What Will the Future Bring?
The "end times" myths have caused a lot of havoc, but it's not the end of the world. In fact, as Daniel, Isaiah, John and others wrote, when our world is saved and improved it will "last forever." And, while the greedy, proud and militant are due for a comeuppance, the kind, humble and meek majority shall indeed inherit the earth.
Unfortunately, mankind has gone a long way toward destroying all life in our world, despite all the efforts of humanitarians, environmentalists and conservationists. That's because certain people have continued to regard personal power, wealth and domain as more important than the well being of the environment and the well being of humanity as a whole.
However, while things could get worse before they get better, they don't need to.
Our problems and suffering are all part of the tribulation that was bound to happen, but we are at or near the inevitable crisis point caused by Man's vain folly, corruption, greed, self-interest, and arrogance.
Even though most of the prophecies of most of the world’s religions foresaw and foretold this terrible tribulation we have been going through as the end of the passing age has drawn nearer, they also foresaw and foretold that we would learn what we need to learn, overcome, and establish new ways of living in harmony with each other and the earth.
The prophets saw that there would be conflicts and wars caused by the proud and militant who fight for wealth, power and domain. But, the prophets also foresaw and foretold that at the end of the age a divinely inspired judgment would be delivered to enable the Spirit of truth to prevail, and there will then follow a new age in which the humble, gentle and meek shall inherit the earth, make amends, establish justice, and make peace.
Even though some false prophets have predicted a terrible future for this world; even though some religious flocks have been led to believe the world is about to end, and even though some have been led to believe that an "anti-christ" is coming to rule from a "one world government," none of that is true.
When prophecy is fulfilled, we wil have a peaceful family of nations, religions, races and cultures, all equal, with governments of, by, and for the people.
Ironically, we already have had (and still have) something very close to a "one world government," considering that the U.S. became the "policeman of the world" following World War Two, and particularly since the Reaganite ideology led to the Bush Regime which implemented the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) plan for world military industrial domination. And, since that plan is apparently still being followed, we still suffer the consequences.
But, all this was predictable and was predicted. And now, in order to progress and advance forward to a brighter future, the proud and militant need to be corrected with the prophesied judgment, and all people need to learn how and why the past led to the present state of conflict, division, and tribulation. For even though humanity has evolved and progressed in many ways, it has devolved and been pushed way backward in some very significant ways.
Even so, we can appreciate all the progress and advancements, and all the great art, music, dance, poetry, literature, movies and technology we enjoy. Humanity has advanced in those ways because of our innate will to good, our will to love, and our will to create things that give us joy and bring out the best in us.
The trouble is, evil often masquerades as good. Hate often masquerades as righteousness. And lust for power often masquerades as religious zeal. That is why the world is plagued by anger, hate, violence, and even what they call "holy war."
We have been pushed backward by deceptive, greedy people who pretend to serve the people and God and Country, when they actually serve themselves and Mammon. Consequently, while a relative few people live a life of incredible abundance, great comfort and extravagant luxury, the majority of us do not — even in America, as is explained in the article on Poverty: America’s Greatest Shame.
The sad fact is that humanity has been plunging down the slippery slope which seems right to those who fight for power over others, but is a downward path that ultimately leads to more and more conflict, division and violence, and ultimately to destruction.
So. We must turn around, stop going backward, and instead progress forward toward a brighter future. And the mission of the son of man is to tell you why we must do that, and how we may do that, because a lot of people have the wrong idea about what the future will bring.
Many false prophets preach gloom and doom, and they warn of coming calamity and tribulation, as if we haven’t already been going through it for quite some time. They claim we are on the verge of being ruled by the spirit of the "anti-Christ-beast" who worships Mammon, as if that hasn’t already been the case, particularly during the last 30 years.
Some even claim that the "signs" we are witnessing mean "the end" of the world is coming, and there are many people who believe in other prophecies that predict "the end" on a certain date, such as the concocted false prophecy about 2012, which is a distortion of Mayan prophecy about the end of the age.
That is why the son of man was sent to tell us that the false prophets are fundamentally wrong.
We have been going through a terrible tribulation, which has been increasing for the last hundred years. We have suffered many things, and we’ve been learning some very hard lessons. But we are learning — at least most of us are.
In fact, growing numbers of people are finally realizing or learning who and what caused our problems, and how and why we’ve been so divided and misguided by proud, militant, divisive, misleading partisan political demagogues, false shepherds, and false prophets. For while those pretenders claim to be religious and patriotic, they do not understand how or why the humble and meek shall inherit the earth.
They do not understand that the signs we have already witnessed are signs the prophets foresaw, which would precede the coming of the modern "son of man." However, the son of man is not who or what people expect he would be.
While they want a conquering hero who is on their side, the person who fulfills all religious prophecy is a witness and servant of God, and a messenger for the Spirit of truth, who issues judgment, guides you unto truth, and shows you things to come. Even the prophet Jesus said so, as did preceding prophets.
The signs preceding his coming have not been God’s doing. They have been the consequences of negative human emotion, conflict and division, and of human greed, corruption, hate and violence. And they include wars and rumors of war, the "seven plagues" (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, pestilence, famines, floods and droughts), and "many other terrible things," as Jesus put it. For humanity is one body, and the earth is one interdependent ecosystem, and Man has put it all asunder.
The good news, however, is that when prophecy is fulfilled, we the people shall overcome. We, the great, vast majority of people who are humble, gentle and peaceful shall inherit the earth, and we shall make this world a far better place. And the son of man has been sent to tell you why you can have hope and faith in a brighter future. (See the articles on The 21st Century Declaration of Independence, and How the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth.)
What Does the Bible Really Say?
And Who Really Caused the Tribulation?
Since so many religious people have been led to believe in the "end times" myth, it is necessary to show how and why that myth is based on misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the Bible, and ignorance of real prophecy and divine intent. For the truth is that while prophets did foresee and foretell the terrible tribulation and suffering most of us have been going through, real prophecy does not foretell an end to the world.
Granted, some versions of the book of Matthew speak of "the end of the world," and other books in the Bible use the phrase "the end." But, virtually all biblical references to "the end" actually and originally referred either to a geographical boundary or figure of speech (like "to the ends of the earth"), or the end of an age, not the end of the planet earth.
Jesus himself did not actually say "the end of the world," even though it was translated as such in some versions of the Bible. Jesus actually spoke only of the end of the age (aeon). And the real prophecies of the Bible are actually compatible with the prophecies of other religions that speak of the end of this age and the promise of a new age of peace, freedom, equality, fairness, justice, and prosperity for all. And they all foretold that prior to that we would suffer this horrible tribulation and ordeal.
Most of the genuine prophets of the world’s religion, like Jesus, knew the world would be a place of division, conflict, greed, corruption, inequity, violence and war. In fact, that is why Jesus said: "I have come not to bring peace on earth, but rather division." (Luke 12:51) He knew the age he ushered in would be one of conflict and division, and he knew many people, including many who claimed to be devout Christians, would simply ignore the advice he gave about not judging one another, loving one another, especially your neighbor, and even your enemy.
Jesus knew the conflict and division would be caused mainly by the iniquity of self-important, self-righteous, arrogant, judgmental, greedy, power-hungry, imperialistic rulers who would control the military regimes in many countries, from the ancient Roman military industrial empire that ruled in his day, to the military industrial empire that rules today.
However, just as the ancient Roman Empire was not all bad and in fact had many good things about it, so is and does its modern counterpart. In the articles on Ignored American History and The Fall of Babylon, it is explained how and why the United States of America has been good and bad. For even though it was founded on great principles and reached high points thanks to the great democratic principles of presidents Thomas Jefferson and Franklin D. Roosevelt, sporadically, when right-wing militaristic administrations enabled the U.S. Military Industrial Complex to get out of control and abuse its power, the U.S. Government has served the interests of the wealthiest few Americans at the expense of most people in the nation and world. That is why it has fallen more than once, most notably in 1929 and 2008, as a consequence of unbridled greed and corruption.
Fortunately, the end of this divisive nonsense and the beginning of a new unifying paradigm is confirmed by the genuine, real prophecies of all the world’s religions, including those in the Bible that foretell that this inequitable divided "kingdom" and this state of conflict will be replaced by a united, peaceful family of nations in God's "new kingdom," which "shall be set up on the earth and last forever, never to be destroyed," where "the meek shall inherit the earth" and turn "swords into plowshares." (Daniel 2:44; Daniel 7:14; Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3; Psalm 104:5; Matthew 5:3-9; John 16:7-15; Revelation 11:15, etc.)
See, Jesus did not say the world would end, and he did not say he would actually come again.
Jesus said, in so many words, that he had to "go away and be seen no more on earth, but at the end of the age a son of man expressing the Spirit of truth shall come to issue judgment, guide you unto truth, show you things to come, glorify me, and bear my testimony." (See the article on Prophecies Re: He Who Fulfills Them.)
To guide you unto truth, the son of man has pointed out some of the major errors in the New Testament as we know it. And regarding prophecy, another example of error is in 2 Pet 3:10-13, which states that "the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth shall be burned up. ... and the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved ... and we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness."
That is not literally true, for Peter then admits that he got that idea from Paul, who never heard Jesus speak. And it shows that Peter misunderstood what Jesus actually said. Mary Magdalene understood it better, because in her gospel she reported that Jesus said: ""All natures, all formed things, all creatures exist in and with one another and will again be resolved into their own roots, because the nature of matter is dissolved into the roots of its nature alone."
Jesus was not talking about the destruction of the earth, and he certainly never said the heavens would be dissolved. No. Jesus was talking about the same universal truth expressed similarly in the Taoist concept of Oneness which states that: "All things derive their life from it [Tao], All things return to it, and it contains them." All life is born, lives, then dies after propagating itself. And all form changes form, constantly evolving, and the densest forms evolve very, very slowly.
The prophecies of Jesus, like all real prophecies, foretell that in the "new" world to come the humble, meek and truly faithful shall inherit the earth, make peace, establish justice and equity, reconcile those who’ve been in conflict, turn our "swords" into "plowshares," etc. That is what real Judeo-Christian prophecy foretells, and thus it shall be.
Here are a couple of the relevant passages that speak to that:
"In the days of these kings (and heads of state) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms (and nations), and it shall stand forever." (Daniel 2:44)
That prophecy is basically repeated in the Christian book of Revelation, which speaks to and foresees what will happen when prophecy is fulfilled.
"The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15)
That indicates what will happen when the world is saved by the message from God’s Spirit of truth that Jesus said would come to issue judgment and show us things to come. It also indicates that the Lord God, and the Ancient One who is with God in heaven, shall reign in Spirit. And it also indicates the world will "last forever" as God's "new kingdom" here on earth.
But notice that it is God and the Ancient One who shall reign in Spirit, not in person. When prophecy is completely fulfilled, no individual person will rule from any throne ever again.
Our governments shall be of, by, and for the people, and "not be left to other people," as the prophet Daniel put it. The wealthiest few shall no longer rule any nation, nor will any nation be ruled by military occupation by a foreign imperial government. All the people of each nation will be as equal joint heirs to the thrones of each of the united nations, which will be embraced by the new world "kingdom" of God. But the United Nations will not be ruled by monarchy, nor will any of the member nations, because all nations will have truly representative government, and all nations will be equally represented in the United Nations, by consensus.
You see, the calling and mission of the modern son of man is to empower and liberate all the people of the world from all those who want to rule over us, so that we all may live as equals, in peace and prosperity. And the comprehensive message he has delivered explains how we will establish equality, freedom, equity and prosperity for all, and make lasting peace.
What Will Be Will Be As We Make It
There is a time for war, just as there is a time to be born and a time for the mortal body to die and let the spirit-soul pass on. But, as humanity realizes the truth the need for war will become less and less.
Granted, we may have to resort to war for a while longer because the world is so inflamed by conflict, hate and anger. However, after the coming reformation, we will engage in military action only by international agreement by the United Nations, acting in concert and coordination with U.N. Peace Keeping Forces, and only as a last resort.
The membership of the terrorists groups who commit indiscriminate mass murder will steadily diminish as their members realize they have been deceived and misled. And, ultimately, official military forces will not use weapons of mass destruction (or nuclear, chemical, biological warfare), nor will they use land mines or ammunition with white phosphorous or depleted uranium, as Israel, the U.S. and some other nations have so shamefully been doing.
When the nations become truly united, the U.N. will become what it should be, there will be no more rogue nations, and no more Big Brother or "Super Power" Policeman of the world.
The "Cold Wars" will end. Sanity and fairness will prevail over bravado, religious bigotry and nationalism, and cooperation and collaboration will replace competition for superiority and control.
We will recognize how power has corrupted, and how absolute power has corrupted absolutely. We will learn to share the power, and our methodology will be collaborative and cooperative.
We will use only international U.N. forces to enforce international laws and do what needs to be done to serve and protect the people of the world. That is, we will remove murderous tyrants from power. We will stop the regimes of aggressive militant governments that oppress and persecute people. We will stop them from invading and occupying other countries. And we will stop them from depriving anyone of their freedom and their Human Rights.
After the coming reformation of governments and religions, it will be much easier to reconcile our differences with former enemies, and make amends.
In the new "kingdom" of God, the governments of each nation will be independent, and they will be of, by and for the people. They will no longer be governed by monarchs or tyrants, nor by divisive partisan chief executives and "heads" of state, but by executive councils of citizens, actually and freely chosen by the people. And just as nations have federal governments that protect and look over many different states of provinces, so the U.N. will protect the united nations.
The United Nations of Earth will also be governed by an executive council, actually and freely chosen by the representatives of each nation in the truly united nations. No individual person would have sovereign executive power. It will not be a "one world government," as is feared by false prophets, but rather an international peace keeping body and policy-making body operating by international consensus.
There will be no need for a chief executive or chairperson, but rather, a facilitator could be chosen by the executive council members, and the security council members. And the U.N. will thus ensure the equal rights of each nation, and of all people in the world, through a legislative and policy-making body, and a strong law enforcement and peace-keeping force, which will not only lay down international laws and enforce them, but also keep the peace.
No man or woman shall have the sovereign monarchial power to make decisions that determine the destiny of any people or any nation. We the people shall be able to determine our own destiny, together, through our freely chosen, genuine representatives. And, working together, we will be able to cooperate and collaborate, and achieve common goals using the common wealth for the common good.
That is what real prophecies of all religions foretell, and, besides that, it is a part of our evolution. It is what would be bound to happen eventually, even if it weren’t for prophecies, and even if this message of judgment and prophecy were not sent to ensure that it happens. Sooner or later it would happen anyway. It is our destiny.
After all, where else could the "meek inherit the earth?" Where else would we turn our "swords into plowshares?" Where else would we turn "deserts into new gardens?" And where else could we make peace, and comfort the earth's waste places? That's what real prophecy foretells.
The "Apocalypse" Is Upon Us, But It's Not What You Think
The Greek word "Apocalypse" actually means to uncover, reveal, or unveil the real truth and the whole truth, which has been hidden or ignored or forgotten, and the phrase apokalupsis eschaton literally means "revelation at the end of the aeon, or age." And the so-called "battle of Armageddon" and the "fall of Babylon" actually refer to the great symbolic "final battle" when truth prevails over falsehood, when good prevails over evil that masquerades as good, and when governments are given over to the people, to the humble and "meek" who shall inherit the earth.
But it’s not a carnal war fought with lethal weapons, because the weapons of the Lord are not carnal or lethal. They are, however, mighty through God for pulling down even the greatest stronghold of military power -- the symbolic "Babylon."
But, the nation that epitomizes Babylon will not literally "fall." What it represents, which is rule by the wealthiest few who live by the sword (gun and bomb) to maintain and expand their power, wealth and domain, will be reformed. The crown fell from the last"king" who ruled from the Christian year 2001 to 2009 because his head swelled too much with arrogance, and he was a deceptive and extremely harmful pretender to the throne.
President Barack Obama is a much-needed transition leader, because at heart he is a peacemaker. And, in due time, the nations and governments that were infected and ruled by "the spirit of the Antichrist" will begin to be reformed as the message from the Spirit of truth is widely spread and accepted.
You see, a new reformation is necessary because much of the world is infected, diseased and divided by many false political beliefs that cause inequitable and terribly unfair income disparity, poverty, hunger, and homelessness in many nations of the world, and even in America.
Much of the world is also infected by many misguided religious beliefs that cause frustration, repression, guilt, oppression, rebellion, as well as anxiety, fear, conflict, violence, death and destruction. That is quite obvious to anyone who watches the news and is aware of what's going on in the world. That is why the world so desperately needs the truth about religion, told with spiritual authority.
Nothing could be more absurd than the idea that God would actually and purposely destroy "his/her" children and creation. That idea was created by human beings who thought it was a good idea to portray God as a jealous, vindictive, almighty Super-Man-God who would destroy all those who did not obey "Him." But that is an erroneous idea originally designed to create and maintain obedient subjects of church-state authority.
God is the Great Spirit-Parent, but God does not control nature, and God does not control us. We have free will, and nature is driven by cause and effect, the cause being not God, but natural circumstances created by the natural movements and vibrations of the earth, the solar system, and the universe. And, since the 20th Century when Man developed the ability to impact the earth with poisons and weapons of mass destruction, nature has been negatively altered and the impact on our world has been devastating in a myriad of ways.
The vain folly of Man is the main problem. For while many people have been led to believe that God is the "sole cause" of everything and is therefore both creator and destroyer, that is not really true. God does not harm or kill people.
It can definitely seem so because of the natural karmic laws of reciprocity and cause and effect. However, the main reason people are being killed is because of the folly and error of corrupt, misguided, deluded human beings, or because of the earth’s reaction to the disharmony and harm caused by it, and not because of the "will" of God. After all, the sun shines on both good people and bad people, just as the rain falls on both.
Right-wing religious leaders push the false doctrine and the false idea of an apocalyptic "end times" on society in order to:
1) exploit the gullibility, fear and guilt of as many people as possible in order to recruit more members to their blind flocks;
2) exploit the egotism of their blind flocks, leading them to believe they will be "saved from the coming destruction" because they are "holier than all the godless unbelievers"; and
3) profit immensely from it through their "religious" services, television shows, and books.
As is stated in other articles, Jesus of Nazareth, the original bleeding-heart liberal progressive, warned us of such hypocrites. And if he could be here, he would once again rebuke and scold them. He would again expose the hypocrites who pray for the ears of men and claim to do many wonderful works in the name of the Lord, when they actually serve Mammon and work iniquity. So the modern son of man has done so in his stead.
Of course, bigoted, hypocritical Christian leaders are certainly not the only leaders causing trouble in the world, because there are bigoted, hypocritical Muslim leaders and Jewish leaders who are even worse. But the false Christians are largely to blame, because for three decades they have antagonized much of Islam and continued to empower Israeli Zionists.
That is why there are so many misguided, violent and militant leaders of groups claiming to be Muslims. They have very legitimate and valid grievances against the U.S. and Israel, but they don’t realize that in resorting to murder and even indiscriminate mass murder, they betray Allah and ignore crucial points made by Muhammad in the Qur’an.
Even so, in that respect, they are much like the hypocritical, militant leaders of Israel, and much like George W. Bush when he was President of the U.S., because they all claim that God is on their side, and they all claim to be fulfilling the will of God when they actually betray God and humanity. And even President Obama betrays God and humanity by allowing unjust and unnecessary killing by U.S. Military forces who, like Israeli Military forces, are able to condone it as "collateral damage."
Of course, there are many other leaders around the world that are just as wrong and just as deluded with self-importance and self-righteousness, like certain leaders in certain countries like Russia, China, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Eritrea, Burma (Myanmar), Iran, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya. The list of offending governments is long, but ALL those causing division, conflict, violence, death and destruction are wrong.
That is why we must reform and empower the United Nations so that it becomes representative of a true family of nations, with an effective peace keeping force made up of good soldiers from every nation, integrated together in every unit. For just as all the American states are protected by the United States Government, so should all nations be protected by the United Nations.
A reformation of all all national governments has become necessary so that they are truly of, by, and for the people. No more big brother, no more monarchial heads of state, no more oligarchies, no more imperialism, no more neo-imperialism (which is more subtle but deceptive and just as exploitive), no more tyranny, and no more dictatorships.
The people must be granted power, and share it to determine their collective destiny together, and use the common wealth for the common good.
When all people get the message, we will all realize that our differences in culture, religion, race, etc., are what make the world interesting. We will learn to welcome and celebrate our diversity. And after the reformation of government and religion we will have good government, and we will resolve international conflicts and deal with all the international and domestic problems that have been getting so out of control.
Environmental and Practical Specifics
We will get serious about protecting our environment, and stop enabling polluters. We will properly regulate corporations, businesses and companies so that they no longer pollute our air, ground and water, require and ensure that they do everything possible to clean up what they have made foul, and stop harmful methods for the production of food, goods and energy production.
We will get serious about stopping the emission of “greenhouse gasses” and do everything possible to stop global warming. For even though polluting corporations have hired or bribed “scientists” to dismiss the warnings of more honest scientists, we must acknowledge the truth. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies has produced a report on break-through global warming research that shows that the fate of humanity and nature depends on recognizing and correcting human behaviors and practices that cause the problem. And researchers at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Zurich developed a more efficient analysis of contributors to global warming and found that man-made causes can now be linked with at least 75 percent of global warming.
We will shut down nuclear power plants (unless and until we can make them truly safe), require sufficient safeguards and emissions controls on oil and coal burning plants, stop commercial fishing practices that sweep and damage the ocean floor, do everything possible to stop poisoning our waters with mercury and other harmful chemicals, impose steep fines for polluting the ocean and waterways with debris, increase our recycling efforts to include all the waste from residential and industrial sources, stop private and commercial shipping from polluting the ocean with waste, and other such things.
We will also reverse the trends that have brought about the growing crises regarding the food and water supplies all over the world.
The problem has been unchecked greed, deregulation, "globalization," and corporate monopolization, which has enabled the wealthiest few to get much wealthier while the vast majority of people in the world have become increasingly less secure, and many suffer. And it’s because the global marketplace is driven by the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO), which mainly serves American corporate power.
The so-called "free trade" agreements they’ve managed to establish may have been well meaning, but they really amount to free rein and license for huge corporate conglomerates and agri-businesses. That has been disastrous in many ways, especially to family farms in America, and in many countries around the world. For example, in the 1940s there were about forty million farmers in America, and now there are about two million because giant, powerful corporate agribusinesses have taken over and have been given more and more power over the food supplies.
Corporate globalism was sold to us as something that would be good for everyone, but that was not true. The more that agriculture and food production and distribution is controlled by growing corporate monopolies, the fewer family farms we will have, the greater the food scarcity, the higher the food prices, and the more people will go hungry. The rates of inflation we are seeing now in food prices worldwide is the result of the global integration of the food economies under the dominance of the WTO.
In early 2002 the son of man published a book that warned that to let this "go on unchecked and uncontrolled, we could also unwittingly allow the creation of agribusiness monopolies that could eventually control the whole world’s food and water supply. While that may appear cynical, it is not if we consider the history of corporate power. It is a very real possibility that we must consider and guard against."
He was quite right, and growing numbers of people have now realized it.
Now we should realize the great value of family farms and orchards, as well as the value of backyard gardens. We should realize the value of growing and/or harvesting much of our own food, organically and naturally, so we can eat fresh, local, good food, free of poisonous pesticides, and free of food additives, so we can stop killing ourselves for convenience sake. We should choose to have a good life, rather than an easy, convenient life with so much contaminated processed food.
Regarding the growing water crisis, we should realize that industrialized corporate agriculture requires ten times more water to produce the same amount of food than ecological family farming does. Industrial agriculture has depleted water resources, and as our water supplies have become polluted and depleted, certain industrial giants saw a way of making huge profits by privatizing it. They bought up local water supplies, and they began bottling water. And they sold the idea that they were doing you a favor and giving you safe, clean water. But it has had disastrous consequences, not the least of which is the problem of discarded plastic water bottles. Like plastic bags, they are a disaster. So we must realize that re-usable water containers are a much wiser choice, and we can filter our own water if need be.
We will also deal with many other problems, and realize how harmful the culture of materialism has been, especially since it was fostered, instigated and perpetuated by the forces of greed and self-interest. It has created a corrupt corporate culture that puts profits above all else. It puts the desire for quick profits above concerns for safety, and above concerns for the environment. And that mentality has been demonstrated time after time by many giant corporations. It is part of the corrupt corporate culture.
That culture is not only dangerous and harmful to us and the environment. It has been at the expense of the public. And it pervades society.
Another form of it is reflected in a "star" based culture in which individuals become sports and entertainment "celebrities." It justifies their being "worthy" of incredible wealth beyond our wildest dreams. The commercial news media loves to print and broadcast stories about them, from the most excessively wealthy ones to the most bizarre ones, under the guise of news and entertainment.
It is a culture that appeals to our lower base tendencies toward gossip and voyeurism, which is why some people are fascinated by it. But, in time we will realize what that culture has wrought, and what it does to us, especially our impressionable children and youth.
On another, even more crucial front, we will finally help to heal people who are affected by mental illness and suffer from delusion or rage or despair or fear -- people who tend to, or are at risk of, acting out. After all, there are now many insane or mentally ill or disturbed people, even though their illness usually makes them think they are more sane than the rest of us. Many of them are out on the street because of the Republican trend that Ronald Reagan started back in the Sixties as Governor of California. He claimed that government "couldn’t afford" to care for them, so, if they could possibly be deemed "harmless to society," they were put out on the street regardless of how mentally ill they were. And that trend was followed all across the country.
We need to help all deluded people get well, but we especially need to help severely deluded people get well, and provide a safe place for them and protect them from themselves, because too many have killed others during their mad plunge to self-destruction.
But, to really help them, we must establish or enhance effective intervention and prevention outreach programs, and treatment programs. That means we must invest appropriately and sufficiently in such programs. We must also remove the stigma of mental illness treatment, and educate society about the benefits and need of therapeutic clinical treatment for those whose minds are deluded or not at peace. It is crucial and imperative that we make such treatment available to all who need it, and try our best to identify those who need it, in order to prevent them from acting out their self-destructive, harmful, and sometimes even murderous tendencies.
Along with that, we must train mental health professionals to recognize if and when people have legitimate legal grievances, so they can provide adequate referral to government agencies that should and will address those grievances. This is crucial since it has become increasingly obvious that there have been growing numbers of people who are mentally disturbed because of a very valid response to being deeply offended or wronged by some person or some agency or company or corporation. We really need to help people who have seriously been wronged for whatever reason, because we have been failing terribly in that regard. We have not ensured that there is fairness and justice for all. That's one of the reasons why there are so many frustrated and desperate people in America and many other countries in the world.
That problem has been made worse America by right-wing "conservatives" who have for the last 30 years been able to sell the idea that people should be "self-reliant" and not depend on government. We must see through that deceptive and misleading rhetoric, recognize that it’s a ruse, and ensure that we finally use the common wealth for the common good. But, in order to do that, we must require that the wealthy finally pay their fair share of taxes.
We will also reverse the Reaganite/Bushite trend to turn more and more public institutions and enterprises into privatized, for profit businesses (as opposed to public and non-profit). This is a very popular idea among very rich right-wing Republicans, because when they invest money in privatized for profit institutions that were formerly public non-profits, it usually brings a guaranteed return of huge profits for them and top executives.
This issue is very important, because in America this trend has affected practically all aspects of our lives. There are now many hospitals, medical facilities, schools, prisons, and many other such institutions that had previously been public and non-profit but have become (or are becoming) privatized, for profit businesses. This has given rich people many more opportunities to gain great profits for an investment without any risk. That’s why plans are being made to increase and expand this trend even further. It opens the door even wider to enable the very rich few to reap huge financial gains, and it ensures that the redistribution of wealth continues to heavily favor the wealthiest few.
That’s why there are now many more Millionaires and Multi-Millionaires in America, and it’s why the number of Billionaires in America has increased from only thirteen in 1980 to several hundred today. The wealthiest one percent of the population has grown absurdly more wealthy, while every one else has become less and less financially secure, the middle class has shrunk, more and more fall into the working poor population, and poverty, hunger and homelessness increase.
We must reverse this trend because our goal should be to achieve the greatest good possible for the greatest number of people possible. That’s a real Christian value, and it’s the human ideal, but it’s something we’ve lost sight of, especially during the 30 years since Reaganism and Bushism distorted the values and priorities of so many people.
That’s why it is time now for the American people to awaken from our complacency, and remove the wool that has been pulled over our eyes. It is time to reestablish proper values and priorities, and use the common wealth for the common good.
Of course, there is a place for capitalism and private enterprise. A reasonable, fair, and equitable economic system could include ample opportunity for it. But, instead of continuing making more things privately owned and for-profit, we should reverse that trend and make more things publically owned and non-profit --- like our transit systems; the postal system; public education, etc. In fact, all institutions that are really necessary to everyone should be publicly owned and non-profit, such as public schools; community colleges; state universities; utilities; infrastructure building and maintenance; hospitals; health care facilities; medical clinics; pharmaceutical companies; prisons; mortuaries, and all other necessary institutions with necessary public roles and purposes. This would greatly reduce the cost of all these things, because all the "cream" wouldn’t be scraped off the top in profits for wealthy private owners and investors. Instead, all the people would invest through fair, equitable taxes.
Now, another issue is the population growth. That has become a problem, so, in the future we will achieve the goal of zero population growth, which was recognized decades ago as an important issue but has recently been ignored. But, there are many problems associated with overpopulation, like water and energy shortages, traffic congestion, affordable housing shortages, hunger, poverty, homelessness, etc.
It will help when families limit their offspring to two children — unless they adopt children, and/or need extra hands to work on family farms and small family businesses. It will help when we decentralize industry, big business and government, giving people less reason to crowd together in cities and large metropolitan areas. It will also help when we make "deserts into new gardens," when new technologies allow new human communities and new industrial and agricultural zones where they have heretofore not been possible or practical.
It will also help if we initiate land reform, to open up lands to homesteading where appropriate, and to ensure there is no more inappropriate use or misuse of land, or the holding of useful land by miserly speculators who don’t use it for anything but as a future profit-making asset. We must be good, wise stewards of this earth, looking at the big picture with long-range vision.
Of utmost importance is that we stop polluting the earth and its water systems, including underground aquifers, and clean up what we have made foul. For even though some scientists have assumed that we’ve already polluted our oceans, lakes, rivers, and underground waterways to such an extent with oil, chemicals, plastics, toxins, bacteria and other pollution that it will eventually cause the extinction of all life on the planet, we believe we will develop the technology to turn it around. We believe we will not merely stop the thoughtless, careless polluting and ensure that industry no longer creates conditions under which "accidental" pollution can occur. We will make the polluters clean up our environment, and especially the waters of the earth.
We can also help people even in remote places in the world who have been allowing their wildlife habitat and their environment to be destroyed due to irresponsible logging and fishing practices that are based on profit-making at the expense of everything and everyone else. We can take responsibility for our planet, educate those who are ignorant of the ecological realities, and be good stewards of the worldwide environment. And we will be able to do that because the financial resources that are now squandered and wasted on militarism will be used for more constructive and creative purposes. That is, we will turn "swords into plowshares."
We can especially protect our remaining old growth forests. For even though some nations and states have established laws that stop lumber and wood products companies from continuing the horribly destructive logging practices of the past, some have not, and those that have established such laws have not done enough. One has only to drive on many of our roads and highways in America to see the huge ugly scars caused by clear cuts of huge areas in our forests. Those clear cuts of trees destroy wildlife habitat, damage watershed, cause erosion, and are painful to the eye.
It hurts to see them because we know it’s wrong, especially when there is no excuse for clear cutting any more -- not when there are now more reasonable alternatives that include selective harvesting of mature trees in second growth forests, without clear cutting. And should be no clear cutting and even any logging in the remaining pristine old growth forests. Moreover, there is no longer any excuse to cut down evergreens in our forests in order to make paper products, because there are now tree farms producing fast-growing trees like Poplars for that purpose, and that practice will increase. And that, along with increased and more effective programs for recycling paper and cardboard will help tremendously.
Furthermore, we can reform all of our methods of food production and stop and prevent the harmful production methods practiced by large corporate businesses that have monopolized the food production industry, not only putting most family farms out of business, but also putting family fishing boats out of business.
We can ensure that the most natural and least harmful production methods are used, and that the industry is driven not by the lust for the greatest profits, but by the desire to provide the most rewarding employment to people and the most healthy food for people, in ways that are sustainable and protective of the ecosystem and the environment.
Speaking of food, as you may know, there are those who are fighting hard to eliminate meat-eating. We understand why, and they have some good reasons. For one thing, a vegetarian diet can provide ample protein when it contains a ratio of one part legumes to four parts grains or seeds, and it can prevent many diseases. However, we should realize that a strict vegetarian diet lacks some nutrition, and it originated in the world for several reasons. For some people, the reason was spiritual, to avoid sacrificing animals for food. But other reasons were the scarcity or lack of wild game, and growing populations in certain countries like India made animal husbandry less practical than agriculture. And, while we think vegetarian food is good for us and the planet, we do not think eating meat is wrong. In fact, meat can be considered a gift from God and from the animal who gave its life to feed us. All life lives and dies for specific reasons, and many forms of life eat other forms of life for sustenance. It’s a fact of life.
However, it is a huge problem the way meat (beef, pork, chicken, lamb, etc.) is produced and brought to market. It’s not just cruel and inhumane. It’s just stupid the way animals and fowl are raised and fed and medicated and treated. It’s not good for them or us. If they were raised naturally and allowed free range on natural grass and natural organic foods, and not fed anything extra or artificial to "fatten them up," it would be alright. For we should respect animals, and give thanks to them and God when we sacrifice them as "burnt offerings," as the scriptures say.
We also have to realize that producing the grain that is now used to feed farmed animals to produce fat-laced meat requires vast amounts of water. We should also realize that the escalating loss of wildlife habitat, the destruction of ancient rainforests, the loss of top soil, and the increase of water impurities and air pollution, are in large part caused by creating more pasture lands for livestock for meat in the human diet. So we should eat less meat, in reasonable portions, and be humane and sensible in our food production methods, for the sake of animals, for the sake of the planet, and for our sake.
However, speaking of animals, we must also say that in the U.S. we have become overly protective of certain wild animal predator populations like coyotes, wolves, bears and mountain lions, to the detriment of many people and their pets and livestock. Many people have lost their pets to coyotes or wolves, farmers have lost livestock, and people have had their property destroyed by bears. More and more people have experienced more and more problems caused by increasing populations of wild animals.
The federal and state governments have been too influenced by the efforts of some wild animal advocates who’s intentions may be good, but their agenda is misguided and naive. Consequently, wild animal predator populations have increased in some mountainous and rural areas to such an extent that they have become not only terrible nuisances and lethal threats to pets and livestock, but even dangerous threats to human safety. They are now even encroaching into urban areas. We must act now to control and reduce wild animal predator populations, even if we have to resort to putting bounties on them to do so. And we need to be the "predators" who keep the deer, elk, and other populations under control to maintain ecological balance.
Let’s face it, the entire ecosystem has changed compared to what it was long ago, so it is impractical and simply unreasonable to try to turn back time in that sense. We must be good stewards of this earth, but we must also fulfill our responsibility with wisdom and common sense. We must be fully aware of all the consequences of our actions, and not be persuaded by people who have allowed their good feelings about wildlife to impair their reasoning and cloud their judgment — because some of them have become extremely unreasonable and self-righteous.
Regarding health care, we can ensure that all people have the benefit of universal, public, non-profit health care. It should be a human right, paid for by taxing citizens according to their ability to pay. And the definition of medicine should include natural, herbal medicines, and physicians should be fully trained in their use. In other words, what has been considered "alternative" medical treatment should become traditional.
Regarding transportation, gasoline powered vehicles will gradually and naturally be phased out, and all automobiles will eventually be powered by electricity or hydrogen. High speed rail will ease the burden on airlines, and railroads will have two modes of transportation, one slower for freight, and one fast for passengers. Wherever possible, the two will be above and below each other, so as to remove the need for creating more space and using more land. In America, the "deregulation" policies that have only made things much worse for airline passengers, pilots and crews, for example, will become obsolete, and proper regulation will improve the situation immensely.
Now, with regard to our religious beliefs, it is important to understand that religions should do what they are supposed to do. For what we need most is mutual respect, empathy, compassion, charity, and the feeling of universal kinship and love. Religious doctrines inconsistent with that should be rescinded by organized religions, because those with contrary doctrines really have not produced societies that are better behaved than societies in which people freely choose atheism or agnosticism.
For example, most people in Denmark and Sweden do not go to church, and do not believe in heaven or hell. But, by most accounts, they're nice to one another. They have an expansive welfare and health care service, and a strong commitment to social equality. The rates of child abuse are far lower than in America, and the rates of murder and rape are lower than in America. And Denmark and Sweden aren't exceptions. Other studies of the 18 largest democracies in the world found that less influence by organized religion tends to mean lower child abuse rates, relatively lower murder and suicide rates, and relatively low incidence of abortion and teen pregnancy.
That is why the son of man submits that the theocratic leaders of the so-called "religious right," whether they claim to be Christians or Muslims or Jews, are simply misguided and do not know the truth of the very real God. They have distorted their religions, and given religion a bad name and turned many people off to it. And that is why he recommends a reformation of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam).
The fact is that we the people have the right and the power to create good government, ensure our equality and freedom, protect and clean up our environment, protect our human rights and civil liberties, and ensure that our health and welfare are of the utmost concern.
But, it will not happen overnight. As Jesus was accused of blasphemy by religious authorities in his day, and some people ridiculed him as a fool, so it has been and probably will still be for awhile with the current son of man. As prophesied, he has been and still is rejected by his generation and by most people, mainly because those who profit from the present political-economic system have misled many, and they do not want to face the truth. In fact, they deny it and call it a lie. And, even after many people do recognize the truth, there may still be some who fight it.
It is impossible to know how long it will take before it is generally known and accepted by the vast majority that this message is intended, designed, and will ultimately serve to end the conflict and division and make life far better for everyone on earth. Let us hope that enough people will get the message soon and understand why we must adopt the new way to choose our leadership, which will produce more democratic and truly representational government.
If you read the whole message and recognize the truth in it, please understand that innovative ideas have always been rejected at first ... often for a long time. Be patient and understanding of those who cannot or will not see, and have courage and faith.
We shall indeed overcome.