The Possibilities of Mia Love

Let's talk a bit about Mia Love.  Yes, THAT Mia Love, the lovely New York-born daughter of Haitian immigrants now currently running for Congress from the State of Utah.  The same Mia Love who gave such an incredibly naive speech at the Republican National Convention.

Much of her speech made sense; at least the parts where she talked
about how her parents came from Haiti and built a life without
government assistance, pulling themselves up, as Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas would say, "by their own bootstraps".  Never mind that Thomas benefited from the very same government programs, such as affirmative action, that he more-or-less regularly excoriates. 

Of course, Ms. Long didn't offer any evidence beyond her word, but
that's neither here nor there at this stage of the game.  The fact
of the matter is that she is apparently the only one of her generation in her family born and raised in these United States.  As such, she doesn't have a personal historical background as do the many black people living here descended from the slaves set free (on paper at least) by Abraham Lincolns' Emancipation Proclamation a hundred and fifty years ago.

She has no inherent or inbred comprehension of why the rules,
regulations and laws put into effect after the supposed end of legal
slavery are still necessary today.  And thus she, too, has jumped on
the Republican bandwagon of less regulation and rolling back the
very rules, regulations and laws that allow her to openly speak and
act as she does.  Remember, the Constitution originally counted
"negroes" as 3/5ths of a person under the control of their "owners"
and therefore ineligible to vote or to benefit from most of the
other benefits of the new nation.

However, if she should win her seat, it still opens a door to
the future.  Consider this.  She may be considered the "top token
negro" in the Republican Party at the present time, displacing such
luminaries as Colin Powell for example.  But it's clear that she was
given her spot at the convention as a means of detracting from the
clear racism endemic to the Republican Party as a whole, which is
evident from the tone of that party ever since Barack Obama won the election, and even before, while he was still running.

Yet and still, it opens the door, just a tiny bit, for more black
Americans to come out as Republicans, to be suckered into
supporting policies that don't benefit them or any other working
American but only those in the highest income brackets.  And by
opening that door even a fraction of an inch, if a sufficient number
of black Americans decide to join her, and bring with them their own historical perspective having been raised up in this country for
many generations and endured what has gone on regarding them since before its' founding, then the Republican Party will be forced to change. 

It will be changed, returning to a more moderate platform similar to what it embraced before the Nixon era.  Why and how?  Simply because it would be unable to keep the gains it makes in terms of minority membership if the far-right radical bigots maintain their
stranglehold on the party.  And that being so, those radicals will
be forever consigned to the fringes from whence they came.
I'm not suggesting th at this will happen in this upcoming election,
or even in the next Presidential election four years from now.  But
it will happen nonetheless, because if it doesn't, then the Republican Party will sooner or later be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Race and Religion in America's Current Political Landscape

This blog post was brouoght on by another blog site where I am an occasional contributor.  The issue there had to do with attitudes toward so-called "inter-racial" relationships.  If you'd like to review that before continuing, it's posted here:

 http://www.beyondblackwhite.com/question-of-the-week-how-can-black-women-rise-from-the-bottom-of-the-barrel/

The views on race in general in this country have a distinctly religious flavor, in my experience and observation. Many relate it back to the ancient Biblical tale of the Tower of Babel, when, according to the story, God separated the people into different classifications by changing their tongues so that they could not understand each other's words. Today, people assume that this included a separation between "races". Therefore, they see integration as being contrary to "God's will". And they've developed myths surrounding that perspective in order to support it.

Many who view the issue that way seem unable to explain it as I have just done. And they refuse to accept that the concept of free will combined with the natural, "God-given" ability to reason can be used to successfully re-unite the people back into one people. One people with varying skin shades, cultures, physical characteristics.

In short, the issue is ignorance. And that is difficult to overcome when the people in it's grasp are satisfied to be as they are. As my Teacher, Master David M. Berry, puts it, "They don't know THAT they don't know, and they don't WANT to know."

The only way to overcome such ignorance is through education. But what method of education will work? Clearly the systemic education being used by the schools and the civil rights groups and other organizations is not working; the backlash from having a black President is ample evidence of that.

I suggest, as Master Berry teaches, that the best way to teach is by being the example. Know your truth, and live your truth, until you BECOME your truth. And do so in a way that others will see it and wonder how you can be so content within yourself and within your relationships.

For my grandson on his birthday...

Damian Carson Rice

Today is my grandson's 5th birthday.  I am his only surviving grandparent.  Through no fault of my own, I haven't seen him in over two years.  His mother, my ex-daughter-in-law, divorced my son and is currently with another man, both in the Army in Tennesseee.  His father, my son, told me he doesn't feel like a father.  Both need to grow up and stop being so self-centered.  To both of them, I ask the following questions:
 
What are YOUR actions and attitudes teach Damian about life?
 What are you both teaching him about family? 
What are you both teaching him about responsibility?
And why are you both being so darned hard-headed and selfish?"

I don't want an answer; I want you to ask yourselves these questions and answer yourselves honestly.  If either of you can even BE honest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To my grandson, Damian Carson Rice:

Happy birthday, Damian, wherever you are. I love you, and I hope you are safe and well, and that you stay that way.

Changes

What will we choose?

The carpenter's son we call Jesus of Nazareth was instrumental in helping to usher in the Age of Pisces. This was an age of deep universal truth, and also one of deep delusions, both of which are part of the Piscean energetic vibration, depending on how each individual and the society of individuals, responds to that vibration.

The old power paradigm of the Roman empire builders won the day by playing on the hopes and wishes of the peoples within their domain, thereby promoting the delusional side of Pisces and winning the battle between what we call "good" and "evil". This battle was symptomatic of the fear of losing power that is nearly always the catalyst for greater struggle at the changes of the ages.
The same is happening now, as the power elite attempt to hold on to their crumbling control structures, the physical and social as well as the economic, mental and what we might call the "spiritual", as we are now in the beginning of the much-touted Age of Aquarius, which represents purposeful change or, conversely, undirected or misdirected rebellion.

As a people and as individuals, it is entirely up to us how we resppond to those Aquarian energies. And our response is, above all other things, a statement and an indication of our growth and evolution as a species. We can either give in to the rebellious impulses, or we can choose to evolve, both individually and as a society.

Namaste',
Don

Freedom!

All that should be

    Already is, or will be

    When we awaken

    And become free.

And our inner eyes

    Begin to see...

Me!  As I am,

    And as I could be

    When I make the choice

    To simply BE...

    The real ME!

Copyright © Donald Charles Rice

On Faith, God, and Truth

"If I didn't have spiritual faith, I would be a pessimist. But I'm an optimist. I've read the last page in the Bible. It's all going to turn out all right." -- Billy Graham


At the risk of inciting the self-righteous wrath of the "true believers", let me point out that the very book that Mr. Graham referred to, the Book of Revelations (or Apocalpse for Catholics) in that Bible states that 144,000 souls will be saved when "Jesus" returns.  Now, if that should happen tomorrow, it means that almost 7 BILLION souls will be consigned to Hell, or the lake of fire, there to suffer and burn for all eternity.
Yet Mr. Graham said, "It's all going to turn out all right."
Does anyone besides me see anything wrong with this?
Yet if the Bible-thumpers are right, I guess I'm going to wind up in that lake of fire myself, because I dare to use the brain God gave me to question the propaganda that keeps people living in fear.  But that's okay, because I'll have plenty of company.  Didn't the Bible also say:

  "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Matthew 7:22, 23)
So all those who claim Jesus as saviour, redeemer, et cetera, yet ignore or discount his teachings (remember the Beatitudes, among others?) will find themselves in that same lake of fire.
But if God is truly a loving Being (1 John 4:8: "God is love"), then there is no way he could cast all those souls away like that.  Why?  Because love, in it's truest sense, is totally unconditional.  It is therefore incapable of acting out of revenge, jealousy, anger, spite, disgust, or whatever.  Those are conditions that come about in the absence of love.
According to the Bible, Jesus said the two greatest "commandments" are to love God with all your heart, and to "... love one another as I have loved you."  So then, given the nature of love being unconditional, where do those who call themselves his followers get the idea that they can ignore the poor, the sick, the downtrodden, and anyone else they discriminate against, as if Jesus' teachings have no value? 
I am not a "Christian" in the accepted sense of that word.  I am only on the beginning of the road to learning what that even means and how to BE Christlike.  But I do know that I won't find it in the churches or temples or mosques.  In the Gospel of Thomas (one of the texts discovered at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 and scientifically dated to have been written between 130 and 250 A.D.), Jesus is recorded as having said:
  "You will not find me in mansions of wood and stone, but in everything around you, AND WITHIN you.  Split a piece of wood, and you will find me; pick up a stone, and I am there."

Namaste',
Don

The Concept Of Sin: A Primer

The Concept Of Sin: A Primer

I recently read an article that touched on the issue of "sin", and decided to look up the word based on my teacher, Master David M. Berry's, teachings.

Master Berry teaches, quoting from the Bible, that "whatever may be known about God is in Man. (Romans 1:19)" Regarding sin, he teaches that sin is ignorance. So when I came across this issue in my reading, I decided to end my ignorance regarding this concept.

First, we must consider the question: What is ignorance? Simply put, ignorance is being without knowledge. It means that the person who is ignorant on a topic or issue, doesn't know all there is to know about it. That would probably cover about 99.99 per cent of humanity, if not more. To anyone's knowledge, nobody on earth knows everything about everything. So EVERYBODY is ignorant.

Now let's go to the concept of "sin". The "traditional" definition is an act or omission that is against God, or words to that effect. Encyclopedia Brittanica defines "sin" as
"moral evil as considered from a religious standpoint. Sin is regarded in Judaism and Christianity as the deliberate and purposeful violation of the will of God." The American Heritage dictionary states that the word is from the "Middle English sinne, from Old English synn", meaning: "1. To violate a religious or moral law. 2. To commit an offense or violation."

But something that has apparently been forgotten came to mind while reading that article that mentioned sin. The English language, including middle and old English, is largely based on the ancient Latin. This stands to reason when we consider that the ancient Roman Empire had a great sway over Brittain, even to the point of having a hand in the legend of King Arthur, who was listed in ancient Roman texts as "Arturus, Dux Bellorum" (Arthur, Duke of War). Then I recalled that Spanish and Italian are even more closely rooted in Latin. The Spanish word, "sin", means "without"; and the Italian is "senza". Even in French, "sanz" is very close to the Latin root word, "sine" (pronounced, in Classical Latin: si-nay), which means "without".

To further this concept, the Latin words "absque", "foras" and "vacuus" are synonymous with "sine"; they ALL mean "without". To go further yet, "vacuus" also means "empty, devoid of, free from, useless". In other words, "without" something. But without WHAT, exactly?

We're dealing with the concept of "sin", which has been said by traditionalists to mean "against God". But what is God? God is the ultimate Truth! So to be in sin is to be without God, without Truth. It has nothing to do with any transgression, it is, as Master Berry states, ignorance. It's being devoid of KNOWLEDGE. Since Knowledge is Power, it means that "sin" is "powerlessness".

To correct this state of condition, Jesus the Christ said, "Know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."

Yet Truth is this: We CANNOT be without God, for God is in and of everything that exists. "Behold, I am with you, always."

But we are, in Truth, without knowledge. What knowledge, you may ask? The knowledge of our God-hood, our divinity. "Does not your Law say, I said, You are Gods?" And even if we accept this Truth as our own, what good does it do us, if we don't know how to BE Gods? None whatsoever. Therefore, we must learn how to be that which we have been given to be.