Well, here we meet again, dear, dear Americans; and others who seem to have joined in the discussion. We're all in this together.First, let's update. Overall, I think we're doing pretty good considering we can't see and hear each other. Over 26,000 seem to have read the letter, not bad for only having sent the link to ONE person. I am getting a fair amount of email, about 95% positive. There has been very little name calling, and I must confess, I did call someone a name, nobody's perfect. It did take me quite a few email exchanges to get to that point, but at some point, enough is enough! Only two emails from Major Assholes, which is a very good sign, one of them was the one that got my goat. I won't be reading anything more from him. I only saw one place where it was posted that I was a kook. That's not a bad average for me. :-) I've met some REALLY nice and very interesting people. I'm hearing a lot of the same concern for what is happening to the people of our nation, as well as all the people of the world to whom we are connected. I am hearing anger, as we all have; but it is not directed inappropriately, and when it was, it has been recognized, and apologized for after mutual communication took place. Wouldn't it be nice if it worked so easily out in the real world? Or, is this the real world, too? I'll share some of the comments later, like before. I'm relieved because not too many people have been jumping off target and complaining that the first idea sucked, and that I was lame to even suggest it, therefore all is lost. To them I say, hey, I had to come up with a good one, fast. I think I did. There will be no handy, dandy, one-size-fits-all, except AIG, idea that ANY of us can come up with in 48 hours that will fix this mess. I don't care how much it's super-sized. Not even another stimulus bill. I know there have been plants obtained and seeds planted, because many of you wrote and told me you did it. Even though I can't see you, I trust you were telling me the truth. I also know that there is, for sure, a certain tangerine tree and lemon tree that are very happy because one reader bought them, got them out of their pots, and planted them into dirt. I wonder how many who said the idea was lame didn't do it? Probably all of them. Oh well, their choices, their loss. We'll be eating our goodies, and they won't. It's all just a start, and that's good enough for the rest of us for now, so there! This isn't over yet! So... let's get on to the next idea, shall we? The Internet is an amazing thing. No wonder they want to control it, or even shut it down. One can communicate almost instantly with someone on the other side of the planet, or right down the street. It can get pretty busy. Information can be found that one would have a very hard time obtaining otherwise. Friends can be made, enemies as well. Ideas can be shared, questions asked, answers sometimes found, sometimes not. Posting on the Internet is a very interesting topic unto itself. Put something up there, and it could be read by anyone, anywhere, any time. I'm getting questions about pages on my site I haven't looked at myself in over 10 years. Makes me realize that I need to update and organize my own site a bit. Web pages and posts could be written by anyone. It's real easy to make up a false self on the Internet. It's easy to make up a lot of false selves. In fact, I remember "back in the day" of early research regarding illegal aerosol operations such weirdness went on. There was actually a group of people who posted all under the same name in different places, on different forums, to debunk the issue and attack the investigators. Those kinds of instances highlight the disadvantage of not being able to see each other as we communicate over the net. It can become a trust issue. (Yes, I know about webcams and Skype, but most people don't use them and do things the old fashioned way...they read.) So what does all that have to do with the next idea and Truth, Half-Truths, Lies and Cowards? It's coming, please be patient. We're all learning here. We can't sound-byte this stuff. I am finding out that my using my real name, beinging honest about who I am and what I feel and believe, is something some people on the net don't do a whole lot. It's easy to hide behind a nickname. I know people who do it in real life. It's a nice, shallow, sort of safe way to live, I suppose, until it blows up, which it always does eventually. The mask of the nickname doesn't require much of anything, being fake is all that is required. Being fake is generally pretty easy. If we look honestly at ourselves, we'll find we all do the mask thing to one degree or the other. It's our job to figure it out and fix it in ourselves. That's easier said, than done. If one chooses the mask life style, then they can't focus on reality, they have to try and manipulate it. The main job is to keep perfecting the mask so as not to reveal, or deal, with the real person underneath; and the consequences of their true beliefs and actions. Meanwhile, the Half-Truth life that is lived, as it were, creates havoc for those who try to be in honest relationship with such a person because the person they think they are in relationship with, doesn't exist. Eventually the situation comes to a head. If what is under the mask becomes revealed, when the truth is out, that's when all the pain starts. That's when people start getting hurt. The pain starts because the mask must be protected at all costs, even if it means the destruction of relationships that would, in a healthy mind, be of great value. It's an easy way out of real life for the masked one, but it's not the truth. They often will just bolt to avoid the reality of their situation. Out of sight, out of mind, oh, SO out of mind. It is a very self-destructive way to live, and it hurts other people a heck of a lot, too. There is no respect there; not for the self or for others. It is betrayal as well for both. It is the act of a coward, and/or someone who is not quite right in the head, so to speak. Anyway, I y'am who I y'am. I have been told that my presenting myself in this manner is dangerous to myself and my family. I disagree. I'm not saying we don't need to be careful. However, I do not have a problem with the truth. (May I add here, for the record, suicide would never be a choice for me, no matter how bad things get around here. I am not on any SSRIs; been there, survived that, it's so 90's. I have a family and friends to love and support. I am there for the people I love. Even for people that don't love me back. I'm tenacious, ask anyone who knows me well. Tenacious people with working hearts don't off themselves.) I think honesty is the best policy, on the net, or off the net. I find in both places lying serves no one well. Not the liar, and especially not the one being lied to. It's a lose/lose proposition for everyone in the long run. Why go there unless one is a coward or a sociopath? They say the "truth hurts" and it sure has it's moments, but real pain comes from lies. Lies come from COWARDS. Sociopaths are just sick in the head (and heart). That's what makes it so hard, there's so many cowards and sociopaths and disordered people running around. Their hearts are not in working order either; which is generally why they are cowards, and sociopaths, and disordered people in the first place. It gets harder. They aren't always easy to spot. I have said for years that when the SHTF discernment is going to be our most important survival tool. It's especially hard dealing with narcissists and other sociopaths. They can be very charming, as a verb, not an adjective. Since their main goal is to get what they want from someone, they at first say and do all the "right" things. They crank up the Mask, put on the show, and it works, for a while. The old saying about if it seems too good to be true, it probably is...that is what happens in the beginning. It is often the first red flag indicating something is just not right about the whole thing. as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. William Shakespeare
WE are surrounded by liars all the time. TV lies, politicians lie, reporters lie...lies, lies, lies all over the place. Who do you believe? We all have trusted people who are not trustworthy. People who are honest have an especially hard time because they think others are just like them, so they often trust people they shouldn't. That is why we are having a hard time in this country. It's because we don't want to believe that the people we trust would lie to us, and they have...over, and over, and over. We have lost trust in so many areas, and it hurts. A lot, unless we use the old denial route. We feel disrespected and betrayed. Trust is hard to rebuild once it is broken. Sometimes it can never be repaired. So here's the next idea. Idea #2Tell the Truth |