Bread and Circus Soceity

With each passing day, We, the People are being crushed under the weight of an overreaching, militarized, and corrupt government that's growing exponentially, yet, most of us remain blissfully ignorant thanks, in large part, to the mainstream media, the gatekeepers who are the primary source for disseminating political, cultural, and economic ideas, but at the same time, beholden to their corporate owners.

As long as this--corporate media deception-- is allowed to continue, the political strategy, "bread and circuses" will never die. The reason? It's-- the game plan that allows the elite to do as they please uncontested by the population--as dependable as the sunrise. Especially in today's technologically distracted world of low cost infotainment and trivialities. It's rare that anyone even notices that elected officials do the exact opposite of their pre-election promises, or realize that the ruling class has become so powerful and corrupt, much more loyal to multinational corporations than to its citizen. 

“If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not meant, then what ought to be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and arts will deteriorate; if morals and arts deteriorate, justice will go astray; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in hopeless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything." -- Confucius

Increasingly, we are spending more time in virtual reality, which is basically a technological extension of the humankind and/or mind, rather than in the natural environment and/or unmediated reality (At least I know I spend far too much time in virtual reality, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone).  This further enables modern day bread and circuses to blur the line between fabrication and reality, creating a vicarious modus operandi in which  people prefer quick entertainment, smoke and mirrors, and imagery to first hand participation and effort in discerning matters of substance.

“Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions–everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses.” -- The Roman poet Juvenal (circa 100 A.D.)

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Austerity: Destroying the Social Contract Here and in the Euro

Is there any question that both Europe and the US governing powers side with the 1%? Corporate and bankster welfare queens abound! Socialism for the wealthy is alive and well, while the rest of us are subject to increasing austerity measures totally unnecessary considering the US government has well over $100 TRILLION in its CAFRS. That alone should tell you that the concept of austerity is not economic, but one of political control.

As Hugh says responding to the naked capitalism article:

Breaking the social contract is what kleptocracy is all about. Or rather it is about breaking one side of it. The 99% are supposed to honor all the duties of the contract, which largely means paying off the debts the 1% have incurred, supporting public institutions which the 1% control, and obeying the laws which the 1% write. But as regards the benefits for the 99% that flow from the social contract: personal and political rights, jobs, housing, healthcare, education, and retirements, these are being trashed, tossed, and looted by the same 1%.

In this sense, we are all Greece. Look at America’s decaying infrastructure, high unemployment, housing disaster, declining system of public education, student debt, overpriced healthcare that leaves tens of millions un- and under insured, pensions that no longer exist, are underfunded, or gutted by Wall Street gambling, and the multiple attempts by both parties to slash Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. How are we any different from Greece? How is the rest of Europe? East Asia, China, and Japan? Kleptocracy dominates them all. It plays out different ways in different countries. But the social contract is being destroyed, to the benefit of the 1% and the detriment of the 99%, in them all.

Links:

Greece has been ordered to reduce health care from its current 10% of GDP to below 6%.

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Conformity: the Ideal System for the Psychopath.

Mike Cross, author of Freedom from Conscience - Melanie's Journey discusses psychopaths and their relation to politics, society and personal relationships.  Referencing the Nordic model of government and society Cross talks about how conformity within a society as an ideal system for the psychopath.  He compares the politician's psychopathy to arrested development.

In ancient days psychopaths arose and would cause wars of conquest. A symbiotic relationship was created between normals and these people. If a society crushed another then at least some of the spoils of war (land, women, etc.) was given to the victors while the psychopath took his or her share of the best of the loot. Nowadays that relationship still exists but the American public is getting the raw end of the deal while the psychopaths in politics and corporations are taking it all. Not such a good deal anymore but when the psychopaths control the media and can create the message...

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Class Warfare 101: Preach What You Leech.

The greatest irony in the world is that as much as the understanding of what it takes to sustain health has advanced, the health of the population has not improved. In fact, if anything, the health of our population is worse than ever.

Turn on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc. and, within a few minutes of watching, you're bound to see health segments preaching the value of fruits and vegetables, getting enough exercise, and the importance of eliminating processed foods, to maintaining our health. In the meantime, the hegemonic and political forces lurking behind the scenes of United States, Inc. are doing their very best to continue the mass production processes developed to provide cheap food to concentrated working-class, urban populations who have became dependent on this cheap food for their nutritional sustenance. Not to mention, the rising cost of food, and medical care, Monsanto's harvest of fear, and the elimination of jobs that has taken place over the last three to four decades.

A study published in the November 2009 issue of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine showed that 50% of all U.S. children will be on food stamps at some point in their childhood, and a startling 90% of Black children will be.

Now, more and more struggling working-class families - due to the downturn in our economy, and rising food prices - are having to sacrifice nutritional value in order to stay afloat. Although this report is from the UK, to be sure, especially considering the outrageous medical expenses we Americans have, the situation here is the same, if not worse.

Here's the thing. According to this report, fruit and vegetable consumption amongst the bottom 10% has fallen 30% in four years. 30% over forty years would've been bad enough, but four years! That, my friends, should be a wake up call for everyone.

Leeches, they preach to us. Why? Simple. Indoctrinate us to believe it's our fault when our health fails, our neighbor's fault when their health fails. Keep our nation divided against itself...keep us in-fighting in order to distract us as they leech from us what they preach to us.

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Studies Suggest Wealthy Are Less Empathetic, More Selfish, and Less Altruistic.

This might not be news to most people, but now studies suggest that the upper classes really are different, and not in a good way. This, according to psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner. Their life experience, or lack thereof, makes them less empathetic, less altruistic, and generally more selfish.

In fact, he says, the philosophical battle over economics, taxes, debt ceilings and defaults that are now roiling the stock market is partly rooted in an upper class "ideology of self-interest."

“We have now done 12 separate studies measuring empathy in every way imaginable, social behavior in every way, and some work on compassion and it’s the same story,” he said. “Lower class people just show more empathy, more prosocial behavior, more compassion, no matter how you look at it.”

In an academic version of a Depression-era Frank Capra movie, Keltner and co-authors of an article called “Social Class as Culture: The Convergence of Resources and Rank in the Social Realm,” published this week in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, argue that “upper-class rank perceptions trigger a focus away from the context toward the self….”

In other words, rich people are more likely to think about themselves. “They think that economic success and political outcomes, and personal outcomes, have to do with individual behavior, a good work ethic,” said Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Because the rich gloss over the ways family connections, money and education helped, they come to denigrate the role of government and vigorously oppose taxes to fund it.

“I will quote from the Tea Party hero Ayn Rand: “‘It is the morality of altruism that men have to reject,’” he said.

Whether or not Keltner is right, there certainly is a “let them cake” vibe in the air. Last week The New York Times reported on booming sales of luxury goods, with stores keeping waiting lists for $9,000 coats and the former chairman of Saks saying, “If a designer shoe goes up from $800 to $860, who notices?”

According to Gallup, Americans earning more than $90,000 per year continued to increase their consumer spending in July while middle- and lower-income Americans remained stalled, even as the upper classes argue that they can’t pay any more taxes. Meanwhile, the gap between the wealthiest and the rest of us continues to grow wider, with over 80 percent of the nation’s financial wealth controlled by about 20 percent of the people.

Unlike the rich, lower class people have to depend on others for survival, Keltner argued. So they learn “prosocial behaviors.” They read people better, empathize more with others, and they give more to those in need.

That’s the moral of Capra movies like “You Can’t Take It With You,” in which a plutocrat comes to learn the value of community and family. But Keltner, author of the book “Born To Be Good: The Science of A Meaningful Life,” doesn’t rely on sentiment to make his case.

He points to his own research and that of others. For example, lower class subjects are better at deciphering the emotions of people in photographs than are rich people.

In video recordings of conversations, rich people are more likely to appear distracted, checking cell phones, doodling, avoiding eye contact, while low-income people make eye contact and nod their heads more frequently signaling engagement.

In one test, for example, Keltner and other colleagues had 115 people play the “dictator game,” a standard trial of economic behavior. “Dictators” were paired with an unseen partner, given ten “points” that represented money, and told they could share as many or as few of the points with the partner as they desired. Lower-class participants gave more even after controlling for gender, age or ethnicity.

Keltner has also studied vagus nerve activation. The vagus nerve helps the brain record and respond to emotional inputs. When subjects are exposed to pictures of starving children, for example, their vagus nerve typically becomes more active as measured by electrodes on their chests and a sensor band around their waists. In recent tests, yet to be published, Keltner has found that those from lower-class backgrounds have more intense activation.

Other studies from other researchers have not produced the clear-cut results Keltner uses to advance his argument. In surveys of charitable giving, some show that low-income people give more, but other studies show the opposite.

“The research regarding income and helping behaviors has always been little bit mixed,” explained Meredith McGinley, a professor of psychology at Pittsburgh’s Chatham University.

Then there is the problem of Tea Partiers’ own class position. While they are funded by the wealthy, many do not identify themselves as wealthy (though there is dispute on the real demographics). Still, a strong allegiance to the American Dream can lead even regular folks to overestimate their own self-reliance in the same way as rich people.

As behavioral economist Mark Wilhelm of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis pointed out, most people could quickly tell you how much they paid in taxes last year but few could put a dollar amount on how they benefited from government by, say, driving on interstate highways, taking drugs gleaned from federally funded medical research, or using inventions created by people educated in public schools.

There is one interesting piece of evidence showing that many rich people may not be selfish as much as willfully clueless, and therefore unable to make the cognitive link between need and resources. Last year, research at Duke and Harvard universities showed that regardless of political affiliation or income, Americans tended to think wealth distribution ought to be more equal.

The problem? Rich people wrongly believed it already was.

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The Assault on Our Living Standards in Full Gear.

The jobs are leaving. Wages are stagnant. Basic necessities such as food, water and energy prices are skyrocketing. The social safety net is in tatters. Yet, despite the fact that living standards in the US are starting to resemble that of a third world nation, Social Security and Medicare are on the chopping block.  You see, in order to get the debt ceiling increase, Republicans, "the very people who exploded the debt," are demanding the end of the Social Security and Medicare programs, as we know it.  Hoping to resolve this, behind closed doors, before they break for summer vacation (full month of August), the push is on to pass the bill to see what's in it, according to Rosiland Peterson.  Sound familiar?

President Obama and members of the U.S. House and Senate have placed Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block in ongoing debt ceiling negotiations. In these secret negotiations, far away from public enlightenment or debate, deals are being cooked-up to undermine, cut or privatize these important and highly beneficial programs.

Withdrawing government spending literally “takes money out of the economy.” We have a crisis because of lack of demand. Republican solutions of giving the wealthy and corporations even more money and tax cuts obviously will not work because the rich don't create jobs, we do. The rich are already richer than ever, with a greater share of the income and wealth than ever, and giant corporations are already sitting on tons of cash.

Currently, there are seventeen bills pending in either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate that are related to changes in Social Security. All but two of the seventeen bills undermine Social Security.

H.R. 1052: Social Security Guarantee Act of 2011 Introduced Mar 11, 2011
H.R. 1332: Social Security Fairness Act of 2011 Introduced Apr 1, 2011
H.R. 1118: Social Security Protection Act of 2011 Introduced Mar 16, 2011
S. 582: Social Security Protection Act of 2011 Introduced Mar 15, 2011
H.R. 219: Social Security Preservation Act of 2011 Introduced Jan 7, 2011
S. 123: Social Security Lock-Box Act of 2011 Introduced Jan 25, 2011
 H.R. 149: Social Security Beneficiary Tax Reduction Act Introduced Jan 5, 2011
H.R. 160: Social Security Fairness for the Terminally Ill Act of 2011 Introduced Jan 5, 2011
H.R. 311: Social Security Number Fraudulent Use Notification Act of 2011 Introduced Jan 18, 2011
H.R. 787: No Social Security for Illegal Immigrants Act of 2011 Introduced Feb 17, 2011
 H.R. 1538: Social Security Identity Defense Act of 2011 Introduced Apr 14, 2011
S. 181: Social Security Totalization Agreement Reform Act of 2011 Introduced Jan 25, 2011
H.R. 1630: Social Security and Medicare Protection Act Introduced Apr 15, 2011
 H.R. 98: Illegal Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act of 2011 Introduced Jan 5, 2011
S. 804: Social Security Solvency and Sustainability Act Introduced Apr 13, 2011
H.R. 797: No Loopholes in Social Security Taxes Act Introduced Feb 18, 2011
 H.R. 796: Social Security Protection and Truth in Budgeting Act of 2011 Introduced Feb 18, 2011

The Toll Free Telephone Number for all members of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives: (1866) 220-0044

Links:

Debt-Ceiling Deal's Cuts Could Crash Economy

Govtrack

Social Security and Medicare Alert 2011

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Has Christianity Gone Satanic?

Secular Christianity may sound like an oxymoron, more than likely, because it is, as it implies serving two masters: the state and Jesus Christ.  Nevertheless, despite the inherent paradox, if you examine the beliefs and actions of most American Christians, and then reflect on what Jesus actually taught, you will see there is very little, if any similarity between the two.  Many Christian churches have adopted a worldly spirit, and have united with the state.   Incorporated 501(c)(3) religious organizations comes to mind.  In fact, considering the evangelical Christian embracing of Twilight as a pro-abstinence narrative, satanic Christianity may be more accurate. A little more on that, later.

Of course, true Christians - those who really try to understand and live up to the teachings of Jesus - exist. However, you will never find them in places of power or celebrity. Why? Because the ruling elite truly hate everything for which Jesus stands. And, unfortunately, they are the ones who ultimately determine what society values. How? Well, by co-opting Christianity, of course. After all, the platform and tools necessary to promote any type of belief system requires massive resources. And, rather than crush the masses under their boot, our rulers have put forth "false apostles and deceitful workers, who transform themselves into the apostles of Christ" in order to promote their occultist belief system in such a way that the masses accept their version of Christianity - satanic Christianity - with a smile. 

Take the hottest pop culture phenomenon since Harry Potter: Twilight, not to mention, Buffy, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, etc, which has created an occult addiction amongst teens to such an extent that they think sinking their teeth into one another is the ultimate sign of intimacy and love. The juxstaposition of sex and violence portrayed is truely disturbing.
Uhm...hello?  Isn't vampirism the antithesis of Christianity?   The vampire is obviously the inversion of Jesus Christ. Both Christ and vampires deal with blood and eternal life.  But, whereas Christ shed his blood so that his followers could have eternal life, the vampire sheds his follower's blood so that he can have eternal life. You see, the vampire achieves immortality through immorality. Yet, Christian evangelicals hold Twilight up as somehow virtuous?

Sociopolitical Parasitism

Evil is parasitic. The whole idea of a beast subsisting on the essence of life sums up evil in a nutshell. Isn't it bad enough that we live at the mercy of a small powerful group of vampires people, who derive their wealth off the backs of the tax-paying working class? Why is it necessary to emulate them, too?

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Warning or Indictment?

Upon first viewing of this pithy little video below, I thought it was wonderful. It's brief, forceful, and gets right to the point. But, therein lies the question: what is the point? Does it leave you with a feeling of disgust for the parasitic, plundering ruling class who are destroying our nation? Or does it leave you repulsed by the "barbaric" low-class, mindless, "too-stupid-to-live" animals consumers from Hell? What are the chances that any of these "barbaric" shoppers will even see this video in order to mend their ways?

Just listen to the dehumanizing, condemning rhetoric...and to whom it is aimed. It sure ain't the pompous-assed prima donnas.

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Empathic Civilization

Jeremy Rifkin, founder and president of the Foundation On Economic Trends, is an American economist, writer, public speaker, political advisor and activist. Rifkin's work explores the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. In the video below, he investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways that it has shaped our development and our society.

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Blackwater's Expanding Global Web of Power Relations.

How in the name of all that's despicable does Blackwater keep track of itself? One would think that, by now, Mr. Prince would've caught himself up in the web of aliases he continues to spin at a pace that would make Charlotte blush. To be sure, spinning false fronts that form crucial connections back to Blackwater, in this shell game he plays to win government and corporate contracts, is not so much to hide from governments and corporations, because they already know.  Rather, the idea is to shield himself, and the governments and corporations that he forms an alliance, from the bad publicity that would indeed generate, upon the public finding out about Blackwater's tie-ins to so many institutions vital to the established routines and events taking place here and abroad.

The latest conquest: Blackwater, now known as Xe gets a slice of a new $10 billion state department contract , despite repeated violations, which includes the murder of 17 Iraqis, including women and children,

According to State’s statement, the contracting process for the new Worldwide Protective Services deal included a “review” to ensure that companies met “minimum criteria” for eligibility. “This review included a process to determine whether any offerors had been suspended or debarred from the award of federal contracts,” it said. Despite Blackwater guards killing 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad’s Nisour Square in 2007, killing two Afghan civilians on a Kabul road in 2009, and absconding with hundreds of unauthorized guns from a U.S. military weapons depot in Afghanistan using the name of a South Park character, federal contracting authorities have never suspended or debarred Blackwater.

Let's see. What else? Oh yeah...in addition to their $100 million contract with the CIA, and  $220 million deal in Afghanistan, they handle intelligence operations, training and security services for several multinational corporations... publicly traded companies, one of which includes acting as "the "intel arm" of Monsanto, offering to provide operatives to infiltrate activist groups organizing against the multinational biotech firm." Other companies include: Chevron, the Walt Disney Company, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and banking giants Deutsche Bank and Barclays.

So, why didn't the red flag begin to wave after finding out Blackwater began to seek training contracts from foreign governments and other foreign organizations without adhering closely to American regulations? Not to mention, shipping automatic weapons and other military equipment for use by its personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan in violation of export controls, hiding its actions in some cases?

Well the flag did wave, but not enough to stop Blackwater.  Trace all the Blackwater links, which are completely unrestricted by geographical limits, and then consider the fundamental politics they embrace, and the entity's likeness to that of a government, keeping in mind the vast infrastructure, people involved, and its substantial hardware inventory, it illuminates that this private, unaccountable army, given immunity from prosecution it seems, "the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power" that former President Eisenhower spoke of "exists and will persist, endangering our liberties or democratic processes."

"We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist, endangering our liberties or democratic processes. As we peer into society's future, we must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering the precious resources of tomorrow." -- President Eisenhower

Links:

Announcement of the contract award  “International Development Solutions,”

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Liberating The Savage Mind

Claude Levi-Strauss  is the father of modern anthropology because of his revolutionary conclusion that so-called primitive societies did not differ from modern ones. He banished the whole idea of primitive man as separate from civilized man, and he also concluded that the “savage mind” is necessary to the creative process and is something we all have access.

According to Strauss, the "savage mind" is in a conversation with itself throwing up new ideas in wild abundance but within those ideas there is order and pattern. It is in the imagination of people that we can see new things, new developments, new creativity.

“Intellectual thought is something like a wild flower that develops in certain conditions of life away from civilization or that which we deem to be. “ -- Claude Levi Strauss

Even in what we consider the most primitive states of being, or ways of life, as we see it, the people are still using imagination in the most elaborate manner. Rather than create an advanced industrial civilization, they create a wonderfully rich world of familial structure, art, ritual and pattern.

“In all matters touching on the organization of the family, and the achievement of harmonious relations between the family group and the social group, the Australian Aborigines, though backwards in the economic sphere are so far ahead of the rest of mankind that to understand the careful and deliberate system of rules they have elaborated, we have to use all the refinements of modern mathematics. It was they who discovered the ties of marriage represent the very warp and woof of society, while other social institutions are simply embroideries on that background; for, even in modern societies, where the importance of the family tends to be limited, family ties still count for much: their ramifications are less extensive but, at the point where one tie ceases to hold, others, involving other families, immediately come into play”. -- Claude Levi-Strauss

“International institutions must be aware...that progress is not a comfortable "bettering of what we have", in which we might look for an indolent repose, but is a succession of adventures, partings of the way, and constant shocks. Humanity is forever involved in two conflicting currents, the one tending towards unification, and the other towards the maintenance or restoration of diversity. ..The need to preserve the diversity of cultures in a world threatened by monotony and uniformity has surely not escaped our international institutions…We must hearken for the stirrings of new life, foster latent potentialities, encourage every natural inclination for collaboration which the future history of the world may hold. We must also be prepared to view without surprise, repugnance or revolt whatever may strike us as strange in the new forms of social expression. Tolerance is not a contemplative attitude, dispensing indulgence to what has been or what is still in being. It is a dynamic attitude, consisting in the anticipation, understanding and promotion of what is struggling into being. We can see the diversity of human cultures behind us, around us, and before us. The only demand that we can justly make (entailing corresponding duties for every individual) is that all the forms this diversity may take may be so many contributions to the fullness of all the others. -- Claude Levi-Strauss

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Is it Too Late to Resist the Beginnings?

Isn't it fortunate and/or convenient for those in power, that anyone who speaks of the possibility that unlawful, insidious,  or perilous plans may have been, or are being formulated in secret, by those in power, is immediately dismissed as a paranoid conspiracy theorist,  lumped in with extremists of all kinds,  essentially becoming persona non grata? 

This should alarm the rest of us average folk, because, increasingly, it appears that those who desecrate, destroy and demolish on behalf of the vested, moneyed interests are generously rewarded while those who act for the betterment of the common people and society at large are marginalized, incarcerated or worse.

Yet, like the proverbial frog who doesn't realize he's gradually boiling to death, we the people, grow accustomed to the inhuman barbaric conditions that began subtly and progress slowly like the growth of a vascular network of tumors that metastasize to every part of a living organism, eventually strangling its very existence.

They Thought They Were Free by Milton Mayer studies ten average Germans who were members of the National Socialist German Workers Party from 1933 to 1945, in an effort to find out how they did not see Hitler's National Socialism for what it was.

He discovered they had become corrupted by the desire to conform...to get along and as one of his colleagues, a philologist said,

"the gradual habituation of the people, little by little, to be governed by surprise, to receiving decisions deliberated in secret; to believe that the situation was so complicated that the government had to act on information which the people could not understand, or so dangerous that, even if people could understand it, it could not be released because of national security."

..."Suddenly it all comes down, all at once. You see what you are, what you have done, or, more accurately, what you haven’t done, for that was all that was required of most of us: that we did nothing.

They had become the proverbial frogs and violated a very important principle: Principiis obsta and Finem respice - "Resist the beginnings" and "Consider the end."

Mayer asked a German professor why he did not resist the Nazis, and he replied:

"One does not see exactly when to [take a stand]…Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting somehow."

Conditions that slowly manifest, no matter how merciless, become ordinary within a very short span of time. In addition, we don't want to see what we don't want to see.  As they say, "De Nile. It's not just a river in Egypt, it's a freakin' ocean. So how do you keep from drowning in it?”  So, at what point do we draw that line in the sand and say enough is enough? Especially when we are not personally affected at the time, and even made to believe we benefit from our silence?

While George W Bush's cronies and policies continue on, and his favorite mercenary company, Blackwater, is thriving under the Obama Administration, and  it's become very clear that  Top Secret America and its intelligence-industrial complex is run primarily for the benefit of a small number of powerful, wealthy people, it's not all that far-fetched to consider we the people are still on slow boil, getting closer and closer to rolling boil.

"The top-secret world the government created in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has become so large, so unwieldy and so secretive that no one knows how much money it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs exist within it or exactly how many agencies do the same work."

Among the findings: An estimated 854,000 people hold top-secret security clearances. More than 1,200 government organizations and nearly 2,000 private companies work on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence in 10,000 locations.

More excerpts from Mayer's book:

"What no one seemed to notice was the ever widening gap, after1933,between the government and the people. Just think how very wide this gap was to begin with, here in Germany. And it became always wider. You know it doesn't make people close to their government to be told that this is a people's government, a true democracy, or to be enrolled in civilian defense, or even to vote. All this has little, really nothing to do with knowing one is governing."
---

"This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter.
...

"To live in this process is absolutely not to be able to notice it - please try to believe me - unless one has a much greater degree of political awareness, acuity, than most of us had ever had occasion to develop. Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, "regretted," that, unless one were detached from the whole process from the beginning, unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these "little measures" that no "patriotic German" could resent must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. One day it is over his head.

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No Rich Child Left Behind

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Update: Increasingly, a degree often says more about family affluence than it does about intelligence, desire to learn and/or potential to contribute to the advancement and evolution of society. This becomes more and more apparent as college students struggle to hide hunger and homelessness .

And although it's no secret that affluence and entrance into academia are inextricably linked, it's lesser known that there is a growing population of  "financially stressed students, who are facing hunger and sometimes even homelessness" that transforms the often cited cliché of the "poor" college student, into a harsh reality.

According to the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, there's a definite increase in the number of homeless students nationwide that became apparent in 2008. 

And as Andrew Miller posted:

Even sadder is the fact that these young people are going into debt to prepare for earning a living in jobs that are no longer plentiful or available at all. Many former students find themselves burdened with massive education debt and no way to pay it off because there are no jobs.

So, how can we say that we value democracy, liberty, and justice for all when we allow our future, in their pursuit of knowledge to better themselves,  to endure daily, the uphill battle of  securing the basic necessities of life: food and shelter? 

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The long battle to equalize the achievement gap attributed to income and race in America continues.

A new report, Massive Spending Gaps Between Schools in the Same District illustrates the relationship between teacher pay and student poverty in California public school systems.

High-poverty schools tend to be staffed by teachers with less experience than low-poverty schools. Yet school budgets and financial reports claim that all teachers within a school district earn the same salary, thus concealing that high-poverty schools are often shortchanged when it comes to financial resources devoted to teacher salary. President Barack Obama’s blueprint for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Schools Act proposes to address inequity hidden by the fog of averages.

"Inequality haunts U.S. public school finance. Some federal programs are demonstrably unfair in allocating funds to states, and there prevails in many states a negative relationship between the rate of student poverty in school districts and the amount of per student revenues made available by the state funding formula. There is also reason to believe that the distribution of funds to schools within districts systematically disfavors schools serving the highest concentrations of low-income students. The reason is that funds follow teacher experience. Teacher salary, the largest category of school expenditure, is tightly linked to seniority, which also confers transfer privileges. Teachers tend to exercise these privileges to flee high-poverty schools for ones serving more affluent communities."

Links:

Common Core State Standards Initiative - The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.

The NGA Center and CCSSO received initial feedback on the draft standards from national organizations representing, but not limited to, teachers, postsecondary educators (including community colleges), civil rights groups, English language learners, and students with disabilities. Following the initial round of feedback, the draft standards were opened for public comment, receiving nearly 10,000 responses.

The standards are informed by the highest, most effective models from states across the country and countries around the world, and provide teachers and parents with a common understanding of what students are expected to learn. Consistent standards will provide appropriate benchmarks for all students, regardless of where they live.

These standards define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs. The standard

The condition of education is an integrated collection of the indicators and analyses published in The Condition of Education 2000–2010.

The National Center for Education Statistics today released The Condition of Education 2010, a Congressionally mandated report to the nation on education in America today. It covers all aspects of education, with 49 indicators that include findings on enrollment trends, demographics, and outcomes.

The report projects that public school enrollment will rise from 49 million in 2008 to 52 million by 2019, with the largest increase expected in the South. Over the past decade, more students attended both charter schools and high-poverty schools (those in which more than 75 percent of the students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch). One in six U.S. students attends a high-poverty school; and the number of charter school students has tripled since 1999.

This year’s report features a special section that looks closer at these high-poverty schools in America, examining the types and locations of schools, the characteristics of the students and their teachers and principals; and student achievement. It finds a wide and persistent gap in educational achievement.

States Create Wealth of Education Bills

Obama’s ‘Race to the Top’ Education Fund Draws Fewer States

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Potential of Gay Men...Hence Society's Fear

Why is society terrified of male homosexuals, in particular? Why is 90% of the population terrified of a group of males who make up at the very most (according to Kinsey) 10% of the population?

After all, society in general, makes it clear that gay men are weak, lack strength, can't even hold down a pair of loafers etc.

Okay...if gay men are so fragile, feeble, and collapse under the strain, what's the big deal? Why must most boys who, from the moment their less than "masculine" traits manifest, experience habitual intimidation, cruelty, and persecution from every corner of their world, even their own families?

Racial and religious minorities still have the support of family and friends growing up; however, young "effeminate" boys must withstand and bear the weight of society's hatred all alone. In general, "tomboys" are accepted for the most part, even preferred in some cases, whereas everyone, including their own family members, often ostracizes boys who do not conform to society’s standards of masculine. I've heard some adults go as far as to say they would rather hear their son had cancer than find out he is a homosexual. What is it about male homosexuality that can turn, what appears to be a normal person, into a fearful, sadistic, raging lunatic? What is it about male homosexuality that can make parents turn on their own child?

Years ago, this conversation -- as much as I can recall -- transpired between my Aunt and Uncle, the same ones who unmercifully punished their kid for cursing, and later that day told the boy, "Be careful next time" after he shot the dog’s eye out just for something to do. Keep in mind, my mother told me this and considering how she feels about my father’s side of the family, this may contain some embellishment.

Aunt: "Bill, I’m afraid I have bad news.it..it's Jimmy. You better sit down..."

Uncle: "OK, what did he do this time? Should I get the strap?"

Aunt: "Now Bill, please...I want you to remain as calm as you poss....getting.."

Uncle: "Oh my God! My son's a homo, isn't he"?!?!?

Aunt: "Oh Heaven forbid! Of course not...I said, bad news not devastating..."

Uncle: "Goddammit! What the hell is it?"

Aunt: "Honey, your language...our Lord...He's listening..and..."

Uncle: "Fuck! What the hell is it?"

Aunt: "Our Jimmy is a murderer."

Uncle: "...don’t ever scare me like that again! Murder...we can deal with. Call my attorney...I'm sure he has the names of some good defense attorneys...By the way. Who did he kill?

Aunt: "Bria.."

Uncle: "You mean that kid who ruined Jimmy’s chances at a baseball scholarship..the same kid who threw a ball like my Great Aunt Ethel, and the one who lost that all important final game that would have given Jimmy the exposure....

Aunt: "That’s the one."

Uncle: " Well as usual, Jimmy took things a little too far, but...."

Aunt: "...but we always knew Jimmy was “all boy” didn’t we Bill? He was always.."

Uncle: "That poor kid was so disappointed when that homo Brian didn't get the ball... "

From this strange conversation, I would say my aunt and uncle value "masculinity" more than anything else, more than their Lord, and even more than life itself.

Why all the hatred toward people who society makes very clear, are "frail"? Why does society insist upon convincing this group, who they perceive as "less than masculine", that they are powerless? Why does this cruel form of "brainwashing" begin, in many cases, before some of these boys even start school?

More than biology, gender is mostly a social construct. Gender specifically dictates what is socially and culturally "normal" for men and women in our patriarchal system. Gender inequality makes certain the established few will maintain authoritative and/or dominating influence over the many. The United Nations sums it up this way.

"Women, who comprise half the world's population, do two thirds of the world's work, earn one tenth of the world's income and own one hundredth of the world's property."

Men rule, that's for sure, but it only takes a small minority of men...the rest of the population, including the men excluded from this small minority - 99% of all men - must be kept in line so that the structure of the patriarchal system can continue to exist. Society achieves this by clearly defining what is masculine and what is considered "less than" masculine, labeling it "feminine" or "weak".

Conditioned from birth on how to act and respond, most males conform by repressing any side of themselves that defies qualities traditionally ascribed to men. The irony is their quest to be men is rooted in fear, fear of not living up to society's agenda for them. In other words, sheep, scared to death of anything that might interfere with their "virility"...hardly what I'd call manly.

Boys who read more books than are physically active or express emotions more than is appropriate are labeled less than masculine. There is a very good reason this is so...passionate men, who think for themselves pose a great danger to what took thousands of years to build; therefore, it's best if masculinity is defined in such a way that pretty much eliminates both passion and intellect.

For example, American men, it seems, are only allowed to express excessive emotion when it comes to sports, dogs, and patriotism. Intellectual men are classified as commie, pinko, weak and not as manly despite the fact that most of the founding fathers could be described as intellectuals. Too many thinking men in touch with their emotions in combination with their physical strength could wreak havoc on a system where authority is vested in "maleness"?

The one emotion men are allowed to express, and still be men is anger. It's important not to eliminate anger from a man's repertoire of emotion because anger is mobilizing, and channeled correctly can make for a better warrior. However, in order for anger to remain "manly" it must be directed toward non-conformity, men's bluster takes on a "pinkish" hue, because of all the emotions, anger is the most dangerous if ever it's directed toward "thee man".

By their very presence, gay men dare to challenge all of the protocols derived from a society organized around male privilege and the oppressive relationship between "masculine" and "feminine." Acceptance of gay male characteristics could very possibly undermine not only the definition of what it is to be a man, but make acceptable, feminine qualities.

So, what's the deal? Why so much effort to keep gay men down?

First of all, openly gay men are anything but weak, the reason the process of indoctrination begins so early. Enduring a lifetime of animosity, hate, rejection and threats to body, mind and soul, openly gay men have shown the kind of courage the majority of the population does not have and never will possess in their lifetime. This is especially true of gay men whose effeminacy outs them at a very young age. Even if these men never officially "come out" the courage it must take to face and overcome the abuse inflicted upon them, sometimes on a daily basis from early childhood on is remarkable. In contrast, dig beneath the surface of male bravado and you will find insecurities and fear so deeply ingrained it would take years of psychological therapy to penetrate. Someone once said, those "who worship power are the most terrified creatures on earth".

Secondly, due to the stigma of male homosexuality, there is no telling how many gay men really exist. If homosexuals suddenly became as worthy as heterosexuals, therefore providing the generative force necessary to push all men attracted to other men out of the closet ; gay men might band together and discover how powerful they really are.

Thirdly, all openly gay men, to one degree or another, defy society's definition of what it is to be a "man", blurring the boundaries relating to gender, and many pay the price that other men are not willing to take. What if we remove the price and tolerate gay men the same way we accept straight men? "Masculine" would be redefined over time to include the complete spectrum of emotion, creativity, intellect, and all the characteristics currently defined as "less than" masculine. These same qualities kept in check by the powers that be, once released, might allow men, in turn, to release their fears and embrace who they really are instead of letting family, friends, social institutions and tradition dictate who they should be.

Most gay men have learned to depend on themselves, having no one to turn too when growing up, therefore making it difficult to trust others and less likely to unite. Unfortunately, this greatly advantages those who want to keep gay men "in their place". However, if openly gay men, already courageous, unite and harness that courage, greatly increasing their power, and encourage those more inhibited to shear the wool coat, a true revolution of values could result and put an end to the lies that keep us all in line.

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20,000 Years of Change Will Occur in the 21st Century

How is this possible? According to Ray Kurzweil, the answer is exponential growth, as seen in the hockey stick graph below. We are naturally inclined to "see" our future from a linear perspective. That is, we use the last fifty years as a model for the next fifty years. We overlook the exponential pace of change...the explosive nature of exponential growth. This alters our ability, significantly, to perceive things accurately.

Dr. Chris Martenson gives an excellent crash course online, explaining our economy and the major changes that are just beginning to take place. I tried to consolidate an example of exponential growth into picture form (above) from the one Chris Martenson offers from his chapter on, Exponential Growth.

Unlike compound interest, exponential growth, as Martenson points out, does not equal prosperity. When we chart world population, oil consumption, money creation (hyper inflation), debt, species extinction, etc. we can see how explosive growth translates to lower our standard of living.

However, as we transition from a past characterized by small population, low level of technology, energy consumption, etc., to a future where population, level of technology and energy consumption is beginning to explode, it's important to keep in mind that when evolution creates a capability or generation of technology, it then uses that capability to evolve the next stage. In other words it exponentially accelerates the tools and/or the rate at which we become proficient to deal with the more "pathological" escalation that would interfere with our standard of living.

The runaway acceleration of technology is a clear example of exponential progression, as information technology has already deeply embedded itself in almost all of our activity so much so, that it's hard to imagine how we managed without it. Peak oil is a good example of how the exponential growth of consumption of this nonrenewable resource could lead to catastrophic results. However, all that means is that one paradigm for energy has reached its limit...hit a wall. It does NOT mean the end of energy. Once we see the end of the road one paradigm, it motivates researchers to create the next paradigm. It's very likely that the evolution of our capabilities will solve the energy consumption problem, perhaps by using the inexhaustible source of energy, sunshine.

Take our latest financial crisis as an example. This is not a problem of exponential growth or evolution, but society's mismanagement and refusal to direct the path of that growth. Instead of channeling the exponential progression of our financial sector in ways that would benefit humanity, we chose to "regulate" it to benefit the greedy, hoping one day we would also benefit, after all, this is America where anything is possible.

Now, even the greedy recipients may not even prosper, and we, the people, will instead of one day reaping the benefit, will end up paying the ultimate price. Remember, we voted in these greedmeisters, we looked the other way, we immersed ourselves in the distractions they created for us to forward their own agenda, we immersed ourselves in the lives of the rich and famous, and lastly, we agreed to let those either without good fortune (sick and the poor), or those designated as "misfits" (gays, other minorities and other countries) to serve as scapegoats. Are we not just as guilty as they?

Our problem is not due to a lack of technology, energy, material resources, knowledge etc. Rather it's due to the unwillingness to examine our predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize how we function as a society and the rigidity to let go of outdated or destructive paradigms.

Albert Einstein said, "The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest."

"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function."
-- Dr. Albert Bartlett

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Measure of a Society: How Will America be Judged?

Jimmy Carter once said, "The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens. As Americans, we are blessed with circumstances that protect our human rights and our religious freedom, but for many people around the world, deprivation and persecution have become a way of life."

People around the world? How about people right here in our own country? We have a system in place that rewards and advocates for big business at the expense of the American people. For-profit business interests is our society's number one concern, even when human lives are at stake, or the quality of those lives.

Just ask the woman with breast cancer, who was denied insurance the day before her scheduled double mastectomy.

Just ask Wendell Potter, the whistle-blower against the insurance industry and former chief spokesman for Cigna Healthcare, who when testifying before congress said,

"I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick—all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors. [...]"The thing they fear most is a single-payer plan. They fear even the public insurance option being proposed; they'll pull out all the stops they can to defeat that to try to scare people into thinking that embracing a public health insurance option would lead down the slippery slope toward socialism ... Putting a government bureaucrat between you and your doctor. They've used those talking points for years, and they've always worked."

And what about our incarceration rate - 2.3 million behind bars, as of 2008 - that makes the US, "prisonhouse of nations", a phrase coined by Mumia Abu-Jamal(not advocating for case, but I believe his phrase to be accurate), as well as our top ranking execution rate, following only China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia in the number of executions in 2008. Is jailing non-threatening, non violent citizens by the boatload, simply another way to line the pockets of industry?

Just ask the millions of people arrested and jailed for possessing marijuana, a plant, far less toxic than alcohol and most prescription drugs, not to mention, its many medicinal properties. Would the legalization of this easily home-grown plant cause the pharmaceutical industry to lose the unconscionable profits they rake in year after year?

Just ask Sally Harpold, grandmother of triplets. She bought one box of Zyrtec-D cold medicine for her husband at one pharmacy. Less than seven days later, she bought a box of Mucinex-D cold medicine for her adult daughter at and other pharmacy, thereby purchasing 3.6 grams total of pseudoephedrine in a week’s time. Four months later, she ended up in handcuffs, arrested for her two purchases.

What about the death penalty?

Just ask the poor and the powerless, as nine times out of ten they are the ones executed.

Or, more specifically, ask Texas, which has accounted for 69% of all executions in the southern states since 1976 and 39% of all executions in the nation during the same period. The spike in executions in Texas occurred during the reign of George W. Bush who signed the death warrants of 151 men and 1 woman during his term.

Rick Perry broke the record of his predecessor when he presided over his 200th execution in June of 2009. Not only that, Perry just fired three from the board ready to probe the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, the one he denied a reprieve even after a detailed report by an arson expert said the evidence that Mr. Willingham had set the fire was flimsy and inconclusive. On September 18, 2009 Perry was quoted as saying that there was "clear and compelling, overwhelming evidence that he was in fact the murderer of his children"

Another measure of society is the way the culture disposes of their dead. If that's true, what will future historians say about us?

Just ask Detroit, too broke to bury their dead.. The number of unclaimed corpses at the Wayne County morgue in Detroit is at a record high, having tripled since 2000. 2000? You mean since George W. Bush took office? What a coincidence. Anyway, people just don't have the money to bury their dead and as unemployment in the area is approaching 28%, and many people, can't afford last rites; the other problem is that the county's $21,000 annual budget to bury unclaimed bodies ran out.

Jimmy Carter was not the only one who said the worth of society can be measured by the manner in which it treats its weakest member.

It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life-the sick, the needy and the handicapped." ~Hubert Humphrey

"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering the prisons"
~Fyodor Dostoyevsky

"A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members." - Mahatma Ghandi

"Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members -- the last, the least, the littlest." ~Cardinal Roger Mahony,

The greatness of America is in how it treats its weakest members: the elderly, the infirm, the handicapped, the underprivileged, the unborn.
~Bill Federer

"A society will be judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members and among the most vulnerable are surely the unborn and the dying,"
~Pope John Paul II

If one believes that the worth and dignity of a civilization is judged by the way its weakest members are treated, we cannot help but look back in shame at our past. However, although we can do nothing to change the past, we can make up for it by setting a new course for our future. Currently, as a nation, we value money more than life. People serve money...an entity that does not exist in and of itself, as it is nothing without people and the infrastructure to support it.

Before we change anything we must reclaim our humanity. Once we do that, the rest will fall into place.

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Debtor's Revolt?

A college education is no longer a privilege, but a necessity, if one hopes to secure his future, yet attending college and securing a foothold on the career ladder in America continues to get more difficult as we enter the new millennium.

Consider the unlikelihood of the dark cloud hovering around the horizon of our economy lifting anytime soon.

Consider the skyrocketing cost of a college education

Consider that only 19% of '09 graduates are employed currently.

Consider the unemployment rate is 15.3% amongst 20-24-year olds.

Then, consider the widespread proliferation of unpaid internships, and then consider many of these unpaid internships require payment!

Consider agency fees working people often pay to find employment despite the The Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933


Consider why, in a world of over abundance and continually advancing technology, it's so difficult for young people to start a career, achieve independence, start a family, etc.

Consider the destruction of usury laws that protected citizens from predatory lending.

Consider the $156 million spent to pass a bill to weaken bankruptcy protection for citizens.

Consider the more confusing and complex the financial arena becomes, the more personal responsibility is stressed (For ex. Bush's attempt at privatizing social security).

Consider stagnant incomes amidst skyrocketing costs of everything.

Consider housing over-valued by as much as 40%, which created an illusion of trillions of dollars of inflated wealth and that that wealth was the only wealth most Americans relied.

Consider the retrenchment of security nets for households over the last three decades.

Consider why the economy grows increasingly stacked against our young people and us.

Consider why it is so important to further divide society into two tiers: the haves and have-nots.

Then consider what's in it for whom, to keep Americans locked into a lifetime of debt servitude.

Debtors' revolt anyone?

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Pulling Yourselves Up by Your Bootstraps When You Don't Have Any Boots.

Individualism - where everyone is expected to look after him or herself and his or her immediate family, and where it is believed that anyone, regardless of their status can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and raise themselves from poverty - is quintessentially American. It is what defines our culture, above all else, yet more than ever, Americans are falling victim to this "everyone for himself" belief system, generated by those (power elite), who most benefit from we the people's ignorance of this ideology's mythological proportions.

We rank highest in the world, on the individualism (IDV) index, which is part of the five dimensions of culture, created by Geert Hofstede, who conducted the most comprehensive study of how values in the workplace are influenced by culture, and after analyzing a large data base of employee values scores collected by IBM between 1967 and 1973 that covered more than 70 countries.

Placing so much significance on this one aforementioned dimension can be very destructive when government policy, not only fails to provide the level playing field required to make it work, but, in addition, sets up barriers that make it impossible, for all, but those with the luck of a jackpot lottery winner, to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, despite the lack of boots. Of course, then, those lucky individuals will serve as the token success stories that sustain the "bootstrap" mentality.

As more and more of our professional class find themselves facing situations - lack of health insurance, unemployment, foreclosure etc. - previously thought as something that only happens to slackers, the better the chances are that this "bootstrap" myth will be put to rest.

Fortunately, culture is not a fixed entity, rather, it is, or should be, dynamic and fluid, however this requires that we the people take off our blinders and refuse to live in denial or remain in a state of complacency, and instead develop a culture of cooperation, fairness and respect for the individual, regardless of that person's social status.

Hofstede's five dimensions of culture:

Power Distance Index (PDI) is how individuals interact with people with authority or status over them. It focuses on the degree of equality, or inequality, between people in the country's society. A High Power Distance ranking indicates that inequalities of power and wealth have been allowed to grow within the society. These societies are more likely to follow a caste system that does not allow significant upward mobility of its citizens. A Low Power Distance ranking indicates the society de-emphasizes the differences between citizen's power and wealth. In these societies equality and opportunity for everyone is stressed.

Individualism (IDV) focuses on the degree that society reinforces individual or collective, achievement and interpersonal relationships. A High Individualism ranking indicates that individuality and individual rights are paramount within the society. Individuals in these societies may tend to form a larger number of looser relationships. A Low Individualism ranking typifies societies of a more collectivist nature with close ties between individuals. These cultures reinforce extended families and collectives where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group.

There are only seven (7) countries in the Geert Hofstede research that have Individualism (IDV) as their highest Dimension: USA (91), Australia (90), United Kingdom (89), Netherlands and Canada (80), and Italy (76).

Masculinity (MAS) focuses on the degree the society reinforces, or does not reinforce, the traditional masculine work role model of male achievement, control, and power. Do values of assertiveness and competition dominate? A High Masculinity ranking indicates the country experiences a high degree of gender differentiation. In these cultures, males dominate a significant portion of the society and power structure, with females being controlled by male domination. A Low Masculinity ranking indicates the country has a low level of differentiation and discrimination between genders. In these cultures, females are treated equally to males in all aspects of the society.

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) focuses on the level of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity within the society - i.e. unstructured situations. A High Uncertainty Avoidance ranking indicates the country has a low tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity. This creates a rule-oriented society that institutes laws, rules, regulations, and controls in order to reduce the amount of uncertainty. A Low Uncertainty Avoidance ranking indicates the country has less concern about ambiguity and uncertainty and has more tolerance for a variety of opinions. This is reflected in a society that is less rule-oriented, more readily accepts change, and takes more and greater risks. Are unknown situations threatening or acceptable?

Strong: South Korea, Japan, and Latin America
Weak: US, the Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Britain

Geert Hofstede added the following fifth (5th) dimension after conducting an additional international study using a survey instrument developed with Chinese employees and managers. That survey resulted in addition of the Confucian dynamism. Subsequently, Hofstede described that dimension as a culture's long-term Orientation.

Long Term Orientation Long-Term Orientation (LTO) focuses on the degree the society embraces, or does not embrace, long-term devotion to traditional, forward thinking values.

Long term cultures:
Supports a strong work ethic where long-term rewards are expected as a result of today's hard work.
High respect for tradition and family honor.
Avoiding shame and "Saving Face" is desirable.
Knowing true way of doing things important.

China; Hong Kong; Taiwan, Japan and India.

Short-term cultures:
Change can occur more rapidly as long-term traditions and commitments do not become impediments to change.
Focus on one's own reputation and security and pursuit of personal happiness.
Avoiding guilt is motivating.
Gaining status and wealth desirable.
Tolerance and diverse opinions are acceptable.

Britain, Canada, the Philippines; Germany, Australia.

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Measuring America in Human Terms

At President Bush's Jan. 12 press conference, he defended himself on the economy, claiming the "52 months of uninterrupted job growth."

However, employment and unemployment indicators are not very good at measuring job quality, only quantity. They do not measure underemployment or take into consideration, the working poor. The truth is while Bush was president, only the very few at the top reaped the benefits of any economic growth that occurred under his watch. The bottom line is the middle class and working poor are not better off than they were when he took office.

Having said that, the crisis we are currently experiencing goes way beyond what Bush did or failed to do. We've reached the crisis point because society's basic paradigm no longer works.

Civilizations are based upon a shared philosophy that - depending on systemic and environmental factors - evolve or devolve with the passage of time. This body of ideas reflects the social needs and aspirations of society at the time it is created, therefore requires constant evaluation to remain functional as circumstances change for better or worse. However, once an ideology takes hold, it is often times dogmatically asserted into the present, strictly adhering to the social boundaries of yesteryear. This institutionalized way of thinking only serves to constrain the truth.

The economy is supposed to operate in the best interest of all the people, not just the few. A civilized society feeds, protects and empowers its citizens to produce, create and prosper.

Tweaking our "belief system" will not work anymore. It's time start from scratch.

The American Human Development Project for the first time ever, has applied the human development approach in the United States in order to measure human well-being. Measure of America interactive maps not only measures the country and its 50 states, but also of the 436 congressional districts, in a visually appealing format with often distressing but realistic content. The maps above are just two examples.

State Health Facts

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Enough Already.

As we witness institutions fall, like heavily ranked "bones" in a game of Dominoes, brought about by a culture that measures success by accumulation, the following poem, written by Kurt Vonnegut, about his good friend Joe Heller seems appropriate. This was printed in The New Yorker, May 16th, 2005.

Joe Heller
True story, Word of Honor:
Joseph Heller, an important and funny writer
now dead,
and I were at a party given by a billionaire
on Shelter Island.

I said, "Joe, how does it make you feel
to know that our host only yesterday
may have made more money
than your novel 'Catch-22'
has earned in its entire history?"
And Joe said, "I've got something he can never have."
And I said, "What on earth could that be, Joe?"
And Joe said, "The knowledge that I've got enough."
Not bad! Rest in peace!"--Kurt Vonnegut

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