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774 approved users.

Posted By on September 17, 2014

There are 774 approved users now, so I am wondering where all the posts might be.

Just wondering.

Chapter 2, An Introduction to the Way It Ought To Be

Posted By on July 24, 2014

Here is Chapter 2

Chapter 2
An Introduction To The Way It Ought To Be

How should we be living our lives differently and why is it better than the way we do things now?

Imagine life as we live now as if we are standing up. We start at our feet and work our way up as we go through life. We climb the ladder to progress up this vertical process. What I am proposing is to turn things 90 degrees instead; imagine life horizontally rather than vertically. It need not be an uphill battle.

The basic changes I propose are as follows:

• Early child care would be “facilitated” by parents, family, friends, and organizations designed to “funnel” children into the best possible position to succeed at life.
• Children would begin working at a very early age. This may begin as a kind of apprenticeship under the supervision of older children and adults, not just making the bed with mom. Children are anxious to “help” at an early age and are naturally proud of being able to help. By learning and participating when they are young, work would take on a more natural part of our lives.
• School would be conducted year round. It makes no sense to build the facilities for education and have them empty much of the time. School would also operate extended hours (24/7?).
• Everyone would attend school throughout their lifetime. Old dogs can learn new tricks, and we all need to continue to learn and sharpen our skills and trades. We also would benefit from learning things just for the sake of learning.
• Forget the current grade system. Classes would consist of various ages working at the same intellectual level, achievement, or level of proficiency in a particular area. We would not graduate from 8th grade or high school, but we would attain various levels of proficiency in many individual subjects. We would be free to learn what we choose with greater freedom as we get older, but the rate of learning would be up to each individual.
• We would spend less time per day and per week at our jobs. Our productivity would increase. Our health would be better and our families would be stronger. It would also give us the time needed to learn, travel, exercise, and to teach others.
• We would go on more vacations or experience “retirement” over a lifetime rather than putting it off until the end.
• We would continue in our careers longer, ideally throughout our lifetimes. Working fewer hours per day or days per week as time goes on, but continuing to contribute as part of the workforce into our later years. Why not take advantage of a lifetime of learning and doing. Why is experience suddenly worth less as we get older?
• We would be free to have more than one job, but not like we do now. Most likely, we would have a primary career where we would work to earn a living. Our other jobs would include various levels of teaching and instructing in areas we have become knowledgeable. Our jobs may change throughout our lives because we would be continuing to learn ourselves through a lifetime of learning. We would be able to change careers as we learned more and as our interests changed.
• We would take more time to spend with our families; especially children and part of our secondary jobs might include our own children and other children. Part of the childcare would be the early apprenticeship work training; not just learning the ABC’s.
• We would spend more time actively participating in physical activities including athletics for fun and for health. Sports could be adjusted by limiting athletes by size into various levels, just like we do with children’s sports now. Can you imagine the fun of watching football where the players are really talented, but can’t weigh more than 190 pounds; or basketball, where no one on the team is over six feet tall? An even playing field adds to the fun, and everyone can play if they choose to do so.
• We would spend some of our time throughout our lives appreciating, learning and participating in the fine arts. The arts are not just a frill we are permitted to enjoy now and then, but a basic need of humans. We have been creating art, music, dance and drama, since we lived in caves. We did this as a means of human expression which extends beyond basic communications.
• Public service would be part of everyone’s life. Whether enlisting in the military or working in the local park or picking up litter along the highway, public service would continue to be a part of our lives at least to some small degree; fluctuating as we move through life. When we look at our community needs, the list is unbelievably long. We should not only rely on paid services to meet those needs. By each of us participating in community service, we will have a greater appreciation of our community, and our community will become stronger. I use community to include all local, regional, (including states), national and international levels of society. We need to reinvent our government to actually represent all of us and to develop real solutions.
• We would learn to relax and enjoy life. We would take the time to vacation. At home, traveling, or doing anything we have an interest in doing. We would do this because it is good for us on many levels, and it makes us better at what we do the rest of the time. Our ability to learn improves, our thinking is clearer, and we are if we take a break from our daily. We can also do if we don’t wait until we are old and retired before taking this opportunity.
• I didn’t mention the problems of drugs. A whole chapter is dedicated to the issue of drugs. This problem can and must be solved and yes, there is a solution, and yes again, others, long before me have come to the same conclusions. The prohibition on alcohol did not work; and the prohibition on drugs is not working either. Terrorist networks are funded primarily on illegal drug money. It seems we are funding terrorist attacks on ourselves…
• We need to always be conscious of ourselves and others.

I think this is a good place to start but is by no means the end of the list.

In the following chapters, I have gone into more detail about these and other proposals and some tools to help in the process of solving problems and developing solutions.

 

legalization of drugs. Chapter 18 from “The Solutionist”

Posted By on July 23, 2014

Chapter 18
Drugs
The drug problem can and must be solved and yes, there is
a solution, and yes, others, have come to the same
conclusions.
The prohibition on alcohol did not work; and the prohibition
on drugs is not working either. Did you know the terrorist
networks are funded primarily on illegal drug money? It
seems we are funding attacks on ourselves… Loretta
Napoleoni, an expert on terrorist financing, says the largest
source of terrorists’ income is the illicit drug trade. Other
sources agree with this finding. If you wish to confirm these
findings try searching for “how do terrorists fund their
activities?”
There will always be a problem with individuals abusing
drugs, including alcohol. We, as a society, are not able to
control what others do to themselves. We are however,
expected to protect individuals from harm by others. It is
impossible to prevent all forms of harm to everyone all the
time. Nonetheless, we take great efforts to protect one
another. Prohibition of these things is just one tool that does
not work.
So, here we perceive drugs are bad, and that is why we
have crime, and gangs, and our young people are being led
astray, and the harm done is almost too much to bear. We
create a law saying no one can use these drugs. Everyone
is aware of the law and no one uses drugs anymore. Wasn’t
that easy?
Problem solved; right?

We also have a problem with individuals abusing
prescription drugs.
Doctor, Doctor
Doctor, doctor, gimme a pill
One to lessen the pain; one to hasten the thrill.
She left with my buddy, and broke my heart
She broke it in two; going to need a new start.
One pill in the morning, another at night
It may not really help me, but then maybe it might.
I want to get moving, but I got to slow down
Give me an upper that will take me to town.
I don’t want to remember, but I just can’t forget
A nice little pill just might be the best bet.
Who was it that said; oh what was it again?
Sometimes we must end life and before we begin.
I found a new girlfriend; it’s my buddy I miss
I’d like to go fishing, but all she wants is to kiss.
I can’t feel my face now; where is my head
Pull up the covers, and just stay in bed.
Tomorrow will come now, that is for sure
New days may bring laughter and that is the lure.
Doctor, doctor, gimme a pill
One to lessen the pain, one to hasten the thrill.
Illegal drugs use in this country is not our only drug problem,
but is where I suggest we begin.

 

The war on drugs is a complete and utter failure. This is not
because what we are doing is wrong. It is not because we
need a greater commitment. It is not because the other side
is smarter than we are. It is certainly not because we are not
spending enough money. The reason we are failing is
because we are attempting to do something that has already
been proven to not work.
We should have, and eventually did learn an important
lesson from the prohibition on alcohol. It didn’t work! That
was the lesson we learned so we stopped trying to prohibit
production, sale and use of alcohol and took the saner and
more effective approach of placing some controls on the
production, sale and the consequences of inappropriate
behavior resulting from the use of alcohol. Yes, there is still
abuse, but we are far better off than we were during
prohibition.
The basic facts are shocking and you, dear reader, should
be pissed off about this whole thing. .
Furthermore, it has been most interesting to me to discover
that one of the leading proponents of legalizing drugs is an
organization known as LEAP (Law Enforcement Against
Prohibition) I suggest you check out their web site:
We spend billions of dollars fighting the war on drugs. I
repeat, Billions!
We have had NO IMPACT on reducing the number of people
with drug problems. The percentage of people misusing
drugs before we started this prohibition is the same or worse
now. As during the prohibition on alcohol, we found for
some, the use of something illegal is more attractive just
because it is illegal. The use and misuse of alcohol were
higher during prohibition it was either before or after.
Experts are in agreement the prohibition on drugs also
results in this interesting human behavior.

We can’t build jails fast enough to house all the people who
are convicted of drug violations. This is compounded by the
crimes and results those who are committing crimes to get
money to buy illegal drugs.
Think about this for a minute…
Now, there seems to be a fair amount of discussion about
the legalization of marijuana. The same approach should be
taken for other drugs as well. All the same arguments apply.
Do there need to be controls? Of course controls are
needed, just as they are with alcohol. However, until these
drugs are legalized and controlled properly, the drug dealers
stand to make a lot of money, and as we now see will try to
get young people hooked on drugs, so they can sell them at
huge profits.
I will say this now. We could certainly make better use of 67
billion dollars as pointed out in the next chapter.
By the way, I do not use drugs and don’t like even taking
prescription drugs if I can avoid it.
References:
http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm
http://leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Web_Links&l_op=visit&li
d=217
http://leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=AV

Have you read the book?

Posted By on July 22, 2014

Just curious how many of you have read “The Solutionist”.  It is available at Amazon.com in eBook form and paperback.

It is not a big, hard to read, sort of book.  I am curious how many of the nearly 600 subscribers have read it, or if there is a reason why you may not have read it yet.

Please let me know.

Thanks,

Joe

Worried

Posted By on April 14, 2014

Is anyone else out there worried about losing our freedom to a very small group of wealthy people who think the they are the only ones who should have input into how our country is run, and don’t care about anyone other than themselves?

Because, that is what is happening.  We are being turned into a herd of voiceless cattle.

The middle ages comes to mind.

Joe

Check out this blog by James Rozoff

Posted By on December 3, 2013

http://theamazingmorse.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-solutionist.html

The direct link is listed in the links page.

The Solutionist book

Posted By on November 19, 2013

The price for The Solutionist e-book has been reduced. See the link to Amazon or Smashwords to purchase it.

I am working on a printed version, hopefully coming out soon.

Does anyone out there think that there are solutions that can be developed to lessen or alleviate a common problem?

Posted By on September 28, 2013

Maybe I am missing something, but it seems to me at times that either “people” are not concerned with real problems, or that they only become concerned when it directly affects them or someone close to them.

I could sure use some help with this project. Any volunteers or other contributors?

Posted By on August 23, 2013

If there is anyone, who would like to change the word for the better, even just a little bit, this is for you.  It is your time to be a solutionist too!

After being away from this for way too long; I am back, and I will do better keeping up. I just emailed some pending members, and must appologize for the excessivly long delay. I hope you have not lost interest.

Posted By on August 22, 2013

I tend to get caught up in a few too many projects.  I am trying to correct that. No new projects for a while; finish some that are already going forward, and put some of them on hold….