Sunday, October 10, 2010

LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF FIRST & WHAT YOU BELIEVE

I don't want anyone else telling me what to believe. I don't want anyone lying to me. In order for me to believe what I do, I find I'm responsible for educating myself about the facts. One person says one thing, and someone else says something else. I find that I notice patterns. I find that I have an instinct when I am listening to a liar. I notice when someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes.

I noticed, for instance, way back in the early 60's that 50% of the professors were very idealistic and very socialistic, and if you didn't believe as they did, then you were wrong. I didn't finish some courses because of that bias. I couldn't agree with their belief system and they couldn't agree with mine. I found little reason to believe anything else they were teaching. Many were teaching things contrary to what I'd been taught by my parents & grandparents about the history of the US, and what I'd learned early in my educational experience. I found this disturbing but decided "it wouldn't matter" so long as I knew what was true.

Then when my son was in high school he would come home and tell me what they were teaching him in high school. This was some 20 years after I'd been in high school. One of the most shocking things he told me was they'd taught him Angela Davis was a heroine. I hit the ceiling! Angela Davis was a criminal! From that moment on I began teaching him to question the things he was being taught in high school. I tried to teach him to do outside study and find out for himself, and I began doing the same. Explore all of the information available and then come to your own informed decision about the rightness of things. Never believe a thing to be true just because someone in authority said it was true.

To understand my position, I think I need to inform you that at one time I voted as a Democrat. I was an idealist. I thought, "wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all live together in peace and understanding" "wouldn't it be great if we could join a commune and live together, all working together for one goal" And then two things happened. I joined a food co-operative, and I got married (for the second time). I observed two things: In the food co-op everyone was supposed to be equal and do their job for the good of the whole. Early on, I observed this was the same pattern being attempted in the Soviet Union and it wasn't working there either. Unless someone holds a gun to your head, you aren't going to do a job if you don't want to do it. When one observes that everyone isn't holding up their end of the bargain incentive goes away. I was on the Board of Directors and I demanded the place be run like a business or it would fade away into nothing. That was back nearly 35 years ago. Since that time the Co-op has been run like a business. People get paid for their jobs and they do them. The Co-op now has owners who have invested their cash into the company. I still don't know the value of that. I put a great deal of effort into it in the beginning. Others put in more effort. In the end, only those who put cash into it are becoming the owners. That's business for you. But the business survived and its nearly 35 years old!

The second thing was marriage. If both parties don't have the same goals, or even if they do, its impossible for one person to control the thoughts and the opinions of the other. We can suppress that person by controlling their emotions and their physicalness, but can we really suppress their thoughts? No. It's impossible. We can never suppress their individual freedom to think and believe the way they want to believe.

I don't want to be responsible for the way you think, nor do I want to be responsible for the things you believe. At the same time, I don't want you to be duped by the lies being told by others. I very much want you to think about the things others are telling you. Make certain you are being told the truth. Make certain you know what you really want.

Do you really want a government that decides the kind of lightbulbs you buy? Do you really want a government that tells you what food you should eat? Do you really want a government that decides every aspect of your life for you? Or do you want to be free to make your own mistakes and live your life freely without having to stop to think about what you say or what you do?

We have already been duped into becoming socialistic. "Social Security" I hate that I am dependent upon the social security check. I am doing everything I can to free myself from the necessity of it. I hate that I am making a living applying for Medicaid for those people who haven't got enough money to take care of themselves in their old age. I am doing my best to make certain I don't have to do that, by making myself healthy and whole and independent.

Do you want someone else making your decisions for you? Or would you rather be responsible for yourself? Figure out who you are. If you want to give up your freedoms then keep on relying on the present form of government. If you want to be responsible for yourself and for your decisions, then begin educating yourself about what's really going on. Don't buy into everything the talking heads on either side are saying. Study it and see how it fits into your personal agenda for how you want your life to be. Then make informed decisions. Don't just rely on a title, GOP or Democrat or Republican or Liberal or Conservative, or Progressive. Make sure you know what you are, not what those titles mean now or what they meant 50 years ago. People are saying the words they think you want to hear. Make sure their actions are the actions you want taken on your behalf to preserve the life you want to lead.