ceremony rituals initations oaths traditions

the more i ponder, the more i realize.... ceremony, traditions, initiations, rituals, oaths.... all those things people use to 'enter' a marriage, political office, religion, club, organization..... things that are strictly human creations.... are the biggest problem of humanity. it is where the majority of our social problems originate.

the need to belong has produced our division.

do i need a piece of paper from my government to know i am in a relationship? do i need the blessing of a church leader to know i will remain with my partner for life? no.... society needs those 'things' to try and define my life.

i am not saying these are not needed for society, i am saying when too much importance is placed, when people start believing that the ritual is more important than the commitment [think about how much some spend on planning weddings and how little is spent on planning the life together, or how much effort and money is spent to keep the 'undesirables' from being recognized by our government as a legal couple] --- therein lies the problem.

ceremony, traditions, initiations, rituals, oaths --- these are created to make a person feel important, vital, needed.... that somehow, you are special to have been allowed to enter this group, to be part of the inner sanctum.

1] you are not special....then again,

2] if you need these to feel special? to be part of the group? you are special... in a sadly pathetic existence.

think carefully next time you feel the need to enter an organization...

what are you entering?

what is your reason for joining?

what is the purpose of the initiations?

what is needed to make you part of the group?



if your answer to any of those questions is NOT "to make this existence better for the future" then you should reconsider:



WHY do i feel the need to be part of this group?

voting

election 2010

read a post on investors.com by Thomas Sowell Posted 10/29/2010 07:11 PM ET... Will Voters Set U.S. Free From Obama's Hold?

just have a few comments on his points.

These include threats against people who simply choose to express opinions counter to administration policy, such as a warning to an insurance company that there would be "zero tolerance" for "misinformation" when the insurance company said that ObamaCare would create costs that force up premiums.

Zero tolerance for the right of free speech guaranteed by the Constitution?

i do admire that he made sure to add "misinformation" and i for one am totally concur on "zero tolerance" for misinformation... because isn't misinformation just a nice way to say "YOU LIE!!" ??

As more businesses reveal that they are considering no longer buying health insurance for their employees, as a result of higher costs resulting from ObamaCare legislation, the administration has announced that it can grant waivers that reduce these costs.

horsefeathers... these companies are most likely revealing this because it will reduce costs... giving businesses an easy way out on commitments made to employees.

Recent proposals from the Obama administration to force disclosure of the names of people who sponsor election ads would likewise open all who disagree with Obama to retaliation by the government itself, as well as by community activists and others.

only the right to a private vote is protected... i am not so sure the right to sponsor election advertisements SHOULD be private. seems to me, if you want free speech to be protected you should be able to live with the consequences of your speech. period.

We have a strange man in the White House. This election is a crossroads, because either his power will be curbed by depriving him of his huge congressional majorities or he will continue on a road that jeopardizes our freedom and our survival.

strange? maybe.. but "the decider" scared me more, and look at the mess he left us with.. sheesh... talk about "gettin' when the gettin's good"
anyway, the only thing that jeopardizes our freedom, is a misinformed citizenry. 

and while i'm at it... take a look at Summary of Latest Federal Individual Income Tax Date

The amount of individual income taxes paid fell substantially in 2008, by $84 billion, and nationally, average income tax rates were at their lowest levels since 2004. The average tax rate for returns with a positive liability went from 12.68 percent in 2007 to 12.24 percent in 2008.

did all these 'less taxes paid' help the economy? are you better off than you were in 2000? if you're not better off than you were in 2008... it's that "trickle-down" hitting ya on the head. get an umbrella, it's only going to get worse.[oh, and don't buy gold... if it gets as bad as the infopundits are spewing.. you're gonna need lead and reloading equipment... that gold has a higher melting point than lead.. so do yaself a favor. buy lead.]

back to the point i was making... thanks to the Bush Era Tax Cuts... we are at a crossroads... do you feel that the price for living in the USA should be less? are you willing to give up public education? public utilities? libraries? highway funding? medicaid? medicare? social security? financial aid so maybe those that have the ability can get a higher education?

i hear people complaining about capital gains tax... the tax rate varies from 0% to 15%... that is not a bad tax to pay for income.

also, the top 1% in 2008 averaged about $1,205,000 per income tax filed, while the bottom 50% averaged around $15,000. so YES... if you make more, you should pay more... how many of you can live on 15K a year?

a loaf bread costs the same, whether you make $1.2M or $15K.

what can your Representative do for you?

most of you know that i am "mobility impaired" which means i fall, a lot. Ranger is my service animal and goes everywhere with me... i mean everywhere. the only time he's not with me is when he goes to the vet for his weekly bath, or when he goes to relieve himself.

august of 2009 i took my youngest grandson for his 2 month checkup and shots. 15 minutes in the waiting room and a woman walked out of the office and told me i had to get my dog out of the room.  without going into details about the whole incident... i explained Ranger's job and advised her to go to the ADA website and see the guidelines concerning Service Animals. she returned, told me i had to leave or she would call the police and have me arrested... i told her to put it in writing.

i filed a complaint with the DoJ in september 2009. website said it would be reviewed in 3 to 6 months. i called in january 2010, "no, it hasn't been reviewed yet"... i called in february, still  "no"... i kept calling the DoJ, kept getting "not yet, but soon"

i called in may 2009.... same answer. i called the office of the 2nd District of Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson on a monday... that wednesday i got a call from the DoJ telling me that since it was dealing with a health clinic that received federal funding my case would be handed over the the DHHS.

and i waited... and waited for DHHS to get in touch with me... for 5 months ... i called about every 2 weeks, but could never get anything other than a recording. i left messages, i wrote... no response from the DHHS atlanta office.

then i called my Representative again.. on a tuesday... 2 days later i received a call telling me that i would receive a registered letter and i should have everything returned 20 days from the day the letter was typed. 

i did.. hoping that things will move swiftly... but, if they don't... i know who to call to make things happen.

yes, i will be voting for Bennie Thompson every time he runs for re-election.

got this in an email this morning ... at least they're literate

i will admit, i haven't read the books, not the genre i prefer...... don't intend to either, and if i were a betting gal, i'd bet my bottom dollar that none of the senders have read the books... but after i read the whole email i thought "well, at least the senders are literate... or someone they know is, hopefully"

 

 

 

Everyone of voting age should read these two books: Don't buy them, just get them from the library.

From Dreams of My Father: "I ceased to advertise my mother's race at the age of 12 or 13, when I began to suspect that by doing so I was ingratiating myself to whites."

From Dreams of My Father : "I found a solace in nursing a pervasive sense of grievance and animosity against my mother's race."

From Dreams of My Father: < /SPAN>"There was something about her that made me wary, a little too sure of herself, maybe and white."

From Dreams of My Father: "It remained necessary to prove which side you were on, to show your loyalty to the black masses, to strike out and name names."

From Dreams of My Father: "I never emulate white men and brown men whose fates didn't speak to my own. It was into my father's image, the black man, son of Africa , that I'd packed all the attributes I sought in myself: the attributes of Martin and Malcolm, DuBois and Mandela."

And FINALLY .........

and most scary:

From Audacity of Hope:

"I will stand with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

If you have never forwarded an e-mail,

now is the time to do so!!!

We CANNOT have someone with this mentality running our GREAT nation!!

I don't care whether you are a Democrat , a Republican, a Conservative or a liberal,

We CANNOT turn ourselves over to this type of character in a President.

PLEASE help spread the word!

 

 

 

 

 

"The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the greatest liars;
 the men they detest most violently are those who try to tell them the truth."
 H.L. Mencken

i do like the last quote they attached to the bottom, think it's quite appropriate.

believe ya own hype?

watching an interview on the today show ... laurer was chatting with some guy from vanity ,named buzz re:tiger woods.

day'umn that kid is ripped!! (see the cover of vanity) but that aside... there are many who have ideas as to why he behaved the way he did, all have merit. only tiger will know the truth, and that will be revealed to him with lots of soul-searching.

now, brit hume believes he needs to change religion, pompous associty at it's finest. hume doesn't KNOW tiger.

tiger did not allow the public to see his inner turmoil, and that's how it should be.  his life is his to live, in the end, he answers to himself. whether he had a sex addiction, was trying to hide from the grieving process of the loss of his father, or any myriad of emotions that he has faced in his life... that is for tiger to work through, and he should be allowed to do that without constant speculation. no one knows the path that tiger has walked.

what i want to type about is the insulation of people. when we surround self with only "yes men" and what happens to the thought process.

i see people on social networks are doing that... just following and conversing with like minded people... and THAT is a dangerous path to walk.  a feeling of power and invincibility begins to develop in the mind... that everyone else is wrong!!  that invincible feeling nothing will be able to stop the IDEA of the insular group.

from observation, i feel tiger did that, he had his life compartmentalized.  people protecting him, handling him, isolating him to the point he may have felt his deeds were justified.   he began to believe his own hype, that actions would hold no consequences.

militant groups are guilty of this behavior. terrorists, religious leaders, politicians fall into the trap of believing that their idea is the only "right" idea and people will be subject to the idea or force will be used. why? "because i am right and know what is best for you."

all because the group is so focused on the idea that they fail to see the reality.
i have been told (more than once on twitter and facebook, concerning the current legislation on health care -- "just wait and see, the people will not allow this affront to the US Constitution, there will be trouble."

this article and quote highlight the break from reality that fellow citizens are suffering.  this is above all else, frightening.  not because of the threat, but because there are people that believe  they are correct in their views and no one else is allowed an opinion in a free-society:

Protesters cited a number of issues for the event, including the health care reform in Congress, taxes, gun rights, allegations that Obama is not an American citizen. One attendee cited his displeasure with what was described as an international police organization that will take control away from local police departments as a result of a recent Obama secret directive.
Those gathered to protest said they brought their guns because they wanted to draw more attention to the event, because they wanted to exercise their Constitutional Rights, to show responsible gun ownership. One protester threatened armed insurrection if steps are not taken to restore “Constitutional” governance.

people that believe the polls without questioning the pollsters. of all the questions asked on that link, only ONE proffered a question that did not provoke a knee-jerk response.

Ipsos/McClatchy  As of right now, do you favor or oppose the healthcare reform proposals presently being discussed?

ipsos kept out the words, "obama, legislation, congress, republican, democrat, etc" only ipsos was looking for a true response from the citizens. before you cite, believe a poll, look at the questions and the motives of the group paying for the poll. or you will fall victim to believing the hype. you will become one of those that cannot think, but must rely on others to do it for you, and may The Creator have mercy on our souls if people don't wake up and smell the money.

in a side note, there was a link posted on twitter ... Glenn Beck’s Gold Endorsement Goes Too Far For Fox . i commented that if beck truly believed his verbal diarrhea he would be telling people to buy lead, not gold. for if there is a true economic meltdown, do you really think gold will be a commodity? ya can't eat gold, and if people are in the direst of straits gold will not be valuable, only products necessary for survival will be traded. the response i received from a beck supporter "if everyone thought like you, beck would be broke." to which i replied, "keep buying gold, so beck can keep a life time supply of vick's vapor rub."

IF everyone would think and question the motives of these polls and the infotainment fundits, we would ALL be better off. instead, you believe the hype without question, just as those that followed hitler down that dark path not so long ago.