Showing posts with label Founding Fathers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Founding Fathers. Show all posts

The Spirit of Freedom is The Spirit of Love

        Re-posting this interesting excerpt seen on Intellectual Takeout ,

"All riches must finally fall into the gap between thoughts and things. Governed by mind but caught in matter, assets must afford an income stream that is expected to continue. The expectation may shift as swiftly as thought, but things, alas, are all too solid and slow to change. The kaleidoscope of shifting valuations, flashing gains and losses as it is turned in the hands of time, in the grip of 'news,' distributes and redistributes the wealth of the world far more quickly and surely than any scheme of the state.

The belief that wealth consists not chiefly in ideas, attitudes, moral codes, and mental disciplines but in definable static things that can be seized and redistributed — that is the materialist superstition. It stultified the works of Marx and other prophets of violence and envy. It betrays every person who seeks to redistribute wealth by coercion. It balks every socialist revolutionary who imagines that by seizing the so-called means of production he can capture the crucial capital of an economy. It baffles nearly every conglomerateur who believes he can safely enter new industries by buying rather than by learning them. It confounds every bureaucrat of science who imagines he can buy or steal the fruits of research and development.

Even if it wished to, the government could not capture America’s wealth from its 1 percent of the 1 percent. As Marxist despots and tribal socialists from Cuba to Greece have discovered to their huge disappointment, governments can neither create wealth nor effectively redistribute it. They can only expropriate and watch it dissipate. If we continue to harass, overtax, and oppressively regulate entrepreneurs, our liberal politicians will be shocked and horrified to discover how swiftly the physical tokens of the means of production dissolve into so much corroded wire, abandoned batteries, scrap metal, and wasteland rot."

~ George Gilder, 'Unleash the Mind'

Response,

         Isn't it amazing how we fail to learn, or 'Unleash the Mind' as Gilder rightly put it, despite so many of these examples that remain lost and buried in the forgotten pages of history. The diverse values that make this country so unique and blessed, indeed are of a very personal Nature. Despite all the adversities including the shifting tides of globalization it is extremely difficult and close to impossible to shake or take something so personal away. Sadly, you only understand the meaning of what is dear and priceless when it is lost or when you have newly discovered what you have never had.....

    This is another article I wrote a while ago relating to the same subject. I wanted to share some of these deeper sentiments and thoughts from around the world,



The Spirit of Freedom is The Spirit of Love





    This is a response made to a very valid, interesting and mind opening note made by my friend Princess Erika de Krutova,

" I do not understand. America is so strong on freedoms. I have read your Constitution many times in an effort to incorporate some ideas and items into our country. How is it that freedoms can be taken away? Everyone in my country and almost all I know across Europe envy the American way of life and freedom it brings." - Princess Erika de Krutova



Here are some of the colorful and inspiring responses that were made.........


Sherry Lee: "Freedom cannot be taken away of heart mind and spirit but evil people empowered by satan want to enslave because that is the nature of the beast. They want to destroy happiness on the planet and light and fill every soul with terror. I have worked with these people. There is no logic, love or sanity in their universe. Only darkness. They create destruction. If they enslave a few they will enslave the world through advanced technology. I wrote a book about this. It is called 'In Satan We Trust'- Age of destruction. The devil gains whatever power he can. The foolish servants of the anti Christ dominate to get control. Anyone with half a brain knows this sick power won't stay in the hands of a few. It will spread and lead to world destruction unless it is stopped. This can't have a good outcome...."


Michael Scott:"Seems to be a combination of greed based economics and an evil need to change something established by a previous person in power. Freedom is a commodity it seems in so many ways and a country can go bankrupt in private and turn the tables of any constitution. There is much to say abou this. I am so glad you are asking. It is wonderful to hear you interest and passions......"


Simon Templar:"When considering American freedom you should start with the Declaration of Independence "We hold these truths as self evident..." Then move on to the Constitution. The Constitution is more of a document outlining how the national government should operate and the authorities it is granted. The first ten Amendments secure many of the freedoms that Americans enjoy. However, the power of big government is always a threat to those rights. The Constitution clearly states that those powers not enumerated within the document are reserved to the states and the people. However, the "New Deal" the federal government usurped many of those rights under the banner of the "Interstate Commerce Clause." The degradation of rights among the American people can be directly attributed to this one interpretation of the Constitution. Freedom is lost through fear. When fear enters our society the people willingly forfeit their freedoms so that they feel safe and secure. Therefore, you will always see some incident that creates fear in the people, economy problems, terrorism, etc. prior to the government removing rights and liberties. And always remember, there is the ideal of American freedom and the reality that those freedoms are always subject to a politician's interpretation........"



My comment and response to add to this excellent discussion,


        I agree with several of the valid points made by Simon. I strongly believe that this ' Ideal of American freedom' is still truly well within the reach of all Americans regardless of the political environment, primarily because this ideal and the very Spirit of it is something deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of almost every generation of Americans to date. You must never alienate the fact that the capitalism we have here and the economy it supports has thrived alongside this freedom. Perhaps most of the doubts, wider issues, corruptions, fears and the rest of the problems we face today stem from the inherent flaws of capitalism, whether it is the uneven distribution of wealth, opportunities or the current ill health of our economy. For better or for worse, with time change is imminent and inevitable. As far as the ideas of corruption, uneven distribution of power and abuse of authority are concerned we are still in the infantile stages as compared to some of the well established cultural norms and structures elsewhere in the world. As long as Americans can still vote, Politicians can and will be replaced. As long as Americans still have a voice and some of the brave and pro active journalists continue to do their jobs we will always question, expose and root out any and every form of high handed corruption that threatens our freedom and liberty. Freedom is a rare quality, with many facets and dimensions. This ' Ideal of American freedom' is more than just a sentiment; it is immaculate and has no hypocrisy or so called evil infiltrating its definition since its birth several centuries ago. This is something emotional, psychological and most certainly something beautiful and spiritual that every American carries deep within his heart and mind. Psychologically, yes, I agree that fear comes and goes but most certainly it has a role and a part to play in giving us the window of opportunity to weed and root out some of the flaws and socio-economic problems we face today. Unlike many resentful perceptions, this Freedom is something very obvious in almost every generation of Americans. If you compare an average American with let's say someone else there is something very obvious, unique and special in the way he/she is thinking, evolving and functioning, that sense of independence has a very strong personal side to it, which has been handed down from generation to generation and can rub off very easily on someone who is open minded and open hearted enough to accept the truth that is innate and germane to this freedom and to this nation. Perhaps the only serious threat that many of us overlook and side step is the fact that if what we face today continues to dwell and grow, creating an environment where corruption, high handedness and abuse of authority prevails and instills growing fears in the hearts and minds of our young working men and women, the youth of this nation and the new generation, then we risk creating a generational gap and may fail to propagate this gift of freedom to our children and to our future. This to me is very unlikely because of the level of awareness that is currently widespread among the educated, enlightened and bright minds that serve as the wheels, the engine, the fuel and the driving force of this nation. 


          On a broader economic context, capitalism has its cycles, and just as they did during the great depression, the Americans of today will face and overcome this test with the strength of our Spirit. They will never fail to surge this nation forward and this ' Ideal of Freedom' is certainly somewhat of an untainted divine gift that serves as their God given right to continue to face their fears, problems and strive forward into a future filled with socio-economic and cultural evolution, opportunities to growth and prosperity for all, and the many countless gifts that come with carrying the ideal of Freedom in your heart. The Spirit of freedom will never fail those who have placed their trust in it. That's what it takes to be an American. This, my opinion, is the Truth that I have had to live with, the Truth that I have observed and the Truth that I continue to study. 


        It doesn't matter where you're from or where you're going, this sense of freedom will stick and stay with your Soul no matter what. As they say Freedom isn't free but it is worth so much more than all the gold in the world, and we treasure it with all our hearts and all our lives.


     Many thanks to my friend Princess Erika de Krutova and her friends for providing such an insightful and eye opening discussion. I hope, pray and wish everyone the best of what the Spirit of freedom has to offer and give to all its children.


Love, Peace, Freedom, Best Wishes & Blessings to You All,


Jai Krishna Ponnappan :)

An Inclusive & Free America ? From Circles & Whispers to Measured Opinions..... ?




"Wealth is an offspring of Liberty and True Independence. Peace is a creation spawned by Freedom and Choice, it is a gift showered upon those that toil and strive away from the false tranquility of servitude." ~ Jai Krishna Ponnappan



                   
       It is easy to find out just why migrating to Europe never seems like such a bad idea to many. These are very interesting times indeed. A while ago, one would have never even entertained or considered such a thought. I understand why some people with vested interests and self inflicted dependencies get on their knees and bow down, and strive to serve, promote, mimic and emulate a communist China. By observation Marxism and Communism are still far away but a centrally controlled Socialist police state definitely seems to be in the works. And it looks like some very blessed people down south have had enough of watching this country change. Unfortunately all they need is to take themselves seriously. They seem resourceful enough to be serious about such a stance. Just as an observation I guess..perhaps, America has changed or begun the process of such an uncharacteristic step away from its defining values ..but it really does seem like some Americans haven't.


Measured opinions carry a lot of weight. One shouldn't have to retract them or apologize for having a voice. Opinions.....One can't help but study them.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/texas-judge-warns-possible-civil-war-president-obama-230545603.html


Judge Tom Head was on a local TV news show making his case for a tax increase, when he said hiring extra sheriff's deputies would especially be needed if Obama wins in November.

"He's going to try to hand over the sovereignty of the United States to the U.N., and what is going to happen when that happens?," Head asked.
"I'm thinking the worst. Civil unrest, civil disobedience, civil war maybe. And we're not just talking a few riots here and demonstrations, we're talking Lexington, Concord, take up arms and get rid of the guy.
"Now what's going to happen if we do that, if the public decides to do that? He's going to send in U.N. troops. I don't want 'em in Lubbock County. OK. So I'm going to stand in front of their armored personnel carrier and say 'you're not coming in here'.
"And the sheriff, I've already asked him, I said 'you gonna back me' he said, 'yeah, I'll back you'. Well, I don't want a bunch of rookies back there. I want trained, equipped, seasoned veteran officers to back me."


P.S ~ Just as a note it is important to understand that one person can never be solely responsible for works that require the efforts and minds of many. It is amazing how a Nation so Free could possibly relate to "Made with Communism" while cultivating needless dependencies that hurt its own people and their independence. 

Thoughts, Blessings & Best Regards,

Jai Krishna Ponnappan



If it Makes Perfect Sense, No One Can Redefine Meaning


This is a comment in response to the below letter I read today,

" Jaikrishna,
Last August, I stood in a living room in Andover and talked about why our country faced a massive deficit and what it would take to move us forward as a nation.


I'm proud of what I said. I meant every single word of it. I said, "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own." I praised the people who did get rich. I said, "You built a factory and it turned into something terrific or a great idea, God Bless!" But I asked those who make it big to invest in the next generation of kids so they will have a chance too.





Nearly one million people have watched the video from that house party. If you haven't seen the full clip, you can watch it here. And If you've seen it, you can watch it again -- and share it with your friends. Let's show Scott Brown and Mitt Romney that we won't back down:

http://www.elizabethwarren.com/nobodyinthiscountry


We don't know who is going to have the next big idea in America.


But we're pretty sure they're going to need employees who can read and write. They're going to need power to keep the lights on and clean water and functioning sewers to keep going. They're going to need roads and bridges to move their goods to market or bring customers to their store. And they're going to need police officers and firefighters to keep their businesses safe.


That's what makes America great. We make the investments together -- to put the conditions in place so that businesses can flourish and create more opportunities for all of us. And it keeps going forward. When we make it, all of us have an obligation to invest in creating the conditions so the next kid can get ahead, and the kid after that, and the kid after that.


I believe in small businesses. My brother started a small business. My daughter started a small business. My aunt started a small business--and that's where I worked when I was a teenager. I've seen up close and personal how hard small business owners work and how much they risk to make their businesses succeed.


Right now, Washington's rigged for the big corporations who can afford armies of lobbyists and lawyers -- not America's small businesses. If Republicans like Scott Brown and Mitt Romney have their way, the system is going to stay rigged for the big guys.


The Republicans have their vision for the future. It says, "I've got mine, the rest of you are on your own."


That's not the American Dream. That's not how we build a future for ourselves and our children. We build a future together.


Thank you for being a part of this,


Elizabeth"


------------------------X------------------------


P.S ~ I am very positive and sure that your supporters will always stay committed to you.

Heaven is blessed with perfect rest but the blessing of earth is toil. 
~ Henry van Dyke 


       Sometimes we fail to accept the fact that regardless of the times common sense always prevails. There is absolutely no substitute for hard work. One needs to stay determined and make the effort without being too obsessed, distracted by or worried about the outcome.  It is a matter of being loyal and strongly committed to lasting and worthy values. 


       Perhaps at some point in your lives I am sure that many of you know what it feels like to work at minimum wage or something in range of it. Now I want you to imagine that you live a different life, you work a lot less and get paid a lot more. Lets say you are one of those fancy upper management professionals at some of those banks that are potentially preparing or are poised to fail some time in the foreseeable future. It's important to understand that within an organization like that people often resort to several tactics when it comes to management, a lot of them involve plenty of bad karma. The work may be largely monotonous, far from creative and excessively well paid. Again there are brilliant and admirable managers who are exceptional role models and then there are others who are determined to climb as high as they can and make as much as is possible giving up as little effort in exchange for it. There are plenty of examples for such organizations that may portray a facade but in actuality only serve as great case studies for any one who is curious or interested to learn about the avoidable. Eventually with age or retirement they get decommissioned but that Master-Servant-Slave Driver mentality, lack of creativity and the lust and greed for amassing the easy way by pushing the rest of us as hard as possible is very hard to let go off. They group up, they take their capital and their tactics and they hunt for opportunities to manipulate and extract more capital. For them life isn't about investing in values, places or people it's about being and living inside those perpetual gambling casinos that are locked inside their heads. Again not every one is like this there are plenty of very good exceptions but this country would have definitely been very different without them. 


           This election, the campaign funds seem to be pouring in like magical invisible rain from nowhere. These people that I just referred to above and the rest of their kind from around the world care very little about taking political sides for genuine reasons, a vast majority of them are strictly neutral and in search of their next   political puppet. A lot of people actively wish well and sincerely support progressives. In the face of a daunting opposition It can be understandably hard sometimes  to stay non aligned. But It's always good to know that one is sincere about keeping their words. 


               As for fiscal health, this is the n' th hour and yes one would have to go to any length, work with all sorts of people and use every trick there is to commit to extracting ourselves from the pit. Parallely it isn't money alone but rather access to quality Education, Healthcare and opportunities that truly have what it takes to make the American Dream a reality for so many. There are many feasible paths to this but the biggest obstacle being endless debates and bickering and no action. 


             For example if one were concerned about monitoring and raising children within one's family and in this country, look at all of the unpleasant things around.. that you don't want polluting your child's mind. Think about how much money and time is being spent annually towards something that is causing a moral decay and an absolute and unfortunate disintegration of values and heritage. Could you imagine what a big difference it would make to so many if you could encourage, support and inspire in a way that would ensure that that money be spent on something more constructive and meaningful in lines with the things mentioned above. 


 Where there is no real Will there will be an equally obvious lack of outcome.
But Where there is a Will there is always a Way.


Sincerely,
Jai Krishna Ponnappan

You Live With The Choices You Make, So Choose Wisely



This is a comment in response to an article on the Huffington Post,



                Since when if ever, was making money or being rich such a crime in this so called land of opportunity, liberty, prosperity and freedom. A lot of people here spend a great deal of their lives and their days far away from things like entertainment and mainstream media, they are usually up against the wall, very busy working hard and meticulously investing their time, energy, efforts, planning and resources towards their futures. The last few years have been very tough on a lot of Americans. It is really sad to say that a lot of wealthy American investors have been forced to pay a hefty price for unwise decisions, policies, mismanaged funds and a changing country that has on several fronts become needlessly over regulated, unreliable and unattractive to anyone with a reasonable amount of justified fear, common sense and wisdom. 




               Your main focus should be to commit resources and invest in highly essential priorities like education and infrastructure and make things as feasible and as beneficial as possible to businesses and supporting industries. Your main focus should be to collaborate and work with homegrown industries and facilitate in making America as attractive, productive, yielding and safe as possible for investors and businesses. You can't waste away precious time and resources on unrealistic strategies like excessive governance, short term stimulus, all the pointless projects that go with it  and so many of these highly publicized attempts at job creation. These are sensible steps in the right direction but unfortunately they are not in line with what has made America prosperous historically. At times the environment, sentiments and trends are as such that it feels like you are living in a new country if not an entirely different place altogether. In other words on account of such negligence and complacence the country has needlessly slipped away and changed to such an extent that the average enterprising businessman, wealthy investor and the rest of the best of America's very own by products are all being forced to shy away or flee and find alternatives and a future offshore.  




                  I sincerely hope and wish that people would learn to criticize and examine someone to expose their realistic capacity and abilities to conduct office and to do a reasonable job. Trying to sway or manipulate the emotions of the masses and potential voters based on deliberately disparaging and inaccurate presentations, prejudice and uncivilized passive aggressive hate won't work with the average educated or hardworking American who uses his brain and can think for himself. All this here article proves is that he has done well for himself and his family and is unlike many others who have abandoned ship and forfeited their citizenship. A person like that would succeed no matter what. The only big question off course has to do with his plans for the future and his level of commitment to America and its people. Are they family enough? Regardless of our personal opinions and tastes we must strive to wish all candidates well but the only desperate appeal at this point is to ensure the whole process is unbiased and fair. I know this expectation is perhaps a little too much to ask of some of the sections of the media and the way they are playing their strategies this election. This is understandably big fodder for those who love to sensationalize and extract stories for all they are worth. Please do not forget to engage in a bit of honest journalistic work because it is a part of your moral responsibility and obligation towards this country, its people and their future. There are always great pros and cons to such critical issues. The next four years will definitely be a sensitive phase and a critical turning point for this country. You live with the choices you make. Being sensible, thoughtful and mindful of how you, your actions and what you put out there can impact the outcome is the least that one can expect at this stage.

Again, You Live With The Choices You Make, So Choose Wisely. 
I Wish You All the very Best. God Bless :) 
~ Jai Krishna Ponnappan