"Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". Idyllic and so powerful in so few words. But, so few people really understand what it means to us, we, the American Citizens of this country.
A great place to start your research is this website:http://www.usconstitution.net/declar.html ...if you look, you'll find this link: http://www.usconstitution.net/declar.html and the following excerpt:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed..."
It's not a Constitutional Right... as many believe. It's part of the American Declaration of Independence. Our heritage are the colonist who braved coming here, and surviving. We survived... and are continuing in or efforts to continue doing that.
My interpretation of that part of the Declaration of Independence, is that We fought for that; as we fight today. America is a place where "being Fair/playing fair", is respected, and sought after. Doesn't always happen or become that, but I believe we do try.
So although our right to the "pursuit of Happiness" is not a part of the Constitution, and rights under the Constitution, it is an essential part of who we are, what we can become, all about our beginnings and who we are as Americans, about our heritage, about how we treat others, and truly, "We hold these truths to be self-evident".
Without government there would be anarchy. But a government, "By the People, for the People," now that's something different. It affirms we can Question Authority, as it is WE who provide that authority to our government, for the public and national good. Our government is "We the People"... not the other way around... the government is NOT it's own self-entity. Our elected politicians are not autonomous and independent in their decision making abilities. Laws are not valid if not approved by US. Some laws are essential - laws prohibiting, rape, murder, kidnapping, chid abuse... other laws, civil laws which often have criminal attachments, can change... it would be an endless list, so let's just say spitting on the side-walk is disgusting, and used to be against the law, but seriously, this is a social issue, not a criminal issue.
Spitting on the sidewalk may make the spitter happy, but the spitter should have the social consciousness to understand it doesn't make others happy.
Pursuit of Happiness all comes down to common sense. We as a nation have fought wars for rights to freedom... we have held rallies, gone on marches, suffered pain at deaths as a result of our efforts. The Declaration of Independence affirms why... the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights provides the HOW.
I hope I don't need to explain what this really means... the history of the United States would have to be explained. Everything from the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement, to Women's Rights and Prohibition.
Future posts will focus on such issues... for now... have a Happy Thanksgiving. You earned it!
November 21, 2009
November 19, 2009
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS - Part Two
Todays topic - GIRL 10, TASERED and CONFINED to JUVENILE DETENTION for NOT WANTING TO TAKE A BATH!
I'll get to the legal/Constitutional stuff soon, but for now, this recent news article caught my attention: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/
This story boggles my mind... much like other things that I advocate for reform do.
I don't know much of the details, but I've read two articles updating me on this story... the state is Arkansas.
Now I'm sure based on what I have read that the mother was NOT HAPPY that her daughter didn't want to bathe. It's like when they don't want to brush their teeth, or do their homework. Parents get stressed. Pursuit of Happiness, you know. Mother unhappy... calls police because as i read it the girl wouldn't take a shower...
An officer arrives at the house and the mother apparently explains the situation.
I have to assume there is a law in Arkansas where children MUST BATHE when a parent says so, as the girl was tasered when, after the mother gave permission to the officer that he could, and because the girl was "kicking and screaming", a hit to his gonads didn't help, so in order to "control" the situation , the officer did taser her.
Well excuse me... thinking back to when i was ten, I might have, not saying I would have, but I might just have a tantrum. Hmmm...
Well, for those who believe such a law exists, you'll be happy to hear the girl is now safely confined to a juvenile detention center, where I'm sure she'll get her lawfully required bath. I might hope her mother is happy, but
I'm not.
So much for "saying NO!"
I'll get to the legal/Constitutional stuff soon, but for now, this recent news article caught my attention: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/
This story boggles my mind... much like other things that I advocate for reform do.
I don't know much of the details, but I've read two articles updating me on this story... the state is Arkansas.
Now I'm sure based on what I have read that the mother was NOT HAPPY that her daughter didn't want to bathe. It's like when they don't want to brush their teeth, or do their homework. Parents get stressed. Pursuit of Happiness, you know. Mother unhappy... calls police because as i read it the girl wouldn't take a shower...
An officer arrives at the house and the mother apparently explains the situation.
I have to assume there is a law in Arkansas where children MUST BATHE when a parent says so, as the girl was tasered when, after the mother gave permission to the officer that he could, and because the girl was "kicking and screaming", a hit to his gonads didn't help, so in order to "control" the situation , the officer did taser her.
Well excuse me... thinking back to when i was ten, I might have, not saying I would have, but I might just have a tantrum. Hmmm...
Well, for those who believe such a law exists, you'll be happy to hear the girl is now safely confined to a juvenile detention center, where I'm sure she'll get her lawfully required bath. I might hope her mother is happy, but
I'm not.
So much for "saying NO!"
November 14, 2009
PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS - Part One
OKAY... perhaps my goal here is a bit much too much, being I'm new to blogging. More like an invitation to write a doctoral thesis, but, I'm going to give it a try - 'no risk, no gain'. Correct? No "gain", nothing accomplished.
First Question: "Who is BobKat?"
Answer: Me, of course. An anonymous "Me". A me that through that anonymity may be able to accomplish a something important, at least that's what I'm hoping.
The alternative is do nothing, and that accomplishes nothing - or so we've been told. Doing nothing can however accomplish something... if done correctly.
One of the skills I learned during the 1970's while at college, during a time when Carlos Castaneda books - ie, The Teachings of Don Juan were popular, is that, when one can not accomplish something by action and/or action is only making life more difficult or impeding accomplishment, that doing nothing can actually be the best decision one can make. In other words, when you're spinning your wheels, trying too hard perhaps, the best solution is to Stop: Do Nothing.
Seems to me, not enough people know how to be productive doing "nothing". Our educations, our society frowns on such a choice - we're pushed by such superstition that "an idle mind is the devil's playground". Good people are always doing something productive!
Bad people, or those with too much idle time are generally those persons who drift to the fringes of society, use drugs, commit crimes, cause trouble.
There is an art to it... Doing Nothing - the art being, during times of doing nothing we can give our minds the opportunity to what they're often not doing, that being, reflection, organizing, processing experiences, thinking - creatively, and creating.
My Avatar is my Maine Coon-cat - Kramer. To me he looks something like a bobcat, much as my aka is similar to BobCat... the company, which I have zero association with... I'm simply BobKat because I like cats, and my name is Bob.
Translation:
It's my opinion our society has evolved to a new level. We went from cavemen, to agricultural, to industrial, to special interests/capitalistic, to technological... and the technology we're experiencing is moving at a highly accelerated speed... one most can't keep pace with.
This is a bubble.
Since we're so "work oriented" as a culture, as a Country, doing nothing is nearly a crime, or at least a psychological disorder. The problem with that, unless you're a worker bee, on a mechanical/industrial assembly line, you're having to think. You cannot be idle. You cannot do nothing.
Doing "nothing" however, doesn't mean being lazy... though even that is essential at times, as is exercise, of which I do none. By doing "nothing" in my mind it means sitting at your computer, or reading a book, or sitting on the porch. I'm doing "nothing" now.
It's Saturday, and I'm not at work. I'm not doing dishes, cleaning house, which is my job. I do have a pot-roast in the Crockpot though. And I'm blogging... back to "nothing"...
By doing nothing, I've decided to continue the "Pursuit of happiness" topic, investigate our Constitutional Right to our Pursuit of Happiness... what it means, what the law says, where in the Constitution it is listed and clarify what it really means... an ambitious, noble endeavor, I think.
About myself, I will tell you I have a BA in English, I've had many interesting blue collar jobs, and I'm unconventional. I started college in mid 1970's, worked in several schools and colleges between 1975 and 1998, I've been writing since the mid-70's, and life has been difficult, but with a wealth of good experiences thrown in. If I have an issue it's that the good stuff happens but the routine crap is simply here all the time. I'm an artist... at heart, meaning I have a tendency to see the world and the society I live in as a art-form. That I believe is the source of most of my problems, as I do believe our society sees art outside of our society, and the real world I live in is corporate, commercial, and capitalistic.
@ my two friends with opinions about George, my cat:
George is an ACE mouse-catcher, outdoors he's phenomenal! .. this past summer alone he essentially got a wild mouse everyday... there's hundreds around. I adopted George 2-3 years ago from the Humane Society... he's a great cat. H is well fed, and he loves cat treats... so yes, he's not so much "alert" as he is hoping his pose will earn him some treats.
By the way... our "guest" for this upcoming Thanksgiving feast... "Circ the Turk": More about Circ later... I feel bad he will be slaughtered for Thanksgiving, but I feel honored to have been his friend... and will try to accept that the dinner I eat at Thanksgiving was not without a sacrifice.
First Question: "Who is BobKat?"
Answer: Me, of course. An anonymous "Me". A me that through that anonymity may be able to accomplish a something important, at least that's what I'm hoping.
The alternative is do nothing, and that accomplishes nothing - or so we've been told. Doing nothing can however accomplish something... if done correctly.
One of the skills I learned during the 1970's while at college, during a time when Carlos Castaneda books - ie, The Teachings of Don Juan were popular, is that, when one can not accomplish something by action and/or action is only making life more difficult or impeding accomplishment, that doing nothing can actually be the best decision one can make. In other words, when you're spinning your wheels, trying too hard perhaps, the best solution is to Stop: Do Nothing.
Seems to me, not enough people know how to be productive doing "nothing". Our educations, our society frowns on such a choice - we're pushed by such superstition that "an idle mind is the devil's playground". Good people are always doing something productive!
Bad people, or those with too much idle time are generally those persons who drift to the fringes of society, use drugs, commit crimes, cause trouble.
There is an art to it... Doing Nothing - the art being, during times of doing nothing we can give our minds the opportunity to what they're often not doing, that being, reflection, organizing, processing experiences, thinking - creatively, and creating.
My Avatar is my Maine Coon-cat - Kramer. To me he looks something like a bobcat, much as my aka is similar to BobCat... the company, which I have zero association with... I'm simply BobKat because I like cats, and my name is Bob.
Translation:
It's my opinion our society has evolved to a new level. We went from cavemen, to agricultural, to industrial, to special interests/capitalistic, to technological... and the technology we're experiencing is moving at a highly accelerated speed... one most can't keep pace with.
This is a bubble.
Since we're so "work oriented" as a culture, as a Country, doing nothing is nearly a crime, or at least a psychological disorder. The problem with that, unless you're a worker bee, on a mechanical/industrial assembly line, you're having to think. You cannot be idle. You cannot do nothing.
Doing "nothing" however, doesn't mean being lazy... though even that is essential at times, as is exercise, of which I do none. By doing "nothing" in my mind it means sitting at your computer, or reading a book, or sitting on the porch. I'm doing "nothing" now.
It's Saturday, and I'm not at work. I'm not doing dishes, cleaning house, which is my job. I do have a pot-roast in the Crockpot though. And I'm blogging... back to "nothing"...
By doing nothing, I've decided to continue the "Pursuit of happiness" topic, investigate our Constitutional Right to our Pursuit of Happiness... what it means, what the law says, where in the Constitution it is listed and clarify what it really means... an ambitious, noble endeavor, I think.
About myself, I will tell you I have a BA in English, I've had many interesting blue collar jobs, and I'm unconventional. I started college in mid 1970's, worked in several schools and colleges between 1975 and 1998, I've been writing since the mid-70's, and life has been difficult, but with a wealth of good experiences thrown in. If I have an issue it's that the good stuff happens but the routine crap is simply here all the time. I'm an artist... at heart, meaning I have a tendency to see the world and the society I live in as a art-form. That I believe is the source of most of my problems, as I do believe our society sees art outside of our society, and the real world I live in is corporate, commercial, and capitalistic.
@ my two friends with opinions about George, my cat:
George is an ACE mouse-catcher, outdoors he's phenomenal! .. this past summer alone he essentially got a wild mouse everyday... there's hundreds around. I adopted George 2-3 years ago from the Humane Society... he's a great cat. H is well fed, and he loves cat treats... so yes, he's not so much "alert" as he is hoping his pose will earn him some treats.
By the way... our "guest" for this upcoming Thanksgiving feast... "Circ the Turk": More about Circ later... I feel bad he will be slaughtered for Thanksgiving, but I feel honored to have been his friend... and will try to accept that the dinner I eat at Thanksgiving was not without a sacrifice.
November 09, 2009
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