Social Insecurity

If you have read any of my recent posts, you know I am not a fan of the current administration, nor of the use of DOGE to slash federal spending. While like the vast majority of Americans, I am all for finding waste, abuse and fraud in our economy, whether in our public or private sector spending, I don't understand why some Americans seem giddy when they read stories about tens of thousands of federal workers losing their jobs regardless of work performance, or even regardless of union or contract protections. 

It seems like just another example of this administration's plan to divide America by labeling certain segments of our population as enemies, or less than human, or certainly not American enough (which really means don't demonstrate fealty to Trump), and then to be blatantly cruel to them, with the support of those lucky enough (for now) to not be a part of one those demonized groups.

Which brings us to my topic, social insecurity.

Our Social Security System came about after the Great Depression, as part of the New Deal policies of the FDR Administration. For those who conveniently forget, before the establishment of this system, the elderly in our country were dependent on their families to take care of them once they no longer could work. This was also true to for those born with limited mental and/or physical capabilities.

It is difficult to know exactly how many Americans died during the years from late 1929 until the early 1940's when the war effort revitalized our economy, but the totals I encountered were in the millions. 

While we can debate whether creating a system which established a forced saving program so that people would have a guaranteed source of income when no longer able to work was a wise choice, it is certainly true that millions of men and women who survived the Great Depression, and who contributed to the defeat of Hitler and the Axis Powers, benefited from this program, as well as those born in the aftermath of WW2 who helped provide the labor which created our infrastructure which was built in the 1950's and 1960's. 

Monthly Social Security checks enable millions of people in their mid 60's and older to have options. For many who did not save as much as desirable, those SS checks raise them above the poverty line, and allow them to avoid making choices between buying food or medicine. 

That's why when I hear millionaires call Social Security a ponzi scheme, as Elon Musk recently did, or hear the current Commerce  Secretary, Howard Lutnick, say that only fraudsters would complain if their SS check wasn't received, it becomes all too clear that Trump and his ilk will say or do anything to convince low information Americans that it is time to take a sledgehammer to Social Security.

Whether by making up statistics about millions of dead Americans or undocumented aliens receiving benefits, or pretending that half of seniors who admit to living paycheck to paycheck are somehow at fault for their dependence on this security net, the super rich will justify their attacks on the Social Security system just to line their own pockets as they "balance" the budget to maintain their tax breaks.

Back in 2011, I posted four times under the topic of Solutions. My intent at the time was to address the problems of the day in forthcoming posts. While I didn't specifically follow that line of thought, I have presented ideas to address the issues which face us over the years.

Here are links to those four posts if interested.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2011/08/solutions-1.html

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2011/08/solutions-beginning.html

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2011/08/solutions-1_15.html

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2011/08/old-testament-thinking.html 

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Clearly, we need to address the impending funding crisis that faces our entitlement programs. It is estimated that both Social Security and Medicare will need to reduce benefits within the next ten years if there are no changes to its collection and/or distribution systems. This is due primarily because we are living longer than we did upon the inception of these safety net programs, and have had a reduced birth rate since the boomers were born between 1946 and 1964.

Towards full transparency, I reached my full retirement age (FRA) a few months ago when I turned 66 and 8 months old. For those of you who are unaware, the last time the rules for receiving SS benefits was changed was during Reagan's presidency. At that time, it had become obvious that some tweaking needed to be done to ensure solvency, as it is today.

Among other changes, FRA was adjusted so that those people born in 1957 needed to wait until they reached 66 and 6 months old, those born in 1958, like myself had to wait until 66 and 8 months, those born in 1959 reached their FRA at 66 and 10 months old, and anyone born in 1960 or beyond had their FRA changed to 67. 

This doesn't mean that you have to wait until those FRA mileposts, you can still start drawing social security benefits at age 62, but it does mean that your benefits will be that much less, a full 5 years worth less if your FRA is 67. For most Americans, that difference, drawing benefits at 62 rather than 67, is as much as $1000 per month.

Of course, many Americans can't retire at 62 since our antiquated health system ties health insurance to your employer, so many people wait until 65 to begin drawing social security benefits to align with their qualifying for Medicare. But again, if their FRA is 67, they are receiving less than their full benefit than if they had waited until they reached their FRA.

Again, full disclosure, my public sector service job provided me with a pension, as well as health benefits even after I retired, as a bridge to Medicare, so I was able to retire at age 63 1/2 with health benefits and a pension, both which contributed to me having the option of "early" retirement, an option, sadly, that the vast majority of working class Americans do not have.

When I tell people that I am fortunate to have a pension primarily because I worked as a public sector employee which had collective bargaining agreements provided by unions, that basically I am lucky that I sacrificed short term pay while dealing with, at times, a convoluted system related to promotions, I always emphasize that despite those shortcomings, I am extremely grateful that I spent over 30 years as a public sector employee which provided me with much better options for retirement, and health coverage before Medicare.

I especially make this point to those who bash unions when they regurgitate the talking points of the rich who prefer sheep as employees who are afraid to demand livable wages, decent health benefits, sick and vacation time, and protections from unlawful termination. 

You know, all the things that Musk and Trump are doing, illegally, to the federal work force, just as they have in their private sector businesses. 

So, all that being said, and in association with my 2011 Solutions posts, here are details of my plan to fix social security.

First, social security was envisioned by FDR to "give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age."

My plan, first and foremost, emphasizes the "average citizen" reference in FDR's vision.

Put bluntly, we need to stop payments to Americans who earn over six million dollars a year. 

But they paid into it, Joe, so they deserve it, don't they? No, as their duty as an American, someone who loves their country, who considers America the greatest country on the planet, it is a small sacrifice to make to provide for their fellow Americans who were not as lucky to be born rich, or did not have a superior business acumen. After all, since the max social security benefit is a little over $5000, a month, I am sure that those earning over 6 million dollars a year can live without $60,000 from the government, which represents 1% of their income, don't you?

Since Musk and his DOGE team have indicated that they want our IRS and Social Security records to find waste, fraud and abuse, and since they are the smartest tech people on the planet, I am sure they can find those who would fall into that category and stop their checks under the guise that such a plan addresses waste, waste being giving money to people who don't need it.

On the front end, I would immediately raise the level where collecting social security taxes ceases. Just to review, there are people, like almost everyone who is reading this, and everyone they know who have the social security tax (FICA) deducted from every pay check, all year long, while there are those who have it deducted only a few times, in January, and then not again until the following January.

For 2025 that number is about $176,000. So if you earn $176,000 a paycheck, times 26 pay periods a year, your total salary is a bit over $4.5 million a year. So people in that pay category pay their  FICA tax once per year, let that sink in.

I would immediately raise that limit so they pay their FICA tax at least for three months, which would equate to a limit of $176,000 times 6, or about $1 million.

Then I would raise that limit by $500,000 each year for 5 years which would result in the FICA tax stopping at the $4 million a year salary. After that, keep raising that limit by $100,000 a year for at least another ten years.

Those moves, by themselves, would most likely not fix the problem. There needs to be some more means testing so that those who receive social security payments truly need that money so in addition to eliminating payments to people making over $6 million a year, I would only provide a percentage of payments to those making over $3 million a year, so half, or up to $30,000 a year, again sticking with the 1% of total income baseline I referred to above.

This 1% rule could be applied right down the line. So that even people who earn $1 million a year in income, could collect up to $10,000 a year in social security, no more. That's about where the point of demarcation begins for the top 1% of wage earners in America.

Most people don't know that when social security first became taxable in 1984, there was a ceiling set for SS payments before taxes kicked in, $25,000 for a single filer, $32,000 for a couple. Unfortunately, that number has not been changed in forty years so we need to adjust it higher, immediately, then add a cost of living increase for every year going forward.

I would change it to at least $50,000 for a single filer, $70,000 for a couple to reflect the median income for seniors today. By the way, doing that would enable Trump to check off a campaign promise to reduce taxes on seniors, without applying the rule to all income groups which is just another give away to the rich.

Again, full transparency, my wife's social security benefits are taxed because we are fortunate enough to still earn a comfortable living through my pension, part time work, and an inheritance. While I may find her SS payments are taxed a bit less with the increase I've proposed, it would benefit millions of seniors who currently earn above that $25,000 for single filers, $32,000 for couples range. 

Is that enough? Perhaps not, but I am far more in favor of a plan which removes people from the social security rolls who could live with 99% of their current income, which collects more FICA taxes from those who can afford it, and which provides a much fuller benefit for those seniors whose income is below the median average, than just raising the FRA for people born since 1990.

We are already seeing that many people of my generation who are in their 60's are retiring, and drawing social security, before they reach their FRA, which means they are sacrificing bigger payments for money now, and which is partially why so many boomers are still working as they find that their social security payments aren't stretching as far as they thought. It is not hard to imagine that it won't get any easier for them when they cant' work. 

This lesson should remind us that increasing the FRA for all people, regardless of their work history, as was done in 1984, penalizes those Americans who work in blue collar jobs which entails more wear and tear on their bodies. 

Along that line, while I am not sure how it would be accomplished, perhaps the FRA for those born after 1990 (or whatever year is chosen) could be increased based on the actual description of the work they performed. Or maybe, since there may be some classifications which are nebulous as to how much physical work they demanded, the FRA could be tied to income. 

For instance, if you average an income that pays out a social security benefit in the top 30% of people in the system, your FRA is another year later. And if in the top 20%, a second year, and in the top 10% a third year. I am sure that the numbers people among us could develop something similar to this that would save back end money yet still provide benefits to those who can't wait that extra year or two to collect their full amount, just from a physical fitness standpoint. 

Juxtaposed next to the current attack on the social security system by the Trump Administration through reducing the number of people who help seniors navigate the system, changing the rules for contacting the system, then closing the offices where people are now supposed to go, my proposal emphasizes means testing to alter how social security taxes are collected and how benefits are paid.

Means testing, not mean policies.

Here is a link to a post I wrote in 2017 along these lines during the debate about the changes to the tax system which produced the current tax rules that disproportionately benefited the rich, and which now have to be extended. We didn't learn our lesson then, lower taxes on the rich did not produce a balanced budget, no where near it, yet here we are again, debating which segment of our population that needs it most, should lose benefits so that the rich maintain their tax breaks. It would be comical, if not so sad; just another indication of the decline of America.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2017/11/means-testing-not-mean-policies.html

 

 

March Madness

March Madness, for those unfamiliar with the phrase, refers to the college basketball tournaments, mostly the men's NCAA tournament, but also the women's tournament which has gained in popularity recently, and even the NIT and newly created College Basketball Crown tournament in Vegas.

To be honest, I have filled out my share of brackets in the past. Not to the point of betting, but out of curiosity to see how I fare against the experts, and reality. Most likely won't this year, but will still follow the games, especially those first two weekends which always feature end of game buzzer beaters and upsets. It is particularly interesting when a college from one of the lesser known conferences beats a big time school with top level recruits. 

Of course, for most of my life, betting on sports was illegal. Now, there are odds flashed across the screen during the actual games. Interestingly, in this age of rampant cost cutting and anxiety about our national deficit, it is estimated that 3 billion, that's B for billion, dollars will be wagered on the outcomes of the games. And remember, these are not professionals, per se, although the definition of amateur sports is another thing that has evolved, or devolved depending on your opinion, in the last decade or so.

But that is not the focus of this post.

Every year there are teams "on the bubble" as the season comes to a close. Teams that may or may not be chosen as at large teams after all the conferences champions are decided. I would imagine that for most of those schools that are not chosen, which are acknowledged as "first four out", there is disappointment. While they are generally selected to participate in the NIT tournament, that is second banana to the big "dance."

Along with this disappointment, there is sometimes whining that a team was picked that was less deserving, or even hints that some type of nefarious backroom deal had been made to sway the decision.

This year, within hours of the selection reveal, itself a big time TV show, the governor of West Virginia went on record in protest that the West Virginia Mountaineers team had been left out, and further, that the inclusion of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels (UNC) smacked of favoritism, if not downright cheating.  

Now, there are certainly some who agree that the West Virginia team had earned consideration to be in the tournament. During the season, they had beaten a number of teams that were ultimately selected, and had won ten games in the Big 12 conference which is one of the stronger conferences in the country. In fact, at one point, their record was 12-2.

But they also lost 10 games in conference play, lost 11 of their last 18 games to finish 19-13 and lost in the first round of the conference tournament, as the 8th seed, to the 14th seed. In other words, they didn't finish well, and sometimes how a team is playing can sway the choice for these bubble teams.

Just to compare, UNC finished with a 13-7 conference record in a similarly strong conference, won 7 of their last 9 conference games then won two more games in the conference tournament as the 5th seed, beating the 12th and 4th seeds before losing to the #1 seed in the semi-finals. They finished strong, in other words.

Now, I am not going to presume to know which team is better, or even to argue that one team deserved to be chosen over the other. I could see good reasons for either choice, West Virginia's better record against better teams, UNC's better record down the stretch.

What disturbs me is that Governor Morrisey is promising to investigate this "atrocity."

So I thought I might do some research on West Virginia in light of the importance of getting to the bottom of this insult to the basketball team, as displayed by the governor's obvious outrage. Please understand, I have no ill will against those who call West Virginia their home. Have no hidden animosity against the state itself, or even its priorities as to where to spend its resources. 

I do however, wonder why the governor of a state with some more important, even critical issues, chooses to go on news shows to rant about the travesty of this decision, and holds a news conference to announce his plans to root out the (obviously) biased source of the committee's selection.

One interesting source comes from the annual US News and World Reports state ranking, which I believe is from 2024 for year 2023. Here is that link.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/west-virginia

As you can see, of the eight metrics used for the ranking system, West Virginia is 48th in Economy, Education and Health Care, and an even worse 50th in Infrastructure. The state does receive good marks in Crime and Corrections (21st), Opportunity (16th) and Fiscal Stability (18th), but is towards the back of the pack for Natural Environment (39th). One could say, 5 poor rankings out of 8.

Also, I checked another source for poverty rates, and found the following chart which breaks down the rates for children (under 18), those aged 18 to 64, and those over 65. The charts use color codes to differentiate the states with the highest rates (deep purple), next highest (light purple), two shades of blue/gray, then white.

As you can see in Figure 2, West Virginia is deep purple for child poverty (worst category, 20% or more), and light purple for poverty for adults over 65, figure 3.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/09/acs-child-poverty.html

Perhaps it is just me, but maybe the governor should be "investigating" why one of of 5 children and one in eight adults over the age of 65 in his state live in poverty. 

Priorities.

As I have said many times, there is no shortage of money in America. There is only a shortage of morality in our decision making process when it comes to where we spend our money, and who, apparently, we allow to make those choices. 

For me, granting that power to the richest person on the planet, someone with no sense of public service, someone who prefers to spend billions on interplanetary voyages rather than combating disease and poverty on Earth, is just another indicator of the decline of America.

Oh, and just in case you were expecting me to pick a winner in this year's NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, I like St Johns, Duke, Houston and Michigan State to make the Final Four, and look to Drake, St Marys and VCU as possible Cinderella teams.

Not a fan of Rick Pitino but I can see St. Johns winning it all. Also Houston. Anyone but Duke.

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I've posted three times in the past under the topic of Priorities.

The most recent was in October of 2017 during Trump's first term and addressed the concept of false choices. How at that time, and still today, we are told that we can't achieve a high level of growth without sacrificing our environment (drill, baby, drill), that we can't reduce our national debt without slashing benefits for those who need it most. And that we can't increase taxes for the super rich for fear of them taking their ball and going home.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2017/10/false-choices.html 

Then there was one from January of 2015 during Obama's 2nd term. This post focused on his stated vision to provide free community college education for all Americans. Of course, in retrospect it seems laughable in light of our current reluctance to even consider eliminating student debt interest, but at the time there was still a belief that advanced education was a good thing. My comments at the time related to the experiences of my family which included one child's recent graduation from college, the cost of sending the second child to college, and the debt my wife and I had willingly accepted to assist our children. 

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2015/01/education-and-spending.html

The most earliest post, from April of 2011, addressed taxes, and how we analyze where to spend our national money, as well as how we tax our citizens to collect that money, and finally, how we demonstrate our priorities during this process as expressed in the justification for where to spend and how to tax.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2011/04/taxes.html  

What May Come

Due to the increase in traffic on my blog, I have seen "hits" to past posts, and have begun to read them, both to get a sense of how my opinions may have changed, and to update them with a larger font to ease future reading. Since I began using the larger font in 2021, there are hundreds of posts to upgrade.

As I may have mentioned before, this process has alerted me to the stark realization that I am no longer hopeful for the future. Certainly not in the short run. 

While many of my past posts detailed the shortcomings of our government leaders, or our current iteration of capitalism, or various Supreme Court decisions, or even just the state of our democracy and the complacent attitude of our citizenry towards their responsibility to participate via research and dialogue in its care, I generally ended with hope that an awakening might be forthcoming. 

I've written many stories along this vein, all with the firm belief that it was only my impatience that presented the biggest obstacle, impatience that what I though we were capable of, was just not manifesting itself quickly enough. But that it would, over time.

Now I am not so sure, not certain that progress is inevitable, and that humanity will eventually figure it out. 

After all, countless civilizations have come and gone that we know of, let alone those that may have inhabited Earth before our written history, not to mention the possibility of life on any of the millions of planets in any of the millions of solar systems in our galaxy, which is one of the millions in our universe.

For all we know, fictional stories like Star Trek which feature all types of life forms from the four corners of the known universe, could reflect reality, which also means that civilizations come and go like so many twigs down a fast flowing stream.

The real question then is, how much of this change of heart is related to the simple fact that I am much closer to my own death than my birth? How much is a reflection of my own sense of mortality?

I would like to think that I am not afraid of death, although living a few years with limited cognitive awareness or severe physical restrictions is another issue.

I am not a firm believer in the afterlife, heaven and hell. I am certainly not sure of some type of eternal reward, having long ago rejected the basis of my birth religion which teaches that salvation lies in the belief of John 3 16. 

At the same time, while I don't deny my past, the life I've lived, the people I spent time with, the actions, good and bad, I engaged in, I don't necessarily long for the "good old" days, not withstanding the energy of youth.

I accept my rose colored glasses reminisces, even enjoy relating the adventures of my youth to the occasional listener who encourages me, but I also know that I was lucky to have been born a white male in the late 1950's, and that my experiences were inextricably tied to this birth lottery win. 

The point of all this, I guess, is to at least acknowledge that fading hope is part and parcel with growing old, yet for me, is not just because I wish to return to the days of my irresponsible youth. I feel that I can both acknowledge that I am experiencing less hope due to my advancing age, but also can see what is going on. One does not cancel out the other or make the other less real or observable.

So, all that being said, I expect some of all of the following things to occur in the next twelve to eighteen months.

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There are some who pose the question, what will happen when Trump defies a court order. As far as I am concerned, he is already doing just that, so the answer, for now, is nothing will happen. At least not at first. Perhaps as the number of unconstitutional executive orders accumulate, and as the rebukes from various courts mount up, there will be some blow back. But it certainly won't come from Congress, the GOP in both houses having already abdicated there power to the executive they worship, and are afraid of. And, sadly, the Dems in Congress have shown themselves to be almost as spineless, although they sure do engage in some grandstanding in their ineffectiveness.

As for the Supreme Court, where so many challenges to Trump's abuses of power are headed, I do expect some decisions that the MAGA world will decry, but then what? When their rulings are ignored, when threats of impeachment are levied, if not against them then certainly against lower level federal judges, how will they enforce those decisions? 

Which brings us to the People. I fully expect many, and perhaps very large protests to be organized once the weather improves. Certainly there will be disturbances on some college campuses, and in urban settings. Obviously, this is not lost on the current administration as the investigations into various colleges over protests against Israel's slaughter of Palestinian women and children indicate, not to mention the threat of the withholding of funds, and the deportation of protesters who may not be American born.

At this point, I anticipate martial law to be declared, if not nation wide, certainly in specific places, not coincidentally, places where voters did not support the current president. For me, it is not a matter of if, but when. Even more tragically, when the United States military is called to action to suppress these protests, there will be American citizens killed.

The only question will be who will emulate Neil Young and write a 2025 version of the song that begins 

Tin soldiers and Nixon comin' 

We're finally on our own 

This summer I hear the drummin' 

Four dead in Ohio   

But not to be outdone, there will be increasing levels of disease and death as the unscientific policies of RFK Jr begin to be implemented. It won't matter when American children die of diseases that had been virtually wiped out by 21st century discovery and implementation of vaccines, he will just blame poor diet, and a parent's right to allow their children to suffer, and die from a preventable disease. 

No real news there, really, since we will participate in the deaths of children all around the world since helping other countries prevent the  suffering and death of children through USAID programs, among others, do not produce a profit, or are just not a priority for the richest man in the world and his DOGEmen, not to mention that we are OK with gun violence being the current leading cause of death among those 4 years old and less. Perhaps allowing preventable disease to take that number one spot, as it was for decades, will provide some satisfaction to the gun manufacturers when they can say their products aren't the leading cause for children's deaths anymore. 

So, once martial law is declared, the suspension of certain first amendment rights will follow. After all, the constitution is not applicable to an executive with wide ranging immunity from prosecution and accountability (thank you SCOTUS), especially when he cloaks his unconstitutional actions in executive orders.

Also, as I have said in a previous post, Trump will sign a national abortion ban should one land on his desk. There are already women dying due to abortion being returned to the states, this will increase that number tenfold.

Lastly, but certainly not less important, I expect that the Supreme Court will return gay marriage to the states later this year, or early next year. The cases are already teed up by states like Idaho and North Dakota. This will be devastating for the LBGTQ+ community as there is not doubt that at least 20 states will outlaw gay marriage once allowed. And don't worry, those red states won't make the mistake of putting gay marriage up for a referendum. They won't take that chance. 

Already legislatures in states like Missouri and Ohio are finding ways to void their citizens votes to include reproductive rights in their state's constitution, so, lesson learned.

The real question is, will there be a midterm election. Up until recently, I wouldn't have even considered typing such a hyperbolic and outlandish thought, the old Joe being hopeful that sanity and logic would prevail. But now, it won't surprise me when Trump declares that we can't take the chance that the Dems will steal the midterm elections just as they did the 2020 presidential election, so for the sake of democracy we must delay another election.  

This last executive order will then allow him to double down on the further suspension of our first amendment rights, free speech, the press, the right to protest and to petition the government. You know, all those things that allow people to express their dissatisfaction with a government that is not responsive to the people's wishes.

In addition to the stranglehold that the new administration will seek to put in place in terms of limiting protests against his policies, and sending DOJ and FBI to prosecute various news outlets that he deems less than submissive, Trump's version of the weaponization of these institutions, I also expect the resurgence of American imperialism as there is no doubt that the current president wants to extend our power and dominance over other nations or territories through political, economic, or military influence, as is the definition of imperialism.

He has more than once stated that we will own Greenland "one way or another," and has threatened to take over the Panama Canal, not ruling our military action.

And then there is Canada.

One of our most loyal allies, a country which routinely sends emergency personnel to help combat the various weather emergencies that have occurred in border states, and even states much further from our shared border. Our second largest trading partner, and in fact, the largest trading partner for many states within our country.

Sadly, Trump continually insults the leaders of Canada, and by extension, its citizens. He has so roiled our relationship with this pivotal ally that our national anthem is being booed at professional sporting events. 

In all these situations, what the citizens of each of these countries desires is irrelevant. Trump knows best for them, and resistance to his royal decrees is not important. A sentiment that he certainly would extend to citizens of other countries since he believes it true for Americans.

It's no wonder that he sides with Putin over Ukraine, as that is exactly how a megalomaniac leads his country, and perceives the world. Just another resource for the taking as long as I have the bigger military or stronger economy to force them into submission.

I know, rather bleak. 

Who knows, perhaps I will be able to publish a future post in which I admit I was wrong, admit I over reacted, admit that Trump was more bluster than action. Perhaps. 

If so, I will be ecstatic to acknowledge my incorrect predictions. I guess only time will tell.

 

 

Sights and Smells of Hope

Nora and I went to the flower show this past Thursday. The last time we went was during the pandemic, in 2021 I believe, when the flower show was held outdoors rather than in the Convention Center.

For those of you who are not 65 years old yet, or do not travel into the city by train, you may not know that there is a Septa program which provides free travel to seniors. Yes, you can travel by regional rail or take a bus, trolley or subway for free with this pass.

So we did. We drove to the Paoli station, first time going there, navigated the Septa app to pay for parking (only $2 for the day), then took the train to Jefferson Station where we disembarked then walked up a few flights of stairs to the Convention Center. All in all, a comfortable and stress free trip, despite the initial concern as to how to pay for parking as I had to download the app, register our car, and provide a credit card to pay the fee.

A far cry from the days when we use to drive to Fern Rock to take the subway into the city for concerts at the Spectrum, having to pay cash by putting a few dollars in the slot that corresponded to the parking spot we chose.

Anyway, the Flower Show.

To be honest, compared to past recollections of my reaction upon first entering an indoor show, the heady aroma of flowers and nature, this visit was a bit muted. There just didn't seem to be as many big, beautiful, showy displays of flowers. 

Still, the entrance to the show this year was spectacular! A visual cornucopia of beauty, matched by the earthy smells of all forms of flowers and trees arranged to display the natural world.

For those first few minutes, I felt hope in the midst of all the chaos we are experiencing, hope that, at worst, nature will reign on Earth long after humanity has passed, but perhaps, at best, we will turn away from the short term thinking that manifests in phrases like drill, baby, drill, and reconnect with the bounty of our planet, as the designers of the many displays we saw had done.

Sadly, some of those good feelings dissipated when we realized the extent of the marketplace filled with vendors selling all sorts of products, and not just flower or garden related.

Still, it was well worth the trip, if even for just those moments when, surrounded by nature's floral bounty, we were able to escape the 24/7 news stories that describe our continued national fascination with isolationism and lack of empathy for our fellow travelers on Earth, those within and outside our boundaries.

The train ride home was uneventful, and, as our car was still in the lot, I assumed I had successfully navigated the Septa parking app. We used our last Christmas gift card for dinner at a nearby restaurant, chatting about the beautiful displays we had seen, and ideas for improving our backyard vegetable and flower beds.

I imagine we will continue to go to the flower show, perhaps not every year but certainly many more times. And we also go to our share of botanical gardens, like our visit to Longwood Gardens this past January, and to local parks and preserves. Such trips are good for the soul, in addition to reminding us that the Creator had blessed us with such diversity in the flora and fauna of our planet. It's such a shame that so many of our leaders have lost touch with this simple fact; that taking care of what we have been given is the best way to honor whatever God we worship, and that such care includes nature as well as each other. 

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One final thought on our use of the train. 

Among so many other idiotic actions and opinions which have been emanating from the co-presidents, I expect an attack on mass transit systems to be forthcoming. Whether they push for privatizing this critical form of transportation, or just starving its federal budget so that it collapses from lack of funds, the "businessmen" whose only yardstick is profit and loss, are incredibly divorced from the reality that so many Americans live. 

Not to mention the benefits of mass transit systems, regardless of whether they operate at a loss or not. 

Don't people leaving their cars at home reduce demand for gas, demand being the other side of the supply/demand dynamic which controls the price of a product. 

And, of course, less cars mean less pollution, cleaner air. Do they not remember that during the height of the pandemic, our air was just a little cleaner. 

Not to mention the added traffic that is avoided, allowing the trucks and vans which deliver goods to small and large stores more room to maneuver, less traffic to battle.

And finally, the simple fact that by providing free rides to seniors like myself, perhaps we might venture into the city more often, spending our money at the stores and shops, contributing to the economy. Certainly during our few hours at the flower show, we spent more money than the cost of those free Septa rides.

I just don't understand the lack of vision that manifests in such short term thinking which would slash funding for mass transit systems such as Septa or Amtrak because they don't make money on their own, despite my points above about how these services improve air quality, reduce traffic, increase the supply of gas which will reduce the overall cost for everyone, and provide transportation for people to spend money in urban areas where they might not drive themselves.

Not to mention crazy, no sorry, cruel funding cuts that remove free meals for children, despite reams of research that demonstrates that those free meals improve learning in the classroom.

So, while I did experience the sights and smells of hope last week, I remain a realist who feels very uneasy about the direction of our country. 

I will detail just where I see America headed in the next 12 to 18 months in my next post. 

 

 

 

 

Cruelty Is The Point

To my surprise, hits to my blog exceeded 7400 for February. Easily the highest total in years. Thanks to those who continue to read my words, and perhaps, share them with others.

I am continually shocked at how cruel the policies of the current president and his co-president billionaire have been in these first couple of months. Certainly, I never expected a pro-humanity tenure to be the guiding inspiration of the new administration. But at least in that first term, blatant cruelty was saved for illegal immigrant children and their parents. Not to mention people who made the mistake of being born in a country where the population chose to worship a religion which differs from most of America. 

So it was no surprise when I saw a story on last night's 11:00 news about a Muslim couple who have been in America for many years, who run a well respected business in a community in the area, and who were rounded up last week by ICE. Apparently the husband came here on a religious Visa but whose application for citizenship has not been advanced. While the community has rallied around them, and while their local federal representative has contacted the administration for details, the author of the faith based executive order which was ostensibly created to combat religious persecution, demonstrates his own sense of which religion he defends, and which he condemns. 

Perhaps we took his stated intention of only going after those illegal immigrants who were the worst criminals a bit too literally.

Now, however, it seems that even American citizens are targets.

It didn't take very long for the new president to declare, through executive order, that transgender Americans should be persecuted, legally. Already gender affirming care is being denied to this community, in blue as well as red states, while a certain odious attorney general continues to seek the medical records of these individuals who were forced to seek health care in other states.

Now, the Pentagon has been directed to identify those transgender soldiers in our military, and remove them in the next few months. Can you imagine the hurt, and yes perhaps, hatred, that someone who has committed their near term future to serve our country, must now feel? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has never been shown to be just words on an old out-of-date piece of paper, as this directive demonstrates. 

Another set of Americans that are bearing the brunt of abject cruelty are those in the federal workforce. Notwithstanding the fact that upwards of 30% of federal workers are veterans (I guess Trump is doubling down on his opinion that those who died in service are losers and suckers by extending it to those that served and lived), the attack against the "deep" state is resulting in tens of thousands of everyday Americans losing their jobs because they had the temerity to think that public service is important. 

Further, the new president is actively violating the law by removing federal workers from their jobs without due process, let alone for any good reason. And just yesterday, Trump made it clear that union contracts signed in the recent past would not be honored. I guess for someone who doesn't honor agreements and contracts he makes in his personal life wouldn't give a crap about such contracts signed by our former president or the union members who approved that contract, whether they be just regular Americans or veterans. 

Certainly Trump and Musk don't value public service, neither of them having spent a minute doing something for the common good that didn't result in their making gobs of money. If it isn't already obvious, jettisoning our federal workforce like so much garbage is perfectly tenable, and of course, will result in the privatization of many of these services, which will generate profits for "businessmen" like Trump and Musk while the actual services for those in need will suffer, or just be eliminated all together.

And then there are the children who had the lack of foresight to be born to an illegal immigrant. The nerve of those babies and infants! While I don't know for sure if the pro-fetus movement has been reevaluating its literature to distinguish and separate out those fetuses that were conceived by illegal immigrants, it certainly does seem disingenuous that they march to prevent their being aborted then advocate for policies that will strip them of their citizenship. And then summarily kick them out of America.

Finally, lets not forget that in the name if extending tax cuts to the richest people in our nation, Trump and his immoral band of budget cutters have no qualms with slashing monies for the poor, the least advantaged, the sick. Not to mention gutting the very government departments that protect our water, air, the safety of our food supply and transportation systems, all of which will effect those with the least, the most.

Cruelty.

I know that there are many in the MAGA cult who welcome cruelty to those from other countries who came to America looking for opportunity and freedom, and to those that choose to love differently, worship differently, look different, but I would like to think that the millions of Americans who voted for Trump because of inflation and the slow response by the Biden Administration to slow the flow of illegal immigrants, are a bit taken aback by the disrespect being shown to our public workforce.

And I would like to think that they value the sacrifice being demonstrated by the people of Ukraine against the brutality of Russian aggression. To see the president and vice president berate the Ukrainian president because he wouldn't suck their male appendages in front of the news media is one thing, but to read that the American bully is pausing military aid and intelligence to Ukraine is beyond cruel. 

I certainly knew that this second term would be horrible. I even expected that the new president and his party of sycophants would tie additional aid to Ukraine to some form of payback, Trump being the epitome of a transactional person, but I guess I was naive not to think that he would actually take the side of Russia. The side of a dictator who is sending his citizens to their death on the battlefield and ruining his own country's economy. A leader Trump idolizes because he is strong, despite the incredible suffering Putin is causing Ukrainians as well as the Russian citizenry.

Trump, Putin, Musk seem to think they represent some type of renaissance for masculinity. Strongmen who do what needs to be done without consulting those who might disagree. What a sad definition of what a real man should be when compared to how ex-president Carter conducted himself after leaving office, not to mention the founder of the movement that allegedly labels itself as Christian.

Putin has ruined his country while sending hundreds of thousands of its citizens to their death, not to mention the tens of thousands of Ukrainians that have died defending their land, and Trump admires him for his strength, and trusts him to honor his word.  How revealing when one considers that Trump doesn't honor his own words, as his on again, off again tariff threats against the two countries with which he negotiated and signed an agreement, testifies. And they are our neighbors. Is that really how MAGA people treat their own neighbors, or would want to be treated by them?

Two liars, Trump and Putin, side by side, cementing the new global world order, might makes right, while Elon Musk fashions his own world vision of maximizing the wealth of fellow money changers at the expense of the poor, the suffering, and those in need.

---

Quite a while ago, I wrote the following paragraph in a post written about the upcoming presidential election between then President Obama and Mitt Romney. At the time, I questioned whether Obama had the guts to see through his ideas, his vision, for improving America. If he had the fortitude to push on despite losing some of his popularity. At the end I wrote the following, which was meant to be tongue in cheek, but sent chills through me today when I read them.

---

But perhaps, pure evil aside, we need less morality and more Machiavelli.  We need leaders to focus on policies that can make us great, and forget those that hold us back.  Leaders who can funnel our shared resources to those that know how to make money and pay less taxes.  Laws that protect profit rather than the sick and old.  Policies that throw the flora and fauna of our planet under the bus so that we can have more shopping malls.  Regulations that allow more digging in the earth and more smokestacks to belch so that we can have cheap energy to get us to those malls.  Decision makers that can look past the hardships of the few and make sure that those with the most continue to see green lights ahead so we can return America to its rightful place on the world stage. 

Certainly Ayn Rand would be happy.   

--

If I thought that then, of Romney, no wonder that I am aghast at the state of America today. Everything I sarcastically wish for is coming to fruition under the guise of MAGA and Project 2025. Even worse, America is now siding with a war criminal over the leader of the country that was attacked, in the name of some potential access to minerals as payback for defending democracy in the world. As I recently said to a few people, I am ashamed to be an American at this juncture. 

Hopefully, at least the whole "Christian nation" rhetoric can be laid aside since we now side with a dictator, are arresting illegal immigrants at their kids schools, and are cutting social safety net programs to give the super rich tax breaks.

I have a relative who ends all his texts with God Bless America, followed by a little American flag. Not sure how any of the above actions by our current president reflects God, but if so, it is certainly not a god I respect, certainly not a god with whom I want to spend eternity.

Finally, in the last two weeks I have had numerous conversations with people in which we have acknowledged how uneasy we feel about not liking America in these moments. About how we actually found ourselves cheering for Canada in the 4Nations hockey final. Along those lines, I found the following post which I wrote in 2010 when I first started this blog.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2010/05/tender-hearts-wider-perspective.html

White House Faith Office

In my last post, I expressed my disagreement with JD Vance's use of ordo amoris, both as a way to justify mass deportations, but also because I felt he wasn't really following the dictates of that theological notion.

This post will focus on the recent creation of The White House Faith Office.

For those of you who missed it, the new president signed an executive order to establish a White House Faith Office. Among other things, it will consult with faith leaders on topics defending religious liberty, the promotion of adoption and foster care programs, help faith based organizations procure government grants, and to root out anti-Christian bias in America which includes the creation of a task force led by the new Attorney General to investigate the targeting of Christians. 

He chose Paula White-Cain to lead the office.

So, where to begin. First, this was not the creation of something new, but a renaming of an existing office which was formerly called the Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives. Not sure why the new president felt the need to alter the title, other than perhaps his penchant for changing things to suit him, to put his stamp on it. 

It is not an uncommon practice for a new boss to want to make changes to an organization or department, I experienced, and engaged in it over the course of my working career, but there is a fine line between changing things for the sake of change, and changing things to actually improve the situation. If this was the only department or federal process that Trump had altered so far, I would give him the benefit of the doubt, but since he has taken a bulldozer to the entire federal bureaucracy, I tend to believe he is endeavoring to put his mark on everything, as a dog does by peeing on every tree in the park.

But I digress.

On the face of it then, no big deal. An office to encourage the myriad range of good works and programs that faith based organizations have created, and to assist them when legal. I say when legal because there is that pesky separation of church and state section in the First Amendment. But again, as long as the office does not try to establish one faith over another as our national creed, the concept is fine.

Unfortunately, the real direction and marching orders for this iteration seems extremely biased towards Christianity. Granted, there was some mention of anti-antisemitism during the announcement of the executive order, but there seemed to be a laser focus in that regards towards various college campuses where some disgraceful conduct occurred in response to the ongoing slaughter of Palestinian women and children by the Israeli government. As I said in a previous post, protesting against this atrocity, peacefully, without intimidation against Jewish students, is also in line with our First Amendment rights, and not anti-Semitic in itself. 

Curiously, I didn't read any comments or instruction given to Attorney General Bondi to investigate the comments by Marjorie Taylor Green in regards to Jewish space lasers. 

As I have read, and most likely stated before, claiming an anti-Christian bias in a country where Christians outnumber all other religious affiliations by two to one sounds as ridiculous as Trump's latest claim (whispered in his ear by Elon) that white South Africans are being discriminated against by their non-white counterparts. While, at least the white South African population is the minority in that country, the fact that those 7% own upwards of 70% of the wealth in that country, or that 60% of Black South Africans live in poverty compared to 1% of White South Africans, it again sound ludicrous to claim prejudice against those with the better standards of living.

Sort of how ridiculous it is to hear some of the super rich in America claiming oppression.

What is really striking however, is that as far as I could determine, no mention was made about the obvious anti-Muslim attacks and widespread prejudice that exists in our country. Of course, it would be a complete turn around for the new president to admit that when he himself is Islamophobic, see Muslim travel bans, calling their countries sh**hole nations, constant derogatory comments about the few Islamic representatives in our government. 

Clearly then, while the Office itself is not the problem, like so many ideas Trump touches, the execution and goals of the directive are the problem.

Will Bondi use this new understanding to sue private businesses who continue to hire people with an eye to diversity, equity and inclusion as an attack on "Christian" values? We know she is targeting such companies, its just a matter of how those attacks are justified, and which of Trump's many unconstitutional executive orders are referred to in any indictment.

And then there is Paula White-Cain. I recommend you google her and not rely on my concerns, but here they are.

First, like Trump, she is on her third marriage. Funny how the sacred institution of marriage is lost of so many of Trump's associates, as well as himself. And, like Trump, she had experience with bankruptcy, he with casinos, she with her first mega-church in Florida. And both have been investigated for business fraud, one actually convicted (has he paid the state of New York what he owes them, by the way), while in her case the Senate Finance Committee found evidence of misusing charitable, tax-exempt funds.

But the really strong connection between the two, as it appears that she is the new president's spiritual advisor, is that she promotes the prosperity gospel. Again, do a quick google on that one, but in essence, it teaches that God blesses his believers with wealth, health and happiness in this life which means that believers can increase their wealth through faith, positive declarations, and charitable giving. And, no surprise, that charitable giving starts by giving to televangelists like Oral Roberts and White-Cain. Again, you might want to google Roberts net worth when he passed to... well I guess it doesn't matter since he was rewarded with God's blessings on Earth.

Prosperity gospel. No surprise that Trump would be attracted to such a philosophy, Jesus's warning in Luke 18:25 that "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle that for a rich man to gain eternal life" notwithstanding.

Finally, while perusing some older posts this morning, I came upon the following one about the 2010 proposal to build a mosque within a few blocks of the site of the horrific attacks on the Twin Towers on 9/11. Curiously, that mosque was built, despite the outrage of some Americans, including Trump who offered $6 million to be an investor so he could block the construction of the mosque. I guess some things never change, white house faith office or not.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2010/08/mosque.html

JD Vance and Ordo Amoris

I was raised a Roman Catholic, attended parochial school for eight years, then went to a private high school which featured instruction by the Christian Brothers, as well as lay teachers. While I am far from an expert on the teachings and dogma of the Catholic Church, I was certainly exposed to a constant indoctrination of those tenets during my formative years.

I can't recall if I have conveyed the story of when doubt in my religion of birth first began, but it occurred in seventh grade. I had two nuns as teachers that year for all subjects, science, math, religion, all subjects.

At one point, after a science class in which Darwin's theory of evolution was covered, I asked a question in religion class about how we should interpret the Book of Genesis in general, and the story of Adam and Eve in particular as it relates to the topic of the science class that we just left, again, a topic taught by a nun.

Sadly, I was told to sit down, (we used to have to stand to ask a question). Now, perhaps the good sister did not want to broach such a difficult topic, or perhaps even thought that my question did not reflect the curiosity level of my fellow classmates, but remember, I was taught to believe everything in the bible as God's word, the Truth, and here was a science lesson that seemed to contradict those words.

In retrospect, I don't blame the nun although I would have expected her to have asked that same question herself at some point in her life in preparation to teach. At worse, I expected that I could have been asked to see her after class, to discuss the topic, if she wasn't prepared to talk openly to all the children.

Regardless, that was the moment when I realized that the Truth of the Bible was rooted in faith, not fact, which is certainly fine, but should be taught as such. As I sit here, 50 plus years later, I have encountered countless people still, who believe in the Bible as a history or science book. 

As a young adult, searching for meaning (as they say), I read a number of religious tomes, including the Bible, although I focused more on the New Testament. Today, I respect the Bible as a source for stories that provide moral guidance. Stories to make the complex seem more simple, easier to understand. And yes, to present rules for the faithful to follow, so they don't have to struggle with their own interpretations.

Which brings me to the concept of ordo amoris, which I must admit, I was never taught, or if taught, never made an impression on me.

For those unfamiliar with this moral theological notion, it basically refers to an ever expanding circle of love and good will which we should follow. To put it simply, you should show more love to your spouse and family first, then to your neighbors and friends, then to those in other states or other countries. 

Ordo amoris, or an order of love.

The reason it entered mainstream conversation was that JD Vance used this theory to justify mass deportations of illegal aliens from America, which, is no surprise considering the president's rallying cry of America First.

Before posting, I read two articles which seem to look with skepticism at Vance's use of ordo amoris as justification for the rather inhumane treatment of people (yes, they are people, children of God as I was taught during my years in Catholic school).

The first is from the America magazine, the second from the National Catholic Register. The one from America is much longer and goes into much more depth as to why Vance's interpretation of ordo amoris is incorrectly being applied to mass deportations. Also, both articles touch on Pope Francis's reaction both to the mass deportation plans, and Vance's justification. If you only have the energy or time to read one, I recommend the first.

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2025/02/13/ordo-amoris-stephen-pope-vance-249926 

https://www.ncregister.com/cna/pope-francis-vance-clash-over-ordo-amoris 

After reading the article in America, I initially thought there was nothing I could add, as it detailed a bunch of reasons to decry Vance's interpretation. But as I was typing this post, a number of thoughts popped into my head; here they are.

First, I do recall that there is a pope infallibility theory in Roman Catholicism which basically asserts that the pope is free from error when speaking on faith and morals. Now, while it can certainly be debated if the pope's statement that mass deportations by the United States of America runs contrary to the teachings of Jesus, I would tend to give the pope the benefit of the doubt before Vance. I mean, one of them has studied scriptures all his life, devoted his life to Jesus Christ, and was elected by his peers, all the other cardinals of the Church, while the other is a politician who once declared that Trump was America's Hitler but is now his vice president.

What I want to know is what the pastor at Vance's church is telling him about disagreeing with the spiritual leader of his religion, at least on this topic? Did he correct Vance, admonish him for openly dissenting from the pope's opinion and advice concerning deportations, or did he just glad-hand him and take his (one would imagine) large, weekly tithe?

More to the point however, if we assume that Vance is right, that we should spend our love on our family first, etc, to me it seems that he isn't even doing that. Or not very consistently.

First, Vance is the Vice President of all Americans. To me, that means that his circle of loved ones is far bigger than the average person's who can really only directly effect a very small number of people. Vance's input into this administration's policies, and his defense of them, should require him to consider everyone in the country, not just those who voted for him or agree with him. One might say that morally speaking, all elected officers in our government, from local to state to federal, assume a higher moral standard, a larger circle, if we are to agree with ordo amoris.

So, while most undocumented people are not citizens, many have married Americans, or gave birth to children on American soil. Are they not part of Vance's circle? This inconsistency seems even more obvious, and odious, considering the attacks of birthright citizenship. That juxtaposition seems to define Vance's version of ordo amoris; just change the definition of those we want to exclude from our circle.

There are a few things I would like to ask Mr Vance, but one critical question would be how he would react to one of his children experiencing gender identity issues. While I am sure he would make sure his child received some kind of health care, perhaps even mental health care, I expect he would hope that his child "grows out of it" or resolves his/her problems in a way which conforms with Vance's assumption that there are only 2 genders.

But if not, would he ostracize that child, as has Elon Musk who apparently, has a transgender child whom he disavows? Would he force that child from his circle of love as thousands of Christian parents have done when faced with a gay or transgender child? 

As is true of so many moral guidelines, there is no asterisk after the ordo amoris theory of morality that allows you to pick and choose who to exclude from your order of love. That seems to be the biggest point of the criticism of Vance's use of ordo amoris, that he believes that showing love to people in the outer circles of one's life somehow reduces how much love one can display for those in a closer circle. As if there is a limit of love one can convey so we need to make sure we don't use it all up on people not in our family, or neighborhood or country.

I guess someone like Mother Theresa didn't get that memo.

Another big problem I have with Vance resurrecting this theological philosophy is one I expressed when criticizing the justification for the Supreme Court to allow abortion to return to state control. If you remember, one of their reasons was that the United States did not have a strong tradition of allowing abortion throughout its history. The fact that women have had the right to vote for less time than America has existed, didn't seem to enter into their calculations.

In this case, Vance is going back hundreds of years before America even existed to find rationale for treating immigrants mercilessly. Funny how the GOP seems to love dredging up theories from the past when woman were treated as property, or when only white men had the right to vote, or when divine right was a common argument for why most people were considered peasants without the ability to reason or govern or make choices for themselves.

In the end, Vance would have us believe that blaming American children of mixed immigration status for their situation, or blaming immigrants that flee other countries for freedom or economic opportunity is OK in God's eyes as long as we love those in our own family, or own neighborhood, or own country.

As I said at the start of this post, I am no expert on theology, Roman Catholic or otherwise, but I certainly don't believe in a god that encourages us to treat inhumanely those born in a different place, or children born to parents who crossed a border without permission, or people who are in the minority about who they love or how they perceive their identity.

As for JD Vance and those who seek to wrap their cruel policies in a religious jacket, I am not impressed. It rings of mental masturbation, and not in a good way. 

--

I was perusing some old posts today and came upon this one which seems appropriate given the topic.

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2016/04/discrimination-in-christian-nation.html

A Dialogue with The Almighty

Merriam-Webster defines atheist and agnostic as

Atheist -  a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods

Agnostic -  a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (such as God) is unknown and probably unknowable

I have toggled back and forth between identifying as an atheist or agnostic for much of my adult life, although I generally considered my more agnostic leanings a reflection of a belief that while there must be some sort of force that exists that is not able to be understood by humans, our definition of God could not be accurate, that God could not be anything like what we have constructed in our minds and through our religions. And that certainly, there is no religion (or religious definition of God) that is any better than any other. 

So, imagine my surprise when I was recently contacted by The Almighty.  

At first I thought I was having a lucid dream. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, a lucid dream is one in which you are aware that you are dreaming thereby allowing you to influence or control the content or narrative of the dream. While I fly in my dreams more infrequently than when I was a younger adult, flying defined as soaring through the air like superman, I invariably knew I was dreaming while in the air. I was lucid dreaming during those flights.

As I said, at first I thought it was a lucid dream as I have often mused and even written about an encounter with The Almighty. But in this instance, that wasn't the case. For whatever reason, The Almighty had chosen to initiate a communication with me.

"Joe, it is The Almighty. I want to spend some time with you, if that is OK. I hope you will allow me to dominate the conversation but I will endeavor to entertain questions, if there is time."

The sound of the words were very clear, neither commanding nor with a deep resonant base kind of sound as one might expect, but very clear, as if reflecting a confidence. Not obviously a man or woman's voice either, so perhaps "voice" is more a function of a limited perception of communication. As I reflect upon it now, it may have been more of an ESP kind of thing. 

But as I did so, I was a bit taken aback when I focused on the phrase "if there is time", as the thought flashed through my mind that perhaps this was the actual last moments of life, and that my "time" was limited because, well, my time was up.

"No Joe, you are not about to die. It is just that I generally find that these kinds of communications stress the human mind to a degree that they can only last a short time."

"First, I want you to know that I have not abandoned Earth, or Man, or whatever you might refer to as everything going on in the world today. I know your thoughts have moved in that direction, especially these last few weeks, this last decade. Of course, for me, the passage of a decade, or even a century, let alone a few weeks is practically instantaneous, but even so, I am aware of the trends taking place on Earth and I can assure you that I am not missing in action, or off creating life somewhere else in the universe, or just sitting back and waiting for the chips to fall as they may."

"But there is such killing going on", I blurted out, hoping this statement reflected my real question; why did The Almighty allow such death and destruction as was occurring in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, let alone the multiple atrocities that are hidden from the media outlets which most of us access.

"Life is both complicated, and simple. Complicated because of how long it has taken for humans to have become what they are today through the stops and starts of life as it has evolved. And even more complicated because of the slow progress by humans as they have adapted to the environment, learned about the immense variety of species that I have also provided, sought comfort in ever increasing sizes of groups, began to wander about and explore the immense space outside their home planet."

"To be honest, it's been very rewarding to see the progress, the development of what you define as justice, fairness, the respect for life, animal as well as human. Of course, there is still a very long way to go, but I am pleased, in general."

"In essence, that is what makes life simple. You might call it the golden rule, treating others as you wish to be treated. For all the talk about the indoctrination of children towards a more secular perception, treating others as you would like to be treated does not require an association with a religion, just a belief that we should treat each other humanely."

"While I have said that I am pleased with the progress, again, you must understand that my timeline is rather large compared to any civilization's, let alone any one person's. There has been ebb and flow, the pendulum has swung, sometimes rather drastically, in the wrong direction. And I am not just referring to the events of thousands of years ago, but also to events that have transpired even during the lifetimes of many people alive today." 

"So, while pleased with the progress, there is a paradigm shift that is ongoing, that has been ongoing, for a while now. A shift that perhaps seems fairly drastic in the way that humans perceive the passage of time, but not so critical when my timeline is referenced."

"You see, that is the rub, as they say. While I am fully aware of even the most infinitesimal of changes in human development, I am also aware that this process has a timeline of hundreds of thousands of years. For that reason, I am a bit more patient before taking any active involvement."

"To be blunt, one might even say that I am reluctant to intervene because I know that I have provided the proper environment, Earth as you call it, the proper spiritual inspiration, Jesus, Buddha, Mohamed, etc, the requisite mental and physical traits, and, a plethora of possible experiences, joys, and sorrows, that there really shouldn't be the need for me to do more. Without giving too much away, the need hasn't been required in the past with any great frequency."

"Joe, I don't allow war, genocide, brutality, humans do. The real question is why do you allow it, and even more importantly, why do you allow it in My name so often."

"Is there a heaven?", I exclaimed.

There was a pause, brief, but tangible, then

"I will answer that, with the understanding that if humans accept that good and evil emanates from them, and that they should know the difference, then there must be a reward and a punishment for behaving one way or the other. So, yes, heaven and hell do exist but not as humans imagine it. The reward for a life lived as the great spiritual masters have described is far more amazing than anything you can imagine, as is the punishment for turning one's back on those lessons."

"To be honest, if I were to provide the knowledge of what comes after death while you live, the actual reality of each choice, no one would choose hell over heaven. Frankly, most people really don't believe in heaven or hell, despite their declarations that they do, or things like genocide and bombing schools and hospitals, wouldn't exist."

"Why are you communicating with me?", I asked. 

"A fair question, but again, one which reveals the inherent misconception that permeates all religions, that only a small percentage of humans can speak for me, or be contacted by me. All my children have the capacity for good, hence they all have the capacity to communicate what is right and what is wrong. Of course, having that capacity doesn't mean everyone chooses the correct path, or that people should listen to just anyone."

"In your case, you wrote a story called The Line. Do you recall it?"

I thought for a few seconds, remembering the title, but not the story. "No, I really can't remember it's details," I responded. 

Suddenly, there is was, in my mind's eye. 

The Line

I would imagine that if you asked the next 50 people that you encounter, 49 of them, if they answered seriously, would say that, all things being equal, they expected to go to heaven when they died. I have always thought that most people are good. My days of hitchhiking confirmed that belief, and my experiences at work, and in my community have done nothing to change that opinion. But what if we are wrong? What if the creator expects more of us?

Less scrambling for wealth and more helping those less fortunate than ourselves. Less trumpeting ways in which we are better than others and more recognition that the birth lottery was good to us, now how can we progress the lives of those not so lucky. Less finding reasons to distrust, isolate and kill, more searching for ways to bridge our differences; more love, less hate.

What if, at the end of the day, it is simply a matter of how many we've helped, not how much we've earned?

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The rain pelted the windshield making visibility very limited. There was no place to pull over, so I continued on, slowly. At a blind curve, two headlights lit up the night, temporarily turning the darkness into light. The collision occurred almost simultaneously just as my eyes recovered from the sudden light providing no time to react. The car teetered momentarily at the cliff's edge, then slid down the ravine into the shallow water below. Funny, I thought, no pain.

The line stretched out in front of me to a point where I could still make out the colors of clothes but not the faces of their wearers. There was a bit of chatter around me but it all sounded forced like the interactions one hears in an elevator. I chose to remain silent, only nodding my head at the woman in front of me when she turned around and smiled the smile one sees in line at the grocery store. Or at a funeral.

Gradually, we shuffled forward. We didn't seem to be moving very quickly yet I didn't sense the impatience one usually feels from a group stuck in a slowly moving, long line. I wondered if they all felt as I did, a feeling that the time would come, soon enough, when we would find ourselves at the front of the line. I heard a short, suppressed laugh in the distance behind me. It was a laugh that seemed to have been stopped short, not just by its owner but by the group as a whole, as if to remind everyone in line that this was not the place for laughter.

After a while, more than minutes but less than hours, I was surprised to find that I had a folder tucked under my arm. I glanced around me and noticed that everyone else also carried a similar folder. No one had opened their package and I followed suit.

More time passed and I was beginning to hear the words being spoken at the front of the line. Well, not really actual words, but voices. Soon I realized that every other voice seemed to be of the same pitch and eventually I understood that each conversation featured the voice of someone in line, like me, and the response from the person who was waiting for us. All of the conversations were brief.

For the second time since I had found myself in line, I was surprised. This time, my surprise was the result of realizing that there were two additional lines leading away from the front of the line in which I waited. How could I have missed them before? One moved very slowly and was extremely crowded. It disappeared into the distance and I got the sense that it did not end just out of sight. The second line was sparsely populated and the people moving within it were free to stride or trot or walk casually as they felt. I noticed that all those around me were also aware of the two lines. I imagined that they wished as I did, to be allowed to join those in that second line.

When I turned my attention back towards the front of my line, I could now clearly see the people as they approached the man whose voice I first detected. He was tall and lean, clothed in loose garb. There was nothing special about his clothes but he obviously commanded the attention of each person who approached him. As each individual personal drama played out, the tall man nodded, each person opened their folder, glanced at the words inside then handed the folder to the man. I heard each person say something, heard his voice respond, then watched as the majority of them walked off to the first, much longer line.

I was getting close now. I should have been close enough to hear the words but for some reason I could not. Yet I could tell that most of the conversations were not ending in the manner that was anticipated. While there was no anger being expressed, there was clearly disappointment of the kind that comes when an outcome is exactly opposite of expectation.

Then, despite the fact that I felt that I had been in line for quite a while, I was suddenly at the front of the line. It reminded me of the conversations that I had had with my grandparents when I was a young adult and they in the twilight of their lives. Time can seem interminable, they all said, yet your life can seem so short, and the time of inevitable death can seem so sudden.

I looked up at the man at the front of the line. He was taller than I had calculated while I was standing in line. But it wasn't his height that was his most striking feature. It was his eyes. They were direct, compassionate, and sad. I had seen similar expressions during conversations where tragic news was being relayed. But his sadness went beyond the sadness that comes from just bringing bad news; his sadness seemed to reflect a responsibility in that he had provided the way to avoid this bad news but it had been ignored. He was obviously reading judgements yet these judgements were far from the judicial impartiality that we expect in our courts. He was visibly saddened by the decisions he was rendering.

I opened my folder and found one piece of paper with a sentence in very large print. It said, YOU MAY ASK ONE QUESTION. Below that line were other words in a language that I did not understand but clearly conveyed something to the man.

"How do you earn the right to take the second line?", I asked.

"You made your choice of which line you would walk every day of your life. You earned time on Line Two every time you performed an act of kindness, doubly so when done for someone you didn't know or who was different from yourself. You earned time on Line Two when your life reflected the spirit of your beliefs, when you were nice when it was hard to be nice, and when you defended someone being treated unjustly. You earned time on Line Two when you used the abilities that you were born with to help those less fortunate than yourself."

"You earned time on Line One when you made choices to benefit yourself regardless of its effect on others. You earned time on Line One when you used your religion to define who to love and who to hate. And you earned time on Line One when you did nothing even though you knew what was right but deferred action to someone else. You earned time on Line One when you used the abilities that you were born with to help only yourself."

"I told you how to live, did you not listen? So many men carrying the message of love, did you not heed them? So much suffering to help ease, did you not see it?"

I reflected on my life in an attempt to calculate which line I had earned through my actions and in-actions. I glanced up at the man at the front of the line and moved towards the line he indicated.

 

As the story faded from my vision, The Almighty continued.

 

"You knew something when you wrote that story, or perhaps had fully incorporated the lessons from your parents, or the spirit of the religion you were born into, or perhaps the feedback you received from your life which taught you that when you are kind to others, it is it's own reward, and when you are unkind, it leaves a dark spot somewhere inside you."

"Which brings me to the theory that good works can't get you to heaven. I am not sure why it is so foundational in many religions and religious books, but that is one of the fallacies of a human created version of heaven. Being kind to others, especially those who are different from you in appearance, culture, perspective, even values, is the most difficult way for someone to live, and the trait I value over any other."

"Or, to put more simply, it is easy to treat people well when they are like yourself, when they are your family, or when they share some basic values or perspective, but far more difficult to treat those unlike yourself fairly and with humanity."

"Not for the first time, probably not for the last, there is a selfishness of action that has begun to permeate man's interactions with each other at a level that is making it more difficult for people to listen to the good within themselves, and to judge whether their leaders messages and policies reflect that same goodness. There is confusion and chaos which causes fear, which inspires behavior that rejects kindness while embracing blame and cruelty."

"Will we get past this cycle?"

"The Earth is billions of years old. Life has existed for millions of years, and will always exist is some form with or without humans. If I said it doesn't matter, would you consider ill of me, as if I didn't care if humanity prospers, or merely survives, or is extinguished? If you consider my time line, the veritable eternity that I have been in existence, and the endless time ahead, you might forgive me for such a nonchalant attitude."

"But know this, it is not the big picture of humanity existing for 100 or 1000 or 10,0000 more years that matters compared to how each person is judged."

"Have you reflected the best of what I instilled in each of you? Or have you ignored the lessons handed down through history from those who were able to fully tap into the goodness I imprinted in everyone?"

"Each of you will earn whatever fate comes your way, as will every person you encounter as well as every person unknown to you, and combined, those actions will enable humanity to exist for centuries, or for decades. But regardless, the Earth will circle the sun for far longer, and the sun will radiate light and heat for even longer still, yet that will still be only a fraction of the time of my existence."

"In that way, the cycle you refer to is inconsequential, in the bigger perspective of time without end."

"But if nothing matters, then what is the point?"

"Did I say nothing mattered? Everything you do matters, everything everyone does matters, every action and inaction. I said earlier that I value good works, especially those conferred upon people unlike oneself." 

"But just as powerful are the in-actions we engage in when we turn our heads rather than see injustice, or stay quiet when we know someone is harming others in words or deeds, in fear that if we speak up, we might be next. Or worse, by thinking we won't be next because our looks, or beliefs, or opinions, mirror those of the oppressor."

"To repeat a phrase that you are familiar with, due to your particular upbringing, what you do unto the least of them, you do unto me. That is a very powerful statement, and one which is extremely difficult to live as one's guiding maxim."

"The point is to leave the world a better place through actions you perform and in-actions you reject."

"The point is to strive to be the best version of being human that you can knowing you will fail, often, but acknowledging those failures, and doing even better when the next opportunity arises."

"The point is to live by giving and receiving as much love as you can both to those in your life, your family, your neighbors, your co-workers, your friends, and to those outside your circle. Or maybe a better way to explain it is to make your particular circle of love as immense as you can. As big as the Earth itself, if possible."

With that, the communication ended. I spent the next hour or so trying to remember and record as much as I could before the memory faded as I feared that perhaps part of the process was that I would forget the encounter. That doubt as to source of such a dialogue was designed to provide those who received such a opportunity a reason to pretend it didn't happen, or couldn't happen to an ordinary person. 

And if doubt in the existence of The Almighty was both the problem and solution to living a moral life, or to attain heaven, I wondered if my own agnostic or atheistic leanings were a boon or an obstacle. 

Or perhaps both.

Belief that by leaving the world a better place, we will be rewarded, and doubt that there a such a reward, but that we should leave the world a better place anyway. 

Do right by those you encounter, not out of fear of eternal hell but because that is why The Almighty began the cycle of life millions of years ago which ultimately led to humanity. 

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For another short story with a religious theme, here is a link to

An Atheist For Christ

https://wurdsfromtheburbs.blogspot.com/2024/04/an-atheist-for-christ.html