Life Is Aversion Therapy

Finally getting tired of just laying in bed with all sorts of thoughts running through my head I decided to get up and just write. Who knows just maybe I can sort through some of these thoughts that ranged from the war in Iraq to my son Richard, why life, the difference between the human brain and that of the animals and some where in all that noise what I planned on doing today.

Let me start with "why life". I have come to believe this present chemical exhistance we call life is basically aversion therapy. As we go through it making a good many mistakes that have painful consequences we are learning what doesn't work. Now according to the theory of evolution or what I refer to as the cosmic joke theory, we come into life knowing practically nothing. As we experience life we learn and gain wisdom then at the time when we have the most knowledge and wisdom we cease to exist, die. A cosmic joke. Some will say that the wisdom we gained during our existences helps our society move forward. I don't buy that for a couple of reasons one is that there has been whole societies that have become extinct leaving very little or nothing to build on. The other is that as the saying goes the only thing mankind learns from history is that man doesn't learn from history. So if we come from nothing and go to nothing as evolution would have us believe then life is a big cosmic joke. Personally, I just can't buy the idea that all I have learned from a lifetime of stupid mistakes and some successes is in the end all for nothing. How about you?

Then there is what religions teach as the purpose for life. One would have us believe that if we murder ourselves and innocent victims we get to spend eternity with ten virgins waiting on us hand and foot. I can't help but wondering what those virgins did so wrong that they are condemned to an eternity of servicing a murderer. Can anyone tell me do they remain virgins? If so then that can't be any more fun that the poet Dante's imaginary version of hell that has been fostered on many of us as the reward for leading a less than perfect life. That is of course unless we leave enough money or friends to get our so called souls prayed out of it. How much time do you spend praying someone out of hell. Oh wait a minute I think that I made a mistake. One cannot be prayed out of hell. We can only be prayed out of the weight station of purgatory. By the way I did some research on the English word "hell" as used in the Bible. Bottom line is, it means a hole in the ground.

In this same Bible we are given the promise of a resurrection with the opportunity to live life under a different world ruling system. This makes our present experiences and wisdom useful and makes more sense to me.

Mankind's Ultimate Insanity

China has shaken up the free world nations by knocking out one of it's obsolete weather satellites while in orbit. After a couple of failed missile tries it succeeded in blasting it to pieces. This ability to knock out satellites is making the nations that rely on satellite technology and information, nervous. China has succeeded in bringing war into outer space. Many nations, including the US and Canada have filed protests with China. Like that is going to change the fact that China has demonstrated it has the capability to destroy the spy satellites.

The world has entered an unprecedented dangerous period. We have Iran developing nuclear capabilities and just recently North Korea has demonstrated that it has developed the nuclear bomb. Other nations including Japan and Egypt as well as Germany are increasing their efforts to develop nuclear weapon technology. With all this going on I'm beginning to think that global warming will become a mute problem. Human survival will be the problem. The world is becoming unstable. War is inevitable as cultures and religions are preparing to clash. It is only a matter of time before this world is engulfed nuclear battles. Yes, mankind is preparing himself for this ultimate insanity. The Western world has pinned it's hopes to avert this on diplomacy. Problem is, history has shown that you cannot negotiate with nations bent on world dominance. They have set their course and though they might be temporarily delayed they will not stop until they have achieved their goal or have been thoroughly defeated.

Now that the United States is declining from it's world power status a new power block is forming in Europe. A Catholic power that is destined to clash once again with the Muslim world and afterward the Asian world. This clash is prophesied to bring mankind to the brink of extinction. Only God will be able to prevent all life being destroyed from this planet.

Bulletin of Atomic Scientist on January17th announced the clock change at an unprecedented joint news conference held at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., and the Royal Society in London. In a statement supporting the decision to move the hand of the Doomsday Clock, the bas board focused on two major sources of catastrophe: the perils of 27,000 nuclear weapons, 2,000 of them ready to launch within minutes; and the destruction of human habitats from climate change. In articles by 14 leading scientists and security experts writing in the January-February issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (http://www.thebulletin.org), the potential for catastrophic damage from human-made technologies is explored further.Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock has been adjusted only 17 times prior to today, most recently in February 2002 after the events of 9/11.By moving the hand of the clock closer to midnight—the figurative end of civilization—the B.A.S. board of directors is drawing attention to the increasing dangers from the spread of nuclear weapons in a world of violent conflict, and to the catastrophic harm from climate change that is unfolding. The bas statement explains: “We stand at the brink of a Second Nuclear Age. Not since the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has the world faced such perilous choices. North Korea’s recent test of a nuclear weapon, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, a renewed emphasis on the military utility of nuclear weapons, the failure to adequately secure nuclear materials, and the continued presence of some 26,000 nuclear weapons in the United States and Russia are symptomatic of a failure to solve the problems posed by the most destructive technology on Earth.”

A Messy World

Watching the news has me aware that the world is a messy place. The world's problems are multiplying to beyond the capabilities of our political leaders to solve them. Everything is changing so very rapidly and not for the best. It appears that the world ,as I know it, is on a collision course with destruction. Today we have small nations standing up to the larger and more powerful, saying "we are strong" and are even threatening the more powerful. There is a growing violent religious fervor that seems to be beyond the understanding of the Western World.

The world is changing. The balances of power are shifting. New power blocks of nations are being formed. The world as I know it, where the United States is the major world power, is fading faster than I ever thought possible. It appears that our nation will soon be going through an economic meltdown like that of the former Soviet Union. In Europe and in Asia new world powers are emerging and will soon be flexing their economic and military muscles.
I hope that the nations will take to heart what General Douglas MacArthur said at the end World War II on the battleship Missouri.

quote: "A new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization. The destructiveness of the war potential, through progressive advances in scientific discovery, has in fact now reached a point which revises the traditional concepts of war.

Men since the beginning of time have sought peace.... Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature and all material and cultural development of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh."

Maybe I Shouldn't Watch Television

Last night I was watching television and a talk show host was speaking out about our elected officials,the leadership we have in congress. They show themselves to be incompetent and out of touch with their constituents. They bicker like children on a play ground making accusations against the opposing party. Nahh! Nahh Nahh, they are not doing this or they have done that. In the mean time our nation and it's economy is in great peril. We have become surrounded by enemies that are chipping away at our power, our way of life. If history is any example we as a nation won't survive this onslaught much longer. The prophets of doom will be proven right.

It has been said that our leaders are a reflection of ourselves. To tell you the truth I don't like what I see in that reflection. I no longer see the type of character that made our nation great. We have become spineless and greedy. Forget the idea of morality. In fact I don't think we even know the definition of that word. And family values has become nothing more than a sound bites for the politicians. Hell we no longer even have a clear definition of what constitutes a family. Take for example the concept of Gay Marriage some are in favor of it and at this point in time many are opposed to it. I'm thinking that with heterosexuals opting to live together outside of marriage the divorce lawyers will need a new source of business. Answer Gay marriage. Let's face it homosexual unions have a greater break up rate. Already the first gay couple to be married in Massachusetts just about two years ago are seeking a divorce.

There are many arguments for and against homosexual marriages. Where did the concept of marriage come from? Did it just evolve? Did some guru up on top of some mountain decide that it was best for man to go against his desire for multiple partners? If marriage is the creation of man then man has a right to define it any way he wants to. It can evolve to take in the latest fads. This is of course assuming that there is no Creator who gave us the concept of marriage and defines it as a union between a man and a woman.

Denial Is Not A River In Egypt

Lately I have been feeling like we are in some sort of quiet before the storm? A storm that will bring some sort of national disaster. I haven't the slightest idea what form it will take. I hear on the news people saying that another terrorist attack is inevitable. I see major changes is our weather systems. The housing market is down. Gasoline prices are up. The big three auto makers are shutting down some of their factories. The Social Security system is in trouble. There are increasing reports of sickness due to tainted food. It's like the pot is coming to a boil. The problems are not really being solved they are just being replaced in the news by other problems. I don't know about you but after crises receives it's fifteen minutes or is it fifteen hours of exposer and is replaced by a different news event I tend to think the problem has been solved and I forget about it. In most cases that is just not so. Just because a problem is no longer news worthy doesn't mean it has gone away.

Then there is that part of my nature that doesn't want to hear the bad news. I just want it to go away and am happy when it does. Don't tell me any more bad things I just want to hear smooth things. I just want to go through my day, as the saying goes, "fat, dumb and happy", in sort of a perpetual state of denial. After all it's not like I can do much about the problems, they are too big and too many for me to deal with. They are out of my control. Hearing about them only depresses me. I got more important things to deal with. Things like put gas in the car, what new thing am I going to buy, or how can I get a promotion, and do I have enough to make the minimum payments on my credit cards. These are the important things. So what, if the world is falling apart all around me. I can't do anything about it. I'm having enough trouble just getting through my day. So just leave me alone. I don't want to hear it. Besides those things won't happen to me they always happen to someone else.

1984 Arrives Late

Our educations system is great at teaching how to make a living. It appears to be a dismal failure at teaching us how to live. Our schools are failing to teach morality. They wash their hands of any responsibility to do so by saying that it is something that should be taught in the home. The result is that we are turning out educated barbarians, whose goals in life are to get as much as they can for themselves. They then go forth with this education to pillage society,stepping on any opposition.

Without definite principles of morality to guide our actions we stumble around in life as in darkness. Right and wrong is fluid, based upon time and place becoming a matter if individual interpretation. The vacuum created by the lack of definite moral principles is sucking the life out of our society. With nothing to hold it together it will weaken and disperse into violent anarchy. To prevent this governments are forced to legislate morality and institute an Orwellian society.

Yes, Orwell's 1984 society has arrived late but it has arrived. It as though he looked down into our time of technological advancements and saw that it would eventually be used by governments to control it's citizens. In the name of protection authorities can now track our movements with locators in our phones, listen to our conversations, and know our up to the minute financial transactions. Already there are plans in place, in the name of convenience, to embed chips on our person to act like credit cards. Once they are in place I am sure that they will also be used as locators.

Then there is the change in the language. In his book 1984, Orwell called it "newspeak". Tax increases have become revenue enhancements, war becomes a conflict, etc. etc. In Orwell's book the government is a dark force controlling almost every aspect of it's citizen's life, something that is rapidly approaching with the passing of every law and regulation and the implementation of new surveillance technologies.

Do we need this kind of protection? In the absence of definite moral code to guide our actions I fear that the answer may very well be yes.

The Death Of A World Power

Who will be the United States last president? At the rate we are in decline it may very well be the person we elect in 2008. Of course no American wants to think that this could be possible but history shows us that all empires eventually collapse. And all the signs are pointing to it being our turn in the not too distant future.

History also shows us that no empire has ever survived immorality and corruption. Empire after empire all go through the same process. They start off on a solid moral foundation, come to power, and then degenerate into immorality and finally collapse. This cycle has been repeated throughout the history of mankind. What makes this time more dangerous than ever before is the weapons of mass destruction that have been developed. The downfall of our nation could very well bring with it the destruction of all life on this planet. Our weakening as a world power has a number of nations forming new power blocks to replace us.

We are presently being invaded and there is no response to the alarm. Our municipal water companies, our power suppliers, and now our very highway infrastructure are being taken over by foreign investors. By the time we wake up to the fact that this is an invasion it will be too late. We are like sheep being fattened up for the slaughter.

All throughout history every great society has had it's prophets of doom and guess what? They were proved right. Today our newscasters are joining the ranks with the religious prophets declaring our nations downfall. I watch some of the more knowledgeable newscasters just shake their heads in disbelief as they report the goings on of our political leaders. Time and time again they warn us and yet none of their warnings are stirring us to action. We see them as nothing more than interesting entertainers. Even if we believe their warnings we diminish them by believing that these will come about is in the distant future or that someone else will do something about it.

Loyalty

Yesterday I ran into an old friend that I haven't seen in about a year. He was in a lot of emotional pain and confusion. His wife of many years has divorced him. Here he is in his 50s put out on his own and being forced to create a new life for himself. It doesn't take a psychic to see the fear and hurt in his eyes. In our society divorce has become almost a right of passage for a man.

Our education system and our religions have so betrayed us by failing to teach us men how to be a husband and a father. We are expected to learn that from our parents. This is all well and good if one grew up in a household where we were given a good example as a role model. But so many of us do not come from that sort of home. We are left to blunder our way through marriage and family life.

In this anti family environment of a dying society the concept of marriage is no longer till death do you part, it has become more like, until I am no longer getting what I want out of it, we part. Society has come from a place where divorce was a rarity to where the happy marriage is a rarity. There is a lonely restlessness as we seek that illusive prey, the fantasy relationship that will bring us bliss and happiness. We the uncommitted to anything but self-seeking are looking for someone who will be committed to making us happy. The result is our relationships are not much more than temporary dwellings. Partners are discarded when they cease to amuse us and judging from the length of today's average marriage, amusement lasts about three to five years.

It seems that we as a people no longer understand the concept of loyalty. That is loyalty to anything but ourselves. Loyalty is gone from our world of commerce. It is gone from our workplace's and it is almost completely gone from our relationships and our families. In this vacuum of loyalty, life has become dangerous, for our children, our relationships, and ourselves.

I find it curious that we hear a lot about love today and almost nothing of loyalty, because in truth loyalty is love in action and in deed. So is all this love we hear about truly love or is it no more than the lust to have what we want when we want it and for so long as it amuses us. (Loyalty: 1. steadfast in allegiance. 2:faithful to a person , ideal or custom.)

A Changing World

The world is changing rapidly. In many ways not for the good. In a world with all sorts of mass communication many are struggling with a sense of isolation and feelings of alienation. At a time of information overload I see much confusion around me. It seems to me that the moral guidelines the great achievers of the past have used to guide their decisions have been maligned and abandoned. This leaves our society in the dangerous and sad place where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. The refrain "It's okay as long as you don't harm anyone"is often heard. The problem with this self-centered thinking is that different people define 'harm" differently. And who is the "anyone"? Could it be the child next door who is looking to us adults for examples of behavior that brings pleasant consequences. Let's face it, whether like it or not, there are certain laws that govern the universe and if we break them, in time they will break us.

A Purpose In Life

What do you want to do this coming year? Do you want to come to the end of it having accomplished exactly what you did in 2006 or do you want more of yourself? As a human being we are much happier when we can fix ourselves on a purpose and work towards it. It give us a sense of power. It relieves us of the feelings of being a victim subject to the whims of the world. The purposes we set out to do gives us energy. Working towards their achievement gives us a sense of fulfillment.

We don't need to set big "save the world" purposes. We can set one small one and then move to fulfill it. After that we can set another and another as we are moved forward by our accomplishments.

Those who have no purpose in their life to drive them on tend to feel like they are victims of society. They get to thinking that their life is worthless. They hide in their own shrinking world becoming increasingly fearful. The only reason they get out of bed is because they have certain obligations that they are afraid to shirk. They grudgingly go through their day performing necessary tasks in robot fashion until they die before their time.

Having a purpose in our life adds years. Studies have shown that those who have pets live a longer happier life. Taking care of the needs of one's pet is a purpose, a reason to get out of bed. Hobbies are purposes. Volunteer work is a purpose. Learning a new skill or increasing one we already have is a purpose. These are the things that add zest to our lives.

So give yourself a gift. Sit down quietly someplace and decide what it is that you would enjoy doing, decide on a starting place and go at it. If it is truly something that you like it won't be long before it takes on a life of it's own driving you on. If after you travel down the road a while and discover that it is not what you really want look to something else. It's your life and it's your purpose you can change your mind if you want. The thing is, don't just quit it, replace it, with another purpose. Next year can be a repeat of 2006 or it can be an adventure, choose.

Dealing With Depression

I recently read that depression is often the result of our expectations not meeting with reality. This may very well be true but I'm thinking that depression is mainly the result of a combination of unexpressed anger turned inward and guilt.

When it takes hold I found that I cannot think my way out of depression. I can only act my way out by moving muscles. Doing simple things like taking walks, exercising, cleaning a small portion of a room, anything that requires physical movement. The more physical the better. I have to remember to start off with an easy thing because once I am in the grips of depression just breathing can seem to take more energy than I have. Fortunately I can start off doing very simple things like sitting in a different chair than I normally do. This gives me a different view of my environment. Then I can move up to physical movement, rearranging the magazines, dusting the end table, emptying the trash and just maybe taking a walk. These little things can break up the emotional and thinking patterns that go along with depression. While I am doing something physical I bring my thoughts to the here and now, putting my thoughts on what I am doing this moment. This is not the time to dwell on all my life's problems. Doing so will only overwhelm me and drive me deeper into the grips of the depression.

Once I am in motion I may be able to use one of the most powerful weapon I found to combat depression that is the making of a gratitude list. So I actually pick up a pen or pencil and start to make a list of the things that are right in my life. This list puts things in perspective. It show me that everything, including myself, is not all bad. My list will often starts off with putting a positive thing down like I have a roof over my head. I'll immediately think something like, "Big deal, sometimes it leaks" Okay, you have a car. "It's a junk that doesn't start when I need it to." Well, I have my friends, "Yeah where are they when I need them?' Then as I continue making the list gradually the negative comments subside and I begin to see that all is not as dreary as I thought and guess what, somewhere along in this process I realize that I am not the great failure I started off believing I was.

Another valuable tool I found is prayer. When I am depressed I don't feel much like praying but I can muster up enough energy for a one word prayer."HELP".

When I get to where I am ready to reach out and be with other people I think of Ghandi's words “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”. I may still want to die but I usually end up being too busy to do it any time soon.

Notice that I haven't mentioned the taking of drugs to combat depression. That is because I "personally" believe that they cause more problems than they solve. They often just mask the symptoms and not really solving the problem.

What Is Honor?

American Heritage Dictionary: Honor: 1. Esteem , Respect This concept appears to be a fading relic of the past. It is being replaced by Selfishness and Self-centeredness. As we move increasingly into the get way of life the values that made life pleasant and safe are disappearing. Greed is pervading every level of our society and is making life on this planet very tiresome. We not only have to worry about keeping what we have safe we are also led to believe that we must worry about how to get more.

The desire to get more is making our whole society sick. Just recently it was passed on to me from a car salesman who worked for a auto manufacturer's dealership. He said that the reason that two of it's most popular lines were dropped is because these cars are so well built that they could last for years. They are easy to repair and parts for them are widely available at prices well below what the Auto manufacturer was selling them for. These models have been replace with ones that are designed not to last as long. According to this salesman, if one needs parts for these new models they will have to get them through the dealership. With corporate thinking like this is it any wonder that this company is losing shares of market to foreign companies. Just maybe the consumer is not as stupid as some their executives think. What ever happened to "Quality Is Job One". Now if this what this salesman says is true I would be led to believe that this manufacturer of automobiles has forgotten why they are in business in the first place. I get the impression that they believe that their business is soley to earn money for their stockholders rather than producing automobiles. In my opinion this kind of thinking will bring cheaply made junk to the market. Talk about not treating your customers with honor. The problem for them is one can only get away with fooling the consumer for just so long. Customers cannot be loyal to a company that is not loyal to them.

There is no honor among thieves, so the saying goes and judging from our dealings with others there is little honor among a growing portion of our society.

No Immortal Soul, Science and Bible Agree

Recently while checking my email I ran across an add of some sort that asked the question, "What happens to the soul when one dies?" This question, not being in the context of religion, got me to thinking about what I have been told. I decided to do some research into the matter. If I understand it correctly most traditional Christian Churches teach that the immortal soul concept comes from the Holy Bible. On the other side, much of the scientific community tells us that there is no evidence of an immortal soul. Who is correct?

Looking at the Bible I discovered that what is referred to as the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek and not in King James old English. The first thing I discovered is the term "immortal soul" cannot be found in the Bible. Looking into the O.T. I found that the word translated soul was the Hebrew word nephesh and can mean an air breathing creature. I found passages where nephesh was translated as an animal and even a dead body. In the book of Genesis I read where man was formed of the dust of the ground and man became a living soul. The dust of the ground became a soul. So what I get from the O.T. man does not have a soul man is a soul. I could not find anything in the Old Testament that says man soul is immortal. In fact in Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 20 it says that the soul that sins it shall die.

Okay no immortal soul in the Old Testament . It must be in the New Testament. In the NT the Greek word for soul is psuche and has pretty much the same meaning as nephesh. One of the first passages I find in the NT tells us to fear the one who is able to kill the soul. The soul can be killed. Other verses tell us that the soul can be pierced through with a sword and the soul can be destroyed. In my search I could find no immortal soul in the bible.

Where then did Christianity get the concept of an immortal soul? As near as I can find out it came to the Greeks from the Egyptians and to the Christian church mainly from Plato who wrote in his book the Phaedo: "The soul whose inseparable attitude is life will never admit of life's opposite, death. Thus the soul is shown to be immortal, and since immortal indestructible....Do we believe there is such a thing as death? To be sure. And is this anything but the separation of the soul and body?" This appears to be exactly what I was taught in the church I was brought up in.

Putting it all together I am lead to believe that the immortal soul concept came down to Christianity from early paganism and that the Bible and science agree that there is no immortal soul.

Will Christ Return In 2007?

I am still thinking of that poll I read a few days ago in USA Today. One out of four Americans expect Christ to return in 2007. While I know that there is a religious element in this nation I had not idea that it is such a large contingent. I'm wondering if the respondents feel that things are really that bad in this society. I also wonder what they believe will happen when Christ does return. Do they have an idea of what Christ is like or is He just a name to them? Will His coming solve the problems of this world or will the Christ they are expecting just wafted them away to Never, Never Land? What does he expect of His followers? Are they expected to prepare in some way for His coming? Does 2007 mark the end of the world?

If He is returning in 2007 as 25% of those polled believe these are important questions. In my search for answers I went to the Holy Bible. In the Matthew chapter 24 starting in verse 3 I see where Jesus's disciples came to Him privately and asked, "What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Curiously, the first thing He says is that many Christians will be deceived by false teachers of Christ. After religious deception He goes on to tell them of world conditions. There will be wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places. He goes on to say that His follower will be hated and killed. He warns of false prophets and lawlessness. Then he tells them that the gospel (the good news) of the kingdom will be told to the world.

If I understand it correctly these events have been happening in every generation since His first appearance. Why will this time be different? I got my answer in verse 22. He says that unless those days be shortened no flesh would be saved alive or no flesh would survive, depending on which bible translation you are using. It wasn't until some time in the late fifty's that mankind had developed the power to destroy all life from this planet. So that kind of narrows the time frame down to the present generation. So could the 25% of those polled be right? And if not in 2007, when?

Are Hard Times Coming?

On December 13 the US mint announced that it was putting in place rules banning the melting down of our pennies or nickels. They have also made it a punishable offense to ship more than a hundred dollars in these coins out of the country at one time. These offenses carry a penalty of up to five years in prison and or up to a $10,000 dollar fine. They tell us it is to protect the U.S. tax payer. (I personally think that the American tax payer is in far greater danger from the spending habits of our elected officials.) It seems that some entrepreneurs have been melting these coins down for the metal. There is something dangerously wrong with our monetary system when the base metals that are in these coins are worth more than the face value. I take it as a warning that our dollar is on a downhill slide. Soon to go the way of the British Pound. For those who don't remember there was a time when the Pound was the trusted currency of world commerce. The move away from the US dollar will wreak havoc with our economy because we have become a debtor nation. We owe other countries a great deal as a result of our purchasing more foreign goods than we have sold of our goods and services. Could this collapse of the dollar be what Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad be talking about when he says our downfall in near?

The question is, how long can we continue on this path before this whole economic thing comes crashing in on us. If we want to know what this would mean to the average citizen we only have to look to the former Soviet Union. When their economy came crashing down people faced great shortages of everything. Those who relied on the government for an income were no longer paid. For those who think that we cannot go the same route because we are a world power I would like to remind them that the Soviet Union was at one time the other world power second only to the US.

Things don't look good. Hard times are ahead for us as the world of commerce abandons the dollar and turns to the Euro.

2007 Not A Good Year

This is the time of year when our newscasters become prognosticators making predictions for the coming year. I do hope that what they are seeing is rosier that what I fear is coming. The indicators I am looking at are pointing to difficult times ahead. It appears that the world will move closer to a nuclear war now that there is a mad rush for smaller countries to develop bombs of their own. As we see with Iran there is no international force that will stop them.

Speaking of Iran it is on a campaign to bring down the dollar. At the same time one of the largest holders of the American dollar, China is in the process of getting rid of it's holdings which will further weaken the dollar. I foresee the time when the US dollar will fall from it's lofty state of being the preferred international monetary exchange and go the route of the British Pound.

The US food producing industry is being battered by foreign competition and bad weather. At the rate we are going it won't be all that long before we will be unable to produce enough to feed our people.

Our society is showing signs of tearing itself apart. The political, cultural and religious divisions are growing. Hatred and fear are replacing tolerance. It appears to me that our melting pot is rapidly becoming a boiling pot. For now our anger is focused on the war in Iraq. Once it is over I foresee this anger will be turned inward on other segments of our society.

As I see it all the signs are there for this nation to follow the other world power of our time the Soviet Union into a rapid decline. Who will fill the vacuum? Look to a Germany let European union. Will all this happen in one short year? I could be wrong but I don't think so. It could take two or three years.