Tag: knowledge

A Restoration.

I did not have clarity of thought when I was a young man. As a child, my father would constantly remind me, “Children are to be SEEN, not HEARD.” He would communicate silently that I was rambling on and on and on and on… by hand gesture. Pinching his fingers and thumb together, as if they were the mouth of a sock puppet, telling me without a word to SHUT UP!

I would usually get the hint. As I try to remember how I acted in my childhood, I remember so little. I don’t remember carrying on like that, but I DO remember the annoyance with it. The problems it would cause at school. The constant drifting within my own mind, consuming HOURS of my life.

In my teenaged years, I became angry and rebellious. Once, during a heated argument with my father, he told me, “Someday you’re gonna have a kid who’s JUST like you!”

Yeah… ha ha, OLD MAN… whatever.

 

Well, you KNOW… with OLD AGE comes WISDOM, I suppose!

I’ve learned EXACTLY how I was as a child by raising my youngest son, Garrett. He is exactly like me in almost every way, and where he and I differ, he is EXACTLY like his mother. She might NOT admit it… but she can be a bit STUBBORN, too.

Shortly after Garrett was born, I sought counseling as part of my recovery and treatment for Alcoholism. During these sessions, the therapist and I discovered… I have ADHD. He referred me to a psychologist, who confirmed what we suspected.

I have been on medication now for 10 years. IF I had been given the opportunity to be diagnosed BEFORE THEN… my life would have been MUCH different! The ability to FOCUS my thoughts… more than that, the ability to control my mind, and actually make the thoughts STOP! CLARITY of the mind… CONFIDENCE comes with CLARITY, two things I could not find as a teenager.

Recognizing the symptoms I had as a child, remembering the problems it would eventually cause in MY life, I realized at an early age that Garrett would need help, as well. Being able to make that decision for him at an early stage in his development has changed his trajectory. He will not have to face the same hardships that I did…

 

… isn’t that the WHOLE IDEA? To LEARN from mistakes. To take lessons from the PAST and reinforce them, to build a STRONGER FUTURE.

 

I began caring about my mental health at age 30. Since then, the steps I have taken to live a happy and productive life have opened up possibilities I would never have been able to TRY… all within the last 10 years. We’ve been working with Garrett to ensure his mental health and well-being since he was 8… I am jealous of what he will achieve by the age of 40!

 

I have ALWAYS challenged authority. As a parent, I’ve found myself questioning the accepted social dogmas of raising a child. “When I was YOUR AGE… that’s how WE were raised, so that’s how it’s done.”

My step-mother would make me eat scrambled eggs with chopped green peppers in them. I did not like them. I was NOT given a choice. Today, as an adult, I have developed an allergy to nightshade vegetables. Was her demand really necessary? At what point should a child be treated more as an individual, with the right to decide CLEARLY, that green peppers ARE disgusting?

Should we make demands of our children, ones that we didn’t like THEN and do not like NOW, simply because they were made OF US? Consider the amount of CHANGE that has happened in the last 20 years!

I told my boys about a time I had a flat tire on a highway in central Wisconsin, and had to walk damn near 10 MILES to reach a phone! They didn’t seem to fully understand what things were like… just a FEW YEARS AGO. On the other hand, I have to keep reminding them of the POWER they hold in their hands. Every time they ask me how to spell something, I answer, “G-O-O-G-L-E”. They take it for granted… they have the ability to answer ANY QUESTION, instantly! My god… You know, back in MY DAY…

To avoid mistakes in the future, we look to lessons from our PAST. With old age DOES come WISDOM, and from wisdom we gain UNDERSTANDING… and THAT is how we find PEACE, through COMPASSION.

 

Tonight, my thoughts are with the Iranian PEOPLE. My thoughts are of PEACE, and ALL that can come FROM it. My thoughts are of INQUIRY, not condemnation. My heart aches as we are moving BACKWARD, not striving together for a BETTER FUTURE… as we have DONE, so recently in our PAST.

As tensions grow, I want to extend a message of PEACE from THE PEOPLE of The United States of America. Not from the elite. Not from the elected. My voice comes from the suburban expanses of endless cul-du-sacs and asphalt city streets. It comes from the families who’ve put the ‘RED’ in our ‘RED, WHITE, and BLUE’… and may do so WILLINGLY again someday.

The American People fight for PEACE.

We curse the war and bless the PEACE that follows. We DEMAND our leaders pursue PEACE AT ALL COST, in order to avoid losing that, which has NO PRICE. There is a disconnect now in the United States between the WILL OF THE PEOPLE and the policies being practiced. The American People are beginning to UNDERSTAND this, and we are starting to ask the questions… “WHY?”

Questioning OURSELVES. To become stronger than we were YESTERDAY… and tomorrow, stronger STILL.

“We seek PEACE. WHY is it NOT SO?”

“But THEY attacked US?! WHY…?”

The American People STILL BELIEVE that ours IS the greatest system of governance ever envisioned… AS DO I. To continue working toward that more perfect union envisioned by our Founders, we must come to terms with the fact that our government has NOT been used AS INTENDED for many YEARS. The American People must remember WHO WE ARE, and for WHAT we STAND…

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The United States of America is the HOME of the REVOLUTIONARY! We give SHELTER to those who fight FOR JUST CAUSE. We do not turn away. We do NOT close our doors. We have walked the path of war. We have fought, side-by-side to defend the land of others, and laid to rest our soldiers, side-by-side with THEIRS… with hope that it would never happen again.

Our FOUNDING FATHERS were REVOLUTIONISTS, fighting in-kind for principles and ideals not yet BORN. Seeing how society WAS all around them, watching the depravity that comes alongside corruption, knowing the consequences that come when leadership becomes SELF-ABSORBED, dripping in-excess… They STOOD UP and BRAVELY questioned, “WHY?”

They stepped beyond themselves, and asked the questions that lead to only ONE CONCLUSION- we are ALL CREATED EQUAL.

Their theoretical form of government today, is OUR reality. BORN OF imperfect men, BORN-OUT by our SHARED HISTORY. A common goal REALIZED… or rather, one that has been entrusted to US, to complete.

REVOLUTIONS often happen at the POINT OF A SWORD, through the SITE on a barrel…

 

PEACE only comes once we’ve PUT THOSE WEAPONS DOWN.

 

Wars have been fought to promote the idea of PEACE. PEACE has been SHATTERED under the guise of an avoidance of war. And EVERY TIME… we KNOW what will happen. We KNOW who will fall VICTIM, and we KNOW who will be to blame.

Who we ARE, we CANNOT change. Who we will BECOME is always OUR CHOICE! Do we wish to be DEFINED by the flaws of our PAST? Should we stand against evolution or change, simply to enshrine the PAST… chaining it to our FUTURE? Let us REMEMBER what once WAS and dedicate it, with HONOR, to a RESTORATION OF JUSTICE today. If PEACE IS WHAT WE DESIRE… we should not start a war to PROVE IT.

When we commit to the pursuit of PEACE with the SAME LEVEL of PASSION we commit to the pursuit of JUSTICE… we will SEE BOTH.

I am PROUD to live in the country that helps DEFINE the word REVOLUTION.

JC

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where Do YOU Stand?

What is OUR story? What is it that WE will create? I’ve been searching for an inspiring message from Historical figures, listening to Martin Luther King Jr, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy, and some are so timeless, it is as if they were written this morning.

But still… I’m STILL left wanting…

I am a younger man. I have an abbreviated frame of reference, but it is of the SAME events that my grandparents have witnessed, and that somehow makes my conclusions different. Or somehow makes their conclusions more just. I believe the worst part of getting older, especially now in our Digital Social Society, is the development of an INABILITY to forget.

A five year old child tries to steal a cookie from the cookie jar, the parent sternly says “No!”, and the child snaps his hand back startled, with concern for having upset their parent… but with a smile, the child turns and chases a cat.

We have Leaders today who bear grudges born by their Fathers. We have Leaders today who do not forget the grudges held by the Founders of this Nation. Today, in the Executive Branch of the United States Government, Leaders who bear the grudges born by men, alive at the time of Jesus, hold public office.

And these are their fights, not OURS. The fights and arguments of dead men rule over Our lives ON LINE. Now, if THAT doesn’t sound upside down…

What makes Our system of governance ‘good’ and ‘just’ is the promise of a second chance, rehabilitation, “… time served.” When a man is sentenced to life in prison, and dies incarcerated, his sentence has been served. He can be interred as a free American, no less than you or I.

And be it true or not is just an opinion, but Americans MUST remember this magnificent system of justice is what EVERY human being seeks to be a part of. The VAST majority of people who dream of escaping oppression based on ancient beliefs, or enslavement based on gender. Our Constitution stands for hope for ALL people who still harbor some hope, that one day, THAT Liberty can become THEIRS.

Idealistic… maybe. UNTRUE….?

The system set by the Vision of Free Men can be thought of as the first successful computer program. All programs, in essence, are ‘ones and zeros’, ‘on or off’, question gates for an electron answering ‘yes or no’, millions per second, running through a predesigned systematic layout, to produce a desired end product.

Predesigned, systematic, to produce an end product.

What do WE want that end product to be? WHAT should that end product look like? And for whom has this product been created?

FOR ALL MANKIND.

We celebrate our Constitution, NOT because it is OURS, but because it is a document worthy of Celebration! And it is only successful because of the ability to Amend the Laws, CORRECT problems, find bugs in the lines of code. It IS difficult, it is tedious, but it IS POSSIBLE, and it MUST be done.

In this new digital landscape we traverse daily, to navigate successfully means we allow ourselves to become part of a machine. To buy movie tickets, to look at cat videos. YOU allow it. And as with OUR Constitutional Government, so too with our digitally projected self-image-

We MUST take PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY.

We must not forget misdeeds and condemn them to the PAST, instead we must understand exactly how and why an injustice is allowed. The ‘Origin Story’ of the outcast devils that are STILL haunting the halls of Congress. THAT is how we prepare for the future.

By understanding the root of our ills. By OPENING UP and demanding an end to what is CLEARLY NOT how Our system should be. When the sign on the door says “Equal Justice Under Law”, we can NO LONGER ALLOW ‘selective service’. America must BECOME that ideological entity NOW, because we most certainly are not ANYWHERE near it today. And, if we continue down it, history stands as guide to show you how far this path really leads…

So OUR Story begins HERE. Do we continue to fight, or do we decide to conclude the discussion, and ratify these decisions?

If we pause, and examine what fuels our passions, what makes us ‘wild’, the root of the problem is SOLVABLE! It CAN be solved, and it SHOULD be solved. Because the VERY ABILITY to have a debate like this is under attack as I write these words. To characterize it as a “civil war” is a false narrative. It is as if our collective ant farm is being shaken from the outside.

… put down your sugar cube, we have to defend the Hill.

With Liberty and justice for ALL is NOT a reality show tag line. It is a blood-oath sworn, that we are called upon again to STAND UP for. Not with GUN IN HAND… with HEART AND MIND. We have envisioned, for more than 200 years, what we want for our monument, to stand through time immemorial. It is Our Constitution.

So True it shall stand, so flexible no earthquake shall bring it down.

It is to these ideals, Liberty and Equality we should ALL aspire. And it is to the same, we should STAND for and pledge our lives, or take a knee and show HUMILITY for,

The ideals of Equal Justice Under Law.

JC

“Where Were You When…”

 

There are certain movies that, as soon as the first image comes to life on the screen, you know with out a doubt, what year you are looking at. Maybe it’s the type of car that passes in the opening credits. Sometimes it’s the clothing the actors are wearing. It strikes the mood in an intended way, as directed by the script. Usually the time of occurrence is integral to the plot.

But certain movies are unavoidably tied to a specific time period due to iconic events. As soon as that is flashed on the screen, no matter when the movie is trying to portray, we automatically know this movie is history.

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As soon as you see this, you know a specific time period, specific circumstances. If you lived it, songs on the radio that summer, smells from events that took place, people you haven’t seen since then. Feelings that you felt from seeing such an amazing sight.

I hope that historians will look back at our current situation and see this image of Lady Liberty under repair, as how they describe the nation. It is a fitting metaphor for our society right now.

After hundreds of years of storms, hurricanes, earthquakes… dirt and damage due to neglect has left a noticeable mark on Liberty! The torch does not shine quite as bright as it did not so long ago. She STILL stands, but no one seems to notice the beauty as much as they used to. “Yeah, yeah… we know. What else ya’ got?”

I suppose that’s the problem with such a beautiful thing. You take for granted the idea that this powerful force stands with you everyday and you don’t stop and recognize just how wonderful it is. So many long to see her and make a point of visiting, just once, and then hope one day, they can make this place their home, too. To Us, it’s as reflexive as inhaling or blinking.

Until one day… there’s talk of changing it. What?!! There’s nothing wrong with her? Look… Keep your hands off my Lady! She’s the best thing in the world and ain’t you, or NO ONE gonna change that! You hear me?!!

Then the scaffolding goes up…

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And now, that beautiful lady we didn’t want to leave, has faded from view. It’s temporary they say, but it hurts none the less. It forces us to remember just how precious having her around really is. But even more than that, it awakens a love deep within us we didn’t know was there. Seeing things in a way not seen in hundreds of years…

My God, when she’s gone, how we ache! And the comfort, and safe feeling… I wish EVERYONE could feel that way, forever. The gift of universal love and acceptance shining brightly, we must recommit to it and reaffirm just how wonderful she is!

Anyone can tell you, after so many years, every relationship has to be worked on. It cannot just sit and “be”. As we all grow, so too must our connections to others. Things get rough from time to time, and sometimes, when something separates people, it can rekindle a passion long forgotten. It will force you to question what is the priority and what is the obstacle. Having that destination in mind, of returning to that warm embrace, clarifies and emboldens.

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And both understand, that this commitment is only an optional thing. We knew going into this, that we could change it at ANY POINT. The majority of relationships before ours have been dissolved, and odds are stacked against us. Some days its hard to see the common ground we want to achieve. Some days we think maybe there is greener grass. But there is something to be said for the comfort we get from being in a relationship with Liberty. The ability to chose, to bend, to grow. The freedom to gain scars from failed endeavors, and know a place to heal awaits us in times of trouble.

As disconnected as we sometimes feel we are, when we see her, we remember why we get out of bed some mornings. Because we gotta try and get it right… if not for me, then for Her.

Keep your head UP.

JC

 

The Breaking of a Moral Compass

During WWII, Americans were called upon to aid in the war effort. By sacrificing here, “The boys in Europe won’t go without!” When asked “What are YOU doing to fight the enemy?”, average Americans could point to their ‘Victory Garden’. That helps keep our boys fed ‘over there’! It made the war’s end seem achievable with a point of unity. Together, we can see this through. No doubt that helped win the war.

After September 11, 2001, the public ached from the sudden loss, just as at the beginning of WWII. As our anger and grief turned to concern and support for our troops in a new war, average Americans again asked what they could do to contribute to the effort, to bring closure to such a deep wound.

George W. Bush told us that we should continue our lives like before. Go buy a car. Spend money. The goal of the enemy is to disrupt your daily life. In essence… Go shopping or the Terrorists win.

THAT has improperly closed a MASSIVE wound in the Nation’s collective mindset. By the account of most observers, GWB had cute ‘mannerisms’, and that the go shopping statement was a kinda joke…. ha ha. But average Americans did as told. Having faith in the system of justice and our moral high ground seeming to be on secure footing, we did just as he asked, hoping that THIS might sooner bring an end to the pain we felt from that day’s loss.

A seemingly unending war on an idea. An idea being fought with ignorance. In order to secure ourselves, we must push away those who would only seek to help and strengthen your position. In order to fight this anger and hate, we must unite in anger and hate toward our enemy- An idea that fear and anger are the winners in a discussion of ideas.

… are you confused yet?

The enemies of Our Country are fighting this battle RIGHT NOW. The Russian attempt to influence US Elections was successful. They INFLUENCED Americans, motivated people to ACTION here in the USA, to go to demonstrations, and executed it all from OUTSIDE the US.

This was Round #1. They are ONLY getting started.

Most of us aren’t even AWARE there is a war going on.

To be Blunt for a moment…. All Americans consume a steady diet of news from an obviously deeply interested corporate media titan of one type or another. It is a fact, even if you were not fully aware of it. And no matter who you are, or what color your favorite Kool-Aid is, we ALL recognize ONE THING:

ALL of them are full of it.

Weather you consume yours with ‘red sauce’, or you prefer ‘blue sauce’, in the middle, under all that ‘sauce’… is still a big pile of it. But we are still not fully aware of the magnitude of the battle.

The problem is our bullshit is being compromised.

PROPOGANDA designed to invoke a feeling. Our enemy knows what makes us ‘tick’, and can be sneaky. There is a BATTLE going on on your smart phone, in your email box, and even on your Facebook page. You are in the crossfire everyday you participate in the virtual world. Every American, and every citizen on this planet who values free speech, is in a war.

“What can Americans do to help win the war? We Want to Help!”

This Battle will require us all to secure our individual identities. To make ourselves digitally secure. It also requires EVERYONE of us to become computer literate. To become masters of our own identities. Just as one would with a social security number and driver’s license, etc. Your virtual digital identity is even more important. So, the “Call to Arms” for the citizens of THIS moment is a simple one. The MOST EFFECTIVE WEAPON against the bad actor with bad intentions is still the same-

“Arm yourselves with KNOWLEDGE.”

Keep your head UP!!

JC