Several posts have discussed the idea by J. Krishnamurti that what is needed is a shift in conscious

"The crisis is a crisis in consciousness… a crisis that cannot anymore accept the old norms, the old patterns, the ancient traditions… and considering what the world is now, with all the misery, conflict, destructive brutality, aggression, and so on, man is still as he was. He is still brutal, violent, aggressive, acquisitive,  competitive, and he has built a society along these lines."

John Mumford

In the tradition of twelve step programs the first step is recognizing that America has a problem and that it seems to be powerless to do something about it. What is the problem? In a nutshell, American is going broke. In general, nobody wants to hear that bad news, but the fact is that the infrastructure of America is falling apart — literally. Bridges need repair and school systems are closing their doors, just to mention two of the symptoms. The dilemma we face as a democracy was noted in 1770 by Alexander Fraser Tytler who said:

"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury…. the result [is] that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."

Conservatives always bring up entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. However, that is not the real problem. In his book Broke, John Mumford says that the powerful elite in our primary economic institutions — business, organized religion, education, and government — have abandoned many of the values that contributed to the greatness of America for compromised ideals that are far more self serving. The people in power like banks, Congress, the military industrial complex, etc. are far more interested in what they can do to benefit themselves in the short term than what should be done to keep America strong.

Unfortunately, the conservative media, knowingly or unknowingly become the mouthpiece for these elite and keep you distracted from the real problem. So, your first step is to become conscious of the real nature of the problem. As Deep Throat said in the Watergate scandal, "Follow the money." Look to see who is actually getting richer and its not difficult to see that since Reagan, who is unfortunately elevated to near God-like status, the powerful elite in this country have gotten richer and richer at everyone else's expense, including yours. The beauty of the system they have created is that the society keeps you basically sedated and preoccupied into a state of complacency… that is, until something goes wrong like a major medical problem or a job loss.

The first step, then is to raise consciousness of the nature of the problem.

Right, Left, Democrat, Republican

The Tea Party folks are generally frustrated with a government that takes money from them to redistribute it. They fail to notice that the redistribution goes to big corporations and wealthy individuals and not to the poor. The Coffee Party are generally frustrated by the fact that the Tea Party Folks and all the other folks can't seem to carry out a civil discourse. Meanwhile, the number of hate groups is on the rise.

Did you ever think that everything is going perfectly according to plan? Think about it. The people in Congress, the White House, and the Board Rooms are pretty smart people, and they have a lot of power at their disposal. So, why is it that bills that favor corporations and wealthy individuals seem to pass and bills that favor average Americans seem to get bogged down in procedural mish mash? Is it because the strategy is working?

The illusion of political dialogue

That strategy is to get people entertaining themselves by talking and talking and talking about things until they a blue (or red) in the face while Congress keeps siphoning money out of their pockets and into the pockets of what has clearly become the American ruling class. This will continue until ordinary people have a shift in consciousness and begin to see things as they are and not as Fox News or MSNBC paint them.

What's interesting to note is that nobody in power is interested in the decentralization of power. The Republicans want power centralized in the "free market" and the Democrats want power more centralized in government.

Every once in a while something like the We Are The World 25 effort comes about that makes it clear that the solution is not to try to change a government by political argument. Instead, the solution is for people to overcome their differences in discourse, realize that centralization of power is the challenge, and actually do something.

Power of the people

Really, the people do, in fact, have a lot of power when they work together. If you don't like the government don't get stuck in Democrats versus Republican, work with both to vote out the incumbent no matter what their party affiliation is. If you don't like wall street, take your 401K money out of the stock market, get a self directed IRA, and invest in a smaller local business. If you are upset about the carbon footprint of coal power plants or the danger of nuclear power plants, then invest your money in solar power for your home or a BloomBox. The only reason that power has become so centralized is that by and large people buy into the vision that corporations and government paints for them about how they should live.

Decentralize as much as possible. Have your own water purification systems, have your own power systems, buy your food from local organic farmers. Deprive centralized power of your economic support.

There's a rather interesting take on this from a more biblical viewpoint. The story of the Tower of Babel is the metaphor for the ultimate in centralized government wanting to take the efforts of all people and create a monument to men instead of God. God was not too keen on that and decentralized things by having people speak in languages so that they couldn't understand each other. How about the story of Satan tempting Christ by offering him dominion over the whole world? It got me thinking about the number of times in history a ruling class centralized authority, killed the dissenters, and solidified their hold on the remaining people only to be subsequently decentralized. The Soviet Union is the last spectacular example of that.

It reminds me of the movie War Games.

The only winning move is not to play.

We are the world,

We are the children.

We are the ones who make a brighter day

So let's start giving

We can't go on, pretending day by day that someone somehow will soon make a change.

What you think and what you say is entertainment for yourself and others. What you do makes the world better for yourself and others.

Please take a moment to go to www.world25.org and contribute to Haiti relief. DO IT NOW! There is still massive suffering there. One way the shift in consciousness occurs is to abandon your own cherished opinions and give to others with no expectation of anything in return.

Who says the glaciers are melting?

I have come to the conclusion that the Indianapolis Colts are a really lousy football team because they lost Super Bowl XLIV by over 10 points, particular since most people thought they would win. It really doesn't matter what they did for the whole football season. It doesn't matter that they had a 12-4 season in 2008, or a 13-3 season in 2007, or that they were the first NFL team to have five 12+ seasons, or that they won the Super Bowl in 2007. The only thing that matters is what they did in Super Bowl XLIV.

You may be wondering how I arrived at such stellar reasoning. Well, I've been watching politicians and commentators (particularly on Fox News) discussing the 2010 snow storms in Washington DC and how they are proof that there is no such thing as global warming. It's just common sense that we couldn't have global warming and also have one of the worst snow storms on record. The problem is that common sense is often really really stupid. The long term data is not disputed and it is that temperatures are rising. The last decade was the hottest on record, and the decade before that was hotter than all the previous decades. Plus there is photographic evidence of glacial retreat all over the world and of hugh chunks of ice disappearing in Greenland, the Artic, and the Antartic.

There is also clear correlation between the temperatures and carbon dioxide levels over the past 300,000 years obtained through ice core samples. So, the only question is whether the carbon dioxide we are generating by burning fossil fuels is contributing to the current round of temperature increases. Again, the data shows a marked increase in temperature corresponding to the industrial revolution. But maybe mankind really isn't the cause.

Well, here are the risk choices. If we believe mankind is not the cause and do nothing, but then it turns out mankind is the cause, then the oceans rise and cities like New York, Washington DC, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Tokyo are under water. On the other hand, if we believe mankind is the cause and do something to stop it, but then it turns out nothing happens you've just put some people to work cleaning up the atmosphere. This is a pretty easy choice.

Of course, none of that matters because there's snow in the winter in Washington DC… and the Indianapolis Colts are a lousy football team.

God, I am tired of stupid or questionably motivated people having a platform to open their mouths.

The paradox is that as much as we might want change, that change does not come about in the world. The players change but the game remains the same.

What exactly does it mean to step outside the box in order to make a better world? How can you really effect change in your life that makes your world better. This is a extremely personal matter. What does a better world really mean to you personally? What will really result in a meaningfully positive change in your life? Two of the world’s most prominent religions point to an answer.

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What can you do?

Nothing. I want to re-quote Krishnamurti…

"The crisis is a crisis in consciousness… a crisis that cannot anymore accept the old norms, the old patterns, the ancient traditions… and considering what the world is now, with all the misery, conflict, destructive brutality, aggression, and so on, man is still as he was. He is still brutal, violent, aggressive, acquisitive,  competitive, and he has built a society along these lines.

What we are trying in these discussions and talks here is to see if we cannot radically bring about a transformation of the mind… not accepting things as they are, but to understand it, go into it, to examine it… give your heart and your mind to everything you have to find out [about] a way of living differently… but that depends on you and not somebody else… to understand is to transform what is."

This doesn't mean that they need to change their consciousness. It means you need to change your consciousness. The simple fact is that the President, the Supreme Court, the Congress, and all the talk show hosts don't care a single thing about you. They are not even aware that you exist. You are only an abstract member of an abstract thing called the citizens. If you play the game of political rhetoric with others… even your friends… nothing much will happen. Really! When people are confronted with "truths" that don't fit their emotional beliefs, they simply shut down. All this is not in the realm of logic and attempts to put it there will be entertaining, perhaps, but results are achieved at a different level.

Look at the big picture, not the minutia, and ask yourself, "When has it been different?" Can you think of one example in history of an enlightened culture? Can you think of any examples in history where one group of people did not take advantage of another group of people? Democracy, socialism, Marxism, communism, fascism, capitalism, Catholicism, Judaism, and all the other isms have ultimately produced an elite class. That seems to be hard wired into human beings. In fact, human beings have a real tendency to kill the people that give them an alternative… like Jesus and Ghandi.

What you CAN do!

Step outside the box. In the box efforts will only produce variations on the same things you're already seeing. That will not produce the change in consciousness that Krishnamurti is talking about. Distinguish actual change from mental or emotional entertainment. It's fun to watch Sean Hannity or Keith Olberman and get upset at the bad guys. It doesn't make for change. Change yourself and make the world that you want for yourself. Become a living example of the world that you want to create and teach by your example. Reflect on your own mind and see what keeps you stuck where you are. Use the principles of the Law of Attraction to produce real results. Use Egyptian Healing Rods to cause actual shifts in your Energy. Use simple things that can dramatically change your entire life instead of continuously running around in circles.

That can lead to the changes in the world that you want. The secret is that as long as you circulate in the world as it is you won't see what the actions are that can actually change the world. You Enjoy A Better World by changing your basic perception.

What is happening to the American democracy?

Uncle Sam Needs You

Do you remember the movie Rollerball? The governments of the world had become passe and corporate monopolies had taken their place. There was the communications corporation, the energy corporation, the entertainment corporation, and so on. Well, hold on to your hats because it's just about here.

The Supreme Court's decision to allow unlimited spending on political campaigns should scare the hell out of you whether you are a flaming liberal or a ticked off teabagger. I would like to share a couple of imaginary future scenarios with you.

Novatek wants to do exploration for natural gas in protected American wilderness. So, exercising their "free speech" under the new Supreme Court decision they spend $100,000,000 on television advertising to elect their chosen candidates to serve as chairman on the House and Sentate Committees on Natural Resources. The ads are designed to link the candidates to more conservative positions on gas and oil. Sure enough, the people running against their candidates in both the primary and general elections cannot effectively campaign against this amount of moneIy and the selected candidates win and are beholding to Novatek. Well, they get legislation passed that allows them to go for the gas. The problem… Novatek is a Russian company and it now has Senators and Congressment bought and paid for to represent their interest instead of the American interest.

Terra Solar is seeking special legislation to give it an advantage in the new green technology market. They spend money on advertising to link particular politicans in key positions to green technology. Of course, most voters, but particularly moderate and libreral voters are in favor of more energy with no damage to the environment. Nobody would argue with that. Their candidates get elected. The problem… Terra Solar is in a strategic partnership with the Chinese.

America for Americans?

Are you getting the picture here? Let me spell it out.

• The voices of individual Americans will not be heard over the massive dollars corporations can spend on political ads.
• The corporations may be foreign corporations (it's easy to set up an American shell company).

Whether you are conservative, moderate, or liberal; far left or far right; atheist or born again Christian these two scenarios should scare the living daylights out of you.

The Root of The Problem

In a landmark decision in the 1886 case Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court established corporate rights under the 14th Amendment. It essentially gave the corporations the same citizenship rights as human beings… or did it? Read the following…

The court does not wish to hear argument on the question whether the provision in the Fourteeth Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids a State to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, applies to these corporation. We are all of the opinion that it does.

OK,  that seems to say that corporations have the same rights as natural persons under the Fourteeth Amendment. Now the interesting thing is that this actually appears in the headnote to the case written by J.C. Bancroft Davis, but does not appear in the text of the Supreme Court decision itself. J.C. Bancroft Davis was the Court Reporter and the former president of the Newburgh and New York Railway. Hmmm, perhaps a conflict of interest. Chief Justice Morrison Waite send a reply to a memorandum written by J.C. Bancroft Davis asking if his headnote was, in fact, correct. It said…

I think your memorandum in the California Railroad Tax cases express with sufficient accuracy what was said before the argument began. I leave it with you to determine whether anything need be said about it in the report inasmuch as we avoided meeting the consitutional question in the decision.

I have added the emphasis. Waite clearly responded that the court avoided the issue of corporate personhood, yet Davis included it. In fact the actual decision was that the state of California illegally included fences running beside the railroad tracks in its assessment of the total value of the railroad's property and that Santa Clara county could not collect taxes from Souther Pacific that it was not allowed to collect in the first place.

Is this unbelievable or what?

The Branches of the Problem

So, get the complete picture here

• Corporations are being allowed to squelch your individual voices
• Because they have citizenship rights of free speech
• Under the 14th Amendments rights in the 1886 Santa Clara County v. Souther Pacific Railroad case
• That were actually never given them by Supreme Court decision.

And that means that the people who are actively supporting this decision are either misguided free speech advocates or are servants of the corporate interests. That's it. I want to emphasize again that this is not a conservative v. liberal issue. The people who are trying to make it that are, frankly, trying to deceive you.

The interesting question is how this might link to the Bilberberg Group. We saw how back room deals are made in the Heathcare Reform debates. Perhaps it's time to stop attributing good motives to government officials and begin to attribute evil, self-serving motives to most. And the danger here is that as a country we are going to be played for suckers by people in foreign countries who understand that our weakness is the greed and self-interest of our politicians and media.

What Is To Be Learned?

If you want to make a better world and enjoy it, then you need to take personal responsibility for the world you want and make it that way. It's not for me to tell you what your world is supposed to be like. Just get to your core values, figure out what kind of world those core values requires, and take responsibility to make that world.

If you are concerned about this Supreme Court decision please go to savedemocracy.net.

Scott Brown

Ok, Scott Brown was elected in Massachusetts.  Good for him. The really baffling thing is why people who voted overwhelmingly for Obama one year ago suddenly shifted their votes. No doubt that one factor was simply that the Republicans turned out more than the Democrats. The confusion is why independents and some Democrats shifted their votes.

The simple fact is that Scott Brown has definite conservative leanings. Some have described him as to the right of Dick Cheney. So people voted for him despite the fact that exit polls showed that the majority of voters approve of the job that Obama has been doing. Exit polls also showed that the number one issue determining their vote was health care reform and Mr. Brown was clear that he intended to be the 41st vote against the health care reform bill.  The pundits also attribute Coakley's arrogance and taking the voters for granted as contributing factors. He went to the baseball stadium and she did not. He went out and shook hands while she went on vacation. He drove around in a pickup truck and she drove around in a limo.

Jocelyn Fong  of Media Matters for America describes the active participation of Fox News in assisting Mr. Brown's campaign. They actively supported his campaign, misrepresented Ms. Coakley's remarks to make her seem stupid, raised false issues designed to create fear in the electorate, and told viewers that Brown's election would improve their 401Ks despite the fact that the market actually dropped after his election.

So, all of this persuaded people to elect a guy that represents a return to the policies and thinking that got us into the mess we are currently in… as some kind of protest vote? Go figure? The people who should be admired are the people who really believe in Scott Brown and the people who really oppose him based on his prior history. If they voted based on what they really believe they are functioning in the best traditions of our democracy. The people who voted because of some emotional frustration are the great mystery and time will only tell how Mr. Brown actually behaves in office.

The simple fact is that if we are to enjoy a better world, then we must take personal responsibility to make it better. Be conscious in your actions. Decide on the people who will impact your lives on the basis of something other than baseball stadiums and pickup trucks. For now, give Steve Brown your blessings in the hope that he will really turn out to be the independent Republican he claims.