Welcome, hope you continue to read.

The Visions are the ranting and writing on the topics of my interest at any particular time.  I will do my best to substantiate my claims and provide references when I can but some of this is just my opinion.  I have kept journals for many years but today that is not enough.  I need to share so in 2014 sharing means starting a blog.  I don’t know if anyone will ever read this outside of the handful of people that love me.  They will most likely read these to gauge my current level of sanity looking for the right time to step in and put a stop to whatever I am into.  I love them for that.

The Vices are just what you may think and more.  They are the things that have helped me through the good and the not so good in life so far.  I am lucky that the bad does not outweigh the good but I am not sure I always knew that.  Vices were at times cigarettes, cheap wine, good wine, or good rum for the good times and the hard times.  Vices also included great loves, true loves, lost love, the best of friends (I have been truly blessed in this area), and family with all the love and wonder they bring, great books ( a source of wonder and escape), good movies, amazing plays, and music, always music.   Music is the heart and soul.

So recently I hit wall.  I cannot sit back and ignore the reality and do nothing in silence anymore.  My life is changing and I know it will be for the better.  I already recognize a passion and energy I have not felt in decades.  This must be the right course of action for me.

I have suspected that our society was in jeopardy for some time and have even spoken of it with some who would listen, always cautious not to come off as some sort of conspiracy theorist or nutcase.  That is over.  I have to speak and this blog, rant, writing, or whatever this evolves into is my medium for now.

I don’t believe there are conspiracies and secret societies creating global havoc.  I don’t discount them either,  I have no evidence either way.  What is obvious and supported by evidence, research, and analysis is that we humans  have made a lot of very bad decisions over many decades and even centuries.  I don’t think it was all malicious and it came in the guise of progress so on the surface at least it made our lives easier and we truly thought it was progress.  Now we know it was not always so.  We met short term goals  and received immediate gratification.  We thought our lives were better.  Not all innovation is progress, as time is showing us.

We need to recognize the mistakes we have made and take action to correct them.  This may mean taking a step back in some ways.  Not everyone will accept this and the markets that support our “progress” will fight back initially but ultimately adapt if enough of the market share can hold our ground.  This is the bottom line.  Everything is driven by the bottom line and what level of market share can be captured.

It started really getting to me when I learned of the bees several years ago but no one knew why they were dying in such huge numbers.  Recent events triggered an interest again and I started research into the status of the bees.  We now have a few answers to  some things but no one sees an end in sight.  The solutions are simple but on a  global scale and would initially be a significant impact to everyone, worldwide but we would adapt and it  will help ensure out survival.

In addition to the bees I have woken up to many of the reasons we are failing as a society on a global level.  Our incredible technological growth over the last century will seem insignificant  when compared to the rapid decline in civilization I think we are facing.  Unless we start making changes now.  Many are already heading in the right directions and we are seeing the markets slowly recognize the shift and benefits to them in changing.

Globally we have manipulated the natural order of our world and it is turning back on us to bite us in the ass.  The bees are only one of many indicators.  I intend to write about all that I learn of  so stay tuned.  I also intend to offer you solutions to each of these problems we face and not just gripe about it.  There are many, many things in varying degrees that we can all do to save our societies and our lives and I am going to share them with you as I learn them myself.

I am not your average tree hugging bunny lover.  I have spent the last 29 years of my life in direct support of the Department of Defense on active duty, as a civilian contractor and as a Civil Servant.  You could say that I have been pretty conservative in my thinking over these years.  As I was typically expected to be.  Five years ago I would have argued the benefits of sensible logging  and forest management standing in a clearcut.   Because  loggers have families to feed too and we have learned how to properly manage our forests, or so I thought.  It is a renewable resource right?  We may manage well in some areas but not all and when it got harder in North America and elsewhere big timber moved into third world countries where there are fewer regulations and higher profit margins.  Margins only achieved through the exploitation of the people and environment.  Climatologists now believe the dramatic reduction in Amazon forests are significantly impacting the global climate crisis and affecting air quality worldwide.

I have been part of the problem for most of my life and now want to be part of the solution in any capacity I can.

Today, I know that my original argument is weak and holds no water.  Loggers still have families to feed but they are not the issue.   The issue is big business.  The loggers take all the risk, do all the work and make the least amount of money, the problems are created by the big companies pushing every advantage to boost the bottom line.  Timber is just one example the same can be said for all business; energy, defense, technology, agriculture, politics (it is big business), food, etc. etc.  It is all our fault, we have created a capitalistic monster and allowed big business to take over.  The problems we are facing in our world today were created in the name of capitalism and market shares.  We let it get out of hand.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in capitalism.  I want to live in a free capitalistic society.  I truly believe in the freedom and opportunity that have lead to our greatness as a nation.  However,  I want it to be a responsible free capitalistic society.  In all discussion surrounding the Constitution and legality of issues we loose that one key ingredient required for success.

We are granted certain inalienable rights under our Constitution.  However, these rights come with some responsibility which is forgotten or set aside for greed and profit.  Responsibility was never written into the Constitution but use to be taught.  Society must enforce responsibility on the business, Governments, and the markets who seem to have lost their way and their integrity.  Look into the speech given by Benjamin Franklin just prior to signing the Constitution.  He hit the mark at a time when he could not have imagined our current levels of technology and privilege.  The sustainability of our system depends on the  integrity of our leadership and those chose to govern and that human nature would dictate that this could not last.  (extremely paraphrased)  I would argue that we have reached the critical points Mr. Franklin was concern of over 230 years ago.  I will be writing about this in great detail.

The markets (business) focus needs to shift to long term goals and global sustainment of our limited resources and not just the short term gain and the bottom line.  We need to stress forgotten concepts like responsibility, accountability, ethics, integrity, and honor.  The military strives to instill ethical and honorable behavior  in its members who then have to to the bidding of politicians who I feel have not just lost touch with these concepts but in many cases are so beholding to big business that our entire system is now corrupted and our government has no control but are only figure heads at best for the global Corpocracy.  Look at how many former leaders from business end up in critical areas of each cabinet with each presidency.  Former leaders in Agriculture end up leading the  FDA and USDA for 4-8 years or more and making policy.

It is not too late.   We have major global issues with the air, land, seas, chemicals and pollutants, water supplies, disease in plants, animals and humans, global climate changes,  deforestation of the amazon and other critical regions, global market crashes, unsound banking practices,  poor farming processes, obesity,  ineffective governments, global greed, corruption, inhuman abuse of animals and the wholesale exploitation of peoples around the world, and the list goes on and on …  There is a common elemental thread to all these issues and there is action we can take to correct the damage done and literally save the world.  As consumers we all have the control to change things if enough of us push back markets will change.  If they cannot convince us to purchase their products then they will change their products to something we will purchase.  They must improve their bottom line.  I have started making changes in my life, keep reading and I hope you start too.

Heed the bees!  I cannot continue to stand by watching them die, and do or say nothing anymore.  So my life is changing and you now get to read about.