Communitarianism

I have decided to start a separate blog based on my "comment conversation" from my recent blog on Government Morality and Ethics. I think my brilliant young friend from Australia who comes from more socialist leanings than I do has put me on to my new favorite concept of government..."Communitarianism". Lets see how some of the rest of you react to this new form of government compared to what we have known in our lifetimes.

Actually, I'm not so sure it is such a "new" form of government as I think it would be simply reverting back to the beginnings of the human race and how everyone grew and prospered in simpler times. If you study evolution or even Creationism...you start with genealogies of families or "clans" who developed in various specific areas of the world. Before there was such a thing as "nation states", there were clans or families. These clans then slowly grew into "tribes" of people sharing space and community in a joint effort to protect each other and share common values as a race or culture. These tended to be tightly knit groups of families who worked together, traded together, and protected each other. There was a strong sense of identity and belonging in these smaller tribes of people that gave pride and order to their lives.

I think this sense of family or clan is the soul that is missing in our current world order. Especially with the rise of the industrial societies, we have become totally focused on work, production, profit and consumerism that goes with it to the demise of our sense of belonging or responsibility to our families. If we lose the connection of family, it seems quite logical to me that we lose our sense of community or belonging at all levels.

One of the attractions for me to Latin culture over my past 30 years of exposure to it has been the sense of strong family ties and traditions. Latins fight and argue amongst each other with the best of them, but at the end of the day they will defend each other against "outsiders" to the end of time. If you go to the malls or town plazas, you notice younger and older family members communicating arm in arm and a level of respect and communication between generations that is somewhat lost in many first world cultures. Many of these people are poor as hades, but they are rich in friends and family connections...something that I feel is being lost in many consumerism driven cultures. Unfortunately it is changing bit by bit everywhere based on new media role models for youth cultures. But I digress...the main point here is that communitarianism starts with strong family ties and multi generational understanding.

Communitarianism is different from socialism in my mind. In a family or "community" you have a sense of belonging and mutual responsibility. Parents or the elderly tend to show the way for the younger members and while they are usually willing to give help, loans, etc...it is usually tied to a sense of responsibility to repay or at least report back on how the money is being used and is bettering the life of the younger borrower. Most social systems I know of tend to reward all equally no matter their lifestyles or "use of communal assets". "Redistribution" of assets is looked at more as a "right" than a "gift" or loan. The sense of entitlement without real merit always baffles me in a society such as a socialistic one.

Personally I believe that the best answer to our current global economic and political problems is "Communitarianism". Many individuals who suddenly find themselves without jobs, money and even housing or food are going to have to rely more on family...and yes, the social systems that exist at various levels to support the broken. Yet, I predict that the current global crisis is going to bust many of the worlds social systems and when this happens people are going to be forced back to their families and people that know them...in community. Micro economies always move faster to change and improve on business objectives than macro ones. It is faster and easier to get PRIVATE loans or support from people that know you than to get "public" support...at least for responsible people. These times are forcing more people of "like minds" to band together to pursue objectives or find solutions to their dilemmas. In the long run, this may have the positive impact of reconnecting individuals to community and a sense of responsibility for their actions and productivity within that community. I at least hope it does.

Communitarianism beats Capitalism as its not just focused on money or material goods. Communitarianism beats Socialism because it is not an one-sided, unhealthy, expensive relationship between government and the governed in a huge dance of co-dependency. Obviously it beats out totalitarianism and communism as it does not depend on some dictator to control everything and tell the people what they can do when and where. It is a system that is free yet responsible, productive yet humane, and brings up everyone to a common level more quickly than any other system I can think of. The best thing is this is an easy movement to join. Simply figure out in your immediate environment who you can help, and who can help you help others. If the strong can assist the weak in a strong sense of community, all of our quality of living and security will be enhanced within that community.

This system can help better governments, companies, small businesses, and even family relationships.

Children and the Arts...Hope for Global Unification

This video is another prime example of how the world should let the children lead the charge of global sharing and integration through the arts and cultural understanding. There is nothing like the arts and education to underscore the universality of human potential and accomplishment. If fostered from an early age, I am quite convinced our mind share could be quickly advanced to one of global unity and understanding instead of conflict and bloodshed. Yes, I know, you think I am still hearing John Lennon's song "Imagine" ringing through my head, and maybe I am...but I still have to believe that our world can be re-educated to one of GLOBAL Patriotism and unifying our humanity in pursuit of excellence while at the same time giving a helping hand to the poor and downtrodden so they don't want to steal from or annihilate us.

I purposely share this video featuring unspectacular production or effects, not necessarily the most talented child prodigies, and even narrated in a non-English language...to offer the point that artistic expression and sharing can be attained at all levels of accomplishment. Also, if we can't understand a foreign language, it is going to be difficult to communicate or understand the other...but it is still possible. The examples of these young children from Germany and S. Korea rooting each other on, dancing together and enthusiastically applauding each other inspires hope at the core of my soul that peace and prosperity still has a chance on a global scale. It just has to start with mind share and the "power of one". We each need to start this process in our own world or environment...and we need to encourage it to be started with the children which will shape their tendencies forever towards understanding and accepting others instead of building walls and borders and shooting weapons at each other from afar.

I experienced this personally as a teenager when I was honored to spend a summer at the Interlochen Music Camp. This institution started by Joseph Maddy in the early 1900s is still going strong today on his dream of developing the arts as a "universal language" between youth around the globe. I plan a visit for a concert there the first week of July. My awareness and acceptance of "otherness" was built by this and other experiences I had as a youth. It framed my curiosity and pursuit of understanding cultures and races outside of my own. It showed me at an early age that excellence and knowledge comes from ALL of humanity...not just my own country or culture. My life experience is much richer with the ensuing experiences, travels and relationships developed by this context. Experience and interaction is the best teacher.

Let us hope that enough of humanity and private movements in our world can begin to reduce the power and influence of Statist solutions that tend to be focused on arms races and State sovereignty and replace that with a more inclusive and accepting tolerance of difference. If the states have their way, they will continue programming and educating the children to hate others and append a false pride in their own race or nationality. I sure hope someday the peace movements will start winning over the "power" movements.

The Deadly Sins Of The Chrysler Bankruptcy

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/11/chrysler-bankruptcy-mortgage-opinions-columnists-epstein.html

This article by an objective Libertarian thinker, Richard Epstein, a distinguished professor of Law at University of Chicago illustrates in the Chrysler bankruptcy the blatant fundamental legal and constitutional issues the government's version of controlled bankruptcy causes. This is textbook protection of Labor and the "average American" at the cost of secured creditors and investors in the company...who the government likes to call "Speculators". Ouch!

What we truly have here is total distortion of the country's financial and bankruptcy laws for the good cause of "saving jobs". Not only that, but we are selling off the assets in one fell swoop to Fiat, a foreign company (Italian) that as far as I know hasn't produced a competitive, American standards running car for decades. While I understand how USA companies can be attractive with a devaluing dollar currency, I don't really understand how this supports the concept of keeping jobs in the USA and "buying American" like so many are calling for. And all of this brokered by our own federal government over the objections of secured creditors like the Indiana pension fund and other larges stock holders. There is a new "Chrysler Group LLC" replacing the old corporation before the current bankruptcy has come anywhere near to running its course. What legal precedence is this based on? All the assets and good will of the brand get transferred to a new company before a final bankruptcy settlement? Huh?

And what is the morality behind the federal court with a flash of a pen destroying the 789 Chrysler dealership franchises? Were those contracts, businesses and jobs worth no more than the paper those franchise contracts were written on? I can think of many analogies to this action...it is like McDonalds foods filing bankruptcy, then opening up a new LLC that annuls all the thousands of McDonalds franchises worldwide. Would that be legal or ethical?

Bottom line of what we have here in my interpretation is a rushed, illegal takeover of Chrysler by the employees union, the Federal government and foreign company Fiat. The new board "will consist of three Fiat directors, four representing the U.S. government, one from the UAW and one from the Canadian government". From where I sit, Chrysler has just become a global company on the backs of the formerly secured stock holders of the "old Chrysler". It is as if somehow these "speculators"/stockholders were to blame for management MIS-management and unrealistically high wages from decades of non-competitive union labor contracts.

I'm sure the masses in the USA will applaud the saving of jobs and the "good" Chrysler name IF this works. But, how could any conscientious investor ever again invest in an American automotive company? Is anyone going to cry for the well intentioned, honest investor(s) who kept Chrysler afloat all these decades? I was looking at Lee Iacocca's blog for his opinion on this...but he is strangely quiet on this subject. Even this octogenarian will lose a significant part of his pension and lifelong free car use in this bankruptcy. I would bet he NEVER would have considered this latest move of bankrupting the old and immediately launching the "new" company. It sounds both "genius"...and illegal.

The Reality of Reality TV...

OK...I've been keeping this inside for too long now. I have purposely tried to evade and ignore this plethora of "Reality TV" shows that are clogging up our broadcast airwaves for a few years now...but now it seems everywhere you look in news media, billboards or television commercials...it’s all about some kind of "reality" show such as "Survivors", "American Idol" or "Dancing with the Stars". I know I show my age, but most of these shows is like watching "The Gong Show" on steroids. Some of you will remember that original and often times hilarious show hosted by clap happy Chuck Barris and his zany panel of judges including Jo Anne Worley, Adrienne Barbeau, Richard Dawson, and Arte Johnson to name a few. The tongue in cheek acts and gags on that show were so over the top, you totally got the shtick right from the beginning. These shows nowadays you find yourself watching if only to figure out if they are trying to truly be "real" or not.

Today's ridiculous overabundance of reality shows just points to the vacuum of creativity in American, and now worldwide, programming...and the shallowness of the general public who watches them. I know, I'm sorry if you take offense to my critique here since a majority of people like one or more of these shows...if you didn't, they wouldn't have the ratings to support producing more of this iconic drivel. Unfortunately, I have always had the type of mind that tries to dig beneath the surface meaning of cultural swings...and here are a few observations I have come up with to explain this vacuous phenomenon...

First and foremost, it reveals to me how far our American culture has departed from having any "soul". We are so disturbed by the "REAL" events of our world and lives that we have allowed ourselves to get sucked into these programs featuring frivolous and tasteless "real" characters. We have traded in our imaginations and appreciation for creativity in exchange for some apparent "outside looking in" program of what it would be like to see OURSELVES on TV. Gone are the days of the real character icons of "Matt Dillon", "Andy Griffith", "Granny, Jed, Ellie Mae and Jethro Bodine". "In" are the days of Paris Hilton, Heidi and Spencer, Jon and Kate, and now Britain’s most famous warbler, Susan Boyle. The world has "advanced" its culture to the point of uplifting the weak and even retarded to a level of HERO WORSHIP. I'm not trying to be insensitive or hardened to the plight of the handicapped in our world, physical or mental...but I am not interested in making them our icons and leaders in this very troubled world. We are getting to a point where there would be better ratings for the "Handicapped Olympics" than there would be for the real Olympics or professional sports programming. We'd rather hear Susan Boyle warble, or hear about her stay in a mental health ward after her "exhausting" talent competition than hear the likes of Barbara Streisand, Roberta Flack, Tony Bennett, Luther Vandross or other giant talents in the field. Does anyone else besides me see the alarming principle here?

The "reality" of the situation is our whole culture has evolved to such a narcissistic state of being that we cannot face our realities and must instead escape into the false realities of others around us. Some of us have such a sense of worthlessness and inferiority that we love seeing those with even more problems and greater disabilities than we lifted up for praise or criticism...or idolization. Many prefer "amateur hour" to "professional hour". It is as if we want to "kill" excellence so we don't have to deal with the challenge of reaching it anymore. The inferior always want to bring down the superior. I personally see all this as a socially cathartic and sub-conscious exercise to that end.

Some lessons do come out of this entertainment cycle we are in. Some of them might be:

-How fleeting is popularity or fame. Most winners of these competitive reality shows are forgotten in a few weeks time. Who remembers LAST YEAR'S "American Idol" winner's name (If you do, you might want to examine your participation level in this global catharsis)?

-How shallow and petty our relationships have become. Whether between men and women, or those of the same sex, many of these reality shows reveal the shallowness and venality of people featured on the show. Many of them are way too "real" for my tastes if they represent a majority of the population and their interests. The level of communication, bad grammar and just plain bad manners from these "real" people should give us pause regarding what our fellow American is all about.

-These shows reveal the selfishness and lack of any in depth understanding between many members of the casts. In most cases they underscore the "pack mentality" in our culture, the pressure to conform, or in some cases the pressure NOT to conform simply as an identity and without substance.

Now granted, a couple reality shows might have SOME redeeming qualities and provide educational value. Some of the theme shows like "building shows" and "cooking competitions" send positive messages or education related to helping out those who are unfortunate or poor, or teach one how to cook or other life skills. I admit I have never seen half the shows I read about in the press or see clips from on advertisements or on late night talk shows. In most cases I don't have to waste 30-60 minutes of my life to find out what I think of them. Still, I know that “The Apprentice” is not typical of most corporate jobs in the world…thank God. And I know that most youth of today do not have all the toys, never ending entertainment cash or slutty looks that most of the kids on “Big Brother”, “The Real World or many of the MTV shows have.

Speaking of MTV reality shows, I am so glad I didn’t raise kids during this MTV generation. It is the network MOST responsible for the ”dumbing down” of our youth or trying to convince everyone that somehow “being gay” is cool in Jr. High or High School. I’m not homo-phobic or judgmental of some friends who are gay…but I absolutely don’t want them programming minors through network or cable television to be gay “curious”. I’m no prude, but I resent kids programming that tries to glamorize alternate lifestyles including gay or druggy ones. To that extent I can understand the religious right getting their backs up about such programming when at the same time these same programming forces are trying to take religious symbols and practices out of any public domain. Is secular society so insecure and skewed on their value system that they can’t be tolerant of those people of faith and/or traditional values? This is a troubling chasm in our culture spreading from public broadcasting right up through the Supreme Court of the land.

Ok…that’s most of my rant on this subject for now. I’m sure there are some good reality shows out there. I was truly amazed at the list of them I found HERE at Wikipedia…I have maybe seen 10-15% of these shows…and most of them only one or ½ time. You can have most of them if that’s how you want to spend your TV time. Me…what little I watch of the “idiot box” is news (mostly foreign news from BBC, TVE and others), sports, and I admit it…I am liking the “Food Channel”. I also find more redeeming value in the old favorites from my youth that I can now only find on “TVLand” and other re-run networks…Andy Griffith Show, I love Lucy, The Beverly Hillbillies, Leave it to Beaver. These few channel picks are all the “reality” I need and the only reasons I still pay a cable bill.

Even the Russians are Laughing at us...

From http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/107459-1/

Even Putin and the Russians think the United States is crazy to go down this Marxist road...

American capitalism gone with a whimper

It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American decent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless sheeple, excuse me dear reader, I meant people.

True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists.

Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters.

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonalds burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blind the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loses and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more then ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them?

These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more then a whimper to their masters.

Then came Barack Obama's command that GM's (General Motor) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of "pure" free markets, the American president now has the power, the self given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions.

So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a "bold" move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less then two months ago, warned Obama and UK's Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our "wise" Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride.

Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper...but a "freeman" whimper.

So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set "fair" maximum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Franks, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive.

The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left.

The proud American will go down into his slavery with out a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.

Stanislav Mishin

Global Patriotism

A new American friend in cyberspace sent me an email today asking if from the title of my blog I was an Expatriot or an "expatriate". Quite honestly it gave me pause. I decided I'd better check good ole Websters to see if who I think I am fits the label. I also responded to the mailer asking what the words meant to HIM. I look forward to his response.


The online dictionary gave me these definitions:

An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country, fatherland).

It really didn't have a separate definition for my spelling of "Expatriot", so I was stuck with going back to the apparently "correct" spelling of e-x-p-a-t-r-i-a-t-e. But wait a minute...some of the potential definitions of this word do not fit with my self- description...

–verb (used with object)
1. to banish (a person) from his or her native country.
2. to withdraw (oneself) from residence in one's native country.
3. to withdraw (oneself) from allegiance to one's country.
–verb (used without object)
4. to become an expatriate: He expatriated from his homeland.
–adjective
5. expatriated; exiled.

For me, living outside the USA has been totally by my choice and volition. I have not been "banished" or "exiled". Therefore, I have taken that word out of my title for this blog space and replaced it simply with "American". But then again, "American" is a word that may be misunderstood or not be very defining as well. Boy, this is getting complicated. What does it mean for me to be American and/or an Expat?

A⋅mer⋅i⋅can  /əˈmɛrɪkən/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [uh-mer-i-kuhn]
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to the United States of America or its inhabitants: an American citizen.
2. of or pertaining to North or South America; of the Western Hemisphere: the American continents.
3. of or pertaining to the aboriginal Indians of North and South America, usually excluding the Eskimos, regarded as being of Asian ancestry and marked generally by reddish to brownish skin, black hair, dark eyes, and prominent cheekbones.

As seems typical in our modern day world, labels and names have become distorted or narrowed in meaning from what they may have meant earlier in history...or only 50 years ago. To accept the broad sense of the adjective "American", it can mean just about anyone in the western hemisphere...or at least in the "Americas". Then when you take into account definition #3, the original Americans were aboriginal Indians who in just 2-3 short centuries were overrun by "invaders", "explorers", "foreigners", most of whom were white Anglo Saxons, Spaniards or Portuguese. The original American culture has been relegated to reservations or folklore while in Central and South America SOME original Americans still have their tribal areas that they occupy and own. But the term "American" is not used by or for them and instead quite narrowly describes for most people in the world only the citizens of the United States of America. Quite the narrowing for such a broad term.

OK...without going into detailed pursuit of how or why this happened in the past 150 years or so, let's just assume it is OK and we are moving forward. The USA during the past two centuries has become more and more of a melting pot. While it seems to me that many relatively new Americans have forgotten where they came from or lost their previous cultural identities and languages, it is still undeniable that the USA is actually THE most diverse democracy in the world. While educated white people still tend to be the "poster children" of what an American is, the truth is white Americans are a dwindling majority. According to Wikipedia, our racial breakdown as of 2006 was:

* Total population: 299 million
* White alone: 74% or 221.3 million
- Not including the 23.2 million White Hispanic and Latino Americans: 66% or 198.1 million
* Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, of any race: 14.8% or about 44.3 million
* Black or African American alone: 13.4% or 40.9 million
* Some other race alone: 6.5% or 19 million
* Asian alone: 4.4% or 13.1 million
* Two or more races: 2.0% or 6.1 million
* American Indian or Alaska Native alone: 0.68% or 2.0 million
* Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone: 0.14% or 0.43 million

The big news here is that Hispanic Americans have bypassed Black or African Americans as percentage of population. And I should point out the obvious that within the "white" statistics you include most of the people of Mediterranean or Middle East heritage including Jews, Arabs, Russians...quite an assortment of white people that you would not immediately identify with "American" traits.

Now let's consider the meaning and characteristics of a "Patriot". It seems the roots of the word are found in Greek, “patrios”, of one's fathers. Again, not a word that matches what I think it has grown to mean in the minds of most Westerners. Most people nowadays think of Patriot as a description of nationality versus “kin” or family.

One of my favorite movies of Mel Gibson is “The Patriot” which is a reasonably good dramatization of what it meant to be a “Patriot” in the founding of the USA. While most of the movie was fictional and hyped in Hollywood drama, it did illustrate what I believe were realistic struggles of those early modern “Americans”. They were still relatively new to a new continent of settlement. They were caught between the battles against the original American Indians who they were driving west while fighting their former sovereigns from Europe from their “backside”. In many ways they were out manned and out gunned, yet their passion to live freely in a “new country” was the force that the new “America” was built on. There is no doubt that many of the new “Americans” were violent, racist, and many had criminal pasts they were running from in their home countries. Yet, the founding fathers that developed out of the original 13 states were able to miraculously pull most everyone together under an unprecedented Constitution and Magna Carta. The thirst for new beginnings and individual freedom from centuries of aristocracies and monarchies in Europe and the East became a magnet of likeminded people of all races and statures to pursue their new beginnings in…”America”.

Now, a short two centuries later we still have “Patriots” fighting for our country. Fortunately for us Americans, they are fighting in other countries, in other people’s backyards and towns. Yet, I fear the call of Patriotism has been watered down tremendously by the growth of Big Government and a culture that has become so rich so fast that a majority have lost the core fundamental values that formed our greatness. Our government continues to beat the drum of “God and country” while I would argue a majority of Americans have lost their sense of personal values when it comes to the meaning of freedom and individual rights. I feel we are in a quiet “civil war” amongst ourselves of what it means to be an American…a “Patriot”. A majority of Americans seem to be content to go along with Big Government and relinquish their individual sovereignty for the “greater good”. Taxation without representation has been the standard for so long that it is just now, during these perilous economic times, that Americans like the voters in California this week and elsewhere are voting down any tax bill that comes down the pike. The Federal Government has stopped asking permission to increase taxes… and just locked step between the Executive, Congressional and Judicial branches to support and sustain this monolith of bureaucracy “at any cost”. In my mind, they have redefined “patriotism” as going along blindly with the government program. The new “Patriot Acts” have stripped away American’s individual rights and due process of law to where I find it hard to call it a true “democracy”. Some of the emerging markets and countries are purer forms of democracy and freedom than my home country. This saddens me to no end, and quite honestly the core reason of why I now find myself in the role of “expatriate”. Until my country can get back to its core principles of free enterprise, due process of law even by the government, and taking care of ourselves instead of expecting government to do so…I would find it hard to move back there. Maybe I am more exacting to label myself a "Global Patriot"?

Does this mean I am “Un Patriotic”? Hell no! I would suggest that there is a growing tide of individuals like myself, both inside and outside the USA, who are getting more earnest and passionate about taking back our lives and freedoms from our government. We will no longer vote with the mainstream two party systems that increasingly bear no distinction from one another. We will no longer accept the interference and intolerance of our government for dissent. A growing number of us want the USA to return to the foundations of its Constitution, a return to the principles of free enterprise that drove competition and once made us the most powerful, richest country in the world. How can it be in such a short span of 60+ years our country has been turned into a bankrupt, power mongering “Super Power” that for the sake of pride and cover-up of past sins is spending itself into oblivion and fighting many fronts of non-declared wars that are bringing us to our knees economically? I believe our country is becoming more divided by the minute…between the conservatives and the liberals, the Democrats and the Republicans, the religious and the non-religious, and primarily the rich against the poor. Unfortunately, the ranks of the poor are growing at a much faster rate than rich producers. If you are a mathematician or a scientist, you quickly understand where we are heading. Only if you are a blind believer in God or Government are you able to feel “Ok” about what is going on right now.

So, who is the true “Patriot” or “American” today? Is it the blind hordes that are cutting every corner and taking every handout they can get from government coffers? Is it the few remaining middle class, productive Americans who still have a job to go to in the USA, pay their taxes without complaint, and go to church every Sunday? Is it the young Libertarian or “independent” who is picketing for certain causes, demanding a balanced budget from their government and looking for reversal of the “Patriot Act”? Is it those of us who have chosen to live outside our country yet still looking in and trying to shout back to our friends and family “back home” what we are seeing and hearing?

I would argue that today’s true “Patriot” is a “Global Patriot”. We don’t just want “our country” to win at the expense of the rest of humanity. Our morality does not allow us rise financially by stealing from our neighbor or future generations, and we don’t think Governments should do that either. We embrace globalization, if only because we realize it is here to stay…unless of course the “super powers” among us succeed in obliterating each other in irrevocable nuclear exchanges. We are “Global Patriots” because we want ALL governments to agree together to save our environment, reverse the effects of Global Warming, and stop our constant aggressions for “Patriotic” reasons. “Global Patriots” want to know and understand all of humanity and find ways to peacefully coexist without having to dictate what kind of government or religion our neighbor wants to practice. “Global Patriots” believe that TRADE is a better unifier than running guns and armaments to “somehow” balance the foreign powers that we support or agree with. And finally, Global Patriots support freedom for all to live, worship, celebrate life, pursue liberty and happiness however THEY define it, as long as it does not affect the next person’s freedom to do the same.

To cut to the chase…I believe if American Patriotism doesn’t soon evolve into some form of “Global Patriotism”, our country and way of life as we have known it will be completely over run. I AM American…but I am also Global…so my struggle and my vision has multiplied in dimension more than I will probably ever comprehend in this lifetime. I am the sum of those I have grown to know and love…therefore…I am American, I am Latin, I am Jewish, I am Arabic, I am Embera Indian, I am Norwegian, I am Black, I am Asian. The word Patriot…or “expatriate”…is way too limiting and meaningless in comparison.

Morality and Ethics in Government

Throughout my little over half century of a lifetime, I have always been attracted to the complexities of "contradictions"...or maybe more specifically "oxymorons". You know...those two words that in practice never seem to go together. Some of my favorite examples of late are "holy war", "safe investment", "smart bomb", "bankrupt Millionaire", "easy payments", "free trade", "flexible budget", and now "moral Government". Yes my friends, it is now very difficult to point anywhere in the world to a government who you could truly call "moral".

First, what does it mean to be moral? Morality and moral "behavior" can have a wide range of meaning and connotation depending on what culture or religion you grow up in, but I think there are some basics a vast majority of the world would agree add up to acceptable or obvious attributes for being "moral". Let's try listing a few of these features:

Speaks the truth, doesn't lie
Doesn't steal
Humility
Follows the rules, doesn't cheat
Responsible
Faithful
Caring
Forgiving

I could go on but you get the point. Most moral people are good people, productive and provide balance to a world that is oft times not very moral. The biggest problem with morality is it’s not something that can be mandated or forced by rule of law. True morality is part of who a person is and what they believe. There are so many variations to it that in my opinion most morality cannot be "legislated" even though our world governments seem to be going more and more down that path...the path of heavy rule of law and the continuous battle of enforcement.

Let's back up first to a core understanding of what "purpose" government serves. From my understanding, the fundamental purpose of government is the maintenance of basic security and "public order". In the USA constitution, we establish a democratic system for government "of the people, by the people and for the people". This means government is meant to "serve" the people it governs...securing the peace and settling disputes that arise between individuals or business concerns. Unfortunately this basic, core government role has expanded greatly in modern times to many areas unforeseen by our forefathers. Government now is seen as providing economic security, Social security, Environmental security and even a further extension to "morality policing".

While I could probably turn this into a book, let me cut to some short specific views I'd like to share where governments throughout the world are now overstepping their purpose and morality. Let me preface by saying, governments normally rule at the acquiescence of those being ruled...so most people in the world have the government they "deserve". Most people in the world have been well trained by their culture and or government to follow and support their government or their "nationality". It is looked at as "unpatriotic" to question or criticize your government in most places in the world, and actually in most places governments have made it ILLEGAL to do so with little respect for free speech or individual human rights. Autocratic rule, often times connected at the hip with religious intolerance, make up a large percentage of the governments ruling our globe. I fear the USA is going down that same path to its demise.

I would like to present the case of how "the State" is supposed to act and stay within its justifiable role:

Governments should never intervene or interfere with "markets". It upsets the natural order of free trade or market driven economics. When governments step in, it always favors one faction over another and normally immorally colludes with government "benefactors". In other words, big money behind governments always has the upper hand over individual or small business concerns. To me this is against core morality standards covered in natural law and most of the religious holy books. Supply and demand was a system I believe set up by God from the beginning. There is a natural order to most everything under the sun...but modern day governments and big money want to try and change that order. They want to control markets by their power and influence, not by pure trade. They want to protect losing business propositions while sucking the life out of new businesses and technologies that would destroy the "status quo" or compete with them. We see this happening in the USA major industries of automotive and financial companies. Nothing good will come from this government interference accept to put off the inevitable and make future generations pay for our mistakes of yesteryear.

Price or market fixing necessarily demands that someone will win and someone will lose...as determined by government intervention. It is immoral to tell a farmer he MUST sell his crops or livestock at a set price and MUST limit his scope to domestic sales. It is also immoral to take MY money and give it to a farmer so that he DOESN'T plant a certain crop or pursue productivity. It is immoral to place wage decrees on employers or set limits on the profits a company or individual can earn. Yet this is what our whole system has become dependent on...and in my opinion it is a "house of cards". Let the natural laws of supply and demand perform its function and level out the field of competition...both nationally and internationally. Governments need to GET OUT OF THE WAY of progressive markets and business development. Yes, governments need to intervene for CRIMINAL activity, but that is the limit.

Government should not be in the "charity" business. Charity starts at home, the local community, and state which will ultimately lead to a more healthy and charitable nation/state. Our pyramid is upside down where each individual first looks to the "state" to bail them out of difficulty or guarantee their next meal. This has never worked in the history of governments and civilizations.

Socialism is the "religion of man", a product of humanism. Instead of depending on self, our brother, or God as champion of our security...we have replaced all that with "the State" as provider and sustainer. Socialism is a power theory where the individual lives for the good of the masses, controlled by the majority State. By rule of socialism, "someone" is always left holding the bag of debt or loss to cover someone else misfortune or error in judgment. For me this totally goes against traditional truths like "he who works eats" or "it is better to teach a man to fish than just give him a fish". These are fundamental truths that haven't changed from the beginning of time.

Coercion is always required at some point to enforce and control the "will of the State"...which is why governments want to control all the guns and not let their citizens freely own any. Governments should obviously have guns and military to DEFEND their borders and security...but they should not be used in aggression or coercion of it's own citizens unless of course they are threatening the rights of another individual citizen or group. To use arms to quell dissension of a citizen or group of them who are PEACEFULLY protesting an act of government is immoral. The arms race between governments is in my opinion also totally immoral, and we are reaping what we are sowing as we continue the un-winnable arms race. The world needs some good old fashioned "turning of swords into plowshares". If we spent on the business of food production and trade what we spend on armaments, I would argue there would be no hungry citizen on Earth. Poverty and hunger is in direct correlation to our social immorality, or the enslaving borders we put up against our fellow man.

It is immoral for governments to control currencies. It would be better for the world to go back to one standard of value, whether that be gold, silver or "bananas" upon which to determine currency values. The international monetary system has become totally statist controlled or controlled by a few powerful rich factions who can manipulate currency markets. The Federal Reserve is a prime example of that in the USA. How can you have a moral, free system of enterprise if you have multiple currencies manipulated outside of the market? Impossible. Again, false manipulation of currencies always favors a winner against a "loser" just based on their geographic location...usually determined by borders of a State.

Slavery is immoral. Yet I would argue that a majority of the world lives in some form of virtual "slavery". Most governments have "taxation without representation" which means that a productive citizen in most of the world pays half or more of their income to the "government". In my opinion, it is another form of slavery to exchange your individual freedom to work or develop profits anywhere in the world for a government system of socialism. Just look at the percentages of GNP (Gross National Product) that go into covering the costs of modern day governments. Then imagine if these percentages were instead put into the local or international markets for trade and development. My observation is that Government sucks the life and profits out of business and trade. Looking back in history, only slave states gained this kind of income off the backs of its citizens. It is time for the world to put this tendency in reverse motion...before you lose what little that remains of your personal wealth and sovereignty. It will soon be revolt and revolution time all over again in this cycle of humanity, cause and effect.

Credit is immoral. Unless you have money or income to backup a loan, it is immoral to pursue credit. Yet modern day morality with government assent and even programs to stimulate more spending has put much of the developed world, and especially the USA, in a tremendous economic and moral crisis. Instead of "common sense" and natural behaviors of spending less and making more in order to correct an imbalance, our crazy world has embraced unrestrained and unlimited credit as an answer to our global economic dilemmas. As you see currently from the USA, governments are manipulating markets, running over creditors and shareholders, and entering immoral contracts leveraging potentially decades of future generation's wages and tax contributions to cover the failures and unsustainable systems of today. Governments are not allowing "some" failed institutions to fail while raising taxes and income from those few successful and profitable entities within the system to "bail out" the failures. There are no fundamental values supporting these issues of credit in either government or private sectors...so I argue that our government is acting immorally and irresponsibly to the current crisis...and more importantly, a majority of citizens are going along for the ride without dissent. Reap and reward (or lack thereof) is just around the corner because of "cause and effect".


Our legal systems are immoral. The USA is reaping its reward also in the area of justice and lack of morality in our whole culture. Without re looking up the detailed fact on this, I read a while back that lawsuits and especially tort law enforcement was eating up almost 30% of our annual GNP. The core fundamental of that means that our culture has grown to such a dishonest and immoral state of being to where only lawyers and court systems can determine or resolve conflict between people and companies. The USA has something like 75% of all the world's lawyers while having a very small percentage of the world population. What does that alone say about our morality? Every time I have a problem or disagreement with my neighbor or trading partner, I have to sue in the legal system in order to get justice? That has become part of our socialism my friends. In the Old Testament days if I had an issue with someone who was lying...or said I was lying...about an agreement we had, your first step was to get your own witness and meet with the person to try and resolve the issue with an impartial 3rd party. If that didn't work, you brought a group from the community together to hear and help settle the issues. Only after all that was the King or government of the day brought into the situation to render a judgment. Our modern system has bypassed what worked for millenniums, and justice has become a major industry within our culture, full of ambulance chasers and TV judges or lawyers all rendering their expensive verdicts...at a terrible financial cost to our whole economy. And every time something unfortunate or a mistake happens to us, we think "someone" needs to pay. There is no natural order in the universe that says governments or others are liable for every bad thing that happens to you. If someone steals from you, THAT PERSON should be forced to make restitution to you and pay a penalty. But, if you bought a cup of scalding hot coffee and spilled it on your lap with serious burns...how does that somehow become my responsibility or a business’s obligation to pay you MILLIONS of dollars? These things are immoral.

My final point today is that free enterprise and enormous capital investment will not alone change the status of our globally faltering economic system. There has to be a fundamental change in personal and government morality. "To whom much is given, much will be required". The "consume at all costs", me-first mentality of contemporary generations needs to be totally redirected. The focus of the culture needs to change from "things" to "values". We need to value our fellow human more than we value "things". We need to esteem "man" more than the edifices or creations of men. We need more freedom and interest in traveling to other cultures to know how to communicate and understand our neighbor before we can establish trade with them. We need to turn mutual loathing into mutual respect. We need to return to governments "of by and for the people" in place of "Uncle Sam" or "Big Brother"...which means we must take a more active role in determining those governmental forces. If we are not allowed an active role, we may need to leave them behind and vote with our feet and pocketbooks.

Morality and ethics in government start with the morality and ethics of the governed. If we want change, we must initiate it...and be living examples of how we want the world to be and interact. Only when government represents moral people will it be forced to act morally itself.