What's wrong with sharing?...

Is anyone else as perplexed and discouraged by the current response to Obama, and more specifically by the “tea” parties and the complaining about taxes? Is it too much to ask for a bit of common sense? Are we that frightened and angry that we can’t see that Obama is simply doing his best to pick up the pieces of 30 years of a way of governing and doing business that has resulted in the mess we are in?

And is anyone else shocked by the strong resistance to contributing to the good of the whole? We keep hearing that raising taxes and supporting social programs makes people lazy and kills the creative, entrepreneurial spirit. Well, that’s just not true. That’s based on fear and inability to let go of control. It has been proven to work around the world. I have proof. I lived in the Netherlands for almost 18 years and I see how a more social system can both take care of those in need and support the uniqueness and success of the individual.

What ever happened to sharing? All religious and spiritual traditions advocate it. The Christian bible emphasizes the holiness in giving to others and sharing. We are taught as children that sharing is a virtue. And it is part of the blueprint of a society based on higher consciousness. Wouldn’t you say? So what are we so afraid of?

I think I know. I think it has to do with the fact that since 1948, we Americans have been so brainwashed that we can’t see reality anymore. We have been bombarded with images, propaganda, movies, TV, books etc. that have convinced us that the Soviet Union and China and any country that supported them were inherently bad and that their main objective was to destroy the United States and “the free world” (whatever that is…) We were told that Communism and Socialism was the way of the enemy, and anything that resembled these systems were evil. This was finally crystallized with Ronald Reagan’s speech in the early 80’s when he called the Soviet Union “the Evil Empire.”

Think about how brainwashed we all were. We either believed him or we actually let him get away with it. Clinical psychologists would call that sociopathic behavior, right? Yet, we accepted it as normal. And how could we not? Look at all the rhetoric and propaganda that was created to justify our actions at home and around the world. Look at the horror of the House Un-American Committee in the 50’s. Look at the destruction that the US created in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. All in the name of democracy and freedom. Look at all the movies and books of the 50’s and 60’s that all had to do with some kind of evil force from the outside, whether human or extraterrestrial, that tried to take over America and “American values.” Look at the proliferation of nuclear weapons creating a reality on this planet that no human being has ever had to face – complete annihilation. We had no choice but to be traumatized.

Well, times have changed. Now is an opportunity to wake up out of the 60-year nightmare and take a good look at the facts and common sense. The first thing we need to realize is that Communism and Socialism are economic systems and not political. The “evil” of the Soviet and Chinese regime was not how they distributed wealth, but the dictatorial, tyrannical tactics of power hungry, ideologically blinded men who had no problem murdering and destroying to maintain power. Communism doesn’t kill and take away freedoms, people do.

So, what we all should do is some soul searching and find a way to overcome our Pavlovian Dog response to the words Communism and Socialism, and realize that supporting and voting for programs that strengthen social programs and ask us to pay more taxes won’t annihilate us. And I’m not only talking to my Conservative brothers and sisters out there, but also to my Liberal ones as well. You may talk the talk, but look down deep and feel deep in your body how you still flinch when you hear the C word or the S word. When we can let go of this trauma and reactive response, we will see how powerful sharing is and see that an individual can be strong only if the entire community is strong.

Yes, it is possible to pay a lot of taxes and still follow your entrepreneurial spirit and realize your personal goals. It is possible to get welfare for a while and be a vital part of society. Yes it is possible to have governmental social programs and still have freedom. I know it to be true. I lived for 18 years in a country where it happens. And if you look at your statistics, the people of the Netherlands and Denmark (two examples of socially free-market societies) are the happiest, healthiest, and financially stable in the world. Look at the facts! And if you are one of those who say you don’t care how other countries do it, you are only interested in what is happening here in the United States, then remember – that’s sociopathic behavior according to clinical psychology.

A Pro-Life Movement I Would Support

I would love to join a pro-life movement! I can’t think of anything better to put my energy into. The pro-life movement I would support would take on the following tasks.
To get all governments to:
Create and enforce an international ban on the death penalty.
Place an international tax of at least 75% on the profits of all weapon making companies, as well as establish a yearly quota of how much can be produced.
Instill an international mandate that every politician or leader who chooses to go to war - or their son or daughter, or grandson or granddaughter - must enlist for battle.
Introduce an education system where all high-school level students are required to live and study abroad for 6 – 12 months.
Create and implement programs to effectively eliminate hunger around the world.
Create strict regulations on how animals are slaughtered for food, as well as enforce a quota of how many animals may be killed for food per year.
Fund companies to invent pesticides and poisons that only repel insects and rodents and don’t kill them.
Change the prison system so that no private company or individual makes a profit, and any revenue is distributed for social services and programs to eliminate crime.
Decriminalize the use of soft drugs.
Create well-funded planned parenthood institutions that focus on pregnancy prevention and fully inform pregnant women of their options, as well as enforce a law that requires thorough sex education in public and private schools.
Instill educational programs for pre-schoolers where boys are taught to respect girls and women, and girls are encouraged to be independent, self-sufficient individuals.
How about you? Are you interested in a pro-life movement? What would yours look like?

Goodbye and thank you, Mr. George W. Bush...

"January 19th, 2009. The end of an era in American history, the end of a decades-old regime.
The end of "if you're not with us, you're against us" diplomacy.
The end of "every man for himself" economics.
The end of "power means domination".
The end of "if your views are different from mine, then you must be a threat" morals.
And thank you, Mr. George W. Bush for accellerating the process for us to get there.
Thank you for taking on the role of being the symbol for this dying system.
Thank you for leading the system that taught us so clearly that war is stupid and never benefits anyone.
Thank you for leading the system that woke us up out of our haze by continuously taking away our rights and liberties.
Thank you for leading the system that proved to us that unregulated capitalism does not work.
Thank you for leading the system that took America's standing in the world from fear to ridicule, forcing us to review our suppressive, imperialistic world policies.
Thank you for leading the system that has abused our planet so much, that we now take action to protect our planet and not just sit around crying about it.
Someone had to do it and it happened to be you. Thank you for taking on that role.
Because without you, we probably wouldn't be where we are today - a time of possibility, of tearing down the old and opening to new paradigms and ways of being.
A time where cooperation, personal responsibility, collaboration, respect for others and their beliefs, a sharing of power and resources and ideas will be the norm and default.
Thank you, goodbye and farewell.
Joe Weston"