Month: September 2018

Individual Responsibility

I hope I have been “honorable”. At some point, on my Twitter feed, my name will have a banner that reads “2020 US Presidential Candidate”, and then WORDS… from MY mouth! I’ve said almost 6,000 things on Twitter. I hope I have not said anything that degrades the Office I seek.

Stephen Douglas… everyone knows that name today for ONE reason- Abraham Lincoln. I realized that a couple months ago. And it is a thought that crosses my mind daily. I try, intentionally, to be OPEN with my thoughts and opinions in order to avoid coming across as ‘fake’ or ‘a troll’. As if I were speaking in real life.

IF I do self censor it is because of the platform from which I speak, knowing what I say might someday be seen as “relevant”.

A couple days ago I made a late night run to Walmart. Jess was making potato soup and needed almond milk and I needed to replace a headlight on the van. I was looking for a good reason to get out of the house, to try and take my mind off stuff.

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.

I tossed my items in a cart, shot the breeze with a couple people while I was there, paid and headed out the door. Just as I was pushing my cart through the automatic double-doors, out of the corner of my eye to my right, a woman was throwing some trash into the can. As I walked out, she was just about to turn and start walking back to where she came from, and I anticipated…swinging my cart to the left and avoiding her walking into my cart.

She turned, just as I thought, and she saw me swing the cart to the side and stop. Now, I wasn’t going to hit her with a cart… I’m a better driver than THAT! And, even if she suddenly turned and started sprinting, I wasn’t going fast enough to where I couldn’t have just full-stopped and avoided her. I just wanted to be safe.

As we both came to a stop, I pulled the cart back slightly, and said “Excuse me. Please, go ahead.” As I said this, she turned her eyes away from the cart and made eye contact with me… Now, I am not an unpleasant looking guy. Some people might say a little more pleasant than the south side of a north bound horse, and so I’ve seen that sparkle in the eye of a few people… ladies AND gents… and sometimes, flirtatious looks can turn into a bit of flirtatious banter, all in a few seconds. Just in passing alone and nothing more.

As she looked up, startled at first from the image of some guy dodging to avoid running her over, she made eye contact with me and her expression changed. I said “Please, go ahead,” and she stepped back, stood a bit straighter, and said “No… Please, you go. I insist.” I hesitated, smiled, being flattered by her expression of insistence, nodded my head and said “Thank you,” and I walked on by.

It makes me feel good when someone slyly acknowledges someone else in that way, makes you feel kinda special… but, as I approached my van, I thought a couple more times about that look in her eye. That was NOT the look of infatuation. I am NOT that handsome! No Way!… I think she recognized me. Well, the spongebob hat at least.

If I had to guess her age, I would say 16-22. That is about the range for the MFOL crowd and I know there is strong support in the Kansas City area for what David Hogg is doing. So it could be possible. And IF that is the case… I don’t believe it! I don’t have proof of that being the case, I would only be assuming. I’m not sure though.

The look in her eyes expressed a sence of HUMILITY, of AWE, of PRIDE… of what I would express if given the chance to meet a Presidential Candidate.

So, that’s a heavy responsibility. I understood that from the beginning. That COPYRIGHT/TRADEMARK “U.S. President” idea is what gave me pause originally. How can one live up to the painting that hangs in the heart of every American Citizen? Be it a portrait of a President or a pivotal patriotic event, the IMAGE in one’s own mind is flawless, even more so than the painting itself. I felt the responsibility of the Office when I changed my Twitter bio. Little blue check mark be damned… just read the title at the top of that feed, it is a statement.

I am not shying away in this moment, I am absorbing and learning (with cat videos and funny goats in between to keep my sanity…) and planning. Mapping out what could be, how to get there, and hoping to find disparate voices, looking for common ground. Wise counsel who, watching the deprevaty in the halls of Congress, have come to their breaking point.

A rag-tag group of misfits, from a diverse range of backgrounds. All with individual specialties that can be utilized at the most opportune time against an evil villain… hell-bent on destruction…

Cue- Cliche 70s Rock Anthem

I think we can move “Through the Looking Glass” over to the Reference section now.

JC

 

 

Into the Great Wide Open

We STAND at an extraordinary time! With SO many things fueling the passions of debate, and solutions needed so desperately but seeming so distant…

Consider the sacrifice our Founding Fathers had to make. In order to achieve Independence, to establish the Constitution, sacrifice and compromise was the only way.  And in THAT spirit they made their choice, their sacrifice, because they knew in their hearts… at their CORE, Mankind is ‘good’ and will find the way.

They sacrificed themselves. To achieve unanimity they sacrificed their “idealistic purity” to have the CHANCE for it to occur. Their opinion was in the minority then. The MAJORITY opinion in the late 18th Century, on this continent, was only CERTAIN MEN are created equal.

… but in their hearts the KNEW that WORDS MATTER. That IF it could stand the test of time, and survive the slowly waning majority opinion, someday the WORDS would be read and their TRUE MEANING would be recognized as LAW. So they were SILENT, sacrificing themselves, and allowed slavery in a system where ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

That price, paid in BLOOD, over FOUR CENTURIES, has inspired great movement. When measured as a whole, it looks like the end is within reach! We can ALMOST blow up the BALLOONS and light the CANDLES… and that has led to complacentcy. It has led to “perceived weakness”. It is seen as an opportunity, and now HERE we stand.

So… They were SILENT, sacrificing themselves, listening to WISE COUNSEL at home, saying ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL while OPPRESSING the voice of their domestic PARTNERS?

200 years ago, when the people who held the opinion that slavery was wrong were in the minority, the people who then believed WOMEN deserved EQUAL RIGHTS was EVEN SMALLER… and BOTH opinions were strongly SILENCED. I have learned, the POWER over others, alone, can be an intoxicant, and that “addiction” is a disturbing topic. Many of these “ills” are a matter of Learned Behavior. “THIS is the way it has been, so THIS is the way it is done– No questions!”

ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS. KNOWLEDGE will keep us ALL FREE.

Today, as we fight about accusations of Criminal Behavior, ask yourself “What does the LAW say?” EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW.

I am EXCITED! Because right NOW, we have within our reach, the TOOLS to make this HAPPEN. It has been subverted and disguised. Made to look foolish and idealistic… that it could never happen. “There’s just NO support, so you should stay SILENT. No one would believe you anyway.” IF ONLY we had LAW that could guide us to an answer… What would the Founding Fathers say?

ALL MANKIND IS CREATED EQUAL

The Bill of Rights ensured that ONE DAY, if the country could survive long enough, the MEANING of the WORDS would, once again, be recognized. That mistakes made in THEIR TIME, could be AMENDED, and in time, they knew, their ideological vision had ALREADY WON.

We must memorialize their efforts by demanding LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

 

Official Campaign Announcement: I STAND in Support of Equal Rights.

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCFjIFNn5I-D2JQ7C3cdRSqg

Please join me for my first YouTube LiveStream today shortly after 1:45 central/ 2:45 eastern where I will discuss the Electoral College and attemp to lay out a better understanding of what we must accomplish.

The LiveStream will be the first in a series with the goals of 1.) explaining why the Electoral College must be dissolved 2.) what should replace the current electoral system, and finally 3.) a look at the ‘cost vs benefit’ of each choice.

Since I have started this campaign, I have aligned myself with groups of women fighting to have the Equal Rights Amendment Ratified, ensuring women are Constitutionally Equal and afforded the same Rights as men. I have done a lot of talking, as LOUD as I can…

But I realize I have actually said VERY LITTLE. Because of fear of failure… Selfish. That fear has recently manifested into “writer’s block” and I can’t seem to shake it. It has been my intention from the begining to attempt a video/audio messaging component in my strategy, and selfish doubts have held me back.

I am not a hypocrite. I support ANY VICTIM of sexual assault and encourage them to SPEAK OUT to make sure it cannot happen again. And they should do so WITHOUT fear of retaliation. When THEY are ready. We must remember… Dr. Ford is in the Right. IF Judge Kavanaugh was right, he would DEMAND an investigation and Justice for his “good name”.

Only when we STAND UP and SPEAK OUT does this end. I challenge EVERYONE to do the same, and I would not ask someone to do something I am not willing to do myself… in order to form a more PERFECT UNION.

When you speak with TRUTH, you are in the RIGHT.

 

Walking My Path.

You don’t wake up one morning and say “You know what? I don’t believe in god anymore.” It is a process. It doesn’t just happen. When you have friends, or know a family member with a story. And then you ask questions… about your faith, and yourself, then the people you trust.

I accepted Jesus Christ as my lord and savior on January 17, 1991, the evening operation Desert Shield became operation Desert Storm.

I was 12.

My best friend, Eric, brought me to a youth group event at his church. They were convinced this was it, this was the beginning of the events that foretold the return of Jesus, and I had to be “saved” right now.

To me, that argument seemed pretty sound!

So I prayed with youth group leaders, and friends in the congregation. And by the end of the evening I asked Jesus to wash away all my sins and began the moral life of a Southern Baptist Christian.

That evening was not the first time I had gone with Eric and his parents to Vista Baptist Church. They were involved with the congregation. Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays most weeks, unless special events were happening. Eric’s mom was a devout ‘fire and brimstone’ Christian… and she LIVED it!

She was inspiring. The entire church was! The love and faith that pours from a Southern Baptist Church is beautiful! It moves people to stand and raise their arms to the sky. It fills the air with love and praise. Being in a service on Sunday with a good servant of the Lord, recounting the gospel’s word to hundreds of families of faith… you can’t help but sing!

The welcome feeling of love and faith was appealing to a kid from a single parent home. It was closer to the TV reality I grew up watching at home, than home REALLY was.

Eric and I participated in a religious version of Boy Scouts called AWANAS. We would receive awards based on bible memorization and understanding of different messages. Some of the kids wore the uniform and had badges and pins. It was quite involved if you really wanted to get into it. At that time, Eric and I were in Boy Scouts. It did not excite me to the same extent.

I did enjoy going to the Large music events. The organization that sprang up in the early 90s called “See You at the Pole”, where Christian youth would gather at the flagpoles before school and pray before classes started, also involved large concerts with Christian artists. I saw Carmen twice. I saw a Christian death metal band. A couple Christian boy bands. Sadly, I never got to see Amy Grant. I had her “Heart in Motion” album and I STILL know the words to the songs even though I haven’t owned that album since I was 16. One of the songs popped up on the music at Walgreen’s one day and all of a sudden I’m singing along with a B-side track off of an Amy Grant album, in the middle of the afternoon… in 2018.

I spent a lot of time going to events and being a good Christian Solider, spreading the word to as many as I could. I felt the word of Jesus and shared it with everyone. I felt a connection, and it showed. I brought my Aunt Marty to Jesus shortly after my grandfather died. I know it helped her through a difficult time in her life, as that period in time was difficult for all of us.

Less than two years later, grandma would be gone, too. It was comforting to believe there was purpose to the loss. That, even though it was not seen, there was a reason for the madness. And though we could not see it, in time, we would know… we just had to have faith.

As I got older, as is inevitable, I started asking questions. Science and math have always been my favorite subjects outside music, and a good scientist always asks questions! The answers were always the same… you just have to have faith.

I remember meeting a devotee of the Krishna Conciseness movement, and I asked him about their view of Jesus. He explained that they saw Jesus as a messenger. Jesus told the people, in that place, at that time, exactly what they needed to hear. The only way to salvation is like THIS. The kingdom of heaven lies through ME.

So, I bought a copy of the “Bhagavad Gita… as it is” with a full interpretation of the text. To help put it all into context. It was the first time I contemplated another religious text and not the bible, and it would not be the last.

Modern religions. Historical religions. Ancient religions. ALL carry similar stories. ALL teach LOVE for our fellow Man and PEACE comes from understanding. I would never claim to be a religious scholar, but every religious text I have read shares a compelling story about love. The WORDS they teach give COMFORT to families who grieve, they proclaim the ceremonies of Unions are CELEBRATIONS, and these texts anoint the new generation, when those Unions so decide. But as I grew older I could see the hypocrisy. The WORDS of Men seemed pure, but their DEEDS were pure evil.

… and it is NOT just to be thrown upon religious establishments. Unfortunately, it undermines EVERY aspect where power over weaker individuals creates profit. It just so happens this continues to this day.

I believe in the power of the SUBATOMIC. I believe in a balance of power. I believe that my actions HERE, can DIRECTLY effect someone on the OTHER SIDE of the planet… It’s spooky almost!

But I also believe that on a subatomic level, when we consider what each and every atom actually IS, that we are made up of mostly EMPTY SPACE, and yet I sit here and CONTEMPLATE… YES, don’t tell my ‘Atheist Brethren’, but some days I would call myself “agnostic”… but only SOME DAYS. Agnostic suggests someone who’s “on the fence”. No… pick a side, then let’s Move On!

Each religion, from historical to modern, shares stories that share common themes within common narratives, yet their origins are separated by thousands of years. Wise men recorded these stories to share knowledge with future generations. What elders learned in THEIR years that kept them alive, inspired by the WORD of the Creator, Universe.

As I have walked my path, seeking the answers, walking as FAR AWAY from religion as possible, I found… the answers lie within creation itself!

It can never be as brilliant as the LIGHT, it is only a spoken representation, The WORD of Universe… and We are ALL a part of it.

So, in other words- I will continue to walk my path. I continue to want to know ALL I can. I want to learn ALL I can from every religious text. I want to know the story so I can compair that with other stories, and find the commonality that lies within ALL our shared history!

And I want that opportunity to exist for ALL MANKIND, forever. Each person’s spiritual path is just that… THEIR OWN!

It is my belief, whenever someone decides to ask questions about their humanity, they should be guaranteed access to the answers… ALL OF THE ANSWERS. To make the best informed decisions… After all, on that day of judgement, there will be no one there to answer for your actions… but YOU. We all follow the path, together, the LIGHT showing us the way.

… but I am just an Athiest! I don’t have all the answers. Nor would I ever be so arrogant to claim that I did.

There’s only one way to find out for sure.

JC