WAR Between the Classes Is More Than Economic

In Novemeber, there was an article in Time that intrigued me. The article suggested that there had been and now is a wide gap between what Time called "the military class" and "the Political Elite". And this is what got me thinking today, as I was thinking about class warfare and its usefulness for political manipulation.

The Times article suggested that the military class was becoming ingrown, as more and more children of military families volunteer for military service. These understand military culture, which values duty, honor and country. And such an ingrown culture is not unlike that of elite academia, which until recently didn't allow ROTC into their university environments. Such a condition can't help but alienate "the Academy" from "the military class" and it widens the gap of understanding between the military and those that work in other areas of government. When such alienation happens, it is no wonder that each talks "past each other", because they have different goals and foci.

While the military has been gathering a more ingrown culture, the political class has forgotten the military's major reason for existing and their duty to protect the citizenry against foreign powers under the protections of a Constitutional government. The "academic elite" are those that usually get into political office these days. Those that serve as "Commander in Chief" aren't required to serve in the military, and as a result, humanitarian emphasis has become as important as our nation's political interests. Humanitarian interests sometimes conflicts with the public interests and the public trust of the elected official and national security issues. Should the elected official do his duty of serving his country as elected or seek to implement a change that is not limited or accountable to the people or other branches of government?

Yesterday the Washington Post had an article about the rising costs of campaigning and how limited the average person is in running for office and having an ability to win. Today, the wealth accumulated by our elected officials has furthered the gap between the citizen and the political class.

Such gaps of wealth accumulation further propitiate a "ruling class" where their personal business interests become a consideration when overseeing public affairs/policy deicisions. Where is the ethics of a Congress that can grant exceptions and exemptions to their political allies? Croynism becomes the culture of corruption and leaves the little guy wondering what is happening to his own material security.

Our society if fraught today with many Wars. The culture war between faith and the political; the class warfare between the rich and the poor; the political class and the military; and the ruling class and the peasant. Is it any wonder why the French revolted when their country used public trust and public funds to help other countries, while their own society disintergrated into desolation? Is it any wonder that those that play on political chaos for ther own political gain have the makings of dictators that have no sense of boundary regarding their office? Is it any wonder that the Tea Party and the Occupiers have expressed various concerns, and why the political class isn't interested because they don't really have to be? They are unaccountable and well equipped to take care of themselves without considering what their own self interest costs the nation. Whenever government and its officials become a "law unto themselves", then the rest of us had better be prepared for some rough waters ahead.

In the Place I Am...

In the place I am, I find that meaning is "what one makes it". There is no universal meaning, as we are individually, and contextually different. What I have to share, is not "gospel" truth, but truth for me that I seek to understand in a broader way.

I used to think that there was a distinct difference in "spiritual" things. There were spiritual truths, spiritual values, spiritual disciplines, spiritual understanding, spiritual revelation, and spiritual people or spiritual leaders. I have come to understand that there is not such distinction. Why?

Spiritual means that there is something distinctly different about something, whether a person, truth, or discipline. The transcendent means, by definition, that it transcends understanding, therefore, we do not know about that realm, only this realm of reality, truth, character, or leadership, as all truth is God's and serving in the real realm is serving God.

Humans are created to develop and they develop according to the environments and natural propensities that they have. Whether one believes in God or not, there are concerns about our world that affects us all. Therefore, all humans should work together to understand, first what the problems are, prioritize the problems and seek solutions. The difficulty is that there are so many problems and different ways of approaching the problems that humans find it hard to find solution due to the politics involved. The answer is not to limit information to the populace, so that the elite can "have their way", before the "morons" know what is going on. This kind of leadership would be acting in arrogance and not respecting the dignity of the American poplace.

Humans have values in and of themselves, that is if we believe that our own life is or should be of value. Therefore, we should recognize that suppressing infomation in the name of the "common good", may miss opportunities for some that might be of utmost importance to address the issues at hand. This attitude, besides being arrogant, is overt discrimnation. I do recognize that the ones that have the education should be the ones that are pivotal in addressing the problems. This is why I find it hard to believe that we will elect representatives that have little or no experience, or little education, to boot, to represent our interests. I really wonder how much really gets done by the freshman politician, as he/she must be mentored and initiated into the "system" before their voice really counts.

I don't mean to sound cynical, as I believe that our country's form of government is the best form ever imagined upon earth. And I believe that those who serve in public office are due respect for thier position and gratitude from those of us who have elected them. Our ingratitude should come primarily at the voting booth and expressing our opinion in open forum, whether through informal means, such as the internet, or formal means such as one's profession.

I appreciate the time and effort that goes into these public jobs and I wonder how many of us really understand the pressures, challenges, and time consumption that these jobs require? Many of us put in similar circumstances would not hold up under the intense pressure or scrutiny of such voyuerism of the American public.

I question many of the policies of our leaders today, but I want to take this opportunity to applaud them for serving us, at least in "ideal" and hopefully, in reality.

God bless America.