Proverbs 16:3

Commit your works unto the LORD, and your thoughts shall be established. 

Commit your present plans, be faithful and God will come through in due time. 

Psalm 37:5

Commit your way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it pass. 

Proverbs 15:22

 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Proverbs. 13:12

 Hope deferreth makes the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree life.

Don’t lose your hope and get discouraged, keep your desire and dreams alive.

Proverbs 16:9

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. 

I Corinthians 2:9

Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him

Don’t give up on those dreams. 

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Romans 15:13

Now the God of hope fill you with joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

When analysing the gains and losses in conflict, one often needs to establish a standard point. Is there such thing as “the greater good”? Are some people more valuable or more disposable than others? We often see a heirarchy of importance when it comes to wars or battles in history. In medieval times, kings would rule wide areas of land and if a few hundred peasants were to die from a disease (like the plague) or were captured by a neighbouring tribe, there would not be too much fuss. However, the death of a prince, or, heaven forbid, a king, would cause upheaval amongst the civilian population. Times have changed, however, some of the old ways are still echoed in modern society. The assassination of JFK caused chaos in the media and is an event that is still talked about today, and still holds weight, decades after. Althought one might argue that it is injust to position one person above another (aren’t we all humans?), this has always been the case within social communities and nations.

A great philosopher once said “without conflict, there would be no change.” One might argue that change is necessary and has enabled us as humans to reach the position we are in today. Therefore, conflict is necessary. However, the idea of change does not necessarily ring the same bell as the idea of conflict and often we believe that one can occur without the other. This is not the case. The Tiananmen Square Massacre began as a peaceful protest. A group of students, unhappy with the current government regime, trying to bring about a change. Yet, we all know how that turned out. Hundreds of innocent people slaughtered, the government putting a nail in the proverbial coffin of change. In Graham Greene’s ‘The Quiet American’, Pyle is the one wanting to bring about a change. His education in York Harding and stubborn ideals of democray ensure that he meets the same fate as those innocent students in Tiananmen Square. He falls victim to the idea of improving he lives of the Vietnamese, who according to Fowler, just want rice. In the end, it is evident that Pyle paid the highest price, and achieved nothing of what he set out to do.

Althought it is easy to focus solely on the negatives in conflict, positives do exist, even if they are few and far between. Like the Lybian people, the Vietnamese also fought for their political beliefs. The Viet Minh believed in a Communist regime and spent many years in battle with the UN, the French, the Americans, and even their fellow countrymen. After close to a decade of fighting the opposing democratic nations, America finally pulled out of Vietnam, and a few years later, Vietnam became a COmmunist nation. Al the death, destruction and loss had finally resulted in a victory for the people; a victory that has lasted to this day. In this situation, the popular consensus would be that the gains in conflict outweighed the losses. 

As we know, conflict does not only occur on a large scale. Personal conflicts occur frequently and often involves losses such as psychological damage and suffering. The Quiet American illustrated many occasions where this is all too evident. The climax of the novel involves somewhat, a betrayal of Pyle by Fowler, ultimately leading to his death. Although this was arguably in the best interest of Vietnam and may have done a great deal of good on a grand scale, the repurcussions for Fowler and the mental scarring will probably remain with him for the rest of his life. He acknoqledges his fate when he says in the closing line, “I wished there was someone to whom I could say that I was sorry,” summing up the extent of his internal trauma.

Whether the gains outweigh the losses or the other way around is impossible to decide with conviction. One cannot make such a decision considering all the people involved and possible consequences. The only thing that can be said is that in conflict, there is always a gain, and there is always a loss.

Cover of The Quiet American

Have you ever had one of those dreams that just will not leave your mind when you wake in the morning? I had one recently and I just had to find out what it all meant. I have a book that interprets dreams by Pamela Ball called “10,000 Dreams Interpreted”. So this is how my dream went:

I spent time walking around a shopping centre or mall of some sort. I was with an old friend (one I had not seen in ages). After a time the one old friend turned into two (oh well, what can I say–strange things happen in dreams). Wearing a coat and boots and walking without any walking aides (this I have not done in ages either) shopping for food apparently because I had a cart full of groceries.

Somehow during the dream I lost the coat and boots but eventually found the coat. A coat room clerk tried giving me boots that belonged to someone else but for some reason that did not work. Eventually the store broke down and bought me a new pair of boots and I started on my way.

I did not know the mall or shopping centre I was in, it was gigantic, and as I walked around I discovered I was lost. Looking around I realized that I had walked out of the grocery store with the cart full of groceries without paying for them. I detected this because none of the food items were in bags or boxes. Having to go back to the grocery store to pay for the groceries was difficult because I could not find my way back. I kept going into the same door only to find it did not lead to the grocery store (It was at this time that I got the new boots). As I was trying to find my way back the store to pay for the groceries I realized that I was alone, somehow or other I had lost my old friends as well.

When it was time to go home I suddenly had my mother, her walker, and a young child with me along with bags of groceries and no ride home. The three of us had to take a bus. I struggled to find enough change for bus fare for us. After some time and considerable trouble juggling the bags I had and trying to keep my eye on the young child, I finally found enough money for the bus just before it was getting ready to leave. We got on the bus and I believe my mom and the small child that were with me got settled in ok. It was at this point that I discovered that I had to run around the bus, a triple decker, to find the bus driver to pay for the bus trip. Surprising enough one of the deckers on the bus was sleeping quarters.

Very strange dream indeed! While I was having my morning coffee and thinking non-stop about this dream I decided to look it up and see what at least some of it meant. So here is what I found:

Shopping

Shopping in a dream may mean that there is something we want or feel we need. If we know the shop we are in then we are probable consciously aware of what we want from life. It we do not know it then we need to seek more information from our minds. Shopping is a fair exchange for the satisfaction of our desires. When we are shopping for food it means we need sustenance (I had to think about this for a moment).

Loss

To lose something in a dream may depict that we have forgotten matters which could be important. These matters may be an opportunity, a friend, or a way of thought that has previously sustained us. To suffer loss suggests that part of ourselves or our lives is now dead, therefore; we must learn to cope without it. Being lost denotes confusion on whatever level is depicted in the dream. This may be emotional, mental, or physical. We have lost the ability or motivations to make clear decisions. If we are looking for a lost object it may epitomise the search for enlightenment. Spiritually we do not know what we are looking for until we have found it.

Bus

Dreaming of being on a bus may mean that we are coming to terms with the way we handle group relationships and the new directions need to take in company with others. We may be experiencing the need to be individual, while at the same time belonging to a group with some kind of common purpose.

People from our past

People from our past could link us with that period of our lives and with specific memories which may or may not be painful.

Dreaming of a child

Dreaming of a child give us access to our own inner child. We all have parts of ourselves which are child like and curious. Getting in touch with that side of ourselves is giving ourselves permission to clarify a potential for wholeness which we may not previously have recognised.

Mother

A child’s relationship with their mother is pivotal in its development. This is the first relationship the child develops and should be perceived by the child as nurturing and caring. If this does not happen fears and doubts may arise.

Well there you have it. My dream interpreted. I was amazed at the interpretations that I read through. Some of these renderings really seemed to be quite accurate in their meaning for me.

Almost from the outset of Pyle and Fowler’s relationship, we begin to see his true nature seeping through. The conflict between them, resulting from Fowler’s jealousy of Pyle and his insecurities, eventually causes Fowler to break his vow to remain desengaged from the war. It is difficult to say whether Fowler was acting for the betterment of Vietnam in assisting with Pyle’s murder or whether it was for his own selfish purposes – to keep Phuong. As the novel unfolds, Green leans more towards exemplifying the latter, especially at the close ad Fowler wishes “there existed someone to whom [he] could say that [he] was sorry.” Fowler’s guilt and shame of his actions demonstrates his regret for what conflict caused him to do.

It isn’t possible to reveal who we truly are without being that person to begin with, therefore suggesing that Fowler has been engaged in the conflict the entire. This cannot be true as Fowler only really becomes involved after the bicycle bomb incident. So, although conflict can reveal who we truly are, sometimes it brings to light something that wasn’t evident in the beginning. Fowler’s selfish nature only showed itself as he began to realise Pyle’s true purpose in Vietnam – to initiate a third force. Hadn’t he always thought of what was best for Phuong? Hadn’t he always put the lives of the Vietnamese people first? These are characteristics of Fowler that have been there all along, regardless of the conflict that surrounds him.

It is not necessarily conflict that changes who we are. Every person is the amalgamation of all their personal experiences, relationships, childhood memories and countless others. We can see this in people of different cultures, different nationalities or different religions. Pyle, as an American, was brought up under the temple of democracy, and it was this idealistic upbringing that affected his actions in conflict, not the other way around. For Fowler on the other hand, it is his experience as a foreign reporter that shapes how he will come to act when conflict arises with Pyle, and with Vietnam in general. He understands how Vietnam works, what the people want, and most importantly, what Phuong wants. When conflict was at its peak and Fowler had no choice but to take a side, although his choice was largely beneficial, it was made for the benefit of the Vietnamese people. If Pyle had been left to his own devices, his ignorance and lack of understanding would have resulted in death, destruction and loss.

Conflict is not what brings about a change in people; it is more like the turning point that forces people to act in a personal way in an interpersonal situation. THis is evident in the Quiet American because Fowler only became “engagé” as he progressed into the conflict with Pyle. Before Pyle landed in Vietnam, Fowler was almost entirely separated from all aspects of life. His wife was left halfway across the world in England, and the important matters surrounding their situation were simply abandoned. From the outset of the novel, Fowler tells us that he prefers the title of a reporter, rather than a foreign correspondant because he claims not to take a side. He even uses opium as a means of escaping from his thoughts. To say Fowler was detached from the world is an understatement. However, the conflict takes a toll on Fowler and it brings forth the feelings and emotions and secret values that he had kept locked up the entire time.

If you were to ask American soldiers going into Vietnam if they would want to murder innocent civilians, they would have said no. If you were to ask them the same question before the My Lai Massacre, where hundreds of unarmed peasants were slaughtered, they would have said no. If you could ask them no, after years of living with guilt and shame, no would be the only reply. Conflict has no effect on our values or our morals. Most of the soldiers who took part in the My Lai Massacre and other events such as that were simply following orders, deeply ignorant of what was going on around them. Conflict only reveals how we, as human brings, act under pressure. It shows us at our weakest and most vulnerable, but not necessarily our true state.

21 is a drinking age,
21 is the reason we hope to live,
21 is when you can party and not regret it,
but did i ever think,
that 21 would be my last birthday,
21,

looking back as i lie in my cloud,
at the 21 years of my life,
the only regret i had was not finding a wife,
to pass along my name to a son,
maybe a daughter,
but at 21 i didnt expect this responsabilty,
as they lay me to rest in arlington,
of living up to a hero’s grave,
while in the minds of the families i killed,
i am john wilkes booth,
trained to kill and destroy another countries youth,

21 is the number of men who died,
in my platoon from a road side bomb,
in my ever passionate pursuit of suddam,
but that was a dream i had,
because at 21 i was killed in iraq,

now i know that i am poet,
and writing is all i do,
i havent been in the shoes of soldier,
trained to kill or be killed,
but on either side its all same,
21 is too young to die,
for god sake i have the rest of my life to live,
i am an father a son a brother,
but most of all a lover,
lost in a blaze of glory,
in the heat of war,
and at 21 i get my 21 gun salute…

People have pets for a number of reasons. Companionship for themselves, companionship for a family member, someone for another pet to play with. As a gift for someone. To practice taking care of something before trying to have a baby.  They may feel guilty after seeing an ASPCA commercial on TV, or reading about their local humane society burning down. Whatever the reason originally, once an animal comes into a life destined to be a pet, the owner’s life will change dramatically for the better.  

There are many benefits to having a pet, not only emotionally, but actually physically as well. If you have to take a dog outside for a walk, that means you get a walk too! You have to bend down to scoop out cat litter and most litter boxes or containers weigh close to thirty pounds!  Most pet owners, even if they don’t admit it, talk to their pets. This communication can be a form of stress-relief, especially since your pet can respond, but not tell anyone else about your discussion. This can help you sleep, eat, and take care of yourself better.  Taking care of pets is an added responsibility, but by feeding, exercising, and loving your pet successfully, you will sleep better at night.  

I have learned so much about relationships, responsibility, and love through having pets. There have been cats and dogs and fish in my life for as long as I can remember, as well as a few hamsters, turtles, lizards, and other creatures.  As a child, if there weren’t cats to catch in the house or garage, there were several to choose from in the barn.  We always had a dog, and I learned early on about the cycle of life and death through an experience with our dog Cocoa.  

The family dog had been with us since she was a puppy, but she’d always been a wanderer. She’d come back home every night though, her light brown fur muddy and wet, her short nose and pointy ears full of grass or poop or whatever else she’d gotten into.  One summer, however, there was a pack of dogs that started wandering the neighborhood. By neighborhood, I mean farm fields and forests. Animal control couldn’t catch them, even though they’d been spotted several times.  While they were around, Cocoa would go missing for days at a time. My dad finally figured she was running with the pack when she was gone. Where else could she be? One morning my dad went down to do chores like usual, but he came back up to the house after only a minute or two to get a shovel and towel.  He didn’t say anything, but left again and the day went on like normal. Except Cocoa didn’t come home that day. 

When I asked him about her that night, he told me she had run away with the pack of wild dogs and was probably going to be caught by animal control.  It wasn’t until a few days later, I realized where she really was. I confronted my dad and he admitted she’d been hit on the road, probably running with the pack. He apologized and confessed he hadn’t known how to tell me.  The whole family was pretty broken up for a few days, but as we remembered the fun times we had with her and planned for our next rescue dog, our hearts lightened and we knew we’d been blessed to have her and she us.  

Since then, I’ve lost many more pets, both cats and dogs, in various ways both mysterious and freakishly tragic. It seems like the ones we lose are always the ones we love the most. The first kitten my husband and I adopted together was named Cloey.  She was a grey tiger with white on her paws, tip of her tail, and nose.  She was a perky, feisty little thing when we first saw her. In college, she moved from house to apartment to house with us, staying spunky and adorable.  When we graduated from college and moved out into the country, she became a little more nervous, but still loved  my husband and me.  She liked to spend time outdoors, but mainly had to be outside because she had a tendency to mark her territory inside.  She didn’t like the litter box, which meant major messes for us. Cloey taught me that all pets are lovable, even when they are frustrating and picky and snotty.  Although toward the end of her life, Cloey’s temperment became less cuddly, I think it was only because she wasn’t suited to farm life. No matter how much trouble she caused, however, I’ll always remember her flying through the air chasing whatever toy I had found.  I can hear her making her little squeaking noises before she jumped on her toy.  I can see her barrelling down the stairs chasing her toy ball. She was the only cat we ever had that played soccer for us. She would bat that ball around all areas of the house.  The bedroom was her comfort zone and that’s where she did most of her cuddling. She’d curl up on my husband’s chest or at our feet and purr and purr until we fell asleep. Sometimes she’d sneak in between my legs and sleep there.  When she disappeared and never came back, my husband and I didn’t know what to think. She’d always stayed close to home, but we’d been spotting coyotes in the fields around the house and owls that flew over the farm.  This was the most difficult grief to deal with because of the mystery surrounding it. We looked around for her everywhere. We drove down roads and walked in ditches. We went out to the fields and forests and called her name. We knew she was microchipped, so hoped if someone took her to the humane society or animal shelter, they would have called us. Never finding out what happened to her made it so much harder to lose her.  The only comfort we had was that she was in a better place, somewhere where hopefully she was more relaxed and less anxious.  Again, remembering all the good and quirky times with her helped us realize how special she was and how fortunate we were to have found her and grown with her.  

One of Cloey’s companions, Angelina, was a short-haired tortoiseshell stray with a queen of the house attitude.  She was the smartest cat I’d ever seen and adored my husband as much as he adored her.  She had a piece of her tail missing from some kind of accident before us. It was tipped with white. Half her face was orange and half her face was black.  She was also one of the smallest cats we ever had and the only cat I’ve ever run across who gets carsick.  Her passion for being outdoors made us crazy.  She didn’t like to come in at night if the weather was nice, and pretty much thought she was invincible, although she was wary most times.  Losing her devastated my husband because again, she simply disappeared.  Her and Cloey were gone within a couple months of each other, and it broke our hearts because they’d been a pair.  With her rambunctious, loving, sassy nature, Angelina had left a hole that no other cat will be able to fill in our home.  Our daughter’s middle name is Angelina for that reason.    

Two cats that taught us how to love more responsibly were Sweetie and Spazzy. We had gotten both tortoiseshelled sisters from my mother and they were barn cats through and through. They loved attention, but longed to be outside, so we let them.  We gave them a good shelter and food and water, but before the winter was out, they were both coughing and wheezing. I asked my dad about it and he thought it was probably just distemper, a common barn cat disase that never really goes away. As both cats got worse, however, I should have trusted my gut and taken them to the vet. I came out to the garage one morning, to find the cold frozen body of Sweetie, curled up in her bed. Spazzy was curled up next her and wheezing, barely breathing. As I ran in the house, I called for my husband and grabbed the cat carrier and some towels. I loaded her in while he got the car ready, both of us with tears falling down our cheeks for Sweetie, who had truly been a sweetheart.  When we got to the vet, he had bad news.  Spazzy was too far gone with pneumonia for him to do anything but make her passing less painful and difficult.  My husband and I held each other and petted her as she finally relaxed into death.  Losing those two wonderful, hyper, loving cats through neglect taught us that animals don’t just survive.  Although we’d always given our animals shots and such, we’ve become much more vigilant about it and the small signs that can lead to big trouble.  Educating ourselves on what to look for and common diseases in animals helped us deal with the grief and guilt of losing those two special cats within hours of each other. 

Another special member of our household who we lost too soon was Cooper. He came to us in a roundabout way. Our garbage collector, Larry, knew a man in Iowa who was getting too old and sick to take care of his dog.  Since Larry also knew what a nice fenced-in yard we had and our other two dogs, he decided to ask Ian if we were looking for a third one. After feeding Ian a sob story of some sort, we were on our way to Iowa to pick up Trooper, who we renamed Cooper because we thought that’s what it was originally until we found his tags, which said Trooper.  Cooper loved to be outside. He was a Brittany Spaniel and more importantly to Ian, another male in the house.  Cooper’s home before us was a ten foot by ten foot kennel full of feces and straw and dirty water and some food.  The energy this dog had was unending and I’m so glad we had the chance to let him expend that energy. He got away from us on a walk once out in the country, and we lost him for a good day and a half before a lady finally caught him and called us.  He had run nearly eight miles away, and probably not in a straight line, either.  He also was the best fetcher we’ve ever had.  Even if he didn’t get the ball of the toss, he was the one that brought it right to our feet and dropped it.  He could’ve played this game for hours too.  When he was finally tired, he truly crashed, and if it would have been up to him, he would’ve fallen asleep right in your lap.

One winter, we had a freak huge snow storm.  The snow had piled up around the fence and the dogs kept getting out. We thought we had it dug out and blocked in to the point they couldn’t get out anymore, but when I came home from work one day, a semi-truck was stopped in front of our house with Cooper lying crushed in front of it.  The horror I felt at seeing such a vivacious, loving, adoring dog die in such a way comes back to haunt me today if I see any vehicle stopped in front of our house.  We buried him in a sled out by the corn bins and will never forget about him.  I cried every time I turned the corner to our house for several weeks after the accident, but focusing our attention on our other pets, who witnessed the tragedy, helped us get through the tough times. 

The most recent and definitely the most painful has been losing Rush.  When we got Rush, he was dirty, flea-infested, and overweight.  He had been declawed, but not spade.  He was scared, defensive, and not very attractive overall. However, we had rescued him from a friend of a friend who had found him but couldn’t take care of him, and didn’t feel like we could give him back. My husband gave him a bath and brushed him and we eventually earned his trust and love. He had a beautiful gray coat with gold-green eyes that took up half of his face.  He would roll for his food and try to trip you if you ignored him.  He did tricks for treats.  Cuddling, however, was one of his favorite past times. He’d curl up on you and try to rub his chin on your chin.  Sometimes he’d sneak in a lick to your face because he was actually trying to clean his face.  For awhile, he was so fat he could not clean his own butt, so we had to put him on a diet, but from then on we lovingly called him fatass.  Despite being obese and one of our older cats, Rush loved to play.  He looked like a grey teddy bear, with his big round cheeks and belly.  His favorite position to sleep in was stretched out with his belly out.  Although he loved to lounge inside, he liked to spend nice days outdoors and even caught a rabbit once when we first moved to the farm.  (That was the last rabbit we ever saw on the farm!)  

Rush was our other male and my husband’s favorite cat, close to Angelina.  What makes Rush’s passing so awful to me is that it was my fault.  Of course I didn’t do it on purpose, and it wasn’t even that preventable.  It just kills me that if I had done this or that differently our Rushman, as we called him, would still be with us.  We’ll never be able to replace Rush.  For whatever reason on a warm day in early March, he was sleeping on top of the open garage door.  All of the vehicles were out of the garage, since I was running to daycare to pick my daughter up.  I stopped quickly at the house after I got her and was going into town to see my husband. I’ll never know why I felt the need to shut the garage door then, or why I didn’t watch it go all the way down, but I pushed the button, watched it go halfway down, turned the car around and never looked back. I even had to stop at the end of the driveway and wait for a neighbor’s passing truck. I’m still not sure how it happened other than he must have slipped, but Rushman got caught in one of the slats of the door and my sister-in-law found him hanging from his neck there hours later before we got home.  It was the most tragic, confusing, awful homecoming I’ve ever had…even worse than Cooper’s once I got everything straightened out.  With Cooper’s I could blame someone else, although my husband and I both blamed ourselves for not clearing the snow out.  With Rush, I could only blame myself.  There was no reason to put the garage door down. There was time to watch and make sure nothing got caught in it.  There was time to look in the rearview mirror before I pulled out of the driveway.  There were so many small things I could have changed that would have saved Rushman’s life.  Although he was getting up there in years, it had barely crossed our minds that we might lose Rush, or any of these pets. I learned to not take a single moment for granted with your pets because you never know what can happen.    

Yes, in the end, there will probably be grief and hurt, but knowing how to deal with this emotion helps one get through it. Having a pet is worth the grief in the end. The memories and experiences can never be replaced and are priceless.   The importance of the end comes through the journey, and each of these special members of my family have made their mark on mine.  

How to Deal with Losing a Pet

• Make peace with the fact that it’s over.  I have spent hours torturing myself about not being able to save Rushman.  Yet each day, I come a little closer to the realization that no matter how tragic and horrifying his death was, it is over and there’s nothing I can do about it. 
• Remember the good times. This is a bittersweet step, but talking or writing about your special pet will help you get over him or her.  You will cry, you’ll hopefully laugh, and you’ll come to terms with the fact that you were lucky to have him as long as you did.
• Stay busy. After giving yourself an appropriate time to mourn, get busy again.  Life goes on and the more you focus on the present and less on the past, the more opportunities for happiness you’ll have. Your pet would want you to be happy.  
• Adopt another. Many people might not agree with this, and it is definitely a personal choice.  The timing and reasons behind the adoption are important. Don’t do it too quickly, and don’t do it because you’re trying to replace what you’ve lost.  You can never replace a lost pet, however, you can rescue another brand new personality to add to your household.  

If you’re reading this, I have to assume you’ve lost a pet at some point. I would love comments and feedback on how you deal with grief.  I hope this article helps.

Ryan Keith Johnson

© Copy Right 2012 All Rights Reserved

How Free Are You?

            We’ve taken our freedom for granted and forgotten our roots of where we came from and who we are. We’ve allowed government to tell us where we can move, where we send our kids to school, what they are taught in both school and colleges and on the television. Young people are not prepared for the world when they graduate from high school. When people get married they’re not prepared for the challenges that await for them with a changing economy and a society that deems it acceptable to get divorced instead of facing their problems and finding their strengths.

            Children from the time they’re born to the age of six are in a mode of Alpha mode thinking where they are the most creative and learn quickly.  By the time they start school that Alpha mode changes to Beta. The school they attend teach them the only way to succeed is to get good grades, do as your told, follow the laws and be selfless. This mode of thinking is taught all the way until they graduate. What’s worse is that parents are away, working their careers to provide while their children face the day of thinking they have to serve the state. The parents feel like they have to sacrifice their dreams so their kids have a good future.

            Certain people in selected groups know that if they can control the media and get people to think a certain way that they’ll have total control of people’s lives. Sadly it has already happened. When the television was first created, the leader of Great Britain  passed a law that said all British people had to have a TV in their homes so they would know what was going in the country, to be entertained and happy . At first you might think that this sounds like a good idea, but lets just think for a minute. Why would the government wan to pass a law in Great Britain  that mandates everyone to have a TV. Why would they be so concerned about their happiness? Before the invention of the TV people got involved with communities, children played outside, read books, played board games and families were closer at the supper table.  Granted, the TV can be a wonderful thing, but in this case it became very destructive. After three months everyone in London were at home watching TV instead of being at the park to meet people and make friends. All the parks in London that were once full of people and congregation was completely empty.  All over the globe the Television destroyed communities and people stopped communicating with each other and became more interested in what was on TV. This is what government wants; to get people to sit in front of a box and hypnotize them to believe how society should be as well as lies.

            You can imagine what’s happening now in the United States. When I walk into a public library or a McDonalds I see people sitting next to each other or across from each other, but there not talking their talking on their cell phone or texting. People today don’t know how to talk to each other because they got to get home and watch TV. When you sit in front of a TV your brain goes into Alpha mode. This sounds great because when you were a young child you were always in Alpha mode, but this is different.  You’re hypnotized to believe everything you see is the truth. This could be anything from the drug commercials you hear about, the news that is reported (that is also controlled by special interests groups).  People love to watch sitcoms that have powerful dramas of how people should act in life.  Although you may think so what, its already had an effect on people today. You hear the old saying monkey say and monkey do? People idolize the stars way to much.  When they see the stars get Botox they believe that they should get Botox. The sitcoms make relationships look like they should be difficult and that breaking up is normal, that divorce is natural. They make the average American man or dad look fat and bald and the ass hole while the wife or girlfriend look like the brains or the attractive one. If you believe this is how life is then you haven’t lived.  These ads are very powerful, emotional, stimulating and after you turn off the TV it stays in your brain for at least forty-five minutes.

 Is College A Scam?

             College is probably the biggest scam in the United States right now. In the beginning of the 1900’s having a college degree from a prestige college was a big thing. When Jimmy Carter started the Department of Education he opened up a Pandora’s Box that led the idea for every American to send their child to college or else they wouldn’t have a job. In the 1960s and 70s about 20% of the country was agriculture. That number today has shrunk to less than 10%.  What this means is that there is less farmers today producing food. Eventually food prices will go up and all these fat cats who are in Wall Street and wanna be lawyers will be without a job and farmers will become very wealthy.

            College is also a scam also because almost all the colleges use fabricated statistics to show people that when they leave they’re guaranteed a job.  Even in the late 1980s and 1990s people have come forward to state that they found jobs making a lot of money that didn’t require a college degree. Colleges have said that employers won’t accept someone to work for them if they don’t have a Bachelors’ Degree in a specific field. Not only that some employer know that the graduate NEEDS a job to pay back the loan. The college knows that they can make a lot of money off the interest. So when a student uses government and private loans they can end up in debt of over $100,000.00.  The average debt of a person who gets out college is at least $25,000.00. That’s enough money to buy a brand new car. What’s worse is that when you default on your loan it could be as much as $200,000.00.  That’s not a school loan that’s a mortgage without a house and up until recently  the whole idea of going to college has become a joke.

            Each politician, both parties alike, that have taken office are guilty for encouraging people to go back to school to better themselves when really they’re just putting them in debt. You read about ads where President Obama is encouraging single moms to go back to school. He should really stay out of it and let the single moms focus on their own lives.   It’s not fair to see a single mom who’s forty-five years old to go through college for dentistry and get stuck with a bill that’s over 100,000.00 worth of school loans that’s got 6% interest rate. This doesn’t include the inflation of the decline of the dollar which could cause the loan to sky rocket to $300,000.00.  This has happened to quite a number of single moms and women who are in their  fifties who know they’ll never be able to pay back the loan. Congress passed a bill that you can’t file for bankruptcy. This is a scam that the Federal Government is doing and the loans that are being allowed should be illegal and with credit cards that charge a high interest rate get charged for usury. Usury is a term that used when a financial or credit institution over charges you interest and they know you can’t pay back a loan. It is illegal.

            To make matters worse the Federal Government has been sending out applications for loans to students. The students that take these loans end up getting a lot of money from the Federal Government. Some of them didn’t even use the money for college, but used it for buying a condo with furnished expensive furniture. This is happening right now as we speak. Thousands of college students are using money that the Federal Government is printing to buy cars, computers, video games, apartments and other toys.  

 So What’s Going To Happen?

             What will happen is pretty simple, people aren’t going to be able to pay back the loans.  The College students will ask the Federal Government to forgive the loans so they won’t have to pay back the loans. The Federal Government then  will add the amount unpaid to the tax payers. The graduates who went to school to be a lawyer and can’t find a job will be forced to pay back the loan. These loans usualy range from $150,000.00 to $200,000.00 and that’s not including the interest. So you understand; nobody is really winning out of this crises, unless of course you’re the Federal Government who allowed this to happen in the first place. The tax payers, people like me and you will have to pay the money through inflation and eventually raised taxes for the students who choose to not pay the money back or can’t. I’ve learned that by the year 2020 colleges will see a 30% drop in people attending college and 50%  of colleges will also be closed in the country. 

            The Federal Government needs to get out of education immediately and let the markets resume on their own with letting the private sectors give out the loans, but sadly the private loans won’t deal with students who have loans with the Federal Government. This will force colleges to get competitive and drive prices down.  It won’t make everything better, but it’s a start.

Ryan Keith Johnson

© Copy Right 2012 All Rights Reserved.

Progressive Concept; Make The People Want  An  Evolution Not a Revolution.

            It is true that in the past leading up to now that politicians have worked hard to motivate the public by telling them to give up their guns. They also like to say that America needs to get into foreign affairs and that the people should be passive about regulations that are passed.

            Now with the Patriot Act that has been passed, the Federal Government can continue monitoring and with Obama signing the Defense Act Bill you can be sure that your rights are being infringed. These bills break the Fourth and Fifth Amendment of being safe and free in your home and having a trial with a jury. What this means is that the Federal Government can consider anyone a Terrorist. They can break into your home, hand cuff you and take you away to a location where no one can find you. You hear about interrogations being done in Egypt and that the citizens of Egypt are taken from their homes and basically disappear.

What The Federal Government Wants

            The people that are in our Federal Government want to break the country in pieces.  They want to destroy families and destroy communities so that things get so bad that the people cry out for help. When the people cry out for help then the Federal Government will declare Martial Law. Martial Law is an act where the country becomes a police state. People will have a cure few that will lock down the community into their homes. It will be like Nazi Germany when Hitler took control of the country.  The constitution  will be suspended and nobody will have any freedom, you’ll have total tyranny.

            The Federal Government want control over what you do, where you work, how your children are raised, how you should spend your money and where you can travel.

            They’ve already got control over where you can work with the credit score. People think that employers use the credit score to decide who to hire. The credit score is irrelevant when applying for a job, but yet you’re asked to sign a waiver giving them permission to look up your credit score.  It’s discrimination and against the Fourth Amendment. Employers aren’t even suppose to be photo copying your Driver’s License  because of the increase in identity thefts. Think about it you don’t know your employer and you shouldn’t be giving that information out. America is the only country in the world that has the Credit Score.

            The Federal Government wants control over the Education of what your child is taught. Jimmy Carter passed the Department of Education with Congress to take responsibility for your child’s education. The idea is to have a system in place to teach the children a small portion of America’s history.  They want your children to become followers, dependent on government and have no understanding for consequences for their actions. They want to dumb down your child by making it difficult for teachers to do their job. Think about the No Child Left Behind Act passed by President Bush, it didn’t help the children or the teachers.

            There have been other anomalies that can’t be proved the Federal Government is behind it, but the Federal Government isn’t doing their job to protect the public. There are food additives and high levels of toxins in health products; like shampoos, hair sprays, make up, lips stick.  These Toxins can cause degeneration of the brain and make it hard for your child to learn in school. The Federal Government knows that they can’t make you get your vaccine shots. These vaccines are loaded with Mercury that cause ADHD, ADD, Learning Disabilities, Behavioral Problems and Autism.  Vaccines are scams and the Federal Government is behind this scam to make you believe if you don’t get a flu vaccine that you’ll die. Mammograms are scams as well, they cause cancer.

What Can We Do?

            We can do a lot! We need to stand up and say no to big government and socialism. We need to preserve a Republic for the individual American Citizen. We need to work together by sharing what we know to other uninformed Americans. Get organized and talk to your neighbors. We can’t depend on the Fox 9 news or CNN or any News to cover the biggest SCAM that’s going on in our government.

            There is already a growing movement in the United States. Militias are forming; there’s one in Virginia and Michigan. Protests are being done in Washington DC with the direction this country is going the people in power don’t know what to think. We need to stop fighting among ourselves over petty things, our freedom is at stake. If we don’t have our constitution and our freedom then we’re allowing more government control that will lead to something worse, world governance.

Last year at this time I was on the verge of exploring a new world. ONLINE gaming.
My PS3 would open a world I had no idea I would venture into. Let alone enjoy and recent at the same time. In the years before 2011, I spent a good deal of time alone or accompanied by family. Rarely did I seek or have the company of a male other then my son and nephew in this time. My family is mostly female. Mine was a quiet life for the most part. I enjoyed it that way. (After years of other.)

Still once I began going on line to play, I found the people I met there interesting and fun. Oddly one person in particular seemed to befriend me and be every where I was all the time. A male gamer. I being ignorant as it were of the ways of cyber life…was unaware that there was anything but the fun of game companionship going on. As we played everyday together. It wasn’t until my son pointed it out that I began to wonder at the behavior of my companion. Others in our play group seemed to notice the same and mentioned to me.

I hadn’t long to wonder as not long after my companion informed me that he had developed feelings for me. He further mentioned after my questions on the matter that he would like to explore a possible relationship.

Long story short I began a cyber relationship. I who had not had a relationship in well lets just say “a while”;was off on a running. I must say up front I had my doubts and was very sceptical as to how far this could actually go, as well as where it could go. If you have read my post before you will know I am a person that believes we get what we ask for. We receive what we need when we need it and when we are ready for it. So pushing my trepidation to the back I plunged forward; after a brief self talk. lol (Almost three Weeks.)

When my friend began to hit the marks on my list(I keep a list of the right man for me)I was in thralled. I had some years ago had a dream about a man I did not know. I carried this man in my mind. There he stayed. Until…once my friend and I began to speak over mic’s, my list and dream came into my mind.We spoke everyday for hours. Online,on at first. Next we spoke on the phone and later email. I began checking off the list. There were so many things that my friend fit spookily. That I was reminded that the universe takes notes.

Cut to early spring. I had the best of times and later the worst of times. I am happy to say I am non the worse for wear. I am thrilled and thankful for the experience I had. I had grown in many ways from my online tatatat. I believe I have been in love. I believe I am better for it. I am happy to say last year was one I will always remember. It has taught me that in spite of my self I do want to share my life with others. I am grateful for the people that have shared their lives with me.

I asked for the person I got. I wrote him into being as it were. I am still a believer in ask and you shall receive. If you put it out there it will come to you. I named it, claimed it and held it for awhile. I am sorry to say we do not communicate any longer. For my part it is a sad statement of life that sometimes friendship dies.
Sometimes we do not continue on a journey with the people we meet and share pieces of our lives. I am richer for the experience and the poetry that came out of that time with him. I am richer for the emotional maturity that I received from that time and experience.

I am bolder in my dealing with the unknown and I am proud of myself for all that has happened. I could not do it any different were I given another chance. I am still an online game player. I am still waiting to be in love and waiting for someone else to hit the marks on my list.In my own country,state, city or elsewhere. I believe it will happen again and perhaps when it does, it will be the long journey; we take. I look at last years events as starter romance. lol.

As I said it had been awhile. I wasn’t certain I even wanted the ups and downs that can come with a relationship. I found I do. I believe in love. Maybe not at first sight or first “sound” as it were.  I have my times when I am content to be with myself. Then there are the times I need to be engaged. Communicating with people is a human need. I won’t deny myself that part of life and should it become more with someone or other…then bring your best game and lets play.

Thank you PS3 and Sony.  Thank you JP.