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Pandemic: Rough Road Traveled

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Pre Pandemic Possibility

Like a few i have talked with in the past year, I suspect that I may had had the Corona Virus in late dec 2019 / early Jan 2020. I suffered a Flu like ailment that peaked with the main symptom of Covid, Shortness of breath. I couldnt walk 4 feet without being out of breath.

I was fortunate though, this symptom started to subside with about 4 days but it seemed like it took me many months to feel close to back to normal. To this day I am unsure if I had Covid-19 or a severe Pneumonia like infection, though I had others around me in my family whom also suffered the same problems in the same date range.

Pandemic Panic

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During the early months of the pandemic I did not seem to feel much emotional / mental anxiety or panic. But as the months passed I did start getting overwhelmed by both the News media hyping it up and the politicization of the pandemic itself.

I found myself glued to one news channel or another like most people, looking for some hope of it coming to an end and some unity in the congress to get things rolling towards getting the pandemic and its many problems it caused in our economy and society.

Between the Battle over mask wearing, lock downs on public gatherings and the unfortunate problems of our society being amplified during the pandemic, I was finding very hard to find any peace or tranquility within my own mind.

Fear of infection, loss of hope and the political madness that was gripping our nation both in the public and in the government itself was getting to the point I was losing most of my ability to think rationally.

Eventually I chose to turn off the TV, stop watching the news for a while. That gave me time to refocus and think about things rationally and logically. That choice of ending the binge watching of the news lead to me returning to my normal self mentally and emotionally.

This pandemic panic was short lived mind you, not even a month in time but i do believe it could have and probably would have lasted longer if I continued being glued to the tv watching news channels.

Pandemic Magnifying Glass

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The pandemic has brought to light and caused a magnification of many social injustices along with amplifying the polarization of a already dysfunctional government.

Civil Rights, Civil Justice and equality has been in need of being addressed not only in the United States, but in most if not all of the world. A person should never be judged by religion, color, nationality , Financial status, sexual preference or even their political party.

Democracy or in our case a Democratic Republic is not a failed experiment like some world government leaders has stated, It is a on going ever changing and growing thing. Change is always hard and usualy is feared by most people, reason why there is always polarization and opposition when change comes.

Right now our congress is playing the partisan games, both sides doing what they need to to gain votes more so than to do what it right. The congress seems dysfunctional and only interested in fighting one another.

One side wants to spend and put the nation in debt, though spending is needed to fix the the nation up with such things as infrastructure. The other side don’t want to spend anything hardly at all and will do anything to stop the former side from succeeding.

Conclusion:

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Times of trouble always brings out the best and worst in people and governments. This pandemic is no exception to that rule. Being Glued to News is not a good way to deal with the problems at hand and usualy leads to some kind of emotional problems if not brain washing lol. In the end it is what you do during this time that will make the most impact

How you treat others, Resect their opinions and position on topics at hand and if you are a helper or a watcher will determine how we get through this pandemic and troubling times.

Respect, Compassion and doing your part in being a helper in society and not just a bystander who watches will make a positive and large impact on our world and society.

Stay Safe, Be good and kind to others.

Raymond Barbier

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Random Thoughts 3-12-2015

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001You are unique, one of a kind and the only living being in the entire universe that’s exactly like you. Only you have the DNA sequence that you do, only you have had the experiences that you have had and the thoughts you think. Yes there may be those similar to you but none quite like you in whole.

Each one of us are unique and special because we are all one of a kinds. No one is greater or lesser in life, we all are equal and any belief there is a superior or lesser quality is an illusion and tragic disbelief that leads to unneeded injustices. There are those who are more suited for one tasks and less for another, this is part of the diversity which makes humanity the great creation we are. One may excel in physical prowess and another may excel academically. Both are important qualities needed by humanity and neither is greater or lesser than the other.  Once we as a species learn to overcome things such as prejudice, bigotry and elitism, we will finally be on the road to our true potential as a species.

We have a long road ahead of us, humanity is still plagued with fear, mistrust, greed and the injustice of inequality. Seems humans have a hard time letting go of tragedies and the mistakes in the past. This hinders humanity from moving forward and it jeopardizes the future of our species as a whole.  With so many issues to face in the present, wasting time holding grudges and fearing the unlikely we will find ourselves too preoccupied to find the solutions we need. Governments are too preoccupied and distracted by both political party differences and unnecessary rivalries between nations to focus on the real issues at hand.

Greed, fear and the lust of power has way to much power over those in Government, only if they could focus on the real issues and learn to work together. We all are equal in birth and we all in the end must face our equality in death. Seems the hardest part is facing our equality in the time we spend in-between the two. Maybe one day we will realize we all are equally special ,unique and in the differences between us there is more commonality than we acknowledge.

Well hope you enjoyed my Random Thoughts For today

Blessings and Happiness to all

Ray Barbier

Random Thoughts 3-12-2015 was originally published on Mind Exposure

creative commons, Poems and Writings, Random Thoughts, Thought of the day, Thought's on World Issues

Random Thoughts 3-12-2015

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001You are unique, one of a kind and the only living being in the entire universe that’s exactly like you. Only you have the DNA sequence that you do, only you have had the experiences that you have had and the thoughts you think. Yes there may be those similar to you but none quite like you in whole.

Each one of us are unique and special because we are all one of a kinds. No one is greater or lesser in life, we all are equal and any belief there is a superior or lesser quality is an illusion and tragic disbelief that leads to unneeded injustices. There are those who are more suited for one tasks and less for another, this is part of the diversity which makes humanity the great creation we are. One may excel in physical prowess and another may excel academically. Both are important qualities needed by humanity and neither is greater or lesser than the other.  Once we as a species learn to overcome things such as prejudice, bigotry and elitism, we will finally be on the road to our true potential as a species.

We have a long road ahead of us, humanity is still plagued with fear, mistrust, greed and the injustice of inequality. Seems humans have a hard time letting go of tragedies and the mistakes in the past. This hinders humanity from moving forward and it jeopardizes the future of our species as a whole.  With so many issues to face in the present, wasting time holding grudges and fearing the unlikely we will find ourselves too preoccupied to find the solutions we need. Governments are too preoccupied and distracted by both political party differences and unnecessary rivalries between nations to focus on the real issues at hand.

Greed, fear and the lust of power has way to much power over those in Government, only if they could focus on the real issues and learn to work together. We all are equal in birth and we all in the end must face our equality in death. Seems the hardest part is facing our equality in the time we spend in-between the two. Maybe one day we will realize we all are equally special ,unique and in the differences between us there is more commonality than we acknowledge.

Well hope you enjoyed my Random Thoughts For today

Blessings and Happiness to all

Ray Barbier

Random Thoughts 3-12-2015 was originally published on Mind Exposure

Personal, Political, Random Thoughts, Thought of the day, Thought's on World Issues

Just another Sunday morning Rant.

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002Human history has proven humanity is capable of some horrific actions, from ancient conquerors , the trail of tears, world wars 1 and 2 we have seen some of the worst possible sides of humanity. There were of course some times that we rose up and done some miraculous things as well. When we are able to put behind us our differences and learn to forgive as well as forget we seem to be able to come together as a species and perform some very wonderful and spectacular feats.  The question remains of how this generation is remembered by the future generations to come. Is this going to be a generation of conflict, politics and the depletion of our natural resources or the generation that saw what was coming and took action as well as faced the dilemmas of our times. Between the media and the big corporations the average person is bombarded constantly with images and ideas of what we are supposed to look like, act like and what will make us happy. The sad part is a lot of us actually buy into all the sales pitches thrown at us. They pitch at us how a new smart phone makes our life easier or makes us look cooler or how we need to have tax cut for the wealthy. Too much information being sent at us 24/7 and it becomes almost like brain washing by seeing it so much.

Look at our food, it is so full of preservatives and unhealthy fillers or fats so that they can sell it cheap to us but anything that is good for you cost a lot more. Our meat is less nutritious than 2 generations ago and so was our fruits and vegetables. Our meat is becoming so low quality they was irradiate it to make sure it doesn’t have any bacteria or virus’s in it. It has all come down to profit, even to our governments. They spend our money and borrow from other countries and then try to cut off Social security which is by the way a paid for entitlement by the people. Our politicians are more worried about their political parties, agendas and careers than the economy or the state of our country. They are great at spinning tales, taking the words of another politician of context but they are lousy at reading and or passing bills to benefit the common worker.

To be honest, I believe some of the politicians in office really need to grow up and do the job we the tax payers pay them to do and stop playing party politics on our dime. We the consumers need to pay less attention to the illusion we need the newest thing to be happy and just be happy with what we have. We also should stop buying the unhealthy convenient foods and either buy fresh vegetables and fruits or when possible grow our own. We need to be more independent for the economy wont be getting better any time soon and the cost of food is unlikely to decrease. The more independent and self-sufficient we are the easier it will be to survive the possible hard times ahead. Even if the economy gets better it is still a good practice to be self-sufficient.

To be the generation of solutions and of change we must start changing our own lives and lead by example. We need to educate ourselves and help educate others on self efficiency and we need to get back to being more community minded. We can as a species either create a better world for our future generations or we can continue allowing the world to spiral downward as it has for years. I myself rather fix as much of the problems today in our world so that those who come after me will have a better world to live in than to leave them a mess that may not be fixable in the future.  It is our children’s and grandchildren’s world we are messing up today. Well enough ranting about this generation and the woes of the world of today and possibly of tomorrow for now.

We can be led by those in power or we can show those in power the way to lead.
Ray Barbier

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Work together to better our communities and our world

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062 Every one of us has a story, each one of us influences the world around us. How we influence and how much we contribute is up to us. But there is no such thing as an unimportant person, we all are important, special and unique to God. We all are a part of the great machine called life. We as individuals can change our little worlds and as a group can influence change on a global scale. This is one of the unique qualities of human beings, we can change our environments to suit our needs as well as change the course of our worlds destiny / fate.  Protests, revolutions, grass root projects and just plain speaking up can cause political, social and even cultural changes. I prefer the non violent methods of enacting change, usually the violent path only brings suffering and brings either temporary or negative results.  There are of course some circumstances that violent action is the only path but it should be the last resort.

I blog quite often about how governments tend to be out of touch with the needs of the citizens and are more focused on the rich or the powerful. How the governments fail at actually coming up with solutions to problems due to party politics and the interest groups lobbying them. We can not rely on our governments to carry the weight and should as a nation and or global community start dealing with some of the problems ourselves. Poverty, hunger, homelessness and the environment are things we as citizens can make a difference in. If we organize and work together to better our communities and our world we can achieve almost anything. Some can give money, some can just volunteer time or their expertise as well as doing grass-roots education. So much we can do on our own and probably do a far better job of it than the government could do. It is the right way to do it and almost every religion supports the idea of taking care of our fellow human beings. We can put aside our religious and cultural differences to make this world a better place if we chose to do so.

 

Just some thoughts, Right or Wrong there here for all to see.

 

 

“Love, Compassion and peace are the keys to a better world.”

Raymond Barbier

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Political

They choose to keep the status quo over trying to improve our country.

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65242 Ah Politics, the entertainment of an election year and all the bent truths along with the words taken out of context. Such a media circus and misdirection of information. I just don’t see what all this conservative and liberal arguments are really about other than a way to polarize the voters to one way or another. It would seem if a politician really loved his country and wanted to really help the citizens of our great nation he would seek out the best possible solution to a problem be it right,left winged, conservative, moderate or liberal in nature. But then if a politician really cared for his county and its citizens he would also put aside all his personal ambitions and avoid being influenced by any lobbyist in his decisions. I also think there should be a term limit on congress, a congress person who stays in office too long become entrenched in one way of thinking and will have a hard time being innovative and or creative in coming up with new solutions / ideas. They become too comfortable and they choose to keep the status quo over trying to improve our country.

I guess the majority of those in congress have never been poor or had to live on minimum wage or been on a low fixed income. This makes it hard for any of them to truly relate to the common citizen they represent. Maybe they should be paid minimum wage and try to pay rent and afford food. Then they could truly understand how it is for most of their voters. I guess I cant blame some of them for supporting the rich since they themselves are rich and you always take care of your own. They complain about Obama wanting to take from the rich and give to the poor but its ok for them to take away from the poor’s benefits to give tax breaks to the rich. They are ok with redistribution of wealth as long as its going to the rich and coming from the poor. I don’t want the rich mans money, I just want him to stop stealing mine. So many times they raise prices and make record profits as they cut workers benefits if not lay them off. I just think there should be some accountability for the unfair practices that the big businesses use.

 

Just my 2 cents worth, Right or wrong it is what it is.

Raymond Barbier

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To Govern or to play Political Games?

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IMG_1077 Too much politics and not enough creative thinking in congress, they rather focus on the differences between their political parties and the upcoming elections than on finding solutions to the problems at hand. The lack of the ability to compromise for the common good in congress wastes both the taxpayers money and time. The longer they play these political games the worse our nations problems will grow.  The congress seems too focused on the upcoming elections and their parties agendas that they can not find any true solutions to our national debt or the declining economy. Maybe if they would put as much effort into fixing the problems at hand as they do the propaganda and political spin they spew out to the media they might be able to work together to find a solution.

The immaturity the congress is displaying along with their inability to co-operate will not only allow our nation to slip into ruin but it also will tarnish this great nations global reputation. We are supposed to be a guiding light and the shining example for the world to follow, but how our government is in chaos due to the political games being played we will not be able to be such a guiding light. For a house that is divided upon itself surely will fall, so we need to get our house in order before it falls.

So congress, you can either keep playing your political games and bring this nation to its knees or work together and fix the problems at hand. The choice is solely yours to either govern or to play political games. Either way you will be responsible for the choices made as well as the results. For We the People have given you the power through the elections and now we place the responsibility upon your shoulders.

God Grant them the wisdom to see the error of their ways.
Raymond Barbier

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Natural Disasters, Political change and a Dysfunctional Government

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009 Natural Disasters are becoming more and more frequent in the last decade or so. Everything from hurricanes, earthquakes and forest fires not only threaten the earths sensitive ecological system it also has become a big threat to all forms of life. There is many people without power, housing, food and or clean water from hurricane Irene. The U.S. Government is dragging their feet on sending aid via F.E.M.A. because they still are bickering over the budget cuts. These are the times when the citizens and businesses should band together to help those unfortunate people in need. There are even some trapped on islands created by flood waters from the hurricane. Trapped with no escape or ability to get food or fresh water. This is something I thought would never happen in the U.S., the government being unable to help the citizens that put them in office and pay the taxes that funds the government itself.

There is time for politics and then there is time for good governing and it seems our congress has no clue on the right time to do either. They enjoy the politics too much to focus on governing. I believe it is either time to do away with the political party system so the politicians can think independently and not be sheep following a blind agenda. I also still believe there should be term limits on a congressional seat so that new ideas can be introduced by new members after so many terms. Lifetime congressional members should be a thing of the past. It’s a new century and its time to overhaul the political system and time to cut away all the fat from our dysfunctional government. Political change never comes quickly nor does it come without some pain and or sacrifice.

The one thing I think the Americans are getting fed up with is this finger-pointing from both sides on who is to blame for the deficit. The cold hard fact is that it’s both sides at fault do to both poor governing and lack of the ability to co-operate and to put political party agendas aside to get work done.  Reduce Spending, rewrite the tax code to make it fair and fix all the loopholes. Stop messing with the so-called entitlements that we the people of the united states have been paying for and get rid of the earmarks. Make bills that are passed simple and direct with no string attached or hidden perks. Most of all congress needs to really listen to all of the people they were elected to represent.

When political agendas are more important than people who are in need then it is apparent or government has become dysfunctional and it has lost its way. Wake up congress and learn to prioritize as well as how to work together.

Well right or wrong, that’s my 2 cents worth
Raymond Barbier

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I know all of this is just wishful thinking and nothing more than pipe dream.

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008 It seems the media thrives on doomsday prophecies and the misfortune of others. What once was informing and entertaining has transformed into fear pushing and theoretical theatre. If the media would put as much time and energy into promoting the real issues at hand and bringing to light the truth about what is going on today as they do the doomsday and political rhetoric the public wouldn’t be so confused about the facts. I know the truth doesn’t make good TV neither does the true problems of the world today. Nor do you see much inspiring or uplifting news stories on  t.v. for the feel good thing doesn’t get ratings.

Not only does the media seem to embrace such tactics to keep their ratings up, look at politicians they are likely to say whatever it takes to gain popularity and/or to get into office. Honesty and sincerity is no longer a part of the American life. Too many lies and too much bending of the truth going on in both politics and in the media and not enough accountability. Transparency is a joke for a government is never going to be 100% open and truthful with its public. If they ever were totally open and transparent it may cause either a political upheaval or civilian unrest. Too many things go on behind closed doors in a government for the public to know the truth and some of the things would be considered quite disturbing and unacceptable to the public.

To be honest what happens in Washington behind close doors is no concern to me unless it  directly affects the citizens of our great nation. For as transparency in government I support the idea up to a point. Some things just need to be kept secret in order to protect our national security. I would rather see our congress and president stop the political rhetoric and campaigning long enough to deal with the many issues both on the table and presently being either ignored or avoided. Far as the media goes, they need to stop playing to the ratings and being  political advocates for one party or the other. They need to report the news and bring us the facts in a fair and unbiased fashion. I know all of this is just wishful thinking and nothing more than pipe dream.

For what its worth, that’s my 2 cents worth.
Raymond Barbier

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Congress Needs to Get a Grip

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Once again the congress is in the process of taking away more benefits from our seniors. They always seem to aim at the seniors when it comes to budget cuts. Medicaid and Medicare are an important part o a seniors ability to financially survive. The fat health insurance is still unaffordable for the average Joe and the retired middle class it makes no sense to cut the Medicaid and Medicare programs. There are so many programs the congress can cut besides the programs that we have paid for through the F.I.C.A / Social Security taxes. To be honest I would rather pay a little bit more out of my paycheck to keep Medicare, Medicaid and social security off the cutting block in congress.

We may have to impose a national sales tax that only applies to luxury items similar to the V.A.T. of Europe to help deal with the national debt. The congress really needs to put aside their political parties agendas and get down to business. A big part of our economical problem is that the United States has became too much of a consumer economy. We consume far ore than we produce, most of the product bought in the U.S. is from foreign countries. We need to make it more profitable for companies to produce in the U.S. and American products more affordable to consumers.

The bottom line is that the congress is going to have to come up with a balanced solution to our national debt and economical situation. they will have to find a good balance of budget cuts and tax increases to accomplish the task at hand. But as long as they stick to political party agendas and are unwilling to compromise the chances of a true economical recovery is very unlikely.

God Bless and may truth light your path.

Raymond Barbier.

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