The Violence Syndrome in Popular Culture! [22]

LIFE & TIMES OF A TEENAGE SAMURAI

A FALLOUT OF THE NEW MONEY MORALITY!

 In the 1960s the American movie industry began to use brutality and extreme depictions of violence to increase the popularity and profitability of its films. In no time, the surefire fix for a successful movie was violence and sex, and that combination transitioned into video games for children.

From the 1980s on all Americans who viewed and or listened to public entertainment were fed a diet of violence, with the producers and sellers insisting that exposure to such fare did not influence the behavior of either adults or children, and cloaking themselves in the “Freedom of Speech” provision of the Constitution to justify their actions.

The third factor in the growth of the entertainment industries from the 1960s on was the introduction of verbal sleaze—of language that was designed to shock. By the first decade of the 21st century, “fuck you,” “fucking this” and “fucking that” had become a conspicuous part of the dialogue of both male and female entertainers…with some newscasters beginning to use such terms as “the F word,” in a move in the same direction.

Not surprisingly, the news media were major partners in the spread of entertainment based on violence, sex and sleaze—glaring evidence that even the most upright appearing people will lower themselves to dealing in smut to continue making a profit.

Entertainers & Drugs

 The use of so-called recreational and medicinal drugs in the United States is a threat to the nation. The fact that it has been allowed to develop to this point is a national disgrace and should get money-oriented businesses, parents, teachers, educators and elected officials who are responsible for letting it happen indicted as accessories to a crime.

     The rampant use of recreational drugs in the United States took off in the late 1950s and early 1960s, first promoted by so-called Hippies, “rock” musicians and counter-culture news media.  It quickly spread to other entertainers, particularly to young people in the movie and television industries, and finally to students all the way down to the 7th and 8th grade levels of elementary schools.

Well before the end of the 20th century recreational drug use in the United States had become a multi-billion dollar a year industry, involved hundreds of thousands of people, and was a national tragedy that business and political communities could not resolve.  The problem has continued to grow simply because of the money-morality and corruption that now pervades American culture.

Not surprisingly, substance abuse has generally been highest among young males in the lowest income and educational brackets—Blacks and Hispanics—but millions of Whites from middle and upper class families have also given in to the seductive power of getting high on drugs, primarily because of the influence of the entertainment industries.

The New Drug Lords

Major pharmaceutical companies are big players in this American tragedy, spending billions of dollars a year on television, in print media and on the Internet hyping drugs they claim will cure all of the ailments, complaints and problems that people have—from bad complexions, hair loss, obesity and sexual dysfunctions to getting old—creating an environment in which taking drugs is a natural and necessary part of life.

The world’s largest and most dangerous drug lords are not Mexican or Columbian. They are American; they are the heads of the huge drug companies and their doctor distributors who are all licensed to engage in the drug trade. George Orwell’s frightening novel 1984, in which the government conspired to get the whole country addicted to drugs got it right.

Given the history of the United States it now seems inevitable that the only action the government can and eventually will take is to make the use of marijuana—the most commonly used illegal drug—legal and tax it, the way it did to alcohol and tobacco when it lost the ability to control these substances—both of which are more harmful and more destructive than pot.

Blame for this incredible situation also falls on parents, educators and politicians—some of whom were part of the problem because they were among the pot-smoking generations. Far too many of them still today stand by and watch silently as the entertainment media aimed at the young hype the use of drugs among handsome, well-to-do and successful people in attractive sensually oriented settings.

When the Mexican government began giving serious consideration to legalizing pot in 2010 as the only way of getting the drug-related murders, bribery of government officials and law enforcement members under control, the president of Mexico made the obvious point that unless the United States—the largest market for the drug—also made pot legal, making it legal in Mexico would not work.

    *** 

Eskimo: “If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?”

Priest: “No! Not if you didn’t know.”

 Eskimo: “Then why did you tell me?”

—Annie Dillard—

***

 ***This blog was excerpted from my book: THE PLAGUE OF MALE DOMINANCE – The Cause and Cure!, available in ebook and printed formats from Amazon.com.

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Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Asia since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, journalist and editor. He is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, USA. In addition to books on the business practices, social behavior and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico he has written extensively about the moral collapse of the U.S. along with books on his home state of Arizona. To see a full list of his books go to: www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Recent books include: CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the NEW Japanese Way of Doing Business; AMERICA’S FAMOUS HOPI INDIANS; ARIZONA’S LORDS OF THE LAND [the Navajos] and SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way!

The Great Advertising Conspiracy! [23]

THE MALE SUPREMACY SYNDROME!

THE ADVERTISING CANCER!

Product, service and entertainment advertising has become a cancer eating away at the physical, mental and spiritual health of mankind—all in the name of profit.

     The American advertising industry has long been looked upon as one of the bulwarks of both the democratic and the capitalistic systems that have defined the United States since the early 1800s. It goes without saying that both of these systems have made extraordinary contributions to the wealth and welfare of Americans, but there have always been elements in these systems that were destructive and harmful, and these insidious elements have grown with time.

     In earlier times advertising was important in bringing the existence and benefits of products and services to the attention of as many people as possible so they would know where to buy them if they needed them. From around the 1950s and 60s the manufacturing and service industries became so competitive that the role of advertising gradually switched to beating out the competition, to inducing people to buy more than what they needed, and to buying things they didn’t need…in other words attempting to ensure that the companies not only survived but made a profit above and beyond what the market would normally provide them.

     One of the most negative aspects of advertising today is that a great deal of it is aimed at children and teenagers, and is insidiously clever, subversive and harmful.

      The advertising industry’s sophisticated selling of sugar-laden cereals and other foods to children sets them up for obesity and a variety of other health problems. Glamorizing alcoholic drinks to teens and adults and getting millions of people habituated to drugs they don’t need—some of which have serious side effects—costs Americans billions of dollars annually.

       Advertising aimed at children and teens ignores commonsense and undercuts the little parental control remaining by inducing the young to eat and drink things that are bad for their health and will adversely affect the rest of their lives. It encourages other behavior that results in further degrading cultures that are already in the gutter.

      The causes of this phenomenon are well known but they are so deeply entrenched in the profit-oriented culture that they cannot be eradicated without a mass rebellion by individual consumers that is not going to happen in the foreseeable future..

But if an effort to eliminate this disease is not made—by parents and teachers—the negative impact on the welfare of the young will continue to grow, further degrading the culture. There are equally harmful areas of advertising aimed at adults that are contributing to the degeneration of the culture in general—from the education problem to the degradation of the Earth’s environment.

The Excess-Consumption Disease

By the end of the 20th century aggressive profit-driven advertising had created an excess-consumption syndrome that prevailed throughout the American economy and had begun spreading throughout the economies of other industrialized nations. It has now reached the point that it has destroyed much of the rational thought process, and controls much of the mindset and behavior of a growing percentage of the Earth’s population.

There would appear to be no remedy for this insidious virus other than for parents, teachers and administrators who recognize the dangers inherent in this situation to slowly but steadily introduce into the basic education of children a new value system based on real, actual, rational needs that would eventually result in the excess-consumption syndrome disappearing in conjunction with a balanced economic system.

It is not going to disappear any time soon but by 2010 there was a glimmer of hope. The news media had begun reporting on the appearance of a small movement among the economically depressed population to downgrade their consumption habits and expectations—not as a deliberate choice, however, but because of the economic situation.

Some of these people were reported as saying that having and consuming less freed them from harmful habits and made them happier than they were before—both common sense and very old wisdom.

The Incredible Obesity Epidemic

Another cultural failure resulting from a combination of the power of food manufacturers, their advertising agencies, and the willful stupidity of parents in par-ticular and adults in general is the epidemic of obesity in the United States.

The sight of huge numbers of men and women who weigh from 300 to 500 pounds or more waddling around like giant over-inflated character balloons is grotesque to say the least.

The number of children and adults who are obese is a national disgrace and should be a national scandal. But there has been a conspiracy among food pro-ducers, food outlets, their advertizing agencies and the medical fraternity to both justify this incredible situation and to blame the individuals for overeating.

Some medical experts are on record as saying that obesity is not the fault of every obese person, claiming that it is genetic, which actually appears to be partly true, since fat mothers give birth to unusually large babies who appear to inherit a propensity to become obese.

This incredible malady has resulted from both the willful stupidity of parents and people in general and the business obsession with making profits no matter what the cost to the public. The only permanent cure is education over a period of a generation.

A New Universal Strategy

 Of course, it goes without saying that a universal strategic plan is needed to address all of the economic needs of all countries on an equitable basis.  However, this is a concept that brings into play all of the ancient and primitive characteristics of human beings—tribalism, territorialism, religious differences, races and colors, along with past history, the present situation, territorial size, population, location, and so on.

     This means it will not be resolved in the foreseeable future by plan and by action because some or all of the larger more powerful nations will put their priorities high on the list if not first. This means the evolution from competition to cooperation with have to come about in slow incremental steps.

      It might not come about at all if there is not a concerted effort among the large and powerful nations to incorporate the concept of a shared world into their education systems, to wean their populations off of the ancient prejudices, the old animosities and the selfish instincts.

    I like your Christ.

I do not like your Christians.

Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.

—Mohandas Gandhi—

***This blog was excerpted from my book: THE PLAGUE OF MALE DOMINANCE – The Cause and Cure!, available in ebook and printed formats from Amazon.com.

 _________________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Asia since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, journalist and editor. He is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, USA. In addition to books on the business practices, social behavior and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico he has written extensively about the moral collapse of the U.S. along with books on his home state of Arizona. To see a full list of his books go to: www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Recent books include: CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the NEW Japanese Way of Doing Business; AMERICA’S FAMOUS HOPI INDIANS; ARIZONA’S LORDS OF THE LAND [the Navajos] and SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way!

The Deadly News Media Virus! [24]

DO YOU HAVE A SEXY FACE?

ADAPTING TO THE NEW PROFIT MORALITY!

Like all other areas of the American economy the mantra and imperative of the news media has always been to make a profit. But with the advent of the Internet making it possible for virtually anyone to become a news source the collapse of news media standards in the pursuit of profit was inevitable.

The negative influence of today’s news media is incredible. It is blatantly obvious and getting worse by the day.  It adversely affects virtually every area of life—socially, economically, politically and spiritually —and despite all of the hemming and hawing by people who recognize its destructive influence, it continues to make a mockery of common sense, rationality and any pretense of positive morality.

Much of this morass derives from the misuse of the Constitutional provision regarding freedom of speech to advance the fortunes of individuals; to make money in total disregard for the damage it causes.

One aspect of the degradation of American culture that was stoked by the so-called Hippie Movement in the 1960s was the practice among both young men and women to get tattoos to demonstrate their rebellion against Establishment values and customs.

This rebellion was primarily voiced and advanced by songs and music that broke all of the old taboos against vulgar behavior and dress—something that appealed directly to the very young on a subconscious level.

Profit-oriented movie and television producers joined this rebellion and began to promote the same ideas and behavior that had grown out of the Hippie Movement—outlandish fashions, female nudity, unrestricted sexual activity, tattooed anti-heroes and gratuitous violence…all of which are now as American as apple pie.

Just one small part of this rebellion was the grow-ing incidence of tattoos among young girls after the Hippies had faded into the background—something that just a generation earlier would have been unthinkable. By the first decade of the 21st century the news media had begun to cooperate with entrepreneurial tattoo artists to promote tattoos as an “in” thing to do, with national tattoo organizations and annual “tattoo festivals.”

This tattoo phenomenon can be blamed on the failure of parents and educators to instill sensible values and common sense into the mindset of the young—not to mention that copious body decorations have historically been associated with small tribes of people still on the savage level who used it as a tribal marker, and in more modern times with biker gangs, low ranking sailors, marines and soldiers.

And here too the news media is at fault for treating the practice as a stylish thing to do.

The Black Hole of Competition

 A huge portion of the daily, weekly and monthly print news media in the United States abrogated any pretense of standing for and upholding a rational level of moral behavior when their existence was threatened by competition from broadcast and online news media as well as other print media. They lowered their standards or they died.

This corruption is especially glaring and conspicuous in the manner in which these publications report on and hype the entertainment industries that specialize in content based on soft and hard pornography, violence and sleazy behavior in general—much of which is aimed at young people, including children.

Very good writers in publications that once stood for honesty and integrity now utilize their skills to cleverly hawk the movies, television shows, video games and books that in another time and another place would be banned.

Public relations professionals hired by companies and individuals, along with gossip columnists published by newspapers and magazines, are also guilty of using their well-honed talents to promote ill-advised products and agendas by encasing them in an aura of integrity, value and glamour.

Comic strips in newspapers and comedians on television have become social commentators with agendas of their own, subtly making anti-social and anti-human behavior sound like okay fun. Film makers inject far-out political agendas into movies promoted as entertainment.

There are still honest and forthright journalists and publications in the news media field, but their numbers are dwindling and the cacophony erupting from their anything-that-will-sell competitors drowns most of them out.

The primary force in the motivation and goals of most of America’s professional news media today is simply to get as much of the spoils of war as they can. Some publications have simply eliminated any re-straints or standards on what they publish.

 The Insidious Enemy Within

 The widespread disappearance of integrity among members of the news media of America has resulted in many of these journalists, commentators and columnists becoming the equivalent of war-time 5th Columns—spies and saboteurs—whose misinformation and slanted news has negative and destructive effects on the country at large.

Unlike spies and saboteurs, however, most of these individuals and enterprises do not work under cover. They are out in public with as big a bang as possible, and the more notice they get and the more they are criticized, the more they like it because that attracts larger audiences and they get paid more by the advertisers who sponsor them.

The insidious power of these elements in the press is virtually unbounded. They can and do control the attitudes and behavior of millions of people.

In the present contexts of American culture any hope of returning integrity and responsibility to the news media is not possible. It will continue as long as it is both supported and driven by the overall culture of the country. It is a symptom of the obsession to make money.

 ***This blog was excerpted from my book: THE PLAGUE OF MALE DOMINANCE – The Cause and Cure!, available in ebook and printed formats from Amazon.com.

 _________________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Asia since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, journalist and editor. He is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, USA. In addition to books on the business practices, social behavior and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico he has written extensively about the moral collapse of the U.S. along with books on his home state of Arizona. To see a full list of his books go to: www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Recent books include: CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the NEW Japanese Way of Doing Business; AMERICA’S FAMOUS HOPI INDIANS; ARIZONA’S LORDS OF THE LAND [the Navajos] and SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way!

Technology As God! [25]

From Fertility Festivals to Jesus Christ!

THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! THE ROBOTS ARE COMING!

 Sophisticated robotic devices were standard in many manufacturing operations by the 1980s. The use of such devices in all areas of manufacturing, warehousing and distribution has continued to grow, and by 2010 in Japan and elsewhere humanized robots were in use in many service industries.

It takes no great intellect to realize that robotic devices and humanized robots are going to continue replacing a significant proportion of all manual labor tasks as well as many of the tasks in virtually all other fields of endeavor, including health care and surgery, within this century.

 Coming to terms with this new world will be one of the most fundamental cultural and industrial challenges mankind has ever faced.

The future of robotic devices in the health care industry was abundantly clear by 2011 when over one thousand American hospitals were using the da Vinci robot to perform prostate cancer removal and other delicate operations…and the use of the da Vinci robot alone was growing worldwide.

Pioneered and promoted by India-born Dr. Mani Menon, director of the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford, the da Vinci robot is a harbinger of things to come.

The integration of high-tech devices into education systems in the U.S. was also well underway by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, and their number and sophistication will continue to increase with each passing year.  The question is: how far will they go in replacing live teachers.

The programming of robots to have the most desirable qualities of human beings has advanced so rapidly that some are already smarter than humans and capable of interacting with humans on a sophisticated level.

Fans of the prescient television and film series STAR TREK, The Next Generation [which began in 1987] have only to consider the robot Lt. Commander Data to clearly see where robotics are going. Data is smarter, stronger and faster than any human being could ever be, never needs rest, never needs sleep, can absorb huge amounts of new information in milliseconds, never forgets anything, and doesn’t deteriorate with age.

By 2010 in Japan robots were already being used as assistant nurses, assistant doctors, maids, tour guides, information specialists, product spokesmen, guards, and more. There is virtually no end to what robots can be programmed to do now, and with each passing year they will be able to do more and do it better.

The question is: how will human beings deal with future Datas. Will they all be programmed to be tolerant and kind and protective of human beings and do only good things?

Given the history of humanity the answer to this question is not necessarily “Yes.” It is very likely that some of the engineers who create or obtain and pro-gram the first Datas will be influenced by their culture, their race, their tribal affiliations, their religions and so on—a frightening thought.

Robots have been used as weapons of war since the early 21st century, and long before they approach the sophistication and abilities of Lt. Commander Data they will make up most of the armed forces.

As far back as 2006 writer Bill Christensen noted that Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry was working on a new set of safety guidelines for next-generation robots. Their set of regulations constituted the first attempt at a formal version of the  Laws of Robotics, conceived by the science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov in 1940, or at least the portion that states that humans shall not be harmed by robots.

The first law of robotics as set forth by Asimov states: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Of course, the greatest danger that might come from highly intelligent robots—also already suggested by science-fiction movies—is that they would become self-aware and decide to make humans their servants—or worse.

The only hope for humanity is that the superior intelligence of robots—and no human history baggage in their brain chips—would result in them becoming gods instead of devils.

One of Japan’s top robotics experts, Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro, who designed and built a robot based on his appearance as well as his mindset and behavior says that human-like robots are mirrors that reflects human beings and should be treated as such—a very sobering thought.

In the meantime, and on a brighter side, one of the most obvious uses of smart robots at this time in history is as teachers. Just image: no pay; no time off; no emotional meltdowns; no incompetence; no unions!

Given all the negative influences in the cultures of the world the only salvation for humanity may be technology—which by itself is rapidly changing all of the world’s cultures.

In the long run, even without forward thinking and forward-acting leaders, the world’s cultures will be-come more and more rational, and more and more democratic because of the universal and objective, influence of technology.

But given the fact that primitive religions and authoritarian political forms still have at least a partial death-grip on the majority of mankind, these trans-formations could take generations because educators and political leaders will not take the heroic steps necessary to change today’s morality and today’s policies…even if they want it to happen!

And, of course, there are many leaders who are dead-set against freedom and against a humane morality for the people they rule over.

As a result, many people may continue to be oppressed and prevented from achieving their full potential for generations to come…unless these changes are aggressively promoted by huge numbers of people blogging the world’s bureaucrats and leaders in business, in politics and in religions with exposure, criticism and advice! And even more importantly, by simply refusing to go along with stupid, insane policies and the people who promote them!

Of course, the majority of people everywhere are sickened by the world’s cultural failures. But survival, power and profit-making…not moral behavior…are the overwhelming goals of most leaders in politics and business.  And as already said, there is no way that the weak, divided and often irrational spiritual-based moralities of today are going to change that!

We therefore need to teach and follow a philosophy of living and working that is based on common sense, on the fragile nature of the Earth, on the real physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and philosophical needs of human beings.

Of course, there are people already espousing these philosophies but with so little impact that contemplating the future is frightening.  Despite the misuse and abuse of the Internet by hate mongers, pornographers and radical religious zealots, this new technology also makes it possible for the average person to make his or her voice heard on a large scale for the first time in the history of mankind.

Ordinary people can now vote and express themselves online at any time on very important issues of the day!  If enough rational and morally enlightened people will bring more and more pressure against leaders in every field to force them to give up their self-serving ways—or force them out of positions of authority and let a new breed of people have a go at it—the ancient religious promise of peace on Earth might be achieved.

Two of the more obvious things that we in the United States are now talking about—and could do if we had the will—is to reintroduce discipline and a reality-based future-oriented curriculum into the educational system, and to boycott purveyors of obscene, immoral and harmful ideas and behavior instead of rewarding them with fame and great wealth.

Just as obviously, the First Amendment of the Constitution should be amended to prohibit its abuse by the so-called entertainment industries—and the so-called news media as well. In addition to being morally inexcusable, the present system is socially insane.

One of the fundamental imperatives in bringing humanity into the new world of the 21st century within a universal culture is the need for a higher level of wisdom combined with better training systems that are integrated into the culture. This wisdom has existed for millennia and there have been some examples of education and training systems that created out-standing people.

However, humans have screwed up and misused far simpler technology than what is now appearing in the world of robotics, which pales with what will appear just in the next few decades. Without a dramatic overhaul of world cultures, based on a 21st century education system, technology will no doubt continue to be both God and Satan.

***This blog was excerpted from my book: THE PLAGUE OF MALE DOMINANCE – The Cause and Cure!, available in ebook and printed formats from Amazon.com.

 _________________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Asia since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, journalist and editor. He is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, USA. In addition to books on the business practices, social behavior and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico he has written extensively about the moral collapse of the U.S. along with books on his home state of Arizona. To see a full list of his books go to: www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Recent books include: CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the NEW Japanese Way of Doing Business; AMERICA’S FAMOUS HOPI INDIANS; ARIZONA’S LORDS OF THE LAND [the Navajos] and SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way!

Technology as God AND Satan! [26]

Japan’s Traditions of Mistress-Keeping

TECHNOLOGY COULD AND MAY SAVE HUMANITY!

 The male-dominated business, political and religious institutions that have traditionally molded and controlled the mindset and behavior of people are losing their hold on humanity because of cultural changes and technology that is exposing their abuse and misuse of power to the public at large, making it possible for ordinary people to make their own decisions.

Television, with all of its good and bad elements, has become the new family, the new church, and the new school room of humanity. The stupidity, the perfidy, and the inhumanity that is shown in unending broadcasts from around the world is so shocking that the innate goodness in most of humanity that has long been ignored, oppressed and impotent—except in case of revolutions brought on by mass rebellions—is finally beginning to make itself felt through nonviolent means.

   ***

[If a man would follow, today, the teachings of the Old Testament, he would be a criminal. If he would follow strictly the teachings of the New Testament, he would be insane–Robert Green Ingersol.]

***

Given all the negative influences in today’s cultures, the only salvation for humanity may be the positive influence of technology—which by itself is already rapidly changing all of the world’s cultures.  In the long run, even without courageous forward thinking and forward-acting leaders, the world’s cultures will become more and more rational, and more and more democratic because of the incomparable ability of technology to inform, to educate, to encourage critical thinking and to change the behavior of people—and especially to influence people to demand their natural rights to be free and secure.

But given the fact that primitive religions and authoritarian political forms still have a death-grip on the majority of mankind, these transformations could take generations—time the Earth does not have—because leaders will not or cannot take the heroic steps necessary to change today’s morality and today’s policies even if they want these things to happen!

The Free Speech Bucket of Worms

Many Americans believe freedom of speech is guar-anteed by the Constitution and gives people the right to say or write almost anything, no matter how gross or false it might be.

But constitutional authority Robert Greenslade says that is not so. He says the sole purpose of the Bill of Rights was to add restraints to the powers of the federal government, and that the “rights” should be called the “Bill of Prohibitions” instead of the Bill of Rights.

The original purpose of the “Rights,” Greenslade adds, was to reserve these rights to individuals as the “natural rights” of mankind rather than leave them in the hands of politicians.

As a result, the rights inherent in the individual amendments did not take into account the possibility that they could and might be abused.

***This blog was excerpted from my book: THE PLAGUE OF MALE DOMINANCE – The Cause and Cure!, available in ebook and printed formats from Amazon.com.

 _________________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Asia since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, journalist and editor. He is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, USA. In addition to books on the business practices, social behavior and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico he has written extensively about the moral collapse of the U.S. along with books on his home state of Arizona. To see a full list of his books go to: www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Recent books include: CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the NEW Japanese Way of Doing Business; AMERICA’S FAMOUS HOPI INDIANS; ARIZONA’S LORDS OF THE LAND [the Navajos] and SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way!

Sex and Industries Challenge Mankind [27]

Which Side of Your Brain is in Charge?

THE GOD FACTOR IN MANKIND’S CHALLENGES!

To recap, it is patently obvious male-created religious doctrines designed to control the sexual behavior of both males and females have had unforeseen results that made the lives of both men and women a travesty of their nature.

Another fallout from the misunderstanding and misuse of human sexuality is the declining custom of marriage and the increase in children born out of wed-lock…both of which have a powerful, negative effect on the stability of societies and the quality of life.

By the turn of the century the economic impact of single parent families among minorities and especially illegal immigrants.—all of whom qualified for government handouts of cash, rebates and food stamps—had become one of the largest tax burdens in the U.S.

The sexual revolution that now encompasses much of humanity—again caused by the mostly well-intentioned attempts of religious doctrines to limit sexual behavior and channel it into narrow confines—is still in its early stages. Where and how far it will go remains to be seen but it cannot be allowed to run the course set for it by the present profit-at-any-cost based morality.

Of course, striving to transform the many cultures of the world and create a global Earth Culture is a challenge of epic proportions.  In addition to the religious obstacles there is the automobile industry, the oil industry and the use of sex as the foundation of the advertising, marketing and entertainment industries—all of which fly in the face of common sense.

The profits involved in the automobile and oil industries alone virtually rule the world, and in today’s world profit comes before morality, before sanity, and especially before the future!  It goes without saying that these two industries are not going to change their stripes anytime soon! They will surely milk the oil and automobile cows as long as it is profitable—or  at least until they have managed to come up with other ways of producing energy and transportation modes that allow them to continue to control much of the economies of the world.

The blatant, gross use of sex in business is another of the most negative legacies of the religious distortion and repression of the sexual impulse.  Even once straight-laced Asian countries have picked up on the American way of using sex to sell. This misuse and abuse of human sexuality is also not going to go away until we manage to create a new ethic for sexual behavior that is rational, satisfying and doable.

As already noted, we also need to obliterate the religious doctrines that continue to contribute to unsustainable population growth. Neither planet Earth nor “God” needs more people, and the Church-based ob-session that “He” does is another kind of pathological insanity!

Furthermore, the religious-economic-political concept that prosperity and the quality of life are based on a continuously growing population is not only out-dated, it is one of the primary factors in the poverty that plagues over half of the population of the Earth, including millions of people in the most prosperous nations.

Over-population is also one of the primary sources of much of the violence that afflicts so much of man-kind.   In fact, the world needs some kind of parental code of ethics that people be required to agree to be-fore they have children—in or outside of wedlock. To start with, courses in parenting responsibilities and skills should be made a mandatory part of the education of the young.

The political, economic and social policies of promoting growth and more growth for political and religious power must be eliminated from the human mindset.  Economic growth should first of all be de-signed to raise the level of the living standard of all people on Earth to a comfortable level while ensuring that it is sustainable both during the process and after-ward.

All of the prevailing reasons why men go to war—religion, the hunger for political power, the obsession with wealth, territorial ambitions, oppressive government regimes—should be eliminated by a coordinated universal effort that now seems to be so far beyond the ability of mankind that it is not even a dream. But that is exactly what at least ninety-five percent of the people on Earth want! So why can’t it be done?

It can be done but it will not be done until religious and political leaders are no longer in the dark ages where ignorance, irrationality and inhuman behavior are the norm—the norm for them; not for the people at large.

One factor that raised the living standard of people in China and India—two countries that represent two-thirds of humanity—was work out-sourcing from the United States, Japan, South Korea and other developed countries, a phenomena that began with Japan in the 1950s and from there spread to Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.

As controversial and as painful to some as this phenomenon was, it nevertheless was the most efficient and practical means of quickly achieving more economic parity between nations.

The more affluent developing countries become, the more they contribute to the economies of the countries out-sourcing to them, the more stable their governments, and the more likely they are to cherish and work for peace and prosperity.

Of course, there are many other things that should be done.  And despite all of the gloom and doom scenarios facing humanity today the great majority of people on this endangered planet are good-hearted, well-behaved and hardworking, and want only to live peaceful, comfortable, secure lives.

The evil doers—leaders and their henchmen who are actually well-known to the world—number only in the thousands.  If the world could somehow get rid of them and prevent others from taking their place the Earth could become a sane, safe habitat for humanity in a very short period of time.

The material quality of life is primarily determined by knowing what to do and having the political and religious freedom to do it. This makes it imperative that all people be freed from the destructive religious, political and economic shackles of the past.

***This blog was excerpted from my book: THE PLAGUE OF MALE DOMINANCE – The Cause and Cure!, available in ebook and printed formats from Amazon.com.

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Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Asia since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, journalist and editor. He is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, USA. In addition to books on the business practices, social behavior and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico he has written extensively about the moral collapse of the U.S. along with books on his home state of Arizona. To see a full list of his books go to: www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Recent books include: CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the NEW Japanese Way of Doing Business; AMERICA’S FAMOUS HOPI INDIANS; ARIZONA’S LORDS OF THE LAND [the Navajos] and SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way!

Solving the Human Sex Problem! [28]

Playboys & playgirls in Mexico.

GET RELIGION OUT OF THE BEDROOM!

Everywhere you look there are powerful images and signs of the dysfunction of cultures—much of which could be eliminated by the creation of a practical solution for the sexual needs of males and females beginning at the age of puberty.

One way that would resolve or reduce the problem of providing males and females with sexual partners when they need or want them would be to formally and legally allow unattached men and women to pro-vide sexual services to those who need or want them on a commercial basis.

Licenses could be issued to men and women who are not married and above the age of consent, to divorcees, and to widows and to widowers—a solution that would dramatically reduce the buildup of sexual energy in both males and females, and provide gainful employment for millions of people.

What a boon to the service industry this would be! And just image the income from licensing fees… which could quickly reach the level of government income from tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.

Sexual potency is at its peak in both males and females from the age of puberty to around the mid-20s, and expecting and sometimes forcing them to refrain from sexual intercourse until they get married is both irrational and harmful in many ways.

The solution to this real problem is simply to formally and officially allow young unmarried males and females to have intimate relationships as soon as they are old enough to take the responsibility necessary for them to avoid pregnancies and venereal diseases.

These practices would eliminate most of the sexual stress that afflicts younger unmarried males and females; it would help prevent these same people from growing up to have a variety of harmful sexual hang-ups; it would also eliminate most of the obsession with sexual titillation that now passes as entertainment… and it could help teens become more responsible adults in their sexual relationships.

The facts are, of course, that young males and fe-males in some countries, including the United States, are already creating this new paradigm on their own, with or without the approval of their parents, other adults and institutions of whatever kind.

Still another suggestion is that married men and women could agree to be free to have civilized, harmonious affairs with other partners without negative effect on their marriage—something that would no doubt roil the “me-only” ego of many males. But the positive benefits of this customs could be miraculous. Men who didn’t want to lose their wives would be better husbands. Women who didn’t want to lose their husbands would be better wives.

Surprising to some, perhaps, this trend is also well underway. Surveys show that around one-third of American married men and women over the age of 40 have had extra-marital affairs, and a larger percentage think it is a good idea.

Of course, people who did not have spouses should be free to have mutually consensual intimate relationships with anyone of their choice—also already a growing reality in the U.S. and elsewhere.

If these practices were followed, there would be far less sexual frustration among both men and women, the tendency for male violence would be dramatically reduced, and the world would be a saner, happier place.

The time is long past when religions and other institutions that don’t work in the first place should be eliminated as the controllers of the sexual behavior of human beings. There is nothing sacred or profane about sex. It is simply the way life works, and when this natural process is denied or perverted problems are inevitable.

***This blog was excerpted from my book: THE PLAGUE OF MALE DOMINANCE – The Cause and Cure!, available in ebook and printed formats from Amazon.com.

 _________________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Asia since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, journalist and editor. He is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, USA. In addition to books on the business practices, social behavior and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico he has written extensively about the moral collapse of the U.S. along with books on his home state of Arizona. To see a full list of his books go to: www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Recent books include: CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the NEW Japanese Way of Doing Business; AMERICA’S FAMOUS HOPI INDIANS; ARIZONA’S LORDS OF THE LAND [the Navajos] and SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way!

The Need for a New Cultural Paradigm [29]

The Romance of Hawaii

OVERCOMING IGNORANCE AND STUPIDITY!

Mankind is now faced with new challenges spawned by the stupidity and idiocy of traditional cultures. In the U.S. and elsewhere this has led to the use of technology to create new cultures that in some respects are worse than the old ones.

It goes without saying that to truly meet the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of mankind the world needs a new, global, cultural paradigm that “fits” and enhances the lives of everybody in all societies.

But are there principles and policies that would ensure high standards of ethical behavior and would work on a worldwide basis?  There are, but to create and implement this new paradigm would mean discarding all of the institutionalized and ritualized one-God cult religions. [The only difference between these three cults and notorious little cults is that these three are very big and very powerful, and can ignore and squash criticism].

It is, of course, a fact that some of the social tenets of Judaism and Christianity are responsible for much of the humane morality that has managed to survive in the United States and other Western countries.  But even the most casual glance at the level of morality in so-called Christianized societies reveals that corruption and immoralities of all kinds are thriving as never before.

Christianity now presents itself as humane and nurturing. But it is still off-base in many of its teachings—and has never been and is not now capable of instilling a desirable standard of morality even in “Christianized” countries, much less universally.

Islam is even worse in many respects.  It remains caught in a time warp, with many of the same irrational and barbarous tenets that were the bedrock of Christianity for many centuries—the same Christianity that was responsible for the crusades against Muslims, for the Catholic Inquisitors who tortured and burned thousands over a period of several generations, for the depredations of the Conquistadors in the New World, for the European Colonialists and their campaigns to subjugate native populations in Africa and to eradicate them in North and South America, and on and on.

And there is another very conspicuous obstacle to the creation and implementation of a new code of ethics for humanity.  This obstacle is a large number of professional people in think tanks, in universities, and in other organizations that have agendas that range from being anti-white, anti-black, anti-Jewish, anti-Islamic, anti-democratic, anti-capitalism, anti-global-ism, anti-American, to anti-international business, and more.

As is also obvious, these groups now have the means to reach millions of people daily with their virulent messages. A recent book entitled Welcome to the Ivory Tower of Babel by Michael Adams presents a fascinating and frightening portrait of these think-tank and campus-based anti-everything groups.

Guidelines for a New Way of Living

So what might a new social paradigm look like—one that all people could live by and achieve their fullest potential?  Given what is known about humanity, the new cultural paradigm would have to include the following elements:

1)  That all governments be based on the best principles of democracy [and certainly not the kind of “democracy” that now prevails in the U.S.!]

2)  That all societies acknowledge and follow the fundamental principle that females have an equal stake in humanity and must have the same rights and same opportunities as males.

3) That morality be based on dogma-free principles that recognize the true nature of mankind and are de-signed to nurture all of the elements in the make-up of human beings: the body, the emotions, the intellect and the spirit.

4)  That the educational policies of all governments and all educational institutions be redesigned to inculcate all students from day one with a genteel standard of etiquette; a moral value system that includes respect for others, honesty, truthfulness and diligence; a sense of pride in themselves; a sense of honor; the ambition to make the world a better place; and the courage to have big dreams.

5)  That the economic policies of all governments be redesigned to further a global-based process of raising the living standards of all people on the planet to a comfortable level.

6) That a key part of this process be providing the means for all females to limit the number of children they have to no more than two.

7)  That the finite nature and fragility of Planet Earth be formally and officially recognized and that universal mandatory directives be established to protect and sustain it… balanced with the profit-making that is essential for the well-being of humanity.

8)  That these goals be made the basic charter of man-kind and be pursued on a global, coordinated basis.

Of course, there are hundreds of other factors, real and imagined, that would have to be a part of this paradigm shift. The goal should be that all societies on the planet become interconnected to the point that they are, in fact, members of a global society. An old idea! A global village!

We are now engaged in three kinds of wars: economic competition; political/military supremacy; and religious ideologies. And that is the new reality of the 21st century. We must therefore strive to bring all countries into the same rational, logical, humane, human family.

Much of the world is, in fact, waiting for leaders to create a morality that would lift mankind up and out of the religious, political and economic muck and mire of history.

All of the modern-day institutions have contributed to this moral failure: the political; the business and the educational.  All religious institutions have, of course, failed in every facet of their self-proclaimed mandates.

Of course, there is a lot of complaining and wailing about these institutions, particularly education.  But most of the institutions are too divided, too hemmed in by laws, too entrenched, and too bureaucratic to reform themselves.

The big hope for humanity is that the new social media that has given voice to the millions of people who know what is good and right and what is bad and wrong, and will join together to browbeat and shame their leaders into making the changes that would allow the human species to achieve much more of its potential, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.

***This blog was excerpted from my book: THE PLAGUE OF MALE DOMINANCE – The Cause and Cure!, available in ebook and printed formats from Amazon.com.

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Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Asia since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, journalist and editor. He is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, USA. In addition to books on the business practices, social behavior and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico he has written extensively about the moral collapse of the U.S. along with books on his home state of Arizona. To see a full list of his books go to: www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Recent books include: CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the NEW Japanese Way of Doing Business; AMERICA’S FAMOUS HOPI INDIANS; ARIZONA’S LORDS OF THE LAND [the Navajos]; SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way! and THE GRAND CANYON ANSWER BOOK – Everything You Might Want to Know About the Grand Canyon, and Then Some!

Fate Facing Earth and Mankind! [30]

GOD-BASED RELIGIONS HELPING TO KILL THE EARTH!

Saving Earth FROM Humanity! [31]

The Chinese Way of Doing Busines

WAITING FOR THE RISE OF WOMEN!

The common sense of females, the power of technology and a growing number of enlightened males now offer mankind an opportunity to solve what is potentially one of the greatest problems human beings have ever faced—how to get population growth under control and create a new universal cultural paradigm.

    Attempts to prevent pregnancy in females go back at least three thousand years [and included some far out methods], but nothing really worked well until the development of the Pill in 1950s by American scientists, and its approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 1960. At that time the typical American woman had 3.6 children—some had as many as a dozen or more…and if Catholic or Mormon, were praised as having been blessed by God.

     Just one pill a day was effective over ninety-two percent of the time in preventing pregnancy. Side effects were rare [and have since been virtually eliminated]. When first introduced each pill cost only 12 cents.

   At that time, attempts to prevent pregnancy were banned by a number of religions and there were laws in various religious-oriented states and countries making family planning a criminal offense.

     First, women by the thousands began taking the tiny pill daily despite the laws and religious edicts, and their numbers continued to grow. By 1980 the birth rate among white Americans had dropped below two for the first time in the history of the country.

     Despite the fact that the primitive bastions of male power kept up the battle year after year to prevent women from taking the Pill, their numbers soon passed a million, then ten million and by 2010 well over one hundred million.

    The gradual unfolding of this pregnancy revolution by American women was chronicled by TIME Magazine in 2010, revealing a battle that started several thousand years ago, and is still in its early stage.

     Some of the methods used in an effort to prevent pregnancy in ancient times were bizarre to say the least—including such things as the male putting a ring made from a cut lemon around his penis.

     In 1873 the American Congress passed a law label-ing birth-control information obscene and banning its distribution to the public—a blatant demonstration of the power of male religious ideologues in Congress.

     Well into the 20th century contraception of any kind was opposed by orthodox religions around the world, the most powerful of which even regarded sex within marriage as immoral unless it was aimed at having children. Families with up to fourteen or more children were held up as paragons of moral behavior.

     Women who began the push for birth-control methods, including some Catholic women, were treated as criminals. Margaret Sanger, one of the first major figures in this battle, took up the fight after her mother died from complications caused by eighteen pregnancies.

     She wrote that she dreamed of a “magic pill.” She was arrested and spent time in jail for her efforts.

     Not surprisingly, the man who was ultimately responsible for the development of the Pill began his research in an effort to increase fertility in women who were having trouble conceiving—not blocking pregnancies!

     The emancipation of American women from getting pregnant every twenty-one or twenty-two months was to have a profound influence on the social and economic situation of females, resulting in them swarming into universities and corporate offices by the millions.

     By the end of the 20th century some lower level religious leaders had bowed to the inevitable and given grudging approval of the Pill for married women—or  they kept quiet about it because they knew large numbers of their members had been using it for many years.

The Political Push Back

Still today there is tremendous opposition to the Pill by critics in some African countries who say it is being used as a political weapon by the White race to limit the number of Blacks—and by dogged God-oriented conservative politicians in the United States who claim the moral high ground by opposing unnatural contraception.

     But as history has proven over and over again, nothing changes human behavior faster and more completely than new technology that makes life easier and better. Technology that has benefits that are immediately obvious changes physical behavior virtually instantly—and a change in thinking inevitably follows.

***This blog was excerpted from my book: THE PLAGUE OF MALE DOMINANCE – The Cause and Cure!, available in ebook and printed formats from Amazon.com.

 _________________________________________

Boyé Lafayette De Mente has been involved with Asia since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, journalist and editor. He is a graduate of Jōchi University in Tokyo, Japan and Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, USA. In addition to books on the business practices, social behavior and languages of China, Japan, Korea and Mexico he has written extensively about the moral collapse of the U.S. along with books on his home state of Arizona. To see a full list of his books go to: www.authorsonlinebookshop.com. Recent books include: CHINA Understanding & Dealing with the Chinese Way of Doing Business; JAPAN Understanding & Dealing with the NEW Japanese Way of Doing Business; AMERICA’S FAMOUS HOPI INDIANS; ARIZONA’S LORDS OF THE LAND [the Navajos] and SPEAK JAPANESE TODAY – A Little Language Goes a Long Way!