Is Panama an Illusion?

(This is the second blog of a series written about "Living in Panama". Please refer also to "Is Panama Safe?",  "Pros and Cons of Living in Panama",  and "Further Notes on Panama Living")

What is the real story on Panama?  Does anyone really know whats going on here?

I have been in the middle of some interesting discussions today on the local Panama political issues.  Having been woken up at 7:45AM last Saturday morning by screaming protesters on megaphones shouting slogans in Punta Pacifica…I have been forced to read and face some of Panama`s political realities today, like the current political uprisings in Colon.  In 8 years of living here I have always sensed this cultural and political undercurrent that does not support the kind of modern face we have  revolutionizing the skyline of Panama City. Let’s face it, Panama is still a country in its infancy of a little more than 100 years since its breakaway from Colombia.  Even that breakaway was brokered more by foreign powers like the USA than by a local sovereign decision, revolt or ¨Declaration of Independence¨.

Panama is an interesting place no doubt…a small sample country of multiculturalism and racism.  It is a mirror in a small way of the issues confronting our whole world. A large majority are poor, uneducated and backward compared to first world countries.  Except primarily for the singular effect of the Panama Canal…these hundred years have not really brought development of a cohesive, singular culture or country.  Instead, it is a small country made up of small groups of a vast variety…from the indigenous native Indians such as the Cuna, Embera,  Ngäbe-Buglé and others from pre-Colombian times, to the Spanish families spanning back to when Panama was part of the Spanish empire for 300 years (1538–1821). Then, on top of that you have the variety of West Indians, Caribbean and Asian migrants who were encouraged to come build the Panama Canal at the turn of the 20th Century, making this country a very diverse and unique country at the hub of Latin America.  That diversity alone accounts for a lack of cohesion and unity among all those calling themselves ¨Panamanian¨.

One could argue that the REAL Panama is only just beginning, and like any newborn country or person…a sense of identity and solidarity with the rest of the world is difficult to define.  We have in the past decade seen a huge modernization of Panama City from a structural and development standpoint.  We are currently in the middle of the biggest canal expansion in the world since the canal opened in 1914.  Yet, underneath all the changes and Billions of dollars of investment in the country, there lies some fundamental lack of definition of what it means to be ¨Panamanian¨.  To some, Panamanians are defined by the post Bolivarian revolt for independence from Colombia which is celebrated on November 3 each year.  For others, their family roots are in the migration for building the canal.  For still others, they claim their identity to Panama as ¨Zonians¨,  having been born and raised in the Canal Zone which had a completely different set of laws and culture from the rest of Panama…primarily based on North American influence and European origins.  In this short history of an independent nation, one can question whether the vast majority here have ever been truly free and independent…meaning having equal access to markets, the rule of law and freedoms of expression most usually associated with the USA system of constitutional rights.

Recent history reveals three key eras of leadership and control of Panamanian governments.  From 1903 until 1968, Panama was a constitutional democracy dominated by a commercially oriented oligarchy which came to be controlled by mostly Spanish and Jewish families who owned most of the businesses and money flow outside of the USA government and canal resources. During the 1950s, the Panamanian military began to challenge the oligarchy's political hegemony and Panama became more of a military junta run by Omar Torrijos as a revolutionary of ¨the people¨, and later continued by Manuel Noriega after Torrijo`s mysterious death in an airplane crash. The most recent era began with the 1989 USA invasion which was prompted by a number of USA interests to back the restoration of democracy from the hands of the militarist Noriega regime. One would now argue that the oligarchies are back in control of big business and this reflects many back door deals to gain advantage of the investment interests in Panama.  After all, Panama is STILL the largest financial center in Latin America in terms of volumes of dollars and numbers of banks and financial institutions domiciled here...which to me is about the only explanation for current development levels.

So, how is it that with all this modernity…we still have constant social unrest?  We have socialist or communistic labor and student groups demonstrating and blocking the streets at will.  We have Indigenous people blocking the only highway connecting the city with the Interior as the only way they can think of to protect their Comarca private lands and water sources from mining, hydro dams and other commercial interests in the interior.  Now we have the ¨Coloneses¨ up in arms over privatization of public properties in the largest duty free zone in the hemisphere. While some would say you have similar scenarios throughout Latin America, I see Panama as being quite small to be so full of such dissension and political unrest.

While the army was deactivated after the 1989 invasion,  the current militarization of the police force based on justifications of the ¨drug war¨ or even potential guerrilla infiltration from the Darien border with Colombia has one wondering if we are not reaching new levels of a military buildup in this small country.  The dance between the President, the legislature, the courts and the police have one´s head spinning in the press on a daily basis. Some days it is hard to know who is in control of this country whose population is smaller than Greater Chicago.  For me, it doesn't take much to turn a small country like this into a broiling hotbox of contention and violence.

There is no doubt we are seeing increasing instances of crime in Panama.  Along with that come increasing police training and activation.  Every couple years we see massive police and security checks on most main roads in Panama.  Maybe a page they learned from Colombia of the past 20 years or so?  And now this week we see a new level of conflict over the Free Zone property rights in Colon.  With reports of 48 people arrested, several injuries and one dead child of 9 years of age…it reminds one that peace and tranquility is but an illusion, even here in small, beautiful Panama.

The distance between the haves and have nots has definitely increased during my past 8 years here. Cost of living in my personal experience is up 30-40% depending on what lifestyle you maintain here.  That is roughly 8% per year…and much higher than government indicators want you to believe. Believe me, the locals pay levels have not gone up at those percentages.  Yes, unemployment is lower than it used to be, but cost of living is higher.  The poorer populations are being pushed OUT of the city with rising real estate prices and transportation costs…yet most of the jobs are IN the city.  Commuting to Panama right now is every commuters nightmare.  Many of us are now choosing to work from home offices instead of trying to commute to an office.  Transportation is gridlocked most days, and the Panamanian aggression and law breaking behind the wheel is at an all time high.  

Average costs of new condos in Panama are around $2000 per Meter, yet rental prices do not support those prices if you are looking for real income. Who is going to buy all these myriad of developments STILL going up in the middle of the other dark, uninhabited towers?  Does somebody know something I don´t about coming hoards of tourists or businesses to Panama?  Where are they going to find the trained workers to fill all these offices they are building across the street from me? I personally don’t see it…and I like to think I get around. Billions have been spent on infrastructure…but educational spending as percentage of government expenditure is at the bottom of the barrel regionally according to these statistics. This fact will grow to be one of the most limiting factors in Panama´s future development potential.

So, what happens if the people or the industries don’t come as planned to Panama?  What happens if the American dollar is devalued against other currencies ( I have already seen the Colombian peso rise over 35% in value over the dollar the past 4 years)?  What will happen if a more Leftist leader comes to power in Panama and leads a Venezuelan style ¨Bolivian¨ revolt against the oligarchy or the perceived or real imperialism of the USA and other foreign powers over Panama? What happens if to meet its new gorging debt obligations, Panama is forced to levy new taxes and austerity measures on the people who can least afford to pay those debts?  We have already seen huge tax increases in Panama the past 5 years…from VAT to corporate to excise taxes on ¨luxury items¨.  At what point do we start seeing a reverse emigration of moneyed people and industries going to other countries in the region because of these combined causes?  I already know a number of foreigners and businesses who have reversed their decisions to domicile in Panama based on many of these issues.

I have been discussing some of today’s issues at a distance with people who I am convinced would rather see Panama and Panama City pull back from the modern city it is becoming.  There are many new voices of socialism and redistribution in Panama media and politics.  I sense a fire brewing…and I don´t see current leaders doing anything to douse those fires of insurrection and violent revolt.  Killing a 9 year old in Colon doesn't help…and militarism alone is not a medium or long term solution to the problem.  Yet, there seems to be no one capable right now to lead the wide range of interests in Panama in a unified direction.  If you watch the local news each day…and worse yet watch the Government Assembly in action on the local cable network…you will begin to realize how divergent and conflicted the interests are in Panama.  As throughout much of the developing world,  people are in a ¨gimme gimme¨ mode towards their governments.  They vote for whoever offers the most temporary support, or ¨candy¨ as I call it.  No one votes for reality or tough policies of correcting debt or corruption.  No one seems too excited about constitutional rights to due process of law. Only if you have enough money can you get access to due process…and that’s not just in Panama.

¨The People¨…in Panama and elsewhere…are insecure and angry.  If the powers that be do not take heed and salve some of their issues and wounds, there will soon be a ¨Latin spring¨ that could make the Arab one look like milk toast.  When that happens…I want to be somewhere else.

Go For It...

I have gotten to the point where I don´t like to watch a lot of professional sporting events on TV. It has become very obvious to me that today`s overly paid and highly exalted sports stars in many arenas are starting to cop out on their play.  

You see this the most in NFL football...you know...the quarterback runs and slides to the ground before he gets hit...often 1/2 yard short of a first down or touchdown.  But you also see it in other sports such as soccer, basketball, and baseball.  In soccer you see guys miss a key shot or header, then gets tapped by an opposing player who supposedly causes him to fall to the ground, writhing around like a spider in a hot frying pan...looking to draw a penalty and all too often getting the desired results from sympathetic referees.  Today's replay cameras seem to have no effect on what these players do even though they know the next day the evidence of their play acting is so damning.  In basketball and baseball we see more and more guys not jumping into the crowds to rescue errant balls or make a play.  It is as if to say...I am paid too much for too little time to take a chance ending my career by going for that ball.  For me, I miss the old guys like Johnny Unitas, Bart Starr and various other old style quarterbacks who used to do everything they could to reach a first down or touchdown.  Players back then were allowed to play with half as many rules and less padding.  Most of the older players never made more than a couple million dollars their whole careers but always played to win.  Many of today´s players make 10-20 Million per YEAR...and still wont take a risk.

In business...and life in general...I see this phenomenon playing out too often. People are not willing to ¨go for it¨ when it comes to reaching their goals or dreams.  It is much easier to take the safe road...play by all the rules and fit in to all the stereotypes of the society around us. I believe a majority of people I meet now are living lives of ¨quiet desperation¨...working in jobs or professions they hate...living in relationship to people they don't love, like or respect.  Others live in total solitude because they have been hurt in previous relationships and are not willing to risk ¨getting hurt again¨. For most people it seems more important to play politics and be a ¨team player¨ in corporate settings versus standing out or standing ON principles.

While the masses tend to shun individuality...they still elevate the few characters who are willing to live on the edge, take huge risks and live through tremendous highs and lows in this life. The masses are not willing to live or replicate the actions or attitudes of these few, but they sure love to talk about them and revel in their spectator-ship of these people who are truly ¨going for it¨.

I have been reading the newest biography of Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers, who died last year. Here is a guy who while obviously intelligent was one of the most erratic, unpredictable and often despised personalities of the Computer age. Steve had all kinds of hangups and psycho baggage from being an orphan and growing up in the tumultuous late 60s and 70s of anti establishmentarianism (see...I´m not afraid to make up a new word).  Yet, for all his weaknesses and lack of social graces, this guy pushed and focused on what HE wanted to do and create.  He allowed his brilliant mind and strengths to overcome his perceived doubts and weaknesses.  In his 57 short years he lived and tried more things...from lifestyles to religions to businesses...than a hundred other people might combined in that time-frame   He was willing to ¨break the rules¨ and live originally...and he despised other people who didn't.  He didn't care whether people liked or hated him...as long as HIS goals were achieved.

While I am not alluding that Steve Jobs as a person should be our role model of human behavior...I do think his devotion and passion for what he set out to accomplish SHOULD be one of the most inspiring models of our generation.  He wasn't always right...but he was right more than he was wrong.  He failed at a number of things, but he succeeded in two or three key goals that made him who he was and brought all the security financially he needed in this life.  Yet...he was never really about the ¨money¨.  He was about the hunt or pursuit of his dreams. He was about pushing boundaries further and further outside of his and others comfort zones.  In these instances, it started with vision, proceeded with total devotion, and usually ended up with  unprecedented success. Even in his last dying months...he continued to try and paint things his way...even for a future that he would not share.

I don´t want to be Steve Jobs, but I do want to emulate his dedication to independent pursuits of ambition and dreams.  I do want to emulate his ability to bring others along behind him in his pursuit of excellence. And yes, I do want to emulate his ability to disregard institutional limitations and mass critique.  I think that was central to his ability to produce as much as he did in the same amount of years I have already lived.

So...I now am GOING FOR IT in my business pursuits like never before.  I am GOING FOR IT in playing new music that I have never played before and it is about what I like more than about what others like.  I am GOING FOR IT in challenging others around me to think and do more than they currently are or think they can do.  Most of us are operating at less than half our potentials.  This should be unacceptable to us the second we recognize we are doing that.

So...no matter what age you are, how much money you have or haven't ..do not make excuses for not living your dreams.  Quit playing it safe.  Dont be afraid to fail or get hurt. As my old coach used to say...¨no pain, no gain¨. It is never too late to start...and I would rather die trying than to never try at all and live out the rest of my life in the quiet misery of mediocrity.

Romney Reality Check...

The current election battle for the USA presidency is taking on the normal cycle of smoke and mirrors on the major issues. Both political parties are taking a ¨class warfare¨ approach to this election and neither major party seems to be catering to the independent or centrist voters. It seems to be about catering to extreme positions…and so far I think the incumbent President is being far more effective in tarnishing the message of the Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, than vice versa. During this whole political season,

Mr. Romney has had the challenge of winning over the extreme Conservative Republicans and religious right to his cause. In his past Gubernatorial and business roles he has in my opinion tried policies and decisions that were Centrist in theme and application to reasonable success. Overall I think people see him as a competent ¨nice guy¨, but not much of a hardball hitter when up at the plate. This is going to have to improve if he wants any reasonable chance at occupying the White House.

The key realities Romney has to overcome are:

- He only paid at a 14% income tax rate last year. Now, this is more than many other wealthy USA citizens, but far less than us average ¨Joes¨ paid as a percentage. When you have guys like Warren Buffett stumping for the Dems saying the rich should pay higher percentages than the poor…this does not help Romney win the class war battle. Winning the Republican conservative support will win him contributions, but not votes. Let’s face it, a majority of the voters are working and lower class. Romney`s vision for American has to connect with them also, or he is just wasting millions of dollars in this election campaign that could be better spent. 

- His religion…while religion in my opinion has no real reason to be discussed in the political arena from a rational viewpoint, it has unfortunately become a major lightening rod of how Americans judge and vote for their candidate. Obama has a huge advantage here. Romney is a Mormon deacon…a religion with only 5.7 million members in the USA and deemed by many mainstream Christian institutions as little more than a cult. Obama has attempted to identify himself with various Christian denominations while also advocating strong support for Muslim immigrants. Lets see…247 million call themselves ¨Christian¨ and VP Joe Biden is the first Catholic VP in the USA. There is thought to be over 3 million Muslims in the USA now. Since some see Obama as a ¨closet¨ Muslim based on his history and ancestry…you can be assured he will get the Islamists behind him as well. From a religious standpoint, Obama has the numbers on his side from all different stripes even as the arguably most Liberal president in the history of the USA. That is quite a feat

Ø The press...Obama has the traditional support of the Liberal press. He has gotten almost a free pass on the lack of economic performance these past almost 4 years…and we are still losing billions per year in losing propositions of wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan and many other conflicts we are not able to overcome…but you hear next to nothing from the press on these important issues. Instead they are all focused on Romney´s religion, wealth and every little statement that underlines his lack of identification with the common man. Let’s face it, Romney does not have the Reagan charisma, and while Obama´s performance brings back memories of Jimmy Carter`s lack of powerful leadership and image…he is a much better image and communicator to the masses than Carter was by far.  

Ø And finally…the Latinos and other minorities that make up a majority of the USA population. Over 52 million Latinos live in the United States. But despite their large numbers, they face persistent barriers to health care. One-quarter of Latinos live in poverty and nearly one-third lack health insurance. As a result, they suffer disproportionate health problems – and while many or illegal and unable to vote, a growing number of Hispanics are becoming part of the USA democratic process. Most of them for various reasons are turning to Democratic policies for their survival. Romney`s quips about not being worried about the ¨47% of non taxpayers¨ or that those without health insurance can ¨simply go to an emergency room¨ are grossly inadequate viewpoints and shows how out of touch he is with America´s reality.

While many Republican hopefuls around me are cautiously optimistic about Romney´s chances, I just don´t see it presently. I think his only chance of getting elected will be to somehow out debate and outshine President Obama in the 3 debates coming up. Being a betting man…I would not bet on that. And even if he becomes our next President, I don’t see him running on solid issues or plans that will turn my country around. It is about the economy stupid…and ¨trust me¨ is not enough of a plan to win the vote. These are scary times to live in politically speaking…and otherwise.

Voting ones conscience...

The Republican and Democratic conventions for the 2012 Presidential election are over. While I have little interest in these outdated, bombastic displays of party affiliation...it is about the only chance one gets to see THEIR version of what the party is standing for...or not...this time around.

For the past two or more decades I have found myself voting for small independent party candidates...usually of the Libertarian persuasion. I miss my freedoms. It is getting harder and harder for me to find appreciable difference between the two main party platforms in the USA. At the highest level...these politicians are all about bigger government, more power and false promises and pretenses abound. I am one American who has had enough of this and would like to believe it is not too late to fall back into a more rational ¨Jeffersonian¨ approach to government. I read somewhere recently though I haven't verified or run the numbers that our national debt now comes out to over $800,000 per citizen. Of course, a growing percentage of people living in America are NOT citizens...so I assume this number doesn't include everyone you see in the streets there. Whatever the real number is, it is obviously insurmountable for our citizens to begin to pay off this debt our auspicious leaders have gotten us into over the past 60 or so years...and growing exponentially. None of these major party candidates seem to have any real plan for paying this off. The cuts they are recommending...that no one seems too excited about...is about the same as flicking a flea off the hide of an elephant. Any simple mathematician will tell you that these numbers based on our economic output are insurmountable. The USA for all intents and purposes is BANKRUPT...yet nobody dares declare it so.

It is very evident why no one in governments worldwide face the truth about these debts. Most foreign governments are counting on the USA to continue our role as global ¨policeman¨ and caretaker. All you have to do is look at the imbalances of contributions to most global project funds or the United Nations and you see this historical assumption that somehow the USA has an inexhaustible level of wealth to spread out across the rest of the world. Most Americans have gone down this road willingly from a sense of national ego to support all these wars and in-clandestine funds. We have been arming so many despot governments throughout the world who promise to bring the peace or support OUR causes, but almost always end up using our guns against their own people or train them back on Americans at some point. Our Department of National Defense has truly become a department of aggressive OFFENCE. This has to stop. We can`t afford it and we don´t need it.

So...some people say...I am proposing an isolationist agenda for my country...and I am WASTING my vote when I vote for anything other than Republican or Democrat. I strongly disagree with those assertions. I am simply suggesting we revolutionize the way we interact with other countries of the world. Instead of trying to outperform the rest of the world in arms production or beating everyone to Mars...we should be totally focused on retooling our country and population for ECONOMIC warfare. We should become the most aggressive and polished country for promoting goods and services that no one else has...at least on our scale. Our country still has riches we are not tapping. We have oil reserves bigger than the Saudis, and yet we keep buying THEIR oil at hugely inflated prices determined by a consortium of our enemies. We have allowed our government backed by big oil money to convince us we have no other choice...and they use any little excuse like a two day Hurricane we had a couple weeks ago to inflate the gasoline prices ANOTHER 18 cents overnight. And we Americans just keep coming back accepting all this drivel.

The reason I restate these issues is because NO ONE ELSE in these party elections are talking about these issues. They want the conversation to be about religion, abortion, or whether a President smokes and what he smokes. These people are not discussing or coming up with ideas for the major issues...and the electorate continues to just go along with the BS. Meanwhile, less and less of the American public are involved in the political process because it is so manipulated and they don't believe in it anymore. It has gotten to where the political comedians cover the issues better than the candidates or regular news agencies do. They seem to be the only ones allowed to really speak the truth.

The only hope I have for our system is that one day average Americans will rise up and start voting their CONSCIENCE. When we start voting for leaders instead of party liners...when we start voting based on our pocketbooks instead of lifestyles of the rich and famous...when we start studying for ourselves the real issues and having an opinion on them...THAT is when our country might have a chance to turn things around. I just fear that it may be too late. The horses are out of the corral...and very few of us are out chasing them down or trying to bring order to the situation. It does seem quite easier to escape and look at this as ¨every man for himself¨. At the end of the day, we each need to listen to our own consciences...while we still have one that hasn't been drowned out by the hype and misdirection of today´s media manipulated by insincere politicos.

I challenge everyone to do their own thinking and research before voting this November. The life and freedom you save...may be your own.

Trusting in Hypocrites

The hardest and longest lesson in life is learning how not to believe in hypocritical leaders. Unfortunately that turns into a life of significant mistrust and questioning most everything that is passed down the pike.

So much of our lives are taken up with trying to figure out our positions on life's institutions...governments, religions, non-profits, NGOS...everyone seems to have hidden agendas in this world. Until we can sort it all out...if ever...we are better off being very scrutinous and paranoid about what we see and hear from media and power mongers tied to these institutions.

In light of many of my past blogs on similar subject matter, I think I should make a clarification on my take on the institution of religion in case I have not been clear before. There is a difference between ¨faith¨ and ¨religion¨. I believe every person operates in their life based on some form of faith. We believe certain things to be true not because we know exactly how or why they are...but by our experience and limited understanding of life's mysteries, we make certain fundamental decisions of what we think based on ¨feeling¨ or sentiments beyond pure reason. Some things are beyond our reasoning powers...so we all make certain fundamental judgments about what we think or feel about that which we don´t understand. This form of faith is not bad and is fundamental to our human existence...as long as we don´t lose our objectivity.

In the case of other people, we tend to relate to them based on our attraction, commonality and/or past experience with them. The longer we know them and observe their consistency or lack thereof, the more we trust or believe in them...or NOT. At the same time we realize that people are not static and are subject to change. Change can be good or bad. In some cases people make choices that make them better or more valuable humans. In the case of many the opposite is unfortunately a reality. Corruption, destitution, anxiety, depression...sh-t happens in life where people change unfortunately for the worse. Often times it is power that corrupts...and when that happens...well, ¨power corrupts absolutely¨.

Religion is primarily a way in which to institutionalize faith and/or an attempt to make our individual faiths conform to some centralized, socially acceptable way to think or feel about the unknowns in life. It is deemed heretical within religion to think or believe independently about most anything.

Fundamentally, I now see religion as one of the greatest manipulative forces in life to deceive and control the masses...and I reject being part of anything that divides and segregates mankind based on groupings of blind faith objectives. Religion is basically formed from the ego...an extreme sense of selfishness...in which humans strive to have power and dominion over other large masses of people, even within families, by sheer insistence that THEY are connected to the TRUE God. This is a heady claim.

Institutions devise dogmas and perform delusive acts of rewriting histories or worse yet fabricating emotional and ¨spiritual¨ manipulation through which we bring up children or poor, weak minded people to follow rituals and rites that have no real basis on reason to support them. This is not real ¨faith¨. This is outright deceit and delusion. It is amazing how anxious we humans are to believe what we WANT to believe when all around us is scientific and rational truths that contradict the dogma. Religions are blind...but we don`t want to see. It is too sad, and for most programmed humans impossible, to reconsider their false presuppositions. I know...I have been down that painful road.

The same manipulations and false reasoning are behind nationalism and patriotism. Just like faith...there is nothing inherently wrong with being proud about ones heritage, race or traditions. But, when that pride leads to exclusivity and delusion based on one race or nationality being superior over the other...then the ego of nationality, just like religion, has led to over-sizing the truth and creating all kinds of aberrational thinking about what it means to be part of any particular race or nationality.

We just completed the 2012 Olympics in London...and while it was exciting to see all the pomp and circumstance and the greatest talents of each country competing against each other in so many sports...there was also for me an ugly side to these competitions. The extreme nationalism and fervor over flags and patriotic hymns for me continue to support a false sense of pride in a majority of governments and institutions that seek to destroy or take credit for the very individualized efforts and talents these athletes have achieved. Countries or religions should not be given the credit for these superhuman feats. Individual accomplishment should...the human spirit if you will. Yet...you constantly see these brainwashed yet talented performers kissing their crosses, crossing themselves to the heavens, and/or running around arenas draped in the flags of their countries. The more I understand the power of statism over our globe, the more I abhor these manifestations of statist pride.

I know...most of you probably feel it is quite OK to have national pride and to celebrate ethnicity. We all have strong attachments to our roots. Again, just like faith, I have no fundamental difference with that core value. The problem is...by buying into the institutional aspect of this hook line and sinker...we end up carrying a lot of ugly filth and hypocrisy along with us. We aren't even conscious of it.

Very few individuals in history of the Olympics have stood up against their enslaving governments and tyrannical leaders. Lets face it, a majority of these competitors are NOT free individuals. They are limited by their passports and nationalities on where they can travel, who they can associate with and what they can think or believe...at least publicly. If you think Russians and the Chinese are free to come and go as they please, you are sadly mistaken. Only the rich and privileged are allowed that luxury. And how about those poor Cubans, Venezuelans or Arab state competitors? Do you think they have a choice about which flag they will carry or which God they will worship? How can we be proud and happy with these realities for these people? Yes, it is amazing what they do in the name of their god and country...but do we really need that association with god and country to appreciate the significance?

The world is increasingly based on the existence of ¨smoke and mirrors¨. There is very little absolute truth behind how people live. Life´s meaning and lifestyles are determined by media, institutions and cultural machinations that tell people how they will think, eat and live. Even money itself is an illusion. What is REAL money? What is it worth? Who is determining its value? Markets? Think again. Most all of us are living as slaves to institutional-ism. Very few of us ever reach a point of having enough ¨money¨ or knowledge to live truly free and individually. The chains of our minds are jerked around every 2 minutes by media, TV, radio, internet, billboards and magazines that ALL lie to us every moment of every day about what is real or truly significant.

We are trusting in hypocrites all of our lives...and becoming just like them. In general none of us are truly free...and we don´t even care. We have given up pursuit of self and settled for fitting in. We have traded in our dreams for the yoke of complacency and pleasure. We refuse to stand up and be counted for in any real way on what we think and believe. We avoid conflict at all cost...even when it costs us our freedom and sovereignty as a person.

I have come to the point where I don´t believe the world deserves freedom. We are not willing to pay the cost. We are not willing to take care of ourselves. We want socialism and absolute controls over all of life`s risks. We trust in the social welfare systems of our governments more than in ourselves. We are much more comfortable trusting in the Hypocrites to take care of us. We deserve what we get...which is NOTHING.

(...a late footnote. I cant help but mention the tremendous hypocrisy happening currently in the Julian Assange Wikileaks case. While he may not be the most likable, purely motivated guy on the planet, these Western governments pursuing prosecutions of him without trial or due process based on his outing government communications FULL of proof for these hypocracies of which we speak is obviously tainted with injustice and fabrications against him. And then in turn today, the USA government has the audacity to speak out against Putin and Russia for prosecuting some girl rockers for speaking out against the Russian government? Is this not obvious hypocrisy of the first degree? )

Just another face of evil...

One more blatant slap in the face today from the news about this white supremacist sicko who fatally shot 6 people in a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin. At least the authorities this time took out the perpetrator with a dose of his own medicine. I`m sure many institutions will once again be calling for banning guns and all other sorts of useless legal reactions to this hideous crime. My answer to that would be...I thought we outlawed racism and bigotry in America a long time ago, yet millions are still living in that frame of mind.

It seems to me it is about time the human race got down to some serious reprogramming about origins of evil and understanding racism. Most rational, educated people are going to understand and embrace difference and diversity in how various customs and cultures develop over thousands of years. Our melting pot culture of the last 120 years SHOULD understand and accept the rainbow of color and perspectives by now. Yet somehow, illiterate crazy people are coming up in relatively educated countries like ours who have no perspective or rational sense about the world at large. From crib to grave, these types of people stay in their pea-brained, embryonic state of infantile dysfunction where life is ¨all about me and my ego needs¨ versus having any understanding of other people or historic cultures. The sense of insecurity and outright hate for people different than ourselves is totally irrational and unacceptable in any civilization...even the Western one. The USA needs some serious introspection about what it is that spawns so many racially divided, non-inclusive mentalities whereby ¨white people¨...or people of ANY particular shade or color...would think they have supremacy over another race or creed. Are we not tired of this routine yet? It is quite obvious to me we have hardly evolved as humans since the founding of our once great country.

I would like to think that this sicko face of evil is an anomaly...an aberration from normality. Yet, as I go about my daily life, I am amazed by how many racial jokes and intolerant statements I hear about various races or religions. Even though I have fortunately grown away from organized religion, I still have to understand and accept the fact that a large majority of humans are religious by nature and upbringing. Since we are capable of so much thinking and rationalization...we have to come up with beliefs that answer the unanswerable, even if there is little substance to our beliefs. I am convinced we do this primarily because our egos do not allow us to live comfortably with ¨I don´t know¨. And then, when OTHER people come up with more rational, scientific ways of looking at big picture questions...it is just too threatening and defeating to admit we may be wrong. The reaction is HYPER dogmatism and escaping reality into circles of hate and fear such as this madman probably came from.

I think racism and religion are closely connected. People that hold racist views often hold religious ones as well. Most of the major religions are built around race and culture...and are divided by race and culture as well. This is not a criticism...just a fact.

In Judaism, you have two main traditions, Sephardi and Ashkenazi. These traditions are basically divided down racial lines.

In Christianity you have various divisions that are bred in different racial concepts. Most churches are made up of white, black, Hispanic or Asian segregated churches. Even in the melting pot which is the USA, you see very few truly integrated churches. If they believe in the same God, the same Jesus...why the racial divide? People of faith really need to do some introspection on this one in my opinion. The silence and hypocrisy is deafening to many unbelievers.

With Islam, the Sunni make up a large majority of the followers while the Shia are from a different cultural background for the most part.

I bring this up because I believe that whatever doesn't unite us divides us. My background is plenty full of the things that divide us...and religion is one of the BIGGEST dividers. I don´t believe God is behind this kind of division...and if he were I am not sure I could go along with him in good conscience. (please take this as intended...tongue in cheek)

I am still trying to figure out where this institutionalized evil comes from. The roots are long and deep apparently.

I am not saying it is abnormal to want to be with people of your own race or culture. In fact...what I am saying is that it IS normal and should be expected behavior. Yet...what I DON`T accept as normal is this seemingly vast acceptance of racism and mentality that everyone else is inferior to ¨us¨. Where does this attitude and pressure come from that somehow ¨our race¨ has to be superior or preferred over others? Where does the societal attitude come from that looks down on interracial couples and their children? Where does the narcism and ego come from that has us continually comparing ourselves with other races? The stereotypes are huge...and they lie.

I have lived long enough to see some poor people justify their poverty and make it out to be preferable over being rich...EVIL. I have lived long enough to see rich people guilt tripped about their riches to the extent where they gave all they had to some government or church who would protect them or promised them ¨eternal life¨...EVIL. I have lived long enough to see governments funded by the people turn their courts and armies against the freewill and sovereignty of those who gave them office...EVIL. I now live a life of quiet desperation pondering the question ¨how shall we then live¨?

I guess I will have to be content to be contrarily minded and dispel evil with my traditional songs of the 70s such as ¨Puff the Magic Dragon¨, ¨We Shall Overcome¨, ¨If I had a Hammer¨ and ¨I`d Like To Teach The World To Sing¨. I am real tired of these ugly white supremacist types being the ¨poster people¨ for my country.

Gun Controls

With this hideous mass killing in Colorado of innocent attendees at a movie theatre...once again the press is making a field day of this tragedy. Somehow, when these mass shootings in the USA happen, many in the press start heaping the blame on guns. I would like to simply start by pointing out, guns are programmed or shot by...willful human beings. Guns are not the culprit...people are.

How is it in our human condition that in this day and age we have come to the point where we cannot confront our own insane behavior or mental conditions...and continue to take out our wrath on inanimate objects? If you carry this logic very far, you start questioning the legality of knives or even basic tools that are used in construction and everyday living. Hell, you might as well start outlawing all the bad foods that people eat that kill more people every year than guns. Since it seems so impossible for the average human to learn and use these things the right way, this mentality says we really should have bigger government to control our access to guns, knives, basic saws, screwdrivers and hammers we use in everyday life. After all...people die everyday from irresponsible use of all these objects.

If you question that, just think of all the loose nuts and bolts of faulty auto parts that have caused thousands of deaths in collapsed construction or auto accidents. I think we should outlaw the use of those tools that have been so irresponsibly used in construction. Also...robots. Robots...programmed by people...have caused systematic failure in certain assembly line goods that have led to hundreds of accidents and deaths. Gas systems have been faultily constructed so that they caused leaks that kill hundreds of people worldwide in recent years. We should outlaw those terrible robots...and the tools that made them...for the great anguish and pain they have caused the human race. I know you are thinking I am sounding ridiculous now...but how different is this than the mentality of the article referred to above?

From a legal argument...lets focus on this from another angle. One of the most common bumper stickers I have seen on this subject over decades has been ¨if we outlaw guns...only outlaws will have them¨. I personally find significant reason to this sentiment. Laws are passed usually to protect the law abiding. People who don´t care about law usually don`t care what the law says or means. Do we REALLY think outlawing guns will keep bad people from getting them? Come on...get real. ¨ Illegal¨ drugs have been illegal for decades...yet any of us can find these drugs on any major American city street-corner in 5 minutes...if we know the right neighborhood to look in. How is that working for us...apart from making the prison industry one of the fastest growing industries in the USA?

I know some other people in the USA who think that only police and military people...tied to the government...should be allowed to have guns. Hmmm...I guess the historic wars including the USA´s own civil war of the 1800s and War of Independence were meaningless in guaranteeing freedoms and independence of all Americans to have equal rights...including the right to self defense and to bear arms in defense of liberty and justice? Or...are we suddenly so irresponsible and careless that having a gun means we are going to kill someone or have to use it against another person? I would argue that a vast majority of guns are NEVER used...and when they are it is on paper targets or occasional game hunting excursions.

Finally, as crass as some of my Liberal friends will find this statement...I truly think guns in a society as crazy as the USA is a solid deterrent for what happened this week in Aurora Colorado. If I was caught in such a hellaceous cross fire...do you think I would hesitate to use a firearm in defense of myself or others in that theater? Not on your life. The perpetrator would deserve no mercy...nor get any.

And excuse me for saying...but I find it very hypocritical of any American to question the legal rights of owning and using firearms in self defense within our country, while supporting our troops use of guns in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan or as we did historically here in Panama against foreign ¨enemies of State¨. We took the lives of thousands of innocent bystanders and citizens of these other countries. How are guns somehow more ¨moral¨ in those instances?

The morality of ¨firearms¨ to me is a very neutral topic. Like so many ¨things¨ in life...it is how these things are USED that determines their morality. Therefore, it is the intent and mentality behind them that is moral or immoral...not the object itself.

Am I saying I love guns or the idea of having to carry one? Absolutely not. My feeling about guns are about the same as a car or shovel in the garage. I can kill someone with either one of those possessions. That doesn`t mean shovels or cars are moral or immoral. Lets get our thinking caps on straight.

And finally, I DO think it is important to teach people how to use guns responsibly. I thankfully grew up in an age where hunting and guns were normal everyday realities. My Dad taught me how to fire one at about 10 or 11 years old...and my favorite memories with him were hunting trips in Northern Michigan's woods where I learned many arts of ¨survival¨. A friend and I used to take our rifles or shotguns to school in our cars back in the early 70s to go hunting right after school...sometimes with our Biology teacher. I imagine those days are forever gone. It is sad when guns are now so demonized when the demons are basically a few bad humans in our midst.

So, do I want to return to the days of the wild wild west not so long ago where everyone carried guns for self protection since there were no police around in those places? No...I am happy to let public servants like my nephew and a niece who are police officers carry the load on that front. Yet...I also believe all free citizens in a society should have the right to bear arms...as guaranteed in the USA constitution...even if from time to time they are used for hideous crimes or for taking out aggression. When those people come along...I for sure want my own firepower. And morally, I will not hesitate to shoot...as sad as that reality may be. To me that is more moral than being a helpless, unprepared victim.