ClydeStyle

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  • Election season is one big storm for both parties

    The Republican party sees themselves as this big.

    It is sad that we can not put our trust in either political party. I can’t remember things being this bad, and I’ve been paying attention for nearly 50 years.

    Our criteria need to change. We desperately need an age limit, and I would add a financial limit. Imagine if Congress could only be between the ages of 35 to 65 and could not reside in a household that makes more than 400k? The smartest people in our society are definitely not the richest. The level of greed in our government is killing us and not a benefit to the middle class and poor.

    In addition, we need to give up the party system. We already know that there are conservatives and liberals in both parties already. Neither party has been a benefit to the average American. Further, the rich in Congress is out of touch with what the middle class and poor need.

    This is a perfect symbol of the Democrat party.

    We need good wages and a better credit system that works for us and not against us. We need universal healthcare, and everyone should be able to afford to by a house. For example, instead of loans being based on income, the majority should be based on work consistency. A two parent family should be able to live comfortably in America.

    We spend way too much on the military, and as a country, we don’t need to be involved in everything. We have spent more money on Ukraine than we have provided for our poor in this country.

    Every politician has this Pinocchio effect.

    Corruption is at an all-time high. Promises are made and not honored; a “tit for tat” mentality runs rampant with our government; and far too many people are struggling.

    What was once progression has turned into our demise. We need to take serious notice of the America we think we are. Change is need immediately!

  • Revenge is a dish we are not suppose to serve

    It is quite the human response to allow your anger to kindle to the point where you desire revenge. I mean, we live in a world that will run all over you if you let it. This place can be very challenging, and people have a tendency to take your kindness for weakness. So naturally, revenge would be the best way to repay, right? Wrong!

    Revenge was something that the creator of the universe never wanted us to participate in. In fact, he claimed it all for himself. Have you ever wondered why? Is it that God somehow delights in the big payback? Why would claim vengeance as his?

    Well, notice that the Bible speaks of revenge as a negative thing for us because we can’t do it outside of emotion. We need anger and a scenario to administer revenge. God doesn’t participate in revenge through emotion. Vengeance and revenge are two different things, and both for God are administered through justice. For us to achieve justice, we would have to first be righteous. We can not be righteous outside of Jesus, and we don’t get to participate in righteous acts. We are made righteous for judgment sake in order that we, on Judgment Day, would be accepted in the Beloved. Until we are removed from this flesh, we have to have Christ as our righteousness.

    Vengeance is when someone repays another for something they did to someone else. Revenge is when the dirty deed is done to you, and you repay the carnage. So when God says vengeance belongs to him, he means that anyone who does something to his child will have to deal with him, and this can be used as a means to save their soul or condemn them in the end. God decides because of his righteous state.

    Studies have found that the person seeking revenge suffers more emotional effects than someone who doesn’t. Moreover, you could end up in a vicious revenge loop that only ends when someone dies. Revenge causes depression and anxiety and lowers your immune system. Revenge takes a toll on your integrity and ruins your character.

    Payback only makes you feel good temporarily. Revenge never settles the score. The great poet Maya Angelou said in her memoirs that she was raped as a young girl and her dad and uncles beat the man within an inch of his life. Well, the guy never raped her again and wasn’t really able to do much more in life after that. Did the revenge satisfy or make even the fact that a young innocent girl was raped? Of course, it didn’t. Revenge could never change anything in the past. It just makes you act a fool in the future.

  • Columbus Day should be put out of its misery

    We welcome October with a plea to the government to put an end to the big lie surrounding Columbus Day. Everyone already knows how far the truth was stretched to cover up the evil that this day represents.

    Even if some turn a blind eye to the offense of this federal holiday, others have already begun to replace the celebratory part of the holiday with something called Native American Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

    Originally, Columbus was credited as the discoverer of America despite the fact that millions of people were already here. Columbus made four expeditions to the Caribbean and South America enslaving and decimating populations paving the way for European colonization.

    The White House made a proclamation last year to the holiday, and sadly, it gave the true history of the holiday. In speaking about Italian-Americans, it says, “Things have not always been easy; prejudice and violence often stalled the promise of equal opportunity.  In fact, Columbus Day was created by President Harrison in 1892 in response to the anti-Italian motivated lynching of 11 Italian Americans in New Orleans in 1891.  During World War II, Italian Americans were even targeted as enemy aliens.  But the hard work, dedication to community, and leadership of Italian Americans in every industry make our country stronger, more prosperous, and more vibrant.  The Italian American community is also a cornerstone of our Nation’s close and enduring relationship with Italy — a vital NATO Ally and European Union partner.”

    Now, I agree with these sentiments regarding Italians, and there are other cultures that contribute to many positive things in America. However, I can make a powerful argument that African-American contributions far exceed the others, and despite having Republicans and Democrats make promises of change, Black people have continued to struggle.

    Columbus Day is a slap in the face. It needs to be a part of some museum where we put our troubled past away forever. I love the idea of celebrating the originals. And paying homage to the true innovative beings that dared to follow scientific theories to get to the New World.

    It is as if you can’t believe anything that was told to us in “American history.” With so many lies, it makes you wonder what else they are hiding.

  • Knowledge really is power

    The older I get, the more I learn what I didn’t know. So much information that was originally given to me is turning out to be false.

    The level of trust we give our original source is huge when they have not been vetted. Why would we trust like that? We trust as if no one has a reason to lead us astray.

    It seems that in America, our original history is so bad that we would be appalled if we knew the truth. That beautiful story about how the early settlers came over here seeking a better way of life, wrote the constitution, and started America didn’t quite happen like that. In fact, it was nothing like that. I won’t spoil the research for you, but you need to challenge everything.

    The most interesting part of all of this is that the truth is out there. It’s contained in resource books and professional journals. I read a professional journal that had an interview with Fredrick Douglas, and he was discussing the character of the man we know as Abe Lincoln. The title of the article says of Lincoln that he is a man, but not a brother.

    We were told he was this great emancipator who freed the slaves and strived to create an America where everyone was free. False! Not even close!

    Lincoln freed the slaves to win the Civil War and wanted to deport the slaves back to their homeland, knowing that they would never truly be free. He was always for the advancement of his race. He believed in reparations, and he made sure that every slave owner received $300 per slave for their troubles. That $300 in 1865 is the equivalent of $5626.21 today. Image how much that is if you had 50 slaves. Then, instead of taking your reparations and purchasing more land, these slaveowners kept the money and took the land the slaves had, and of course, the slaves couldn’t report this to authorities.

    Surely you have heard about the 40 acres and a mule phrase? Well, that was a reality for a few slaves until the white man showed up, seized the land and shot the mule, and burned your house down. No government intervention at all – thanks, Abe!

    So if knowledge is power, it is up to us to pick up a book, learn the truth, and act accordingly.

  • Politics as usual: They don’t really care about us

    Things are ramping up for the 2024 elections, and in every election year, politicians attempt to tell us what really is important. Their talking points start off with, “The American people want this…” Make no mistake, the elections are never for the American people. In a democracy, elections are used to make the people believe they have a say or control of what is happening in their country.

    Talking points work like worms against a fish. Politicians debate and talk about topics that interest the general population, but never are these things changeable. For example, President Joe Biden, who is the architect of the 94′ crimes bill responsible for putting millions of minorities in prison, went on the radio show The Breakfast Club and said if Black people did not vote for him, they weren’t Black. He talked about police shooting unarmed Black people was a problem; he talked about voting rights being a priority; he talked about the criminal justice system being a problem, but they didn’t make his radar once he was elected.

    What Biden did is what every Democrat does: Their interest is not in helping minorities but in helping the base. Republicans are the same with favoring their base. The problem is the majority of the people in both bases are white!

    So then brown people continue to struggle with immigration and black people struggle with everything else. Doing things for the masses or serving you base doesn’t scratch the surface of the people for minorities.

    When I say minorities, I am talking about people in America who make under 80k per year. The best part of America is the ability to earn money. A sample of all races is earning money in America, but the overwhelming majority of Americans are struggling. I am specifically saying that there is not much being done to help their situations. Some temporary Covid protocols made a difference for a short while, but these benefits don’t compare to the benefits given to citizens in other countries.

    So after each election, politicians prove to the masses that they don’t care about us. We should begin hearing about the “big scare” that the democrats do every election year to cause fear among the people of the dangers of not voting democrat. The Republicans do they same thing on their side, and while the fear is increased, the benefits for the poor decrease. Don’t think this is a racial divide because it isn’t. This divides us by class.

    The greatest vote you can make to a politician is to contribute money to their campaign because that’s who will be satisfied with the win. Imagine if you are a politician and one constituent gives you $50, and another gives you $1000 per month. Who would you listen to?

    Until this system changes, the common man will always get the shaft during the elections.

  • Healthwise: Doing fine in the US is cognitive dissonance

    How common is this: You’re walking someplace, and you see a friend. You say, “Hey, how are you?” And the friend says, “Fine, how are you?” For most people, this is a normal conversation which has no real meaning. It is an empty standard greeting.

    The truth of the matter is we don’t know how really bad we are doing until you change behavior and start doing better. Now, this is not a blog on healthy eating or a plea for you to change your diet. What’s this? It’s a blog on awareness with the intent to bring about change.

    Let’s start with the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has sold us a bill of goods. I thought that they were the watchdogs in the food and drug fields to make sure big pharma and food manufacturers don’t kill us in unsafe practices or substance abuse. In fact, what the FDA is doing is searching for the thin line between how many toxins the body can put up with verses the kickbacks they get for allowing mandatory minimums when it comes to our health.

    How much fecal matter can we consume before it kills us? How many insects, poisonous waste, and dangerous substances can we consume with too horrible side effects?

    It is true that the FDA doesn’t even regulate the entire food label. They only oversee the nutritional information on the back. On the front, a food maker can claim a bunch of things, and it doesn’t have to be true. They can use words like organic, wholesome, healthy, sweet, whole grain, or low sodium, and it is up to the consumer to figure out the truth.

    Much of our food is banned in other countries. Our pork, chicken, and beef don’t meet the standards outside of the US. Chicken, for example, is washed in chlorine and injected with salt water so that it weighs more when it’s being sold. Most of the food we consume has so many additives, preservatives, and other toxins that, over time, cause many diseases. Our food is so void of nutrients (about 70 percent is processed) that even if you exercised twice daily while consuming the standard American diet, it would still be harmful to you.

    We have so many degenerative diseases due to our diet that we live very unhealthy lives. Saying we’re “fine” has become a figure of speech and not a state of mind. We can not allow the FDA to be our guide. We have to seek moderation in much of what we eat, consume far more fruits and vegetables (mostly raw), get plenty of sleep, and drink plenty of spring water. Eat meat in moderation and exercise every day. This is just the start.

  • You don’t need an apology

    Forgiveness is a concept that our country isn’t too keen on as we are definitely people for revenge. Whenever someone’s crime upsets our social norm, we want blood.

    Mass shooters, pedophiles, rapists, bad police officers, repeat offenders, men who hit women, or anyone who is against the LGBTQ community are all subject to revenge following their miscues. But in actuality, forgiveness doesn’t require an apology. Of course, it would be nice to have one, but it is not required. Forgiveness has nothing to do with the infraction as much as it has to do with you making a decision.

    Forgiveness is a choice. It is frivolous to measure sins or even label them from bad to worse. Forgiveness involves an intentional decision to let go of resentment and anger. Why would you do that? Because hate in your heart consumes. It burns like fire.

    There are 3 types of forgiveness: 1) Exoneration where a person genuinely makes a mistake; 2) Forbearance where the person gives a partial apology, but the offense did not call for a more extreme level; 3) Release where there is no acknowledgement of hurt. The person never even took responsibility for the pain they caused. So which one do you think God would want you to exercise? Here is a hint: God would want you to practice the one you need.

    I don’t know about you, but I need to practice release because that is the one I need from God. The Greek word for forgiveness in scripture literally means “to let go,” and the context is the act of pardoning an offender.

    So, if I am to practice forgiveness from the Bible, it must be the one I expect from God because the scriptures tell us that God is going to forgive the same way we do. Now, who needs an apology?

  • A thing that can’t happen

    I’m not sure if this will be a new series or not, but there are certain things that just can’t happen. It needs to happen, but by the way we are as a country, it would cause an even greater divide if it did.

    I’m specifically talking about a scientific discovery of longevity. Imagine the level of greed and covetousness that would ensue if we discovered a way to extend life by hundreds of years. I’m talking about a new life expectancy of 250 years.

    I would imagine that our biased country would want to decide who is worthy of this. It would not be something that everyone could experience. I’m not even sure what the price tag would be, but definitely, anyone lower than wealthy would not have access.

    There would be billionaires trying to corner the market on this gift. As the African proverb states: “When the elephants rumble, the grass suffers.” We are the grass.

    Imagine some of the world’s dictators living longer: Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump,Joe Biden, and Xi Jinping all live another 160 plus years. Would the world be a bitter place if that happened?

    Longevity would give us more time to be greedy and selfish. If it were available to everyone, then it would give the poor and downtrodden another 200-plus years of poverty, stress, sickness, and depression. Giving the world more time would not at all help the poor — it would extend their already horrible sentence.

    It would do us no good to imagine the world as a better place because more time would increase the intensity of who we are today — and it’s not a pretty sight!

  • Are you a true believer in love?

    Neil Diamond wrote the song “I’m a believer” in 1966, and the Monkees performed it with Mickey Dolenz as the lead singer. It was a song about falling in love and the assurance of knowing that exact moment when the feeling was birthed.

    It is a great feeling to be in love. Out of all the things in the world that can be experienced, love has to be the best. When someone feels love, it’s like a superpower. You feel like you can do anything! It seems that dreams can become a reality, and all is right with the world.

    In like fashion, it seems that the world comes to an end when love is gone. The feeling of missing love is bitter. The sadness is covetous and touches every part of your life. You can’t eat or sleep, and nothing feels the same.

    This power of love has been misused and is still the deadliest costume to where in that someone can pretend to love you, not love you. Love has been misunderstood as infatuation, like, admiration, and lust.

    There are people who say they love you for what they can get out of you, and love is also used to control you.

    This blog is for those who are really in love. There are no holidays in August, but this is a good time to let your number one love know their position in the universe. Let’s make today, August 19, 2023, the inaugural Lover’s Day. On this day we celebrate love, with the one you love. This day is exclusive — meaning you don’t spend it out in public at a restaurant or movie.

    Lover’s Day is exclusive, and it is only spent mono e mono! It’s an interruption in your daily life to spend quality time alone. It’s a time of reflection, renewal, and rest. It’s a time to express love, enjoy being alive with your love, and enjoy a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual entanglement for 24 hours. There is no need for gifts because YOU are the gift!

    Spread the word!

  • American satire: The media’s usual vision for covering news

    In America, it used to be that Fox News would slant stories more to the conservative end, and MSNBC would slant stories more to the liberal end, and we could rely on CNN to land somewhere near the middle. Today, media coverage is extremely biased and used more as a weapon than a resource.

    The only exception is when it comes to race. Last weekend in Mongomery, Alabama, on the riverfront where ironically slave ships dropped off its cargo, the media told us that a fight broke out involving many people, and lots of arrests were made.

    Those are the details, and that would be fine if we didn’t know what actually happened. If Black people were the aggressor, the media coverage would have been something like: “Several gang bangers were arrested after starting a brawl on the riverfront.”

    What actually happened was that a security guard was instructing people to move their boat from the area where they docked it. Words were exchanged, and the patron punched the guard, and the fight began. Several people came to the aid of the patron, and in seconds, they had the guard on the ground, punching and kicking him.

    Onlookers were outraged and came to the aid of the guard. So the fight that should have taken place 250 years ago on those same docks took place then. The groups were, of course, divided by race. Since the aggressors were Caucasian, the Caucasian media just called it a brawl – like it just started like a fire. Caucasian aggressors don’t fit the narrative. When Caucasians do aggressive things, the language is cleaned up to make it less horrible.

    Most mass shooters have been white males. There is actually a psychological reason for that, but I won’t go into it here. The point is that you would never hear the media say, “Yet another Caucasian male has killed several students and teachers in a school, police baffled as to the reason.”

    For decades, the media has villianized Black men in news reports, and we hear it so often that it sounds normal. The videos of the Montgomery incident have gone viral, and memes regarding the event are everywhere.

    Many are asking the question, what would you do if you were there? What side would you have taken, or would you have stayed out of it completely? For many, this was more than just a brawl. It was more than just some strangers coming to the aid of a man in need. It was finally the response that Gen z and Under would rather have learned in their history books. It was the response that mirrored what many have said they would have done if they were present back in the Jim Crow south. Finally, Black people banded together and fought back.

    Will this make future incidents worse?