Sunday Zugzwang: Dealing with Trolls

This is something I’ve thought about doing for quite some time, and I wanted to try it out. I will write a smaller blurb on something which I have found to be of interest the past week. Without further ado, let’s go!

                I knew that I would get some blow-back from my previous Polemic, so I wasn’t too concerned with being confronted by those with opposing viewpoints. A gentleman, who will not be named, told me that I was a “douchecanoe”. Now, before I continue, I do have a question: what on Earth is a “douchecanoe”? Seriously, I will not only send the person who can give me a definition of this term a free signed copy of my next book, but I will dedicate it to them! Now, I could tell already that this person didn’t want to have a discussion. I knew that he just wanted to pick a fight and be the quid essential Troll. However, being one of those people who like to poke the bear, I replied that I had done the research and was welcome to hear how I had written something incorrectly or had improperly cited something. Of course, I was accused of not only plagiarism but also not making the attempt to look at both sides with as little bias as I could. Of course, this gentleman apparently focused more on reading the ending before taking into account that this Polemic took me WEEKS to write, and my ending changed three times during that time. I suppose that he thought that I just bulldozed through it in one afternoon.

                I’m not sure how Christian this concept is, but I enjoy causing these people to have a mild aneurism. I do enjoy the fact Trolls on the Internet would rather have you rage back at them rather than having a discussion on the topic at hand. This type of people, Trolls, have only two ways to argue:

If They’re Right:

·         Focus on the topic

·         Won’t let you waver from the topic

·         Won’t let you bring up any topic related to the original topic

·         Keep drilling until you either apologize or concede that they are right

If They Can’t Prove They’re Right:

·         Whine

·         Bring up your failures

·         Openly insult you

·         Call you a: Racist, Sexist, Bigot, Misogynist, Religious Zealot, Flat-Earther, Science-Denier, or a combination of the previous titles

Now, this attempt is to bait you to insult them. If you do, then they will go back to how they argue if they’re right.

                I know that I shouldn’t poke fun at such people, so usually I don’t even give them my time of day. However, if you have had some issues with Trolls, there’s a couple of things you can do in order to avoid being bogged down by such people:

1.       WAIT

Too often, especially in the modern era where we have twenty-four-hour access to social media, we have the impulse to react to people immediately. My suggestion is to wait, at the very least, five minutes before making the decision to give a rebuttal. Your decision on whether or not it is worth your time to answer this person will determine what you do next.

2.       Ignore

Believe it or not, you have the option not to respond. Sometimes the best answer to these people is no answer. If you don’t believe that your answer will lead to a productive discussion or will educate that person on a topic, one for which they may not be familiar with, then don’t reply. Sometimes it is not worth the mental fortitude to even give this person the time of day. This may sound cruel, but it’s the truth.

3.       Kindness

What they are looking for is you to go off the rails and say something hurtful or offensive. Most of the time, this will take the wind out of their sails.

4.       Educate

Let me be clear about this one: only take this course if you are confident that you are knowledgeable enough to offer an insight. If you don’t feel confident enough to do so, simply ask them what is wrong with your statement on an issue. If you are indeed incorrect, thank them for educating them and move on. Most of the time, however, you will find that they will try to bait you if they cannot offer a rebuttal.

5.       Stand Your Ground

If you feel that you are right, you have every right to state the reasons you are correct. State only the facts which will back your claim, leaving them nothing to twist into hurtful accusations.

6.       Limit Your Response to Only Once per Troll

This one is probably the hardest one to do. Social media is a game of Zugzwang, which is a Chess term meaning that each move is dependent on the other. However, by not moving and knocking the board off the table, you have made the decision to end the conversation altogether. Now if they choose to continue the conversation, they are appointing the title of “douchecanoe” onto themselves.

I won’t lie, the last one is the hardest one for me to do. About ninety-nine percent of the time, I don’t respond to any of them. My problem is when I am bored and am curious just how far they will take the conversation down into the middle school level of argument, trying to use all of the “bad words” you just learned about. I hope that I will be able to lessen the amount of time I respond to these people and I hope that you will, too. Thanks for reading, and have a blessed week!

On Transgenderism and Gender Theory

[Full disclaimer: This one may get me shot!]

After the Supreme Court ruled the legality of Same Sex Marriage[i], it seemed that the opposition to inclusion was settled and the social framework would move forward to a more equal society. However, the battle for equal rights to all social minority groups was only just beginning. As early as 2006, San Francisco held "the largest transgender event of its kind"[ii], leading to more activism in support against Gender bias and transphobic violence. Since then, "LGBTI activism has fought for the rights of people who fall outside of expected binary sex and gender norms"[iii] since adopting the final letter in 2014[iv]. There have been a wide variety of questions, heated debates, ridicules and concerns when it comes to the concept of Transgenderism, leading to many misconceptions all along the way. I hope only to look at both sides of the aisle and make my decision ONLY once I ask around, look up what those who oppose and those who support the idea of Transgenderism believe, the history of the movement and I will reserve my overall opinion until the end of my research. As with all of the Polemics before, I will make the attempt to be as open-minded as I possibly can and make an effort to understand before I make my judgement. I know I have been saying the same thing over and over, but I am trying to sink the words deeply into the heads of those which are highly “triggered” by opinion. Therefore, TO BE CLEAR, I am not going to make an uninformed opinion, so please don’t burn my house down for whatever I am about to write on the matter.

            After swallowing a two-volume set of books, which are taught in Gender Studies as the first books on the concept of Gender Identity, I made a surprising discovery. In 1949, a woman by the name of Simone de Beauvoir wrote “The Second Sex”, a work devoted to the fluidity of traits amongst men and women. Throughout the books Beauvoir describes women's subordination to the species in terms of reproduction, compares the physiology of men and women, concluding elaborating in depth that values cannot be based on physiology. Beauvoir goes further by stating that the facts of biology must be viewed in light of the ontological, economic, social, and physiological context[v]. The second volume contrasts a girl's upbringing with a boy's, who at age 3 or 4 is told he is a "little man"[vi], while the little girl is deemed either a “princess” or “darling”. Beauvoir continues by saying that little girls have not formed a maternal instinct and must be programed to craft a love of a male god and must be obedient, beautiful and be subjected to male lovers[vii]. She wrote in further detail about how women have been programed to be useful for nothing more than to cook, clean and raise children[viii], how women’s clothing defines her role in life[ix] and how she hopes for a future when men and women can live as equals[x]. What Gender Studies professors glean from her work is that socially constructed gender traits are just that: traits for which a society teaches to their youth. Beauvoir essentially believed in what John Locke called the “tabula rasa”, or blank slate. Essentially, one could teach a boy to behave as a girl and vice versa. A few years later, this theory would be put to the test.

             A few decades later, a man named John Money, often revered as the first Sexologist and the founder of the concept known as gender fluidity, burst onto the scene. Quite a progressive man, Money defined in his 1955 paper the seven factors which determined our definition of gender[xi]:

1.      Assigned sex and sex on rearing

2.      external genital morphology

3.      internal reproductive structures

4.      hormonal and secondary sex characteristics

5.      gonadal sex

6.      chromosomal sex

7.      Gender role and orientation as male or female, established while growing up

Money took it another step further by stating that "all those things that a person says or does to disclose himself or herself as having the status of boy or man, girl or woman, respectively.”[xii] He got the chance to test his theories on gender when he encountered the case of David Reimer, a newborn who had lost his penis in a botched circumcision. Money approached the parents with the recommendation of sex reassignment surgery as the only option for their son to live a normal life and at only 22 months of age, David underwent an orchidectomy, a surgery in which his testicles were surgically removed, and was renamed Brenda. Further, Money recommended that the parents give Brenda regular hormone injections and even  a surgery to create an artificial vagina. The parents accepted the first recommendation but not the second.

 For the next several years, Money worked close to the twins, encouraging the parents to continue to treat David/Brenda as a girl. In their sessions, Money would further enforce the gender roles by making the twins look at one another’s genital parts and arrange themselves into various male-dominate sex positions (with clothes on, don’t have a stroke!)[xiii] and verbally abuse the twins if they didn’t follow his exact orders. Once he felt sure that his theory became fact, Money and his colleagues touted the procedure as a resounding success, leading to the acceptance of gender fluidity amongst many in the Medical circle, providing justification for thousands of sex reassignment surgeries for children with abnormal genitals.

John Money’s self-proclaimed “success” was flaunted when Brenda told her story to Milton Diamond, another Sexologist, who later persuaded her to tell this story to John Colapinto, who published the story in “Rolling Stone” magazine in 1997[xiv]. The article goes in depth about the trials which incurred Brenda’s life as she and her brother suffered through the psychological trauma incurred through Money’s twelve-year reconditioning. After the age of fifteen, Brenda went back to being known as David and was quoted saying:

“It was like brainwashing,” and

“I’d give just about anything to go to a hypnotist to black out my whole past. Because it’s torture. What they did to you in the body is sometimes not near as bad as what they did to you in the mind – with the psychological warfare in your head.”

Tragically, both brothers committed suicide, Brian in 2002 and David in 2004, their parents blaming Money’s insistence for their sessions and recommendations for the twin’s deaths[xv]. Despite the tragic turn of events, Money was still seen as an iconic character in the intersex community, praised for his views on the fluidity of sexuality[xvi].

            Digging further down the rabbit hole, a woman by the name of Judith Butler emerges. Drawing from Beauvoir, Butler claims that "between sex, as biological facticity, and gender, as the cultural interpretation or signification of that facticity"[xvii], further stating that male and female actions are observed and then copied in order for that person to perform well within their social construct. She doubles down on this thought by stating that “trans individuals are engaged in the process of meaning making—creating coherence both for themselves and for others.”[xviii] By separating the binary lines of masculine and feminine, Butler claims that those which possess a variance of such feelings may not necessarily assimilate into either camp, birthing the concept of gender fluidity[xix].

            Supporters of the Transgender community believe that government has been excessively impeding upon their rights to utilize their identifying gender. From the bathroom bill in North Carolina[xx]    to the retaliation from President Trump opposing Transgender individuals in the military[xxi] to the issue of whether or not Transgenders are suffering from a mental illness[xxii], the community at large feels like they are attacked at all sides. Major groups like the ACLU and the National Organization for Women have come forward to defend these marginalized groups, with some success. For example, a proposal from Finland which required sterilization in order to change one’s gender legally was abolished in 2017[xxiii]. On 13 March 2004, amendments to the Mexico City Civil Code that allow transgender people to change their gender and name on their birth certificates, took effect[xxiv]. Even in places such as China, who are known for their abhorrence to change, the Shanxi province started allowing minors to apply for the change with the additional information of their guardian's identification card[xxv]. It would appear that the Transgender community has made great strides all over the world, crafting acceptance in every major court of the world except the United States and the Middle East in acceptance. Even now, those part of the community are, at the time of writing this, being denied the ability to serve the country which is opposed to their beliefs, accused by the medical community of having a mental illness and not even allowed to utilize the bathroom of their choosing. In their eyes, living as a Trans person is difficult in every which way. They want to be included, not shunned. They make the attempt to be normal. They do one thing which they claim that their opponents don’t even attempt: trying to understand the other side’s point of view.

            On the other hand, gender non-binary ideals are considered by some to be hereditary[xxvi] and most tend to suffer from depression, suicide and self-doubt[xxvii]. Labeled as Gender Dysphoria[xxviii] by the APA, it is treated by both therapy and hormones. The idea is to learn acceptance as their identified gender and support from family members is highly encouraged. However, this form of treatment is statistically ineffective, since their suicide rate is 41.8%[xxix]. Some may claim this as an inaccurate polling, so I’ll extend an olive branch: if the previous poll was off by HALF, the total would still be 1.5 times more than the total for the United State as a whole last year, which INCLUDES the suicide deaths from the previous poll[xxx]. They claim conformity and desire acceptance, but get “triggered” when others say or do something which they regard offensive. A couple examples are as follows:

1.      A Transgender customer freaks out at a man who calls her “sir”[xxxi]

2.      A professor proposed that teens are influenced by peer pressure to mistakenly identify as Trans, only to face ridicule[xxxii]

3.      Claiming that their YouTube channels are being demonetized due to being Pro-Trans[xxxiii]

I could go for hours, but I left it at three. The most popular idea from opposition concerning the Trans community is a simple one: they just want attention.

            This has been a long, long road for me to go down on. So, before I make my conclusion, just remember that I gave both sides a look, took in both sides ideology, analyzed it to the best of my ability and did my best to make the most convincing argument that I could for both sides of the issue. I will say that I do agree with Beauvoir to a point. Men are classified as men based on whether or not they do what their society deems manly. Women do what they do for the same reason. To an extent, gender roles are crafted by society. This is why in some parts of the world a woman has to cover from head to toe in a hijab while others get to lay out in the sun in a string bikini. This is why some communities value strength in their men rather than brilliance. I feel that is all Beauvoir was trying to say: men and women can perform the same task without it being a taboo. In some parts, she even succeeds the point that, just because someone can perform an action generally attributed to the opposite gender does not necessarily mean that they should. I’m with her on that. Where I start to fall off the bandwagon is when Gender Studies professors, like Judith Butler, and members of the LGTBQ community claim John Money had a successful study proving that all gender is a social construct. Keep in mind, one of the twins in the study overdosed due to the trauma of his teachings and the other blew his head off after living as a girl for fifteen years of his life. Back to Judith Butler and her claims of gender fluidity, I will succeed that some people have more masculine traits and others have more feminine traits. This being said, it does not mean that your gender is not connected to your sex. I’ll dumb this down even further: if you have a penis, you are a Male. If you have a vagina, you are a Female. That’s it! There’s nothing else you can conform to (unless you are a Hermaphrodite, which is usually settled through surgery at some point in life).

            It just amazes me that THIS is the history of the Transgender community: a woman who said that a woman can do what a man can, a psychologist who benefited by the manipulation of twins in a horrible tragedy from beginning to end and a woman who claims that feeling like a woman or a man makes you one. This is your history, people! Everything that has been written in support of Transgenderism is based upon these three people who had entirely too much time to think about something which our cave men ancestors figured out a long time ago.  

            And I close with the words which may get me shot, or at the very least assaulted: we are talking about 0.6% of the population[xxxiv]. To put this into perspective, that’s 1,962,000 people in a country of 327,200,000. It took 10% of the population to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and that was after decades of government endorsed racism, violence in the streets, the assassination of both Martin Luther King JR and Malcolm X, along with many others who are lost to the sands of time; they bled for their cause against a system which was crafted to hate them. Thank God they won, but it was not an easy fight. It was one which cost thousands of lives, both Black and White, for them to achieve the equality so desired. Since then, we have had Black Judges, Police Chiefs, Mayors, Governors, Senators, Generals and a President. So, if you believe that you are oppressed, look at what it took to create an equal legality for these brave souls. What “sacrifice” did you make for equality? Were you hosed down in the streets recently or were you denied access to a bathroom? Were you told that you couldn’t enter a restaurant because of something you couldn’t change or are you a man wearing a dress and having people look at you in confusion? Were you called a Negro instead of Sir or were you called Sir instead of Ma’am? You were founded by a First-Wave Feminist being taken out of context, an evil SOB who messed with children’s minds and a woman who didn’t want to be called a Tom-Boy, filled with sad people who want to be distinct and identify as one of the 63 genders so they can feel unique and special[xxxv]. The community is filled with professional victims and disheartened people who yearn to be different when they should be placed on anti-depressants. Take a Valium and move on with your life.

[i] "PRRI - American Values Atlas". Public Religion Research Institute. 2017.

[ii] Trans March kicks off Pride weekend Vickie Martin, June 2006, Bay Area Reporter.

[iii] "Intersex for allies". 21 November 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2016.

[iv] Ryan, Hugh (10 January 2014). "What Does Trans* Mean, and Where Did It Come From?'". Slate. Retrieved 21 May 2014.

[v]  de Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Pp.46.

[vi] de Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 285–286.

[vii] de Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 304–305, 306–308.

[viii] de Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 644.

[ix] de Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 571–581, 584–588, 589–591, 592–598.

[x] de Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 760, 766.

[xi] Money, John; Hampson, Joan G; Hampson, John (October 1955). "An Examination of Some Basic Sexual Concepts: The Evidence of Human Hermaphroditism". Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp. Johns Hopkins University. 97 (4): 301–19

[xii] Money, John; Hampson, Joan G; Hampson, John (October 1955). "An Examination of Some Basic Sexual Concepts: The Evidence of Human Hermaphroditism". Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp. Johns Hopkins University. 97 (4): 301–19

[xiii] https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/david-reimer-and-john-money-gender-reassignment-controversy-johnjoan-case

[xiv] Colapinto, John (December 11, 1997). "The True Story of John/Joan". Rolling Stone: 54–97. Archived from the original on 2000-08-15. Retrieved 2014-09-27

[xv] "Born a Boy, Raised as a Girl" Documentary, The Learning Channel

[xvi] Walker, Jesse (24 May 2004). The Death of David Reimer: A tale of sex, science, and abuse. Reason

[xvii] Butler, Judith (1988). "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory". Theatre Journal. 40 (4): 519–531. doi:10.2307/3207893. JSTOR 3207893.

[xviii] https://read.dukeupress.edu/glq/article-abstract/15/1/97/34647

[xix] Butler, Judith (2004). Undoing Gender. New York: Routledge

[xx] Bianco, Marcie (April 2, 2016). "Statistics Show Exactly How Many Times Trans People Have Attacked You in Bathrooms". Archived from the original on December 21, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2017.

[xxi] https://www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-denounces-transgender-troop-ban-on-eve-of-implemention

[xxii] Hidalgo, Marco A.; Ehrensaft, Diane; Tishelman, Amy C.; Clark, Leslie F.; Garofalo, Robert; Rosenthal, Stephen M.; Spack, Norman P.; Olson, Johanna (2013). "The Gender Affirmative Model: What We Know and What We Aim to Learn". Human Development. 56 (5): 285–290. doi:10.1159/000355235.

[xxiii] Wareham, Jamie (29 August 2017). "Finland will keep sterilizing trans people after it rejects law reform". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.

[xxiv] "Mexico: Mexico City Amends Civil Code to Include Transgender Rights", International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, 15 June 2004

[xxv] Sun, Nancy (9 January 2014). "Shanxi Permits Persons to Change Gender Information". All-China Women's Federation. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.

[xxvi] Friedman, RC (2008). Sexual Orientation and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Sexual Science and Clinical Practice. Columbia University Press. pp. 53–7. ISBN 978-0-231-12057-9.

[xxvii] Crawford, Nicole (2003). "Understanding children's atypical gender behavior". American Psychological Association.

[xxviii] "Gender Dysphoria Fact Sheet" (PDF). APA. Retrieved September 2, 2013.

[xxix] https://www.hrc.org/blog/new-study-reveals-shocking-rates-of-attempted-suicide-among-trans-adolescen

[xxx] https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/

[xxxi] https://neonnettle.com/news/6062-transgender-customer-attacks-gamestop-employee-after-being-called-sir-

[xxxii] https://www.dailywire.com/news/44941/remember-professor-attacked-suggesting-teens-hank-berrien

[xxxiii] https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-has-transgender-become-a-trigger-word-for-youtube

[xxxiv] Flores, Andrew (June 2016). "How Many Adults Identify as Transgender in the United States" (PDF). Williams Institute UCLA School of Law

[xxxv] https://apath.org/63-genders/

Letting Go of the Past

                It’s coming up to almost two years out from being in the HUMV rollover. I look in my wallet and see the Retirement Card, and I have mixed feelings concerning it. On the one hand, I have done what I desired to do, retire from the military and obtained the status of Veteran. On the other hand, the Disabled part is what is gnawing at me. Seven procedures and twelve pills a day has brought me to a somewhat functional state. I hope that, as time goes by, I will have a better grasp on my pain and will be able to move on from all of this. However, no matter how stubborn I am, no matter how high my pain tolerance gets or how long I try to for long the inevitable, there are days which are terrible. There are Sundays where I cannot get to church that morning because of the pain. There are events where I have to leave early due to discomfort and there are times where I need my cane. I try to lie to myself because I’m almost as strong now as I ever have been. I try to lie to myself through my accomplishments, through all that I have written and through all that I am able to understand. I try to baffle with bullshit what I cannot blind with brilliance. However, as much as I can lift, there are too many times when its hard for me to lift myself out of bed. I can ruck three miles in under an hour, yet there are so many times where I cannot walk without taking breaks, using my cane or avoiding walking all together. Too many times the pain sinks in and I cannot do anything to avoid it. My only saving grace is those brief hours when the pain pills take effect or they put me to sleep. I wouldn’t wish this on my mortal enemy. I need to realize that this is the new normal for me and that I am currently the best that I ever will be.

                My memory has increased exponentially from what it once was. I went from not remembering anything from five minutes ago to having a loose grip on my short-term memory. However, my memory is no where near what it used to be. To date since the head injury, I have filled nine notebooks worth of daily activities. By my estimate, I’ve penned over 600,000 words. If I keep this up, I’ll have one of the longest journals in history, passing Samuel Pepes this year. Not a world record I was going for, but interesting none the less. In addition, I have learned a whole lot about myself while trying to recover. For one, I never knew what kind of pain threshold I had. From the migraines to the nerve damage to the arthritis, most people wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning. As for me, I have done everything I can to get myself to a somewhat livable condition, both physically and mentally. Most of that has been reading, writing on this website and improving my physical strength and mobility. With any hope, I won’t need to worry about much until I have to have one of my three discs fused. It’s going to be fun when that day comes.

                Psychologically, I think I am doing okay. I’ve done my best to come to terms with my disabilities, learned how to accept what I am no longer able to do and have done my best to mold my life in such a way that I am in less pain than normal. I learned that I have to do most of my work in the mornings, have to have more routine in order to grasp most of my day and not have to write it down and have to build my life in accordance with systemization. In all, I believe that I am doing well when it comes to navigating my life through my physical and mental limitations. However, there are things which bother me. It was difficult to learn that I can no longer front squat. I fell off when I tried to ride a bike. I collapsed when I tried to run (to be fair, I made it a hundred yards before I fell). I look at others my age and see them go about their lives, heedless of the gift it is to be whole. I don’t mean to be angry at people who didn’t choose the line of work I did but it makes me angry that what happened to me was preventable. I hear people talk about my survival being a miracle and it makes me sick. What kind of miracle is it to be twenty-three and being in constant pain? What kind of miracle is it to watch all of your dreams fall apart right in front of your eyes? What kind of miracle is it when you see the looks of pity from others? I know that my injuries changed my future, my ambitions and my life forever. What bothers me is that I get a constant reminder of it from the faces of those around me. Why can’t they realize that?

                One of the biggest things which bothers me is the fact that people told me “congratulations” when I received my proposed Disability ratings from the VA. Congratulations for what? My plans for a future, my dreams, going up in smoke? Congratulations for the fact that you will never receive that Sargant rank but will receive a paycheck based on how broken you are? Congratulations on being used goods as far as the military is concerned? I went off on a couple of people when they told me this, mostly because the three of these things went right through my mind when that word was said. I don’t think people realize how I wanted to be a soldier since I was eight years old gazing at my Step-Father’s Vietnam medals. I don’t think they understand how passionate I was about wearing that uniform and serving in combat. I begged for deployments, did whatever was asked of me and desired nothing more than to serve my country. They don’t understand how close to the bone this yearning was for me. Hell, doing so nearly took my life.

                The only thing that all of this didn’t take from me was my name. I will not let my injuries take that from me. I will not allow the pain, the anger and the loss of my purpose to take this from me. I will not let this feeling forsake my final piece of identity. My answer was to start writing the “Ezekiel March” series, my non-fiction works and all of the essays. I wanted nothing more than to recreate myself and grant myself a new purpose in life. I will continue with my writing, my degrees and in my strength. I will focus on greatness in my new sense of self, moving into a higher sense of self-actualization and into self-transcendence. If this is my true identity from now on, I will embrace it. I will move on from what I once was and will lead into what I desire to be.

On Sanctuary Cities

The term in question refers to municipal jurisdictions, typically in North America and Western Europe, that limit their cooperation with the national government's effort to enforce immigration law. The thought process is that illegal immigrants will be able to comply in reporting crimes without the fear of being deported, utilizing medical services and enrolling their children in school[i]. On some level, this makes sense. On the other hand, it is intolerable for a justice system on a local level can simply ignore laws set in place at a Federal level. I will extend an olive branch on this matter: sometimes what is determined “legal” is not necessarily what is deemed “ethical”. Not a person on the planet would deem a sence of ethical positivity towards taking a child away from their family who face deportation. However, in order to say this, one must place a double-standard on Abortion, where the father not only has no say in this matter, but is not legally required to be informed that the procedure took place. We can’t have it both ways, people. In the same manner as before, we’ll make the attempt to uncover the truth in this matter, way the pros and cons, and make a final judgement only when all the facts are assembled.

Shall we?

            Believe it or not, sanctuary city history goes back thousands of years. In the Book of Numbers, the children of Israel were ordered to establish such cities where those who committed manslaughter could be safe from their families[ii]. In 392 AD, Christian Roman emperor Theodosius I set up sanctuaries under church control. In AD 600 in medieval England, churches were given a general right of sanctuary, and some cities were set up as sanctuaries by Royal charter. Most of those fleeing to these sanctuaries were those who were wrongly committed or were fleeing vigilante justice, quite a commonplace in a time where the idea of “guilty until proven innocent” was the chosen way to perform law. The sanctuary city movement took place in the 1980s to challenge the US government’s refusal to grant asylum to certain Central American refugees. These asylum seekers were arriving from countries in Central America like El Salvador and Guatemala that were politically unstable. The first groups to reach out to those seeking asylum were faith-based groups, who were offering aid throughout the Southwest. A milestone in the U.S. sanctuary city movement occurred in 1985 in San Francisco, which passed the largely symbolic “City of Refuge” resolution. The resolution was followed the same year by an ordinance which prohibited the use of city funds and resources to assist federal immigration enforcement–the defining characteristic of a sanctuary city in the U.S. As of 2018, more than 560 cities, states and counties considered themselves sanctuaries.

            One of the biggest arguments for the Sanctuary movement is that such a policy encourages a better relationship between illegal immigrants and law enforcement, thus eliminating the fear of reporting crime and being turned in themselves. This makes sense, considering that one of the most common reasons illegals are found and sent to ICE is due to a report of a crime. This is further demonstrated due to the fact that 70% of undocumented immigrants and 44% of Latinos surveyed are less likely to report if they were the victim of crime and 45% of Latinos are less likely report crimes or voluntarily offer information about a crime for fear police officers would learn about their immigration status. This statement is crucial, especially considering that The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 would allow minor crimes, such as shoplifting, to be grounds for possible deportation. Section 287(g) of Homeland Security makes it possible for state and local law enforcement personnel to enter into agreements with the federal government to enforce immigration law, it provides no general power for immigration enforcement by state and local authorities. This isn’t helped by the fact that the Tenth Amendment of the US Constitution provides for the separation of federal and state powers. According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the Amendment prevents the "federal government from coercing state or local governments to use their resources to enforce a federal regulatory program, like immigration," and, thus, Congress cannot compel state or local governments to collect immigration status information in order to share it with the federal government. The final argument for such policy is due to the indiscrimination of such laws deporting children who have lived in this country since birth. Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland, CA, said, "I like to compare this to conscientious objector status. We are not going to use our resources to enforce what we believe are unjust immigration laws”.

            Now, to those who oppose the above. Many, including the President, oppose such matters because they claim Sanctuary status does not aid in the safety of the American populous. For one, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, an undocumented immigrant, had seven felony convictions in the United States and had been deported from the country five times. Yet, the city of San Francisco declined to detain him for ICE officials and released him into the community. In a tragic turn of events, Lopez-Sanchez was charged with the murder of Katie Steinle in San Francisco in 2015. It does not help those which are Pro-Sanctuary that statistics show that, out of 235,413 people detained by ICE in the same year, 138,893 of them had been convicted of a crime[iii]. Some believe that a sanctuary status is giving leniency towards those which are committing a crime of being in our country illegally, making it difficult to justify charging them with any other crime when their very existence is a crime.

            When it comes down to it, like it or not, if one is in this country illegally, they are committing a crime. Some may claim that this is a cruel idea, but I would go further. The Constitution is the law of the American people, a place where our rights are written and the law is crafted to uphold the Constitution for the American people. Notice, however, I said “American People”. If someone is an illegal, they do not have the right to remain silent. They do not have a right to an attorney, do not have the right for a speedy and public trial and do not have a right to not self-incriminate. In truth, they do not have any rights under the law. I do not say this to be cruel, I am simply following what is written. If the Mayors of these cities craft ways for those illegal immigrants to avoid ICE, then they are co-conspirators and should be brought to justice. Those elected to such positions look out for the best interests of the American people, not all people. I close with this: America has become entirely too inclusive. This makes sense to a point, seeing that America is a melting pot of cultures, religions and ideas. However, the inclusiveness is limited to those who are citizens of this country, those who pay taxes and have a Social Security or Green Card. The idea is simple: Not our people, not our problem.

[i] Dallas County sheriff eases immigration holds on minor offenses". The Dallas Morning News. October 11, 2015.

[ii]    Metzger, Bruce M.; Coogan, Michael D., eds. (1993). The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-19-504645-8.

[iii] Heather Mac Donald, "The Illegal-Alien Crime Wave," city-journal.org, Winter 2004

The Failure Mindset

One must only be elated by work which is truly their own. By taking credit for work which others have done, we will provide ourselves the delusion of superiority over our peers. By seeking gratitude from the success of our children, the success of our parents and through the effort of our peers, our own conceit will begin to multiply throughout our lives, entering ever fiber of our being. By building a basis for life through the success of others, we begin to become dependent on their success for our stability. Our self-worth will cease to come from us and we will rely upon the deeds of others to find fulfillment. No more will we rely on our actions, words or deeds for a fruitful existence; instead of striving for greatness through our achievement, we begin to believe that what does not kill us makes us weaker. These thoughts transfigure our internal drive for self-betterment into a delusion known as learned helplessness. The rider cannot take credit for the agility of the horse. In the same manner, we muse ensure that we learn how to value the works of our hands and therefore learn independence for ourselves. Only then will we glean the ability to stay true to ourselves.

The Rise of Spectatoritis

“He can have all of the apperances of earnestness and obedience; but his interests, his thinking can be miles away. It is only by developing want in the workman that we can develop a workmanship that is art.”

-          Jay B. Nash, Spectatoritis

In the year 1932, a Gym teacher by the name of Jay B. Nash published a book which has been lost in the sands of time. This is unfortunate, because he had predicted the sedentary and autonomous lifestyle for which we all find ourselves in. Nash labeled this disease “Spectatoritis”, which is defined as “a blanket description to cover all kinds of passive amusement, an entering into the handiest activity merely to escape boredom”. He further warns us that machines, our slaves, will liberate us from many activities which used to be done by the hands of humans. With this free time, man has reached an existence foreign to our species. Since the dawn of time, man has had to work earnestly to feed himself, clothe himself and protect himself from possible dangers which surround him. Today, we have preferences which have never before been allotted to us. Instead of eating what has been trapped in snares, we turn up our nose to dishes made by chefs which are not to our liking. Instead of clothing ourselves with the skins of game for which we have caught and skinned, we go to the local clothing outlet and spend our time gazing for the “perfect” pair of jeans. Instead of enduring the pains of cold, we open windows to our homes so that we may air it out after the thermostat has been on high for too long. Nash claimed, in 1932, that mankind has risen to an era of convenience never before known to our ancestors. How true does this statement hold in the modern era, where everything you could ever want to know or ever want to purchase is accessible on your phone at the touch of a button?

                  “Play can neither be contrasted with nor used synonymously with work (vocation), recreation (recuperation) or leisure (time for creative arts). It becomes the mainspring of all!”

      Today, what do we do with our time? Do we strive for excellence in our jobs? Do we spend time bettering our lives through our study through our artistic passion? Or, do we spend our time in recreation? Instead of utilizing our time for the betterment of ourselves, too often we spend our time binge watching shows, space out on social media platforms or mindlessly walk through life with no chief aim in life. The truth of the matter is simple: Work, recreation and leisure must be a balanced part of our existence. What many of these individuals do not realize is that, by supporting the short term and immediate gratification which the idleness of life we now live, we are raising a generation of human beings which believe that everything must be instantaneous, believe that their lives have meaning when they have done nothing to be remembered and will eventually hold the reigns of the world which does not function in this manner. According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project Post-Election Survey, eighty three percent of those aged eighteen to twenty-nine utilize social media. Of those, sixty-six percent are a part of what is now known as the IGEN, meaning those who have never known a life without the internet. This would not be an issue if the average level of literacy in America is at an eight-grade reading level, ProLiteracy has claimed that more than thirty million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third-grade level. The obesity rate is thirty-five percent and in children it is twenty-percent in children aged twelve to nineteen. What is the cause of such a pandemic? The answer goes back to Nash and his philosophy of Spectatoritis, the blanket of passive amusement done merely to escape boredom.

      “A whetstone is dull, but it serves to sharpen Damascus blades”

-          Elbert Hubbard

What can be done to change this descent into the abyss? Some have claimed that the fault is to be lain at the feet of the Educational system for not providing instruction within such a matter. Others blame the parents of other children which petitioned for the leniency of instruction of their children on life. Hell, some have even pointed the finger at those who took prayer out of school and do not punish children for not standing up for the Pledge of Allegiance. No, there is only one which is responsible for the descent into complacency, only one who can be convicted over such a matter. The fiend which has crafted this society is ourselves. In every sect of nature, the aggressive and curious, experimental organism lives; the other dies. In our complacency, we have developed generation after generation of men and women who desire something for nothing, are expectant of awards and praise for meaningless matters, do not allow children to fail and do not educate them on how to live a proper life. Ever since the Baby Boomers, generation after generation has been enveloped within a digital age. Slowly but surely, life became easier and easier. We do not chop wood to warm our homes. We do not have to transcribe upon a typewriter, correcting the errors by starting over on that page. Newspapers are only a touch away on our phone. We have electric cars and homes whose electricity is crafted by solar panels on the roof. The author is not saying that these advancements are bad for the world, quite the contrary. What the author is claiming is that there have been five generations, from the Baby Boomers to the IGEN, who have been brought into a world where gratification has become more accessible, where people are connected to others all over the world and have developed an idleness never before known in this world. Never before 1921 when White Castle, the first fast food restaurant in America, has this country had access to food so open to them. McDonalds feeds roughly sixty-eight million people, nearly one percent of the world’s population, every single day. There is no incentive for people to be active because we have crafted a world for which everything is autonomous, where effort is seen as a useless endeavor and where everyone is appreciated for nearly everything.

            “The value of an education lies in the struggle to get it. Do too much for people, and thehy will do nothing for themselves.”

-          Elbert Hubbard

What can be done about the issue which plagues this world? Do we strip away the conveniences for which this world has now, and revert back to the days of cavemen? Certainly not! This is a glorious place for humanity to be, a time when we have more time than ever before to focus on the improvement of the self. The very nature of such inventions cries out for universal truth, grants us a place where science, reason and progress will lead to all mankind’s happiness. However, we have lost this way. In the technological age, greed has poisoned our souls. We have created speed but have shut ourselves in. Machines which create abundance still leaves us in want. This lifestyle has granted us the privilege of being cynical and brutish of all the great and marvelous achievement for which humanity has undergone. The chilling warning of the quote above is that, unless there is some drive for a better future, and everything is done for us, all will be lost. We will become just like the very computers we have crafted: cold, soulless and isolated. Therefore, the author implores the reader to change their mindset and begin crafting a life on Health, Wealth, Love and Happiness.

It has been shown by the MedicinePlus clinic of the United States government that a focus upon your health that you will live longer, your mental clarity will increase and, most importantly, your weight will decrease. This does not mean that you must join a Zumba class or a P90X regime, go on a crash diet and feel miserable to accomplish this. It is recommended that one hundred and fifty minutes of exercise is sufficient. If you say “I haven’t the time for such a thing”, consider this: statistics show that, on average, people spend 135 minutes a day on social media, consumers in the US are averaged nearly four hours a day watching television, gamers spend roughly six hours a week on video games and in North America, the consumption commutatively of YouTube is almost three billion hours a month. A thirty-minute walk five times a week doesn’t seem to strenuous now, does it? The Mayo Clinic recommends a two-thousand calorie a day diet, while the average American consumes thirty-six hundred a day. To put this simply, for a person who does little to no exercise, they will be gaining roughly 3.2 pounds of fat a week; if continuing on this trend, one could possibly gain 166.2 pounds of fat in a year! Luckily, the prescription for this illness is clear: stay to the Mayo clinic recommendation and go for a thirty-minute walk, swim or bike ride five days a week. The results may surprise you.

People suck when it comes to money. The average for America when it comes to credit card debt is a staggering 16,425 dollars, while almost thirty-percent of households have only 1,000 in savings and the median in retirement accounts is 63,000 dollars. To put this into perspective, if you drew Social Security and drew five percent annually off your retirement account at this amount, you would be living off of 20,150 dollars a year. To place this into even more realistic numbers, the average cost of living for a single person per year is 13,200. Keep in mind, this only includes bare necessities: rent, food and clothing. This does not factor in the television, the nice watches or the amazing shoes. What can be done about this? The answer is simple: pay off all debts before you spend that money on anything else, place ten percent of your check every month into an interest-bearing account and STOP WASTING YOUR MONEY! This is not to say that you cannot enjoy the present but it does mean that you have an obligation to yourself to prepare for the future. This may come as a shock to some, but you will grow old. There will come a time where you simply cannot perform the work which you once did and you will have to rely upon someone to keep you alive in old age. Who do you trust with providing for you more, the government or yourself? Who knows you better? What kind of lifestyle do you want to have when you reach this portion of your life? These are the questions which need answers if you want fulfillment in old age.

 Love is a peculiar thing. People fall in and out of it all the time. In addition, they get divorced just as easily. Many people have avoided such a commitment to others and live together as a couple, but never have the nuptials. In truth, one must be wary of such a matter. If they do not wish to be bound to you in such a manner, then what stops them from seeing you as simply another face in the masquerade? Commitment is key for any relationship and it is the tie that binds people towards one another. For love to work, both parties must put forth the effort. This is done by simply acknowledging your partners loves, fears, thoughts and ideas. It is not simply a physical action, but it is an emotional action. What too many people do is attempt to bond simply at the physical level before connecting through the emotional. The role has to be reversed. If there is a strong emotional connection, then the physical will be even more passionate. You will begin to care about the person, not simply what you can glean from them. You will begin to express longing to see that person, feel that intense passion for that person alone and will feel more fulfilled in the relationship. When they feel lonely, do not hesitate to comfort them. When you see that something you can do will make their lives easier or will please them for you to do for them, do it; they will, in turn, begin to do the same for you, causing a snowball effect which will bind you closer to that person. When we neglect our partner, they will neglect us. A flower cannot grow without sunlight, water and shelter from harmful elements. In the same way, one must nurture their relationship with their other if they ever want it to last. If not, you would have wasted a portion of your life for which you can never get back and long for what could have been.

The final pillar is happiness. Much like love, this is a strange category, mostly because it is rather subjective. However, that is the beauty of it. In our ever-increasing leisure, we are given the chance to express our love for something more frequently. The suggestion for this pillar is also quite simple: do something which not only brings joy to yourself, but also to others. In this manner, you will learn how to spot and to give gratitude to others. You will learn the value of a helping hand, a friendly smile or a dinner at home with your family. The insight will cause you to be more open with the world around you, causing you to want to pass on the happiness for which you received to others. This simple action of granting happiness to others will also craft bonds which are difficult to break, causing you to feel more fulfilled and will cause everlasting friendships. The greatest killer of happiness is loneliness. By performing this action, you are ensuring yourself that, no matter what happens to you in life, you will never be alone.

The author concludes with this: he already knows that most people will not follow this advice. Most say that they want a fulfilled life, but are too lazy to do anything about it. Most say that they want health, wealth, love and happiness; sadly, they want it delivered to them on a silver platter, with no effort from themselves. Most mimic the modes of happiness in their unfulfilled lives, hoping that by copying a great life, the forgery will hold up for just a little while. Instead of embracing others, most will embrace the autonomous world for which we live in, oblivious to what they are missing just outside their front door. Without companionship in reality, they turn to social media, speak to people which they have never met about their problems, will tout to the world that they have ten thousand followers and call it living. By building a life based on such a philosophy, hoping for the best, they do not realize that, brick by brick, they have sealed their own tomb in the digital age. A single companion in the real world is worth a million online. The author hopes that someone will take this advice and change for the better. If so, they will be amazed at just how much they will grow in the process.

On Prophets

Within every generation, there is always a prophet. He is always wise, studying the ways of the world. He ensures that he understands the right thoughts, the right words and the right deeds necessary to ensure a fruitful and successful life. However, one must ensure that they are not deceived. For whenever there is a good man of faith, there is also an evil one which utilizes his religion to prey on the desperate. Instead of hope, he grants them servitude; he will tell them whatever it takes to make his word law over their lives. By freeing himself within his perspective of self-righteousness, he proclaims to his congregants that his own rule is law. Truly, the habit does not necessarily dress the monk. The best way to determine his worth is to look into his actions, not through his words. For no man can conceal with his hands what his heart chooses to reveal.

One Year Out

A little over a year ago, I started this website initially with a simple aspect in mind. I planned on having a platform of my own which I could share my writing, my thoughts on particular topics and to have a place where I would be able to display my published works. Today, I have sold thousands of copies of my books and have had thousands of people visit my site. I am thankful for all of you and am happy that so many people have taken a liking to my work. Truly, this has been quite the experience. I’ve learned a lot about not only myself, but also have expanded my writing capability to levels which they never were before. Over this past year, I’ve written four books and 35 journal entries, many of which would never have been possible without making the attempt to work on this website as often as possible. It’s been quite a long year, but a productive one.

                As far as the future of this project is concerned, there are a few things I desire to dabble with. One is FINALLY starting a consistent podcast, which will be available right here under the heading “Discourses on Discourses”. Another will be making the attempt to get onto Youtube and making some content there. As far as writing is concerned, I am still going to make it my effort to write at least one article weekly. However, I plan on elaborating on a few of my previous ones and making them a full-fledged essay which may standalone as collections of essays. I will publish the content which is already on the website into a hardcover edition soon and am even thinking of selling a couple signed copies directly, donning my signature. I may also be selling some of my personal books on this site, as well.

                Next year will be chocked full of novels, short-stories and perhaps, even a play. As expected, I will continue the story of Ezekiel March, but I will also introduce more characters which inhabit what I now consider the Daltonverse. It hasn’t been easy to craft a singular universe with all of my fiction, but I believe I’ve finally mastered the art of crafting such a thing. All of my stories, plays, novels and even poetry are connected. With Ezekiel March, I’ve actually started in the middle of the timeline. Anything else for which I will write will take place either before, during or after Ezekiel’s life. He is the cornerstone of my writing because he is an insignificant figure in the grand scheme of the Cosmos which was necessary to shape the future of this universe. Over time, his significance will become clear.

                To conclude, I enjoy the experience whole heartedly. I’ve been quite thankful of all your support, of all of your encouragement and all of your recommendations. I hope that I will have the opportunity to bring these ideas to you in a similar fashion and I hope that my friends won’t be cross with me for using some of their names in my stories.

                Again, thank you all and I hope you stay with me as I continue to bring you the best content I can produce. Truly, you all are fantastic!

Learn Yourself

Self-knowledge is the most crucial factor which one may understand about themselves. He which knows how to wield his own power is one which is able to achieve all that he is faced with. He overcomes his frailties by first understanding what they are, by learning how to bolster them and how to use this process to better himself as a whole. He which wipes away the vain ideas of self-victimization is guaranteed to bequeath a better path of life in this world. Therefore, instead of kneeling towards tension, he must rise to the prospect of becoming more than he once was. By establishing which area in life is needed for improvement, what area is needed for one’s betterment and what area is needed in life for ascension does not come from external forces; it comes from the internal struggle which drives all forces. The truth of self-knowledge is that it derives a fruitful sense of power over oneself. You don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to your level of training. We must ensure that our self-knowledge is stronger than another’s knowledge of us and that the only way to be free in the heart is to be free in mind.

Marionettes for Tyrants

Dictators free themselves by enslaving their people. By asserting authority through force, he ensures that his subjects shall exist in a state of imposed obedience. By erasing the past, concealing words of wisdom and eliminating his competition, the tyrant establishes a vice grip over their hearts and minds. By breaking down the strongholds of one’s mind, he ends up achieving his aspiration by asserting authority over one’s soul. This dangerous power has the ability to tear down the establishment of another’s supremacy and allows the tyrant to place himself at the helm of his now deceased adversary. By doing so, he destroys his opposition by relating to the Vox Populi, drawing them in through their desires and causes a savior complex to surround him in the eyes of the people. This is the only way to assert absolute power. By doing so, these machine men achieve their dreams of dominance and influence; they believe within their machine minds and hearts that sovereignty comes from the barrel of a gun. The only way for us to defeat such men is to allow the people to believe in a life of freedom, a life out from underneath the thumb of his rule. So long as the thought of freedom is well established and good men die for it, liberty will never perish.