Author: charlesbuell

The Human Race is the Only Race

We all should be concerned as to where we are racing too.

If the truck gets stuck we all get stuck

We are considerably more different from one another in all the things of no importance than we are different due to genetics.  Our religions, our politics–these things of no real “intrinsic” (genetic) purpose in our lives–are what drive us to war, prejudice, greed and selfishness.

Genetically, the human genome, over all the globe, is different, person to person, less than .5%.  No matter how different we look, speak, smell, pray, or live in denial, we are ALL 99.5% the same.

The very notion of talking about racial differences is absurd in this light.

Talking about the Mexicans, or the Americans, or the Muslims, or the Jews in terms of race, is focusing on all the stuff that does not matter—not race.

Racially motivated killings, mass shootings, beatings and worse are not “racist,” on a genetic level.  These acts are done by mentally ill, idiotic, misinformed, misogynistic ASSHOLES not racists.  To blame race is to add something that is not possible, as a distraction from our dealing with the real problems of mental health, poor education, misguided religion, greed, nationalism, and privilege (this is the short list).

It ignores the Golden Rule and even goes against the supposed tenants of most religions.

Race is something fixed, built-in, permanent.  To call something learned (being an asshole etc), something that is “built-in,” will get us all killed in the end.

To fix this, we must have the cajones to abandon what is not important, or at least be willing to take them off the front burner and focus on what we all have in common genetically.  We must turn off our inner asshole and embrace that we all sink or swim together because we are, the human race to the end.

The only race is the human race.

Charles Buell

We are really not all that important

Wherever one looks, it is difficult to tell that human beings are necessary to the ecosystem we live in.

There is ample evidence that we are capable of taking down the whole show along with everything else. I think this stems from a serious flaw in human thinking.

That flaw is the idea there are higher and lower life-forms.

This delusion is capable of killing us all.

Charles Buell

White Robes and Pointy Hats (We have WAY more to worry about than the Supreme Court)

Regardless of where you fall in the recent Supreme Court nomination debacle, there is plenty of disappointment to wrap oneself in.

I suppose it is going to be easy for anyone to see themselves on the “winning” side or the “loosing” side, but there is even more likelihood of all of us ending up on the losing side.

I have great concerns about “due process” or the lack thereof in the entire proceedings.

There seemed to be no presumption of innocence until “proven” guilty. Perhaps there is time for that, but it was not a component of the discussion as much as many people seemed to think it was.

Both sides, and all opinions in between, seemed loaded with “knowing” the answers as opposed to recognizing there were, there are, simply way too many questions.

The real danger is the vigilante mentality that runs amuck today.

We use words like, seems credible, does not seem credible, X did this, Y did that, and draw conclusions according to one’s agenda regardless of the actual truth of the matter. In many instances these conclusions could not be supported by the facts even if we knew them. To further support our position, we turn what we “make up,” the conclusions we come to, TO BE THE FACTS.

We all seem to have forgotten the basic stuff we learned in Kindergarten.

We have forgotten, perhaps the only useful tenant of any of the religions around the world, living by the Golden Rule. If only more Christians acted like Christians. I am not going to add in the other religions, because we live in a predominantly Christian country and that fact appears to make it more part of the problem than part of any solution.

We are deeply divided in this country and it is not logical that 50% are wrong and 50% are correct.  Is either side ready to accept the possibility they are wrong?  The only option for movement that I see is for both sides to recognize they are both wrong and both right.

Our laws are in place to protect all of us.

If those laws rub up against one’s personal beliefs, is it the laws that are wrong or the beliefs that are wrong? If we bring God into the conversation, and there are probably just as many that cling to God on the left as on the right, can there actually BE a conversation?  How can God possibly be on both sides?

In this adult version of “my dad can beat up your dad,” we have my beliefs can beat up your beliefs, or are better than your beliefs, or are more important than your beliefs.

Perhaps, it is beliefs that is the problem to begin with and not the solution at all.

Theoretically we build laws that allow each of us to be who we are, so we can belief what we want to believe, become what we can become, while doing no harm to others. When those laws rub up against our own personal beliefs, we must ask the question, do they prevent us from having our own dream? Many people seem to think it is the “superior dream” that wins. This is America, everyone’s dream is equal.

Of course, there are grey areas that only time can sort out. We must wrestle with “public good” vs “individual good.” Sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the individual, and yet we must also avoid the tyranny of the masses.

Sometimes it is our greed that overrides taking care of our neighbors when they need a helping hand. There is an extremely dangerous assumption among those that “have,” that they could not in the blink of an eye be among those that “have not.”

This blindness, this denial, this head-in-the-sand mentality will always have a reckoning. If not in our lifetime, perhaps our children’s.

We defend our illusion with denial of science. We support what we want to believe with junk science. We see ourselves embracing superstition over logic, and fear over bravery. We see the pursuit of knowledge as dangerous to our way of life.

We must move past the lynch mob mentality, as we refuse to wear the white robes and pointy hats. We must be vigilant in making sure we are not embracing tyranny clothed in the appearance of righteousness—religious or otherwise.

We obviously need good laws to protect ourselves from each other, but more important to protect ourselves from ourselves.

We are obviously, as the past weeks have proven, not to be trusted.

Charles Buell

We the People, are better than this

The iceberg that is Trump, shows but a small portion of all that is hidden below the surface.

Apparently some people can conveniently ignore all that is below the surface, in the “hope” that he will do more good than harm for causes that are  icebergs themselves.  Hope is frosting on shit.  It “looks good” but………

Politicians on all sides have secrets, and these politicians we elect are but a reflection of ourselves–sometimes we like what we see in the mirror sometimes we do not.

The other day at the UN, Donald Trump said: “We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism.”

Please DO NOT include me in that “we.”

We live in a global economy, and denial will not make that otherwise.

The laws of the land apply and are for all of us (at least this is the ideal we work toward).  It is an imperfect process, not because it cannot be done but because of the baggage we all bring to the process in hard to leave behind.

As we think about what laws should be written, we need to ask ourselves, am I arguing for my own particular beliefs to be included?  If the answer is yes, any law that results will be wrong from the get go.  We are better than this, we are bigger than this.  Do not listen to those that would say otherwise.

We sink or swim as a planet–as the human race.  Notions of separateness can never accomplish anything but disaster for us all–or at the very least, only a short reprieve from lots of suffering and misery.

Even icebergs are able to get along, but sooner or later are absorbed by their environment.  True freedom will come from our not so much becoming ONE PEOPLES on earth, but recognizing and embracing we already are.

Charles Buell