God and Religion

Is there a God? Of course. How do I know you ask? Because there was a beginning. Is there a heaven, is there a hell? Don't know, don't care. Is there really a good and bad? Sure there is, for I would not want to be set on fire, existence says that's bad. The unconditional love and affection from another human being however, existence says that's good. No need to dig deep in respect to religion, best to keep it simple, for the biggest take away from any religion is to treat others as you would want to be treated yourself. If everyone takes this one idea to heart, then religion will have found its proper place.

RR


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The Security Dividend

The goal of every established, functioning government is to secure its borders and protect its citizens. This expectation is universal, and gives citizens of the world time to manage their own affairs in relatively safe and secure environments.

This goal has historically been accomplished through the usage and maintaining of military force around the world, and is often a nation's greatest expense: for infrastructure, troops, weapons, technology, and research and development is not cheap.

Advancement in weapon technology over the past 100 years, and its proliferation throughout the world, has drastically increased the overall cost to wage war and lessens the prospect for a victory justifying the cost to do so, decreasing the likely hood that nations will go to war to settle differences. Established, global institutions, like the United Nations, provide the necessary forums for countries to talk through their differences and misunderstandings, which also decreases the chance of nations going to war to settle differences.

The current geo-political environment does not warrant massive military expenditures in most nations, so government budgets around the globe should shift their priorities and focus on the often overlooked and under appreciated, but ultimately most valuable resource on the planet: the human being.

The world's timeline of significant events, including the consequences of the major conflicts of the 20th century, and the spread of capitalism followed by globalization, has yielded a security dividend that is currently giving governments the best chance in modern history to collectively scale down military expenditure, in exchange for much needed focus and attention towards the human being.



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The Michael Brown Protests

Since when are the conditions for protesting determined by those the protests are aimed at? The shitty police force in Ferguson murdered Michael Brown, tried to cover it up, they've occupied the community, and now, their dictating to those in the community how to hurt, how to grieve, how to protest. Isn't it the point of a protest to disrupt normal, everyday activity? What's the value of a protest if it does not force attention and resolution on whatever the issue is? The occupation of Ferguson is bullshit; the curfew, and all the other restrictions the authorities at any given moment have placed on these people's right to demand justice, are tactics to undermine efforts to bring one of their own to justice. Sad.

RR


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The Michael Brown Revelation

Michael Brown was gunned down by law enforcement, who are supposed to serve and protect us, the tax payer, and not serve and protect themselves. What does the Michael Brown affair remind Blacks? It reminds Blacks that we are not viewed equally in the eyes of the law, and that society does not place the same value on our lives. The boy was not innocent, he did steal, but that's beside the point. Unless he posed an immediate threat to the officer, lethal force was not necessary, and not legal. Given these facts, it's pretty fucked up how as of this writing, the officer is still being paid with Ferguson tax dollars.


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