Submitting to the Light

This semester, I am taking PHIL 410. This course is part of my academic plan since I am a Philosophy major. The topic of the course is God and World. The text is really good. It's by Karen Armstrong entitled A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This week is mid-terms. What I really enjoy about classes online is that there aren't any "exams". Instead of an examination - midterm or final - most online professors prefer a term paper. This is totally fine with me. I love that I get to write about topics that I actually enjoy. I don't really care for this particular professor. He comes off as a guy that wants to be right all the time rather than someone attempting to nurture the thought process. He is very condescending toward most of the students. It's irritating but totally off subject.

He dropped the term paper topic list today. I love every single topic on his list. How can I choose just one? Here are the topics:

-Jewish Groups at the time of Jesus and the Concept of the Messiah
-Jesus in Historical Context
-Gnostic Gospels
-Deism
-Contemporary Commentary on the Koran from a Feminist Perspective
-Christian Mysticism
-Concept of Sin
-Major Figures (select one from this list: http://www.theology.ie/theologs.htm)

What I love about Philosophy is how much I explore into the mindset of thinkers throughout the history of the modern WESTERN world and the advent of religion and the social structures that either support it or discard it. I have had several epiphanies over the course of my studies. I am nearly done and will graduate with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Philosophy within the year. I don't really consider this an accomplishment because I have never liked the idea of college. Taking college courses and pursuing this degree was more a matter of accessing the funds that are made available to native Hawaiians through Kamehameha Schools.

I appreciate that many of the subjects I have explored throughout my studies have been topics that were outside of my experience. However, I don't think that a college degree is an indicator of how well a person can think. I say this because I have encountered many people (I work at a private university) who have difficulty utilizing their critical thinking skills. My social interactions with my family, friends, in my community, and even online have been colored with shallow/narrow conceptions of various topics. In an abundant universe with an infinite number of possibilities, I find it increasingly difficult to remain so fixed in my position on the topic of religion and philosophy, any topic. I am but a small speck in the large universe with very little understanding of infinity. I conclude that I couldn't possibly know everything. I cannot make declarations that will be fixed for eternity because, well, in a second that declaration could be overturned by new information.

I submit to the eternal search for light, love, knowledge, and truth. I do not search for these things to gain leverage over another. Rather, I search for these qualities only to understand, to feel compassion, to express kindness for all living entities in the universe. I want to share my light. I want my light to burn brighter.

Can you dig it?

BTW: the topic I selected is Christian Mysticism.

Imagine an Occupied America

One of the reasons I love Ron Paul so much is his aversion to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. I have reposted an article that he wrote... scroll down for it. I've said it so many times before -- there is no valid reason for the U.S. to be in Iraq. No matter what "story" they tell us through the media, none of them are sufficient for the occupation and murder of Iraqi and Afghan people. None!

I am not a supporter of the war in Iraq. I believe that 9/11 was an "allowed" tragedy that forced America into a war, similar to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I think that the government colluded with the international bankers to orchestrate everything. Most say HOGWASH but I have studied the evidence on both sides of the spectrum. If you follow the money trail, it leads directly to the collusion I just mentioned. Under those pretenses, the undeclared war being waged in the Middle East is not at all for the "freedoms" and "liberties" of Americans. THAT is HOGWASH!

* * * * * * * * * * Imagine an Occupied America
By Ron Paul


Imagine for a moment that somewhere in the middle of Texas there was a large foreign military base, say Chinese or Russian. Imagine that thousands of armed foreign troops were constantly patrolling American streets in military vehicles. Imagine they were here under the auspices of "keeping us safe" or "promoting democracy" or "protecting their strategic interests."

Imagine that they operated outside of U.S. law, and that the Constitution did not apply to them. Imagine that every now and then they made mistakes or acted on bad information and accidentally killed or terrorized innocent Americans, including women and children, most of the time with little to no repercussions or consequences. Imagine that they set up checkpoints on our soil and routinely searched and ransacked entire neighborhoods of homes. Imagine if Americans were fearful of these foreign troops and overwhelmingly thought America would be better off without their presence.

Imagine if some Americans were so angry about them being in Texas that they actually joined together to fight them off, in defense of our soil and sovereignty, because leadership in government refused or were unable to do so. Imagine that those Americans were labeled terrorists or insurgents for their defensive actions, and routinely killed or captured and tortured by the foreign troops on our land. Imagine that the occupiers' attitude was that if they just killed enough Americans, the resistance would stop, but instead, for every American killed, 10 more would take up arms against them, resulting in perpetual bloodshed. Imagine if most of the citizens of the foreign land also wanted these troops to return home. Imagine if they elected a leader who promised to bring them home and put an end to this horror.

Imagine if that leader changed his mind once he took office.

The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would be if they were stationed in Texas. We would not stand for it here, but we have had a globe-straddling empire and a very intrusive foreign policy for decades that incites a lot of hatred and resentment toward us.

According to our own CIA, our meddling in the Middle East was the prime motivation for the horrific attacks on 9/11. But instead of reevaluating our foreign policy, we have simply escalated it. We had a right to go after those responsible for 9/11, to be sure, but why do so many Americans feel as if we have a right to a military presence in some 160 countries when we wouldn't stand for even one foreign base on our soil, for any reason? These are not embassies, mind you, these are military installations. The new administration is not materially changing anything about this. Shuffling troops around and playing with semantics does not accomplish the goals of the American people, who simply want our men and women to come home. Fifty thousand troops left behind in Iraq is not conducive to peace any more than 50,000 Russian soldiers would be in the United States.

Shutting down military bases and ceasing to deal with other nations with threats and violence is not isolationism. It is the opposite. Opening ourselves up to friendship, honest trade, and diplomacy is the foreign policy of peace and prosperity. It is the only foreign policy that will not bankrupt us in short order, as our current actions most definitely will. I share the disappointment of the American people in the foreign policy rhetoric coming from the administration. The sad thing is, our foreign policy will change eventually, as Rome's did, when all budgetary and monetary tricks to fund it are exhausted.

Unfriendly TSA: Invasive in Seattle

I just got through the TSA screeners at the Sea-Tac Airport. I am very, very upset with the service of the TSA employees. Is this really necessary?

As I approached the screener today, I had made up my mind that I was going to opt out of going through the X-RAY machine. There are three purposes for my decision:

1. PRIVACY - Have you seen the images that are taken by those x-ray machines? They take a snapshot of your body in the NUDE. I have no shame when it comes to my body. I really don't. If it were up to me, I would never wear a bra or tshirt again in my life because I prefer being in a lavalava than being fully clothed. The issue with me is that none of the TSA workers or the Feds need to see any of it. This is my body and I prefer that strangers NOT be allowed to view it without my permission.

Click for Photo Credit

2. HEALTH - Who knows what kind of x-ray radiation our bodies are being subjected to by going through the machine? Even at the dentist you have to wear protective gear when they x-ray your mouth. They stuff all that cotton in your mouth then put that hard cardboard thing in too. Then they put that heavy blue apron on you before they snap the picture. Even the technician has to stand behind a partition when they do the x-ray'ing. With that being said, why would I want to subject myself to that type of radiation?

Click for Photo Credit

3. POLITICAL DEFIANCE - The final reason is that I am not a political pawn to be used to justify the use of taxpayers dollars to purchase the scanners. The TSA director is purported to have a vested interest in the company that produces the x-ray machine. In other words, he holds stock in the company that will produce and sell the machine to the TSA. If that isn't a conflict of interest, I don't know what is! He has also been quoted as having said that the x-ray machine would not have detected the explosives on the shoe-bomber guy. So once again... why do we need the x-ray  machine? Ugghh!!!

So as I approach the scanner thing I politely tell the woman screener, "Ma'am, I'd prefer to be pat down instead of going through the scanner."

She yells to someone off in the distance, "We have an opt-out." She points to a specific place for me to stand to wait for someone to do the pat down.

I have to point out that the gentleman two people in front of me was not thrilled with the process. He had not taken off his shoes or his belt. He was giving the TSA screener a hard time. I felt his annoyance with the TSA workers because they were very rude. As the man is beginning to remove his belt, she yells to the worker on the other side of the xray machine, "This guy is giving me a hard time." Okay -- embarrassing and very unprofessional even if it's true. Just because someone works for a pseudo-government agency doesn't give them a pass to be an ass.

Annoyed man enters xray machine. This extremely round man on the other end begins to bark out instructions to the man. Okay -- once again, embarrassing and very unprofessional.

Another guy follows the annoyed man and everything goes off without a hitch. Of course it does -- compliance is always the easiest route, right? Is it? Is compliance easier, rather, is compliance more important than PRIVACY, HEALTH, and REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO UNFAIR PRACTICES? At what point is enough, enough?

So there I am standing at the appointed location to await my pat down. Husband is right behind me and he opts out as well. The very young woman behind him opts out also. So there we three are awaiting our pat down. I agree with all the people who say that these invasive practices are in violation of the 4th Amendment. As a refresher, the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (it was included in the original Bill of Rights) says:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Everyone complies with this "unreasonable searches and seizures" under the guise that this will protect us from the terrorists. The topic of terrorists could take this post into another discussion but I will reserve that for future examination and remain with the topic at hand.

As I'm standing there in the appointed position, a woman in the other line is attempting to get through. She has a very young baby in tow. He could have possibly been about 9 months. Her diaper bag is, of course, full of stuff for the baby from formula to baby food and the male TSA worker is giving her the hardest time about ziplocs and appropriate ounces. As she attempts to walk through the scanner, a female worker comes from behind and tells her that she has to remove the baby from her person and walk through the scanner. The mother tells the worker, "Are you going to carry my baby? I am traveling alone." I reach over and offer to carry the baby. The TSA woman comes over quickly and grabs the baby, tells the mother that she has to put the baby on the stainless steel table while she walks through the scanner. Really? Terrible!

As I am watching this whole scene unfold, the woman that will pat me down finally retrieves me. I must tell you that the 'pat-down' is very, very INVASIVE. If I were lesbian, the groping she did might have done something to me. It was THAT invasive. On top of that, they do it right there in front of the ENTIRE crowd of people waiting to come through the gate. The worker feels every inch of my body and it is NOT a pat down and more like a FEEL DOWN. Husband is getting the treatment next to me from a male worker.

After the gloved feel down, the worker then do a swab down of our clothing with this large cotton pad. They wiped both husband and I with the swabs then put it into this machine. The machine came back with no interesting results so I am free to dress and head to my gate while my husband's swab comes back POSITIVE for explosive material. Really? We were together all day. How is mine negative and his POSITIVE? hmmm... sounds random to me!

Two male workers take husband into a private area and question him. I can hear them.

"Where were you today?"
"Have you been in contact with anyone...?"

It was nonsense! When husband came out he told me that they did an even more invasive feel down in the private area. As a U.S. citizen, why is this ok? Innocent until proven guilty or are we all guilty to begin with?

I am going to let my the congress people in Washington D.C. know about how I feel about this. One voice can turn into many if more people would care more about their rights and less about willful obedience. All the young people are revolting around the world, upset with the powers in their governments. And here is America, with the most powerful military on the planet and the most apathetic, indifferent citizenship in the world.

We are laden with rights endowed from our Creator to force the government to obey its citizens or revolt until they do.

REVOLUTION!

My Weakness: The Antagonist

It is us against them. This is my weakness -- that there must be an antagonist in the story of my life. Me being the protagonist or the HERO.

Lastnight was Husband's birthday. We had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's and watched Blood Diamond after. I wish to share with you my reaction to the movie.

I was moved to tears in several scenes in the movie. The apparent disregard for human life was sobering. I swelled with anger in scenes depicting Black African's killing each other. One side represented the government of Sierra Leone while the other side represented the Revolutionary United Front. Though I can certainly identify with the revolutionary spirit, it seemed that the RUF sought to advance its own purposes at the cost of its own people.

In my own endeavor towards revolution, I do not seek to exploit the plight of my people nor do I wish to place them in harms way. I am awakened to the many atrocities that the foreign man has brought to my shore and I am moved to do SOMETHING! ANYTHING!

The first foreigner arrived in these islands in the late 1700's. This cluster of islands, the most isolated place on the planet, hasn't been the same ever since. The foreign man brought disease, chaos and greed to a people that were very obedient to the will of the Gods and the will of mother earth.

The foreign man changed the political landscape of Hawai'i -- as it was soon discovered that, "He who wields the biggest gun holds the power". The steady loss of power to he who wielded the biggest gun climaxed in 1893 when the U.S. Military docked its ships in Honolulu Harbor, pointed their cannons to 'Iolani Palace, as white, American businessmen demanded that the Queen relinquish her throne or suffer the anihilation of her people.

Had I been there, I would have GLADLY fought the greedy American from invading and occupying my island nation. I would have laid my life on the line to preserve a way of life that was subservient to God and Mother Earth. The sins of white America are lengthy but I reserve judgement because it is not mine to pass.

An American system of government was imposed on my people and it has proven to be profitable for U.S.A. It makes me sad that Hawaiians haven't been given the necessary tools to be able to navigate through America's legal system. Most are content with the free handouts - welfare - and have no desire to lift their level of awareness. My heart burns with sadness at the diseases that plagues the indigenous people of Hawai'i... the greatest being IGNORANCE.

And as Hawai'i turns into a playground for the rich, with skyrocketing property values and a billion dollar tourist industry, my people are being displaced. This land once belonged to the Gods until white America found it, exploited it, continues to exploit it and sells it off to the highest bidder.

REVOLUTION!!!