The old Court House.

 

 The old Court House.

When I first came to the Crowsnest Pass, I was surprised. Coming on Highway 3, I passed some old buildings that were abandoned, but around them the ground was black. My mind pictured times in which people were working in and around those buildings to produce coal for fueling an industry that now no longer exists. A train passed to my left, pulled by diesel engines. I remembered that not long ago steam engines hauled trains and coal was dug out from here. Coal was replaced by oil and the people moved, creating a string of little towns that I and other history enthusiasts visited. Others came for the natural beauty and the abundant wildlife.

As I entered Blairmore to my right was an interesting historic building on which big letters pronounced Court House. It was no longer serving its original purpose, but it told visitors that here was a civilized place. Civilized people have laws, order, and a justice system in place. We live in a world where deception, lying, and taking advantage of each other are admired as good business and I was searching for a place with law and order. I like seeing the words “Court House.”

I look at world news from a few countries. You can’t trust news from one place these days. The world is plagued by people seeking justice. The president of Russia has been convicted by a worldwide court of crimes against humanity. He is responsible for taking Ukrainian kids and making them disappear. Perhaps adopted by Russian families. However, the only way to arrest him is by first destroying the Russian army that is loyal to him. There is no talk about the migrant kids that were taken from their families into the United States under Trump.

Talking about Trump brings to mind another issue related to justice. A New York court wants to arrest him for using election donations as hush money to hide that he had a relationship with a porn star named Stormy Daniels. He denies the allegations and asks his supporters to rise up if he is arrested.

Trump is not the only leader threatened with arrest. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the same problem. He was facing trial when he was elected. To save his skin, he stirred up problems with the Palestinian minority and now he wants to place his government higher than the Israeli high court. Hundreds of thousands are demonstrating against the move.

A few years ago, we had an issue with the Prime Minister dismissing the Justice Minister. We Canadians are timider and didn’t go wild as others do, especially since he made it look as if he was saving jobs in Quebec. They probably would have had just as many jobs if we stopped him, but we didn’t.

The French people in France are much more volatile. When their Prime Minister took away a portion of their retirement without a vote in parliament, they all went wild. For days we were watching huge demonstrations and clashes with police, who in their hearts probably felt a kinship with the demonstrators. For the time being, Macron managed to steer the news away by starting a large project for building a vast water reservoir which is unpopular with the masses. We also had a Prime Minister who tried to add years of work before the pension age, but we dealt with it in a Canadian way. Voters ousted him from office in an election and the opposition has been in power term after term. We are a country of law and order.

We share similarities with the Germans in that regard, but they have a threshold of tolerance that must not be breached. A few years ago, when global warming wasn’t yet known the way it is now, they established a goal for Berlin to produce zero emissions by 2050. Now, even while Germany is suffering from an enormous increase in energy prices, thousands of young people went to the streets demanding to achieve the goal in 15 years. The German people pride themselves on being hard-working, practical people. They achieved many of the social reforms that we still strive for, a long time ago. Now their youth is observing the world and drawing conclusions. They are willing to suffer some inconvenience in the short run to ensure the survival of the species in the future and push their government towards it.

My world is full of examples of people fighting for freedom from tyranny, inequality, and simply people competing with each other to deceive and get rich with little consideration for fellow humans. I feel I found a community where there is no need for negative competition. In the years that I have been a resident of the Crowsnest Pass, I met more honest people who care about each other than I did in the fifty years prior. There are exceptions, but overall it is a beautiful place inhabited by honest people. I hope that those moving in will join the local culture. I wonder if having a courthouse at the point of entry had anything to do with it.  

Can we see into the future?

 

Can we see into the future?   

Twenty-two years ago, a few men, mostly from Saudi Arabia, hijacked passenger planes and flew them into big buildings in the USA, including the Pentagon. They showed the world that might, financial and military, are not absolute. The US, which was the only superpower at the time, retaliated by destroying Afghanistan (with our help) Iraq, and some of Syria. The terrorists used box cutters to hurt the Empire, which hurt Arabs back using the most advanced weapons, losing thousands of soldiers and two trillion dollars. If we avoided this whole scenario, then money and people lost could have changed the lives of the people of the US forever. Every resident of the country could have had proper housing, free health care, education, and food. The great country could have helped poor countries and enjoyed friendships all over the world. Two trillion dollars is a lot of money. It was not to be.

Who motivates a country to take action that will lead to big changes in the lives of its people? We may say, obviously the politicians who lead the country. Ask the politicians and they will tell you they are representing the people or public opinion. Who forms public opinion? The leaders make statements and laws, but people see them through the filter of the media.

Canada, for example, subsidizes some media insisting that they will show both sides. Other countries have only privately owned media where one can choose to learn only the side they already support. Consequently, the public divides evenly and people hold each other in contempt.

Russia is one example. When the Ukraine war started, they ordered the media to show only the government’s side. News outlets that didn’t agree with the “special military operation” ended up escaping the country, trying to broadcast from neighboring countries. The people who did that may never be able to visit their homeland again, never mind living there. In America, Julian Assange exposed some of his country’s war crimes in Iraq. The US is seeking to extradite him, which would result in a hundred and seventy years in prison if successful. They will try him on espionage that he didn’t do. He, as a journalist, printed what was handed to him by a whistle-blower.

There is another kind of news media that people don’t credit for what it does. This is what we call the grassroots voice of the people. Little local newspapers or radio stations from small places like here. The big organizations pay attention, trying to gauge public opinion from small communities but get little. The vulnerable little news organizations can be sued, or shunned by political parties that have marketing budgets to promote themselves. Would be nice if provincial and federal governments would allocate funds to keep the little guys in business even if they are honest, but they don’t. We hear announcements about money for little local newspapers but we don’t see any money. Consequently, the little papers restrict themselves to reporting who won a little league game, but we don’t get a lively exchange of ideas. If some residents have political opinions, they send them to bigger papers and magazines, leaving the local media out of the actual news.

Countries are governed by politicians who exist thanks to money invested by rich donors, at times other countries such as China. We can’t prove the case, but we know it’s possible. An Ontario provincial politician has just resigned because of accusations of political interference from outside. The government in power is under pressure to investigate the same kind of accusations. If they give in, we will find out that every government in recent history had some dealings with foreign powers. It will shake our confidence in our political system and reduce our ability to govern ourselves. We may find, for example, evidence that mining companies owned by international investors donated to local politics in our area. What will we do then?

Since the late sixties, we have invested a lot of public money in space wars and nuclear deterrence. Again, that money could have improved the lives of people in America and the now-defunct Soviet Union. Why do we invest our working lives to promote political ideologies?

I studied writings from thousands of years ago. All the people who over generations became famous for their wisdom have one thing in common. It happened in every civilization. The wise people advocated abandoning the race for who will dominate in favor of working together and taking care of each other.

King Thoth, the Egyptian guy with the head of a bird who is credited with building the pyramids in Egypt, produced the Emerald Tablets that guided human civilizations. He lived many thousands of years before Christianity, Abraham, and any existing religions. In his writings, he talks about a future in which humankind loses connection with the spiritual side. The description is much like what we see today. There is much destruction and suffering until God returns to stop the great suffering and restore the earth to its original form. We called it the Garden of Eden.

We wrote the story, we can change it.

More information is available on YouTube: Graham Hancock Reads Thoth’s Prophecy From The Hermetic Texts - The Rebirth of the Cosmos.

Easter and politics.

 Easter and politics.

When I went to grade one, I was very proud of what I learned. All my teachers in the school were people who survived wars and told us we were lucky to go to school and have an education. They didn’t. Most of them escaped from authoritarian regimes and knew the value of being able to vote for the government they wanted.

Each day I accumulated more knowledge and knew that in many places, kids were not as privileged. This lasted until my parents moved to Canada and my formal education ended. Life went on and I accumulated knowledge until I managed to continue school and eventually earn a university degree. I never missed an opportunity to vote. I learned that here in the land of plenty, voters’ apathy is a problem. My adult kids tell me that there is no point in voting since elections are fixed. Doesn’t matter who you vote for, the average person loses.

I go to a nomination election in Coleman. There are two very capable young women competing to be our provincial representatives if the party wins. The room is packed and parking is non-existent. Wow, the voting public is fired up. Three years ago, I attended a protest meeting where doctors and nurses were fighting the same government to keep their pay and benefits. Something has changed.

I listened to our Premier’s speech in the capital, and it is so positive. She is ready to fight the Harper designed, Trudeau implemented Carbon Tax. There will be many energy high-paying jobs for people who will flock to our province. We can’t find workers now for existing jobs. Her party is going to fix health care by importing doctors and nurses to replace those who left. They are building new schools, but not rehiring the teacher’s aids they laid off. I am not impressed.

If there is one thing I learned in school and life, is that politicians are full of unrealistic promises before elections and only look at the viability of being able to fulfill them long after elections. Trudeau is a master in that art and his loyal opposition is even worse. They win elections by the amount of money donated to their campaigns by lobbyists, not by doing what matters to the voting public.

If it was up to me, I would allow only a given amount of money for political campaigns and make it illegal to make campaign promises which will not be worked on during a mandate. Punish those who mislead the public intentionally or do not do their homework and price what they promise. We punish for false advertising. It is the job of the media to expose those who win leadership positions by telling lies. Why is our system, which was designed to work well, not functioning? Why can’t my children have faith that democracy works?

In the meantime, I can’t just sit and wait for things to improve or for some savior to emerge and fix all the problems. He is not coming. The only solution is for enough people to wake up and do something. Showing up to vote is only one tiny step.

The first step is for people to look at the world soberly and realistically decide what kind of world they wish to live in. Away with the band-aid solutions voiced by emotional politicians who have no intention of fulfilling promises. Education and experience are things we must use. We are not voting for the most popular kids in school who want power, prestige, and no risk. We are voting for capable leaders.

I want a world that works for all those living in it, rewarding hard work while shunning cheating and lying. For example, I don’t want to hear about yet non-existent carbon capture technologies while increasing air pollution by the day. I am looking for peacemakers, not stronger weapons. I need health care, not more money in some disappearing heritage fund.

This article is too short to describe all that I am looking for, but we can find it in the Christian New Testament under the Beatitudes. Each of the other world religions has it in their holy books if you care to do the research.

The world that I am describing is not my original idea. My community reminds itself about it each Easter. They are also reminded that for some people; it was worth sacrificing their lives to achieve. Thank God we are not called yet to give our lives for a better world. Others before us figured out how it can be done simply by learning, paying attention, and voting in democratic elections. They sacrificed their lives and shed their own blood, so we will have the right.

I see young kids going to school to learn about life and eventually lead the world, and I think. Are we changing the world by teaching one child at a time what is really important?

Here is a link to my blog: https://thesimpleravenspost.blogspot.ca/  Feel free to check other articles and 

Dust to dust.

 

Dust to dust.

A friend from over fifty years ago called me. We used to associate when it was a different world. It was a tough world to live in, but good times were still coming. Thanks to some leaders who cared about us, and some of us having the wisdom to use our political power, we did alright. Not everyone excelled, but most managed to have a reasonable life. People who didn’t finish grade twelve could own a house.

The generation that leads the world today is not ready to make the necessary changes, preferring to live on what my generation built. They are willing to work and study for the things that we assumed were the gravy, but not for the potatoes. They want the latest expensive toys and the most exciting holidays, all paid with easy credit. When elections come, they demand that the government will do the same.

This attitude is not new. The Hebrew slaves of antiquity were willing to stay in slavery for someone to feed them while working them to death. We read stories about the end of the Roman empire when the population revolted, shouting that they want bread and entertainment. We see the world today and we don’t pay attention, repeating the same mistakes.

Canada is absorbing more immigrants and migrants than ever, since we have no workers to fill the empty positions. I see it right here in town. Those who provide work try to do so without paying what is needed to carry on with business. They blame taxes for their problems since the tax money often is wasted with not much to show for it. The governments are “creating jobs” instead of using workers to make improvements. Canada is stealing educated workers from poorer countries and, in doing so, is changing the country’s demographics. There is even talk about foreign governments buying some of our elected officials. All parties may be guilty of it. Many elected representatives owe their positions, pensions, and all to the foreign owners of corporations who may not care about the people here at all. In my opinion, we have a problem selecting leaders for popularity instead of ability. It can’t go on like that.

Most of the people I know believe in God, in some way or another. Many of them believe in some kind of afterlife existence even while knowing that the earthly body and the brain return to the dust it was made from. The debate has been going on since the beginning of human existence on earth. I have my religious views and my understanding, which are not exactly the same, but close.

I believe that the world is programmed to support all those who exist upon it and will slow down the production of living things that have no room. All that we have and use is made of the earth and to the earth will return. If anyone is short on the necessities of life, you can very easily find someone who has much more of what they need or even can comfortably use. You see the tent cities of homeless people or seniors not eating vegetables they can’t afford and you see people owning many mansions, cars, and airplanes that they rarely use. The picture repeats itself all over the world, and it’s not new.

Years ago when I was a student, archaeologists unearthed a chapel on one of the Greek islands with a saying printed on the stone wall saying, just take what you need and leave the rest. They don’t know who wrote it. Carbon dating showed that it was older than the classical Hellenistic buildings around it, pre-dating Christianity by much.

We, the modern people of today, fight to keep our culture pure and maintain our domination over the riches of the world. Others are flocking to our borders trying to get in. We also fight to keep those who lived in “our countries” before us from having an equal share of natural resources. The Russians are fighting for ownership of Ukraine as we speak. Why is it so? Are we not all Christians believing in a moral code based on loving our neighbor as ourselves? Are not all the other faiths that formed our civilizations saying the same in one form or another? Yes, they do.

A friend tells me to sell my home and give the money to the poor. I think it is ridiculous. What Christianity is trying to impress on us is that having friends and a community is the most important thing to do. If we took all the money that exists after people keep all they can use, we would have enough to feed, house, and educate all the people.

First, we need politicians that do their work, not just try to be in power. Second, we need to teach society that at any time we may be those in need and depend on help from others. That is when God will grant us the second coming, which we have been waiting for thousands of years. We have all we need and only need to use it in the right way.