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Recognizing Ignorance

Let's try this: If you have  never  changed your mind about some fundamental thing in your belief system, if you have never  questioned  it's basics, and if you have  no wish  to do so, then you are very likely ignorant. How about going out and finding someone who,  in your opinion , believes, assumes, or considers certain things very strongly and very differently from what you believe. Then just have a basic honest conversation. That is how we can all build positive tolerance and unify.  

Creating the Future

  If you are positive, positive things will find you.  I submit to you again that all futures are created by thoughts. And that the foundation of all happiness is faith. A happy life is also a healthy life. None of us will ever be perfectly healthy, but we can seek our personal  optimal level of health.  If we can accept the premise that our minds can create illness, it would naturally follow that we can also create wellness. And therein lies a most powerful truth about healing.  Have faith, be positive about your future and create it.

The World Sustained

We can't escape the idea that, in general, people commonly use false moral standards judge their own behavior. Most people seek success and wealth for themselves and admire them in others, but at the same time,  to be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a moral disgrace.

How to Motivate? Inspire

Yearning to do good, to do better starts with an inspired vision.  When people can see it in their mind’s eye and hold a vision before them of what is possible for the future, it inspires them to take action. It gives them a goal to work towards. It gives meaning to their daily actions. It helps them stay the course, especially when they need it most.  Inspiring a shared vision requires our leaders to be thoughtful visionaries who engage others in creating a shared future. 

About Great Leaders

Book except from Madeleine K. Albright's Fascism: A Warning We cannot, of course, expect every leader to possess the wisdom of Lincoln or Mandela’s largeness of soul. But when we think about what questions might be most useful to ask, perhaps we should begin by discerning what our prospective leaders believe it worthwhile for us to hear. Do they cater to our prejudices by suggesting that we treat people outside our ethnicity, race, creed or party as unworthy of dignity and respect? Do they want us to nurture our anger toward those who we believe have done us wrong, rub raw our grievances and set our sights on revenge? Do they encourage us to have contempt for our governing institutions and the electoral process? Do they seek to destroy our faith in essential contributors to democracy, such as an independent press, and a professional judiciary? Do they exploit the symbols of patriotism, the flag, the pledge in a conscious effort to turn us against one another? If defeated at the pol

Don't Look Back America You're Not Going That Way

All of us need just three things in life to be truly happy:  Someone to love Something to do  Something to hope for.... let's just do this, shall we?

Regarding Goal Achievement

If you want to achieve your dreams and take steps to achieve your life goals, then commitment is the key to help you get there. If you believe you can reach your goals and have the commitment and self-confidence to expand that belief, anything is possible.

Life in Series

So, you don't like the way your life is going, or you love it so far? Our lives seem to be a series of events and accidents. But if you look back you will see a pattern. Find out what that pattern is, and you can change your future hopefully for the better [or maintain it].

The Mark of a Monster

  When considering the question of whether or not someone is an autocrat, dictator wannabe, it would be good to remember that Joseph Stalin , Benito Mussolini , and Adolf Hitler all took great care in always saying the opposite of what they did, and do the opposite of what they said. This is the mark of a psychopath who becomes head of a nation (or an organization). History is full of tales and stories to narrate how powerful men exploited their authority and power to inflict misery and suffering on others. While some leaders used ruthless ways to capture cities and gain control over states, others simply derived sadistic satisfaction in torturing and abusing people. As you read the accounts of the following people who abused their authority by abusing humankind, it might dawn on you why we must never accept a lying psychopath as head of state. Here's a list of psychopathic leaders who used the most dreaded and brutal methods in history to torture their people: Full Article  

The Pain of Silence

We know that our enemies will mistreat us, acting in unkind ways. We guard against being disrespected and shield ourselves against hateful words that are thrown at us like rocks — that’s what our enemies do, they try to hurt us. We are sometimes caught off guard by the actions of our enemies, but these actions are never unexpected. Our enemies wouldn’t be enemies if they were nice and supportive...right? Friends on the other hand, and by friends I mean all good people, are a different story all together. We expect them to do right, to have our backs. Otherwise good people often enable bullies and even seditionists to thrive by remaining silent in the face of the bad person's actions. It's either fear or apathy but the result is the same — silence is consent. Never forget that or this: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer * *  Dietrich Bonhoeffer   was arrested in Apri

Conspiracy's Blind Faith

Conspiracy theories resist falsification and are reinforced by circular reasoning: both evidence against the conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are re-interpreted as evidence of its truth, whereby the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proved or disproved.  Research suggests that conspiracist ideation—belief in conspiracy theories—can be psychologically harmful or pathological and that it is correlated with psychological projection , paranoia and Machiavellianism .  Psychologists attribute finding a conspiracy where there is none to a mental illness called illusory pattern perception .Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in mass media , emerging as a cultural phenomenon of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Regarding the False Equivalence Argument

False equivalence is a logical fallacy (a propaganda technique and a favorite of conmen/women) in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency. In common speak, a false equivalence is often called "comparing apples and oranges". Thomas Patterson of the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University wrote about the false equivalency used by the media during the 2016 United States presidential election : ''False equivalencies are developing on a grand scale as a result of relentlessly negative news. If everything and everyone is portrayed negatively, there’s a leveling effect that opens the door to charlatans. The press historically has helped citizens recognize the difference between the earnest politician and the pretender. Today’s news coverage blurs the distinction.''

About Voter Mistakes

There is a real danger in democracy. It is the risk of the electorate being wrong about a candidate, and until now it wasn't an obvious risk (to many that is).  This mindset has been too prevalent in our era, ''My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge,'' and that has to change.

''I've never understood America, said the King'' by John Steinbeck

  “I've never understood America," said the king. "Neither do we, sir. You might say we have two governments, kind of overlapping. First we have the elected government. It's Democratic or Republican, doesn't make much difference, and then there's corporation government." "They get along together, these governments?" "Sometimes," said Tod. "I don't understand it myself. You see, the elected government pretends to be democratic, and actually it is autocratic. The corporation governments pretend to be autocratic and they're all the time accusing the others of socialism. They hate socialism." "So I have heard," said Pippin. "Well, here's the funny thing, sir. You take a big corporation in America, say like General Motors or Du Pont or U.S. Steel. The thing they're most afraid of is socialism, and at the same time they themselves are socialist states." The king sat bolt upright. "Please?&qu

Out with the Old

Healthcare must shift to a prevention model.  The focus must be on positive diet and lifestyle changes. Healthcare systems must adopt a more preventative health approach based on the developing science behind the health benefits of plant-rich, nutrient-dense diets( 100% whole food plant based diet ) plus other lifestyle changes such as regular exercise and limiting stress.  After the pandemic, consumers will be more aware of the importance of their underlying health, and will increasingly understand that healthier food is needed to help support their natural defenses. With a much deeper understanding of nutrition , the global food industry must change immediately by offering a plant-based range of product options to support optimal human health. The healthcare industry can respond to this by promoting disease prevention. And, by the way, a healthy plant-based diet is good for the planet's health as well.

How to Deal with Change

Seasons Change and So Do We by Michael Corthell Our first reaction to the unexpected change is usually quite negative. Feeling vulnerable and maybe even threatened, we can react badly.  In fact, we go through stages: Surprise (shock, wondering why this is happening to us.), Panic (how the changes will impact us and if we'll be able to handle them), and even Blame (we try to find safety and reassurance by shifting the blame to someone else). Bottom line ? We all need to know how to handle Change . ''Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.'' — Arnold Bennett What is the worst that can happen? Ask this question, then decide just how likely it is to happen. The next question is, ''How likely is it to happen?'' How much and what part of this change can you control? When change happens, figure out how if it's something you can control over, and just how much control you do ha

Free Speech in America Does Have Limits

  Concerning Incitement The Supreme Court has held that "advocacy of the use of force" is unprotected when it is "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action" and is "likely to incite or produce such action". The Supreme Court has also held that speech is unprotected if it constitutes "fighting words". Fighting words, as defined by the Court, is speech that "tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace" by provoking a fight, so long as it is a "personally abusive word which, when addressed to the ordinary citizen, is, as a matter of common knowledge, inherently likely to provoke a violent reaction". “True threats of violence” that are directed at a person or group of persons that have the intent of placing the target at risk of bodily harm or death are generally unprotected.

Intolerance and Fascism

Those seeking to take control a country and its citizens always utilize fraud and deception to carryout their sinister agenda. Intolerance is a foundation of fascism and tyranny. Opposition is first silenced, and then either imprisoned, or banished. This formula has happened over and over throughout human history. This process usually starts on a small scale, but then gains more and more momentum as the movement gains traction and the opposition is systematically eliminated. Intolerance is the number one tool used by fascists seeking to subjugate a population through the elimination of freedom. These power mad people take hypocrisy to new levels by openly appearing to preach tolerance while actively attempting to suppress those disagreeing with them. See: The Paradox of Tolerance for more information 

The Paradox of Tolerance

Is there a real difference? by Michael Corthell The paradox of tolerance states that if a society is tolerant without any limits, its ability to be tolerant is eventually co-opted or destroyed by the intolerant. Karl Popper described it as the seemingly paradoxical idea that in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance. (see laws against hate speech ) Tolerance as defined by Dictionary.com says ''a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one’s own; freedom from bigotry''.   Acceptance is defined in the same dictionary as ''favorable reception; approval; favor''. So we can see that there is a big difference between the two. Many don't like the word tolerance. There’s something about it that makes us think 'putting up with' or 'dealing with.' Saying, ''I’m tolerant of Islam,'' can be interpr

'Roll with It Baby'

''If a life event doesn't challenge you, it didn't change you.'' Adapting to Change The number one obstacle to positive changes is fear. Fear brought about moving out of our comfort zones. It boils down to the risk & reward equation. The greater the risk, the greater the reward. How about unexpected change? We need to prepare ahead of time. And the discipline to do that is the real challenge. It a lot like the necessity of home, auto and life insurance. The insurance of preparation for a changing and challenging life is the assurance that we will come out alright on the other side of any challenge to our comfy status quo. American is at a crossroads right now, undergoing a major existential crisis, however using the risk/reward formula we as a people can reap a fantastic reward by not only surviving it but from learning from it. What will that reward be (besides our continued freedom)? 

Trump Impeachment: Adam Schiff's Closing Argument

  ''...you know you can’t trust this President to do what’s right for this country. You can trust he will do what’s right for Donald Trump. He’ll do it now. He’s done it before. He’ll do it for the next several months. He’ll do it in the election if he’s allowed to. This is why if you find him guilty, you must find that he should be removed. Because right matters. Because right matters and the truth matters . Otherwise, we are lost.'' __________________________________ Adam Schiff delivered an emotional closing statement on Thursday, January 23, 2020 at the Donald Trump Impeachment trial in the Senate. He called Donald Trump “dangerous” and criticized him for listening to Rudy Giuliani over US intelligence agencies. Adam Schiff: ''This brings me the last point I want to make tonight, which is, when we’re done, we believe that we will have made the case overwhelmingly of the President’s guilt. That is, he’s done what he’s charged with. He withheld the money. He w

Self Serving v. Public Service: Show Me

The events over the course of not only the past few days, but throughout the whole of our civilization's political history, highlight the danger of self serving politicians and their supporters. We all need to understand that some people, particularly public servants, will say all the right words at all the right times in order to get elected(especially to stay in power!). But in the end, we need to always judge their actions not their flowery intentions. It's actions, not words, that matter especially in keeping a Democratic Republic safe, secure and strong.

The First Week of January 2021

Michael Corthell The our whole nation and the world witnessed a gang of mostly Caucasian men breaking into the United States Capitol Building this week, primarily because they wrongly thought that the law belong to them only, and because many of us spent the Trump presidency thinking that Trump's true nature was either too ridiculous to fear, or would just pass and we'd get back to normal (we let our guard down).  But in the end, the saner, calmer majority, not the shrill voices of rebellion, remained standing and so did our Democracy.  This short moment of constitutional crisis should not lead us to forget or dismiss the extraordinary strength and eloquence  of our Constitution Republic, but it must heighten our resolve to more strongly safe guard our liberties. 

Devil May Care

The devil tried to speak but was silenced. A burning, prideful (narcissism) banned him from heaven, though he once sat at God's right hand. In the end pride is the only true evil, and is the root of all sins. When he was finally allowed to speak his heart he replied, ''Pride is all I have.''

Better Angels: Reuniting America

''The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.'' ― Abraham Lincoln ____________________________________ Gettysburg Address ''Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.  Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.  We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain