Police

This post-911 world has taken us back to a time before the lessons learned during the Viet Nam War era. Now, for example, every soldier is a hero in the media. The Viet Nam War era taught us, however, that front line soldiers are actually socioeconomic pawns. In fact, in an all volunteer army, soldiers are most often the desperately poor who sign away their freedom and ethics for a college education or a meager living as a career soldier.

Another lesson of the Viet Nam War era informed us that police also work for politicians and business interests over the interests of the common citizen. When average citizens protested against racism during the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960s and against war in the late Viet Nam War era and against homophobia in the Gay Liberation struggle of that time, they were brutalized, sprayed with fire hoses and shot by police and/or national guardsmen, called in to back up police. There was absolutely no stated ambivalence on the part of police in their roles at that time. They freely backed injustice and violence over peace and reconciliation.

Today, the general attitude of police in many communities and especially on the state level here in Massachusetts is often entitled, rude and callous. It rivals the notorious behavior of Boston transit employees. This is a reversion to the old days, when police operated like other mafias with secrets kept and injustices performed with impunity. To the average citizen, this confirms popular, perhaps unfounded, suspicions of corruption and low intelligence in police work.

Several members of my family were police officers from the 1940s to the 1990s. Half a century. My own father, a policeman for nearly 40 years, while prone to Right Wing politics himself, was skeptical about the general quality of his fellow policemen. He often observed that the system did not reward the peaceful and the just. It rewarded the aggressive, corrupt and political (manipulative).

As I walk around Boston, I see idle police in police cars. When they see that I am noticing them, they usually shoot me a dirty look. I see police cars idling in front of convenience stores and donut shops, where no apparent criminal activity is afoot. I see people running red lights as I am in a cross walk. I see cars parked illegally on sidewalks and in public park areas. I see mouthy gangs of young people causing public disturbances with skateboards, as they overtly harass pedestrians and drivers.

When I do drive, I have trouble finding a handicap parking space when helping a friend who has a medallion, because cars without handicap medallions from out of state are often parked in handicap spaces. My own neighborhood has permit parking due to limited spaces for residents on the street, and no police enforcement ever occurs, unless the tow companies want to make money on street cleaning days. I see state police tapping away at computers in their air conditioned cars, luxury by any standard, as traffic violators blithely run lights and ignore pedestrians. I also see state troopers standing around construction sites, while no visible work is being done and traffic is being bottled up for no apparent reason.

I see all these things daily, weekly. I also see the outcry in the media when a state trooper falls victim to a work-related injury. Yet, I seldom hear anything about cases of police corruption other than an initial blip. These cases are seldom highlighted or followed up in the press. Who is policing the police? Apparently nobody is.

I also hear the excuse that police budgets have been cut, that there are not enough police. Well, if there are not enough police, why do I see local police and state police taking so many extra details at construction sites? These details take their energy and availability away from the actual work of policing. I may add that police at construction sites do no policing. As an avid pedestrian, I have risked life and limb in construction areas where I have been forced to walk in a busy street without the least care or concern of a policeman staring at me from yards away. In fact, in some instances, I have been yelled at by a detail policeman for practicing my right of way as a pedestrian.

If police want public will for better funding, I suggest they simply start doing a better job. Clean up gang crime. Crack down on drug-dealing taggers and hoodlums in the streets. Enforce traffic and parking laws. Make life safe for pedestrians on city streets. If police present themselves in public as hard-working, engaged citizens in an official capacity, rather than paramilitaries in the employment of politicians and business, they would gain greater respect and participation in law and order from their fellow citizens and taxpayers.

Courage

In the materialist and hedonist American culture, we are bombarded by stories in various media about people facing adversity by continuing to live "active" lives which often entail trips to exotic places, bicycle tournaments, cross-country treks. The media, owned by corporations who sell things, like trips, bicycles and motel rooms, have a vested interest in portraying the "brave" survivors of adversity as determined consumers.

Some who survive adversity become businesses, like the segments of the breast-cancer-fundraising industry, which has been exposed as a cash cow for some indiscriminate entrepreneurs while yielding limited net funds to cancer research. Parents of afflicted children, with the help of media promotion, have started non-profits which have become their full-time job, yielding much higher annual salaries than they ever expected in their original occupations, while yielding relatively little money to help others.

I am sorry to say that many of these trends are modeled on the example of the so-called, non-profit AIDS industry. By diligently pursuing Federal grants, running trendy fundraisers and setting up highly specific non-profits, some in the AIDS industry have made huge salaries, bought second homes and retired early on large pensions. They have traveled the globe on tax-deductible money under the pretext of attending conferences. AIDS transmission has not been impacted commensurate to the cost of funding these agencies.

What about the courage of those who live with adversity humbly and responsibly without participating in corruption, tax-evasion or manipulation of public sentiment? Millions of people live these lives day by day without resentment or selfishness. Yet, they are not held up as role models for those who may some day be confronted with a life crisis. Their wisdom is considered weakness by many. By the materialist and selfish, they are seen as losers.

What a sad state our culture is in! Despite the recent failure of greedy capitalism, our government struggles to prop it back up. People who come here illegally and reap the benefits of the hard work of native-born and legally immigrated Americans are seen as victims. Our Congress argues over billions of dollars to keep rich war contractors happy. Millions of people are losing their homes in foreclosure, while real estate experts joyfully tout increased sales and higher prices of property, as the banks resell the properties they have taken back.

It takes courage to live a simple and responsible life. To fulfill daily commitments to those we love requires consistency and routine. Flying off to a beach in Thailand at will is not on the menu of someone who loves and cares for others with a limited income. But we seldom hear the story of those who do the washing, the dressing and the feeding of those who cannot function by themselves.

I applaud and admire the courage of those who care responsibly and humbly for their fellow human beings throughout their lives. They are the unseen fabric which holds a society together. They often enable others in family systems to live more colorful and recreational lives without ever getting acknowledged for their contribution.

Water

The urban water supply of Metropolitan Boston has failed, as of May 1st. Contractors associated with the infamous Big Dig tunnel project, a standard of corruption and lethally substandard construction, are rumored to be responsible for the supply pipe which failed after just 7 years, thus cutting off drinkable water for 2 million people. The system has, as yet, no back-up supply line. Brilliant, eh? Yes, we are boiling water in Boston, and it isn't for lobsters or clams. It's for giadia and cryptosporidia.

How did we get here from the proud days of the far-sighted Quabbin Reservoir project and elegantly designed granite pumping stations (as illustrated) on pristine back-up reservoirs, scattered around the city? How is it that we have some of the most plentiful watersheds in the world, yet pay nearly twice as much for water as people in Phoenix, AZ!

I am hoping time will tell all. However, the short attention span of the media and the voting public leaves me doubtful that anything will come of it. In the meantime, I suggest you take a leaf from the book of my independent 90-year-old mother, whom I called to make sure she was aware of the need to boil water for drinking. She said, "Doesn't really effect me at all. I've been boiling my water for decades." And, her practice is not naive. She was once the administrative assistant for her hometown's civil engineer, who, of course, was involved with the urban water supply.

Corruption

The Republicans in U.S. Congress are now mounting a mock battle against financial reform after organizing gun-toting, bullying goons against health industry reform on the basis that the government unjustly bailed out Wall Street. Think about it. Is it about what's best for the American people? Obviously not. It is about Republicans wanting control of the graft and corruption in Congress. They will do anything to regain that control.

"In the Senate Gregg was the leading Republican negotiator and author of the TARP program, which bailed out financial institutions, while he had a multi-million dollar investment in the Bank of America." ---Wikipedia, "Judd Gregg".

Corporatocracy?

This video (link below) was produced for Bell Labs in 1958. It warned of global warming. I am sure the oil industry has been suppressing this information since before 1958. Eisenhower, having allowed Congress, the oil industry and auto industry to tear apart the public transit system in the U.S. in order to sell more cars, warned the public of the military-industrial complex too late. Was it the confession of a guilt-ridden man?

GO TO VIDEO NOW.

Polls

I have been looking at several polling sites. I occurred to me that there is no regulation or oversight of these polling sites.

So, a thought came to me, as I saw a preponderance of positive data about Red States and a preponderance of negative data about Blue States on one site: In a media-driven, poll-diven, divided government, wouldn't it be likely that corrupting interests would manage to control and manipulate polls? Who would know? The polling sites I have visited show no signs of transparency in terms of their corporate links, institutional links or their data. Yet, our politicians are driven by these statisticians' pronouncements about the voter's psyche.

Is it really likely, for example, that the majority of a population, plagued by a major financial collapse and its insecurities, really doesn't want improved health care coverage? or sticter climate remediation policies? I wonder, but whose numbers can I trust in a society which has been corrupted by international corporate manipulation?

Ethics

Peter Galbraith, son of a prominent American political family, has demonstrated the etiquette and importance of ethics in true democratic culture. He has been castigated for it by corrupted men in international seats of power.



The corrupt shrug at the practicality of corruption in others. This is the way of politics and the world of materialistic men without ethics and higher vision. Keeping their secrets overrides keeping their standards of ethical behavior. When exposed, the corrupt encircle each other defensively, like a pack of attacked wolves. The truthsayer is isolated, punished, expelled.

This behavior has infected all layers of civic culture and business culture in the U.S. and in the developed world. It is symptomatic of governmental and corporate reactions to overpopulation, stressed environments and stretched natural resources. Greed is a symptom of the awareness of the wealthy classes, usually well educated, to the impending environmental disasters on this planet.

Is this behavior conscious? I doubt it is as conscious as it is pervasive and infectious. Capitalism has no consciousness. Corporations have no definable consciousness. Accumulation of wealth drives capitalist corporations in the same way hunger drives a pack of wolves. However, the hunger of corporations is unmitigated. Corporations never have full bellies. They never sleep.

The practice of truthfulness in all things is a bad business model in a capitalist world. This is a crucial conflict for any person who wishes to practice mindfulness, truthfulness and compassion in his/her daily life. It is a moment-by-moment choice. Making the right choice and taking the right action in each moment over time builds practice. In my experience, living in this practice, while never easy or monetarily enriching, builds the strength and skills which also ensure living well within the realities of the world.

Cowardice

Nonviolence and universal human justice take great courage and sacrifice. Cowardice is taking the easy, most conventional course against one's higher instincts and ethics.

Why is an American president with unusually high popular approval and international enthusiasm waffling on bringing an end to our wars of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq? Where is his loyalty based? Is it based in the people who elected him? Or is it based in the political class to which he belongs? The same questions can be asked of the Congress and all politicians in America.

Why is America rated 13th in international quality-of-life polls? Why is the American middle class being reduced to poverty and high debt to the wealthy who are 10% of the population? Why does the American government refuse to provide affordable health care to all its citizens?

Look to the banks. Look to the insurance companies. Look to the corporations in the energy and military-supply sectors. Look to the private contractors in the war zones.

Has cowardice led the leaders of America to bow to greed and corruption?

Poverty

Without poverty, there would be no armies. The just distribution of financial and environmental resources would bring peace to the world. Hungry people can be convinced to kill for pay and booty. Healthy, well-fed and educated people are averse to war, unless attacked. This is a simple lesson of history.

So, it is admirable for President Obama and others to advocate broadening educational opportunities and health care. However, this is placing the cart before the horse. The engine of health and education is shared wealth. In a capitalist system, that means taxing the capitalists who tend to horde and transmit wealth through inheritance. This is also a simple lesson of history.

So, why are 1.5% of the population in the US still depriving The People of the US of just pay for work, public education and public health care by buying off the government through elections? The answer is obvious. Those in government are aligned with that minority of the population against the needs of The People.

Pakistan

The United States government supports dictatorships around the world. This is a simple fact.

The United States government, founded as an instrument of service and protection for its constituents by its designers, has deteriorated into an instrument of control and corruption in opposition to the true interests of its constituents. This is the way of men and women in power. Yes, power corrupts.

Any feelings of superiority which a citizen may feel as an American are unfounded. In fact, since the Constitution of the United States places responsibility for change and direction on the citizens, all Americans should currently be ashamed of the state of their nation and their democracy. And this shame should ideally be shown in the results of upcoming elections.

While waving an accusing hand at Muslim extremists, capitalist extremists under the false banner of Christianity have taken control of the American government, its army, its courts and its media. This must change, if the United States is to survive as a nation of justice, freedom and prosperity for all.

Human evolution toward mindfulness, peace and compassion requires a practice of responsible world citizenship. This citizenship, as a member of the human species, far overshadows the role of a member of a political party, a government or a nation. Those who unjustly control and corrupt the common good through politics are far more despicable than common criminals.

Bhutto

Click here to read the biography of Benazir Bhutto on Wikipedia.

Corruption as norm. This is the worm which causes societies to collapse. It is motivated by greed and lust for power over other human beings.

It is noteworthy that Ms. Bhutto studied at both Harvard and Oxford. It is noteworthy that her corrupt business dealings included the Swiss, the French and the Poles. In other words, corruption is business s usual in the upper echelons of society. But, corruption is also a personal corrosive. It undermines honesty and trust in human relationships on all levels.

Guarding against corruption is part of my practice. It is particularly difficult in today's urban environment. The unscrupulous use corruption in the most inane transactions to mark their place in an overpopulated society, where wealth alone guarantees basic quality of life. Those who abandon a belief in universal human rights turn to corruption to insure their own rights and privileges. This process defines many governments in the world, including the current Republican government in the United States.

Corruption

The word, corruption, usually evokes images of a fat politician with a cigar in one hand and the other hand held out for a bribe. But corruption is much more subtle and pervasive than that image conveys. All things, on a basic physical level, are prey to corruption, due to oxidation, entropy and other phenomena. The process of evolution is a process directly opposed to corruption. Civilization is a human method of dealing with corruption on many levels. Our individual lives become corrupted physically by disease and mentally by greed, laziness and/or unhealthy dependency on people or objects. The shared lie corrupts and often leads to behaviors which hasten physical corruption as well.

Daily practices of exercise, nutrition, meditation, truthfulness, cooperation and sharing affection can aid in our attempt to ward off corruption of our lives.