So what do I value? What do I believe in?

 So what do I value? What do I believe in?

I believe in freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of choice in personal relationships, with all of the above prefaced with the word responsible.

I believe in democracy, and the right of each individual male or female to be able to vote and that their votes are counted. 

I believe in preserving and protecting the environment, just as God gave us the garden of Eden it’s our responsibility to tend to it and take care of it for future generations. And this would mean moving away from fossil fuels and moving towards green and sustainable energy sources.

I believe in freedom of religion and freedom from religion I believe that people acquire beliefs from what they learn and experience, and they have the right to gather together to express those beliefs. This too prefaced by responsibility and respect for the dignity of all peoples and all ages.

My personal religious beliefs are based on the teachings of Jesus. Without listing all of them, they all build to that one simple and direct Golden Rule… Do unto others as you would have them do unto you… treat other people the way you yourself would want to be treated.

I believe that the term after life is what best describes death. After this life, I will find myself in heaven. There’s no need to define or describe what heaven is because it’s been done by many others with a better descriptive vocabulary than mine, but I know that I will rest in peace.

I believe in responsible capitalism. In an economic system that facilitates individual creativity, growth and wealth, while providing reasonable minimal standards of living to those who lack the skills or abilities, to earn a good living. 

I believe that responsible capitalism can continue to build and create a higher standard of living for all participants in our society while protecting and preserving the quality of life on our planet.

I believe in an educational system that provides for the teaching and learning of the basics, reading, writing and arithmetic and how to utilize technologies that enhance those basic skills. 

I believe that science and technology is what provides us with modern living in all of its manifestations, including; transportation, communication, nutrition, housing, heating and cooling and health and wellness. With current technologies, including vaccinations, electricity, the Internet, energy, efficient, transportation, and all of the gadgets and technologies that facilitate our modern life. 

I don’t believe in carrying a personal weapon. I have lived 77 years of my life without one and I hope to finish without one. That doesn’t mean that I don’t understand and accept that other people use guns for hunting and may feel the need to have a gun for a personal safety.

I believe that I believe in the highest ideals of human nature, I also realize that my beliefs may be naïve and lacking the gravity and tangibility of actual human history. We are a glorious but flawed species. We seem to be able to reach the highest echelons of technological advancement while still living in a very visceral and emotionally driven, suspicious, fearful and angry world. We are prone to divisions, and to violence. As much of our technology has resulted in sophisticated weaponry all to defend ourselves from each other.

In that respect, we find our identity strongly attached to our family, clan, tribe, country or region. This is an undeniable part of our human nature. We have now developed artificial intelligence as part of our technological advancement, artificial intelligence mimics human intelligence, but just does it much faster. Artificial intelligence will no doubt advance our technologies, but it will not advance our human nature. One of the fears we have about artificial intelligence is that it will become sentient and will have its own survival instincts to consider and take priority over it subordination to human beings. Like everything else time will tell. 

I don’t have a big bucket list as far as places I’d like to visit things. I’d like to do things I’d like to have. I really just want to maintain what I already have, love and appreciate the people around me and live out my life with some level of dignity and deeper understanding and appreciation for all the things that I have and all the people I love.

If I were to list those people it would start with Mom, who gave me unconditional love, Dad who loved me but knew life had conditions and consequences. My sister Linda, who has become my most loved and trusted friend. My daughter Lauren, for whom I have unconditional love. My wife Tess, who loved me and proved that Dad was right. We built a whole life of 46 years together on love, lust, trust and work. My cousin Eileen, who I’ve rediscovered in these past couple of years. Alice, who has grown even closer as we remember Dave and our youth and Jennifer who has given me a new reason and a new way to love and share in the companionship of a woman.

We are all victims and beneficiaries of luck. We have a little wiggle room to make our life better or worse but I’ve come to recognize that I have very little control and therefore it’s smart to be humble about it, count my blessings and just try to wiggle in the right direction. 🤓😊😉