The "H" Word(s)

With all the latest blah-blah about homosexual this and that in the news lately some new stuff has come to my attention. Of course everyone has known one way or another about hate crimes that homosexuals have suffered through years and years with little or no legal help, which lead to a relatively new word to describe their attackers: homophobe (derivative of homophobia), which means, according to The New Oxford American Dictionary, an extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexual people. I suppose somebody had to come up with a word for it some time. However, with all of the hoo-ha lately in the world press and the topic of homosexual marriage getting a spotlight on the political stage in the United States, it seems like it might be time for the dictionary to have another word in the H section.

I like to read internet news and I am often entertained and sometimes confused to discover what people around the world are thinking these days about certain subjects by reading their comments. I was reading some comments on an article about what may or may not have been a hate crime that had something to do with a gay pride parade and I was impressed to see how many homosexuals and homosexual patrons voiced their anonymous opinions. I was surprised, well I guess not, to see that there were some homosexuals that appeared to have a kind of disdain of people that are not "with" them. I don't think there's a word for it yet, so I will call it "heterophobia," for now, for lack of a better term. I suppose I wasn't so surprised because when power comes to those who have been without for so long, even suppressed, it becomes easy to hate those who even slightly resemble their oppressors or potential oppressors. Admittedly the homosexual community is still considered a minority, but they have certainly come farther in American society in the past decade than they have in the past 25 years. If that won't boost an ego and give the confidence some arrogance, I don't know what will!

I don't want to give the impression that I'm pro or anti homosexual in this essay. That's not what this piece is about. I also don't want to give the impression that I think all homosexuals are "heterophobic." What I'm trying to do with this short essay is remind people that everyone is susceptible to hating. No matter who you are, what you do, what religion (if any) you follow, etc., etc. we all can hate. That is an important thing to remember. Another very important thing to remember is that we can all love, too. No matter who you are, blah, blah, blah. Just do your best to not hate. I know it can be pretty difficult in this difficult world to love your neighbor as yourself, but it takes less energy to smile and the benefits are innumerable (not that one should do it for the benefits). These are certainly some interesting times to be alive. Let's make them good ones. 

Even atheists can grasp that

The town that I live in welcomes you with a sign that says "No racism in our town." Presumably one might think that with that greeting this would be a liberal, open-minded town where people are at least accepted as people regardless of their beliefs, and race would not even be a factor. Sorry. As human beings, we need to realize, and overcome the fact that there are things that make us different in the way we appear to each other. We, as human beings, have different ideas on how to get things done. Some ideas are more aggressive, even to the point of violence, than others. The most important thing to remember as fellow humans is that we all share the same ideas of what is right and wrong. These ideas have been refined throughout human history. I will be so bold to say that they are spiritual. I will also be so bold to say that science has a role in those same spiritual concepts. I don't mean to imply that spirituality more important that science or the opposite, but, as so many people have tried to do before, they can collaborate to prove, as much as it can be proven to a person, that there is a right and wrong.

The town I live in has racism, sexism, religionism (if that is a word), and whatever else that might have a root from hatred and ignorance. That is not unusual. That is the way of the world and the way it has been for as long as history has been recorded. Fortunately, more human beings have come to learn, unfortunately the hard way, what is right and wrong--but sometimes, as most of us know, that is what it takes.

I believe it was Andy Warhol who said that the '90s would make the '60s look like the '50s. Well folks, this is the 21st century. The world is in at least the beginning, if not already, WWIII. There are political, cultural, religious, social, technical, and I could go on about the revolutionary things that are happening on this planet now. It seems like everyone who wants change wants the same basic thing(s) which is no more fighting, for one. Who wants to fight? Who in their right mind wants to hurt somebody or hurt someone else? I think people would like to avoid that and find a solution to avoid that. Unfortunately, we as human beings have not found that solution yet.

This is what I have to offer as a solution. It is an oldie, but a goodie. It sounds difficult and dangerous, but it's really very simple, easy, and it never fails. The answer is love. That is something that has been taught throughout human history in various spiritual (notice I didn't say religious) texts. Even atheists can grasp that. 

Tower of Babel

The United States and many other countries in the so called “West” are a relatively comfortable place to live right now, regardless of the economic and political state that they may be in. The benefits that the poorer classes are allowed by the governments are actually pretty good compared to how some other countries treat the underprivileged. The poor, elderly and handicapped have access to financial benefits, food, housing and other basic necessities provided by state (when relative) and local governments through the money from fellow citizens that people in too many other countries do not for reasons beyond and within human control. With such availability to information these days, it's difficult to not be aware of the suffering that goes on in many of these countries that lack many of the things that some of us take for granted. When I compare how people live in what might be considered more privileged countries to some other countries like that, even though I consider myself more of a human being than an American, I am grateful, and humbled, to live in the United States.

Though I don't agree with everything about the government of the United States all the time, I count my blessings for the opportunities I am allowed here, such as my right to disagree with the government. Sometimes, though, I do get a bit concerned when I consider people in this and similar countries who are enjoying similar privileges I am. Through conversation, observation, personal interaction and other research methods I came to the conclusion that many of the afore mentioned “Westerners,” as we have become known, take what they receive for granted. They even go so far as to abuse their privileges and discount their good fortune. No person is perfect, so I suppose that's human, to an extent; but in this age of information and technology, after a time one must almost avoid knowledge of their benefits and consciously abuse their privileges. Before so much information became available about the condition of the world it was more excusable to be ignorant of it. Now it seems disrespectful and inhumane.

It is obvious that the West has a great influence on the world and it has been said many times that the United States has a powerful influence in the West, but so do citizens of these places and many of us have forgotten where we come from. Things like freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and basic civil rights are just some of the human rights everyone deserves that too many of us arrogantly take for granted. It seems that too many of us have forgotten the struggles and sacrifices of the brave people that got us those rights. In those days of cultural and political revolution friendships were broken and made, families were broken and made, people died and killed, and those in power were rich, proud, and arrogant and building that Tower of Babel brick by brick. My how times have changed, sort of.

Regardless of the “progressive” social and political changes that were fought for, many people still seem as arrogant and prideful as ever. They think that they can do it all, and do it all by themselves. Unfortunately it seems the victories of various civil rights groups for acceptance and equality only made many of those groups more defined and separated. They received the civil rights that they fought for, gradually and with great sacrifice, but somewhere along the way, at least in my eyes, they became tainted with power and became like the enemy they fought against.

The West and Westerners, especially the United States, have a very strong influence on the entire world politically, socially, economically, and other ways that are, and may not be, admirable. I read sometimes (though I don't trust the news media much anymore) that other countries consider the West and Westerners to be greedy, very materialistic, corrupt and lacking spirituality. Considering the great influence the West has on the world, this should not be taken lightly. Those with great influence have great responsibility and since there are apparently many people angry at “those with great influence” I suggest that there may be a lack of responsibility.

Everyone is responsible for their own actions, so it is difficult, if not impossible, to blame one person for the state of the world. People, especially Westerners must realize that money and what it can buy are not the most important things in life. I agree that at this point in human existence it is difficult to survive without it, but when one is blinded by materialistic desires to the point of not aiding a fellow human being, there is a problem. When people begin to forget the simple things in life that everyone in the world can't do without and get caught up in the illusion of desire for earthly things that lead to greed, jealousy, arrogance, and worse, they are setting themselves up for failure. There are many examples of that throughout history that can be found in various powerful empires and kingdoms as recent as the 20^th century. They all seemed to start off with good enough intentions, but eventually, as so often happens with humans, they were corrupted by power. For the human race to at least get along, it seems to come down to being smart enough to recognize the mistakes of our ancestors and to be wise and strong enough to not repeat them. Humans have a long destructive history of becoming arrogant with knowledge, but some constructive things have happened, too. People, especially Westerners because they have the most influence on the planet right now, should take a look at the condition of the world and their place in it and consider the example they are setting for the rest of the world, especially younger generations. We must all remember that we are co-habitating, whether we like it or not, on this planet and it would be best if we got along or we just might get evicted. Also it's a good idea for people, especially Westerners, to pay a bit more attention to the things that money can't buy and maybe consider why money can't buy them.

Strange daze

Is it just me or do people these days seem to be lacking in morality? I remember the first time I heard what was considered a “bad word” on network television. I believe the word was “damn.” I was a bit shocked. I was even more surprised the first time I heard the word “ass” on network television. That kind of language was for PG movies, not regular television. That kind of language on public access airwaves is taken for granted these days and nobody really raises a big stink about it. People of all ages have grown accustomed to sexually explicit material in video games, network television, music, movies, etc. Younger generations consider what used to be thought of as indecent behavior and actions quite normal. Apparently, it is quite normal. It is the way things have become. Religion, spirituality, ethics, morals, or whatever you want to call the positive intangible principles that keep order in human societies is waning.

Every generation usually has some kind of comment about the ethical and moral breakdown of the society they live in compared to when they were younger. I am certainly aware of that. There was a time when jazz music was thought of as unscrupulous. Then it went to rock 'n roll. I don't need to mention all of the stuff people were raving about in the 1960s and 70s. A lot has happened since then, though. Leaps and bounds in technology have allowed a lot of information to be easily accessible by just about anyone at just about any time. All of that has an effect on a societies ethical and moral standards, which in my opinion, ain't what they used to be. I'm not quite sure when things started getting so weird, probably a very long time ago. Regardless of when things started getting funky, just by reading the newspaper or even simply objectively observing people in a mall or bar or restaurant, one can see that they are funked-up now like never before. Single parenthood, which used to be a major issue in the 1980s, is apparently accepted as part of life. People, especially the younger ones, are more violently aggressive even to the point of murder than in the past. Materialism has seemed to replace simply being friendly and kind to your fellow human being these days, too. Many people, again, especially the younger people, believe that whoever has the most stuff is the better person and they will go to almost any extent to get stuff. I could go on and on.

The evidence of immorality or whatever term one might use is obvious, but the cause is what is most important. The state of the world at present is in what has been politely described as a transitional period. If the world isn't in World War III now, it likely will be very soon. There is starvation, corruption, debauchery, and the world economy is not getting any better, to name just a few things. Also, as I mentioned previously, people are able to communicate with each other like never before. There is pretty much no place on the surface of the Earth that cannot be seen from a satellite or where “civilized man” has visited. I'm not a religious person, but these times we are living in resemble the times of Noah, whether you believe that story or not. People are selfish, there is corruption in all areas of society, including religious, and it seems like people get more respect for doing bad things than good things. Something is definitely wrong there.

People, for the most part, have forgotten about God, The Big It, Super-Something-Or-Other, Allah, Jehovah, or whatever, which has lead to a general lack of the peace that spirituality brings. Perhaps that is because people don't trust organized religions, and I don't blame them. I don't trust them either. But one must remember to not let one bad apple spoil the bunch. Love, which from my understanding is what God is all about, is the only way a person can truly get their soul soothed and balanced. To love one has to trust in one way or another and that is quite a personal risk, especially these days, but it is certainly worth it. Better to suffer a bit for the sake of trust and love than to spend your life alone in a self-made cell that constantly has to be repaired. I guess the best thing to do is love, love and more love to make the world a better place for everyone in it. There will be people who won't like it, and unfortunately I think a lot of those people are in power in the world, but they will just have to get over it. In the mean time, be nice to people, don't be afraid to smile, and remember that somebody loves you and it's always darkest before the dawn!

Welcome to the world

What does it mean to be an American? The United States of America is the country I was born in, but I often hear different ideas from different peoples, including Americans, what it means, exactly, to be an American and what an American is.

This country is populated by people from all different parts of the world. In every major city there are large neighborhoods dedicated to the ethnicity of the people who live there like Chinatown(s) and Little Italy(s). To be American doesn’t have any sort of prerequisite except that the United States is the place you physically call home, and some red tape with the government and all that—can’t do it the easy way. It would be nice if it all could be done the easy way with just a nice “Welcome to the United States of America, you are now an American.” Just about every national government has “red tape” that an individual must get covered with to legally become a citizen of their country. There are certainly some people that for some reason or another should have a little red tape on them no matter where in the world they are. Regardless of that, it seems that throughout the world in all countries people have forgotten or simply ignore the fact that people are people no matter what they look like and fear and distrust fuel things like hatred and malicious violence. It’s a bit disappointing to think that after all these centuries of spiritual and political awakenings and re-awakenings humankind hasn’t figured out that life would be much easier if we all tried to get along.

.There have been people throughout history who have made inspiring attempts to unite the world in peace whose teachings, ideals or whatever you want to call them have strong influences on virtually every aspect of our lives, whether we realize it or not. Unfortunately, many of the people of the world are still not living in peace together. It’s very strange that the messages of love from the great peacemakers did not work. I suppose that can be a difficult thing to keep going strong when there are those who believe that they benefit from “not-love,” for lack of a better term, and encourage people through lies and deceit to go the way of not-love. We are all imperfect human beings susceptible to the deceit and trickery of not-love, so maybe it's not so strange. Given that, it would be wise to learn to recognize the people that empower and are empowered by this dark force so that one can be prepared for the treachery and guile which always accompanies it. Life may sometimes feel like one step forward for two steps back, but like in all the old and not so old stories, you will find that in life also the good guys always win. What is important is knowing who the good guys and the bad guys are.

Since it’s what is generally defined as “bad” that is causing the most trouble in the world I think that it is important to define what bad actually is. It seems like throughout history the ones who have eventually earned the title of what is popularly known as “bad guy,” also the promoters of not-love, have been the people who have basically lived up to the Oxford American Dictionary’s definition of bad, which is “morally depraved; wicked.” When people have murdered, stolen, disrespected their fellow humans (to name just a few “bad” things) or encouraged others to do such things nothing good ever happened, except maybe that people united for a single purpose to stop them from doing those things. Still, it would be better if people could unite under better circumstances, but get it how you can I guess. Most spiritual beliefs in the world have the same basic idea about what bad and good is and they all seem to share the same basic concept about who the “bad guy” is. Still, for some reason they have not united under that commonality which allows them to sometimes become subject to the deceit and treachery of the bad guy. What’s the problem here? If they share the same beliefs why don’t they unite to destroy the force that is trying to destroy them individually? It seems to be a matter of human pride, arrogance, and the corruption that comes with power, to name a few things. If people truly want to accomplish a goal together history has proven that they can do it, still they don’t take the opportunity when it is within their grasp.

People are not perfect and it is foolish to think that we never make mistakes. One should understand that forgiveness is a valuable part of life and a power that should not be underestimated. There are those, I am sad to say, who abuse the forgiveness that is offered to them, not understanding that it is a priceless gift and not to be taken for granted. There are also those who for some reason don’t acknowledge their gifts of forgiveness and to forgive and never use them. We all must realize that we each have the ability to forgive and that to do it is a major factor in the peace process. Perhaps if we were a bit more empathetic and understand that everyone suffers because of the same kinds of basic tragedies and receive enjoyment from the same basic pleasures we would realize that we are not all so different and can live in a peaceful environment if we would trust each other. Easier said than done, I know. With the way this world is whoever makes the first trusting move must really believe that the human race is not a lost cause.

The people of the world, more precisely the leaders, need to take a playground “time-out” to give themselves a chance to get an honest, uninhibited look at the direction the world is going, because this planet isn’t just a ball of countries anymore. When a person can make a donation to a charity in another country at the push of a button or another can steal money from a business in another country in the same manner, this is a world of human beings, not Americans, Irish, Ethiopians, Russians, Turks, Chinese, and whatever else people have decided to call themselves throughout the history of the world. The world wide web is just one example of the ties that bind us as human beings. Another example of something that we have in common is being confident about what we hope for and doubtless about what we do not see: faith, if you will.

Letting the people of this planet know the things that they have in common would be a logical way to get everyone to meet on a kind of common ground. I suppose that one would have to figure out what humans can all agree that they have in common in the first place to get them all to meet on that ground. It sounds like a tough task, but maybe it’s not. Human beings all have the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing; everyone likes to be entertained in some way or another; everyone has some sort of faith (even atheism and agnosticism is arguably a faith); human beings are generally social creatures; and they all appear to have a desire to lead and/or be lead. There are many more things that people have in common, but the point is that as different as we may seem to each other, we are all still human beings who share the same atmosphere, the same planet, and the same primary joys and sorrows.

To now for the most part I have not been referring to any specific country or leader, and with good reason. These days it seems like the world is divided into the East and West.  The West includes North America, Europe, and whoever they are friends with politically (including "your enemies are my enemies"), in a business manner, and believe it or not, religiously--though that last one doesn't seem to matter so much anymore. It's no surprise that the United States is the leader of the West, although it is a relatively young country to be so influential. The West is generally Christian (for lack of a better term), and there is (officially) a separation of church and state.  The East is pretty much every other country that matters to the West from a political, business, and maybe religious perspective, but doesn't want to play by the rules of the West.  The East has probably the oldest civilizations documented and a passionately religious population that has lasted for centuries. There is no separation of church and state, the countries are wealthy, and they have been at war for centuries over the same things--mostly religion related. Still, whether you are from the West or the East, every person is susceptible to materialism, greed and the blindness of the soul that comes with that.  

I suppose that those in power could easily become confused about what is best for the world, especially these days when the desired to be defensive is a major factor in peoples’ lives. With power comes much temptation and corruption is always knocking at the door. There will always be a need for a government, more specifically, leadership. No matter what person or persons is in power there will always be distractions from the pursuit of what is right, unless the source of the distraction can be found and an agreeable change can be made to stop the distraction. This increasing power of influence that the West has should be used for the good of the world, because, as I mentioned before, it is not just a world of countries anymore when a person in one hemisphere can communicate with another person in another hemisphere at relatively the same time at the push of a button. Like with the birth of the United States of America and the first application of democracy, there are some major changes coming very soon that will change humanity.

Democracy was originally conceived around 500 B.C. in Greece and it was a brilliant idea with the best intentions (though Aristotle and Plato did not like it at all). As the concept evolved throughout history it was perfect for its time when North America was the “new world” and there were still places and peoples on Earth that were undiscovered. Theoretically, one could say that this new age that humanity is in at the beginning of the twenty-first century with things like the world wide web and satellites that can read the license plate of a car is similar to the new world that gave birth to what the founding fathers of the United States called democracy. This can give one the impression that a change is due. It seems like the world is very close to having a one world government. Whether that government will be a democracy, communist, monarchy, socialist or whatever I don’t know. Perhaps in these changing times a new form of government will be conceived, taking the best qualities of all of the governments that have ever existed. Whatever the case, it certainly appears that something is bound to happen on a global, powerfully influential scale. The major obstacles that seem to be preventing such a thing from coming to fruition are political (and everything that encompasses), materialistic, and religious. I suppose one could just say "money" and that would encompass all of them. There are cultural differences but those are minor obstacles, because people have been enjoying each others differences in many different ways as long as history has been recorded.

As far as the religious/spiritual differences among people, there are those who desire for peace, love and happiness for all, and those who are empowered by what I previously described as "bad," or "not-love," and each will get what they deserve in the end--call it "karma," "what comes around goes around," "you reap what you sew," etc., etc. Religion and spirituality is a part of every person’s life, directly or indirectly, and it does have some part in government, whether the government officially admits it or not.

Money, or should I say the love of money, is definitely playing an important role in the world these days and it is influencing the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. There will always be wealthier and poorer people, but if there are only those who have and those who don’t have, if we can learn anything from history, that is definitely a problem. Since the peoples of the world are more unified than in the past the problem of economic imbalance becomes another straw on the camel’s back along with political and religious differences which all boils down to, yes I’ll say it, what is right and what is wrong. This is a bit of a dangerous subject because every culture (however diverse), religion (however diverse), and generation (however diverse) have their moral and ethical standards (however diverse), every individual within each of these categories does also. The peculiar (or maybe not) thing is that the morals and ethics of the people of the world are basically the same. Nobody in their “right” mind wants to be robbed or raped or murdered or anything unpleasant of that nature, yet things like that are still done. Perhaps it is the simple idea that the great peacemakers have been passing on for centuries in so many different ways that “You reap what you sew” and karma and “What comes around goes around.” It happens all of the time in peoples’ lives and they still don’t get it. It certainly has something to do with the influence of the ones who believe in the power of UN-love. If people, and I certainly include myself when I use that plural term, could learn to recognize and overcome those dark forces life together would be much easier and more peaceful, however there would probably be some kind of conflict with the UN-love people. That is inevitable. It has been written about many times throughout history in many different ways. The great battle between good and evil. Unfortunately, these days it’s getting more and more difficult to tell who is on whose side. Like the old saying goes, “there are no rules in love and war.”

About getting the world together on some sort of common ground, one must take into consideration money. The United States probably spends the most money in the world in the context of corporations, government, and individual consumers. Countries like China, which have the ability to produce what spenders want to buy because of their ability to produce things cheaply, which likely has something to do with the government of China and the large population of the country, should like every country and person, recognize their weaknesses. The point I am trying to make is that consumers like the United States, which apparently is taking advantage of China’s cheap labor and natural resources to the disadvantage of China (some can be blamed on China’s government, of course) cause pollution, diseases, and known and yet unknown environmental destructive problems have a powerful influence on the whole world. The world leaders, especially the United States of America, which seems to have the power to influence the world to do this or that, should make a decision on whether or not to do this or that. It may sound simple or not. Currency is not the only factor involved in that major decision that effects the world. There is spirituality/religion, politics, culture, science/technology, and simple communication. Of course I cannot forget what everyone knows deep in their hearts. Everyone knows what is right and what is wrong. What it comes down to is do you want to do what is right or wrong?