Social consciousness in politics: What mechanics are at work?

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Eldina

Opposite to the “winner and loser consciousness” where an
individual has to lose for someone to win, we find the people who are equipped
with “social consciousness” and where the goal is for everyone to win. I
believe there are many levels of awareness in “social consciousness” as well as
there are many levels of tolerance of lack of consciousness for the sake of
winning. For example I don’t think many of the “winner and loser consciousness”
people will tolerate murder for the sake of winning where for example bullying
others and cheating might be acceptable.

Since people with “social consciousness” are including
people instead of excluding, their politics are directed to a more global
responsibility. When the “winner and loser” mind is looking globally, it’s
about what he can get from the connection. The onset of wars and imperialism are
results of this form of thinking.

For people with “social consciousness” there are no” winner
and losers”, basically because everyone is working together to improve a
society. A competition where someone ranks a person as a” loser or a winner”
seems meaningless and irrelevant in this perspective. For a person with “social
consciousness” to be around the” winner and loser” mindset people is like being
around children who wants the same toy and if you don’t set some clear rules
for the toys, you can be sure something bad will happen.

 People with “social consciousness” comes
from a intellectual and emotional place where they identify with all humans and
they know that what might happen to others might actually happen to them as
well. They see themselves in every person on this planet and know they might as
well be in their shoes as in their own shoes.

I have noticed that in some nations “social consciousness”
is learned by the individual from the society in an early age, you might say it’s
their “religious values” instead of a church or the identity connected to a certain
religion. It’s learned through living in a society that has equal rights with
regards to education, health plans and work and where the human rights are emphasized
in all setting. The society teaches the children that every human being on this
planet has the same value, the same rights and everyone should be treated
equally in the society.

The main components for the humans with social
consciousness:

  • Responsibility and accountability:

Not only for the people who live now, but
also for coming generation with a healthy and clean environment. What you used
and took from this place is returned to future generations in the form of
knowledge, education and resources.

  • Respect for every human life:

People who respect every human will never
abuse others, abuse the environment, steal others resources or gamble with
peoples financial securities.

  • Honesty and transparent:

It’s really simple, people with social consciousness
do not have anything to hide and they have the intelligence to know that
honesty and openness takes you faster to the goal than keeping secrets.

A society operating mainly by humans with “social consciousness” is a society where the “human rights” are on the main agenda.
It’s a society going forward without  the stagnations of dishonesty and political games, it might be described as the “winner”of nations and societies.

 

 

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The winner/loser consciousness: What mechanics are at work?

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Eldina

The best place to study this mind- set is to look at the actions and thinking of the right wing republicans in USA.  First, their action and thinking is public and therefore easy accessible. Second, they are very open about whom they are and you might have noticed they are presenting lies out in the open for everyone to see. What’s important for them is to win and lying is just a tool to achieve their goal. From their mind, this seems to be an acceptable way of behaving and they do not seem to take any responsibility for fooling and misleading people.

Sometimes I’m wondering if people with this perception comes from a place where there are no truth or reality,rather the truth is decided by some authority, and if this authoriety say something is the truth, even when it’s not, it has to be, because they say so. If that’s the case, those people do not have any connection to reality and facts but only to authority.

 People who have values show signs of shame and of being uncomfortable when lying and manipulating realities, when this has taken place in the media, most of the people from this group shows no sign of shame and the only emotion I have seen in this context is a right wing republican being amused about his own cleverness in deceiving.

Another important factor is the acceptance of bullying others. An example of this is the disrespect this group has shown the president by calling him a liar, or the slander their Fox News Channel present to the public. The slander and drama they have created is done by distorting reality by editing recordings of speech from public people or situations to create something different. The purpose of distorting reality is not clear to me, it might be to get attention or create disturbance and chaos in the society. Or maybe, because they have distorted the reality they believe the reality has changed?

Attention is important to a group living in the winner/loser consciousness, how aware they are of the side effect of this behavior is hard to say. Normally people creating disturbance by using false information are not taken serious. However this group doesn’t seem to be considered disturbed by the public; either people are appalled by them or they seem to like them.

Being politician or a media channel for this group of politicians and believe in lies, drama and bullying others to win in politics lead to a conclusion that those people look at politics as a game and not as a matter of improving a society. It’s difficult to say whether the followers of this politics are fooled by them or if they believe in this form of behavior and thinking.

  1. Winning is more important than values.
  2. Bullying and ridicule is an accepted tactic to win.
  3. To get attention is part of being a winner; who get hurt or the outcome of the disturbance they create doesn’t matter.
  4. Politics is a game and there is a lack of social consciousness and regards for other people.

 

From the above we can clearly see that people with a winner/loser perspective do not have considerations about the welfare of the people in a country, it’s mostly about winning and it’s about them. The followers are either fooled by them or believe they are part of a group where common values do not apply because the issue is to win or to be the loser.

There are times in politics when you must be on the right side and lose.
- John Kenneth Galbraith
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The Two Faces of the American Society: “Social consciousness” versus “winner/loser” perspective.

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Eldina

 The “winner and loser” philosophy and its effect on politics:

The “winner and loser” philosophy is an old concept and comes from a very old energy, it’s where the wealthy give an explanation why they have everything and the working people have nothing. They define themselves as “winners” and those who have to work for nothing are just a” loser” in their game. In Europe during the Middle Ages this was the main philosophy and basically poor people was defined as of less worth than the wealthy. It’s an understanding based on several forms of dogmas and dualities, their thinking and understanding comes from “fear” and they form dichotomies as “rewards and punishment”, being of the “righteous people versus the undeserved”. The acceptance of slavery in the south states of USA was built upon these forms of thinking and understanding of the world.

Today you can see residues of this concept in the American society and countries formed on dictatorship; where a few families take it all, and the mass population is the countries slaves to keep those families wealth to grow.

Why do people let this happen?

It’s basically because people don’t know better, it’s usually countries coming out of a difficult time that want to believe in something new and later realize they are trapped with those families who are using them. Dictators are not there for the people but the people are there to serve the dictatorship.

Many people do not understand that people in USA vote on political parties and candidates that basically stand for this way of thinking. What on earth is that about?

The republican party stand for increasing wealth for the wealthy and if there are anything left, they let it drip on the poor ( those who get the biggest drip are probably defining themselves as wealthy and believe they are more worthy then the rest of the population). Basically, it should be obvious for the population to see what the candidates stand for, they express it verbally and when they have the power, what they do and the result of the action should be obvious for everyone to see?

Why does 50 % of the American population believe in this concept?

It’s probably more complicated than this, since there are only two political parties, many political issues has to be put into two separate piles, and the political statements and ideology is modified for each administration.

However since 50 % of the population vote for a government who have this perspective, it should be accurate to assume that many people in USA understand the society from dichotomies and dogmas.

Social consciousness and its effect on politics:

Social consciousness comes from an understanding that all people have the same value and the negative experiences our neighbors have, might befall us all; like being unemployed, sick or having an accident of any sort. This is a concept that expands from the “me” understanding to an “us” understanding and what might hurt others, hurt me as well. This is understood from an intellectual understanding and on an emotional level- and it’s a more evolved human consciousness then the person who only look at himself and define the world from only his position. In politics it means that we are all in this together, we create safety nets for everyone and consider every human being as of same value.

You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims.
- Harriet Woods
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Global Warming and Climate Changes.

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Eldina

At this point it should be clear to most people that something is changing at our planet; the weather pattern has changed in most areas and if you haven’t notice anything in your corner of the world, you might have experienced an increase in earthquake or a volcano eruption. Something is changing.

So, what is going on?

Its many theories and suggestion on this, some are:

  1. Global warming and climate changes: Human pollution has created an unbalance leading to gases trapping heat in the atmosphere with global warming or climate change as the result. Al Gore is spokesman for this theory. This is based on the fact that for the last 13 years the earth has become warmer and the polar ice caps are melting as a result; leading to the rise of the sea level and possible earth changes.
  2. Earth’s magnetic field and climate changes: The magnetic fields at the poles have changed and might be a cause for global warming? Example of research:

“Analysis of the movement of the Earth’s magnetic poles over the last 105 years demonstrates strong correlations between the position of the north magnetic, and geomagnetic poles, and both northern hemisphere and global temperatures”.(source:scienceagogo.com/forum)

“Authors of a Danish study published in 2009 stated: “Our results show a strong correlation between the strength of the earth’s magnetic field and the amount of precipitation in the tropics” (source: Earth’s Magnetic Field and Climate Variability)

3. Outer Space and climate changes: There are big changes going on in outer space and earth is a part of this.  The changes are bigger than us and we can’t do anything about this.

“Scientists say that cosmic rays from outer space play a far greater role in changing the Earth’s climate than global warming experts previously thought” (telegraph.co.uk: Richard Gray)

Why is this an issue?

I assume it’s some truth in all of the theories above and one explanation doesn’t falsify the others, chances are that they might be linked. The universe is big and we are a small planet, therefore it makes sense that there are changes in outer space that will affect the planet.  

The human population have increased the greenhouse gases and generally polluted the planet, the effect this has on climate changes is difficult to measure since there are many known and possible unknown factors in the picture. 

The issue is complex since there are many factors that might have an effect: Example of questions to ask:

  • What is the correlation with the magnetic field and changes in outer space?
  • Does the pollution on earth have an effect on earth’s magnetic field?
  • How about the temperature of the earth itself, can it change without any particular reason and heat/cool the water?

The reason this has become a major issue, besides the fact that we have climate changes that might lead to seriouse changes, is that someone has to pay for this. If global warming is caused by pollution, the polluters have to stop and it might be expensive for corporations. There are also speculations that people and organization are capitalizing on the prevention work.

The real issue for the population :

In everyday living it doesn’t matter what’s behind the changes, what matter is to act with respect and care toward the earth; the environment, the population and the animals. To respect the environment is the only part we can do something about; the human population can’t do anything about the magnetic fields or changes in outer space.

 Healthy minded people do not want to exchange the future generation’s wellbeing for profit by polluting the planet. And they are smart enough to know that you can’t hide waste because we all share the same planet, and smart enough to focus on what they can do something about today.

The critical responsibility for the generation you’re in is to help provide the shoulders, the direction, and the support for those generations who come behind.
- Gloria Dean Randle Scott
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When credit reporting and the law is in the hand of abusive and criminal corporations.

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Eldina

Many people in USA have for years been subjected to fraud and theft by financial institutions, mostly in connection to the housing market but also in connection to credit cards. The frauds have mainly been conducted by lies, manipulation; falsify contracts and hidden crucial information about the agreement; an agreement where the purpose is to steal as much money as possible through high interest rates.

Why does the citizen of USA pay those immoral financial banks?

The same criminal institutions have the tools to keep this going, one tool is credit reporting and another tool is the law or to be more correct the lack of regulation to stop those people. Theft is obviously a crime for most people, but it can be made into a legal action.

Credit reporting in the hands of financial criminals- what is the consequences?

“Credit history or credit report is, in many countries, a record of an individual’s or company’s past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy. The term “credit reputation” can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score.” (Wikipedia)

It might be a useful tool for bankers and other companies to learn about individuals and companies credit history, however what if the banks are corrupt and have hidden agenda? Should they have this power?

Examples of credit report abuse and reporting late payments when the payment has been done on time:

  1. For the purpose of increasing the profit for the company.

The mortgage company I had a loan with, reported late payments to the credit bureaus when the payments was made on time, The purpose of the action is to ruin the customer’s credit history, by ruining peoples credit history, they couldn’t refinance with another bank and becomes the companies prisoner and from that point on, they can do whatever they want to increase their profit from your property.

Since the interest rate increases on loans for people with low credit score, it’s obvious that its profit in ruining people’s credit history- from a perspective of a criminal mind this is a powerful tool- and it’s legal.

2. For personal gain, hate and discrimination.

How about going a little bit further into the mind of abusive and criminal CEOs who has greed and power as their primary purpose, how else can they use this tool?

We know they can take peoples home, however they can also take someone’s dream; the dream of an education or starting a small company.

Since we already have acknowledge the fact that banks can be manipulative, they can target specific groups, it can be ethnic groups, it can be ruining already established companies for the purpose to help friends and families who are in the same niche to become wealthier. It can be a political target, by ruining someone’s financial reputation they can make it more difficult for some candidates. The possibilities and the power of owning a tool meant to create difficulties for financial irresponsible citizen in the hand of the wrong people, can be endless.

After 3-4 years of being financial abused by financial institutions it should be clear to most people and the authorities that this is people who shouldn’t have any form of power, rather they should be guarded on their behavior to make sure they don’t act abusive and are involved in frauds and crimes.

Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed
Mohandas K. Gandhi
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What is a Healthy response toward Financial Stagnation?

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Eldina

Many people are confused and worried about the federal spending; the nation is in debt, why does the government use money when the nation is bankrupt?

 I will use a very simple example to makes sense of the philosophy behind the concept of spending and saving money at the same time.

 I will use a family as an example:

If the nation is a family with two parents and three children and the parents do not have any job, they will not have any money to spend, they use as little as possible and they only buy what is necessary. However to continue and save from nothing will not improve the family’s life, it will make it worse and when the unemployment funds stop, they have nothing to support themselves. They have to rethink their options, maybe they will have to move to another state to find a job and maybe invest in a new education since there aren’t any jobs in their field. When this is the case, they will need to borrow money to spend for the education and they need money to move to another state. The family is cutting down on spending, but they are using money for education and moving.  Their situation requires using as little money as possible but at the same time they are making huge investment and are spending money they don’t have, maybe it’s the most expensive investment they have ever taken on. This is their only option at this point.

When the nation is in the same situation, the same hold true, except that they have to be more active to create jobs and invest. A main difference between a family and a nation is the huge influence the government and its politics have on the individual.

Why didn’t the federal investment work in USA?

First, we do not know how well it actually worked, because we do not know how the outcome would be without the federal investment.

Second, some economics believe more money should have been invested to change the financial stagnation and that the investment was not big enough to make the impact as planned.

In the past, western countries have tried to infuse money into poor countries in Africa and South America as an attempt to improve the life of people living in poverty. When this hasn’t worked, the cause of the problem has been linked to corruption. When money is not going where it’s supposed to go, the reason is always linked to corruption (impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle).

Can some of the explanation for the lack of result from the federal investment be linked to corruption?

It’s the same people and companies who ruined the financial stability in the world who was given the money to restart the financial engine?

Is it possible to develop corruption in a western society?

If the following criteria’s describe the society, I will think so:

  1. The Laws or lack of regulation for the corrupt institutions
  2. Corporations are in charge
  3. Lack of values in the society and twisted morals
  4. Strong military influence: Solving problems with war and violence instead of diplomacy

    5. 

 It’s time for greatness — not for greed. It’s a time for idealism — not ideology. It is a time not just for compassionate words, but compassionate action.
Marian Wright Edelman
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What is a healthy society?

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Eldina

A healthy society is a balanced society that works on all levels of life. A society is the sum of all individuals and organization operating within the nation; when a society doesn’t work it’s because the individuals or the groups are out of balance.

A balanced society:

There are two very important factors in  human’s life and by looking at those factors we can identify what create a balanced society:

 Family and friends:

This part has to do with relationships, care taking and friendships. We do not treat family and friends as work or businesses since other values are involved.

 Work:

This has to do with income and doing something productive; when we work we are focused on different tasks then when we are home with family or with friends.

 A society:

The same goes for the society or the nation. If the nation is considered only to be a business, we will have a cold and materialistic society. The human do not have other values then to produce and create profit. The human value is to be considered as an asset and not as a living human being. Hence the term “Human Resources” so frequently used in corporation and that clearly describe what a human being means to a corporation.

If the nation look at the society only as a family, and don’t pay attention toward the business side, the country will have difficulties being organized and pay attention to employment and budgets.

I don’t believe people are happy when there isn’t a balance between work and family. Who wants to spend their life being poor because the nation can’t create jobs and organize a plan for financial prosperity?

And who wants to spend their life as a work force for a corporation with no time to live and no time with their families? People do not want to be slaves and they don’t want to be poor without any hope or a plan for the future.

How can we do this?

 1.       Nation as a family.

A family is someone who is there when you need support, it’s also someone you are supporting depending on your age and role – and where you are in life. They help you when you are sick, support you through education, celebrate milestones and help you through difficult times. When someone in your family is going through a difficult time, you are there for them and do what you can to be helpful.

When the nation is a family the same is true, the difference is that you help people you don’t know personally and someone helps you without knowing you.  It’s a security net build for everyone and its build because you have the wisdom and knowledge that life has difficult times and good times. Besides people who feel safe are more happy, balanced and productive- ultimately it’s good for the nation’s business side as well.

 2.       Nation as a company.

A company is focused on production, sales and budgets – and a nation needs to do the same. It needs to look after production and the financial situation. When a nation does this well, create jobs and build wealth- it’s good for the family side as well; the nation have more money to take care of children’s education, physical health and to care for elderly. A wealthy society can give the population more time for parent to be with their children, time for sport activities and hobbies since humans need physical activities to stay healthy, time for reflection and creative activities to keep growing. Money is less an asset to a society then a healthy, happy, wise, intelligent and creative population. After all it’s the people that are in control and not the money and it’s the people who creates wealth.

To care for anyone else enough to make their problems one’s own, is ever the beginning of one’s real ethical development.
Felix Adler
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How to avoid being indoctrinated by propaganda.

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Eldina

 

Since it seems to be difficult to ban propaganda, the people have to educate themselves to avoid being indoctrinated. There are very few options and approaches.

  1. Don’t listen to any media. This is impossible for most people since you belong to a family and a society- and you can’t dictate what other people are listning to on the radio. However it’s important to find some quite space as often as possible to listen to your own truth. Stillness makes it easier for you to see the truth.
  2. Read the news from other countries.
  3. Train yourself. Use the opportunity by listening to commercial and political propaganda to learn the tactics they are using and intellectually learn when something is propaganda and when it’s the truth.
  • Is the statement based on a study? Is the study made by a neutral source?
  • Use Google to check the facts.
  • Learn to read the body language. The propaganda is often delivered by actors and actresses – or someone who is trained for the job and act like a robot. However this is not always the case and when someone is lying ; they look plain funny or display extreme emotions. Note that if someone is twisting the truth, it’s normal for the neutral source to be upset about it.When someone is delivering a message and they know it’s the truth, generally they display energy and a happy tone. They seem more genuine alive and in touch with the message compare to the paid robot /actor.
  • Look at the messenger. Is this a person who has a track record of being honest? Whose agenda does he or she represent? Don’t waste your time listen to someone who already has distorted the truth. 

    • 

Commercials: If everyone in the nation decides that they never will buy a product from TV-ads, the ads will disappear. It is as simple as that. The commercials are there because you respond to them. Since I don’t like commercial, I respond negative to the products in TV ads.

Some advice to recognize propaganda from http://www.sourcewatch.org/

Some of the most effective propaganda techniques work by misdirecting or distracting the public’s finite attention away from important issues. It’s important to read between the lines of the news and see what isn’t being reported, or what is reported once, quietly, and not followed up. In an age of information overload, distraction techniques can as effective as active propaganda. One way to test for distraction is to look for items that appear repeatedly in foreign press (from neutral and hostile countries) and that don’t appear in your own. But beware of deliberately placed lies that are repeated with the hope that people will believe it if it is repeated often enough.

 

Doesn’t the government have any responsibility for the propaganda?

Propaganda is delivered by the media and the media is owned by particular interests, making it difficult to interfere with what is delivered to the people. In reality its wealthy people who own the media and wealthy people have their own interest to protect. It would be nice to have a neutral TV- channel that’s not connected to any ownership. Most nations have this option and during elections they invite candidates to ask them serious questions; doing this makes it clear to people who the candidates are without any form for propaganda.

 I do not look at a President or a Governor as a sales product for particular interests in a nation, I look at them as a person supposed to represent the majority of the population and they should be presented as such. Every wealthy person in this country can hire someone to write a few speeches packed with propaganda to feed the population .When they arrive at congress they might do nothing for the people or they harm the population with their ignorance, passive aggression and self-interest. I believe the people deserve to actually learn to know the candidates on a more thoroughly level. A neutral channel not paid by incorporations- and with a panel of people who have deep knowledge about the different political issues.

When I have applied for leadership positions, not only have I had at least two different interviews with a set of different panels of professionals, but also I had to take a personality test and a test describing me as a leader. Shouldn’t the people have the same right when they hire someone to take care of their interest  in Congress?

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism—ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.[42][43][44]
Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Why and who use propaganda?

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Eldina

Propaganda is often connected to corporations, it’s their tool for marketing and it’s what they are good at. Politically it’s linked to Fascism;

Fascist states pursued policies of social indoctrination, through propaganda in education and the media, and through regulation of the production of education and media material.[94] [95] Education was designed to glorify the fascist movement and inform students of its historical and political importance to the nation. It attempted to purge ideas that were not consistent with the beliefs of the fascist movement, and taught students to be obedient to the state. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism)

A healthy functional democracy doesn’t need to use propaganda to manipulate the population – basically because the purpose and intent of a democracy is to create a society the majority of the population wants.  Can you call a nation that is manipulating the populations with distorted truths and lies for a democracy? They do have the right to vote and they do have freedom of speech, however they do not have the freedom to think for themselves. The purpose of use of propaganda is self- interest, power, control and greed.

The serious effect of propaganda should be obvious when a candidate for a vice president didn’t know why USA is in war with Iraq, but responded with the propaganda that was circulating around the issue at the time.

How do you know you are listening to propaganda?

Propaganda has similarities with marketing, their view is not democratic but to make people believe their product is better than the other producers.  By looking at the commercials and their attempt to fool you, you should be able to pick up some of the components in propaganda:

  1. They create emotional scenery. In political propaganda it’s often tied to nationalism, enemies, freedom and that something dangrerous is out there to get you. And of course the source of the propaganda is who will save you. In other words they are trying to create a victim- rescue scenario and with components of helpless victims and hero’s.
  2. Based on manipulative fictions instead of facts. A fact is based on a serious study by a serious institution with the purpose to improve the health of a society, a fiction is a statement made up to create drama and fear.
  3. I also noticed that when propaganda is written for a radio show, the rest of the radio shows have the same manuscript. Obviously someone with a very unhealthy mind is sitting writing propaganda material to feed the population. Political propaganda is like marketing, it repeats itself over and over again.

 

Should propaganda be legal?

The people behind the propaganda hide their ugly agenda behind the human rights of free speech. It’s difficult to ban propaganda because it’s difficult to create a law or find a place to draw the line. Many democracies draw the line when it’s clearly a hateful speech, however I have witnessed hateful slurs and propaganda being conducted in neighborhoods in USA and the Nazi group behind this, couldn’t be stopped based on free speech? There are differences from society to society where to draw the line.

See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.
George W. Bush
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Freedom of speech and propaganda.

Posted on January 24, 2010 by Eldina

What is free speech?

 If you live in a western democratic society, “free speech” is part of the structure of a democracy and its one of the components defining a democracy, in other words a society that do not have “freedom of speech” is not a democracy.

 You will find lack of “free speech” in societies defined as fascism, dictatorship and communist state societies; nations trying to control the population for the purpose of being in power.

 Definition from Wikipedia:

 ”Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship and/or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, such as on “hate speech“.
The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCPR recognizes the right to freedom of speech as “the right to hold opinions without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression”.[1][2] Furthermore freedom of speech is recognized in European, inter-American and African regional human rights law.”
 
 
What is Propaganda?

What about propaganda, should it fall under the category “freedom of Speech”?  Does manipulation and indoctrination of the human mind fall into the category of a Human Right? Most people associate propaganda with societies as Hitler and Stalin’s regime, and it’s one of the components defining a Fascist society 

Definition from Wikipedia:

 ”Propaganda is a form of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.”

 

Why is the subject of freedom of speech a constant issue in USA and not in other western countries- why is it always mentioned in the media? Isn’t” freedom of speech” part of being a democracy? 

What I have recognized as a main difference between USA and other democratic societies is the heavy use of propaganda; it’s ongoing machinery always work to control the population. To call attention to describing the American society as a society of “free speech” are often done by the same media that use propaganda.

The irony in this is that for the propaganda machinery to be allowed to continue, it hides behind the postulate of”freedom of speech”.  In other words a fascist technique hides under the human rights and a democracy.

 I look at propaganda as a form of mental violence toward a population for the purpose to control people for self -interest.

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act,
George Orwell:
Posted in Democracy, Fascist, Freedom of Speech, Human Rights, Humanitarianism, Politics, Propaganda, Society | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

How can a nation provide healthcare and a secure retirement funds for everyone?

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Eldina

When a population spends a lifetime working in a society and pay to insure its health, aging and death, you will expect this to occur without any sort of complications. It should be a simple and obvious matter. However it doesn’t always work like that. In USA illness and death is made into something to make profit from, and by letting insurance corporations using their own rules for paying the medical bills, the nation is denying the population what is a human right; the right to medical care.

Since capitalism is about making profit and in its worst form it’s about greed where people actually kill for profit, this is a scary place to have corporations operate. Being witness to the financial corruption among banks and insurance companies doesn’t make this concept better. People who live from this type of profit will have to choose between killing people (by denying people medical care) or to discontinue their lifestyle. (By don’t taking their yearly vacation to Bahamas)

 Another problem with the system is that when the numbers of unemployment increases, people will lose their health insurance, making this a very unhealthy system to live under for everyone during uncertain times.

It doesn’t have to be like this, healthcare can be for everyone and not a matter of negotiating with insurance companies about the bills.  When people are sick, they need care and rest and can’t deal with a difficult system that is trying to minimize the expenses.  Besides, when you take away the profits given to owners and CEOs of the insurance companies, this amount will be saved for later use. The money you are not using by being healthy is not going toward a big party or someone’s castle but to save someone’s life.

To be able to provide healthcare for everyone, it needs to be administrated by a non-profit unit (state, federal, non-profit private company) and instead of paying to an insurance company; it will be deducted from your paycheck in form of a tax. In many nations the amount deducted is in proportion to your income and not the number of people in the household, for example 4% is deducted from all income in a nation to cover a population’s health care.

The retirement funds paid to the government needs to be secured from governmental spending and should not be allowed to be used by any President, it’s an saving account for future retirement and for taking care of our elders today.

“I now understand that my welfare is only possible if I acknowledge my unity with all the people of the world without exception”.
- Leo Tolstoy
Posted in Basic needs, Health Care, Retirement | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Does the issue of abortion belong into Politics?

Posted on January 11, 2010 by Eldina

Abortion is a complicated issue and needs to be understood on different levels. I will look at the following categories:

  1.  Abortion and Politics:  When a nation has been looking at being “for or against” abortion as a governmental issue, it has been connected to dictatorships. Examples are the forced abortions in China and the denial of abortions in Romania. The purpose has been to regulate the population rates. In Fascism like in Hitler’s regime; people was asked to sacrifice by producing many children, they wanted to increase the number of white people. The Chinese regime wanted to decrease the population and abortion became a tool.  Basically the government is dictating how many children you should have. And by doing so, are dictating women’s life and dictating what quality you should find in life. In a society opposing abortion, children will be born unwanted with all the consequences that comes with it; poverty and unhappiness. Why does a government want people to give birth to children that they can’t afford?   Maybe they want to control the work force by controlling their life by owning their time, or maybe they don’t think- or is it religion?
  2. Abortion and Religion:   A standpoint with regards to abortion is often related to religion or culture, and therefore will be considered to be a personal matter for most people rather than a social matter. Particular for people and countries that don’t believe in mixing religion with politics and want to keep those issues separated.
  3. Abortion and Spirituality:  In the matter of spirituality instead of religion, we are looking at the matter as an experience instead of a belief system. Questions will be asked by a spiritual person, questions as; At what point does a soul enter the fetus?  Does the soul have the knowledge that the fetus will be aborted beforehand?  Answers toward those questions matters for spiritual people and humanitarians. Spirituality is about awareness and when the awareness of a matter grows into the population, so does it in the politics and into the society.
  4. Politics and Religion: To ask whether the issue about abortion belongs in politics is also to ask if religion and politics belong together. The problem with religion is that religions create dogmas of laws where spirituality and humanitarians is something that expands and grows into people’s awareness. To mix the dogmas of religious laws with the laws created by a society, might create many problems, particular for a country having several religions or a rigid belief system.
 
“If you want things to be different, perhaps the answer is to become different yourself.”
- Norman Vincent Peale
Posted in Abortion, Politics, Religion, Society, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What is education? And how can everyone get a good education?

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Eldina

Education has several aspects and meanings:

  1. The papers that shows that you have finished a degree and have the knowledge needed to fill a position.
  2. A service given to a nation’s population to increase their knowledge for the purpose to raise the society to a higher level and to improve everyone’s life; like an investment and a resource.
  3. It might be used as a tool for control.

    4. 

The Papers:   This is a valuable ticket for people to get a job they want, however it doesn’t necessary mean someone is good at the job even when they are the best in the class,  their knowledge might be limited because the education system is limited. And there might be many people who have more knowledge than those with the papers, but they couldn’t afford or didn’t have time for the education. Among wealthy families in USA, education institutions are paid to educate their children who otherwise might not be accepted into a program.

 In a mature and healthy society, people who have an interest for a particular education will get it. Some people might need more time to learn than others, however if a person need more time it doesn’t mean that he will not be good at his job, actually it might turn out to be the opposite, it just takes more time.

Education should go with the current; the best teacher are the people who are interest in teaching and not those who have the money for the education- this “blocking” of education creates a “less” society.

To improve a nation:   An educated and informed population with the ability of critical thinking is probably the best investment a nation can have. How healthy minded, mature and free a population is, can therefore be measured in their level of education and how informed they are about the world at large.

However a knowledgeable population is not in the interest for a nation wanting to control the people for their own  interest; they might lose their power and privileges since an educated and intelligent population will not tolerate abusive and corrupt behavior.

What good does the notion of” freedom of speech” has for the people in a nation who doesn’t have anything to say and haven’t learned to express their thoughts?

As a power issue:   Education can also be manipulative and selective toward a population, by teaching only about one side of the coin the people will be brainwashed and easy to manipulate.  A common belief people have, is that their nation is the best country in the world, some nations are so indoctrinated in this belief that they easily go to war against other countries without any convincing reason for the attack. This form for nationalism can be harmless if the leaders are otherwise honest and have integrity. However it’s dangerous when it’s used for the purpose to take the power from the people, control them and go to war.

“A fool’s brain digests philosophy into folly, science into superstition, and art into pedantry. Hence University education”.
George Bernard Shaw
“Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.”
Daniel J. Boorstin
Posted in Basic needs, Education, Society | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

How to protect the population from unemployment.

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Eldina

 I’m not sure if it’s possible to create jobs for everyone at all time. Even with a dedicated, mature and intelligent administration, it still will be times when major changes in a society will occur. Products and services will be outdated because of new technology and during those transit periods, people will be in a limbo.

An administration that strictly creates jobs to keep people working without visions for the future or without any thoughts about the market might over time create a stagnant society. 

Societies who don’t care about people, only about the profit they create for the wealthy, are abusing and disrespecting the population and their work. Something is definitely not right when money is more important than people. A balance is needed and the balance is created by having a free market with regulations.

 Change is often an opportunity for creating new ways and  bring new possibilities into the labor market; therefore unemployment can give room for new and exciting creations, like out with the old and in with the new. But there will be a “meantime” and during transitions, people need to be protected to be able to pay their bills. There are several options to consider during this transition:

  1. Pay unemployment benefits.
  2. Work for the government. Since the government pay unemployment benefits anyway, why not use those payments toward something meaningful, maybe it’s not necessary work, but it will improve the standard and the health of a nation. The unemployed will feel valued and the graduates will have work experience.  Examples: Improve roads and buildings; work on youth and prevent crimes, sociological research to improve the social condition in societies, care taking of seniors and education of children.
  3. Opportunity to start own company. For small businesses to be able to start and to survive, they will need resources, as it is today the banks and insurance companies are squeezing everything out of everyone. I will suggest to start a peoples bank; a bank with low interest rate funded by the government to make this possible.

 

“Work keeps us from three great evils: boredom, vice, and poverty.”
Voltaire
Posted in Basic needs, Employment, Society | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Transportation.

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Eldina

We all need transportation and I have learned that whether you depend on your own car or have options for using buses and other public services, the transportation you use, is not always what you want because sometimes there aren’t any other options. When I lived in Europe I didn’t have a car, I didn’t need a car and I couldn’t/wouldn’t afford a car, besides I didn’t want to be part of the polluters of our planet.

Moving to USA I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere without a car and even if I tried, it would be dangerous since the roads lack sidewalks and are made primary for cars. You never see anyone walking on the streets. In the cities in Europe a car is a luxury item because you can live without it. In the suburban of US without a car you will not be able to go to work or take your child to school.

In USA they want people to use cars; it’s good for the car industry and it keep people employed; besides it gives profit to the oil companies.

Car industry is not a major industry in Europe and the areas where people are living are smaller, most people live in the city. To bring cars into the city will clog the streets and pollute the air, besides there aren’t enough parking places for everyone.

In some places you might have options and be able to move around in whatever transportation you want, however for many people that’s not the case.  As with housing this is connected to where you live and it has to do with politics or the lack of it.  Remember that politics is about the people in a nation; what is best for them and the planet and not for wealthy corporations.

” All idealism is falsehood in the face of necessity”
  Friedrich Nietzsche
Posted in Basic needs, Society, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

How can a nation make sure everyone have a home?

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Eldina

If USA did the opposite with the mortgage rates from what they have been doing for the last 8 years, everyone might have a home, and the economic situation the country is in, would probably be different.

Instead of giving an interest rate on 15 % for single parents, divorced and minorities, set those 15% mortgage rate on people who has a high income to pay for it, then set a mortgage rate on 3- 4 % for people with low income. Its logic, the more money someone earn, the more they can pay of interest and the opposite is true for low income or single parents?

This is how it’s done in some other countries:  you have a market interest rate, most of the time it ranges between 4-6 %. It’s an interest rate that’s manageable in a two parent household and with a regular median income.

However the reality of life is that people dies, lose their jobs or get divorced. Its part of life and a situation everyone will experience. Because something tragic occurs in your family should you then also lose your home? A population should be insured by the government in situations like this, and one way to do it, is to lower the mortgage rate to a level that will work for widows, single parents or someone who is unemployed.

There is no place more delightful than one’s own fireside.
~Cicero
Posted in Basic needs, Homes, Society | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How can a nation make sure the population gets the food and the nutrition they need.

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Eldina

You could assume nutrition isn’t a problem in the western world, however it is in USA. The problem is that junk food is cheap, and you get a lot of calories for almost nothing, this is the way to survive for poor people in wealthy countries. Poor people in poor countries starve to death and poor people in wealthy countries are slowly killed by lack of nutrition’s leading to serious illnesses.

However, in other wealthy countries this problem do not exist, for many reasons, and one reason is that the government subsidies healthy products. Products that every human need to stay healthy, milk, wholegrain fresh bread, fruit and vegetables is priced at a level every human can afford.

What is subsidized food?

 When the government subsidies a product, they pay for part of the price to the producers, and the healthy food will be sold at the store at a lower price than it’s actually value. If the government pays for half of the price on healthy food it will be sold in the store for half of its market value.

From where can we take the money to subsidize healthy food?

 For the government to be able to recover the losses on the subsidized food, it can put taxes on unhealthy and unnecessary items like soda, chocolate, tobacco and alcohol. This will limit people’s addiction and intake of what is not healthy. And when you buy an unhealthy product, you know that the high price will pay for a child getting the nutrition it needs and you know that you often will choose an apple over a chocolate bar.

Some people argues that they don’t want the government to interfere with their life, they want the free marked; in other words they want incorporated America to decide for them and in reality they want to be controlled by financial institutions and their rules. 

Remember that the government is the people, you are the government and if it isn’t; you are not living in a democracy.

 

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Posted in Basic needs, Nutrition, Society | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The basic needs for human existence- what are the minimum requirements?

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Eldina

To identify basic human needs or the minimum required for human existence in a society is not simple. It depends on many factors, like the resources in a society and its infrastructure. Example: In a country with a well developed public transportation, a car will not be considered as a need for existence.

  1. Housing: Every human being should have the right to a home.  The size will depend on where you live. In a big city an apartment will most likely be your home. I believe it’s a human right, to own a home instead of paying money to an owner, particular in countries like USA where the equity in the house is part of your retirement funds. Besides, why should you pay rent instead of owning your home when the mortgage and the rent amount probably are the same?  During part of your life you will choose to rent because you do not plan to stay at the same place for long, and you need the freedom to be able to move. You might even choose this lifestyle for your entire life.
  2. Transportation: You will need to have to get to work and pick up kids from school and day care center. If you live in a city you might not need a car. If you live in areas where there isn’t any public transportation you need a car.
  3. Healthy food: You are part of a group called consumers and corporations want your money on something they can produce cheap. They don’t care about nutrition or your health; they care about your money.  Healthy food has become expensive; however you need it for survival.
  4. Income from a job:  It’s a human right to have a job, and to work in a healthy environment. Every society needs a security net for unemployed during times of change on the labor market. Everyone needs an income for survival.
  5. Healthcare and medication:  Its crucial to keep the population healthy.
  6. Education
  7. Retirement funds- collected by the government: To secure the living condition for the elderly.

 

What happens if there aren’t any guidelines for human rights on the basic needs in a society?

  1. A  government and a society that don’t take responsibility for making sure the population in a nation is protected from greed and disasters do not care about people; First of all the society has already created the rules by not have any set of guidelines; saying that the most ruthless and greedy have the option do to whatever they want, and in times of disaster there are no help, you are on your own.  It’s the same as letting out disturbed and violent people from the prison and not protecting the people from being killed ; A country without morals, values and empathy has been created.
  2. Fight for survivals: The main concern and energy in a society like this, is directed toward security and survival. This means that there isn’t room for people being creative, guide and help others, engage in what’s valuable for humans to thrive and being alive. Fear is the main source and when it’s feeding into the society; people are scared and feel unprotected.
  3. Stagnation: When the energy of creating has ended, there will not be created new jobs, art or solutions to problems, the economy will suffer more and so will the people.
  4. Unhappiness: The lack of happiness and hope gives room for all types of negative emotions and negative experiences, like stress in the family, divorce and children acting out. More crimes and use of drugs among adults and teenagers. Unhealthy environments at work and people fighting to keep their jobs and unethical people find ways to be the winner in this game.  Unhappiness might give health problems, creating more stress without health insurance.
  5. Lack of funds for education and lack of time to be informed, creates a dumb and dull population.

 

Humanism will affirm life rather than deny it, seek to elicit the possibilities of life, not flee from it, and endeavor to establish the conditions of satisfactory life for all, not merely for the few.
Humanist Manifesto, 1933 

 

 

Posted in Basic needs, Society | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Who are the greedy CEO’s?

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Eldina

Isn’t it strange that when a hungry person steal something from the local store – it’s a crime -   but when CEOs empty the company accounts ; basically takes your profit from a investment you made, crushing the life out of a company – and taking away the  source of income from the employee, nobody reacts?  And there aren’t any police car pulling up to handcuff the thief?

Why people allow this - it’s something I will never understand. The CEOs of USA reminds me of the greedy kingdoms of Europe during the Middle Ages when they took everything they could from poor people to continue their selfish lifestyle while watching people being homeless and starve because of their greed. At least those kingdoms offered the people an army and protection from other greedy kingdoms. Those CEOs doesn’t even give you protection from other greedy companies, instead they trade your information.

Who are they?

Most of them have a business and/or economic degree and some experience with the companies product or service. They need to have some knowledge about the company’s product to be able to sell its reputation.

Don’t many people have the same background?

Yes, many people have similar education and skills, and everyone will have experience at some point in their life, since it comes with aging. What gives this group the power to empty the account?

1.    They belong to a club/group that knows other CEOs, this makes them very valuable for  a company (that’s what they believe) because this connection will lead to major contracts.

2.    By being part of this group, they know the CEOs of the major banks and maybe senators in the congress. Some companies believe they will be in trouble without this tie.

3.   By researching the background of the CEOs in the banking system, I learned that many of them only had a bachelor degree in business or finances. They do not have enough indepth education to understand the effect their action has at a country and the world.

4.   Many seem to be immature beings showing traits like greed and selfishness, they don’t seem to have the capacity or the will to look at the broader picture in a society.

5.    Some are very good at manipulating; claiming they got a better job offer in another company, offering a better salary.

6.    A personality of being very social with other and are always invited to the major events. This creates the illusion that the world considers them as valuable and therefore the company should do as well. (In reality they might be invited to major events because they are a CEO)

7.    Some of them are sociopaths;  scaring and manipulate everyone around them by playing games.

Shouldn’t the Board know better?

Yes, but as we have seen, they don’t and therefore it’s the population of a nation that have to take action and its simple; don’t invest your money in a company that has greedy CEOs and a board that are clueless or play the same games. Only invest in companies where the leaders have the integrity to care about the employees and want the investors to share the profit. It takes two to tango and you don’t have to be in this dance- and your awareness will end this madness.

“Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough”
Janwillem van de Wetering
Posted in Financial | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Some basic facts about the American health care system.

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Eldina

I was stunned when I listen to the news and a republican in congress claimed the health care system in USA is one of the best in the world.

 I have gathered some facts regarding the American health system from neutral sources. ; Sources that will not have a financial gain from creating false information.  I’m using the WHO statistics for facts since World Health Organization is an outside organization without any interest or investments in USA.

Here are some basic facts about the American health care system:

1.      It ranks as number 37 of the world best health care system by the world health organization.

35        Dominica
36        Costa Rica
37        United States of America
38        Slovenia
39        Cuba
40        Brunei
41        New Zealand
42        Bahrain
43        Croatia
 
(Source: WHO World Health Report)

 Considering US belongs to the western society a ranking of 37 among the world countries do not qualify as one of the best health care systems in the world. A poor country as Cuba is ranked as number 39 on the list and has a health care system almost as functional as USA.

2.      It’s one of the most expensive health care systems in the world with little result to show for:

“American medical care may be the most expensive in the world, but that does not mean it is worth every penny.
 A study to be released Thursday highlights the stark contrast between what the United States spends on its
Health system and the quality of care it delivers, especially when compared with many other industrialized nations.”
(Source: REED ABELSON, The New York Times July 18, 2008)
 

3.      Many people do not have any health coverage and can’t afford health care:

One out of three Americans under 65 were without health insurance at some point during 2007 and 2008.
(Source: Jennifer Pifer-Bixler ,CNN Senior Medical Producer)

 Based on the mention facts and trends about the American health care system, I was puzzled when a senator in congress claimed this system is one of the best in the world. Does he have a problem or an agenda? Does he try to mislead the people or is he confused and misled himself?

The motive for the congressman statement? Here are some suggestions:

  1. Not informed:  He might care so little about the health of the American population that he don’t bother to look into the facts.
  2. Propaganda: He might think he decides the facts; besides he has good coverage for himself and his family.  Maybe he is paid well by the health insurance company to sell propaganda to the population. He does not understand that he is in congress working for the people; he probably thinks he is there to be served by the people.
  3. Delusional: People who are extremely selfish might also suffer from delusions and paint the reality as it fits their own agenda. He might also not consider USA as a western country and want to compare the health care system with countries in Africa or Asia?
  4. Misunderstanding: He might have been talking about parts of the health system. USA might be considered as one of the foremost countries doing research on health issues.
If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
Abraham Lincoln
Posted in Health Care, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments