Question 6l4x1g

Copyright 2013 P. Campbell. All rights reserved.

This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the writer.

ISBN: 9781483510811

In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense; and have no other preliminaries to settle with the reader, than that he will divest himself of prejudice and prepossession, and suffer his reason and his feelings to determine for themselves; that he will put on, or rather that he will not put off the true character of a man, and generously enlarge his views beyond the present day.

— Thomas Paine, Common Sense, Philadelphia, 1776

There is a planet in our universe that we can’t see through a telescope. It looks a lot like ours, but this planet’s inhabitants live in harmony. There are no wars, no poverty, and no hunger or crime. Its people are mature, free from petty jealousies and imagined differences. They live in peace with each other and with nature. We all know where it is. It’s in our dreams. It could be our reality.

I was two months into a planned year or so of traveling in the Western United States, when I found myself in Northern California, and the idea for this book occurred to me. At the time, I was nestled in the base of a giant redwood tree. These gentle giants live for thousands of years and once covered most of these coastal regions before the loggers arrived. Like most people who see them up close for the first time, I was impressed by their natural beauty and size. If you have seen them you know that many are hollow at the base, and this is where I was settled. Snug as a bug in a rug, as the saying goes.

Redwoods are the Earth’s tallest trees. Once in America’s beautiful northwest they covered over two million acres. I found that they exude a simple, natural majesty that I had not experienced before; to me they appeared as both wise and humble at the same time. I wondered what they had seen in their lifetimes, what they had learned. They didn’t answer, after all, trees can’t speak, they didn’t have to. I answered for them.

I imagined what their lot had been like before the original Indians lived amongst them, and then later, when the first European settlers arrived, then the loggers, and so on until today. I stayed in the area for five months, walking and sitting among them, making notes from the thoughts and ideas that came to me, and I started writing this book.

I was sad that many of them were sacrificed to build San Francisco and other nearby towns and cities. I felt their hope that in the future they would be spared from the altar of human greed. I imagined their history, starting from when they

were first small seeds, and I realized that I was also thinking . Us, you and me. Humans. We have similar problems seemingly out of our control: the way we live and those who purport to lead us who are damaging society and the planet—our only home. Luckily, we are not trees. If we decide to do so, we can control how we act as a society, and we can do it now, before it is too late. We can learn from how we have reached this point in our history and change our direction. If we do nothing, we shall perish, taking much of innocent nature with us. Governments, military industrial complexes, endless wars, tax collectors, multinational corporations, secret agencies, criminals, organized religions, and our own greed and selfishness have taken control over our lives.

The good news is that it’s not too late to reverse the process if we work together. To guarantee our survival we need a new societal model to replace our current one. Our new society needs to be equal and fair to all. To do this, we must first understand how things became this way from the beginning and understand why we consume needlessly, pollute endlessly, fight wars, and, in truth, care so little for others. This will be one of the most controversial books you ever read. Nevertheless, I promise you, to the best of my knowledge and belief, that everything I have written is the truth.

For some time I have felt that our civilization is seriously out of kilter, our society unbalanced and unfair. I believe that if we don’t do something soon and sort out these problems, we, and our world, are going to be in very serious trouble. I have been working on a solution and have written this book to explain my ideas of how to make our world better, ideas that will change the course we have been following and assure our future happiness. I have found that our main problem is that the societal model we have now is not equal, it is a fact, that it is grossly unfair to most people, and this point is very important to understand, it was designed to be that way a long time ago. This book has two purposes: the first is to explain how this happened, the second is to suggest a change to our current system to one that it is fair for all people, everywhere, while we are still able to do so. I believe the time has come for plain speaking and action.

Over the last five years I have studied the significant areas of our culture, looked at where we are going if we maintain our present course, and predicted the results that I believe will occur if we don’t change course. When Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense—just before America declared its independence—he believed that America would finally present an opportunity for ordinary people to live in a democracy chosen by all Americans. Unfortunately, his hopes were in vain. Americans are not free, they are controlled, just as most humans have been all over the world for thousands of years, controlled by a very small minority. Those of us who live in the Western world are told we live in a democracy, it is our mantra, our holy grail, which most of us believe despite obvious evidence to the contrary. No ordinary citizen anywhere is free. We are all controlled expertly. This statement may surprise you, and I have no doubt, will upset many, but it’s validity will become evident as you read further. The facts of our civilization, our culture, are disturbing; they strike at the very base of what we believe to be the bedrock of our system of government and society. Those to blame are the very people to whom we have been trained to look to for guidance and nurturing: government and organized religion. Many of you, especially those in the United States and Western Europe, will likely find this hard to believe, those in the Eastern parts of our world, not as much I feel, they know they are controlled. I ask you to read this book with an open mind, then it’s up to you if you think some things should change.

What I have to say may cause you some anxiety, but none of us should be afraid of the truth. When we all understand our situation fully, we can change it, if we act together, we can have that power. It is up to each of us, individually, to decide if we have the courage to use it. In the end every one of us can benefit from having what we all were told we already had; democracy, truth and freedom.

I assure you that the facts in this book are accurate. For some of you, confronting them will be a bridge too far. However, for us to survive, we have to challenge myths with facts, no matter how painful and disturbing the answers are initially. It has to be done, we really have no choice. Those that rule us are beyond their abilities, and we have no control of our destiny while it is in their hands.

Our immediate problem is that those who rule us today are rapidly running out of ways to manage the chaos and destruction they have caused. Their system is failing and will implode shortly. As we can see already, most countries in the West are now bankrupt, and our leaders have no answer that will work, as our world is quickly changing in a way they did not consider or understand until it was too late. China, the rest of Asia and Russia will not play their game, and we in the West are rapidly loosing our competitiveness, influence and financial stability.

The answer to our problems is Democracy. Yes, I know you think we already have it, this book will show we don’t.

You can decide for yourself if you want to continue to accept a scheme that controls our world for the benefit of a few, or help change it for a fair system for all. It is not too late: we can take control of our lives and our home, this still beautiful planet Earth, or we can do nothing but hope and pray and witness its destruction. It’s your choice.

To understand why and how this has happened we need to investigate how we got into this mess, then, and only then, we can take action. To start, I ask you to listen to facts, not rhetoric and dogma, and think things through for yourself. If we don’t effect change today, we won’t have a choice tomorrow. There is a way forward I have been working on, a plan that I believe will work for all of us, for the purposes of this book I have named it OneUs. It is based on facts, equality and fairness for everyone everywhere, and, above all, it is Democratic.

Most of us have some questions about what is happening in our world today: with its endless financial crises, unemployment, wars, crime, and ever decreasing living standards. We live in a world where the majority of the world’s population exists in hunger, poverty, and despair, remaining hidden from our

television screens in the undeveloped parts of our world, lacking hope for a fair life, feeling helpless, and in many cases, being controlled by despots and totalitarian regimes. I believe it is time our society changed, and that this can be done in a fair way for everyone, if we act intelligently. There is an alternative to the status quo. A chance to change our world into a place where everyone can be proud and happy to live.

There is something we must do first, if we are to succeed: we must accept as fact that the world cannot survive with selfishness as its mantra.

To begin, let’s look at our relationships with the areas of our society that we currently take for granted as being the pillars of our society: Politics, Religions and Big Business. It is here that we will find the root of the problems we face. We must ask why is there so much controversy, conflict, war, poverty, pollution, debt and starvation? Why do we personally have so many problems, debt and such high taxes? And how has this happened?

Finally we should ask ourselves what we would like our new society to be.

After five years of searching, the answer I found was simple and right in front of me all along. It took a while to uncover because, as with many of us, I was told from birth that some things are unquestionable facts that we have to accept. What I found wrong with our society was the idea that those in government and religion know what is best for our good, and that they work for our benefit. The opposite I have found is true. We are, instead, controlled by a sham democracy that does not work, by a societal structure that is destroying any hope for a secure, peaceful future, and by differences, such as nationalism, religion and language, that do not have to be divisive. We are controlled by a belief in gods who do not exist and trust in a class of people who insist they know better than we do. If we continue on this path, nature, our planet, and ourselves will be destroyed sooner rather than later. If you doubt this, simply open your eyes, your

brain and heart and look at the what is happening to us and our world today. One argument or misunderstanding that get’s out of control could lead to a catastrophic nuclear war. In the West, every country is or will be bankrupt soon, our living standards will plummet and our masters will live in Asia.

There has been much talk recently about the situation in Greece. Will they default, stay in the Euro, or will they be like the rest of the West’s economies and continue to pretend to pay their way? , , Great Britain, the rest of Europe and America are lecturing the bad boys of Europe that they must mend their ways and act responsibly, yet they are all essentially in the same boat. Greece is bankrupt, but so are Italy, the UK, Portugal, Spain, and Ireland and the USA, as are most of the rest of the countries in the West. They all just print money, with nothing tangible to back it up but blind faith. If our central banks couldn’t print money, we would all be penny-less, yet we are asked to accept that the same people who got us into this mess, our governments, are the ones who can rescue us. It is time to ask an important question, should we allow those who got us in this mess to continue to control us, or, are we going to do something sensible about it and change the system while we can?

A 1975 US dollar is worth twenty cents today because inflation is the only way most western governments can balance their budgets. That’s 80 cents less than it was forty years ago. The American budget deficit for this year is over One Trillion dollars for a country of just over three hundred million people. With no credible plan in place, and politicians who act as if they don’t care if we reduce the annual deficit or not, it can only grow. Inflation may help balance a nation’s budget, but it harms the average citizen trying to be prudent and save along with our nations trading abilities, and cannot work effectively in the long run, as the countries we trade with are financially stronger than us. Our politicians are not telling us the truth as they continue to use temporary measures to cover these problems, hoping these issues will resolve themselves, but the facts are evident if we look closely, and they are not good. The Western economies are struggling now, but it will become much, much worse unless we do something about it soon. We are going to lose any semblance of our way of life, and by then, the balance of world power will have changed to China and the East, where even a

semblance of democracy is not important to those in control.

To get to the bottom of all this, the questions we have to ask are, how did this happen? and why are we in this mess? The answers are: power and control in our society is vested in a few who are working to a plan we do not know exists and that plan does not work in today’s world.

A thousand years ago it was not difficult for our rulers us to control large populations: our masters in those days used physical force and religious coercion whenever it was necessary to keep us in line. Later, in our history, as we became able to demand some basic rights, they invented what we now call democracy, which gives us the illusion of being in control of them, we call them our government, an illusion that we are represented by someone we chose, who looks after and represents our interests. The problem is they don’t. The big, national parties of the West are the only players in the game. We believe that there is a difference between them and we have some influence over them, we don’t, there is no significant difference between them. It’s just semantics. A game we play, but it’s their game. They have control. If you believe there is a tangible difference between any of the major political parties of any country in the West you are mistaken, they are all interchangeable. We need to stop playing their game: it’s our time for Democracy, with a capital D, one where we all have our say. This time we all win. There game has to stop.

OneUs

The plan I have is for a democracy where we vote on issues, not politics and people. It is time to stop being divided, to stop fighting and killing people just because our leaders say they are bad. It is time to refuse to believe someone else in a different country is for some reason an evil person who should be mistrusted. It is time to spend our time and money on families and those less fortunate than us, and not on armed forces and selfishness. It is time to put

people and our planet first. It is time to think for ourselves and act as one.

Probably the most damaging issue facing us is war. Wars cost more than just money: we all know that. It costs the lives of both our own troops and the troops of our stated enemies, along with our economies. We can ensure that war is always the very last option. Wars cost honor, truth, our lifestyle as well as the people killed and injured and the carnage done. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have bankrupted America and Britain, and have killed more citizens on both sides than any of us imagined or expected. These wars have escalated religious bigotry, both in the Middle East and America to new heights; and no end is in sight to the length and costs, both human and financial, that these conflicts continue to require. In future there should be a United Nations that allows only democratically governed nations to be . An honest UN could create a force from member nations to police the free world if it were needed. If a government is not a democracy, it should not be a member of the UN and we should not trade with them. Every person deserves freedom and recognizing dictators and despots empowers them and gets in the way of allowing these countries to become democratic.

If American’s President Bush and UK Prime Minister Blair wanted to eliminate Saddam Hussein, who indeed was a tyrant by all s, they could have sent cruise missiles to all his known addresses, no matter how many, (I believe it was twenty-four) and that would have ended the problem. If he weren’t killed, he would have run and disappeared and hidden from the scene as he did before he was eventually captured later. It would have been very unfortunate that some innocent people may have been killed inadvertently, but the total would have been less than one-tenth of one percent of those killed in the Iraq War—a war that continues today. Our troops are still there, dying along with Iraqis, when it could have been handled differently and thousands of lives and billions of dollars saved along with our economies and honor. We should ask why invasion was necessary when a simple action would have sufficed if it were really needed? The answer of course, is our leaders need to show their power: ordinary people, even their own citizens, aren’t important. The cost of these actions both in Iraq and Afghanistan, has devastated the American and British economies and killed and injured thousands of people.

The greed of western manufacturers, who outsource manufacturing to developing countries to take advantage of low labor cost has led to high unemployment. Together with the recent chaos and theft in the financial sector, we are in very poor shape and unless we change our direction quickly, we cannot hope to survive in the open market.

The average hourly wage in China is 64c; in India, it is 90c. Both of these countries manufacture goods to a very high standard, but labor and safety laws remain very lax. In comparison, the average hourly wage in the United States is approximately $35; in , it is $47; and in the UK, it is $31. In the less industrialized European states, wages are lower: Greece $20; and Hungary $9. Most Europeans have weekends off and receive up to five weeks of paid holidays per year. Because of lower production costs in China and other developing countries, our own industries are taking advantage of the low manufacturing costs available there and making a fortune by selling their products in the West. At present our economies are damaged but still effective, the dollar, euro and pound are still accepted, but with manufacturing moving from the West we shall cease to be able to afford our present standard of living. A relative few in the West will prosper, but the average citizen will suffer and our economies will decline rapidly, as we are seeing already.

We have learned the hard way that our financial institutions believe that they can behave as if our money is theirs, they gamble with it. If they win; their senior employees profit the most; if they lose, we, those who trusted them, are the ones who pay. Manufacturers and bankers have been abusing us for years now, many of them are living in absolute luxury while the average citizen is struggling and our homes and savings are devalued. Increasingly, with the failure of our manufacturing abilities and devaluing of our currencies, our lifestyles are declining as well. We in the West have become used to our way of life. We feel we are special and protected, but we are not. We have to make fundamental changes now, or this decrease in our standard of living will accelerate. We must balance our imports with exports and get our financial sector in order, or face the prospect of bankruptcy and all that will bring.

To achieve this, we require democracy, a true, democratic, democracy, not the one we are told we have. It is time for a new direction: the time has come for us to take control of our society and our lives.

This book is not written for those who have presumed to rule us and who are very comfortable with the status quo. It is for everyone else: those of us who wake up on Monday morning wishing they did not have to spend their lives working in a position they resent, who feel they pay too much to the government, who are tired of the same games of politics, disasters, wars, other peoples’ bad news, and ever higher taxes. This book is for the elderly and sick person who knows that death is drawing closer and wonders what life was about. This book is for most of us who were not lucky enough to be born with a silver spoon in our mouths; it is for those who toil like mice on a treill and wonder whether we will ever get ahead of the bills, and where the next month’s rent is coming from.

The most important truth we have, is that when we are born, we are all equal and free, even if only for those first few seconds. Only as we grow does the sad reality of life and inequality take over for the majority of people on our planet. Wherever or whoever our parents are, no matter how rich or poor or powerful they are, such a factor must not influence our lives anymore. Everyone has a mother and father and is entitled to have an equal opportunity to be oneself; no one is superior to anyone else. Certainly we need to be an active member of society, but, and this is most important, no one other person is worth more than any other person. We are all one person and equal.

Those of us who live in the West, live with an illusion of democracy, in which a few have power over the majority; few of us are truly equal. In the rest of the world, even this illusion doesn’t exist; most people are controlled by force as we once were. It is time for change. This opportunity will not come again.

I shudder when I think of the dreadful thoughts that must have existed in someone’s mind to invent a system that has brought such sadness to others, a system in which a few exert such control over everyone else, while suggesting that they have only good intentions. They make fools of us for believing them. They succeeded only because they used overwhelming force, physical, mental, and societal. Today it is possible for us to build a society that is honest to everyone because we can communicate freely with each other and we have access to the truth. We must use the tool that provides us with this freedom and access while we can—the Internet. To achieve a truly free society, we must expose the darkness of our current system for what it is, or we will not survive. We in the Western world are on the brink of a financial meltdown of inconceivable proportions, and those in control—those who brought us to this point—will be the only ones to survive with any dignity.

Throughout our recent history the world has been consumed with power struggles, wars, famine, and religious hatred; however, when most ordinary people meet, our differences fall away and we get on well: we certainly don’t want to kill or hurt each other. We are all human, and we are all different in one way or another, which should be celebrated. The root cause of our problem is that over thousands of years, we have been divided by devious people with an agenda to control us, and they have been successful. They have done this with force and although we may feel we are divided now, we can use our knowledge of the truth to unite and refuse to be divided again. We can take control of our own destinies, and that is the mission of this book. It will take all of us who care to make it happen.

Recently, I was looking again at the first photographs of our planet taken from outer space. I wondered what a person ing by from another galaxy would imagine humans to be like. Would he think that, after all the time we have been here, we would still be fighting with each other, trusting no one but our own families, friends, and communities? Would they really expect that we, with our knowledge and abilities, would continue damaging one of the solar system’s most beautiful planets with pollution and overpopulation? Would they expect a small number of us to dominate the rest through lies, deception, and brute force? I don’t think so. I believe they would imagine us to be happy. They would

anticipate that we had learned long ago how to enjoy life together in paradise. We can make that vision a reality.

I want to share with you the ideas that grew from my time in the redwoods. My hope is that these ideas can lead to an end of the unjust system we currently live in. There is a way to change our world; we still have time. To do so, though, we must work together, intelligently and quickly. OneUs is like most good ideas— simple. It is a society that will benefit everyone equally, a society where we are in control of our own lives and destinies. In this new society each adult will have equal say on decisions that affect their lives.

It is important to that the truly wonderful things in life cost nothing— love, friendship, freedom, family, laughter, smiles, hope, comion, nature, mountains, valleys, sunsets, sunrises, oceans, and our society with others. We don’t need to do anything but nurture and enjoy them.

I believe the true definition of democracy is: When adults, having considered all the facts, devoid of misinformation, misrepresentation, and spin, render their opinion of what society needs by voting for it directly, then ensuring that it is implemented accurately.

At present, as you know, in the western world we vote for someone who represents a political party, and that candidate’s loyalty lies with that party. These parties are at the core of our problem; we believe we are in control of them, but we aren’t. From now on, we should decide on the issues that require action by ballot, and we should decide on the action necessary by voting for it directly, all of this with the help of a secure internet. There will be no need for parliamentary representatives; we can govern ourselves very efficiently, and at last, honestly. The process sounds simple because it is. Implementing it will require purpose, audacity, and determination. Those who rule us today will claim that it cannot work and that there is nothing wrong with the current system, they

are wrong, very wrong.

Once we in the western world establish freedom, ordinary people in other countries will want to follow our lead, and we will encourage them. The Middle East, Russia and Asia are in need of democracy, as is every undemocratic country. I believe they can attain it with our help, after all, they have more to gain. They are hungrier than we are, but they have a tougher path because their communication methods are not as accessible as ours and many are ruled by religious bigots and dictators. They are not used to believing that they have an individual voice, and they are completely brainwashed from birth, but we must hope that eventually truth will prevail.

The first and most important step is the creation of a democracy where we all decide what is to be done and then ensure that all our decisions are implemented. With modern communications and a free from government control internet, we can access and exchange accurate information without intrusion. We will demand that freedom to exchange information and ideas and access to a free Internet are fundamental rights, refusing to accept no for an answer from anyone for whatever reason.

We don’t need more politics. This book is not about political parties: OneUs is the antithesis of today’s politics, it has only one goal: to allow people to live how they wish in a society freely chosen by themselves, not by a few.

What I am asking you to do will not be easy, life’s changes usually aren’t. You’ll need to turn off the radio, television, and internet for a while. Put down your books and games; instead, sit, walk, run, climb, snooze, relax, or whatever you do to access your inner brain, your soul. None of us lives in this inner sanctum all the time; our lives are too busy. We return to it when we have a quiet moment to reflect or when something very important happens to us. Sometimes, we don’t go there for long periods of time, but we all need to do so now. In that part of our brain, most of us recognize that we are living a life that is not right for everyone

and that we are compromising ourselves. I started my period of reflection when I was surrounded by the peace of the redwoods, and my mind experienced the beginning of these thoughts and feelings. Today, we are finally capable of changing society, and the time has come to confront, examine, and understand what has happened to our civilization. Let’s determine ways through which we can reform the way we are living. We can change our lives and at the same time ensure that everyone, everywhere, experiences a good standard of living, while protecting our planet. We can, and will, be free from conflicts, wars, and deception; it is up to us. We must understand that no one will do this for us. If we don’t make these changes and continue on our current path, we will destroy this planet, soon.

So, where did it all go wrong? How did we get this way? To find out let’s examine our history. At the beginning of modern man, many thousands, possibly millions of years ago, probably somewhere in central Africa, the human race began. Because of our natural instinct, we mated and multiplied. Men, women and children came together to form families, and later communities, because we found life was easier for us when we lived and worked together. People enjoy each other’s company; as a species, humans are naturally friendly. Working together made it easier to secure food and shelter as we helped one another. We roamed and shared our kills, but sometimes we fought amongst ourselves and with other groups for various reasons. Often these disagreements stemmed from a lack of supply in basic needs, such as food, shelter, and water. Over time, these small groups grew and formed alliances with others, and over the years, villages developed, which then grew into towns and countries. For our size we humans have larger brains than other animals, and one of the reasons early humans were so successful was through the development of speech, which allowed us to communicate on a level superior to that of other animals and we eventually developed the ability to reason and rationalize, rather than just react to circumstances.

The unwritten rules of our current society began as a social lubricant to ease the friction of living together. A dominant person—usually a male because of his strength, not his intellect—became the leader. Over time, as these groups grew

larger, they eventually developed into countries and empires, many of those in charge, our leaders, decided to make their positions permanent. They styled themselves as Emperors and Kings, and they incorporated the development of organized religions in their domination. Eventually, the political and religious domination of the world began to take formal shape with the founding of the Mesopotamia and Sumerian civilizations six thousand years ago. Together they have continued to control us.

Considering humanity’s first tentative steps, we have walked a long journey to reach where we are today. However, it is this last step that has become the problem: civilization. Civilization has been very beneficial to those in power or with influence; however, the average person has not shared in this success. Research has shown that most people who lived in the year 1800 AD, just two hundred years ago, were no richer or healthier than those who lived in the year 10,000BC. Their diets were no better, they were no taller, and they did not live longer. This may be hard to believe, but it is true. We know about how people lived in recent history, and scientists have proved from discovered remains of humans from 12,000 years ago, that there were no major dietary or structural differences between ordinary people then and those in the eighteenth century, showing that the general population was poorly fed and lacked proper care during this time.

As humans one of our major weaknesses is that we are not as intelligent as we would like to believe. Our brains are roughly the same size now as thousands of years ago, yet it took our ancestors tens of thousands of years to invent the wheel, which today seems like a simple idea. We are able to develop existing theories, but we are not adept at inventing or imagining new ones, no matter how clever we think we are. No true groundbreaking technological achievements occurred until four or five hundred years ago. The steam engine came along only the day before yesterday in our historic timeline, but we had been watching water boil for tens of thousands of years. We are quite clever, but true excellence in brainpower (what we call “genius,” as evidenced by Darwin, daVinci and Einstein) occurs rarely.

Our civilization, our very way of life, is the cause of most of our problems. Those who control us are not fulfilling their stated obligation to our survival with sound decisions and knowledgeable actions. Their thoughts are focused on maintaining their power and control in an increasingly open and informed world where we can exchange information and question their methods. For them, an answer to these problems does not exist; the genie is out of the bottle and they are increasingly thwarted. It is now up to us to confront the problems we face, and to do that we need to move on to a more mature, equal society, or humanity will not survive in any form worth living. The only answer the current leaders offer is continued domination, the only model that benefits them, and the only one they will accept.

That would mean the end of us.

Before we embark on this journey, we must acknowledge a few things about ourselves if we are to be successful. Humans suffer from several unfortunate flaws: greed, impatience, violence, envy, and vanity. It does not matter how we acquired these flaws—whether they are inherited or learned behaviors—but it does matter that we recognize them and do something about them. At the very least, we need to control them.

In earlier times, humans resorted to violence out of necessity to secure food and shelter if it was scarce. Humans became greedy because of the need to store supplies of food and fuel for the future when supplies might become depleted. We became impatient because, without ample food and shelter, death was imminent. We became envious because if someone else had something necessary for us to survive, we wanted it for ourselves. Unfortunately, we have not learned any of the lessons of common sense from the past. Today, most people in the developed world don’t need to steal or control others to survive, yet theft, control, greed and vanity continue. Many people feel that if they don’t have everything they desire, they have failed. We don’t recognize that envy is a pointless emotion. Often, once we gain satisfaction, we find that the euphoria does not last long and one craving is quickly replaced with another. Fulfilling

material desires rarely brings long-term happiness, and life becomes an everincreasing circle of emptiness. For most people friendship, acceptance (of others and from others), family, and feelings of goodwill and happiness are all we need so long as we also have the basic necessities of life (food, water, shelter, etc.), and as long as we are free to make our own decisions, in other words, so long as we are not controlled.

Why should we covet land, fast cars, power and influence? Why do we want people to envy us when so many people have almost nothing in the undeveloped countries? People elsewhere are clinging to life by a thread, people who we can and should help, but, we don’t, because we want a new dishwasher. We should and must be better than that if our world is to be fair and flourish.

Families are the bedrock of a healthy society; wealth and power are not. In future, the priority should be that no one, anywhere in the world, who works or wants to work should be without the basics of life. Hopelessness and lack of education are the prime cause of drug use and criminal activity; in a fair society, we can help people help themselves to overcome these problems.

Today, even as we in the developed world measure others and ourselves by possessions, billions of people are starving, people who lack proper shelter and live without basic human rights. Many of these people are governed by those who gladly stand by and watch their fellow humans suffer and die from disease and malnutrition, all the while accepting bribes from governments and multinational corporations to guarantee access to mineral and oil resources. We have a responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves. They are the same as we are; we could easily have been born in their place. They were just unlucky enough to be born or live elsewhere. We are no better than they are; we just live in different locations and under different circumstances. It is our duty to ensure that all humans live in freedom with acceptable standards of living and hope. Stop for a moment and put yourself in their position, would you change place with them? Of course not.

Many of us believe that our particular country is special, that we have different traits and abilities than people born elsewhere. These thoughts are very divisive and have lead to mistrust and conflict. We are born where our mother was at the time of our birth—it’s that simple. None of us had any influence on the matter, and we should not draw any conclusions from it. Divisions are not in a just societies best interest: we need to confront and remove the divisions that separate us, which are part of the system that controls us, the powerful status quo. Division is their main weapon.

Many of you will find that what you are about to read challenges you. I ask you to read on and not to allow preexisting ideas to cloud your judgment. We have been controlled expertly, and we must move past it and allow the truth to prevail if we are to have any chance of survival. The power of myths has allowed others to gain control over us. The most powerful and basic control is the myth of the existence of a god. The second myth is that some people are better at running our lives and our planet than we are. This group of people is composed of organized religion, government and increasingly, big business.

Undoubtedly, the following thoughts will cause a problem among more of you than anything else I have written. Indeed, many of you will find the following statement of fact deeply disturbing; however, it must be stated and recognized, it is the truth.

God is a figment of someone’s imagination that we have been persuaded to believe is fact. It is not a fact. It is the cruelest deception ever invented by man, and it is used to control us, including our thoughts. It claims, among many other things, that we are evil, that only God is good, and that without Him, we are damned forever. Organized religion knows no bounds in its intention to control our lives and minds. Organized religions have used, and continue to use, any means available to them to control our deepest thoughts, and when combined with political control, this relegates most of us to servitude in one form or another.

To be your own person and to be free, you must accept truth as your guide, not a myth. We have to accept responsibility for our lives and decisions, not place that responsibility on a nonexistent entity.

There is no religious or spiritual world. Believing in one allows others to control us and has brought civilization and our world to the position we find ourselves in now.

The first recorded religion I have found is focused on a python snake some 70,000 years ago. It’s not surprising that people imagined a snake to be a god. It has special powers, considering that a small, slim creature with no legs could swallow a pig whole. Such an act would be considered magic today if one didn’t understand how it was possible. Over time, more gods were invented, and those people who purported to represent them gained much prestige and power that they still use today. Throughout recorded history, organized religions have been at the root of many of the problems the world has faced and still faces, including division, control, and increasing populations.

After organized religion was invented, it claimed our significant life events as its own: congregation, community with friends and neighbors, births, marriages, deaths, days of rest, and—most important of all—our souls, our inner beings, and our thoughts. Organized religions require that it control anything that has meaning in our lives.

In earlier times, we did not have the scientific evidence to show that the “facts” written in the holy texts relating to these religions were unfounded and inaccurate. Today we do, and for the first time in our history, we have the means to control our own destinies, free from religious intervention. We can prevent ourselves from being bullied into believing that someone is watching everything we do and that only religious officials can interpret what “He” says. The truth is that religion is based on myth; and it is used to subjugate us; it is nothing more.

Darwin has shown that what was written regarding how the world and animals, including humans, were formed in these texts is untrue, and science has confirmed his theory and continues to do so. There is no religious or spiritual world. We cannot allow ourselves to think one exists, as doing so has led to a system of control that, together with it’s bedmate, organized politics, will be the end of us.

To put it simply, religious myth has been used to control people over thousands of years. As humans, we can be both good and bad, but false truths do nothing to promote our good side. It is possible for a white lie to be acceptable if it does no real harm, but religion is not a white lie. This deception has been used, and continues to be used today, to dominate us. The fact that our world and everything in it was not created by a god is truth. For some, this is difficult to accept, and indeed, many people alive today may never accept this. Nonetheless, we cannot reach our potential and live in peace and harmony until we accept this as fact because it is the truth.

We are responsible for our actions. We all have a brain and we all have knowledge. Society must be based on truth. When we accept this, we can begin to control our own destiny.

“The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.”

—Benjamin Franklin

“Lighthouses are more useful than churches!”

—Benjamin Franklin

“Those who believe absurdities will commit atrocities.”

—Voltaire

“Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet.”

—Napoleon Bonaparte

“The church says the Earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church.”

—Ferdinand Magellan

“You can’t convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it’s based on a deep-seated need to believe.”

—Carl Sagan

“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after

death.”

—Albert Einstein

“I have examined all the known superstition of the world, and I do not find in our particular superstition of Christianity one redeeming feature. They are all alike founded on gable and mythology.”

—Thomas Jefferson

“We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.”

—Gene Roddenberry

In the past, because of its great power and influence, religion usually succeeded in stopping science and innovation whenever the latter conflicted with the religious dogma of the time. Even in relatively recent times, people were tortured and killed, often in the most grotesque manner, if they disagreed with the church. People were burned at the stake, hung, drawn and quartered, or cast out from their community with nothing. They were tortured until they cried out and itted whatever transgression their tormentors demanded from them. How long would any of us last on the rack? Ever since religions have existed, those who purport to represent a god have used their power to control and dominate society at any cost. Massive churches and cathedrals were built with the labor of people who had no real homes of their own and little food to eat. The clergy have enjoyed privilege, wealth, power, and influence, while others have been servants to them and their religion. Religion has been used as an

excuse to conquer countries, dominate populations, and torture those who resist their doctrine and countless wars have been, and still are today, fought because of it.

Ask yourself why humans need to go down on their knees for before gods? Because doing so demonstrates absolute control and obedience to the religions that are supposed to nurture and lead us. Christians kneel in prayer to show their devotion, while Muslims kneel fully five times daily. Most organized religions persuade parents to educate children regarding their particular beliefs from an early age. Which god or religion you follow usually depends on where you are born and the religion of your parents. We are taught that religion starts at home and that children must accept— without question—god’s goodness and domination over humankind. In many schools and churches, prayers are said and religious education is taught to children as if these teachings are factual truths; this occurs at a time when young people are most susceptible and encouraged by people they trust most, their parents and teachers. Church leaders know that a young child who is told almost anything as a truth by his or her parents will believe it to be so. The Jesuits have a saying, “Give me a boy for the first seven years and I will give you the man.” Brainwashing such as this is unjust and a disgrace. If an adult wishes to believe in a particular dogma, he or she is free to do so, but forcing beliefs on the young and vulnerable is unfair because it prevents them from forming their own objective opinions.

Religions have adapted over the centuries to appeal to their audience; many forms of religion exist: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, etc. Each suggests that it represents “god and goodness.” There are more branches of religions than there are car manufacturers, and each has a unique way of explaining right and wrong. The fact remains, however, that there is no god. When asked to show proof of god’s existence, many believers rely on the argument that there is no proof that god doesn’t exist. They quote from books written hundreds or thousands of years ago which purported to show that god’s son was on earth. However, many of these books were written many hundreds of years after his reported death. This appears to be rather weak and inadequate evidence for such a significant question.

If there is a god, where does this deity come from? Is there a god planet where generations of gods dwell and then visit their converts every so many thousand years? Who created these gods? Presumably, their creation must have occurred from some even greater being, if you follow the logical path. Of course, none of this makes sense if approached with objectivity and rational contemplation, and indeed, it would be seen as a simple myth if religion weren’t so important in controlling our society.

Genesis 1:27 reads, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Science has proven that we are descended from nothing that looks like modern humans. Does Genesis mean that god looks like a hairy ape? The fact is Gods do not exist, and never have; Darwin did exist, and our evolution is truth.

In the hands of their leaders, organized religions have been the source of many of the world’s biggest problems for thousands of years. It is not possible to go forward until they lose their hold on power, and truth is acknowledged. In the developing world, organized religion is everywhere, and converting poor and uneducated people is a priority, especially among Roman Catholics, American Fundamentalists, and Muslims. In poor underdeveloped countries, these groups find easy targets, and enormous conversion rates occur among those who are easily led by professionally trained evangelists, monks, and clerics. These religious individuals promise them life everlasting and salvation, often along with food and money. Many in Islam today are still adopting the early ways of religion by using extreme violence and intimidation to spread their power, practices more suited to the Middle Ages. If this practice continues, they will have converted everyone they haven’t killed for disagreeing with them. More fighting occurs between Muslim sects today than any other religion. Hate exists because of the falsehoods these groups perpetrate. The children of religious, bigoted people have no hope of escaping from the brainwashing forced upon them by the very people who should be nurturing them. Organized religions have much to answer for.

The Middle East is a powder keg of hate and mistrust and the killing will continue until one sect emerges as the “super” Muslim faith—that is, if the world can survive long enough for such a superpower to appear. This fighting has been occurring for many hundreds of years. It must stop. Now. It takes only one religious zealot to start a movement among uneducated adherents that can end the world as we know it.

I have singled out organized religion as an enormous obstacle to future peace because it is the most divisive issue in the world. It also represents irrational and illogical beliefs, and those who rule others know how to use it to cause agitation and mistrust among us. Religion had power over the majority of the citizens of Western Europe at one time, but not as much now. However, in the United States, South America, Africa, Asia, and especially the Middle East, religion continues to retain enormous power. Religion is not love; it is control masquerading as love. Even the Chinese government acknowledges that Christianity is useful as a way of controlling people; it has allowed some forms of Christianity to blossom and even has its own government-controlled publishing business that has printed over fifty-million copies of the bible to date. Those who control populations know how to use power well.

For thousands of years, organized religions have used the myth of their knowledge of a god to control society and to keep people ignorant of the truth. The intolerance and bigotry of many Muslims, Jews, and Christians toward anyone who questions their beliefs and the dominance of their idea of “truth” is frightening to anyone who cares for the future of humanity. The alignment of religion with government in both the United States and the Middle East creates enormous concerns.

If you believe that religious bigotry is limited to Muslims, think again. I know Christian parents in Southern California who will not let their children play with a neighbor’s child because the child’s parents are not religious enough. This decision was made because they did not go to church every Sunday;

occasionally, their child went to soccer practice instead. America is as controlled as the Middle East by religion. A person has little chance of being elected to high government office in America if they it that they do not believe in a god. The same can be said of much of Western Europe as well.

Religion has created society’s biggest divide among people; together with government they are the roots of most of society’s problems. Religion have been the basis for both of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars began at the impetus of highly religious, ill-informed leaders: George W. Bush in America and Tony Blair in Great Britain.

Bush was voted into office with a huge Christian backing, and Blair converted to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism soon after he resigned from office. He probably didn’t convert before because it would have been difficult to become prime minister of Britain as a Roman Catholic. Notably, neither of these men (nor their children) ever fought in a war, yet their successors might start a conflict that could lead to the end of civilization as we know it, and a war like this could begin over a difference of opinion about something that does not exist except as a means of control.

Those of you who believe in a god must ask yourselves why—when religion is supposed to be based on good—religious people seem so intent on fighting. If they all believe in a god, surely that should be enough common ground. The answer to this question is important: division equals control, and control equals power. If not, we would have but one church and one religion and all believers would belong to it. An end to the divisions and hostilities of the world seems impossible while organized religions and political control exist; we must do all we can to change this situation, or we shall perish.

As a child, I asked myself, “If god created us, who created god? What about the devil? Where do these beings come from? Is there a planet where everyone is a god or a devil?” Can anyone believe that if god exists, he or she would allow

such division, hate, sorrow, and suffering in our world? That such an allpowerful being would stand idly by in the face of poverty, starvation, killing, and discord. Gene Roddenberry was accurate when he stated, “We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing all-powerful God, who creates faulty Humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.”

The other major controlling and dividing factor in society is Nationalism. As countries formed, additional barriers among people were created. We ceased to exist as simply people, and we became a nationality: French, German, American, Japanese, Russian, etc. We have also evolved into different shapes, sizes, and skin colors because of our vast distinctions in lifestyles, diets, and climates. Again, division.

Those in power exploit these perceived differences; however, people who have travelled widely realize that these differences are not divisive by nature. All people, everywhere, are fundamentally the same, but those who rule us create and foster imagined differences to serve their own purposes.

It is time to put aside myths, dynasties, and differences. Organized religion, government and nationalism have caused substantial problems. It is time to stand up and take charge of our own destinies. We are not Christians, Muslims, Jews, Irish, Belgians, Iranians, or Brazilians, Brown or White. We are, each of us, one human and equal.

So how did we reach the position we find ourselves in today? Why have we allowed this insanity to continue? We don’t have to go back as far as the first civilizations to trace the pattern of human domination and control. We have the relatively recent example of the United States of America.

The early American settlers believed that they could escape the tyranny and

control of European governments and religions, but it did not happen, though many of them, even today, think it did. Many of their fellow travelers were representatives of governments and religions. The same dominant systems that had been in place for thousands of years, since the first civilizations, were imported into America. Moving large groups of people—families and entire villages at times—across the ocean in small boats was dangerous, but the early founders believed the risk would be worthwhile, and for many, it was. In the decades after the American Civil War, America thrived and eventually became the world’s most prosperous economy. Immigrants believed in the chance for freedom and opportunity. I became an immigrant myself, much later, with my wife and son. Immigrants hoped that America would offer them a chance to form an honest society, free from royalty, crooked government, taxes, and oppressive religions. We are taught that they triumphed, but unfortunately, the reality is that they failed, dismally.

The ruling elite and dominant religions remain very much alive today in America, probably more so than anywhere else on Earth. Politics and religious dogma permeates and contaminates American life. American society is more divided today than it has been at any time since the Civil War. By simply watching television and listening to the radio, one can hear the bigotry that permeates society. America is in the early stages of falling apart. Unfortunately, Americans experience little exposure to actual news, international and local, from their commercially controlled media. Many Americans believe the views of the empty talking heads who only think of their own ratings, dogma, egos, hair style and whiter than white teeth. They appear unable to think for themselves.

The most important lesson that America has taught the rest of the world is that all varieties of people can live together in peace and harmony when not divided by geography and language. This fact alone is a giant step for humanity, which we must acknowledge and use as a foundation for our future.

Many Americans will tell you that any American can grow up to be the President of the United States. Similar claims can be made in most Western countries.

While technically such a statement is true, this person will have to be part of the system that rules us. No governments that I am aware of practice an open true democracy. In reality, we are controlled by people in established political parties who dominate us, no matter where we are born. Until recently, we couldn’t question or resist these governments; we didn’t have the tools to do so. That lack of access is quickly changing; we now have the Internet and the means of immediate world wide-scale communication. Even though the American government’s NSA and other agencies around the world monitor their usage in the name of national security, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to keep the truth from us.

At one time, America had a magical place in the hearts of people around the world. Between the late eighteenth century and the mid-twentieth century, the country had earned much respect and iration. The United States was viewed as a country where anyone who worked hard could be comfortable and free. The old empires of Europe had earned much of their riches and land through force and violence, while Americans had earned their spoils through hard work, cheap land, ingenuity, and an abundance of raw materials. For many, American became the envy of the world. Although America experienced wars and internal conflicts, as a country, it remained mostly at peace. The United States entered the first World War when a stalemate occurred in Europe and millions of Europeans were being slaughtered, and a coded message from German Foreign Secretary Zimmerman was intercepted by the British asking the Mexican Government to invade Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Again America remained mostly neutral during World War II until Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and there was growing proof of Hitler’s campaign of genocide.

Since those times however, America has changed. Maybe greedy men discovered that extreme profits could be made in armaments, or perhaps the military industrial complex gained too strong a hand over those in government. Regardless of the cause, whatever glow America once had, has now mostly been lost. Since the 1950s, the country has been engaged in war after war. All of these have resulted in no visible advantage, but rather, they have resulted in the killing and maiming of countless soldiers and citizens. Whole countries have been devastated and their populations massacred. Until now the United States has not

been called to for questionable acts because it was the world’s only “superpower,” both militarily and financially; but its image and reputation has suffered. America is now seen as a bully in many people’s eyes, including many of its own citizens.

Americans themselves are beginning to question their place in the world. Many ask why are they involved in wars in countries that are none of their business? The war in Iraq was a waste of people, money, honor, and truth. Iraq remains in the same basic condition it was in before. Two brands of Muslims are fighting for control (nothing new there), with the Kurds in the North wanting independence. Saddam Hussein is dead, but his rule has not been replaced with true democracy. Before the war, Iraq and Iran were enemies, but now they are allies. Neither country has genuine democracy, nor does Iraq intend to become close friends with the West. Thousands of men and women were killed in the name of what exactly?

In Afghanistan, American soldiers are fighting a force that America initially funded and armed because America thought the Taliban were fighting the Russians. They weren’t. They were fighting invaders who happened to be Russian, just as Afghans have always done. Now they are fighting America and some western European countries. Osama Bin Laden was from Saudi Arabia which is possibly the most extreme Muslim country and is the birthplace of the Muslim faith. Their difference to Afghanistan is that the Saudis supply the West with oil, so we supply them with untold wealth and power to keep their leaders happy and leave them alone. The Afghans didn’t destroy the World Trade Center in New York; Bin Laden did. Terrorists may be hiding in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but that doesn’t give any country the right to destroy and kill an innocent population. Afghanistan has always defended itself against invaders, as any country would. Why hasn’t America invaded Pakistan? Perhaps it’s because of the threat of a nuclear war, Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Iran will soon have these weapons as well.

I believe that we have learned enough from the Twentieth Century and its

carnage to know that no one wins in a modern war. The best way to make a friend of someone you disagree with is to sit down with them and talk about what you agree and disagree about. If you can agree on some major issues, you are fine—make friends, keep in touch, and tell each other the truth. If you cannot agree, keep trying. There has to be a way, after all we are all human beings. We can never allow war to be an option, and, most importantly, egos have no place at the negotiating table. Unfortunately, the religious issue will raise its divisive head again, and until we remove it from the table by understanding that there are no gods, we will find ourselves revisiting the same battlefield, which will probably be the end of us all. I’m not sure who’s god would care for that.

No matter which country we are born in, each one propagates an image of itself that citizens are taught is special and that needs to be defended. Each nationality may be different in certain aspects, but such differences, even if it they do exist, do not have to be important. After our name, our nationality is often our next identifier. Inside a nation, there are often regional identities, Londoner, New Yorker, and so on. Factors as simple as where a person went to school or what football team a person s divide us in some way. The same divisions occur regarding skin color, occupation, gender, financial status, and so on. Each label increases the division among us. These identifiers are a problem if used as such, especially when they divide us and are used to control us. We must be vigilant and insist that we not be divided. We are all just one person, and each of us has a mind of our own. In the future, we must make decisions based on facts of consequence, not on differences.

The Economy and our Future

Our way of life in the West has changed considerably in the last 200 years. Until then, farming was the main occupation for most people. On most farms today, more machines do the work than people, only a small fraction of the population works in agriculture.

During the industrial revolution, manufacturers all over the western world, with their factories and machinery, became major employers. The people who owned the factories needed workers to operate the machines. At first, the factory owners behaved the way that the landowners had in the past; they treated employees poorly, but, after many bruising battles, the union movement grew, and over time, the working class achieved many goals, including fair pay, vacations and pensions. These were hard-won victories and more significant to the way we live in the West today than most people realize. There was an explosion in wealth, living standards and population growth throughout the developed world, particularly in Europe and America.

As time has ed, manual labor has been increasingly replaced by advanced machinery, and today many of our manufacturing processes are moving overseas, primarily because of very cheap labor and production costs there. In the West, because of this, a major problem affecting our future is that many of the goods we buy are imported from abroad, especially from China, India, other Asian, and, South American countries. These countries are known for low employment costs, and at times China has even resorted to slave and prison labor. In North America and Western Europe, more people seek work in the service industry, but increasingly, these jobs are also being subcontracted overseas. In Britain, for example, if you call the national telephone company for information, the call will most likely be answered in Asia because labor there is cheaper. If this trend continues, most of us in the West will find ourselves as low-level employees at McDonald’s or Burger King or cleaning houses for rich industrialists and bankers, instead of adding value to raw materials. This globalization of business—is a relatively recent threat to our freedom. But, a

significant one.

Already, China is using its manufacturing and mining monopoly, which globalization by western corporations has gifted them, to force other countries to change their foreign and trade policies. Their power will only increase as we become increasingly dependent on them for products we need and can no longer manufacture ourselves. Globalization is not limited to manufacturing. The world’s finance and banking industries are becoming increasingly globalized. At present, the Western world has a large number of people employed in this sector, but as the wealth that manufacturing brings expands increasingly to Asia and South America, we can expect them to develop more control over that market as well. After all, many, if not all, Western economies are bankrupt. We cannot allow this trend to continue if we value our standard of living. These mega corporations are focused on market share and the bottom-line: we are not in their equation. To ensure our future standard of living we must ensure that our manufacturing and financial arrangements return to a system under our control. If we allow other countries to manufacture most of the products we use and let them monopolize the financial sector as well, we will lose our independence and freedom. No modern economy can exist without adding value to the goods it buys and exports. Some say that the West can exist with our economies based on the service sector, but I disagree. Regardless of any country’s intellectual and invention capabilities, if our products are increasingly manufactured overseas, western economies will suffer and our financial integrity will continue to decline. The West’s financial and insurance industries are becoming weaker and our financial position continues to suffer because of the inabilities of our governments and theft in our financial sector. If we are not prudent, our standard of living will deteriorate rapidly and soon and there will be mass unemployment and poverty. When American and European multinational companies choose to have products made overseas, only their shareholders and management profit. It is a win for them, but no Western country and its people can prosper and retain their independence this way.

Chinese people are thoroughly and completely dominated by the state. Nothing important in China happens without government approval, and those at the top have no interest in seeing the system change. Already there is a growing military

sector in China; one that America may be unable to match for long because it doesn’t have the money to do so. The Wests ever-increasing dependence on China and other countries for the manufacture of our goods places America and Europe in a vulnerable position: subject to China’s goodwill. The latest figures project that the United States and Europe owe China more than they can hope to ever pay back if it continues at the current rate. If the United States and Europe cannot pay, what will the eventual outcome be? Failure of the Dollar and Euro followed by hyperinflation, leading to the immediate collapse of the American and European economies.

We have to be aware of these shifts in the world economy. Those in control of us are adept at camouflaging these problems, but it is the ordinary citizen who ultimately pays the price for the mistakes of our leaders. We must demand that we regain our manufacturing base and ensure that we balance what we buy from other industrialized countries with what they buy from us. Without doing so, we will rapidly lose our way of life and, probably, our liberty.

It will help if we ask ourselves a few difficult personal questions. We cannot place all the blame on others when we are guilty ourselves in many ways. Do we really need the massive amount of possessions we own and desire? Think about where the items we buy are manufactured. For example, I am an avid fan of Apple products. I am typing this book on my iMac, I have three computers, and I have exclusively used Macintosh products since 1987 when they were mostly made in America; however, Apple, and many other technology manufacturers obtain the majority of their products from overseas factories today, most of which are located in China and the Far East. At the moment they earn most of their profits by selling their products in the West. It works well for companies like Apple, but it doesn’t work well for us. Because of this, China has become a global superpower. Perhaps they are not a dominant military power yet, but that will follow. I don’t need to remind you that China is a non-democratic society; control is vested in twenty-five men who control the country’s citizens in a way that no free people should ever accept. Why then, do our companies behave this way? The answer is simple, they are greedy. They refuse to contemplate the long-term implications of their actions; they remain focused only on their profits. However, they are vulnerable in doing this and don’t seem to understand that one

day China may just cut them out of the equation. We don’t have to continue this way, we can change. We have to change. There is an easy solution if we focus on our goals. If we understand how we reached this dilemma, we can take control and change direction.

Many of us view our possessions as vitally important, but it is who we are and our health and happiness that really matter. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution we have learned how to mass-produce luxury items that used to be out of reach for the average person. Since 1945, many people have believed that owning things, especially the latest model of things, was paramount in showing how successful one is, with more possessions, the idea is, comes automatic happiness. This mindset has led to an ownership vanity that leaves people stranded on a continuing roundabout of buy, buy, buy, which unfortunately hasn’t had the desired effect of producing the happiness we crave. Just the opposite has occurred in many cases. Most of the major appliances and motor vehicles built today are capable of providing reliable use for twenty years, yet we continually replace them before we need to. Sometimes we do this to impress someone who is trying just as hard to impress us at the same time. Is it worth it? Not when we view the consequences. The pollution caused by manufacturing all these items is destroying our planet. If we want to live in a clean environment we have to learn to live with fewer possessions and keep them longer.

Historically, we have paid for government by taxation, in one form or another. Meanwhile, inflation has hidden the true cost of any government deficit (that is, when they spend too much of our money that they haven’t yet taken from us), and unofficially devalued our currency, so the debt appears to be less over time. Today, this process is becoming more difficult to achieve because emerging nations economies, some of whom are financing our deficits, are growing at a much faster rate than ours are. When these developing nations eventually resist Western currencies as the basis for international trade we will be in danger of being bankrupt.

Our dependence on the goods that the East provides has removed our ability to

produce such goods. Having these items manufactured overseas has caused their currencies to strengthen, and consequently, their goods will cost us even more. When our currencies are devalued, it affects our economy, resulting in widespread unemployment for us, while their employment levels increase. This, in turn, leads to less tax revenue and an increase in government expenditures, especially unemployment payments, which we are already seeing today in the West. It is an every decreasing circle that tightens it’s hold on us. One we have to address.

The latest figures I have, put the U.S. government’s total public debt, i.e., the money it owes, at $14 trillion, its revenues at $2.162 trillion, and its expenses at $3.456 trillion. In 1980, the U.S. public debt was $909 billion, or an amount equal to 33.3% of America’s gross domestic product (GDP), even after paying for the Vietnam conflict. By 1990, that number had more than tripled to $3.2 trillion, or 55.9% of GDP. In 2001, the national debt was $5.7 trillion. Based on figures from the 2010 U.S. budget, total national debt will grow to nearly 100% of GDP. The White House estimates that the government’s cost for servicing the debt (that is paying interest on the loans) will exceed $700 billion per year in 2019, up from $202 billion in 2009. As you can imagine, this is unsustainable. Simply put, America is bankrupt. It is not alone, Europe is as well.

As you can see, if this trend continues our economies will be destroyed with devastating effects to our communities. Beyond the financial situation there are the pollution effects being caused by China and other Eastern countries manufacturing industry and agriculture. China’s record in curbing emissions is much worse than even America and Europe. In many of the industrial areas of China, people have to wear face masks to help avoid breathing the polluted air. Pollution knows no frontiers, it will eventually spread out everywhere it wants too. Which leads us to the most important issue: pollution of everyone’s home, this small planet we call Earth. It is the only place we can live; it is not possible for us to live anywhere else. Notwithstanding the obvious, our continual desire to own new things for no sensible reason, and the greed and lack of intelligence of those that rule us is cong the planet and us to oblivion. There is no extractor vent for our planet, no ventilation system that will exhaust our poisonous gases and dust. There is no chimney that will wick away our airborne

poisons. Climate is the most powerful force on earth, and we have been taking it for granted for too long. The extreme weather that we are beginning to experiencing is a result of our abuse and excess. This situation is very serious. If we don’t change our ways, if we continue to disregard the message our home is sending us, we will all die a miserable and avoidable death, soon.

A fundamental change in our mindset is necessary to save us from our inevitable self-destruction. This may sound dramatic, but the foundation has already been laid for our ultimate economic, social, and environmental downfall. We can make some changes, we can reverse some of the damage, we can make a difference, but we have to do it now, our time is running out. Our planet and all its inhabitants needs all the help and intelligence we can give it. If we all try, we may succeed.

If we are to change, we have to make certain that we get it right this time. We must ensure that our society listens to and benefits everyone, not just a few as before. We need to redefine society in a sensible way and start with a new form of government, an honest and free democratic government that will represent everyone. We cannot, we must not, give any more opportunities to the people whose greed has caused our current predicament. This will not be easy, but can be done if we plan and execute it correctly. It means we have to listen to everyone and not accept domination again for an answer. Our new society’s main objective must be that it is for the benefit of everyone. For thousands of years, we have been persuaded to believe that those who rule us know better than we do. History has shown that they don’t; they have ruled us for their benefit alone. Democracy is not at fault here; the fault lies with those who told us that our current system is democracy. If we have the willpower and resolve to act, we can guarantee a free, honest, and open world. The time for change is now. This chance will not come again.

OneUs

I believe that the true definition of democracy is: When all adults, having considered all the pertinent facts, devoid of missinformation, miss-representation, and spin, render their opinion of what society needs by voting for it directly, and ensure that it is implemented accurately.

In a OneUs future, instead of voting for a candidate who represents a political party and whose loyalty is to that party, we shall vote on and decide all issues that require action and prioritize them. Each decision to be based on the opinions and priorities of all adults.

We shall then choose the actions to be taken by voting for them directly. With courage and initiative, we can govern ourselves. We will use the Internet for communication and voting.

Fresh ideas take time to assimilate, and this will be new to everyone. However, with experience and patience, we will see the results from taking authentic control of our decisions from the start. Most people will welcome the opportunity of having their votes mean something that can make a difference to how we live both in our world and locally for the first time. In difficult matters, we would consult and obtain advice from independent experts on the effects of a measure, and then vote. It is important that all voters are able to track their votes to ensure the accuracy and credibility of the system. No one who represents a constituency would be allowed to have any with special interests, and special interest lobbying will be illegal. Quietly, we will transform our countries, and hopefully, the rest of the world, into true democracies.

So, now that we have our chance, what do we want to change? What are our priorities? What sort of world do we want to live in? These are important, serious questions, and only we can decide. This is exciting. Our time has come. Doing nothing is not an option any more.

It is time for a new form of society; this opportunity will not come again. It’s over to You.

Up to this point, I have presented my views regarding our world and society, the challenges it faces, and the state we are in. The powerful have been allowed to intimidate, lie and control us, and they love it, but we can’t go on this way or we will perish. What follows are some of my own ideas for our future. I give them as an example of what we can do if we decide to think for ourselves. Most of us have things we should like to see done differently, so please make your own list of what you believe we should change, I would like to hear them, everyone who cares, would. Together we can create a society that works for everyone. That is the point of this book.

First, we must implement a new society that is based on true democracy and equality for everyone following the guidelines I have described, wherever they live. When we have done this we will be able to make some changes and one of our initial tasks should be to end wars and help the poor and starving people of the world. Every life is precious, and if half of the money and energy spent on warfare in the last ten years was used to aid the poor and hungry, especially in undeveloped countries and to build infrastructure for them, and provide education and deliver health care, they would be much better off. We don’t need large military forces when we can talk to the people of other countries directly, work on our differences, and come to an understanding of what can be done to resolve difficult issues. Communicating with each other is a priority. Fighting, if ever, the last resort.

To achieve our goals, we will need for a new international organization similar to the UN we have now, but one where only true democracies are eligible to be . At present, the non-democratically elected governments of China and Russia veto actions the world needs for their own selfish reasons, and innocent

people suffer. The people of Russia and China will us, the power of their numbers and the evidence of our success will give them the might they need to get rid of the despots that rule them.

We need to curb inflation; it is theft and unacceptable. With proper democratic governance and control of corporations, inflation will stop. We must ensure that we balance the nation’s books and ensure that they stay that way.

Divisions between people and countries need to be removed where possible, and language is one of them. Our own language is important to most of us, and over the centuries, some languages have spread more than others have. Many countries speak a language that is not their original native language due to past colonial times. English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese are good examples of languages that have been adopted or forced on others in recent times. The absence of a single world language is a cause of division and misunderstanding; we need to choose one global language and use it. Each country could use its own language internally if it chooses to do so, but when communication takes place on an international level, the use of one common language will reduce barriers and misunderstandings. It doesn’t matter which one.

As you have read, I believe there are too many standards of living in our world. The range is enormous: from the poorest child, often near starvation and living without it’s parents, barely existing on only a few dollars a week of charity and at times finding food in garbage dumps, to a wealthy and powerful person spending hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of dollars each year on luxuries. The New York Times in a front page article dated September 11, 2013, stated that the top 1% of earners in America earned 20% of all income in 2012. No one person is worth that much more than any other person no matter what they do. To guarantee a fair standard of living for all, a minimum income level should be in place to ensure that everyone has a good basic living standard and equal opportunity. The minimum income should be one on which a family could live comfortably and feel they are full of society. Just as important, a maximum income limit should be in place. Incomes should reflect one’s

usefulness to society. For example, a surgeon who has spent many years in study could earn more than a plumber, and a teacher more than a shop assistant or unskilled factory worker, but not as much as a doctor. Police officers should be well paid; they are important to our way of life. Someone who runs a large business that employs thousands of people or who invents something of importance should also be rewarded well. We can devise a scale for determining these income levels; however, it is my opinion it is best for society, and the world, that the maximum limit not to exceed five times the lowest level. This limited scale will reward those who are of more value to society. Those who cannot find employment would be paid for work in the public sector. People who live off the government or charity because they don’t want to work must not be encouraged or rewarded. Long-term unemployment benefits and government handouts have become attractive to many, but the costs of these benefits are prohibitive. Unemployment causes low self-esteem for both the individual and his or her family . Society has to be fair, and paying people to do nothing when they are capable of working is not fair. However, if a person is not capable of earning a living due to a true disability, he or she should be ed and assisted. If we agree to have a more level income spread our society will flourish; if we don’t we shall revisit our problems again.

In times of high unemployment, jobs could be shared, instead of decreasing the work force, we could reduce the number of hours for employees and distribute a job among more than one person. A limit should be in place regarding the amount of debt a person can accumulate related to their income; this would eradicate the excessive debt problems affecting many families today.

We could cut the working week down to twenty hours. Today, people are working longer hours than they were thirty years ago. With unemployment rates increasing and reports of work-stress illness growing, shorter working weeks would ease pressure and make sense. Working fewer hours would give us more time to complete other important tasks, such as caring for children, helping others in need, and having fun and exercising. Life would be less stressful, and we could break the cycle of “earn and spend,” (or should that read “spend then earn”) At the same time, we would be helping our environment. Many people believe that they cannot afford to live properly unless they work long hours,

even if it means their lives are unhappy. Lifestyle has replaced life happiness. I assure you that possessions impress no one of importance; it is how happy you look and feel that impresses our friends and family the most. The happiness and contentment of you, your family, and your friends are the most important things in life, not the size of your television, the make of your car, or where you went on vacation.

We have learnt the hard way that our banking system has to be transparent, honest and free from profit. Money is the lifeblood of commerce, and recent events have proven that the profit motive in banking is damaging to our economies. We obviously cannot trust the banking industry as much as we would like, and taking the profit motive out of banking is the only way to ensure honesty. Bankers have not only misappropriated our money, they have also come to believe that they deserve to be paid too well. Money is for the use of all of us; it is the precious lifeblood of commerce and we need to know it is free from manipulation by bankers, insurance companies, mutual funds, and governments, anyone.

Homes are not a commodity that should be traded for profit. Their real value lies in the fact that they are homes, not whether they are houses or apartments that appreciate in price. With inflation under control, a home should only increase in value by the actual cost of improvements made to it. That some people have no home while others have more than one is, in my opinion, socially unacceptable and leads to higher property prices and social unrest. In some areas, small towns and villages are almost empty during the week because homes have been bought as second and third dwellings for weekend and holiday use. Meanwhile, the original inhabitants and their children have been priced out of the area. Everyone needs a home that is comfortable, affordable, and in which we feel secure.

One of the most important changes we can make is to treat parenting as a vocation. When we give more emphasis to the significance of properly raising children, we will be more than halfway to our goal of a just society. To ensure that children are raised in a family environment, families should not be

financially penalized when one parent stays at home. If parents commit to living together until their children are at least eighteen years old, we would have happier children, fewer broken marriages and a more secure society. I believe that if a couple cannot dedicate themselves to marriage till all their children are at least the age of 18 in a family environment with both parents present, they should not become parents. When parents separate, it affects their children significantly, often damaging them for life, it also affects the rest of society as well. The argument is often made that it is preferable for children to be brought up without their parents being together if they no longer care for each other. There may be some truth in this statement, however it is not the issue. Being a parent requires being mature and marrying for the right reasons in the first place. Nurturing children is a wonderful experience if both parents are mature enough and emotionally ready for the commitment involved and most importantly know and love each other. When people do not practice sensible birth control and a child is born who is not truly wanted by both parents who have agreed to nurture all their children until they have grown to adulthood, the child or children, usually suffer. In the past, before the arrival of readily available and reliable contraception, sex often resulted in childbirth. Today, if we are sensible, it doesn’t. Unfortunately, many children are born because governments pay parents for each child with benefits and some young adults take advantage of this. Childrearing this way is not a good idea, and many children and young parents are suffering because of it, so is our society. Divorce affects all of society, especially when children are involved; this is obvious to most of us. We need to bring order to the chaos and costs associated with so many single-parent families. Both parents must understand that they are responsible, emotionally and financially, for their children until those children reach adulthood.

One possible answer would be the creation of two forms of marriage. The first would be for two people who agree not to have children; they marry as they do now, but they have the option to divorce if things don’t work out. The second form of marriage would be a family marriage that commits both exclusively to each other, and they promise to stay together until all their children reach at least eighteen. Every child needs the love, understanding, education, and nurturing from their biological parents and this requires both parents to be committed and involved in the family.

Parenting skills should be taught in schools, along with life skills such as cooking, homemaking, and managing personal finances.

A fundamental principle of OneUs is that all people, everywhere, have the same value. The developed world should aid the people in other less-developed countries and regions who are experiencing a low standard of living; this should be seen as an urgent priority. We can teach poor countries how to grow enough food to feed themselves, along with other life skills. We can free them from pervasive religious dogma and other forms of oppression. While those of us who live in the developed world are used to our society, we don’t need to project this image onto other countries. It is not necessary for us to modernize every country. Some of the happiest people live in undeveloped regions of Africa, Asia, South America, and Central America, and they don’t want or need to live as we do, if we spent more time in these area’s we would know this. Nonetheless, they do need quality healthcare, food, freedom, security, education, and democracy. Of vital importance, is that they be presented with an opportunity to decide for themselves how they want to live.

Society cannot work properly if we allow criminal activity to occur. It should not be necessary to have elaborate locks and alarms on our homes and property. Crime is endemic throughout the world, and it must be stopped. If laws are broken then those committing the crimes must be punished swiftly and effectively. At present, the justice system takes too long and costs too much. True, swift justice is rare. Our laws should be rewritten to reflect current society in such a way that any high school graduate can fully understand them. Literally thousands of different laws exist in every modern country; many are outdated, complexly written, and confusing. Rewriting laws will take some time to complete, but it will be worth the effort. Lawyers, not society in many cases, benefit the most from our legal system because they can charge excessive fees from those needing assistance. Legal documents should be short, to the point, and written in plain language; in many cases, specialist lawyers should not be needed. Justice is about truth and honesty, and it should be equal and swift. If anyone is accused of a crime, he or she should be provided with a lawyer, whom they will pay if found guilty. The accused should be brought to trial quickly. If someone commits perjury, he or she should be penalized severely. Court trials

are the only way of deciding guilt in our justice system, and usually, the truth is simple. Lawyers have a way of making it complicated and long-winded. Only fully pertinent issues should be allowed in court, and both prosecutors and defense attorneys should have a duty to enter into evidence all known pertinent facts; they should not obstruct justice, they should it. After all, a trial is a very serious matter intended to decide a person’s innocence or guilt and place in society.

All crimes are serious and need to be treated seriously. This doesn’t include occasional, small misdemeanors. No one is perfect, nor do we expect anyone to be; however, when a person suffers as a victim of crime, it usually affects them deeply. The feeling of being secure in one’s home or on the street is a basic necessity of life. When a law is broken, it must be enforced with swift justice provided by a full and fair trial. Money must not determine guilt or innocence, and society cannot work openly if we continue to allow criminals freedom.

With a good quality standard of living for everyone, high levels of crime should decrease drastically. Nevertheless, systems need to be in place to deal with the inevitable crimes that will remain; even repeated petty crime should not be tolerated. For an initial offense, punishment should involve education and a deterrent, and if necessary, the offender should be electronically tagged and remain under observation. Punishment should be ed with rehabilitation because it is in society’s best interest. However, if someone re-offends, the punishment must be harsh. Repeat offenders should be removed from society and forced to look after themselves in an uncomfortable environment while working long hours. Jail should be a punishment and deterrent; the choice to commit crimes was the criminal’s, not society’s. The cost of confinement today is extremely high, and for many criminals, it is not a strong enough deterrent. We need to make prisons a place no one wants to be, while making them affordable for us to ister.

Organized criminal activity today is largely unaffected by policing, it is the gorilla in the corner that hardly anyone talks about. It is so big that it can be

classified as a major industry. These criminals form our most heinous organizations, and their crimes exceed the imagination of most ordinary people. Part of the reason they exist almost with impunity is that they bribe and control many government officials and others in trusted positions—from police officers, to attorneys, to judges, and some of our highest elected officials. Under no circumstances should criminals and dishonest officials be tolerated. The price they pay for their illegal activities must make it unattractive to them. A free society cannot exist when the individuals in place to govern and protect us are corrupt and criminals go without proper punishment.

As you probably have guessed, I believe we need to reduce military spending drastically, with the eventual goal to eliminate it completely. Our cost of living would be reduced by half with minimal defense and government costs and crime mostly eradicated. With the possible exception of Serbia, the effects of most of the military actions performed by the West since 1950 have been pointless. These actions have taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and injured even more at an incredible cost that remains unpaid.

There are far too many government employees, mostly because of governments excessive intrusion into the lives of average citizens and its complexity. These jobs are usually well paid with generous pensions and benefits, which negatively affect national budgets. We will remove the need to have paid politicians with our system and will examine the requirement of all public employment positions.

It is time to overhaul how society is financed. The systems that exist today are complex because our government wants to hide the amount of money being taken from us. I suggest the elimination of personal income taxes. All corporate profits, after proper current and future business expenses have been allocated, should go to the exchequer. Any shortfall in revenue can be offset by the taxation of luxury goods and estate taxes.

Inherited wealth has affected society negatively. Each person needs to stand on

their own two feet and earn their way. When we have true equal opportunity in education, we can determine who deserves a higher standard of living because of their value to society.

That is enough of my ideas, I’m sure you have some of your own. In my travels I have found most people do. I have suggested my solutions. The above items do not comprise an exhaustive list, I provide them to illustrate the capacity each individual has to develop ideas and theories for bettering society. All one needs to do is take the time to consider what is really happening in our world, and come up with some idea’s yourself. I would like to hear them.

There is one very important thing to as we embark on this journey. If we don’t make changes now, life as we know it, especially in the West, will soon disappear. There is no time for procrastination; those who rule us know they are losing control and there is nothing left that they can do to stop it.

We can, and should, have differing views, ideas, and philosophies, but we must never be divided. Differences are not the same as divisions. We are all just one person, and each of us is equal to another and this task. Making a genuine and lasting change will take the cooperation of everyone who cares.

In conclusion, we must that all the money, possessions, prestige, power, and influence in the world mean nothing if one doesn’t have health, good friends, and family. In other words, we cannot survive without our own society.

Please share your ideas with me. Tell me how you feel about what I have said and keep adding to your own list about what you would like to see changed. You can reach me at The OneUs Foundation and on the web at [email protected].

It is time for change. Let’s see what we can do, and stop living a lie!

It sounds incredible, but nevertheless it is true. If everyone in this world of ours were six feet tall and a foot and a half wide and a foot thick, then the whole of the human race of two billion, could be packed into a box measuring half a mile in each direction. If we transported that box to the Grand Canyon of Arizona and balanced it neatly on the low stone wall that keeps people from breaking their necks when stunned by the incredible beauty of that silent witness of the forces of Eternity, and then called little Noodle, the dachshund, and told him (the tiny beast is very intelligent and loves to oblige) to give the unwieldy contraption a slight push with his soft brown nose, there would be a moment of crunching and ripping as the wooden planks loosened stones and shrubs and trees on their downward path, and then a low and even softer Bum-pity-bump-bump and a sudden splash when the outer edges struck the banks of the Colorado River. Then silence and oblivion.The human sardines in their mortuary chest would soon be forgotten.The Canyon would go on battling wind and air and sun and rain as it has done since it was created. The world would continue to run its even course through the uncharted heavens. The astronomers on distant and nearby planets would have noticed nothing out of the ordinary.A century from now, a little mound, densely covered with vegetable matter, would perhaps indicate where humanity lay buried.

And that would be all. “The Home of Mankind Hendrik Van Loon 1933.

I’m talking to you.

Just stop and think. No, not for a few minutes, as you usually do, but for as long as it takes to reach that part of your brain where you go when really important things happen in your life. that time: when something happened to someone you love; you lost your job; you realized you were about to have a child; you were alone, vulnerable. Everyone has had to stop at sometime, to reach deep inside themselves and concentrate, and now is one of those times,

and this time we have no choice, we can’t put it off. We are going to ruin our planet and our society, and we’re going to let it happen. It’s already started, we know that. We are all in the same boat; it’s going to affect all of us. The time has gone when we can just hope and pray things get better. Imagine what the world is going to be like in twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years’ time. Selfishness, vanity, and power plays will ruin everything we hold dear. Don’t just sit there. It’s time to do something!

P. Campbell