Just a quick note praying for you and yours a great thanksgiving, surrounded by family, friends, food, and most of all love. Happy Thanksgiving from US Sports Network!
-Coach Nate
Army Physical Fitness Standards
Author
Bryant Towell
Athletics
aren't the only component of being a great soldier, but you'll never
become one at all if you don't meet the Army physical fitness standards.
The United States Army takes physical fitness extremely seriously, and
soldiers have to be in tip-top shape to make it through training. High
physical fitness scores are also essential for soldiers who want to gain
promotions and move up the ranks. Here are the three main components of
the Army physical fitness standards.
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Pushups
Pushups comprise the upper body component of the Army's physical
fitness standards. To perform a proper Army pushup, begin at the top
position with a flat back and fully extended arms. Lower your torso
until your chest touches the floor. Your hands should be placed so that
they are in line with your chest at this bottom position. Once your
reach bottom, push yourself back up and repeat.
To get a perfect 100 score on pushups, you must perform 77
repetitions without stopping. 19 pushups will earn you the minimum 60
points, though such a low score will not bode well for your chances of
advancement with the Army ranks.
Running
Soldiers do a great deal of running at various distances and speeds
throughout their careers. However, the Army's physical fitness test
always involves a two-mile run for time. To get a perfect 100 points on
the run test, you must finish the course in 13:18 or less. The longest
you can take and still pass is 17:00.
The running portion of the test is also the hardest for most
recruits. Army Physical Fitness Standards demand that soldiers have a
great deal of endurance so they can walk, run, hike, and carry equipment
long distances for hours or even days at a time. If you are going to be
taking the APFT, you need to practice running as often as possible.
Sit-ups
The Army also tests abdominal strength and endurance with sit-ups. To
perform a correct sit-up, have a training partner or fellow recruit
hold your ankles in place. Begin with your back flat on the ground and
your hands held clasped behind your head. Keeping your heels on the
ground, sit up until your neck is further forward than the base of your
spine. Lower your torso, and repeat. 82 sit-ups will get you a perfect
score, and you need 29 sit-ups to earn the minimum 60 points.
The sit-ups tend to be the easiest portion of the physical fitness
test for most people, but don't get lazy in your training. You can
quickly build up your abdominal endurance, but you can also quickly lose
it.
A Word on Age and Scoring
The Army Physical Fitness Standards actually include eight different
age-specific scoring guidelines for men. The standards discussed in this
article are the highest - ages 27-31. However, younger recruits still
need to perform nearly as well, and minimum scores are rarely sufficient
for advancement. Those who choose to make the Army a long-term career
will eventually be judged by the 27-31 standards, as well.
The
faltering state of creativity is suggestive of the current condition of
societal interaction that lacks a profound sense of originality,
imagination and vision. That is only the starting point of the
perspective that points in the direction of society’s failure to ascend
to higher levels of intellectual awakening. Creativeness transcends all
that has gone before and provokes a different way of looking at the
reality of human actions. The quest is to transform and rise above
through a myriad pathways to a loftier level of thought and subsequent
achievement. (Continued below...........)
Join Charlene as she interviews Ryan Hartwig about his "insider" knowledge of blatant censorship that is going on at Facebook. Learn more.....
(.........Continued......) Visionary resourcefulness is the formulation and implementation, from
ideation to discovery, the fighting spirit to journey into forgotten
realms of self-evolution. For the quest to unfold the mysteries of
discovery in the adventure of the personal journey, it should not take a
psychologist, or anyone else from the assorted fields of pseudoscience
to tell us what is or is not creativity. That is the essential task of
human individuality to embrace the journey. Yet, by cowardly resistance,
many forsake the sacred nature of the hunt, for the safe consensus of
ease and comfort.
Faltering, failing and fading into the abysmal eventuality of
extinction by boredom, as well as other devolving degradations, the
human species presently suffers a degrading lack of creativity. From
academia to the political arena, including commerce and news reporting,
the bland and uninspiring communal nexus daily demonstrates a slant
toward implosive stupidity. While nothing new under the sun stirs a
probability of dissent as to an ideological lamentation, to suggest
creativity as an absolute would not be the claim in this writing.
Instead, the perspective is multifaceted. To be resourcefulness
infers activity which is intricate and includes physical and mental
actions engaged in a synchronized process of purposeful instigation.
Such inclination, matched by personal proclivity and a bunch of other
complex dimensions, exudes and expresses a mindset determined to bring
about an intended reality. To what has gone before and do something from
a different perspective, using the same foundational basis, strikes at
the central nature of creativity. Yet, with that comes a sense of
humility.
While all human actions reflect choices, to demonstrate by humble
essence artful endeavors, self-evolution speaks toward the maturity of
the innovator. Controlling the egoistic and prideful arrogance as the
artist or inventor, shows an aspect of character that gives special
meaning to that which has been presented. Creativity ought to reflect a
higher state of vision.
To break the habitual way of doing things, bravely questioning the
world and continuing inquiry in spite the answers given, the inquisitive
"mind" ceaselessly torments itself with different ways of thinking.
Problem solving engages the hidden and the known to circumvent the
boring diversions of daily distractions. Urgency to explore the real and
unreal possesses the scary notion of finality at some distant moment.
The primacy of thinking is such that it never ceases in the present
points of reference. So a different perspective outside the normal is
important.
Maybe not different in the sense that historical references have
already suggested similarities, but inspirationally fine tuning the
personal perspective. In order to let play passionate thinking, that
otherwise unleash the imaginative forces within, courageous acts of
presence dares one to be set free. Yet, overall, maturity raises the
criticality of unselfish motivations. Liberation challenges all the
sensory mechanisms to get on the fringes of divergence. Bias precludes
the pure efficacy of absolute objectivity, yet influences just long
enough to provoke maturity.
But for the bias of subjective validation, the player brings his or
her shortcomings to the arena, to claim some diminutive right of
acclaimed validation. To every entry upon a social interaction, everyone
bring preconceptions to the self-interests of the venture. Bias unduly
influences the conclusion, as the observer makes person the observation
as well as the intent of purposeful design. Whether an act of
construction, investigative query, or marking strategy, the observer
hastens the onset of a biased observation. As such, care ought to be
exercised closely, with healthy skeptical inclination toward the
experienced inclination of cynical maturation.
Over a decade ago, a major collegiate business magazine, presumably a
prestigious Ivy League publication, lamented the eroding state of
American creativity. Once powerfully the "land of opportunity", the sad
reality mourns the loss of a competitive edge. While some would argue
the threat is of an external nature, others counter such claims by
suggesting the danger comes from within American society. In a measure
called the "Creative Class Index", the U.S. struggles to maintain 11th
place among 25 others countries. Innovation slowly devolves over time.
Not only is "stupid thinking", or alternatively, "anti-thinking", in
vogue, the perpetual regurgitation of consistent redundancy takes
mainstream center stage. Mundane, lackluster, and dull might be negative
descriptors that could be applied to the "infotainment", or
entertainment realm. While this segment of society represents one part
of the many faceted aspects of creativity, the potential influence is
significant. This includes artists of every kind, writers of various
genres, movie and television production, and 24-7 news reporting and
social commentary.
From the classroom to the boardroom, to commerce and industry, to the
crime lab and the sci-fi wizardry of computer technicians, the
potential for innovation begins with clever, cunning and calculated
ideation. Human ingenuity goes beyond whining and complaining about hurt
feelings or the foolish intolerance to tolerate the differences of
others. Yet, the majority suffer the subjectivity of self-imposed
victimization in their intentional immaturity. Claiming authority, for
instance, where no experience and deeply researched factual analysis
exists foments the illicit redundancy of repetition in foolhardy ways.
As such, in any claim of fame to assert some nebulous notion of
authority on anything ought to be greeted by healthy skepticism.
A claim of special insight, unique exceptional knowledge or boast of a
"new study", is matter of intentional arrogance by the claimant, unless
validation is invited by the necessity of proof. In short, a matter at
hand demonstrates an element of creativity when open-minded debate and
analysis is encouraged. For the betterment of individuality, wiser
enhancements are afforded through mutually accepted skepticism and
rigorous investigation. Uncertainty warrants deeper thinking,
suspiciousness figures the probability of error or deception, and
cynicism encourages alternatives. With that, the consideration of
inventiveness likely comes from the purposeful ideation formulated
through the introspection of serious meditative analysis.
In a devolving society, bent on self-destruction, the cowardice of
conventional conformity, as well as mundane repetition in clichéd or
stereotyped characterizations, as in movies and television, hasten the
faltering state of creativity. In various media of the vast social
networks for "infotainment", personal opinion increasingly supersedes
reliance upon facts, figures and relevant evidentiary validation.
Productive civil engagement for remedial articulation of serious social
issues mires in the abundance of uneducated, ill-experienced and
otherwise poorly informed claimants of one form of "authority" or
"expertise" in favor of another.
Lazy thinking permeates the mainstream replete with countless
examples of intellectually barbarous acts of stupidity. A societal shift
beyond the efficacy of commentary based on the factuality of data,
toward a demeaning and condescending erosion of interactivity debases
the prospects of creative individualism. The shallow nature of
conjecture is destructive. Nebulous conjecture pretends to be ascended
efficacy of intellectual pretentions. With advances in technology comes
foolhardy efforts to prefer playing with apps versus investigating
critical social issues. In a bland, unimaginative and mundane atmosphere
in which creativity is neither inspiring nor motivational, a debasing
prospect suggests regressive inclination toward collapse.
In an overly pampered, gluttonous, and shallow thinking culture, one
in which alleged "social warriors" pontificate egregious fallacies of
bogus conjecture, the warning signs are evident of an "empire’s" eminent
collapse. By easy and willful seduction, many allow their senses to be
dulled to the extent necessary to their self-validation that overrides
the necessity to be artistic. At a rudimentary level of ideation,
originality is likely no more than taking the known aspects of reality
and reconstructing the elemental materiality in more resourceful ways.
Of such proclivities, the primacy of thinking, or provoking imaginative
prospects, is essential. According to some who philosophize on these
matters, the creative person is a risk taker in a process of maturation.
By neither rule nor restraint, creativity is the boundless process of
rising above the mainstream.
Likewise, moving oneself to become a mature adult, who seeks wisdom
at more enlightened and liberated levels, relates to the vitality of
inspirational creativity. Self-evolving to become a more differentiated
personality requires hard work to become a better version of the
original self. Therein resides the spooky and creepy aversion to
inventiveness. Relentless self-reliance in rigorous energetic actions to
ensure intellectual, experiential and skillful productive development
demands arduous labors. With that heavy mindful lifting, diligent
dedication is exhausting. For the immediacy of the moment, a potent
inner sense of urgency pursues a fanciful notion that demonstrates
imaginative workings of willful effort.
The thinker dreams in farsighted ways to chase an adventure through
the multidimensional intricacy of inventive ideations. Even though
fearful, threatening and debasing the animosities might be, the images
of dreaming insights beyond the normal realm necessitate ignoring the
detractors. Determination in personal differentiation for the wholeness
of individuality within, invites the strength of healthy skepticism,
tinctured by a modicum of cynical insightfulness. That’s of the utmost
necessity to avoid submission to the constraints of normalcy.
On that, who decides the delineation between normal and abnormal? For
the sake of status quo, the easy way is opposite the well-worn paths of
"playing the game" and avoiding risks. It’s all too simple to follow
the rest of the group and avoid controversy. Such does not require a lot
of thought, habits, patterns and redundancy are simplistic. Routine
emotional reactivity is not as demanding and doesn’t require deeply
researched data or thoroughly substantiated evidence. If abnormal, for
instance, is viewed outside the safe space of conformity to "social
rules", then who makes the distinction? Noted here are the duly
constituted ordinances and statutes, as matters of codified law, that
officially define "normality" in terms of civil and criminal behavior.
As to the realm of social interaction, public discourse, goings and
comings in various relationships, at play, in school or at work, an
unimaginative sense of complacency disturbs the thrills of adventure.
Added to that, is the regressive reactivity of economic and political
activities that devolve to the level of infantile narcissism in
spiraling negativity. In all probability, the lethargy of stagnant,
dull, and unoriginal inventiveness kills any semblance of productive
abnormality. In the view of some passionately creative people, being
abnormal is an act defiance against the mundane, the superficial and
fraudulent. Atypical artistry is shunned. Acting outside the cubical of
standard societal templates is alarming to those inside cubic
limiations.
Templates for which the conjecture is that one size fits all remain
persistent against the artisans of desirable transforming processes.
Yet, normalcy decries the abnormality of being different from the rest.
Other than legally defined statutory prohibitions, who or what decides
what is normal? Self-differentiation in a self-evolving quest of
personal growth and maturity, is all about being different than everyone
else. By contrast, mass marketing, global consumerism, educational and
political status quo processes, collude to promote sameness. From school
yard to workplace, a submissive haze of consensus is better described
as acceptance of "manufactured consent".
Others will readily proclaim that everyone is different, unique and
special, yet at some point, below the horizon of creative enterprises,
acquiescence gives way to status quo symbiosis. The suggestion here is,
the inclination to suggest a healthy sense about interdependence, is
misleading and dangerous. Perhaps a better term is parasitic, to
describe a lackluster state of affairs in which dull and boring is view
as exciting. Unoriginal, unimaginative and unmotivated, additionally
describe a social drama that cuts across socio-economic and political
boundaries. To paraphrase a famous scientist of the last century, more
important than knowledge is imagination.
It doesn’t take an academic to come up with a "startling revelation"
that the U.S. suffers a loss of creativity across the wide spectrum of
social endeavors. While some would accuse one generation over another,
the loss of inventiveness crosses generational boundaries. As societies
devolve, the fearful and ignorant hesitation to free oneself from all
the gluttonous proclivities of crowd consensus, from assumption to
consumption, from reason to emotion, breeds the bleeding discontent of
defeatism. For all human history’s lessons, the species ignores and
forgets the essentiality of the prologues to subsequent generational
consequences. The descriptions of some describes others as stupid,
inept, and incompetent. Serious self-reflection, profound
self-transformation and calmness are often vacant upon the isles of
wisdom’s serenity.
To be alone in persistent and profound introspection is to be a
rebel. A few brave ones can do that. The desire to be left alone, to
escape and evade the herded busy intersections of social media and
communal groupings, is a proclamation of independence. It is a mature
and wise insistence of choice and requires action that adversely goes
against the toleration of unquestioned consensus. Being a "social
warrior" does not require either crowd or faction, and neither following
nor fans. Instead, such is a state of exceptional creativity that
ceaselessly wanders beyond the normal range of imagination. Fantasies
come out of the shadows to share in the self-reliance.
It is a perpetual dream state, beyond being awake and asleep. Realms
of creativity are those mental places that transcend an awakened
consciousness and pursues a persistent quest of discovery. For that, the
valiant knight, the crusader, or the warrior perseveres in cautious
proximity to the admonitions and desecrations of mainstream society. As
there are many critics, there are fewer artists, as there are multitudes
of detractors but a handful of innovators. In the sensual touch of
creative instigation, to the culmination of "out of the box"
inclination, some would argue the decline of human innovation. Such is a
generalization with many aspects.
Nonetheless, some researchers would contend that creativity in the
U.S. has regressed since the 1990’s. The proactive introduction of that
which is a variation on something, and can be described as being
creative or imaginative for a moment in time, seems increasingly rare.
One study suggests that in the marketplace of competitive commerce,
competency relies more and more on being creatively engaged within the
organization. To that end, as one business review magazine laments,
openness to alternative viewpoints appears constrained by easy
acceptance of the status quo. Personal ingenuity is out in front of
doing things that might be considered edgy.
Creativity lurches in many directions to enhance and expand the
reaches of the imagination toward a more ascended transformation.
Inventiveness suffers the decline of its relevance in a mechanistic
consumption oriented society. Thoughtful innovations in arts and
entertainment struggle for the passionate zealousness to fuse feeling
and meaning. A recent assessment from a major business institute
challenges the current educational model in America’s K-12 and
collegiate school systems. The accusation is made that contemporary
education stifles a student’s creativity in condescending and
counterproductive ways. By the promotion of a "one size fits all"
template, or persistent admonitions to avoid risk taking, problem
solving, inventiveness and being different. The condescending regression
becomes more oppressive with the adherence to outdated and worn out
instructional rubrics. Inventiveness has for the most part greatly
diminished.
Self-imposed stifling of individuality in sacrifice to the deities of
mass consumption is a part of personal and group consensus to ensure
the perpetuity of material gain. For the majority, status quo reliance
on simplistic consistency does not require imaginative processes of
serious introspection. To be a good worker, to fit into a slot and to
allow pacification into the so called American Dream is the path of
least resistance most desire to follow. Production of sameness,
replicant and robotic imitation reduces the risks of taking leaps out of
the box.
As society regresses to the devolution of contrived extinction, the
arrogance of shallow perspectives spins comforting tales of pabulum
enriched trouble-free mediocrity. From academia to social media, the
reaches of magical thinking for the sustenance of banal conformity
traverses every aspect of human activity. Insipid dumbed down
regurgitations of cinematic remakes comforts the ever burgeoning blather
of juvenile multimedia genre. In movies for instance, not much strain
of "acting" is demanded for American audience to be enthralled by CGI.
Neither academic nor political enterprises strive for ascended
radical departures from "standard operating procedures". Intellectualism
is shunned in favor of feelings. Emotional reactivity attempts to use
force or abuse in the anti-logic of stifling an alternative viewpoint.
By the illogic of immature self-promotion in the neediness of cognitive
bias, many will viciously attack another who dares disagree with the
former claimant perspective. The social imbalance of negativity
permeates daily life from academia to news reporting.
As such, innovative mature thinking processes are thwarted in favor
of the pleasures to be found in various forms of infantile narcissism.
Persistent redundancy in anecdotal sufficiency lazily perpetrates the
speciousness of alleged "scientific" revelation. Swift and certain
actions to quicken the imaginative prospects of change, individuation,
and visionary discovery were long since killed by public educational
templates. Taxonomies, rubrics, and domain competencies pretentiously
masquerade as learning initiatives. Unfortunately data does not support a
positive outlook.
In the superficial realms of movie making, for example, persistent
remakes wallow in the sloppy reliance on technology to entertain, rather
than inspire and educate. Acting remains uncomplicated in the classic
sense for a matters of seconds and then lots of CGI. At the same time,
not expressing much knowledge about much of anything, younger
generations prefer the simplistic to the complex. In trouble-fee
thinking, the scope and depth of deep thinking remains fixated on the
cell phone or the next "fun" thing to do. So, mediocre attempts at
various contemporary art forms, like movies, television, writing, etc.
maintain a "middle school" level mentality.
Unfortunately, in the diverse realms of "arts and entertainment", not
to forget the vast reaches of academia and other societal institutions,
the devolution of creative enterprises hastens social regression. Even
the supposed intellectual bastions of ivory towers, educationally
insulated and protected in sacred fiefdoms, alleged academic research
perpetrates the redundancy of status quo consensus. In the "social
studies" area, as in criminology, sociology and psychology, conventional
textbook blathering often demonstrate the persistence of nothing new
and different. Unproductive replication ensures the unimaginative
consistency in unexciting simplicity.
Any challenges to the time worn theories of the past generally incur
the backlash of those desiring to safeguard the status quo. As one
researcher points out, the American culture is filled with people who
easily accept the ordinariness of unenthusiastic efforts to become
innovative. Little changes over time and place where people are
concerned. While American education is fixated on the same old rubrics,
so called competencies, purported matrices and taxonomies, the
competitive edge continues to slip away. Innovation erodes to boring
complacency.
Pointedly, the lack of serious talent in creativity reverberates
through the many mainstream venues of infotainment. Of recent concern, a
large west coast metropolitan newspaper reported the results of a
ten-year study of American literacy. By comparison, researchers asserted
that reading levels for American adults are significantly lower than
for adults in other countries. Literacy levels were cited as below
average with the U.S. falling behind Scandinavian countries, Japan,
Australia and Korea. Others have offered the critical perspective that
Americans have been mostly "educated" to become reliable workers as
oppose to imaginative and inventive thinkers.
In a faltering state of creativity, with the shallow divisive
atmosphere of murky conjecture, magical thinking and bitter
condescension, the downward trend of negativity actuates the human
species driver toward extinction. Some scientist, the real ones, not the
fake ones, already concluded time is running out for the human race.
For a few, the brave artistic souls, to be creative means freedom. To be
free, is to unleash personal liberation for the hallowed sanctity of
personal enlightenment. Such is a journey to transform oneself into a
better version than original.
With a sense of profound of self-evolving maturity, the ascension to
higher levels of insight comes through a personal quest to become a
well-differentiated individual. Nonetheless, the detractors, the haters,
the inept and incompetent, will harass and plague the existence of each
moment. Some researchers and analysts of natural biological
progressions have suggested humans in general are no longer evolving. In
a physical sense, they are instead devolving.
35 year veteran of the law enforcement community; college professor, author;
You can catch Rick and Bubba on some 70+ stations across the nation.
Some stations carry it live in the mornings, some play the replay back
in the afternoons, some play both! Some even play the replay on Saturdays and Sundays! New stations are being added all the time, so check out Rick and Bubba and take these big boyz with you wherever you go. They'll always have the most up to date information.
We have
all encountered some kind of discrimination, whether it be religious,
gender, age, sexual orientation, and so forth. What most people do not
realize, however, that racial discrimination is actually the most common
and we as a nation need to be aware of this. I had a recent incident,
not necessarily directed towards me but someone had said to me that they
would not use public restrooms because they “don’t like using the same
restroom as a negro”. This person was stuck on the idea of segregation
because they had this stereotype of people with a different race. I have
seen a lot more of this happening lately, like the riots, hate crimes,
white supremacy movements, and more. We have gotten out of hand and
people talk about it but no one really does anything to make it stop.
Discrimination has been around for hundreds of years and it has changed a
lot. We went from white supremacy and “blackface” all the way to
killing people and creating products that use racial advertisement.
Although discrimination has been around for so long, not many people
even know about it. (Continued below.....)
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office released body camera of
an officer Involved in a fatal Shooting that occurred during
a traffic stop on November 17, 2020 at about 10:40 p.m.
near the intersection of San Juan and Cassat avenues. From VLP
(.....Continued.....) Brent Staples from The New York Times stated that “In the 19th
century, minstrel entertainers spawned a racist caricature that endures
to this day when they darkened their faces to portray black people as
grinning, dancing, simpletons”. I have spoken to many people about this
and I have come to realize many younger people have no clue about who or
what “blackface” is. “Blackface” is a racist depiction of a white
person with black makeup covering their face, simply used to undervalue
black people. The caricature of “blackface” has not yet gone away
though, because over several months Gucci, Prada, and Katy Perry were
forced to withdraw several items from the market because they were
revealing designs that showed how the caricature of “blackface”
manifests itself through people who are blind to what it connotes. When
it was still a huge part of the white community it embodied blackness as
“grotesque” in itself because it could never achieve the mythical ideal
of whiteness.
Commercial advertisements were a huge thing back then and most of it
belittled blackness to sell everything. The “best-known” Jet-black
commercial icons were the Gold Dust Twins who appeared naked except for
their trademark tutus and black makeup - they represented a popular
brand of washing powder whose motto was “let the twins do your work.”
Since the twins are “black” it makes it seem like slavery is a positive
thing in the normal, everyday American household. In 1899 a children's
book titled “The Story of Little Black Sambo” helped solidify the
“derogatory caricature of dark-skinned children.” “Sambo” was a term
used to describe black people during slavery, which soon became an
insulting name for black communities. White actors in blackface were
featured in D.W. Griffith’s rabidly racist silent film “The Birth of a
Nation” - Hollywood's first blockbuster, released in 1915. The movie
“valorized the Klan” and depicted African-Americans as “buffoons” and
“incipient rapists”.
These events still carry on through the idea of white supremacy,
though not very many people pay attention to it. On October 25, 2018,
multiple members of a far-right group were arrested for violently
attacking counter-protesters. A mother, Shirley Hardrix from Fort Wayne,
spoke to police about how her son Samuel was stabbed to death by a
white supremacist in 2016. Aaryn Snyder admitted to killing her son
because he was black and said he received a patch from a “white
organization” for doing so. In 2018 two white men beat a black man to
death in a state prison dormitory in Putnamville, IN. Because of white
supremacy, a black American is likely to get a 20% longer sentence for
the same offense as a white American. These are horrific hate crimes
that have happened because of white supremacy and because some people
see it as justified to hate someone just because of their skin color.
Indiana officialized the hate crime bill on April 3, 2019. The
Indiana hate crime bill is said to have covered bias-motivated crimes
based on things like race, religion, sex, gender identity, and
disability. Even though we passed the hate crime bill it has been said
to be watered down and not very specific on what we are trying to
accomplish. Despite having the hate crime bill going into place the
rates for hate crimes are on the rise. According to the FBI report
released in 2017, hate crimes increased by about 17% compared to 2016.
In 2018, the FBI report revealed more than 7,000 hate crimes were
reported in our country. Race and ethnicity made up about 59.6%,
religion was 20.6%, and sexual orientation was around 15.8%. Of these,
50.7% of the offenders were white and 21.4% were African-American.
These incidents have been going on for hundreds of years, and the
ideas and actions of segregation, hate crimes, and white supremacy have
just continued to get worse. Still, nothing we have done to stop it or
slow it down has worked. We have tried so hard and made many attempts to
stop it but nothing seems to work. The way people are raising their
children and the things they are saying to them and teaching them has
affected the outcome of everything us as a nation has tried so very hard
to stop. People read things and see things and then they get this idea
in their head about how to think about a certain thing or person. Now,
this obviously is not the case with every person; some people respect
differences no matter the race, gender, religion, or anything else. The
violent crimes and hatred among people of different races is all because
hundreds of years ago these people put this idea - this stereotype - of
how to treat or think of people with different skin colors. Is this
really the world one should want to be living in?
That said, not all people think like this; there are really more
people that think positively and see the good in everyone. But it is
that small amount of people that refuse to see things that way that is
making a huge impact on our communities. If we could learn to respect
people, not for their skin color or their religion or themselves, our
community would be much stronger than it is now. Right now, our nation
is on the verge of breaking and we need to come together and fight for
what is right. Not all people will agree with this but we need to be
aware of what is going on in the world right now. It is also not always
white supremacy taunting our societies, black supremacy is another thing
happening and we need to fight against it all. We cannot just sit in
our house and try to hide the truth about what the world has really
become. No matter what it is - white supremacy, black supremacy, hate
crimes - we need to know that it is not right; after all, we are all
human.
My name is Talula. I am 16 years old and a junior in high
school. I write a lot, at least an article every two months. Most of
them are over social issues and just problems that are going on. All of
my writings are non-fiction and most are written in a day.
Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to turn back and
encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp
by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon. 3 Pharaoh will think, ‘The
Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the
desert.’ 4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them.
Exodus 14:15
This was Gods idea
When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and
his officials changed their minds about them and said, "What have we
done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!" 6 So
he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. 7 He took six
hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of
Egypt, with officers over all of them. The LORD hardened the heart of
Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he pursued after the Israelites, who were
marching out boldly. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up,
and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified
and cried out to the LORD.
Moses' silent prayers of faith prevailed more with God than Israel's
loud cries of fear. The pillar of cloud and fire came behind them, when
they needed a guard, God provided a wall of fire between them and their
enemies. This dividing barrier made it possible for Gods people to go
forward and conquer the new territory.
Let’s go forward claiming new opportunities, conquering doubts,
resisting temptation, defeating Satan, taking back what the enemy has
stolen from us, go forward giving God the praise, go forward and don’t
look back like, remember lots wife? She looked back and became a pillar
of salt. The angels warned them, Escape for your life! Do not look back,
and do not stay anywhere in the valley, escape to the mountains that
are higher than you or you will be swept away by the wrath of God.
Genesis 19:17.
Lot ran down the valley and up towards the mountain, his two
daughters ran close behind him, but his wife from behind look back and
she became a pillar of salt, she lagged, when she should have gone
forward much faster, she was weight down with the burden of the world,
caught in two minds, whether to stay or to go, she lost ground and could
not resist looking around. But if we keep our focus on Jesus, the
things of this world will become insignificant. The disobedience of
lots wife was a willful, and deliberate sin which led to her death, she
chooses to value in her heart the things of the world more than the
things of God.
Remember Lot’s wife. Luke 17:32
We today have received the similar warning to that which the angels
gave to the lot and his family, let us go forward, putting away the old
self-conscious feeling, and putting on the new life which is renewed in
the likeness of God. If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not
leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life to those who
commit sins that do not lead to death. The image of Lots wife standing
watch over the dead Sea where no life exists is the graphic reminder to
us not to yearn for the things of the world. But to follow where Christ
lead without hesitation.
God calls us to a journey in faith
The word and providence of God have a black and dark side toward sin
and towards the sinners, but a bright and pleasant side toward the
people of the Lord. He, who divided between light and darkness, Gen 1:4,
allotted darkness to the Egyptians, and light to the Israelite's. There
was such a great difference there will be between the inheritance of
the saints in light and that utter darkness which will be the portion of
hypocrites forever. The time is now, God wants his people to have an
awareness of the need to move forward with the ministry, not retreat,
not looking back with hesitancy.
The king James authorise version. Pentecostal church messages
This is a
subject that the spirit of the Lord gave to me. This is my testimony,
and experience that I have had with the Lord, that was very unique in
that the fruit of the suffering that came out of this experience ,
allowed me to mature and grow in the Lord in such a way that now I can
truly proclaim that Jesus is Lord of my life.
Luke 15, we find a parable of the lost sheep, lost piece of silver
and a lost son. The lost sheep represent lost souls. Jesus is the
shepherd seeking out the lost sheep. He has called us to seek the lost.
We also have the woman who had ten but lost one piece of silver and
sweep her house diligently seeking to find the one lost piece of silver.
The shepherd went seeking the lost sheep just as the woman went seeking
for the silver. So it is that we must go seeking for the lost souls. We
have a great job before us seeking the lost.
The prodigal son is symbolic to the backslider. The backslider is
unique in that he is lost but he knows his way back home. We will see in
this illustration that the prodigal son knew how to get back home this
is ultimately what distinguishes the backslider from the lost. The lost
have never walked the path nor seen the light. The lost have never known
fellowship with Jesus, never hard his voice, never opened his heart to
him who knocks at the door.
The thought that I want to leave with you is "The Hog-pen
Experience". The prodigal son is a depiction of a deplorable condition.
The question is what will it take for me to awaken to my sinful
condition? What will it take for me to say yes Lord? For many of us much
of what we experience in life is the hand of God pulling at us in his
loving way, knocking at the door of our hearts. Many tragedies in our
life come only to bear witness that there is a better way. Much of the
hardship and suffering that we experience is merely the hand of God upon
our lives. If it were not for the trials and tribulation that come our
way, would we pray? Would we seek the face of God? We can ultimately
see the hand of God upon our lives drawing us closer to him from day to
day.
In this study of the prodigal son I can see my very own personal
testimony. Luke chapter 15:11-12, we find the family, two sons with
their father. In the world that we live in Satan’s greatest attack is
against the family. His desire is to divide, brake up and destroy or
kill out the family. From the very beginning Satan’s attack was against
the family, Adam and Eve the first family. Sin and death enter this
world through the first family. Today is no exception, if we look around
at our community, we’ll find the greatest ill in society to be the
breakdown of the family. When the family is destroyed you have no
inheritance, no community, the entity of husband and wife, sons and
daughters, when this institution is destroyed we destroy ourselves. For
this reason mirage is sacred, it is an institution that God himself has
created and ordained from the foundation of the world. Even today Satan
is attempting to destroy the family.
In verse 12 of Luke chapter 15, we find two sons but only one of them
desired to leave the family. The other son after having his goods and
his portion of inheritance given to him as well, he decided to stay at
home. He saw the benefits of staying at home, the quality of life. But
the other son saw a great opportunity before him, the world its glitter,
its fame, the lights, the friends.
The word prodigal means to waste. It is a sad thing to waste not
merely the material things in life but to waste the essence of life,
life it’s self. To find that life is a vapor and the glory of life like
the grass that is green today and tomorrow it is withered away. So it is
in life that the world may hold you up high today but tomorrow they
want know you. As long as your money last you will be known and you will
be loved. It is sad to say but the Presidency of our Country literally
goes to the highest bidder. Money is power. You can be a man of great
virtue and intellect and be broke and you will find before you a great
challenge. But you have a little money and you can perpetrate your way
to the highest chair in the land. We see so much corruption behind money
and what people will do in the name of money. The Prince of this world
has created a system based on greed. This is the reason why the world is
so attractive because it comes to us in a lucrative way.
Luke 15:13, we find that the young man after receiving his share he
departed. I can see this young man headed for Los Angeles California
were the big lights are or perhaps New York City, were he would find
fine women and gambling Casinos. He gets there and he finds friends he
never known before because he has money that he never had before. The
prodigal wasted all that he had.
There is no way to hold on to the gift of life when you leave Jesus.
The prodigal son is symbolic to one who had known the father. He had
known the benefits of being in fellowship with God. After knowing the
father and his care, his everlasting provision, the son would say within
his heart "I want to go into the world". "I’m going to leave you
father, I’ve had enough of it all". To the young it is the experience of
the world that pulls at them, the experience of sin. But what I want to
share with you today is that sin is not a beautiful experience. "The
wages of sin is death", while you are in sin death is all around you. If
it were not for the grace of God upon your life the enemy would still
you. When you are whit the crowd you don’t see the adversary, you don’t
see his plan. How many of us have been to the funeral of a love one
that was out just having a good time. There are so many young people
dying today behind sin. The drug experience is something we do with our
so call friends only to find yourself left along with a habit that you
can’t pay for. The drug experience is what Jesus has come to save us
from. As agents of free will we must chose to be free from the bondage
of sin, from its power and dominion.
If we chose to experience sin then we must bear the consequence of
that choice. The living word of God has given us to know that "what so
ever a man sows that shall he also reap". The experience of sin always
comes with a harvest, not only in the life to come but in this life.
Somebody is concern about the hell to come but many are living in a
living hell right here on the face of this earth. We see our dear
brothers and sisters daily, minds disturbed, troubled, the marks of the
world on their face, many have chosen alternative lifestyles are facing
the judgment of God through social diseases.
Sin is to waste this precious gift of life that God has endowed each
one of us with. If we chose sin we are driven to death. The enemy steals
your life when you are in sin. We do not always see the deception of
sin. Just like the prodigal son looking for the beauty of this great
metropolis city that he would enter into, his money would allow doors to
be open that would ultimately be shut in his face. If we look at the
world today, it is a materialistic world that desires to have your soul.
One can get so caught up behind the pursuit of money that you are
unable to see nothing else. Money will rule your soul, the love of it.
It will be your God. "No man can serve two masters, you cannot serve God
and mammon", Matthew 6:24.
People will go to war over oil but no one is willing to fight so that
men can be free. We live in a day were the value of money is greater
than human life. The Prince of this world’s system is Satan and he does
not value life. Many decisions are made today on the basis of how much
money one can gain.
"And when he had spent all,"- Luke 15:14. Right now our Country is
facing a great debt on the floor of the congress debate is being waged
daily on what to cut. Who would have ever phantom that we would be
living in a day were Air-force and military bases would be shut down as a
result of the lack of money in our federal government. After all the
bureaucratic stealing, the government is at the point of shutting down.
Now we are suffering the consequences of a nation that is prodigal. Our
Country once knew what it was to be a nation under God, in fellowship
with God through prayer, communicating to a father who cares for his
own, through his provision and everlasting protection. We knew what it
was to reverence a living God in our schools and institutions to look to
him in all our ways and he would direct our path.
Today we look at a nation who is prodigal. A nation that has took
prayer out of the schools. Prayer is in the process of being removed
from all social activity. Certainly, if our forefathers of this great
nation were alive today, they would be appalled at what is happening in
society. The Constitution of the United States of America allows us to
have great freedom but not at the risk of destroying everything that we
value. Freedom without discipline is not the will of God. Our God is a
God of order; he is a God of design. There is a movement "The new Age"
that is coming to destroy all that has been created and ordained by God.
It is the mind of the antichrist. He is going forth in the land as
never before, on his great black horse, destroying and slaying every
institution and the Church is no exception. It is a sad day, but the
sadness is a result of leaving God. When you leave God you enter into
sin. Sin is a complete demise of the total person soul, mind and body.
We see the soul of our Country deteriorating, dying, and wasting
away. How long will we continue to walk as the prodigal son? Will we
return to God, the living word, the values and principles that the very
foundation of this Country was built upon, or will we continue to waste
away?
Right now we like the prodigal son find ourselves in a hog-pen.
Domestically speaking we’re in a hog-pen. As much money as many of us
make we are just surviving. Twenty years ago if we made the money we
make today we would be like a rich man. Our Country in a hog-pen wasting
away, this is a terrible experience. This is where you end up with sin.
We as a Nation have truly come from a long ways, but now we are looking
at the hog-pen, just like the prodigal son.
Verse 15 of Luke chapter 15 "And he went and joined himself to a
citizen of that country; and he sent into his fields to feed
swine."After the prodigal son had spent all of his money, a famine arose
in the land and he began to seek for food and shelter. A citizen took
him in and sent him into the fields to feed the swine. Jerusalem is a
Holy City and the lowest thing that you can possibly do in Jerusalem is
handle the swine. Swine according to Old Testament law is not to be
consumed. Anytime you join yourself with worldly friends you are going
to end up in the hog-pen. If you are born again you do not have worldly
companionship. In the world you have to look out for yourself, it is the
survival of slickest. We must seek God to open our eyes and our mind to
discern true friendship, to see the darkness of the world as sin. To
understand how short time is. To hear the voice of Jesus calling "come
unto me all ye who are heavy laden and I’ll give you rest".
Luke Chapter 15 verse 16, we find that the prodigal son would have
gladly eat the fed that he was giving to the swine. During this period
of time just like today it does not matter how hungry a servant may be
if the servant begins to eat the food that he should be serving, the
servant could lose his job. So the prodigal son had to suffer hunger
until he could feed himself with what little he had.
Sin has brought the prodigal son to a condition that only God could
get him out of. He is desperately hungry, in the midst of a famine, away
from home. There is a famine right here in America. I know that many of
us are eating two and three times a day but there is still a famine in
this land. The famine is for the word of God and the move of his spirit
in this land today. After having spent all many are awakening to the
reality of having lost God to gain the world only to lose their soul.
After having filled your barn and God put his hands on your life and you
find "what will a man give in exchange for his soul"? What can you hold
before God in the face of death? What price will you give in exchange
for eternal life? There is only one price and that price has been paid
by the blood of Jesus. If his blood does not cover your life, than you
is not his purchased possession. For when we stand before God it is only
the blood of Jesus that will pay that price, in this life and in the
life to come. His name is the only salvation for humanity. His name is
the only salvation for America.
Verse 17 of Luke chapter 15 "And when he came to himself", this is
the question that I’d like to put to you today. What will it take for me
to come to myself? Many of us are standing in a hog-pen condition right
now. But even in the hog-pen Jesus desires to see you back home. Jesus
desires for you to make the step back to the path of righteousness, back
to home. There is a voice crying in your ear even in the hog-pen. In
the midst of your lowest moment Jesus is knocking at the door of your
heart. His arms are open; he desires to see you back home, while the
blood is yet running warm in your veins. You have an opportunity to come
on back home.
The prodigal son came to himself but how many of us will come to
ourselves? The grave is full of a multitude that fell to come to
themselves. Will you come to yourself right now, and realize that the
hog-pen is not the place to be. Rather a backslider or sinner there is a
way out. Jesus said "I am the way, the trueth, and the life; no man
cometh unto the father, but by me". Think God that before the creation
of the world a way out was made. His name is Jesus.
What will it take for me to come to myself? This is the only question
that matters. Not how serious the situation is, for it does not exceed
the grace of God. His grace is sufficient even in our weakest hour. If
we draw near to him, he will draw near unto us. If we come out and
sanctify ourselves he will be a father to us and we will be sons and
daughters to him. If we deny ourselves and take up the cross, he has
promised to give us his spirit dwelling in our hearts. By the spirit of
the living God we can cry Father, Father, Abba, Abba, has sons and
daughters of the living God. The family of God, a royal priesthood,
brought by the precious blood of Jesus, Kings and Priests called to rule
in this land, called to show forth righteousness and good works unto
the father. It is by the blood of Jesus, the work of Calvary’s Cross
that we have a way out.
I say unto to you, "who has believed our report? To whom has the arm
of the Lord been revealed"? Can you see the way out of the hog - pen. I
bring to you my testimony the hog – pen experience. After having
experienced all that the world has to offer, I believed the report. As a
result of believing the report; the arm of the Lord was revealed unto
me. In his everlasting arms I am leaning on to this present day. I’m
leaning on those arms that centuries of men and women have leaned upon,
the arm of the gospel that shows the light of the world.
Will you see the revelation? Will you see the door that stands open
to the way out? Will you hear the voice of the spirit of Jesus that
reaches out even now? The prodigal son represents the hog – pen
experience. What will it take for you to come out of the hog – pen?
I served has outreach Minister and Ordained Elder under
Pastor Jerome Lee. Bethel Tabernacle Christ Holy Sanctified Church of
America, Inc. 2121 Daniel Street, Fort Worth, Tx 76104. I served as
Sunday School Teacher,and Musician.
Max Washington Class 2021, out of Morgantown High School located in Morgantown, West Virginia.
Max is a shooting guard weighing in at 190 at six foot four inches.
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Nowadays,
if you are looking to get lean then the most effective method would be
doing speed and strength training. They are especially useful if you are
tying to get lean in a hurry. (Continued below.......)
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(.....Continued.......) Many people make a huge mistake when choosing good workouts to get
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you looking to prevent injuries then this type of training guarantees
results.
Here are a few workouts that represent speed and strength training, respectively, just to let you have an idea of what they are.
Speed Training
This type of training not only focuses on improving your speed,
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quicker whether it is your intention or not. Both; amateur and
professional athletes do speed training to improve their conditioning to
bring out the best of their abilities. Here are some examples:
Fartleks
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
Interval Training
Tabata Sprints
Shuttle Runs
100m and 200m sprints
Strength Training
Strength training is used as the ultimate conditioning program, used
by pro athletes, amateurs, and even normal people to build muscle.
Despite the reason for that that muscle growth, stronger muscles help
prevent injuries and make you look good at the same time. Here are some
examples:
Resistance Training
Descending Pyramid Weight Reps
Ascending Pyramid Weight Reps, etc
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you if you want to gain both muscle and strength or, if you are happy
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In the
rampant rage of wide-spread devolution of humanity, particularly on the
shores of the U.S., the arrogance of ignorance spews its contagion in
diverse ways. By contentious condescension of intentional malevolence,
the spurting of non-stop stupidity intentionally contrives to wreck the
democratic processes. To save the republic, higher reaches of purposeful
wisdom with extraordinary ascensions of enlightenment requires a mature
intelligent population. Among this extrapolation of astonishing willful
insight, knowledge insists upon the development of exceptional personal
individuation. Acute inner analysis is crucial. (Continued below......)
(....Continued.....)With a list of adversarial disputations, opposing forces to the
right, freedom and reason of free speech endeavor to restrict essential
constitutional safeguards. In particular, aside from illicit and
dimwitted admonitions from the realms of academia, supernatural
ideologies attack and defame essential necessity of personal expression.
Among the antithesis of human liberation comes the terroristic
psychological and physical pillaging of freedom by extremist fundamental
occultic obsession. Led by the weak, the cowardly and the ignorant,
selfishness abounds.
Politics is but one arena where “anti-thinking” foments the specious
terrors of ignorance so grievous, that the viability of the American
republic hangs in the balance. For some, perhaps even a majority,
indulged in wonderment to consider the probably of eventual human
extinction. To that apocalyptic end, the political processes are but
elemental factor in an iceberg of societal selfishness. Closely aligned
is the cult of celebrity worship. The contemporary idiocy, from
Hollywood elitist to Washington politicians, promotes a dumber American
society.
Most often, actors, like so many across mainstream society, spew the
superficiality of their ignorance. Undereducated in so many aspects of
the real-world, their fictional fantasies blur the distinction between
the real and the surreal. All to often, such actions breach the
viability of free speech in such condemning ways, as to rebuke the
tenants of civility. Their divisive hate mongering tears at the basic
foundations of the revolutionary spirit of freedom. Given the gluttonous
satiation for selfishness, money, power, and control, prefers
ignorance. A few years, a British publication asserted the lunacy of the
“leftist elitist”. Building a case for the extremes of smug
self-righteousness is a trail of clues related to education versus
indoctrination.
With controversial engagements across the mainstream of society, some
analyst ponder the perceived notions regarding a decline in educational
ascendency. By contrast, a few agree that the American culture is
declining with consequences that indicate an eventual collapse. As
opposed to an enlightened constituency of well-educated, exceptionally
competent and mature people, a devolution seems more realistic.
Regardless of social strata, most of the population appears and acts in
very immature and child-like ways. Being ignorant became more
comfortable.
In accordance with the aforementioned sense of intellectual
dysfunction, one psychologist recently echoed a similar theme, by what
might be called “American dysfunction of anti-intellectualism”.
Asserting a kind of pathology of ignorance, the writer offered an
argument regarding the degradation of society by wide spread idiocy. By
absurd, foolish and immature behaviors, including stupid commentary by
elected officials, a deep sense of disappointment echoes among those
seeking solutions to serious social issues.
By neither social status nor college degree is there any guarantee of
extraordinary enlightenment. Likewise, regardless of educational
institution, graduation does not infer the capacity for saving the
planet, profound civil discourse or insistence upon the greater good. In
an earlier time, philosophical admonitions favored the necessity for
higher intellectual achievement beyond in formal system or communal
process. Creativity was an important element in pursuing the pioneering
spirit of innovation. Today, ingenuity finds few adherents.
In a post-modern context, disingenuous behaviors increasingly and
negatively exhibit a host of adversarial interactions. Divisive examples
are ever-present in news shows, as well as political forums. Emotional
reactivity is frequently the choice of actions rather than serious
analytic investigations. To insist upon a problem-solving venture by way
of critical thinking and logical analysis is not typically the path
chosen. A regressive tendency toward immature emotional responses
animates an inclination toward promoting conflict rather than
compromise.
While one person criticizes another for a posting in social media
that may violate “community standards”, another vicious torments others
for their political leanings. Intolerance for tolerance often depends on
whether or not the other person agrees with another’s opinion. In prior
times, open debate on controversial issues embraced the free spirit of
candid commentary. Now, the opposite seems more likely. Sensitivity to
everything shuts down the free exercise of alternative perspectives. At
the same time, emotional reactivity threatens factual authenticity.
For the purposes herein, the issues surrounding the conceptualization
of censorship relates to actions intended to suppress, restrict or
otherwise prohibit the dissemination of an artistic expression.
Primarily, the focus is toward social media, but not exclusively. As
such, the prohibitions, or attempted prohibitions, referred to include
restrictions on presentation or publication of various forms of
authorship. Writings of various kinds, articles, stories, books, novels
and so forth are examples. Additionally, consideration of creative works
likewise pertain to movies, films, photos, drawings and other related
works of art.
Whether an article on a controversial topic or an explicit depiction
of photographic art, the matter at hand is the intentional prohibition
of the art form. As an ongoing process of social and legal debate,
censorship in contemporary social media, including news media, suggests
an increasing antagonism toward innovative artistic endeavors. While the
First Amendment (U.S. Constitution) is the fundamental expression of
free speech, censoring an imaginative arty expression conjures debatable
implications in terms of legality, equity, and liberty.
Aside from legal ramifications, the implications of censorship are
manifold. Indirectly, one aspect entertained here is the notion that
censoring an online artistic genre speaks to an era of ignorance. As
intellectual capacity, along with a maturity for enlightened thinking,
diminishes over time, increased infantile reactivity is more likely. In
post-modern consideration, contemporary efforts by social media to
curtail selected expressions represent oppression. A “tyranny” of
intolerance pretending to be tolerant pervades social interactivity.
Another aspect suggests a devolving process of thinking that is
detrimental to human civilization. If, for instance, there is a
supposition that the human species is advancing, a counter argument
might infer the contrary. Contemporary sensitivity appears at an
all-time low in terms of overreaction to just about anything. As
controversy arises over criticism of an individual, an ideology, or a
flag, or baseball cap, a posting occurs on the net to demonstrate
outrage.
Extraordinary simplification, excessive rationalization and
contentious divisiveness degrade any semblance of a civilized society.
As such, there is a sense of arrogance in the ignorance. In an article
for a national newspaper, the online admonition of American society
focused on the commonplace “embracing of ignorance”. Accordingly, the
claim points to the current trend of glorifying ignorance and disdaining
intellectualism. While believing in something without facts or evidence
is one thing. It is quite another to make public policy based on
belief.
Someone might question which is worse, not having evidentiary
substantiation, or denying the reality of factual relevance and doing
something stupid. This is where a serious regard for rationality
searches carefully among the volumes of psychobabble to question the
nature of proof. Solvability of an issue invites the various aspects of
efforts directed toward provability. For most issues, many rely on
gossip, hearsay, opinion and superficial conjecture that says nothing
and does nothing. Frequently, this satiates an inner desire to make
idiotic notions valid.
Another headline from a different informational perspective asserted a
study that suggested people do not like their strongly held beliefs
questioned. Based on a limited research configuration form a major
private college, researchers sought to assess the knowledge base of the
average voter. As related to things like climate change, for instance,
overuse of information dissemination may case deeper controversies to
arise. Too much information leads to confusion among diverse parties to a
public debate, especially if the basis for knowing something is
limited.
A debasing conjecture might suggest that an entity or external
mechanism causes people to do one thing or another, but that is
dangerously misleading. Not only that, but also such specious notions
perpetuate an atmosphere of ignorance. Such things become a vicious
cycle of regressive tendencies for the sake of foolish excuses. As to
that, the commentary is often heard about how the “internet makes people
stupid”, or how “technology” or “social media” contributes to violence,
etc. Briefly, inanimate objects cannot make people do things.
Lifeless inert “entities” do not possess the power for such
influence. People intentionally and willfully make their own choices and
there are no excuses for their bad decisions. However, to ensure the
lofty status of ignorance, many will concoct all manner of mitigation.
By malice aforethought, premeditation and intention infliction, people
do all kinds of perpetrations. Once the blame went to demons, ghosts and
goblins. Today, it is just about anything external to the person that
receives blame for maladaptive behaviors. Not much difference than
demonic possession.
Regardless, such human antics do not elevate the species to an
advanced civilization by any stretch of the imagination. Grotesque and
undignified fallacies of inference permeate talk shows, talking head
news outlets, schoolrooms, legislative sessions, social media and the
list goes on. Subjective validation for the sake of cognitive bias,
absent facts and evidence, supplants in-depth critical analysis based on
vigorous inquiry. Instead, the modern malady of social discourse tends
to rely heavily on opinion in an appeal to inauthentic “authority”.
Such an appeal to the pretention of some source, or someone,
possessing the exceptionality of an authoritative perspective, is
potentially dangerous. The guru, the shaman, the spiritualist, or the
metaphysician, are likely to perpetrate grievous errors of self-centered
thinking. As alluded to earlier, in a stardom-fixated culture, the
incessant adoration surrenders to the opinion, gossip or rumors fomented
by popularity. Using fame and fortune as a benchmark for knowledge and
wisdom encourages a larger framework of social stupidity. Because
someone can play a part in a movie, perform on stage, or nominated for
an award, does not confer enlightenment.
Yet, repeatedly, “intellectual capacity” is erroneously ascribed to a
star personality, whether movie luminary or talk show host. Similarly,
as 24/7 cable network news sources slant toward personal opinion, the
greater the probability of shallow thinking. In reality, these could
actually be some of the most notoriously uninformed people on the
planet. A careful analysis of the contemporary rhetoric reveals a
serious failure of fact driven analysis. Evidence seems to have lost its
value and necessity in favor of personal opinion. Repeatedly, feelings
are valued more.
Continuing the commission of the decline of intellectual honesty, a
collegiate talk show interview of one researcher expressed
disappointment in politicians. Reminiscing the sage commentary of one of
the founding fathers, the republic is in danger when ignorance has an
expectation of freedom. To paraphrase, as stupid culture cannot hope for
a free society. In a frightening reflection on modern society, a
researcher points to the foolish discourse found in American politics.
Politicians often say the stupidest things.
One point of view on this matter of egregious ignorance in political
commentary, relates to how such fallacies mirror society. Whether by
partisan bias, political expediency, or contrived selfishness for power
and control, the lack of intellectual curiosity and analytic reasoning
undermine the principles of a democratic republic. Worrisome is the
notion as to the trend toward anti-rationality, or the ability to ensure
constructive reason in logical analysis.
That coupled with the arrogance of embracing ignorance ought to be
the warning signs of a collapsing culture. A few would argue the
disastrous consequences for the human species. Others aligned with the
fear of eventual human extinction would accept the idea that this is the
dawn of the “zombie apocalypse”. The debasing nature of stupid
thinking, or as some would prefer, “magical thinking”, portrays an era
of conceited preference for being uninformed. To exploit that with
emotional reactivity and cultural advancement devolves to regressive
depths.
Meanwhile in academia, the bastion of knowledge and wisdom, a
presupposition asserts the posture that high levels of intelligence
mount the precipice of human advancement. When the laughter dies down,
some argue there is no guarantee of vast realms of enlightenment within
the hallowed halls of ivy towers. According to some educators, just the
opposite is the reality. One college professor offers an assessment of
the “dumbest generation”. By way of little or no mature leadership,
trendy vulgarity, simplistic thinking and a host of other intellectual
maladies, younger generations insist upon a devolving mediocrity of
infantile narcissism.
In addition, the contentions, as to a devolving state of arrogant
ignorance, falls upon lazy self-righteousness smugly neglecting the
rigors of human advancement. A failure to ascend beyond adolescence and
insist upon a mature grown world condemns society to eventual collapse.
According to some, a small niche of serious minded mature individuals,
the “dumbest generation” or generations, do possess sufficient capacity
to deal with future societal problems. A fundamental deficit of critical
knowledge in areas of commerce, industry, government and educational
institutions hastens the regressive deterioration of a democratic
republic.
One may or may not want to transpose “knowledge deficit” with
stupidity. Applying a stupidity factor might hurt the sensitivities of
those desiring to remain adolescent into adulthood. Nonetheless, a
serious shortfall in socio-economic and political astuteness traversing
rampant throughout mainstream society is dangerous. Added to that
burdensome responsibility of being generally smarter than average, are
the woefully scarce levels of historical ignorance. As earlier writers
warned, failing to learn from history is the vital lesson of history.
Coupled with educational narrowmindedness, particularly in collegiate
settings, along with ideological agendas, the perpetration of “dumbing
down” continues to erode the higher prospects of intellectualism.
Assuming an exceptionality principle from the realms of real science,
there are always noteworthy exemptions from sweeping generalities.
However, when it comes to humankind and the maladaptive intentions of
foolish behaviors exceptions few. With the political arena for instance,
there are very few exceptions of extraordinary intellect, with wise and
mature exhibitions of serious leadership ability. As younger
generations run for public office, let us say those under 40 years old,
where most millennials reside, the prospects get scary. The arrogance in
ignorance expands astronomically among the younglings attempting to
manage governmental organizations. At the national level, stupidity in
spite of alleged college education is frightening.
In pursuit of the warn paths of least resistance, asserting the
nebulous notions of pretentious offense, the ignorance of the many
fixate on the “selfieness” of selfish promotion. Once the unimaginative
protest proclaims self-defeat, the unlabored ignorance relishes in the
satiation of less strenuous mediocrity. Criticisms rage the hallow
failures of critical thinking for the amative excitement of myth, magic
and metaphor. Refuge finds company in the shallow fluff of forsaking
reality for immediate gratification. Blustering blather endangers the
republic.
For the gushing eroticism of quick release, the fatted bellows
bemoaning the logic and reason of serious thought spew impotent
conjecture. As to the perpetration of tired ideologies, reinvented by
venal strains of limp minded arrogance, fear of evidentiary
substantiation perpetrates the replacement of facts with fictions.
Haughtiness of unintelligent, uninformed and uneducated self-imposed
offensiveness, breed the illicit dangers that threaten cultural
ascendency. Within that framework, the absence of profound creativity
stifles the advance of enlightenment.
Acting “anti-social”, a word used too frequently in an ill-informed
society, portrays an easily chosen means to get what one wants at the
expense of others. Given the options, people will always act in their
self-interests, which could beneficial or not. Excuses for stupid
behaviors have run the deceptive and manipulative gambits philosophies
as “science”, to political commentary as fact. Fictions promulgate the
deceptive intentions of ill-intentioned adherents, presupposing their
ignorance remain unchallenged. As to a majority that follow the
superstitions of misguided dogma, the doctrines of illicit ideologies
forsake the viability of social advancement.
For some, there are UFOs in every mysterious movement in the sky.
Others delve into the phantoms of phantasm, where ghosts, goblins and
gremlins lurk. From there, the adventure skirts the outer regions of
mindful ideations to chase the mysterious manifestations of social
dysfunction. In that, the instigators provoke the terror of monsters
from the Id. From illusions thought real, which fail the proof of real
scientific validation. As gullibility runs amuck, the believability
leaps to faithful allegiance to chemical therapies for hidden demonic
forces.
To perpetuate an industry of “mind-body-illness-wellness” forsakes
the liberation of individuality to promote the feeble excuses of the
many. From invisible “addictions” to superstitious flirtations,
inflictions unfold that oppress and enslave as many as possible. In
part, such antics promote the anti-intellectualism rising in
contemporary context. As a result, some fear the arrogance of ignorance
is one of the most deadly threats to modern society.
Published multi-genre author, 35 plus years field of criminal justice and law enforcement; college professor in criminology;
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