JJ's World Views

Tag: School

  • How to Curb the Obscenity of Wealth

    How to Curb the Obscenity of Wealth

    Kids born into wealth will never know what it is like to serve something bigger than themselves.  While kids born into poverty see the only way out is to serve our armed forces.  The poor uneducated children fight for what they believe is a noble cause only later to find out that, they are fighting for the wealthy’s privilege.   The people above have never known what it is like to give their lives for anything but themselves.  They have never had to risk anything yet, they are some of the most wealth individuals in the country nay the world today.  Why should these people be so entitled?  Why should they not be obligated to serve our country? I can tell you one thing, I am not in favor of a royalty like they have in England.  In fact I think it should be done away with completely.  But I do have respect for the royal family at least they served in the military.  That is more than I can say about these people.

    We send our brave men and women overseas to fight wars that we have no reason being in.  In fact, the U.S. does more harm than good sending our troops over there.  It is so confusing that we are never sure if we are targeting the soldiers or civilians, this creates more people who hate the U.S.  I love our troops I just wish that the Executive and Legislative branches would plan things out better and define what victory meant.  I also so think that maybe, we should bring back the draft or make it mandatory that everyone at the age of 18 does some kind of service to the country.  These would all be low level positions either in the Military or in the civil service; like Americorps or Peace Corps.  This way everyone can get out of their bubbles from a relatively young age.  For that matter the wealthy kids should have the same schooling as the poor kids.  This way we all start off on equal footing.

    I also believe in order to end inequality we need an inheritance tax.  Why should the wealthy be able to horde money throughout generations?  An inheritance tax is like a tree that dies and gets decomposed so that new life can start fresh.  I am not saying take everything from the kids, I mean if they can not make a five million last or expand on it then they are really not that bright to begin with.  Most people do not even get that much when their family members die.  I also think that there should be higher percentage of taxes on extreme luxury goods.  Say vehicles up to $25,000 are taxed at a 7% rate and every $25,000 it increases by 7%.  So, on a car that costs $25,000 a person would pay $1,250 in taxes, on a car that costs $50,000 a person would pay $5,250 in taxes.  This would continue on up the scale.  Where would all this money go you might ask well back the public in the form of small business grants, college institutions, Universal Healthcare, upgrading infrastructure, creating a basic income, and so much more.  These taxes give everyone equality of opportunity, not outcome.  These are just a couple of taxes to help level the playing field and make sure that no one is left in poverty.

    Once we expand our economic base to everyone in our country, we can truly start to help make this a better world for all.  This can be done through cultural tourism.  The more people are exposed to new cultures and people, the less likely they are to fear them.  We would be able to learn from each other and build upon our foundation that is set forth.  This would create less animus among peoples all around the world and help to finally bring some peace in the future.

    It is kind of funny how this turned out I was going to rail against the mega rich, instead it helped me to come up with ideas to help build a better world.

  • Changes

    Changes

    It has been a while since I have posted anything here.  Many things have changed in my life in that period.  I graduated from Normandale Community College and now have my first degree.  My brakes went out on my car and I had to struggle to get the money together to fix it.  I am thankful for my brother in law and his friend for helping me with the repairs.  I have started a new job this week as a educational paraprofessional substitute.   I am working to pay off a student loan before I can go for my B.A. in Teaching Social Studies.  So, I am currently not in school for the time being.  I hope to have that all paid off before June, that way I can get back to work on my degree.

    The next few months are going to be tight but I believe I will be able to make it through.  If I do not make my deadline of June I will head back to school by next spring.  It is good to have goals but they should not I believe, so rigid to the point that if you do not make it with in a time frame it kills your motivation.  This is what does happen to me a lot.  I sometimes push myself, to the point where I start to question my own worth and get down on myself.  Then I let everything go and just give up.  I have to make sure I have a secondary plan of action, because shit happens.

    Things happen in our lives that change us for better or worse.  The thing is when we are in a down spin we have to gain our composer and level ourselves off and change direction accordingly.  There is not just one way to get where you want to go in life there are many.  Some are short and sweet, and others may take a bit longer but you will still get there in the end.

  • 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.

  • This Semester

    This has been the hardest semester for me yet. I have been procrastinating too much. In away I have been doing a great job of self sabotage. In a way I  think I do not deserve to get my A.A.  Though I have put in all of the time and work that I need to, maybe even more.  I am less than two months away from finally getting my A.A. in Liberal Arts.  Maybe it is because I fear the success it could bring.  I do not want to let things go to my head.  I like the way I am now in a personal sense, I worry that I will become arrogant because of the success.  As I am now and how I hope I will see myself in the future is that I am just a guy trying to do more for society and not just for myself.

    The class I am doing the worst in right now is Spanish.  At this point I just want to pass the course.  That is the first time I have said that about any of my classes.  My history class I am a bit behind in but, I can make that up no problem.  I have liked all my social science teachers.  Hell, I have a crush on the teacher I had last semester for U.S. history 2.  The current history course I am taking is History of World Civilization 3.  And I have been looking forward to this class for awhile.  The reason for that is I want to try and understand what the more recent history of the middle east is like.  This way I can help to figure out a solution to some of the problems over there.

    Human Geography is another good class I am taking and I am all caught up in.  I only have a presentation, a short essay on urbanization and the final left for that class.  My teacher for this class I had last semester for Physical Geography so I kind of knew what to expect from him.  Then I have my Career Exploration class which helped me to decide to change my Major from Social studies Education to a straight History major.  I am doing this because I do not want to have to narrow of a major and a History B.A. can open a whole lot of doors as I found out.

    The last class is not really a class but a certificate program called Pillar of Leadership.  In this program we go over the different types of leadership but, focus more on the Social Change Model of Leadership.  This is a pretty cool program and is going to look good on my resume.  Though the main reason I am taking this is because I do want to help change the way things are in this world, for the better.

    I guess for me now it is crunch time.  I need to make sure I pass all my classes and by February I will have my A. A. degree in my hands.  Now I just have to find another job because the job I am currently working at is the student store on the Work Study Program.  So, I really do want to start looking for jobs and internships in my field of study.

  • Apologize

    I am sorry friends.  I have been busy with my class and have not had much time to write on my blog over the past month.  Things should open up come the middle of July.  I did not realize the intensity of the class until it was to late and I would risk losing my funding for college if I dropped it.  So, I must continue even though I know my grade is going to be the lowest I have gotten since I have started.  I will hope for the best which would be a B and expect the worst a D or F.  I will try my darndest but the instructor is know for driving people to drop his course.  There is such a thing as to much passion.  I will admit i am partly to blame. My mind just can not get around school in the summer and the fact that I need another job to help me.

    This class takes up a majority of my time.  So, scheduling is a pain.  I just do not know what to do.

  • Pin Hole Images

    These were taken with a Oatmeal Can Pin Hole Camera.

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  • Journal Entry 8

    This came from my old wordpress if it seems out of place.

    Ok so this is not a requirement for the course I am taking at school, but it is in the book “On Course” for which I am using in my paths to college success class.  I should have started it sooner, but I didn’t want to put more work on myself then I had too.  I am now doing this for myself.  The next entry’s I make are going to be journal suggestions from the book.

    In these journals, I am going to try using their guidelines for writing a meaningful journal entries till I find one that I like better.  These are accepting personal responsibility, discover self-motivation, master self-management, employ interdependence, gain self-awareness, adopt lifelong learning, develop emotional intelligence, and believe in my-self.

    Take inventory of your personal strengths and weaknesses as revealed in your self-assessment questionnaire.

    In your journal, write the eight areas of the self-assessment and record your scores for each.

    38   Accepting Personal Responsibility

    42   Discovering Self- Motivation

    27   Mastering Self- Management

    26   Employing interdependence

    43   Gaining Self- Awareness

    44   Adopting Lifelong Learning

    36   Developing Emotional Intelligence

    40   Believing in myself

    Write about the areas on the self-assessment in which you had your highest scores

    These scores were out of 80 points each, so none of my scores were rather high most hovered in the mid to lower point ranges.  I knew I had a lot to work on even before I took the assessment.  My highest scores were in discovering self-motivation, gaining self-awareness, adopting lifelong learning, and believing in myself.  I have been working on believing in myself for years going to therapy off and on for my major depressive disorder It just had not sunk in till started going to CBSST (Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training) at the VA.  The next one up would be discovering self-motivation.  This is so true of me my mind races so fast that I hardly have time to write ideas I have down and I do get bored easily.  Gaining self-awareness and lifelong learning are at the top of my list thanks to the internet.  You may be saying how does the internet help create self-awareness; well I don’t just use it for cat videos and viral videos I watch a lot of things that give me pause for thought like the Crash Course series and the multitude of independent news feeds and if I have questions about something I just check their sources or research it on my own if I Want to know about a subject.  Doing this give me insight in to who I truly am as I have lost myself through the madness of life.

    Write about your lowest scores

    Employing interdependence, mastering self-management, developing emotional intelligence, and accepting personal responsibility these are my lowest scores.  Employing interdependence, I understand why this one is low it is one that most older generational men deal with. We hate to ask for help this is the way we were taught “real men don’t need to ask for help I can do this on my own”.  This is something we are taught just by observing our fathers and other male role models.  The way I am combating this is by going back to school you have no choice in college you need to work with others if you want to survive.  Mastering self-management, I have always had issues with this.  It is no secret among those who know me I am a slob and my time management sucks.  This I am working on through today I was finally able to get some things out of my room and in the shed.  I also reorganized my room for a better study space; doing school work in the kitchen with 2 other guys in my mobile home made it challenging.  I put things on my walls to inspire and keep me on track like a world map with the places I would like to help when I join the Peace Corp and a work schedule for school work.  Developing emotional intelligence this has been a pain for me because I tend to bottle things up till I blow (and not in a good way).  This usually takes the form of a fight and I hate to fight I don’t want to hurt anyone or myself that is one of the reasons I am posting this in a public forum.  I want to be open and not hold in the all my feelings and if I can help anyone else who has these problems I am happy.  I do sometimes cry for no apparent reason I think that is my bodies way of relieving some of the pent-up emotions I still carry and don’t realize it.  Accepting personal responsibility, I have often blamed many things on my passed experiences for why I do or don’t do thing and more often allow other to dictate how they think I should live.  Dealing with this one is hard I have had to remove certain people from my life for now so that I can find myself and do the things I want to do.  Certain people I have allowed to have too much control over me and let them guide to who they think I should be.  I can’t let that happen anymore I realize the more I allow them to have control the more I hate myself.  I feel I am at a pivotal juncture in my life where I need to focus on who I am and who I want to be.  I cannot allow them to have so much influence on me or I may slip

  • My goal

    This is my Final paper for Prep. for English comp. class

    The Peace Corps

    To put a new spin on a quote from John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what [our world] can do for you, but what you can do for [our world]” (Kennedy).  As I see it, we are not citizens of individual countries. We are citizens of the world as a whole.  My goal is to join the Peace Corps and help those who do not have the education and resources I have been privileged to have. The reason for me joining the Peace Corps are many and varied. The things I will have to do in order to achieve this goal are getting a degree, volunteering, and learning another language

    There are a few reasons I want to join the Peace Corps.  One reason is I want to help people who need it and share my skills with them. I want to be able to give people hope in what might seem to be a hopeless situation. I want to experience other cultures and to travel to places where no one would think to go.  I would like to build bridges between the people of this world.  An additional benefit to the reasons above is it looks good on a resume. It shows you are not afraid of taking chances and thinking outside the box.  Ultimately, I want to bring a sense of meaning to my life.  Therefore, these are just a few reasons I want to join the Peace Corps.

    What will I need to do to join the Peace Corps?  Well, let’s check the basics: I am at least 18 and I am willing to commit to 2 years (“Peace Corps”) to helping others, check. Those are the 2 basic requirements.  Now, to help me be more valuable as a volunteer, I am going to need a degree.   I am currently working on a BA in Social Studies Education. The reason I chose social studies is the fact that I like history, learning about other cultures, and trying to understand how society works.  The education part is that I want to help others to understand society, so we can make this a better place for us all.  I know I dream big.  Do I need a degree? No.  Does it help? Yes.  Most of the openings prefer people with a degree in something, depending on the focus of the program or project.  Working on this degree will help me with another thing they look for, which is volunteering in the community.

    Now, volunteering is not something I am used to, at least not charity work to be honest.  My family has never really volunteered with humans except by donating food, clothes, or toys.  Through my research, I found many Vlogs (video logs) done by Peace Corps volunteers.  One of them said that “volunteering is not for everyone…this is an extreme version… giving up your life and what you want to do in order to do something for someone else”(Thinking).  I am willing to volunteer here at home to ready myself for this endeavor.  I am looking into Big Brothers Big Sisters where I can get used to working with kids one on one.  This will help me to be a better teacher and mentor in the future.  This can also be a confidence builder for me and a challenge.  Being a volunteer has many perks that go with it.   The most important is the feeling of accomplishment from doing something I have not tried before and sharing that with someone else.

    In addition, I need to get some language training.  I know a few words in other languages, but I cannot read or write one.  The Peace Corps doesn’t require that you know a language. However, it would help me tremendously just to get the practice, so when they train me for my host country’s language, I will be ready (Thinking).  I am thinking either French or Chinese. I am thinking French because there have been many countries around the world that were colonized by them and they still speak a version of it.  Chinese is a consideration for the simple reason I have always been fascinated with their culture and their growing economy.  French and Chinese are two languages that could not be more different, yet have a lot of sway in this world.  This is what makes it such a hard decision.

    There are many things I need to do to get ready for this challenge, from my education, to testing myself as a volunteer, and learning a language.  I know I can do this.   In the end, I want to know that I have made a difference in people’s lives and helped build a better world for tomorrow.

    Work Cited

    Kennedy, John F.  Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961, Washington D.C.         www.ushistory.org/documents/ask-not.htm 1/12/2015

    “Peace Corps Volunteers” Peace Corps Updated Sep. 02, 2015 Web. 18/11/2015.

    www.peacecorps.gov/volunteer/learn/.

    Thinking About Joining Peace Corps? Part 1, You Tube Rickenberger, Bryce        September      13, 2013 youtu.be/LVOELMxGqis Web. 1/12/2015

  • Journal Entry 6: My Mind Works in Mysterious Ways

    I have two fears that hinder me and they seem diametrically opposed to one another.  These ar my fear of failure and my fear of success.  The fear of failure I hear a lot of people have.  This is because we have been taught that failure equals loser, in most respects.  When we actually learn more from our failures than our successes.  This I know on a conscious level.  It is the subconscious level that needs the work.  I hate failing, but yet I know that is just a part of life.  I have started working on this by going back to school and building more confidence in myself.  It is my other fear that really stunts my growth, my fear of success.

    I fear success because I am afraid of what I will become if I am successful.  I do not want to be some self center person that doesn’t care about anyone except them selves or the close relatives.  I am not like that though I can some time come off like that, because I an severely introverted and am alone most of the time.  I try to get out to events at school but it is so hard to actually meet and talk to people for me. I hide away in my home wanting to go out and do things like: I wanted to go out to the protest at Standing Rock.  This is and important thing for me.  Standing up for something I believe like access to fresh water, and not having to worry about a pipe busting open, and polluting the entire water supply for mine or any other peoples area.  Yet, I was too afraid to go and kept making excuses, granted having to get to class and working to make sure all my bills are paid is s pretty good one.   I hate going places by myself and I do that all too often now days.

    Sorry I went on a bit of a tangent there.  Basically, I have issues with power whether it is me having it or someone else. Power is something that I feel should be spread evenly amongst the populous. This way we can make our own laws that way we can do away with this what I like to call “a sliding cast system”.  This is a system in which we have different rungs of people like: lower middle, upper and tippy top classes. Which people can move up and down in.  Though it is easier to go down than up.  Then there are very few who can even reach that level and when they do they hoard money to the point it destroys the economy.  Do people really need Monstrous mansions, the most expensive cars and homes all over the world; especially when there are people in this world who have a hard time just feeding their families or to keep a roof over their heads.  We have people making millions maybe even billions killing other for their resources.

    This year I had to read the “White Mans Burden” by Rudyard Kipling.  This is a poem about how us as Americans should take up the mantel of an empire.  Kipling thought that we should because we did not have the history that other countries had in the past like:Britain and the Belgians.  This show how much he really saw things.  We were brutal too the natives, black slaves, Chinese and Irish in this country.  I would say that the past five too six hundred years of history shows how brutal the white man is.  This is coming from a white male.  I do not hate my race, but I acknowledge that this nation has never been great.  Yes we we started the industrial revolution and we were making progress for a while.  But until we recognize what we have done as a country and try to make a mends for that we will never be great.  The true White Man’s Burden is something we did to others and ourselves.  Though many will not admit it.  Those are the ones who think they are better than everyone else.  Those are the same people who promoted slavery in the past, committed mass genocide of the native population in this land.

  • Loneliness is a curse

    Well I am finally going to go see suicide squad today. I have seen the reviews but I have to decide for myself. I am just so bored and cannot focus on homework Mainly because all I do for the most part any more is just work, school, eat  and sleep.  I have no social life to speak of really.

    I have always felt alone in my life not, because I didn’t have friends or family. It is because I feel they just never understood me at all.  I am one of those people who could be in a room filled with people and still just feel like I am the only person in the room.  Over the past 4 or 5 years this feeling has grown.  That is one of the reasons why I started counseling and going back to school.  I wanted to try and put myself out there and find people who have similar interests who may understand where I am coming from and why I want to do what I am trying to do.

    I have such a hard time making new friends to do stuff with.  Here I am 40 years old divorced, single and living in a mobile home older than me,fighting my depression constantly.  It is a never ending battle.  I know people do worry about me in my family, yet it is hard for me to be around them.  The last few times I had been with them it just seem that when they were talking to me they were hyper critical of me and my viewpoints, even though I try to keep it on the internet they bring it into the face to face contacts. So I just do not want to be around them.  I feel like nothing I can do in their eye is right or good enough.  They expect me to see things the way they do and I just can’t.  It is not me I look deeper into things,  I try to understand the way the world works.  This is something I have always done.  It seems to me that all they see in me is a 40 yr old who like Cartoons, horror movies, and is decent with kids.  I feel they think I do not actually look into anything of substance at all.  They prove this by the way they try and push there own morals and beliefs on me.

    Look I am who I am and believe in my own moral code.  I have always been like that.  Religion has had no affect on my moral values.  All I want is to be a good person and help others try to treat others with respect as much as possible, not alway succeeding there.  When I came out as an Atheist for the first time that is when things started going south between me and them.  My mom was like no you’re not you Agnostic.  At the time I got offended because I didn’t know then what I do now about the word and its uses.

    Being an Atheist just means I do not believe there is a god.  Agnosticism is a state of knowing.  So my mom was right to a point, but we are all Agnostics.  No one knows for sure if a god really exists or not, despite what some people may say.  A belief is a feeling not knowledge.  I have tried to believe in a god so that people would except me I have been to so many different churches done research on the matter as well as read the bible from front to back.  There is nothing there to prove the existence of a god for me.  Some people would Probably say that it is your lack of faith that causes my depression and loneliness.  This could not be farther from the truth for me.  It is the fact that my family and old friends that think that I just want to be a rebel, different, and want to mold me to the image they want.  That is what want me to be, that has been a big contributor to my depression.  Me and my mom used to be close or as close as I can get to a person emotionally.

    I had to take a break from writing this post for awhile, because I have been in tears while writing this.  My heart is heavy and I hurt so bad, but I push on.   I expose my heart to all of you out here to let you know if you feel the same way you are not alone.   You can make it through it.  It does not matter if you’re a teen, in your 40’s or in your later years you can push through this.  You are stronger than you think.  I know because I am living it with you.  I feel the pain, the anguish, fear and loneliness the as much as anyone.  Those thoughts in your head can be change but only through practice and hard work.  You just have  you just have to have faith in yourself and find your passion.  Thing do get easier the more you work at it.  It may never go away, but at least it can be more manageable for you in the long run.

    If you know and love someone who has depression take the time to try and understand them.  Let them know they are loved don’t just say it show it.  You will make it easier for them and you may save their life.  Please.

    If you have any questions on ways I have used to manage this leave a comment down below or you can message me on facebook or twitter.  I will try to respond as much as I can.

    I want to leave you all who read this with this,  You are all loved even though it may not feel like it at times you are.  I love you all and stay strong and let peace be with you all.