Thoughts

Well I am going to do something that I have not allowed myself to do on this blog. I am going to express some thoughts I have about society and ways of addressing some of the issues facing our times. I could try to wrap this around TCM and describe it as a "Pattern of disharmony", which it is, but I have yet to determine an adequate label for this particular pattern. If you don't like my thoughts and or thinking process, come back next week; I will be back to writing about my usual stuff... LOL.

In my last blog about Sicko I mentioned that I was going to share some of my thoughts. Well here goes.

There are many issues facing our society at this time. In fact the list becomes so daunting that it is easy to just give up and say "To heck with it, I will just take care of my own." But I do not feel that is a useful, productive or adequate response. I understand it, but do not agree with it.
One of the issues I see is our "dis-connectedness." It is so common these days to live in an area of town and not know anyone that lives next to you. The media talks about connectivity, how for example I can write this from Tucson and anyone with access to the 'web' can read it anywhere on the planet. But we do not speak as much about not being connected to our neighborhood, not knowing your neighbors. This disconnectedness is also prevalent in our youth, it can and does in my opinion, lead to not feeling involved in our country.


I enlisted in the Navy when I was 21, a bit older than most, but it was the beginning of many, many great choices that have led me to being here, in this chair writing this blog. It was a great choice, time and experience. I have also seen the military destroy peoples spirit, to the extent that I do not know if they ever fully recovered. But, overall I did develop a deep appreciation for our country and it was a very 'developmental' time for me. I became a part of something bigger than myself, with rewards for good actions/choices and consequences for ill-thought-out actions and choices. That experience still guides me to this day.


I truly feel that every CITIZEN has a responsibility to help develop our country. But that being said I DO NOT feel that the military is always the best choice. So here are some thoughts I have been chewing on for a few years.

I have a few friends from Israel, each one of them has served the mandatory 2 years in their military, and it was good for them overall. It did develop a sense of community and inclusion. Even though they live in America they identify as being Israeli. I would love to see a version of that in our country. But as I said the military is not for everyone. So I have a list of four separate functions one could perform 'in service' to the country. And as you can imagine from tying this to a discussion about the movie Sicko I think we should have Free, Universal Health care for everyone.

1] Military service. This is necessary, even Sun Tzu would say "In times of Peace a Warrior keeps his sword at his side." It is honorable and needed to have a strong military, look at Sweden. They do not engage in war, but can have a force of nearly 2,000,000 armed soldier on the streets in less than 4 hours. One hell of a defensive force to contend with. Sun Tzu also said "There has yet to be a prolonged conflict that is of benefit to either side." [R.L. Wing has a fantastic translation "The Art of Strategy", it is excellent.]

2] Rebuild the "Civilian Construction Corps." As this weeks tragedy of a bridge collapse has shown our infrastructure has been neglected for so long it is collapsing. The Steam-pipe that exploded in New York City is only one example. I heard yesterday that on average one bridge a week collapses in our country, the highways are in serious need of repair, the dams, the railways. The list goes on. In the 30's the Civilian Construction Corp served many purposes, but they built and rebuilt many, many fine components of our society.

3] Reducing our carbon imprint, or what I call "Green T" as in Technology. I will not go in to the redundancy of "An Inconvenient Truth" but will say that most anyone that watches weather would have to admit something is causing the weather patterns to change. This generation has to face the incontrovertible truth that if we do not address this problem we are sealing the fates of our unborn grandchildren.

4] Health care. When I watched the workers actually go "down to the pile" in the aftermath of 9/11 I said this is bad. We KNEW that the World Trade Center buildings were built in an era when asbestos was used. It was only logical to presume that the dust floating around the pile had to contain asbestos. When the EPA stated it was safe to be there, in my personal and professional opinion, they were telling a flat-out lie. Fast-forward 6 years, these workers are dying from various lung diseases and our government is not doing anything of value for them. But how about our elders? They too are in a terrible position. When one has to decide if you want food or medicine you are "between a rock and a hard place."

So, those are four areas that our country needs work in, and it would reduce unemployment, it could attract some great minds. The area I called Green T could be one of the most exiting areas to explore. But all four areas need great minds and willing bodies.

How do I propose paying for this you ask? Very simple, a18% flat tax, reduce our overgrown military, employ our prisoners and cut out all the BS "earmarks" the politicians sign off on.

Will this ever happen? I doubt it, but I needed to voice this. Thanks for reading it, please write to your friends and family, and to anyone that might have some input into the equation, send them the link http://www.peacefulmountainacupuncture.blogspot.com. I am thinking of our politicians that are supposedly running for presidency. See if any of them have the cojone's to touch this hot potato...