Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Deforestation Reversal

I came across this article quite by accident and while I haven't dug into it too deeply with cross-referenced information, I none the less find it most interesting and very uplifting!

http://bit.ly/2vpGXrG

According to this the dumping of orange peels in a desolate lot over the course of over a decade resulted in an absolutely remarkable reversal in deforestation! As a lover of nature I find this to be absolutely fascinating as well as wonderful! Rainforest is historically quite vulnerable to fixing itself back up once the initial trees have been cut down. In India deforested areas are swiftly replaced by legions of nasty thorns. Hardly a fitting plant worthy of gorgeous rainforest.

But this may provide an impetus to reverse such dreadful destruction. Now I don't give a single hoot about global warming. I think it's an elaborate scam. But I am entirely in favor of conserving and even rebuilding nature! If this is explored further and taken down to a science we could once again have flourishing forests and jungles that we previously tore down. Imagine rejuvenating the landscapes of the Amazon, North America, India, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Africa, and others! And just as importantly give homes to wildlife species that are struggling.

I'm all for genuine and healthy sustainability that doesn't kick humanity in the groin. If this is utilized correctly it could be a boon for both man and nature, making good use of our waste and rebuilding our beautiful planet for us and other life.

Friday, August 18, 2017

Nazis, Communists and the Cult of Victimhood

How I long for older times. Not because they lacked the cruelty and hardship of today. They still existed, sometimes much more acutely than today. But unless one dumps their possessions in the river and trudges all day and night into the woods, they can't escape the relentless bombardment of hatred, vulgarity and plain mean-spirited spite that invades every form of media available today. A hundred years ago one might simply stroll about town and see newspapers of stuff in the world and people gossiping. But it was a simple matter to walk down the town road and leave all of those troubles behind.

Not so today. Today almost everything is under attack. Evil is crawling out from pieces of woodwork I didn't even know existed. Sad as it is to say, there isn't a simple good versus evil right now. At least not as the world sees it. Oddly enough the media sees only one side as good, and one side as bad, without any middle ground or other sides. What we see often today are multiple evil sides fighting one another. The conflict in Virginia may seem to many to be something new, but in reality we are seeing a repeat of history. As has often been said, those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.

This may come as a shock to many, but this was not a case of the hard left and the hard right coming at each other. Both sides were hard left. In the 1910's, World War 1 was raging, and the Bolsheviks seized power in the Communist Revolution. Instead of creating the utopia they desired, they instead began one of the most despotic regimes in the history of man. It was a direct application of the ideas espoused by Carl Marx. The Soviet Union came to power, and they couldn't satiate their desire for more. When they were done slaughtering their own citizens, they opted to invade and kill the citizens of other countries.

In the 1930's the Nazis came to power. They were unashamed socialists. They believed that capitalism was an evil system which allowed the conniving greedy Jew to amass vast amounts of money and control things at the expense of others. The Nazis went about purging companies and corporations unless they pledged their loyalty to the new regime. Whereas the Soviet Union took control of absolutely everything, the Nazis allowed some level of freedom for their workers, provided that they served well.

While today we recognize the Russians as being a monumental force against the Nazis, that wasn't how it started. In fact, from the start the two factions were quite chummy. They conspired to take over Poland together and split it. They attacked many countries together, which is part of what gave both sides so much power and momentum so quickly. The Germans were efficient, innovative and fast at applying their power, whilst the Russians used overwhelming numbers of unfortunate soldiers to drown their opponents under the weight of their dead. Even as most of Europe took to fighting the Nazis, Russia busied itself with invading Finland in the notorious Winter War.

So what happened? Simply put, neither group was willing to be subservient to the other. There could be only one true ruler, and there was no room for two despots in Europe. Both planned to strike at one another even as they espoused oddly similar ideals. Germany struck first is all.

But the two still shared far more in common than they had apart. Stalin and the Soviet Union were hardly friends to minorities either. They too purged millions of gypsies, gays and Jews with the slow, trundling gate that they handled all things. Part of what set the Nazis apart is that they simply did it faster. If Hitler and Stalin managed to set aside their quests for power and combined, they would have continued exterminating people with the rigorous determination of a farmer purging his crops. The Nazis murdered many of their own citizens either to keep the gene pool pure in accordance with their beliefs in eugenics or because they were suspected of not supporting their ideals, while the Russians purged millions of their own because they were seen as enemies of their regime or simply not supportive enough. Anyone perceived as being a threat to their power was killed. Both had their secret police, the Gestapo and the KGB, and both murdered anyone who dared to even hint at any imperfection of their leaders.

It was ironic that the Russians took to calling the Germans fascists, since that was exactly what they were as well. Both brutally suppressed any and all angles of opposition with the tenacity of religious inquisitors. Both did the best they could to ensure that there was only one party: theirs. Anyone with any brains who disagreed made sure that they didn't voice it in the least. They kept their heads low and hoped no one noticed.

Both groups were rigidly atheist as well. Religion was at most tolerated under extremely burdensome regulations and heavy persecution, and at most actively purged. What were a few more people thrown into concentration camps? Hitler in fact despised Christians, feeling that it was only through their charitable actions that Jews were enabled to survive. Stalin would tolerate no one looking up to anyone but himself and possibly Lenin. There was only the party. No sense of self. Anything less than fanatical devotion was unacceptable. Even some of the most dedicated were unable to live up to expectations and were summarily executed. Hitler was quite notable in murdering many of his early supporters shortly after coming to power. In fairness, Hitler wasn't entirely atheist, but mixed a strange variation of paganism, mythology and witchcraft into his beliefs, but certainly didn't attribute any of his success to any of that.

This rigid atheism again stems from Marxism. Marxist doctrine states that religion only exists in the ignorant and unfortunate, who in their stupidity and plight hope that a higher power might deliver them sanctuary. He believed that once they were enlightened with modern conveniences and education that religion would disappear. Nevermind that some of the most scientifically and culturally advanced civilizations in history were deeply religious, and in fact I would contend that a strong religious relationship coincides heavily with overall advancement. There are exceptions of course, but one finds that especially in older times, it was the more religious groups that were innovative and cultured throughout the world.

But with these two regimes such petty superstitions could not be tolerated. That diverted the hearts and minds from the party to the petty concepts of morals and individual spiritual advancement and caring for one another. Russia in particular engaged in a unique variation of cultural genocide by annihilating any sense of cultural, spiritual, tribal or individual identity. While it is true that homogeneous cultures typically have greater cohesiveness and peace, the level to which they forced it is truly breathtaking. Contrast this with Britain, which while it too enforced some level of homogeneity amongst its imperial followers, still allowed an infinitely greater level of freedom. They demanded loyalty to the crown and to the English Empire, but were still dazzlingly diverse. Contrast the typical English soldier with the Indian sepoy, or Nepalese Gurkha, or Sikh warriors. That doesn't count the Commonwealth soldiers of Canada, New Zealand and Australia. While all have markedly different backgrounds, they were all held together by a love for the crown while still having different identities.

Another part of the desire to eliminate religion is, I suspect, the lessons learned from religious persecution and intolerance, which certainly has been and even still is a problem. However those who seek to impose atheism on others are blind to the fact that they are in fact engaging in the exact sort of behavior they hope to eliminate. If there are no differences, there will be no quarrels, right? And if those beliefs or lack thereof won't be accepted willingly, then they must be forced to or be purged, exactly as has been the case with religious wars and dogmatic enforcement of religion.

And that brings us to today. What we are seeing today in these violent conflicts is the result of two radical fringes of Marxism clashing. One comes from the idea of those who have been wronged and must be righted, and the other stemming from the idea of inherent superiority that must rule over others. Both have long held roots in Marxism and the deep left wing politics. While we aren't quite dealing with communists, we're simply seeing another version of the same song. Same beat, rhythm and tone, but different lyrics and a different singer.

The oversimplification of one group being good and the other bad in the media shows either a willful ignorance or a terrifying lack of logic. Both groups have demonstrated that they are willing to kill to make sure that their ideas are imposed, and if they can't do it through political enforcement, they will do so through anarchy and disruption. The Nazis we saw are an inbred strain of the German Nazis who believe in their own inherent superiority and the inferiority of other races based off of eugenics and older racism. They want their ideas enforced by any means they can get away with. They want this accomplished through rigid government control or mob rule. They are evil.

But the BLM is no better. It focuses on an unnervingly narrow ideal of what it considers to be racial prejudice. In contrast to the Nazis, their ideals stem not from an idea of superiority, but that they have been wronged in such a determined and systematic manner over centuries that they believe the only way in which they can truly be free is to take from those who have oppressed them and even murder them to get even. They claim that they care for the lives of their own, no matter the cost. But have you heard them complain of black people killing other blacks in Chicago? Over five hundred murders have taken place there in this year alone, just eight months, and the overwhelming majority of them are committed by blacks against other blacks. Do you hear them complaining about the systematic genocide enacted by Planned Parenthood, invented by Margaret Sanger with the explicit purpose of controlling and reducing their population? That evil organization has murdered millions of black babies before they could even take their first breath.

This is because this group is less concerned with preserving the lives of the members of their race, rather than leading a war against another. Any opposition or perception of opposition is seen as the highest of racism and therefore the highest of evil, and it should be annihilated without hesitation.

They bluntly ignore the remarkable social strides that have been made over a remarkably short amount of time. Sixty years ago seeing a black person on TV was considered almost unimaginable. Today it's so common we don't even think about it. Every day black and white people work together, play games together, watch movies, even get married and it's not seen as unusual. That's considered normal. It's a level of social integration that has succeeded beautifully in less than a century! While pockets of racism obviously still exist, it isn't nearly at the level which it existed even a few decades ago.

But through government interference, mismanagement and poor decisions, a large portion of the black population hasn't integrated at all, and has in fact been systematically indoctrinated with the idea that all white people are secret conspirators, and that they must be fought. The BLM doesn't want peace. It wants blood atonement. Notice how they are tearing down statues of not just men who were racist, but abolitionists. Robert E. Lee was not a racist. He was in fact an abolitionist, but it was the people of his home state, the place he grew up in and filled with people he knew and loved, that he sought to protect when he led the Confederacy. He hoped that after the war he could dissolve slavery over time. But seemingly no one realizes this.

Some people are targeting statues of Thomas Jefferson because he owned slaves. Do they mention that in his initial draft of the Constitution he tried to abolish slavery? Even more shocking, they attacked a statue of Abraham Lincoln! The man who wrote the Emancipation Proclamation! The very man who ended slavery in the United States and fought a war to end it!

What we are seeing is not a group driven by the desire for equality or fair treatment, but the systematic destruction of everything the United States was built upon. In their eyes, as in the eyes of many on the left, the US allowed slavery when it was formed, which was bad. Therefore, everything else about it was also bad. Racists also believed in free speech. That too must be a tool of oppression. The second amendment was allowed by racists. That too must be racist. Any and all results made in this country over the years is driven by a malignant system to oppress them. And the only way to fix that is to obliterate any and all traces of that original government including the founding fathers and all that they believed in. Anyone who disagrees must clearly belong to that secret society of racists and oppressors and must be silenced by any means.

Here again we see a form of cultural genocide enforced by both the Nazis and the Communists. The oversimplification of history, the wiping out of inconvenient facts and even attacking those who helped them is truly stunning, and in fact reflects much more of a cult behavior than a cohesive political ideal. In the end the BLM is a tribe-based militant group, seeing only skin color and anyone who doesn't share it is the enemy. They want nothing short of the eradication of every foundation upon which this country was built, and even the faintest trace of what they perceive to be opposition or racism is to be stricken down without mercy. They too wished to seize political power and have resources redirected from their perceived oppressors to them. Despite billions of dollars having been given to them through welfare and the unprecedented level of social integration and equality achieved over such a small period of time, they demand more. And now that they too failed to secure political power, they too seek to impose their ideals through violence and anarchy.

And I have no doubt that it will only get worse from here. As awful as it is to say, there will be even more groups like this who even now are sharpening their knives. And almost all of them are on the left.

Consider how very recently focus shifted from the oppression of black people to women. Then to gays. And now to trans people. It is a cult born of victimhood, and those who have suffered the most deserve the most compensation and outrage. It is a vicious cycle that even now is spiraling out of control. I hear of gay people being accused of transphobia for not finding the genitalia of a trans person attractive. There are rabid feminists attacking trans people as not being true women. These differences will only continue to radicalize and fight amongst each other even as they attack those who actually aren't doing anything wrong at all.

All of these seem to represent what appears to be a fracturing cult. The similarities are striking. The doctrine stems from who has suffered, not on whether they do good works or what they accomplish. Those who disagree are to be ignored, attacked, disavowed and distanced. Cults frequently isolate themselves from friends and family who don't actively support them in their activities, ignoring pleas to talk. It's a bizarre inbred system of self-pity, fanaticism, a hopeless quest for purity and ultimate victim-hood.

This fracture is in fact inevitable, simply because besides the competition for who the biggest victim is, the ideals sharply contradict and are inconsolable. Another sacred cow for them is Islam. But Shariah Law dictates that gays must be killed as ordered by state law. How can gays defend Islam when it desires their deaths? How can feminists defend it when it dictates that they are slaves to their husbands? How can a feminist claim a man who has transformed into a woman when he is of the oppressive male class by default? The contradictions go on, and they only grow more complex and difficult as they divide themselves further and further into smaller categories and jockey for positions.

It will only grow progressively worse as the groups isolate themselves, dig in and become steadily more dogmatic and aggressive.

All of them share the traits of rebelling against a real or perceived oppressor, which now constitutes each other. And in a world full of so much human suffering over thousands of years, there will never actually be an end. No one will win. I fully expect that they will lash out against one another with ever growing hatred and violence as they seek to become the oppressors that they once sought to abolish.

However, there is hope. While the gloomy is highlighted today, there are millions of average people here and throughout the world with good hearts who genuinely care for others. They aren't mentioned by the news or noticed by the rest of the world, but their actions are felt subtly but firmly by those they interact with. It is these anonymous heroes that we should not only focus on, but join. Flash a smile to someone you might not like. Give a generous tip to your waiter. Ask someone if you can do something to make them smile. Share a bit of your food with someone who has none. These small actions reveal the true love of the world. And what's remarkable about it is that it can be performed by anyone! You don't have to have a badge, a special card or office to be a positive influence. Each and every one of us can positively help others one good deed at a time which produces a ripple effect. The simple act of caring for someone can turn their lives around. I've seen it.

In spite of the darkness of the world, deep down I feel a radiating love for everyone. Even those I find myself growing angry towards, I at least find myself wanting to try to love them. If they don't like me, that's okay. I will still try to be nice and kind. Especially if they don't deserve it. No matter what your religious, ideology or political stance is, I hope we can all agree on this. Show love to those who hate you. Forgive those who wrong you. View everyone as someone who needs love and care.

These are dark times, certainly, but it is in the darkest times that light shines the brightest. Through this some of us will come out stronger and better. While some show the worst of humanity, let the rest of us show the best of humanity.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

My Own Youtube Channel!

In an attempt to expand further on my sphere of influence as well as taking advantage of another medium to entertain, I've started my own humble Youtube channel, doing lets plays and other very dirt simple videos. I'm still figuring out how to work the audio levels, and haven't actually done any cutting or anything remotely complex in editing, but it is my hope that I will steadily get better and provide some fun for you guys! So if you're interested please take a look and leave comments if you're so inclined. Thanks all!

http://bit.ly/2v07TJi

Also, I sincerely apologize for my recent lack of activity. Things have been... interesting, as of late, and I'm trying to compensate. Aside from that I'm spread across multiple projects from blogging, DA writing, world building for my next book, practicing wood burning, helping out with a major local event and now practicing video making.
So again, I apologize for those of you looking forward for more writing content here. Hopefully I'll have something new up soon!