Monday, March 18, 2024

My new racial category - Human Being Unlabeled (HBU)

 It became clear.  Suddenly.  For years, I have allowed society, my culture, and my country to place me in the category of "African American", "black", "Negro", "colored" and those other labels makind felt compelled to place on me.  We are all asked in surveys to identify our race/ethnicty.  Then follows a list of racial categories from "white" to "other".

After reading "Caste" by Isabel Wilkerson, I decided her discussion made sense on how we are herded into human categories and groups.  What I also realized is that we willingly allow ourselves to be put into these categories. We are willing members of our caste groups.

I have decided that I no longer want to play the game.  I had no role in setting the rules of the game.  The rules were imposed upon me to behave as my category dictates.  I am supposed to be a minority in terms of my racial category.  Why am I a minority?  Why am I not defined as being in a higher category of humans because there are fewer people like me than others?

I have redefined myself.  From now on, on surveys or anything that asks me my race, I will identify myself as "human being unlabeled".  That means I am a descendant of the original creation of God, Man.  Anything after that in terms of racial labels created by society, cultures, whomever is irrelevant.

That is who and what I am.  The other parts of my character you can learn by talking to me and watching me in action.  Join me in being a "Human Being Unlabeled".


 


Saturday, March 16, 2024

What is really Important to you?

 My question.  Are the things on your mind now, those topics of concern to you, really your concerns or thoughts placed in your mind by the news media or social media?  Think about that.  Did you wake up thinking about the possibility of a nuclear war?  Or did a news item, or a social media post raise that thought in your mind?  Have you ever thought, "How much original thinking do I really do?"  Pause and give that some thought.  Are your thoughts and emotions driven by exterior forces?  Again, something you see or hear via teleovision, videos on our phones, tablets, etc.  ?  What are the sources of your thoughts?

Are we being manipulated to think about specific topics?  Are our thought processes being hijacked and taken for a ride by the schemes of others?  I submit that in some cases our focus is determined by "information", true or not, that is thrust out at us to get our attention and then to influence our behavior.  Realize that somewhere in the world, a group of people are gathered together to decide what top 10 stories to push out at you each day.  Why?  Some is straight forward information.  Some is an attempt to influence your thinking.  And some is just out right sending out of data not caring what the data can do in terms of influencing you.  Some information is sent out to solicit high ratings and interest for the economic benefit of the senders.  Some information is sent out to influence your thoughts and to influence the creation of public policies.

What can you do?  Always question the source and intent of the information you are receiving.  Think, "what is the goal of this information?"  When you wake up each day, try to write down your top 5 concerns that have not been influenced by information you received or saw via the news media or social media.  Those top 5 un influenced personal items are the ones that are more meaningful for you to focus on.

It's time for us take control of our own thoughts.  Stop letting others control what you think about and what should be important to you.



Monday, February 19, 2024

An Unofficial Banning of Books? - Use of Inter library loan process

 The Movie "Origin" made reference to a book titled "Deep South".  After viewing the movie, I did a search of my local Hamilton East (Fishers, Indiana) library's catalog.  Unfortunately, it was not among the holdings in the library.  I did a book request via the library's book request system to have them purchase the book.  The next day I checked for a response from the library.  The response was that the book was felt to be to "scholarly" for the holdings of the Hamilton East library, but they would borrow the book and get it for me via an interlibrary loan system.

I then decided to find the book to purchase via a private vendor.  It arrived in a few days and I quickly delved into the first few chapters.  The content of the first chapters gave an unfiltered and embarassing view of the actions and beliefs of white people in the South.  The book did not read as an overwhelming scholarly text book.  The impression I got was that the person who said it was too scholarly was offended by the content of the book's depiction of white people, and did not want that depiction in the Hamilton East Library catalog for patrons to read and talk about.

I located the selection criteria that guides the library's acquistion of books.  It lists nine criteria.  Several seemed relevant to "Deep South".  Those being "accuracy and timeliness of content", "current and anticipated needs and interests of the public", "contribution to diversity or breadth of collections", "presentation of unique or controversial points of view", and "price".

I then followed up and sent a letter of complaint to the library board asking them to reconsider the book not being purchased for the holdings of the Hamilton East library.  Then it ocurred to me.  Not purchasing a book, is the same as banning a book.  Not purchasing a book to me means you do not want that book available for your patrons to read.  This process is likely being repeated across the country.  Libraries are avoiding the controversy of removing books off the shelves by never purchasing books  that some find offensive.

I am awaiting a response from the library board regarding "Deep South" not being approved for the library's holdings.



Monday, January 22, 2024

The United States, Losing Focus

 In the early years of this country, the United States was lead into the wrong direction by embracing slavery as an means to help build the country.  Lost in those times were valueing differences among people and respecting the right of every individual to live free.  Lost were the hopes and dreams which had caused many people to flee their own land for the promise of America.  In the early years of the United States, the country failed the moral challenge of slavery.  Instead of saying "no", the government of the Unites States said "yes", bowing to the selfishness or laziness of those who were settlers, including big businesses.

In 2024, the United States faces another challenge.  This challenge impacts who will lead this country for the next 4 years.  The American public is facing a choice on whether to allow a former President, who supported insurrectionist activities to once again hold the highest elected office in the United States, that of the President.  How can citizens support the former President coming back into office?  It all seems related to a decline in the decency of people in our society.  Anything goes, seems to be the general frame of mind.  Rudeness, anger, nastiness seems to be condoned under the guise of freedom of speech.

As the Presidential race moves into the primaries, I pray that moral sanity and reason, plus spiritual calmness come to the forefront.  I pray citizens nationwide rebuke any behaviors that support hate, meanness, rudeness and disrespect of each other.  I pray that by the end of the Presidentail primary season, we will have refuted and rejected the politics of hate, angriness, nastiness and disrespect.



Monday, January 1, 2024

Texas Governor Unknowingly Creates answer to problem of Homelessnes in America!

 There has to be a law against such behavior by a public official!  The Governor of Texas, continues to send immigrants coming into Texas to other states to establish their homeless conditions elsewhere.  This is the first time I have seen a public official use state taxpayer funds to move the homeless from one state to another.

So is that the solution for U.S. citizens who are homeless in states around these United States of America? Those whom you see on downtown streets or hanging out at intersections seeking financial contributions? Governors, that means you now have the option of sending your state's homeless population to the state of  Texas!  Maybe you can send your state's homeless population directly to the address of the Texas governor!

Thank you Governor Abbott for such a warm humanitarian idea to spread the homeless problems of one state to another.  Indiana, Michigan, Oklahoma, every state!  Round up your homeless citizens, warm the buses up and get those buses headed to Texas to give your state homeless citizens a new promising life in the state of Texas!

Governor Abbott, why stop with using buses, or planes?  Why not really be creative and financially sponsor immigrants being sent into outer space to stay at space stations specifically built for them?



Sunday, December 31, 2023

Moving on into 2024 -Spread Kindness and Love

 It's less than 12 hours left in my year of 2023.  I end it still alive, and able to open the door to the promises and hopes of 2024.  I have food to eat, somewhere to live, and am able to walk, talk, see, and think with relatively few problems.  There is limited stress in my life.  What stress there is I have voluntarily brought into my life.

I had no "major" earthly accomplishments in 2023 that come to mind. The decade that began with Covid has become calmer now in terms of medical pandemics.  Our world still seems to have an evil spirit pandemic that raises up in the actions of a few impacting the lives of many.  There are at least 2 wars going on around the world that are based on relatively few people making evil based human decisions.

What can we do?  In 2024 create and spread kindness and love.  That is the commandment that a man with a Godly connection challenged us with several thousands of years ago.  It's not always an easy task to accomplish.  But, let's give it a try.