Ready?

opening the notebook for public consumption.
remind me to edit this to provide inspiration and entertainment.

How can you possibly disagree with those… issues?

Your vote counts.
Honest.

So vote.

With over 11,000 blogs (and counting) contributing to the one-day discussion of a single issue — poverty — you’d expect some great things to happen.

11,000 posts from 11,000 people, speaking to an estimated audience of tens of millions worldwide. By day’s end there will no doubt be many, many more who have added their voice against this issue.

Poverty. An enormous threat to not just your own little place in the world, but the world itself.
From globalissues.org:

Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 per day.
At least 80% of the entire human population gets by on less than $10 a day.

Almost two in three people lacking access to clean water survive on less than $2 a day, with one in three living on less than $1 a day. More than 660 million people without sanitation live on less than $2 a day, and more than 385 million on less than $1 a day.

There are 2.2 billion children alive around the world today. Half of them — 1,000,000,000 children — live in poverty.

Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Some 1.1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation.

Every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide.

Close to half of all people in developing countries are suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation deficits. Some 1.8 million child deaths occur each year as a result of diarrhoea alone.

Close to half of all people in developing countries are suffering at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation deficits.

For the 1.9 billion children from the developing world, there are 640 million without adequate shelter (1 in 3), 400 million with no access to safe water (1 in 5) and 270 million with no access to health services (1 in 7).

Worldwide, 10.6 million died in 2003 before they reached the age of 5. This is equal to the amount of children in France, Germany, Greece and Italy. 1.4 million of these die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

You’d think with this kind of mass exposure to one of the greatest threats to humanity — and single greatest cause of lost human life — there would be something, anything, said that would actually address the issue and provide workable solutions to the problem.

So. What do people have to say about this vile, evil threat to human existence known as poverty?

Not much.

Almost every blog I’ve taken a look at on Blog Action Day’s live ticker is nothing more than a paragraph or two that essentially say this:

Poverty Is Bad.
We Blogged About It.
Send Your Money To Charity.

It’s a great idea. Organize a worldwide effort to expose the effects of poverty, strike a chord with bloggers worldwide, and have them offer solutions to combat one of the greatest problems that has ever faced mankind.

Problem?

The solutions I’ve seen — simply giving to a charity for this reason or that reason — are about as effective as placing a band-aid on a gaping neck wound.

No doubt, a lot of people will be spurred into action. Many people — including those who may have never given to charity before — will be made more aware of the global poverty problem thanks to massive blogger participation, and have the opportunity feel good for trying to make a difference.

Don’t misunderstand — you should certainly give.
Give all you can.

Even a few dollars to a charity of your choice can feed, clothe, house, provide education and medical care — giving the basic stuff of life to those who do not have it. Stuff that we take for granted every day.

And feel good for doing so. Feel good for making a difference, no matter how small.
But don’t kid yourself into believing that this will eliminate poverty any time soon. It won’t.

Charity helps. But in spite of all this education and awareness prodding about how poverty affects people both in developing countries, and sometimes too close to home for comfort — charity alone has not, and probably cannot, tackle the problem of extreme global poverty.

There’s a lot of people out there. A lot.

The good thing is there’s a lot of money out there too.
The bad, is we’re spending it on all the wrong things.

We’ve grown accustomed to throwing money at our problems — both real, and perceived — in hopes that someone else will come up with a good solution. While this can and does solve many of our problems, it’s a slippery slope to walk down.

For example?

We trust the experts, we trust our representatives, and we trust governments to do the right thing for all of us. Not just in our hometown, not just in our country — but the world.

We trust the newspapers and television when they tell us that terrorism is the most pressing problem facing humanity today — and for good reason.

Terrorism has killed thousands of people worldwide.
Terrorism has killed thousands of people here in the US.

You’re constantly reminded of the threat of terrorism to humanity, and the need for your support through taxes to combat it. Because terrorism kills a lot of people. Right?

Have you stopped to ask someone — how many?

I’m citing the Bush Administration’s report and Patterns of Global Terrorism below:

Between 1995 and 2000 there were 2076 deaths from global terrorism.
3547 in 2001.
725 in 2002.
625 in 2003.
1,907 in 2004.
14,602 in 2005.

Official figures before 1995 or after 2005 weren’t readily available.
If anyone finds a source of this information, let me know.

In ten years, 23,482 people died from acts of terrorism around the world.

However, in just one day — yesterday — acts of poverty have been the cause of death of more men, women, and children than all the acts of terrorism in the last ten years combined.

According to UNICEF, between 26,500 and 30,000 children under the age of five die every day due to poverty.

These statistics are significantly higher, estimated between 80,000 and 150,000 deaths per day, when children older than 5 and adults are taken into account.

Let that sink in.
Hunger, thirst, and disease continue to kill more people than bombs or bullets ever have — or likely ever will.

That’s not to say terrorism isn’t a deadly, vile threat to humanity also.
Because it is. It’s a horrible thing.

But let’s take an objective look at the problems facing the world today:

Global military spending, much of which is now used either directly or indirectly to fight the global war on terror, topped $1.2 trillion in 2007. The United States spent more than half, approximately $630 billion. All of these funds come out of your pocket, through taxes.

Global humanitarian aid to impoverished people amounts to about $11 billion. Most of these funds come out of your pocket too, through direct contribution.

To break it down, with rough figures:

A few dozen deaths per day from terrorism.
One hundred thousand deaths per day from poverty.

Yet somehow we justify the allocation of more than 50 times the amount spent on humanitarian aid to military projects. How many impoverished lives could be saved if we spent that money elsewhere?

It’s not hard to see which is the wiser investment.
And if you really gave a damn about poverty, you’d be rethinking your investment strategy.

Still, there are 11,000 blogs and 11,000 bloggers who believe that well meaning — but essentially half-assed — gestures such as posting a video, or writing a quick blurb, and linking to a website or a few poverty relief charities will actually eliminate poverty.

Sure. It’ll help.

One more child will eat tonight.
A hundred more will eat tomorrow.

Hundreds of thousands will receive help from your charitable donations each month.
But there are billions of others who will not.

Millions of people will die a slow, excruciatingly painful death due to malnutrition and starvation.

Millions more will die from disease caused by unhygienic living conditions and filthy water.

Billions more will continue to live out their miserable lives — penniless, hungry, and ill.

But that one — that one little girl or boy that you helped with your donation — won’t have to suffer as much.
And that’s good enough for most of us.

Really, what more can we do?

Individually we can’t do much, can we? We lead busy lives. And it’s so damn easy to throw our money at some charity — in hopes that the worldwide poverty problem will be solved, someday.

But that’s the beauty of the internet, blogging, and initiatives such as Blog Action Day.

Together we can each help one more poverty-stricken family because of massive humanitarian collaboration.
We can all get together on a scale never before seen, and tackle the issues we’ve never dared before.
We can all do a little bit more because of these things.

Or, we can totally miss the point.

Poverty exists because we allow it to exist.
Poverty exists because you allow it to exist.

Poverty exists because we are oblivious to the fact that if people everywhere — scratch that, let’s start with the 11,000 who have participated in Blog Action Day — if we take a good look at the numbers, where our money is going, and where our money could be going, we would see that extreme poverty could be completely eliminated in less than a year with just a few small changes.

What changes?

Let’s start with the $2,000,000,000 spent every single week to fund the war in Iraq.

Whether you support the war for ideological reasons or not at all isn’t the issue here — if you’re an American, this is two billion dollars of your money used to fund a project against terrorism, which has a global death toll that doesn’t even come close to one percent of the deaths caused by poverty.

What would happen if your money went to poverty relief efforts instead?

Instead of reactive measures to suppress the relatively insignificant number of deaths caused by terrorist violence? Instead of reconstructive efforts to rebuild what we have destroyed?

Two billion dollars a week.
Over 100 billion dollars a year goes straight to Iraq to fund our military presence.

This is important to consider when you realize that only about 50 billion dollars would be needed to achieve universal access to basic social services in ALL developing countries.

The following report is outdated, but even adjusting for inflation — it would cost less than what we spend in Iraq to provide these basic human necessities for everyone. Everywhere.

This part of the report outlines costs for providing clean water sources for all, basic medical care, reproductive care for women, free education and literacy programs, and other services that truly make a difference in the world.

See: United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 1998, Chapter 1, p.37

If the funds used to fuel our presence in Iraq were reallocated to worldwide poverty relief, we could nearly — possibly even completely — eliminate extreme poverty in every developing nation around the world.

It’s your money.
Where do you want to see it go?

Trying to prevent a few dozen deaths a day, or actually preventing a hundred thousand?

The idea becomes clearer when you imagine that anti-American terrorism would be reduced even further just by the act of applying these funds to poverty relief. Who would want to shout ‘Death To America’ when America provides so much humanitarian aid to the world, instead of an ever-increasing military presence?

It’s your money.
Through private donations, or through taxes, this is your money at work.

Now again I’m not suggesting Blog Action Day is a bad idea, or that you shouldn’t give to charity. Every dollar counts, every contribution helps just a little bit more — and as a whole we’ll undoubtably contribute a record amount to charities fighting against poverty through this effort.

But you don’t have to stop there.

This is just one idea. One solution, for one project, for one country.
No doubt there are many other great ideas for finally eliminating extreme global poverty.

Whether this ‘re-budgeting’ is practical or not, is up to you.
If you’ve got a better idea, by all means: share it with the world.

Blog Action Day is a step in the right direction, but you should realize that the real power in collaborative efforts like this isn’t just to raise awareness and contributions — the power lies in raising concerns about the core causes, and thus practical solutions, of poverty.

Once we understand this, discuss solutions, and act — we will actually make poverty history.
Or, we can just keep giving to charity and hope for the best.

lib·er·tar·i·an
–noun
1. a person who advocates liberty, esp. with regard to thought or conduct.
2. a person who maintains the doctrine of free will

–adjective
3. advocating liberty or conforming to principles of liberty.
4. maintaining the doctrine of free will.

mar·ket·er
-noun

1. One that sells goods or services in or to a market, especially one that markets a specified commodity.
2. Someone who promotes or exchanges goods or services for money.

A libertarian marketer in the literal sense seems innocent enough. I suppose the proper way to put it would be, there is no good marketer who is libertarian.

Nobody can honestly say that a good marketer, who makes their living influencing the thoughts and actions of others, could also support freedom of thought and will.

And there’s the problem. My problem.

What happens when you stop to take a good look at the world you’ve created for yourself? What happens when you weigh what you want to be, against what you are?

What happens when who you are, who you’ve been, and who you need to be are completely different than what you want to be?

You’d probably change your course.
It’s the only logical thing to do.

But what if it was worse — what happens when you want both?
What happens when your moral compass just keeps spinning?

I broke down.
Hard.

…hard.

[details removed for posterity]

I’ve been a manipulative persuasive bastard all my life. And the desire to learn more about this one of few truly magical powers left in the world has been a driving force for as long as I can remember.

Still, I’ve never manipulated persuaded others solely for personal gain. I think. Might have done some questionable things while I was younger, but if so I can’t remember specifics.

I do have ‘ethics’, more or less.

Be it one grand fucking cosmic joke that I would also feel drawn to the advocacy of freedom of thought, freedom of will, freedom of action.

Freedom to choose what you want, freedom to think what you will, freedom to act as you see fit. As long as your freedom doesn’t infringe on the freedoms of others, that is the libertarian manifesto in a nutshell.

Seems great, right?
I think so too.

But these freedoms are freedoms which I have subtly taken away from consumers, partners, friends, family, and lovers — while often being thanked for doing so.

It may seem evil at first glance, but persuasion (or manipulation, depending on how you frame it) has helped, at least I feel it has helped, those I’ve come in contact with far more than it has hurt.

Any ‘ethical’ persuader would feel the same way.

Of course, these are judgements that I cannot make as a libertarian.
Helping, or hurting, who is to say which is which?

You?
Me?
Majority rule?

Who is to say that persuading one to think or feel another way is better?

Even if what you’re persuading against is self destructive behavior, or a poor business decision, or an inferior product, or any number of ‘bad’ things that people choose to embrace — who am I to convince you one way or another?

I’m a marketer. I’m a persuader. It’s my job.
It’s my business, to mind your business.

And the world demands business as usual.
Your bank account demands it.
Your lifestyle demands it.
Your family demands it.

And believe it or not, the world demands to be persuaded.

Libertarianism is a great concept, but it has no place in this world.
Not now. Maybe not ever.

Why?

Freedom doesn’t exist.
The only free thought, is no thought.
The only free action, is no action.

The only free mind, is a dead mind.

And until then you will always be influenced, persuaded, manipulated — by your culture, your friends, your enemies, your heroes, your music, your news, your entertainment, and most of all your environment — which is now almost completely saturated with marketing messages.

Bleak outlook on life, maybe.
But brutally honest.

I wanted to be libertarian.
Really, I did.

But I was a marketer first.
And fake ideals don’t pay the bills.

Even those who advocate libertarianism, aren’t libertarian. Is advocating one political stance over another, persuading others to your point of view, allowing freedom of thought?

It’s definitely arguable.

But no. Libertarianism is a load of shit.
And for good measure, all other political affiliations are full of shit.

Just more division and illusion. Exactly what the world demands right now.
But that’s for another time, I think.

So.
Back to work.

See you in Norway.

Terrorism is a broadly defined term, wikipedia says:

Terrorism expert Walter Laqueur in 1999 has counted over 100 definitions and concludes that the “only general characteristic generally agreed upon is that terrorism involves violence and the threat of violence.” For this and for political reasons, many news sources avoid using this term, opting instead for less accusatory words like “bombers,” “militants,” etc.

As terrorism ultimately involves the use or threat of violence with the aim of creating fear not only to the victims but among a wide audience, it is fear which distinguishes terrorism from both conventional and guerrilla warfare.

While both conventional military forces may engage in psychological warfare and guerrilla forces may engage in acts of terror and other forms of propaganda, they both aim at military victory.

Terrorism on the other hand aims to achieve political or other goals, when direct military victory is not possible.

The term “terrorism” comes from Latin terrere, “to frighten” via the French word terrorisme, which is often associated with the regime de la terreur, the Reign of Terror of the revolutionary government in France from 1793 to 1794. A leader in the French revolution, Maximilien Robespierre, proclaimed in 1794, “Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is therefore an emanation of virtue; it is not so much a special principle as it is a consequence of the general principle of democracy applied to our country’s most urgent needs.”

The Committee of Public Safety agents that enforced the policies of “The Terror” were referred to as “Terrorists.” The English word “terrorism” was first recorded in English dictionaries in 1798 as meaning “systematic use of terror as a policy.”

The Oxford English Dictionary still records a definition of terrorism as “Government by intimidation carried out by the party in power in France between 1789-1794. Generally, a policy intended to cause terror in those against whom it is adopted.”

Interesting stuff, yeah?

It’s all institutionally worded, sure.
Doesn’t really communicate what exactly terrorism is.

Honestly, what terrorism is isn’t the issue.
It’s the effects of terrorism we’re afraid of.

How ’bout some pictures?

Look into what’s left of her eyes.
Imagine what she looked like before terrorism.

Feel what she’s feeling.

This could be your daughter.
This is someone’s daughter.
Someone not all that different, from you.

Are you scared yet?
Well why not?

Look at all these terrorist organizations!

Islamic terrorist organizations

These groups have generally demanded the introduction of sharia law in various countries and the destruction of those seen to be “enemies of Islam” by these groups, including zionism and secularism.

• Abu Sayyaf (1991-present; Islamist separatists; the Philippines)
• Aden-Abyan Islamic Army (Yemen)
• Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Late 1970s-present; Islamists; Egypt)
• Armed Islamic Group (1992-present; Islamists; Algeria)
• Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades
• Al-Qaeda (1988-present; Islamists; Afghanistan, Pakistan, and worldwide)
• Asbat al-Ansar (early 1990s-present; Lebanese Sunni Islamists; southern Lebanon)
• Jama’at al-Tawhid wa’al-Jihad/Al-Qaeda in Iraq
• Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement
• Egyptian Islamic Jihad – Egypt (active since the late 1970s)
• Fatah al-Islam – Lebanon
• Hamas – West Bank, Gaza Strip
• Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) – Pakistan and Kashmir
• Hezbollah – Lebanon
• Hizbul Mujahideen – Pakistan and Kashmir
• Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan – Uzbekistan
• Jemaah Islamiyah – Southeast Asia
• Lashkar-e-Jhangvi – Pakistan
• Lashkar-e-Toiba – Pakistan
• Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group – Morocco and Spain
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad – Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip
• People Against Gangsterism and Drugs – South Africa
• RSM or Rajah Solaiman Movement – Philippines
• Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan – Pakistan
• Takfir wal-Hijra – Egypt/Sudan/Algeria
• Taliban – Afghanistan
• Turkish Hezbollah – Kurdish organization operating in Turkey

Christian terrorist organizations

Christian terrorists are generally right wing in nature. They are often anti-abortion.

• Army of God – USA (early 1990s-present)
• The Lambs of Christ – USA (1998)

Jewish terrorist organizations

These groups demand zionism; the giving of Israel to the Jews. After the creation of Jewish Israel, others have been anti-Palestinian, believing them to be threats to zionism.

• Kach – Israel (1973-)

Sikh terrorist organizations

All of these groups demand a Khalistan (Land of the Pure) in the Indian state of Punjab and adjoining areas for Sikhs. Most have a variable amount of support from Sikhs abroad and have been in existence since the 1980s. Many have been weakened and have cut down on activities, yet they continue. The militancy in Punjab has claimed approximately 100,000 lives, according to estimates put forward by Amnesty International: this figure involves killings by both Sikh militants and the Indian forces. With the exception of the first two, the other groups have only been proscribed in India.

• Babbar Khalsa – India (1978-)
• International Sikh Youth Federation
• Khalistan Zindabad Force – India (1990s-)

Other religious terrorists

• Aum Supreme Truth aka Aum Shinrikyo – Japan
• Lord’s Resistance Army – Christian/Pagan/Muslim terrorist group in northern Uganda

All of these terrorist organizations interchangably kidnap, torture, bomb, murder, or commit similar crimes against humanity while believing — truly believing — that their crimes are justified in the eyes of their religion and/or gods.

Scared yet?
We’re just getting warmed up, baby.

Irish Nationalists

These terrorist groups demand the independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, to either join the Republic of Ireland or become a separate state. They are usually Catholic and Irish nationalist.
• Irish National Liberation Army – UK (1974-Present)
• Irish Republican Army – Northern Ireland (1922-1969)[2]
• Official IRA (1969–present)[2]
• Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) (1969-)
• Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) (1986-present)
• Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) (1997-present)

Ulster Unionist/Loyalist terrorists

These groups demand that Northern Ireland stay a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in opposition to the Irish nationalists. They are usually Protestant.
• Ulster Volunteer Force (named after the Ulster Volunteers 1912-1921, current UVF has existed since 1966)
• Ulster Defence Association (1971-present)
• Loyalist Volunteer Force (1996-2005)
• ‘Orange Volunteers (1998-present)

Arab terrorists

These groups promote pan-Arabism, in particularly the support of the Palestinian people and the destruction of the state of Israel. They are often Islamic centred, though others are communist.
• Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades – Israel
• Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) – Israel (1969-)
• Hamas – Israel/Palestine (1987-)
• Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) – Israel/Palestine (1967-)
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement – Israel/Palestine
• Palestine Liberation Front – Israel/Palestine
• Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – Israel/Palestine (1964-present)

Other terrorists

• United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) – Assam, India (1979-present)
• ETA (Basque Fatherland and Liberty) – Spain and southern France (1959-present).
• Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, aka Tamil Tigers) – Sri Lanka (1972-present)
• Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK/KADEK/KONGRA-GEL) – Turkey (1979-present)
• National Council of Resistance of Iran (MKO front) – Iran
• Armed Islamic Group (GIA) – France, Algeria (1992-present)

Anarchist terrorist organizations

Anarchist terrorist groups aim to attack targets to create a state of anarchy. As such, they have largely been anti-imperialism, anti-corporatism and anti-government.
• Black Star – Greece

Left-wing terrorism

Left-wing terrorist organisations aim to promote leftism by attacking right wing targets. Specific groups may claim to be liberal, socialist or communist, or of one specific form of these.

• Action Directe (AD), an anti-NATO organization banned by the French government in 1982.
• Antifascist Resistance Groups October First (GRAPO) – Spain (1975-present)
• Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) – Nepal (1994-present)
• Japanese Red Army aka Sekigun – Japan[2] (1971-present)
• Khmer Rouge – Cambodia (early 1970s-1979)
• New People’s Army – Philippines
• Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N) – Greece
• Revolutionary Struggle (Epanastatikos Agonas) – Greece
• Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) – Colombia
• Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) – Peru (active since the late 1960s)
• Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) – Peru
• Umkhonto we Sizwe – South Africa (1961-1990)

Right-wing terrorist organizations

Right-wing terrorists aim to promote rightism by targeting left wing targets (such as Socialists and Communists). They may belong to any particular right wing group, such as imperialist, capitalist or fascist.

• Alianza Anticomunista Argentina – Argentina (1973-)
• Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – Colombia (1996-2006)

White Supremacists

• Aryan Nations – United States (1970s-)
• Charles Martel Group – France (1973-83)
• The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord (CSA) – United States (1971-)
• Ku Klux Klan – United States (founded in 1865 and revived several times since).
• Masada Action and Defense Movement – France (1988-89).
• The Order – United States (1983-84)

Other ethnic cleansers

• Army for the Liberation of Rwanda – Rwanda (1994-).
• Revolutionary United Front, Sierra Leone

That’s a lot of terrorism around the world.
A lot of fear.

Fear and danger.

Are you afraid?
You shouldn’t be.

These terrorist organizations primarily operate outside of the United States.

The average American sipping her latte while reading this will never meet, let alone come within 1000 miles of, any of these terrorists or terrorist organizations.

You’re safe.
Right?

Well hell no you’re not safe.

If you are safe, you wouldn’t need to lock your doors.
If you were safe, you wouldn’t have that firearm under your pillow.
If you will be safe, you wouldn’t worry about Iranian nuclear research.

If you were safe, training bombs wouldn’t drop through your apartment ceiling.

(the training bomb thing actually happened here in Tulsa yesterday. a big blue bomb fell into this guy’s apartment tearing a hole through the ceiling and imploding the bathroom wall.)

You should‘nt be scared shitless.

Billions upon billions of dollars are spent yearly on weapon development and weapons that, kill people. The world is full of hateful and/or misguided people who are ready and willing to use these weapons against you.

And most of them have no problem with doing so.

We’ve built these strange and wonderful belief structures that not only give us the go-ahead to use these weapons — but make it seem like these acts of violence are a service to humanity and/or are justified in the eyes of God.

It’s a little funny when you think about it.

Imagine a zoo-ful of chimpanzees.
One chimpanzee figures out that, by flinging shit at another chimpanzee, he can attract a mate.

And it works.

Not necessarily because the other chimp is covered in shit — the flinger has it on his hands as well — but because chimpanzees believe that shit flinging is a justified way of getting what they want.
In this case, it’s a little nookie.

We seem to be a little more complicated.
Flinging fecal matter isn’t as effective for us.

No, we must inspire fear and hatred and division between humanity to get what we want.
We must convince people to harm others to advance a goal.

And you know what?

We believe it’s justified.
We believe it is for the greater good.
We believe what we’re doing is best for everyone.

So we fight.
We torture.
We steal.
We bomb.
We kill.
We win.

But we can’t do it unless you pay for it.

So please, kind citizen, remember the horror — remember the bloodshed — remember the pain — remember the death — remember your children — remember to be afraid, always, and forever — so you’ll give us your liberties and tax dollars and we’ll protect you from the evils in the world.

You don’t need to be afraid anymore.
You don’t need to be afraid, ever.
We’ll keep you safe.
Only we can.

Though we may never share lunch, we have – through these words – met.
Totally swiped from Napoleon Hill, but onward:

Lately I find myself wondering,

Do you trust me?
Further, do you know me?

Some really hip dude once said that being completely vulnerable to another, is one of the greatest ways to build a trusting relationship.

Know what?
I trust you.

I trust the existence of this entire website,
to you.

Don’t believe me?
Here’s proof.

now, Stop.

Before you get all click happy and destroy years of my blood, sweat and tears – know that this is the real deal.

My entire livelihood on the internet, I have entrusted to you.
Clicking that button will completely erase, everything here.

You don’t want to delete my years of work, right?
Hopefully not.

But I trust you.
And right now, or any time in the future:

If you decide that my words, my heart, and my experiences should never be seen again – you can wipe me off the internet with one click.

One click of the big red button up there, will end this blog forever.
I trust that you’ll make a compassionate decision, and won’t ever click it.

Thanks.

Thankfully, my circle of influence is picking up the slack.

“You can set an example, by tending your own garden and living life as well as you can. I’ve always believed part of the job of the entrepreneur is to engage life with gusto, for the sake of every feudal slave in history and every oppressed schlub today who has dreamed of the freedom to think, act and love without censorship and an authoritarian boot on his neck.

You OWE it to him to make the best of your good fortune.

And when you finally realize you have more dough than you need, you can start spreading the wealth. Donate, get involved… or, like Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines, roll up your sleeves and actively change things for the better.

You’ll have to ignore a thousand choruses predicting your demise and glorifying in your blunders and set-backs. Small price to pay, though, if you want to make a difference.

Most entrepreneurs dream of making enough money to indulge in pleasures and bad behavior without consequence. The jerks succeed. Yet, an astonishing number of newly-rich business owners become neo-Renaissance forces for good.

It’s almost enough to restore your faith in humanity.”

Merrily ringing in the new year with the immortalized words of John Carlton. Better than excessive amounts of alcohol, fireworks, and gunfire. Think so?

I think so.
Happy new year.