enough of those born here, we don't need to import any! Prejudicial or just common sense? You decide. In 1882 all Chinese were banned for ten years. That was a reaction to a very high unemployment rate and the Chinese were thought to be impacting that in the mining business. There are other instances and if you read about them they all made good sense at the time and circumstances of their implementation. Remember, hindsight is always twenty/twenty but is often viewed through a different lens. If you were not there to view it you really don't see the whole picture, only what has been reported. I realize it is shocking to some but we really aren't told everything! There are some things that are just none of your business. 

 Prior to 1875 immigration was a state controlled thing. Basically the borders were open and entry was allowed with the various states having different requirements. Then in 1875 the Supreme court decided that immigration was a federal responsibility. The court was predominately Democrats. So the immigration act of 1875 was established. That's the quote I included earlier, about not allowing feeble minded folks and all that into the country. Later, the Chinese exclusion act made it a federal crime to import Chinese people here against their will to work in the mines and railroads, no sex workers allowed and no pimps! 

 Really it was a protection for those Chinese that were being shanghaied and coerced into coming to America. That act was passed by a Republican majority in Congress. Sounds like a good idea to me, to protect the Chinese folks from that. It basically put those kidnappers, smugglers and human traffickers out of business! Yes, I'd say a wise decision, even though it may have hurt some peoples feelings. As for interring the Japanese during WW2 I ask you this, if another nation declared war on us, bombed our land and killed thousands wouldn't you be a bit suspicious of any of their citizens living here? It really is quite a reasonable reaction. It's no different than wandering into the wrong part of town, you can expect to be attacked. You might not, but are you taking that chance? It's called security. 

 The naturalization act of 1790 established the rules for gaining citizenship. There was residency requirement and naturalization was limited to "free white People." Just who was a white person? That wasn't defined and varied greatly from place to place. Today we are attempting to define what a woman is; guessing we haven't made that much progress after all. You don't want to hurt anyone's feelings you know. We feel like we have a handle on the white and black folks, the brown people, not so much. Brown people are just the in-between bunch, not white, not black. We do know that a good number of the brown people in America today aren't here legally. When they can't read or speak the language the suspicion grows. When their names appear on ICE documents for apprehension it's a pretty good bet that they are illegally in the country. 

 It became obvious in 1875 that we needed to control immigration. We really do need to know who is coming in the door. It isn't about race, it is about security. You don't leave your door open for just anyone to wander into your home. No, you want to know a bit about that individual. That's called documentation. Without any documentation you can't know for sure. That's why the bank just doesn't take your word for it when making a withdrawal or granting you a loan. Undocumented withdrawals are called theft! Yeah, robbing the bank. That's illegal. So is being in my country without any documentation of your entry. And it doesn't matter how long you have been here, just like it doesn't matter how long the money has been in the bank. You need documentation! Simple really. 

                                                                              

                                             If you have one of these, you have nothing to worry about. 

                                             

Generations

  The first day of December, already. In just one month a quarter of the century will have passed. Isn't that amazing? It is if you are a member of the boomer generation. We really are the first generation to be commonly identified in that manner. We took to calling our parents the greatest generation. Now I'm losing track of what generation is what. Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha and Gen Beta is on deck. When it comes to these generation's, a ten year span seems to be the defining time period. A generation is generally considered to be twenty years when doing ancestry. Guess we are getting in a hurry these days. 

  We boomers are generally dismissed by succeeding generations with a simple phrase, OK boomer. A definite shift in philosophy. Whereas we called our parents the greatest generation, they call us boomers as a dismissive term. I can't help but wonder if that isn't our own fault. I'm thinking we did name them right though, our parents were the greatest generation of Americans. Things have been going downhill ever since. No one to blame but ourselves for that. Now it wasn't everyone, but apparently it was enough that tuned in, turned on and dropped out. Maybe having witnessed the greatest we just lost our confidence and gave up. Many certainly surrendered independence for dependence! 

  My dad was born in 1924. He fought in WW2. His generation was called the silent generation, Sometimes called the traditionalist or builders. The greatest generation is considered to have begun in 1928, although I have always included by father as a part of that. The actual years are a bit murky, even among scholars. My thinking is an awful lot depends upon just who raised you. My dad was raised by his grandparents and so influenced heavily by their standards and beliefs. Interesting to note is that great grandfather Floyd was born in 1878 and according to the scholarly charts of generations his was the lost generation or the greatest generation! First time I've read that. 

 I have checked a listing of generations and noticed that in general each generation is lasting a bit shorter in time. All of that is of course very subjective. We try to explain the past in todays terms. I don't believe you can ever really do that. It's like attempting to explain things like slavery. There were times when that was considered a perfectly acceptable practice and in some places it is still practiced. There was a time when public hangings were performed, as a deterrent to crime, a show of justice. Most felt that was fair enough. People even went to those like we would go to a concert. The older we get the more we begin to understand and accept the past for what it was. That is because we lived that past. We do have an alternative opinion on that past as well. What is being taught in school may or may not align with our view of that history. 

 In just a few years I will have witnessed 3/4 of a century. The hope is to make it to one. Statistically speaking, less than 1% of the population will make that mark. I'm thinking I will one of them. I have some ancestors that did accomplish that, but it is less than 1%. It isn't anything I often think about or a cause of great concern. It's just a fact of life. I guess with Christmas approaching and this year to include a great granddaughter my awareness has been raised just a bit. She is a member of Generation Beta. Born January 8th, 2025 the beginning of that generation. I wonder what history she will have witnessed when the century turns again. I wonder will she read my history and wonder about that. "My great grandfather only had a black and white television, with vacuum tubes in it when he was a child. Can you imagine what that was like? " My great grandfather had a taxi, it was a horse and buggy. Can you imagine that?   

                                                                                   

Taken from the pages of the East Hampton Star newspaper. The buggy on the right is my great grandfather operating his " Main Steet Taxi"  

                                                                          

                                                                     Elliotte, generation Beta