The Back and Forth of Infidelia

Infidel (according to dictionary.com)

–noun

1.	Religion.           a. a person who does not accept a particular faith, esp. Christianity. b. (in Christian use) an unbeliever, esp. a Muslim. c. (in Muslim use) a person who does not accept the Islamic faith; kaffir.

2.	a person who has no religious faith; unbeliever.

3.	(loosely) a person who disbelieves or doubts a particular theory, belief, creed, etc.; skeptic.

Generally, I use definition number three, often jokingly, in addressing my doubting and befuddled friends.  Due to the current social climate of the world and particularly this country, people attach the word to what we believe Muslims call non-muslims.  pbuh.  I think they call us "whores", "thugs" "crackers" and "milquetoasts" in private conversation.  I can't prove it, but that's what I think.  

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Then again, some of them don't call those not of the faith anything.  I've been told, and tend to believe it possible, that some mind their own business and do not seek world or community domination.   Like many subsets of society, organizations and self proclaimed leaders who suggest they speak for all of that subset cause others to believe the whole bunch are of one mind.  I've not seen as much evidence to counter the tone of the apparent leaders, but I don't get out much.

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It's another word which has been hijacked.  This time it is a case of hijacking based upon religion rather than sexual proclivity.  Rainbows, the words, "queer", "gay", etc., have been restricted to meanings that have nothing to do with their original intent.  

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Mostly I'm upset that rainbows are now a flag relating to sexual politics rather than the old deal in which they were just considered pretty and, to many, a symbol of hope.  If I paint a rainbow on my mailbox it would be interpreted as a statement to the effect that women need not apply.   I won't be painting my mailbox any time soon.

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Considering case #3 in the definition, I'd apply it to most of those who have power over our lives and money these days.  They do not believe in the ideas of personal freedom, private property, right to free speech and dissent, or choice in too many categories to list.  Infidels!!!

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What leads to that word being most fitting is the fact that they are sworn to protect the laws which were designed to limit their ability to interfere with the peaceful conduct of free people.   The fact that slavery ever co-existed with this document is probably a greater factor in modern day reluctance to consider and adhere to the principles it represented than any other single thing.  

It is the number one mistake ever made in the USA.  That resulted in a large segment of the population believing it was entirely about class domination and that the law meant nothing, means nothing. 

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That is truly a tragedy.  The very groups who stand to benefit the most should these principles ever be enforced are used to keep those in power whose goal is apparently nothing but more power--no matter who suffers.   The result of this bizarre game has been to isolate and destroy the stability of large groups within the country.  All in the name of doing just the opposite.  The insanity on both sides of the debates along the way is sickening.  

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Now we have a country whose citizens are, in the main, completely ignorant of the structure of their government, and the reasons for that structure.  This allows gross abuse of power, distribution of tax money to specific private concerns in almost every industry, and subtle punishment of those who seek to build enterprises which are outside of the tax supported world which would employ people and provide support for themselves and others.

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We live in a country in which anonymous acts of charity and goodwill are discouraged because, unless you report your contributions to the government, and those contributions fit their approval, you do not receive the reward of a tax break.  I don't think you get a break for taking an addict into your home, helping him straighten out and get on his feet.  

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Not that it is their business to begin with,  It is because the tax system is an oppressive, tyrannical mistake.  An aberration.  There are less intrusive ways, and that is precisely the reason you do not hear republicans or democrats insisting on changing that system.  It is a threat to both groups.  Few elected officials of either party are really willing to let go of that kind of public control.  

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That is the second biggest mistake in our history; the income tax.  They had to wrangle a change to the constitution to pull it off.  There is no way we were to settle into freedom for all after that.  Just a matter of time to get where we now are.  A bill actually passed the house which would fine and possibly jail a person who does not buy a product specified by government?  

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Of course if you can't afford it, according to their assessment of whether you can or not, you can surrender yourself to their care and get it done for you.  That means you then must seek their approval for your financial choices, and approach your health care as specified by Big Brother.  Some of us do not welcome this sort of oversight.

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I'd rather just keep a signed form on my person stating that if I can't pay for whatever care I need then go ahead and leave me to die.  People are suckered into thinking that those who now get free treatment from hospitals would somehow cease to be a burden if they sign up for government assistance in this matter.  The only difference I see is that several more middlemen and agencies wil get paid from the taxpaying private citizen world than is now happening.

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It occurred to me that if the insurance companies wanted this new system, it behooves them to pretend they don't and to play the fall guy.  How can they loose if everyone is required to buy their product and if competition is still limited to a set number which varies from state to state?   I believe this is a multi-faceted scam.  Unfortunately I do not know where, if anywhere, I can go to obtain a copy of this bill in order to catalog all the irrelevant earmarks which are merely bribes to various entities.

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The entire thing, I suspect, is a big money making and power grabbing venture which has little to do with compassion or any of the hooks they have put up as justification.   We are like the rabbit entering the box, which is propped up by a stick, to get the juicy carrot.   That string is about to be pulled and the box come down to trap us big time.  It will be safe and secure, and less hazardous than ranging out in the field according to our whims.   

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It would not bother me as much if that buy or die part was not in there.  People make calculated choices which often involve a degree of risk.  Turn left on a busy street.  Life is that way.  It may be that one's priorities compel him to do X before he feels good about doing Y.   For the alleged aggregate to so closely dictate the conduct of the individual's life is totally at odds with any idea of all being equal under the law and free to choose their own path.  It is no improvement over the dreaded feudal system or class preference/slave states of ancient history.

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We have a strange mix of purely government generated feudal tactics, and corporations who pretend to be private companies, but due to the partnership with government and the bastardization of the union concept, are mini fiefdoms.  Infidels, all.  It is borne of a lack of belief in the sanctity of life, the birthright of every person to be his own director; to have the right to do as he can to build his life as he/she chooses. 

In the name of these ideals we've seen more regulation, yet the ideals have been lost in the process as the opposite is the result.  

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Still, people demand more of the same thinking this time it will be better.  It is complicated, for sure, and few things can be done overnight without bad result.  First move, go to a fair tax, or just abolish the IRS and worry about it later.  Second, limit terms for the House and senate to three for the house and two for the senate.  Require sitting out another three terms before they can hold a seat in either branch of the legislature again.

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These family dynasties and the existence of career politicians has robbed us of our civilization and our freedom.  Not to mention our wealth.  Absolutely strip those positions of the perks like health insurance, pensions, personal cars and other transportation not germane to the conduct of the job  paid by citizens.  Let them fund their own transportation for the most part.  

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Infidels when it comes to the belief that the natural, best condition of mankind is to be free.  Obviously that doesn't mean free to curb the rights of his neighbors.  People seem to have trouble understanding how that can be done, and don't want it.  It is more fun to support laws and measures which interfere in the business and conduct of others.  Isn't it great to make that smoker's habit your business, even if it is not actually affecting you?  Or to cast judgement on the possible gas milage your neighbor's car achieves?  Or to feel it best to require restaurants to be responsible for how fat people are, rather than leave it to the choice of the customer to eat their food or not?   

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No way to give up that fun, because we are infidels when it comes to the principles which led millions of people who believed in unalienable rights to spill their blood throughout history.  That's the spelling in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence.

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Personally, I think the writers if the Constitution compromised too much with big government proponents, but compared to where it went by the onset of the 20th century, they were damned near anarchists.  

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It is interesting that no continent has ever housed a significant and sizable, truly free state.   Cuba was the last place in our neck of the woods to abolish slavery.  Now they are all slaves to "The Revolution", much to the delight of Fidel, Sean Penn, and many misguided souls.  Fidel was supposed to bring fidelity to the disregarded constitution that island had adopted in the 1940's.  Fidel, the infidel. Clever. Parts of Africa and Asia have yet to stamp out involuntary servitude.  Why is that not a high priority of such illustrious bodies as the UN?  Infidels--they believe in no principle except power and theft.   Nowhere has fully cast off subjugation which places monarchs or other authorities above other individuals in worth and attendant rights.

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Citing mistaken behavior and conduct as argument against the authors of documents which contain universal principles which ensure that one can be his own master and move from the most meager of circumstance to the most abundant, according to his/her will and ability, is a self defeating mistake.   The concept I urge here is known as placing principles above personalities.

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I may despise the weaselly neighbor who informs me that the house is on fire, but that won't change the truth.  ignoring that would result in a rather toasty demise.  It doesn't matter what he's done or even if he's a famous arsonist.  Either the house is burning or not

Good Thought, Bad Thought

In keeping with my new found fascination with the ads below the posts I do (over at http://ballistictour.keepconnectedlive.com), I hit one of the links.  It was "free, life changing, bla bla bla" (paraphrasing there, even though it is in quotes).  As it turns out it was a video which was mostly audio.  Just text on the screen which went along with the audio to some degree.

The message was how to influence your subconscious by not letting yourself tell it bad stuff, like how stupid and doomed you are. The premise is that whatever you feed the subconscious, it believes, and when it believes something it influences your body accordingly.  That's why a person under hypnosis might think something cold is hot, and can be used as a scaffolding plank if you are short of wooden ones.  I refer to the typical thing where the hypnotist places the stiffened subject between two chairs then stands on her/and/or him.

The guy narrating has the ever popular English accent, which adds credibility.  Since moving to far south CA, I've noticed that the somewhat British accent is in vogue for various advertisements and such.  Maybe they find it a sound you can trust out here.  I guess I find it reassuring on a one on one basis, causing me to be relieved that the other person is literate and capable of reason.  Certain experiences taught me that this is not always so.  In the end I approach the Limey with that sense of being disarmed by assumed intelligence, and a healthy dose of suspicion.  The two things cancel out.   

What this guy suggests is that most self help confidence building courses and theories are bunk and don't work.  But his system works, of course.  Actually, I know his system probably does work well enough.  Anything that causes one to examine a self generated thought which predicts doom, or suggests the host organism is deficient and vile, is worthwhile.  Shooting down detrimental blanket assertions  before they get a chance to seed in the subconscious, is a productive practice.  Otherwise you constantly experience the bodily reactions of fear, and it makes it hard to think and act.  Exercise probably helps people do that because it requires enough effort that suspends idle thought for a time.  

It does make sense that a sustained belief in positive possibility probably increases the likelihood of bringing such things to fruition in one's life.  For some of us it is constant inner war.  That's because we indulged heavily in self loathing and internal criticism, without critical thinking, for long periods of time. That information became internalized to the point of habit.  Habits do not go away peacefully.   This explains why it was believed you could sail off the edge of the earth for so many centuries.   Despite little clues to the contrary that was the only sane view according to THEM.

I kept wondering, so how is this guy making money off of this?   It seems there are other videos and they will send you emails and all that, so I guess eventually they sell you something, maybe confidence building enlargement pills.  That does not change the validity of the assertion that you can at least guide your thoughts or temper their power.  

Mostly it is a matter of assessing validity, and benefit.  What good does it do to tell yourself you will never lose weight if losing weight is what you want to do?  Believe me, you can lose weight and there are those who actually wish to gain a little bulk.  Some things require a belief in possibility.  Most things have, at least in principle, been done by some other human; people successfully bring ideas to market, lose weight, escape poverty and depression, etc.  Things do happen like that, which adds credibility to the idea that it is possible for you, if you have the desire and few working tools at your disposal.  I keep trying to believe that for myself, anyway.

The main thing to realize is that skepticism is fine, but no one is saying that you can magically improve just by viewing videos or thinking and thinking without actually doing.  The idea is to cast away the thoughts that inhibit the action.  In the end the results come from some sort of effort and action.   When anyone promises shortcut magic which precludes real change or effort, then skepticism is prudent.  What is not prudent is to insist in your mind that any action you can dream up to achieve the presumed better condition you desire is doomed from the start and won't work.  That thought pattern guarantees you won't change anything because you talk yourself out of it before you start.  I hate it when that happens. 

It is very easy for old school American types to be discouraged these days.  We feel like we are in the grips of a giant boa constrictor which applies a little more pressure with every breath, making it harder and harder to breathe easy.  All the rules and controls which seem to do anything but protect our right to free choice, leave us believing directing our own recovery from hard times, and writing our own script for the kind of person we choose to be from now on, is prohibited at gunpoint.  Those who are presently comfortable and more secure often view our angst as unnecessary paranoia or crazy, radical rebellion.

That whole thing is a trap, even though there is plenty of good reason to feel the squeeze.  That does not mean the field can't be navigated and all opportunity is gone.   It may be a bad time to move to Michigan thinking you are going to get a great auto worker job and be secure from now on.  By allowing one's self to feel that one can no longer harbor personal dreams, you are feeding the snake.  Can't let that happen.  That is a slave mentality.  The ability to be the director of your own life, and maintain a personal code, is not yet impossible.  

It is a strange thing, living within the structure of civilization, but the alternative may be equally strange and uncomfortable.  I guess many homeless by choice people can attest to that.  There are some drop outs who are bright and capable but just couldn't hack the system any more.   In my own way, I suppose I am a drop out.  I keep believing I can avoid dropping out altogether, though.  There are too many good people and good things that can be done to buy the lie that the restrictions represent the character of all other humans.  

My goal is to prove by example that one can successfully create a niche which does not feed and/or depend on what I see as a macabre monster; the world of intrusive authority which was once a government based on a few pages designed to limit its power.   Obviously it did not do its job or it would not be possible for people to argue that freedom breeds oppression.  I reject that notion, and I am in the minority.   That stated goal is actually secondary.  The primary object is to push my limits of capability more, hoping to become immersed and enthused in the process of developing whatever project into being, and hopefully become moved to happily find myself in a state of ongoing effort toward well defined purposes, never again to feel like an aimless leaf in the wind.

There is no way to discuss it

Recent events, and the way they are treated by the press and the alleged government, are so bizarre that knowing where to start or why elude me.  Since it is likely that much of the country or a large enough portion to be dangerous, do not find the reactions surreal, and eerily frightening, I'd be wasting my time by trying to express myself in detail.  I may be wasting my time in the majority of cases which motivate me to spout off, I know that.

It is far too sad.  That is compounded by the mentality evident in what I've heard, and in what I've not heard, from media creatures and officials.