Be Your Own Savior

There are many things I would love to write about. I don't always have the right to choose to share them. Many issues I face or help others address are not the kind of issues I can share.

A few weeks ago I got a Craigslist follow up call, I was amused thinking it was for a foot modeling gig for private parties. Would my feet measure up? Would they be the Foot Fetishist Dream? Would  I be able to act like I cared?

Instead it was an interest meeting for brokering. It was eye opening. Company has an excellent reputation and is focused on helping people plan for retirement and set up benefits into plans that accrue interest in a consistent manner without risk of giant, catastrophic loss. Talking with Sammy about the company, income potential, and what brings people into working as brokers we covered heavy topics.

Several of the guys left college admissions. It was about getting people to choose to take on debt with high risk and minimal value. They left. They left high level management positions.  Sammy looked at me, asked why I would consider becoming part of their team. It was obvious I was not profit driven. I was the wild card in the room, great socialization skills but little concern for money.

I thought about it. I would do it to help others. I would do it to be able to fund projects and work that I believe in. I would mostly give it away.

I think about that and look around. I see a world full of people caught up in their own worlds. I spend a lot of time thinking of what I can do or say to help them step out of the metaphorical cave and into the light. Donald Trump has taught me one thing of merit. He's taught me that people aren't choosing to be as progressive as they could be. Many are choosing old and unhealthy behaviors and indulgence. It's easy to complain and rip apart Those People, when you are not one of them and you're sitting comfortably surrounded by amenities.

Some days I wonder if we need reminders of mortality and disaster to shake people into caring for each other. Other days I wish I didn't know it to be true.

Why choose selfishness? The dis-ease and unrest in our society comes from our selfishness and insecurities. Fear of jealousy, fear of change, fear of competition, fear of commitment, fear of pain or discomfort, fear that others will know our weaknesses, fear of social reprisal or ridicule. I deserve. I want. I should have. Rationalizing why it's okay just because you don't have to see the person who's picking up the tab for your excess. Record profits are great when you don't have to stare the family struggling to pay their bills signing up for assistance because the parents wages are set low to keep profits high.

We like sports. Teams to cheer for. Shit talk to dish out. Grudges and posturing to do. Its the same with religions, politics, and social status. I don't buy into it. I save my money and time for the quiet desperation I see in others faces. I save it to help them help themselves. I give them the tools when I can so they can be their own Saviors. I quietly offer them the idea that their lives are up to them, their choices are not society's to make. There are no rules they need to live by if they are willing to accept the consequences of their actions. With this knowledge comes freedom. You can drive a hundred miles an hour if you are willing to pay the price and potentially lose your life. You can also choose to start a business to empower people to help each other and to offer them tools to save themselves.

Sammy offered me the tools to be my own Savior potentially. It is in my hands whether I slide into old excuses or whether I progress around walls that have blocked me in the past. I am the enemy I face off against.

Danny says to me "You have to learn to put yourself first." It hurts to see people choosing hate, aggression, ignorance. It hurts.

What would make you happy? What do you want?
Tough questions. I want freedom. I want to keep moving, traveling, and growing. I want to see other people choosing the same. I want to see us start fighting a war against corruption, greed and corporate control. Society disappoints. It snags our focus with outraging soundbites and quotes. It seduces us with the illusion of awareness as actual change. It manipulates us through plausible arguments. It entices us with money.

Work harder. It is the only way to get to your true god. Money. Show me one church in this world that isn't operating with money. One that gives away every dime it gets. One that doesn't care if it even gets a single dime. Wait, there is one. It's the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Alright, other than an Atheist Church, any?

The more money you make, the quicker it's gone and the more personalities shift to keep it away from everyone else unless it's done in a way that makes it come back. Tax write offs are often mistaken as generosity.

And those people that own the governments and political machines, do you think they work harder?
Many were ruthless in business, earning their money from taking advantage of other people or destroying other people. They aren't working hard. They aren't working at much other than to keep the ridiculous excess they have. They spend a lot of money to convince you to go into debt or to work harder for them. They pay the politicians on  both sides just to give you sport to cheer for and rail against.

You change the world so much through social media gripes that nothing changes. You give away all of your privacy. Your desires, dislikes, all up for grabs. They are being analyzed to use for company profits. Not for your ease or benefit. That is not what capitalism or corporatism is about.

 Perhaps more people need to learn to put society first.
In a world where we value each other as much as ourselves, we would choose to take the time to settle differences. We would attend to each other's well being without worry of cost. We would share knowledge and resources as needed.

It is not a perfect world. Our society was shaped by cutthroat profiteers. We allow red collar criminals to make fortunes as we kill each other in wars that are really about money so they can be richer.

That money could be providing for everyone. Instead it is gouging our world, ripping it apart.

I can't change anyone but myself. I realize there is nowhere in this world that I can save myself from encountering greed, bullying, apathy, and shallow preoccupations except within my own heart.

I tell you. Be your own Savior.
It is up to you to choose what sort of human you are. Religions have tried for hundreds of years to keep people from choosing to destroy each other or to justify the destruction of others. Time to change unhealthy patterns. Support religious groups and leaders who live as they teach, who encourage healthy behaviors and tolerance instead of bigotry and violence.

Don't tell me you follow an amazing spiritual advisor who tells you to give away while they live in a mansion and swim in millions. That is not feeding the poor. That is not helping the needy. That is not using their resources for positive change. It's called profiteering.
Remember. In one hundred years, no one will really remember you at all. Do you remember the names of your ancestors, their stories?

What sort of life do you choose to live? What excuses are you using to keep following a path of powerlessness?

There's a phrase I love. Pick your own battles. A better one. Pick your own peace. Make your own peace.

There are many stories I cannot share. They are an ocean I swim with undertow I cannot describe but feel pulling at me relentlessly. I let go. I do what I can do. I offer what I can. I let go to survive.

You can waste a lifetime vomiting pointless opinion on social feeds. You can choose to spend that time changing your path. Your choice. Are you a hamster or a human? The wheel is waiting but so is the world.

#Seeyouinthestreets

Being Human Means Choices

This weekend is an exciting start of a wonderful festival I've been looking forward to entertaining at.

Sitting in a room full of monitors holding my significant other's hand, everything I'm hearing is "you can't go now." Reason says you have to, work adds money we need to our coffers. We support each other. The heart says hell no. Instead of letting either decide, while these angels and devils argued I asked my boss for advice and let her in on what's going on. Choices. Stay, go or attempt the herculean task of trying to commute 900 miles for the first few weeks of a show.

Fear paced the floor with me and a thousand negative what ifs. It didn't take long for her to respond. Her response brought tears to my eyes and relief to my heart. Stay. Take care of your significant other, come when everything is resolved. I can't put my words together well enough to say how grateful I am.
So many friends, so much love. I'm looking forward to the day this health situation is resolved, I'm looking forward to getting out my paints, putting on my hat and sharing out the profound love in my heart, paying it forward in magic moments at Bristol.

I read a post on Facebook that asked "Would you give up a thousand dollars to stay with someone you love if they developed a serious health concern?"

Honestly. I would give up more than that. Society pushes and pressures, insinuating that everything falls apart without money. Allegedly primitive cultures do not allow money to be the determining factor in support or life choices, so why should we? I can't put a dollar value on being able to feel the warm, live flesh of my significant other or to hear his voice calm and happy. I refuse to. I will do whatever jobs I need to to get by, whether it's gardening, cleaning, cooking, counseling, tutoring, or entertaining. For the next couple of weeks I'm focusing on my partner's health. Then I'm looking forward to entertaining and sharing the magic and love that surround me from friends across the country.

If you aren't happy, look at the choices you make. Is the duty or social pressure to have money or possessions driving you away from your happiness? Are you struggling to get money for happiness? Did you notice yet, money doesn't lead to happiness- it leads to more stress, conflict, and more wants- it is the most harmful drug ever invented that you don't snort, inject, inhale or swallow. Just the sight of it has led people to fight and kill. We give it more power than any God- every church bows to it, using it for influence and thriving on it.

Perhaps the primitives aren't so primitive?

It's all in how we rationalize it. It's all in our choices and our priorities. Listen to your heart more and your wallet less. Take time today to just appreciate life, friends, flowers, music, stories, art and the sunset. When was the last time you gazed at the stars?

Police Priorities Are Absurd… And Why!

Before you get upset, I support the men and women in Blue. They have a difficult job, sometimes there is no good possible outcome to a bad situation. The Police help keep communities safe. They diffuse dangerous situations. They die in the line of duty. They save lives. Bad ones give the good ones a terrible name by taking bribes, instigating conflict, brutality, unlawful seizure and theft of goods/money, and harming the people they are sworn to protect. I hate the bad ones. I love the good ones.

As long as there have been Police, there have been issues with corruption and misuse of power. Did you know that the position of Coroner was originally created by an English King to investigate deaths on his roads? He instituted the position to have the Office of the Coroner investigate deaths to make certain that the Sheriffs were not the ones killing and robbing his citizens as they traveled. The Coroner was not working for or with the Police. Think about that. This was hundreds of years ago.

Conflicts and protests bloom across the country due to Police Officers using lethal force against unarmed citizens. Illegal use of chokeholds, shooting children with toy guns, shooting. Money is being thrown at buying body cameras and cameras to mount in Police cars. I support this idea. It protects the Officer as well as the citizen. It could help to reduce misunderstandings in the aftermath of misjudged situations instigated by both sides. I read the local paper and it tells me how Modesto California is about to spend over $100 thousand dollars to mount a camera on a plane to look for drug deals. Locals here complain in the Opinion section of the paper that 'people should just trust the Cops and be nice, do whatever they ask'. They apparently have not read any national papers this year.

Earlier this year there was a HUGE article about Police corruption. Police officers stealing MILLIONS of dollars from citizens who were not charged or convicted of wrongdoing. They were caught misusing a search and seizure law, claiming they thought the money was being carried to purchase illegal substances. The people did not have drugs or drug paraphernalia-there was no cause to search and no reason to seize-EXCEPT THAT the people were carrying cash. Next time you get cash to travel with, to go Christmas shopping with or to do your purchases at an outdoor festival; consider that you could be pulled over and have your money seized! Consider that over THREE million dollars was taken from law abiding citizens this way. Many pursued legal action and learned that the officers NEVER filed the report. Straight up theft of monies seized. How many people did not pursue legal action? Departments are rewarded bonuses in their budgets if they seize money. The more they seize, the more the departments are rewarded-with no relation to drugs at all; just grabbing money using a drug law as an excuse. Remember why a monarch created Coroner? In our modern day, the Coroner and the CSI folks do great work; they are independent from the Police but they socialize and are friends. Can you really, truly say you are going to be non-biased when you are fraternize and you work together on cases? I hope the Opinionated local gets a taste of corruption when he's headed on a cruise with his family. Won't it be ironic when he is stopped for talking on his cellphone while driving, has several thousand dollars seized 'for drugs' that he wasn't going to buy? It sounds absurd, but it is happening. It is not the dealers getting stopped or having money seized, it is your neighbors-people who may never have done anything wilder than have a glass of wine in a restaurant.

It gets better. If you doubt me on this one I will refer you to the USA Today FRONT page article from the weekend edition, December 19-21, 2014. Violent criminals are not being extradited. Police departments have declined to pay for the extradition of over 79,000 violent criminals if they have passed state lines. They are NOT telling victims or their communities. It has been found out as the departments have to file about wanted criminals in an FBI database. They are asked about extradition and in 2014, many departments changed status on what added up to 79,000 plus cases across the country. The FBI cannot change that status. The FBI can't force them to extradite even if the crime committed was heinous. Rape, armed robbery, assault, and murder. Not jaywalking or check bouncing, not smoking a joint. Hard core criminals hopping a bus across the state line. If you have not grasped the absurdity of this yet let me make it clear:

John Doe puts a gun to person X head in California. John Doe drives to Washington. He gets caught by Police there, they find "No extradition" on his warrant. THEY RELEASE HIM. No jail, no court, nothing. John Doe shoots person Y in the head in Washington. Washington arrests him on this charge or John Doe dances into his front seat, puts on his seatbelt and boogies into Wyoming. No extradition, just a frustrated department at the receiving end that REALLY wants to put the asshole away but instead there are the words "NO EXTRADITION." You could change gun to the head to rape or assault. Same deal. Victims not being told. Communities not told, just a quiet change of status in an FBI computer. The FBI is not thrilled, but they have no jurisdiction. One department in Massachusetts changed status on about a dozen people wanted for committing sexual assaults. They claimed a missing victim, but USA Today found the victim still lived at the address on the report; so much for that weak excuse.

Why are they doing this? Apparently, Extradition is expensive and the departments do not have the money to pay for them. Yet they have the money to spend at least $100,000 on a camera for a plane to look for drugs; not extradite violent known criminals but 'maybe' find some potential criminals-question are you actually going to charge them or are they going to get a 'no extradition' tag too once you might find them? Departments are spending a LOT of money buying surplus tanks, expensive riot gear and military guns and ammunition. I would think the first priority in Police Department budgets would and should be: capturing violent criminals, keeping them locked up once caught, investigating crimes. I would not think the priority would be to gear up like pseudo-military units with a hyper focus and skewed priority of the 'War against Drugs.'

Which if you haven't realized the absurdity of that let me simplify one more time.
There are cartels in South America and Mexico. The Cartels transport illegal drugs, they grow them, they terrorize people living in the South America and Mexico. They murder people and commit other horrible violent crimes against humanity in general. We as a public support and endorse the Cartels. You say "No we don't!" YES, we do. When we label any drug "ILLEGAL." We cease to monitor it, we do not test it, we do not tax it. WE create a market for it where the substance is sold at exorbitant prices without any quality control, without anyone supervising or monitoring its use for safety and prevention of abuse. The black market sells these drugs at higher than average price. People become criminals to produce the product because it pays higher than other crops or legal jobs. People become criminals transporting it across borders-because the risk pays highly. The more Police out to catch it, the more risk there is-the higher the price at market. More laws and lower tolerance raise the cost to bring it to sell thus everyone involved gets richer. The Cartels have more bullets to kill farmers with, more money to bribe corrupt government and police officials with. The Cartels control the majority of illegal drug sales and trafficking in the United States. Anyone buying a drug illegally, anyone paying taxes to increase Police actions in the drug war: they are both paying to endorse the Cartels and to help them make more money. STOP! We can destroy their power.

We can do it in a way that boosts our economy. We can do it in a way that refocuses Police budgets on enforcing the laws and catching the violent criminals. Remember the violent criminals as they laugh driving from state to state chaotically leaving a path of broken people behind them? Nothing to do with drugs. Rapists. Murderers. Are you so afraid some guy down the street might smoke a joint to fall asleep without nightmares from when he was in Vietnam? Wise up! Does that guy really have to be forced to take a pharmaceutical drug with toxic side effects on his body because you bought into the hype against cannabis?

That is another crock. Did you know that the DuPont family makes paper, back in the Great Depression they struggled to make money. Hemp was taking off, it was cheaper to use and made better quality paper. The DuPonts spent a fortune to manipulate law makers. They used their connections and money to fuel the "Reefer Madness" campaign. Hemp and cannabis were made illegal. Books were made out of paper. The DuPonts more than made their money back. All you got was crappy books and a country full of criminals, a Cartel you are paying to support. Well done. Way to research your choices people-people were so focused on the depression and bought into the media hype that they did not bother looking past the cannabis fear to see who was manipulating them, who was going to make the money off their choice. Don't believe me, consult Wikipedia- do a Google search. It is all at the tips of your fingers.

Legalizing drugs allows the government to regulate them, prescription process monitors their use and a legally available drug does not have much value on the black market. No one gets killed over a drug that can be legally obtained. Quality and dosage can be monitored in legal drugs. Dealing with a DWI is far less dangerous than dealing with someone with an illegal pound of any drug in their car. If the drug was not illegal, conflict would stop being a possibility. Lives saved, risk reduced and the less the risk the less money in production and transport. If it is not illegal the costs drop. The money dries up. The Cartels can't function without an income. They would turn on themselves. If there is no money to be made in them, people stop joining them out of desperation to make money or feel safe because they are a part of one. Legalizing doesn't mean everyone is going to run right out and turn into addicts. Legalizing means that drugs would be available with prescriptions and monitored by a physician; the potential for self harm or misuse is reduced.

We determine the priorities of our Police Departments. We approve whether they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on spy cameras. We vote for the laws they enforce. We encourage them or denounce them-but we are the ones who determine how they do their jobs. If we do not like who works for the different departments then it is up to us to pressure them to change how they hire and how they train officers. We are responsible for changing the laws to stop illegal seizure. We are the ones who make it absurd. They have the difficult job of enforcing our hypocritical choices. Fight the war on drugs and keep endorsing it while you support enforcement of law regardless of ethnicity or your sitting there thinking racist thoughts (It was one or the other). Could we get priorities straight and EXTRADITE violent criminals?