Sunday, February 26, 2012

There's a good reason why they say power corrupts.

I'm sure you have heard the phrase: "power corrupts" which is usually followed by: "and absolute power corrupts absolutely". There is a reason why this rings so true. The fact is power can be addictive for most people and that addition can lead to setting no limits in gaining more power. The more powerful a person become, the more power they want to achieve. But when it comes to groups or organizations, that thrust for power tends to grow beyond the people behind it and can become a force in itself. The longer this force is allowed to grow the less control an organization has over its reach. In the end the organization becomes more powerful than its members.

I believe a good example of this can be found in the former religious entertainment and television organization of the PTL Club. It started originally by what I believe to be a naive country bred young couple as an outreach christian ministry. It turned into a power monster that needed to be constantly fed. The reason I understand this situation better than most is because in the 80s I actually lived on the PTL property and worked for the construction company Jim Baker had hired to build his empire. I saw then that those closest to the leadership stood by and watched as the focus changed and the organization's morals were corrupted by the greed of the powerful machine they had built. It had become more important to keep the machine fed than to fulfill the intended purpose the christian organization had been created for in the first place. It was now more important to keep the organization alive than any other goal. The good of the people had been abandoned for to the good of the organization.

In contemplating world politics, it is also a rather sad commentary on the state of our world's governments when a majority of citizens want peace but governments continue to wage war supposedly on their behalf. It really emphasizes the fact that most governments as a form of organization have also grown to become so large and powerful that they believe the opinions of those they represent do not really matter anymore. Whether or not a government represents and serves it citizens no longer matters. What matters is that the government must be fed and maintained. That goal becomes the prime focus of the government and all other goals become secondary. The problem is once this direction has been given some headway, it becomes very difficult to change that direction. The only way I know to change this direction is for one person at a time to stand up and point out the the injustice they have experienced so that together we can take back control of our lives.


Thursday, February 16, 2012

It is time for a good house cleaning in Washington!

It really doesn't matter if they call themselves Republicans or Democrats, either way Washington politicians have been running our government like it was their own personal business without regard to those who put them into office. It appears to me that an attitude has developed among our elected officials that they are smarter than we are and know better than we do what is good for us. After all we are the "Masses" and everyone knows the "Masses" are not smart enough to make decisions for themselves. The problem with this attitude is that while a mob may be ignorant of the total truth and driven by questionable motives, today in this time of constant connections to millions of information sources, most individuals on the other hand, are fairly intelligent, knowledgeable about the issues, and have goals that are constructive and reasonable.

Even with all the political spin the big media sources put on things, whether conservative or liberal, we have all been watching what has been going on in Washington these days and can see the truth for ourselves. One party wants to control various aspects of our life, while another wants to place the interest of businesses above the interest of the people. Both sides are serving their own personal interests and motives. Every day we see them either refusing to act on important issues, or creating laws that benefit those funding their political career while ignoring the real needs of the people they represent. We the people are being ignored while politicians continue to help themselves and grow richer.

I believe it is time to clean house in Washington as well as on the state level too.  In my opinion it is time to get rid of the old guard that have set the current status quo. We can not take them at their word and trust them to do as they say because they have proven they are not really interested in serving the people by their actions. I feel the only way we can fix this problem is to start over with new people that do not owe any political favors. I truly believe we should vote out all of the old guard politicians and only retain those fresh faces that have a record of representing the people correctly. In turn we should vote in a new regime of representatives with the understanding that if they don't represent us correctly we will throw them out too. This may be the only way to save our country from reaching a depth so low that no one will be able to get us out of it!
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Saturday, February 11, 2012

Big Oil ... Come Get It While We've Got It


I understand the need for oil products at this time in history, but personally, I think we have done far too much to keep the oil industry comfortable in its earnings. The problem is we have known for decades that oil is eventually going to run out, yet we keep on exploiting it. It may not affect us, our children, or our grandchildren, but our great-grandchildren may have to deal with it when the oil runs out, and eventually it will.

The limited oil resources we have now are forcing prices higher and higher while promoting what I believe to be possibly dangerous explorations. In light of the discovery that some earthquakes in Ohio were linked to fracking operations, and with all the loss of income by the fishing industry in the gulf recently, I believe further uncontrolled oil exploration could damage the income of hundreds of thousands while employing just a few thousand just because the demand is so high and the financial return for a few is so great.

The fact is, oil is a limited resource and is also partially responsible for air, water, and earth pollution. If we don't start looking for other cleaner energy resources and try to discover alternative means for producing those things we now make from oil and its by products, I believe we will be contributing to the development of a serious disaster for all of mankind. If we wait until the oil runs out before we start seeking to employing viable solutions, it will be too late to do anything. I do not want future generations saying that it was our generation's fault for not doing something sooner.