Before addressing ways America might blunt the force of a karmic blowback, the nationhood must acknowledge its habituation to inhumane, imperial actions that could rightly result in the accumulation of negative karma. Cornell West, in his book, Democracy Matters (published before the "black lives matter" slogan), discusses "matters" as "things relating to" -- and classifies the unwillingness of some citizens to own up to America's actions as symptomatic of a cowardly, immature adolescent:
". . . even as we grow old, grow big, and grow powerful, we have yet to grow up," The United States continues to do the same imperialistic things it did over a century ago--even worse; growing more blatant in its upfront lies. Each new public episode fortifies the administration's arrogance. It can openly fabricate reasons to war, even murder its own people in broad daylight without reprisals. That's how bad it's gotten. We're in big karmic, cancerous trouble. An inside job killed the Kennedys. A "9-11 gate" is a patriot's pipe dream. Optimism for the nation as a whole is still a valid position, but the advice, "Be ye separate" might turn out to be the best advice for individuals, a personal, singular safety net. Hope to God it holds.
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Okay, we’ve made a commitment. We said we were going to investigate karma (or something like it … a universal notion having to do with justice). A widely held definition reads, “KARMA—a Sanskrit term: the causal process binding every action to preceding and concurrent causes and to the results which must spring from it.”
Let’s go with that: All actions have causes and resulting consequences? Make sense? So, the recipient of an action-produced consequence gets this mysterious blowback, good or bad. Who? Who gets it? Every karmic consequence needs a host (a target—the enactor of the action). Does America, collectively, have a sense of identity? Could it host . . . karma? What memory sustains our sense as a nation, and what evidence substantiates this condition? Do the sordid, sleazy, backroom D.C. liars who plan our wars and make a wreck of lives around the world represent us (Americans) as we really are? Or, are they a small but demonic, cancerous cell, a world apart from sacred life—on a suicide mission to murder the Heavenly host? This foul and fiendish, small percent polluting the whole does not belong to us. It needs to go. OUT then! Karma’s sense of justice can seek satisfaction from the excised part. The past emerges and points to the pulse still beating today.
While still on the subject of karma, in coming upon a youtube video segment of "Network," an HBO series in 2012, there was no way to ignore it. We posted on the page itself, then on our FaceBook page. Now we're coming here with it. If you've never seen it, this clip is the most poignant and impressive. If you miss transparency and honesty and are the kind of patriot who knows we need a government we can trust and honor, please follow this link to view a piece of that episode: https://youtu.be/ZPHSXUS0_1c We're also posting comments we've made in one place or another: Posted August 2 on youtube of Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy on HBO’s “Network.” Some of us saw this series and were sad to realize it wouldn't continue. That was 5 years ago--hard to believe. Also hard to believe is, for all its honesty and straightforward, right-on-the-money pulse of the American people and our increasingly fed-up, "not-going-to-take-it-anymore" revulsion of the mainstream press, of the puppeteers that run the news, not one has grasped how much there is to gain by employing "real" reporters and promoting news we all crave (you know, the honest, courageous, pertinent kind). Otherwise, we're left with no choice but to seek it from British, Chinese or Russian sources -- and that's humiliating and embarrassing. By the way, this video isn't an opening scene from the series, but if you take the time to listen, you'll notice the reluctance of Will McAvoy (played brilliantly, really, by Jeff Daniels) to state what most of us feel as an uneasy prod of truth, that other countries can make the claim of greatness as well--and if there's a judge (on our blog we call it karma, or a universal law) and a conscience that hasn't already been seared and broiled dry, at a minimum, we'd do better as a country by watching not only our actions but our words before they come back to haunt us (words are alive, don't you know). ""It is easy to dodge a spear that comes in front of you, but hard to avoid an arrow shot from behind"." Chinese Proverbs: Illustrated--annotated too! The subject of KARMA and America's accumulation of debt continues to be a theme and part of the reason we're so passionate about "rediscovering history." Proverbs can elicit different meanings, but only recently did it occur to us that Brandenburg's follow-up book of proverbs refers more to karma than first thought. We think this proverb, taken from chapter 22, also applies (and why we're so concerned about our country):
"Water thrown out is hard to put back in the container" Most often we hear about a karmic debt to pay, a kind of payback for some unrighteous deed in the past--something we've got coming to us. Different in form and not necessarily proportional, it might come from out of the blue. But . . . (this is something to think on too) there's good karma too.
A nation, as an individual, can build up a storehouse of karma. "Stirring Li Chao" and it's companion book of proverbs attempts to confront the issues that foul America and darken its days in the sun. In choosing illustrations to accompany proverbs inside "Chinese Proverbs: Illustrated--annotated too!", because we do believe that there's a universal principle of justice related to the variations of the Golden Rule, we chose Karma to illustrate the proverb of Chapter 7:
"It is easy to dodge a spear that comes in front of you, but hard to avoid an arrow shot from behind" Paha Sapa Press praises Tulsi Gabbard on youtube, tracks the bills she introduced, refers readers to relevant committees and urges then to speak up!Listen to what she's been trying to do . . .
Tulsi Gabbard Demands That U.S. Stop Arming Our Enemies! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-vev3ce_Us We posted a comment on that site (#856): "Rediscovering History" is our motto and mission, publishing with the hopes of altering America's policy of foreign interventions (so "karma" works in our favor of everyday Americans and not against it ... endorsing a "golden rule" mentality). How refreshing to find someone like Tulsi Gabbard involved in our government! If you had any liking for Bernie Sanders, you'll love this woman. She introduced this particular common sense bill 6 months ago. Wanting to know if it went anywhere, we tracked it to date. It was referred from the intelligence to the foreign affairs committee. Checking into that bunch, a letter of July 25, 2017, an opening statement from the director appeared. If you believe America desperately needs to follow a different path, you'll be as concerned as we were (and if you see anyone from your state on these committees, give them a piece of your mind (and share your heart too). We'll be blogging this on our website, but you should be able to view it as a pdf. http://docs.house.gov/meetings/FA/FA00/20170725/106315/HHRG-115-FA00-MState-R000487-20170725.pdf If you haven't already, please watch this on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-vev3ce_Us&feature=share
We aren't optimistic that Tulsi Gabbard's bills to stop arming unidentified terrorists/misidentified allies will pass (or even be given serious thought--near term anyway. As long as the same people remain in certain committees (i.e. the House Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committees), America will be inadvertently? continue to "shoot itself in the foot" (gunshots to the heads of our finest boys). The opening statement to the Foreign Relations Committee by the Honorable Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee explains how permission to use deadly force in worldwide situations was enacted after 9-11. Understand how desperately they want to retain this illegal? power. (We recommend taking a serious look at the sleek implosions of all three buildings, think with common sense, wonder of the blatant lies fed to Americans by their "leaders" and decide yourself who might be the "real" enemies of peace on earth and good will toward men). The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee titles his recent opening address: “Authorization for the Use of Military Force and Current Terrorist Threats” July 25, 2017 (PSPress has highlighted some of the scariest, alarming, most terrorizing parts. And, by the way, if you live in a state with people on this committee, please don't hold back your insistence that they pay close attention to Tulsi Gabbard's research/bills and pay her due respect)! "Today we’ll review a critical national security issue: the role of Congress in authorizing the use of military force. We have a very distinguished panel to help us do so. Our nation continues to face the threat of radical jihadist terrorism. We have confronted this deadly movement with some measure of success, largely because of the skill, dedication, and sacrifice of the brave men and women in our armed services. But as recent attacks on the United States and our allies—such as the United Kingdom—show, the threat remains high. Our response must be coordinated, using information and economic tools, too. Today, most U.S. combat operations are conducted under the Authorization for the Use of Military force – “AUMF” – that was enacted following the vicious September 11, 2001 attacks against our country. That AUMF has been used against al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and what have since become known as “associated forces.” Nearly three years ago, the Obama Administration determined that those forces include ISIS, which originated as al-Qaeda in Iraq. The continued reliance on this legal authority has spurred debate. Some maintain that the 2001 AUMF has been stretched too far. Some believe that Congress – most of whose Members were not here in 2001 – should debate and reauthorize our military engagement. We have Members of Congress who have fought these wars, whose voices carry strong weight. Over the last several years, this Committee has conducted more than 45 hearings related to conflicts fought under this AUMF and we often meet in classified settings with military commanders and other officials to review the grave terrorist threat against our nation. I know that our Members on both sides of the aisle take their responsibilities very seriously. We have had many conversations about the AUMF. I believe that the President has the authority under the 2001 AUMF to defeat and destroy ISIS. Key outside experts and officials from the previous administration who’ve appeared before this committee have testified to this. But I also believe that a new and updated authorization for the use of military force would be ideal. The challenge is getting agreement on what exactly it should contain. Proposed replacements vary widely. Some would empower the Commander in Chief, others would constrain him. Some would target groups, others would target ideologies. Some are limited in time, place, and type of military force, others are unlimited. What I can’t support is any effort to repeal the 2001 AUMF before reaching consensus on these issues. We face determined enemies—al-Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban—absolutely committed to harming us. There shouldn’t be any signs of wavering in our fight. Today’s witnesses will shed light on a few key questions: Does the 2001 AUMF provide sufficient legal authority to deal with all of today’s threats? Does continuing to rely on that authorization create any operational challenges or legal dangers? What should – or shouldn’t – a replacement AUMF include? Authorizing the use of military force is a critical and solemn congressional responsibility. This Committee will continue its focus on it." (end quote) |