by

Leo Crocker Rogers

One of the good things about democratic governments, Republics less so, is that they are fragmented. Really, that is good. If any government is to rule by but one voice, that voice truly needs to be God’s. Otherwise, let’s vote. Are we ready? Sure we are.

The only thing that holds anything together is the desire to do just that. It is "the devotion of thought to an honest achievement that makes the achievement possible". Not money.

On an island, all the money available does not keep one alive. What does? Thought.

What is the difference between an island and a country?

How many people think the way you do? How many think somewhat the way you do? How many people think anywhere near the way you think? If someone says, "You know, the way you think is like so and so." Is that what you want to hear? If there are five people in the world that think anywhere near the way you think; if there are 4 people in the world that think somewhat near the way you think; if there is one person that thinks the way you think or even truly understands the way you think, treasure that person(s), for you are better off than most.

Recently, a Jaguar brought to a Phoenix zoo was euthanized because his kidneys were deemed to have failed. When an autopsy was done, the kidneys were good. Likely, the Jaguar was merely dehydrated. Think this is terrible? It is, really. But here is the rest of the story. A few years ago, a friend of mine became lost in the desert. She was picked up by a rescue unit. At the hospital, the doctor determined that her kidneys had failed.

The doctor said surgery was needed immediately. She declined the doctors readiness to operate on her. This took a lot of firm words on her part. The doctor brought in other doctors to substantiate her diagnosis and her prognosis that my friend would die if the operation were not performed. My friend remained in the hospital with no operation. In three days she walked out as good as ever. She too had been dehydrated. She and I thought differently than the medics. Good to have a friend at your side when being pushed around.

Don’t tell me that computer sanfus do not happen. Those assurance are like the words from those like AIG, not worth the paper on which they are written. My bank assures me that my account is hack proof. That is ludicrous.

Why? Well, first of all, hackers can penetrate the United States Department of Defense computer system. Compared to that, my bank is a piggy bank, vulnerable to someone with a ball-peen hammer. More to the point, a hacker can get into my computer which is even easier to penetrate and then enter my bank pretending to be me. Electronic communications.

My son has suggested that over 60% of all electronic communications are misunderstood.

In April of 2009, San Diego State University, one of my alma maters, invited 18,000 high school student to attend the freshman class. Good deal. SSU is a good school. The admissions department also, however, invited, by computer error, an additional 28,800 students who had applied but had not qualified to be a part of the freshman class. Can you imagine what 28,800 students are thinking when they will not put a foot on SSU soil. "We are sorry if our letter of invitation has caused you an inconvenience. Please accept our apology." Computer glitch? Perhaps, human error? Computers make small things big, very big, like the illusion that General Motors is too big to fail.

There was a saying by General Bull Moose created by Al Capp, that touted bigness. "What is good for GM is good for the United States of America". How correct he was, as goes GM so goes the USA. Best we get back to basics really soon. One simply cannot borrow enough to pay one’s debts, neither GM nor the USA.

Big is not best. Not in banks, electrical power companies, not airlines, not telephone companies, not stock brokers, not car manufacturers.

A few years back, I was in NY visiting an electrical power plant. Proudly the tour guide told us that after a recent brown out in the USA, that the pundits of utilities had now designed a fool-proof system that linked all of the utilities together. The grid was now too large to fail. I asked, "Could one system drag down another then another?" His response was, "Not possible. We have taken precautions to disconnect if that were to occur. We are just too big to fail." It was a very short time before a large part of the east coast of the USA went black. How arrogant size is. The larger the large ones are, the harder they fall.

If we pick it up, we carry it. Whose country is this? It is ours. Are we ready to carry it’s morality? Sure we are.