The First Step

I am becoming whatever it is I'm becoming, and I think it's in the right direction. Time will tell. If it does turn out to be the right direction, I know there are lots of people where I used to be - oblivious in the dark, unable to even see how unhappy they are with themselves. Scarier is still is the situation of those who are happy with themselves, who have settled. The Broken.

In the event that this is a good direction, I thought I'd share the first step I took. There are plenty of self-help books and videos, etc. out there that offer help. I don't think those will work for most. If they did, there probably wouldn't be so many of them. I think they will work though, as soon as you take the first step.

The first step is simply stopping yourself, replaying your internal dialog, and asking yourself "Why did I think that?" The first step is learning self-reflection.

Immediately thereafter, when you're pondering "Why did I think that?" is to identify if the thought has its roots in fear or in love. I guess that'd technically be step two, though. So you get a bonus for reading this far :)

Calling the President's Bluff

Good ole Barack Obama was in PDX today (Portland, OR for the uninitiated). I got to see the rare site of Coast Guard helicopters flying around, that must have been why. On the way home I heard he was here for a fundraiser. Nothing like the leader of your country asking for money, much like the guys on the virtually every on ramp in the city.

I got home in time to watch his televised speech, in which he said something along the lines of 'I can promise you this':

"I will always tell you where I stand. I will always tell you what I think."

Well, I'm hereby calling your bluff, Mr. President, and I encourage all Americans to do the same. I'm even going to start a hash tag to make it easier for you to find, since you're on twitter (@BarackObama) and all: #callingthePresidentsBluff

So here goes Mr. President, I would very much like for you to tell me where you stand and what you think about the following:

• Where do you stand on the indefinite detention of American Citizens, as included in the 2012 NDAA? What do you think about an American Citizen's right to Due Process?
• Where do you stand on the military serviceperson's oath to defend the Constitution from domestic enemies? Do you think that signing laws removing rights protected under the Constitution is an attack on the Constitution? Do you think that people that attack the Constitution are enemies of the Constitution?
• Where do you stand on the illegality of marijuana? Do you think that marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol? Do you think it continues to be illegal in no small part due to the lobby power of pharmaceutical companies? Do you think senior citizens should have to buy prescription medication that would have no need of if marijuana was legal?
• Where do you stand on the issue of public servants (like the President, for example) intentionally misleading the public for political gain? Do you think the people of the United States deserve public servants that tell the truth? Do you think the people of the United States deserve the truth?
• Where do you stand on broadcast media's role in government? Do you think that by buying millions and millions of dollars worth of campaign ads, political parties ensure favorable coverage of their activities? Do you think media companies would be foolish to 'bite the hand that feeds them' by portraying their customers in a negative light?
• Where do you stand on the internet? Do you think that higher education should be available for free online? Do you think that every American should have access to use the internet to peaceably assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievances?
• Where do you stand on capitalism? Do you think the government should protect the people from being taken advantage of for the sake of profit?

That should do, as I'm probably wasting my time anyway. I think you were bluffing in your speech, Barack. I don't think you're brave enough to tell the public what you really think. I don't think you're brave enough to veer from your talking points. Coincidentally, that's also why I don't think you deserve to be President of the United States. Luckily for you, everyone knows the other guy isn't any better.

Okay, one more:

Where do you stand on politics? Do you think a country should have to choose its leaders based on which one is the lesser of two evils?

Possibilities - Raw

I thoroughly enjoy imagining the possibilities. There was a nice quote in that ENTP piece I posted not long ago:   (he references hoping someone will care enough to look at after reading this)

ENTps are constantly seeking the pure potentialities of the unseen.

I guess I should have used the word potentialities. I'll change it later. This is the raw brain dump version of this post, and know that I publish it knowing that I'll change it later. I choose to publish this anyway, rather than presenting you with the finely polished version, without the messy shit all over it. I do so imagining the potentiality and likelihood that this level of honesty will be a major turn off for most of my fellow man - expecting that potentiality, in fact. Waiting to be proven wrong, really.

That's what I came here to confess. Back to the actual post: