JJ's World Views

Tag: Ideas

  • What Type of Society Would You Like to Live in?

    What type of society would you like to live in?  Collectivist or Individualistic?  This is a question we were asked in Pillars of Leadership program at school this week.  This is a very hard questions to be asked and takes a lot of thought as to not give people the wrong idea.  If you say you want to live in a collectivist society people in the states think China or the former USSR.  If you say Individualistic people think of America and the corporate plutocracy that runs it.  I would chose a combination of both a more socially individualistic and economically collectivistic society.

    In America we have been traditionally a socially collectivist and economically individualistic society.  This means socially if you were different from the group you were labeled the outcast, different, freak, ect…  If you are are not white, Christian, hetrosexual you were the other and have historically been segregated against in one form or another.  Yet, if you raised have money, and power you were held in high regard even worshipped to some extent.  This paradigm has been hard for me to live in because I do not think the way I was taught to think.  I do not view wealth or power as a success factor.  I also see people as individuals and judge them on there actions not race, gender, sexual orientation, ect…  I view happiness and empathy as how successful a society is in the grand scheme of things.

    I do not think that it is up to the government or corporation should  decide what you do as a career or job.  I feel we help people to reach their potential in the field they enjoy and are good at.  Yes, this is would not be a nice and ordered society but it plays to people’s strengths and move society in a more positive direction.  This allows people to find out who they are and what they are passionate about.  This also breeds a much happier society and less conflict.  I feel that when a society reaches a certain level of development that the government can not only help it’s people militarily but making sure that the basic necessities are taken care of like food, clothing, housing, ect… They would not get to chose these thing for them, but, helps people to afford these items making sure no one is left behind or falls through the cracks.  This way the economic schizm does not grow so great that a few people control the rest of the society against their will.

    People will ask, “But, if we don’t have money to use as an incentive how can we motivate people to do the work?”  To them I answer ” There are many ways to motivate people like their passions. some people like helping others, some like to create things like art, science, or music..  Think of all the artists that have died in poverty, like Van Gogh, yet, after their deaths the pieces would have made them wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.  Think of people in the scientific realm like Nicola Tesla who died in poverty not to be respected till well after his death.”  How many minds have we wasted because of the greed of our society?  How many more will not have the opportunity because others think that because they are wealthy they are the best?  How many ideas will be stolen because of greed and pride?  These are questions I asked myself when people ask me “What type of society I want to live in?”

    I feel we need a combination of both in our societies and no pure system will ever work in a world full of differences.

    Peace and Love To all who read this and even those who don’t.

  • People Who Hate

    Last week I was out in the smoking area at school, we were having a lively discussion about whether it is appropriate to hit someone if they do a NAZI salute or use racial slurs.   There were a couple of people who said “If they saw someone doing the NAZI salute and saying ‘sieg heil’ or ‘blood and soil’ they would clock them.”   I was trying to explain to them, that if you do through the first punch, you make yourself and others who also find bigotry offensive look almost as bad as the people you are standing up against.  You fan the flames of hatred and it becomes a powerful force against a positive movement.

    I know that some might think this attitude is naive or even cowardly.  To me it takes a lot of strength to hold back that anger, when I hear stuff like that, not to just clock the person.  I severely dislike bigotry  and hatred, but I know the moment I give in to my feeling of disgust, I give them power over me.  They want people who think like me to resort to violence to prove their point.  It is like in “Batman The Dark Knight Returns” when the Joker is trying to get Batman to commit murder to bring him down to the Joker’s level.  In this analogy of course the Joker is ultra violent and murderous, where as in the scenario I stated in the first paragraph using speech as a way to bring us down to their level.  Unless the other person who is saying the vial and nasty things actually physically assaults me, I will not lift a finger to harm them physically.

    See in the battle of ideas, this is a battle of words and of the mind.  Those with the best ideas will rise to the top as long as they do not resort to violence.  I will argue all day with a racist and try to show them the error of their thinking.  Let’s be honest if i had to argue all day about the subject with that person, there is likely nothing I or anyone would say that could change their mind.  Just like I could not convince this other person that kicking the crap out of a bigot is not the best way to trying to change their mind.  I had help trying to convince the person too about 6 others tried to convince him as well.   Some people just can not be reasoned with.

    This is the same issue on a much larger scale that we have had with extremist in the Middle East.  The U.S. has been trying to force our beliefs through violence and regime change.  If we want to bring the region into the 21st century we are going to have to change our approach to the situation.  First off STOP SELLING WEAPONS PERIOD, TO OTHER COUNTRIES!  Second pull all our troops out of the region making sure we collect all the weapons we have brought over there.  Third close down Guantanamo bay and make that if we try anyone there that it is done fairly and due diligence.  For those we release we should try and help make sure that those people are taken care of, if they are innocent, they have been held there for a long time without trial and they deserve some sort of compensation.  Four gradually as the tensions start to die down try and get food and medical supplies to the civilians.  Though it will take a long time to earn the trust of the people in the region.  This would be just the beginning of the healing process.

    In order for us to have a lasting peace on this planet we must rise against the violence.  We can not defeat an idea with violence it only strengthens their position eyes of those who would follow them.  As I said before and I will say it again the only way to defeat an idea is with a better one.  If you have to resort to violence to support your idea it probably is not worth a damn.

  • Economics, Government and Bruce Lee

    Some people may think this strange but when I think about big issues like economics and government, one philosophy I think we should take comes from an unlikely source, Bruce Lee’s Philosophy on Martial arts.  To me Bruce was one a person who understood America better than most American did or do.  His Philosophy in the martial arts was to take what he took the most useful parts of other martial arts and add it to his own style Jeet Kune Do, the way of the intercepting fist.  This meant that the art was ever evolving.  This same philosophy can and should be when it comes to the economy and government.

    We should see what policies are working in other countries and start testing and adopting them over in the United States.   This way we can start building a better country.  The U.S. is set up like a large social lab.  Testing different policies and adjust them to accommodate the citizens of the country.

    For we are each part of a bigger organism called society.  We are all trying to find a place where we belong.  We are all atoms trying to stabilize.  With global warming happening we are being warmed up and ever volatile.  Running around bouncing into each other. Sometimes we stay attached for a while, other times we split or touch for a second and never see each other again.  During these periods we must learn from one another.   To make each other better people.   Look at what we are doing with marijuana legislation.  Each state is learning from the other to which ones work best.

    With all the changing in the economy we must do this.  Otherwise society will fall.  To much of it in one area or another will destroy the economy.  It is like a water balloon, you fill it up in a single area it will burst.  There has to be a balance to it.  the rules for the economy should be set out nice and clear so most people will understand them. There should be a cap on how much a single person or family can make.  We are always talking about a maximum amount earned.  This way we no one or few persons have too much power.  That is how we get to the economic problems that we currently have in our societies. Those at the top have to remember money is a resource not speech.  Do the tax what come out of your mouth.  No that is absurd.   Speech is pretty much unlimited.  Money is not.  The more we print the higher the prices go and stay.  Not giving society a chance to keep up if the top 1 percent has too much.

    Some of the rich say that it is class warfare and we the citizens are the aggressors.  When it is the obscenely rich have been doing class warfare on the poor for most of civilization’s existence.  This time they have an entire world to plunder and not just a country anymore.  For this reason from time to time we will need a redistribution of wealth from time to time, in order that no few people have too much power.  everything in nature has limits why should currency be any different.

     

    Peace be with you all.

  • Should we Break up the States?

     

    I have heard a few of my old friend say that the states should become their own countries.  These people also think they are patriots.  In some ways I kind of agree.  I mean our constitution is set up like a treaty if you really think about it.  Most of the states where not there at the time of the signing of it.  This would ease the tax burden on people a bit, not having to pay federal taxes.  We would only have to pay state taxes, which would be federal taxes I guess at that point.  Every country would have its own currency which would be easier to keep a closer eye on it.  This way the few would not have so much control over the many.

    This would also give many that still lived in a democracy more control over their government.  This would promote more activity in the political process which could be much better thing.  People would be more willing to stay informed if they actually thought they had a say, unlike the current system we have now.

    We could give the new countries there national guard back.  If there was a war the individual countries could come together and fight side by side.  May be do drills together annually, this way if the militaries of the countries train together they would be less likely to want to fight them.  So, there are a couple of positives but I feel there are some major drawbacks to this.

    One of the major problems I see right off the bat is what to do about the nukes.  Does anyone really trust the south with nukes?   The KKK would definitely rise to power again and the right wing religious fundamentalist, would want to kill anyone not like them or believe the same way they do.  We would be more like Europe was in the dark ages.  Hell I consider the time we are living in now the Social/Technological Dark Ages.  I is little doubt in my mind, if it were not for our current level of technology we would already be in the dark ages.  We have not yet learned how to live socially yet in this new world.

    Slavery might come back into play if we were to divide up.  I do not think it would be successful though.  The countries which did not legalize it could put major economic pressure on them.  Which brings us back to the nukes again.  How many people think that there would be a leader that might try and play that card just out of spite.  Look at our political climate right now it is crazy.

    Though slavery most likely would not last long I think, Segregation would definitely make a comeback in many parts of the country.  I feel many leaders would try to become permanent dictators, or at least try.

    I want to say right now I know that not all people in the south are bad people.  I lived in Florida for 10 years I know plenty of people from the south.  It is the people they elect that scare me.  I am a Humanist I believe in our potential as a species.  I feel we are not ready yet as a country or s species to do something like that in this country.   Then again people usually only learn when bad things happen to them, so maybe we should, just for the wake up call.

  • Citizen Exchange Program

    The problem has I see it is that we have no real national goals.  When we have actual goal to get behind, we as a people can conquer it.   These have to be the right goals.  The goals should be positive and work for the betterment of the people as a whole. These goals should for the most part be solving issues that we are having in the nation.  I feel these goals should be voted on by the populus of the country.  These votes should take place every 10 years.  At the end if ten years we evaluate the situation to see how we have progressed on the matters.

    What is a Citizen Exchange Program?  This is a program in which citizens of different countries have an opportunity to live and work in another country for a year or two.

    What need does this serve?  In recent times our world has become more divisive than ever with shootings happening on a daily basis it seem like.  This would be a way to for people to explore outside their communities, experience other cultures and ease cultural tension a bit.

     

  • Home

    I have lived in Washington State, California, Florida and home is Minnesota. I have been a cashier, custodian (Disney World), Photographer/Videographer (Discovery Cove), salesman, Transportation Security Officer (TSA) and soldier.
    I am currently a student at the ripe old age of 41 and am Studying to become a Social Studies Teacher. I am a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (honor society).
    I want to travel more and see this great big world we live in. Explore new cultures and share what I have learned. I believe everyone has different experiences in this life. So, that we can grow and learn from each other. In order to make this world a better place for future generations.

    I have many reasons for starting this blog, one of which it helps to build up my writing skills.  I will be posting each draft of what I have written, this way I can get constructive critiques of my work and people can see my writing process a bit.   If you have constructive criticism of my work please let me know do not be shy.  This will help me to become a better writer which is one of my goals.

    Next I am pursuing a career in Social Studies education sot that I can become a teacher and join the Peace Corp.  This blog will serve as a journal of sorts for me to express my feeling on certain subjects and help me to see how I have evolved as a person and a life long learner.

    Lastly this blog is about me and my experiences over the past 40 years.  There will be journal entries, thoughts on life society, Ideas for thing we can do better and I will even put up some of my work from school after it has been graded, I don’t want to risk plagiarizing myself, lol.

    If you have any questions for me or would like to here my opinion on a subject, you can leave them in the comments below the writings or you can leave me a message on Facebook or Twitter for the time being.  I am still trying get a handle of all the uses for social media so bare with me.

  • Random Thoughts and Ideas I

    Pokemon GO! is all the craze right now.  How can this game going to help the human race? These are a question that just popped in to my head.  This Go! gets people out there walking which promotes health and good living.  People are meeting new people and immediately have something in common. This promotes community and lowers the fear of the other.

    Here is what I think they should try next.  I would like to see completely different sets of Pokemon for each country, state or continent.  This would get people to start exploring this world more.  This would promote travel.  If they set it up right they could push a cultural exchange through the game as well, with each team having their own team of developers to ensure the pokemon would have the cultural relations to the area. They could have a pokemon dedicated to each sub-culture in that area.   This I know would be a tremendous undertaking.

    This is just one of my crazy ideas to help change this world.  I know that no one Ideas will fix everything in this world.  There is no cure all.  But I feel if we as the human race combine the best of our ideas and build on them that we can make this world better than what it is today.

    While writing this I just realized something about myself. I don’t just want to be a better me, I want to be a better human.  For this is the one thing we have all in common.  This is the starting point of any talk about peace in this world.  This is the most obvious of places to start when talking about any injustice.  Then move down to civilian and authority.  It is time for #civilanlivesmatter.  Here is the thing I agree that the black community has been targeted by the police, in the past and now days.  There is another traditionally targeted group that is not talked about that that is the mentally ill.   This gives the group more people to come over and put more pressure on the our representatives in government.

    We all forget that Government is a tool.  It can be neither good nor evil.  It is all in how we use this tool.  What happens to a tool if you just leave it outside, it rusts and becomes junk.  What happens when you take care other tool and keep it out of the rain, it will last a long time.  This is like our government so many of us have left it out in the rain that it has frozen, locked up.

  • Election Prediction

    Election Prediction

    After watching this video Jimmy Dore video I started thinking  and wrote them down just to see how others may feel about the situation.

    Listen to the terminology Bernie is using. Bernie is saying “Hillary believes” Not “Hillary agrees to fight for”. If she were actually was going to try and fight for these things, that is what he should have said. He is acting like a politician now. I do not trust what went on behind closed doors between her and him. It would not surprise me if there were some real threats toward Bernie and Warren. Hillary has already proven she can get away with anything with what went on with the FBI. Everybody is worried about Trump and no one cares what Clinton except for us Bernie supporters. This may sound a bit insane But it has to be said. I feel Hillary Clinton could be possibly worse than Trump. Where basically everyone would be fighting him on starting World War 3. No one is going to try our soldiers if they disobey an order like that from him. Hillary on the other hand has barely anyone who will fight her about any war she wants to start. I am still not convinced Trump is not a plant by the Clintons. This election is a corporate coup de tau I feel. Everything seem to work in Clinton’s favor with the exception of Bernie, until now. What we are seeing now is a show for us. Clinton says “Look at Trump he is insane. We cannot have him as president.” Trump nails her for a while on the FBI scandal, The one thing the Republicans were right about. Then he will back off for awhile. The Polls will go up and down to build suspense. Then with a slim victory Clinton wins the election. This may seem extremely conspiratorial, but this is the way I see things going down as of right now. I reserve the right to update this Hypothesis if any major changes to the race occur.