Modern Problems In a Society of Today

Introduction

In today's busy world of hustle and bustle, we seem to have become lost in the sauce of life. Many of us are detracted, detatched or otherwise disconnected from one another, life, our systems and our planet. Also, in today's media, there's a lot of talk about these problems, but not nearly enough action, let alone any direction. I am putting this essay together to hopefully leave behind some breadcrumbs of my work in improving this in whatever ways I can. If I can touch an individual, a nation or a system, I will have done my job if I can leave this place better than I found it. Better in that people that I connect with find their sense of self-love and begin to identify The Self for them.

With this, I hope to write my obituary. When people talk about me, one day, I want them to say "well, he accomplished his goals and that included improving on these 7 foundational points." -- of course, that's very high-level and very aspirational, but aim for the stars and hopefully, you'll at least land on the moon, right?

I'm also writing this for the years to come. I expect to write this today in 2024 and still be applicable years from now in that the solutions are still relevant and we as a society have not deviated from the course in that these are the improvements we need to make to society. Not that we have not made improvements or can use this as a measuring stick to how we have improved ourselves, but to understand this is the goal to which I am heading and driving. I refute the idea that profits should superceed all other goals in any business or corporation.

In this essay, we'll explore seven major pain points I see in the world around me today that I would like to see improved by some form or fashion. If it were physically possible, I would personally work towards improving these things myself, but that's not feasible, nor probable. What is possible is providing enough influence that causes a shift in the system to derail us from this crash course of the planet burning up in some way or another to a society that has since evolved and ascended beyond primal instinct. We are conscious creatures after all with intelligence, so why are we catering our every motion to those who have the least intelligence instead of increasing their capacity for accomplishing more. Because when you win, I win. When we win, the world gets better, right?

I have 6 major points I want to discuss in this essay:

• Waste Management
• Traffic
• Penal System
• Education
• Governance vs Politics
• Finance
• Healthcare

In this essay, we'll review the current waste management systems of our society, what that is and how we can improve it. We'll explore the penal system, how incarciration is immoral and explore some ideas on how we can flip this system on its head to be a productive means to improving human lives rather than detaining them in a box because I disagree that it's healthy for humans. We'll explore how systems of traffic are no different that the streams that rule our rivers and lakes and likewise our bodies in our blood and veins and arteries. We'll take a look at the education system and explore how that can improve as well since our children seem to be getting dumber by the generation. We'll explore how useless Government has become and think of new ways to govern the people in a non-intrusive way that evaluates facts, figures and details on how things improve, rather than the rigged popularity contest it has become for big money grabbers and system-gamers. This leads nicely into our financial aspect of things and see how that can be improved (tl;dr: I hate money). Finally, we'll explore the healthcare system and find ways of improving that as well.

I'll caveat that this is just a multi-part plan that involves many moving parts. I don't have all the answers. I don't know all the things. I may have some things wrong in this post. I am NOT God. I damn sure as hell am not your dad. I am not the coming of the second Jesus and so if you approach me with this... think again. I'm human just like you and a regular guy just like you. A recurring theme and element thru all of this will also reflect upon the self since I believe a lot of the anger, malice and hatred in this world today stems from the self. If the phrase "You can't love another until you love yourself." rings true, then it would be a fair assessment to say that if you are effective in hating yourself, you are equally capable of hating others.

Waste

Where's the Atomizer?!

In today's world, "Waste Management" just means moving the dump of trash from one location to another. There's no processing of trash after that, or at least the part that goes to Landfills. It is a good thing that we at least have systems in place that try to parse out the reusable or compostable items. However, I do have a concern for waste that is otherwise unable to be reused. In today's environment, the issue I take is with the fact that it's 2024 and we haven't come up with a way of completely or mostly recycling our waste to the point that companies are making money from the waste produced and the energy that can be reclaimed from re-consuming our waste in creative ways until we are able to bruteforce it with the Atomizer.

Why do we use this "Plastic" substance that is absolutely wretched for the environment, highly toxic, and gets into everything including our food? In today's environment, "Waste Management" just means the trash truck comes to get your trash once a week, maybe. We, as humans, produce so much waste in almost everything we do, it should be illegal. Cardboard boxes being used for shipments without an easy to use process by which they can be reclaimed and re-used in the supply chain systems.

Furthermore, I detest the populations' attitudes towards waste management. You can clearly see people have not been trained on this (except maybe the Germans?) in the way they leave the place a disaster after they leave thinking "they have cleaning people to make it neat again." I want to breed an environment where it's not only expected to clean up after yourself, but to pickup after others as a way of leading by example. Let's also just assume for a second that people actually follow patterns they see in a monkey-see-monkey-do type of environment.

The Atomizer is a futuristic device that enables the transformation of product materials down to their base elements or close to it such that the results can be re-used to create a new product. In futuristic novels, it may very well be a single product that is able to transfigure matter into other matter. In reality, it will most likely start off as a process (as it is today) and evolve into more refined components that collectively create "The Atomizer" as a Machine. At first, elements of the Atomizer may be inefficient and consume more energy than its worth to break the components down. However, after enough trials, work and effort on Humans' behalf, it could be possible to create something more efficient. Demand would also be of concern here, in that we would need to support the capacity of the human race's waste when constructing these processes and machines.

Traffic

I don't understand why we don't have smart lights at every intersection. If a traffic control signal is intelligent enough to see that the street is completely empty for miles, why must I wait 2 whole mintutes for the light to change???

During rush hour, I notice that the light system changes in order to prioritize some streets over others. I am wondering why the systems have not been optimized to act like a body system or a water system. Traffic flows like water, so when there's inflamation, you typically ice that area.

I notice that it took a while for Google maps to start re-directing traffic in times of heavy traffic to try to alieviate loads of people entering the roads at once. I want to see more of this and explore ways in which we can improve upon public transportation (read: make it more reliable!), light rail systems and greener ways of transit. I fail to understand why people vote against these things time and time again. I also fail to understand why our technology allows us to reach a mass gas mileage of 250 miles per gallon and yet we are still driving cars that only output 12-36 miles to the gallon. If your money is long enough, you might be able to get 60 miles to the gallon for the right vehicle.

Penal System

As it stands today: When you do something wrong and we don't know what else to do with you, we put you in a box for some time with other crazy people. You are now tainted, branded and will forever carry this "social noose" around your neck for the rest of your life. No matter what you do, if you make the wrong mistake, it'll sit with you for the rest of your life.

I don't agree with this "Life Tax" or that you should perpetually pay for a mistake for the rest of your life. In my eyes, mistakes are simply learning experiences. They are chances to do better. Opportunities to learn and grow. Our correction facilities should reflect this and focus on how one can love the Self enough to be respectable and respectful when engaging with society.

Those that are in the penal system for drugs or other pharmaceuticals are not criminals, they are patients and they need help to get away from these substances. This includes a full circumstantial change from their environment, access, pattern of life and everything else that comes with it. Folks just do not understand how these substances can mess with your mind to make you incredibly irrational. You think it's a decision, but what if the drug itself makes you change your decision? Not everybody is as strong and we should forgive ourselves and others for falling into this trap. The best we can do is abstain and help others reach a place where they don't feel like they need to do this in order to "fit in" or "numb the pain" or whatever other social reason that started them down this path. We need to do better as a society of forgiving ourselves when we make a mistake and course correct rather than completely reject if we are going to be the all-caring society we seek to become. We can also change the stigma around folks who don't drink. I am noticing some of this take place in my personal world, so I am happy for that. However, I will be happy to see this become a more greater adoption for folks that don't partake in any mind altering substances like heroine, meth, crack/coke, cannabis, and even coffee. To see a world where all-natural is the way to go. I'm learning that "straight edge" is the term for this. I'm striving for this. Are you?

I'll be vulnerable in this post. As of my 36th birthday this September, 2024, I have recognized myself as a recovering addict. I started originally to "fit in" because stoner Mark was easier to mesh with a group of people than regular Mark. It was just easier to be accepted by my peers if I was on some kind of drug because that's what all the other kids are doing, right? I maintained that for years and watched my life just pass me by. I finally have decided to change my relationship with my poison of choice to make it recrational at worst and abstinence at best if I cannot maintain my distance. I will admit: I fell victim to the desires of wanting to "fit in" with my peers and tried to maintain my habit for the longest because I thought that was what I needed to do. Years ago I realized I didn't like it and wanted to make a change. It wasn't until recently I finally mustered the strength to overcome this and will continue to count the days #ODAAT.

This leads nicely into my next two points: Education and Governance.

Education

The education system is far to top-heavy. There are far too many soul-sucking executives involved in the mix that add very little to children's education, but take all the wealth that comes from money we invest in our children. Our tax dollars shouldn't be spent on making the executives above the principal rich, it should be spent on supplies, lunches, student teacher and parent therapy, LIVING PAY. That money being spent on the executives could be spent on learning scientists that try to understand and develop more efficient ways of getting people to learn and engage with the learning process to understand what's most efficient. We should be measuring what makes children learn faster and more efficiently rather than trying to stuff their brains with as much nonsense as possible.

I want a different path from what Henry Ford said he wanted. He said "give me fields and fields of endless workers. Teach them a lot about nothing and I will put them to work." Now we have a dangerous society that has been taught just enough to be workable, but not enough to be inteligible. I want to include financial basics into the mix, I want to include stuff like how to file your taxes, how to vote, what it means to be able to vote, and how to be a productive citizen. More than that, I want to develop:

1. A lot of people
2. Really smart
3. Really fast.

With this new age of AI and intelligence development, we have made a bunch of stupid people around computers that are increasingly getting smarter by the day but our people get dumber by the year. What's up with that? It's almost like humanity hates humans and we wonder why the birth rates are dropping since the 1950's ... :thinking_face:

I wonder what would happen if we actually cared about the baby after it was born rather than throwing it into the foster care system if the dad abandons it or leaving the single mom to take care of the child without assistance...? Drop a comment below of what you think would happen...

Governance

"There is no governance system more effective than The Self." -Mark E Harris, Jr.

I want to clarify that I am concerned about governance, not politics. I am not here to say one side is better than the other. I intend to point out the things I see in the fundamentals of how governance is executed.

The two party system of America has got to be the most disgusting creation of man because it's the never ending war that will do nothing but divide a nation into polar opposites with no sense of balance or order. Instead of a popularity constest that's easily exploited via how much money you have, let's change it to a system where there's actual job descriptions associated with roles that require a person to be present to complete the job for the sake of the people. I want to be able to say that I am proud of my Government because it takes care of its people, but clearly that's not the case with capitalistic nepotism ruining the fabric of policy and financial structure.

When I see police who can kill men and women on the streets and have no consequences like in the case with George Floyd, forgive me if I don't see "safety" and "protection" when a cop car rolls around the street. I see a trained killer militant who will shoot me if he so desires and there ain't a god-forsaken thing I can do about it. I say it's god-forsaken because it's the truth. God has forsaken this country if we are allowed to kill our citizens and there be zero consequences for it. I get panic attacks because I don't feel safe around cops. I feel like they can do whatever they want because they think they are above the law and it shows in how they conduct themselves.

The "goobermint" can make whatever laws it wants. The state can make whatever rules they want. The community can decide what they want, but me as an individual still has the freedom to do what I want. There are absolutely consequences to every action and it's up to each of us to discover that on our own. Instead of a police state, we should be running more education on the consequences of malpractice and bad actions rather than trying to tell people what to do like one is better than the other. This is why I say that there is no better governance system than The Self because at the end of the day: Who is really responsible for the actions we take?

This segways quite nicely into my next point ....

Finance

The financial system could use an overhaul. Personally, I think the whole system of money could be removed and we instead think about the laws of physics and focus on what's physically possible rather than what is financially possible. However, this isn't a very popular idea since exchange of value over a common denominator somehow gives us the warm fuzzies at night to lead us to the man-created illusion that we are exchanging something of the equivalent value.

In the meantime, there are some things that Blockchain technology can do to help improve this. Namely, around transparency, finality, and validity. It would be great if the exchanges were completely transparent and posted all inflows, outflows, trades and options against every order they got from their customers (possibly en-aggregate), but we are a long way from this level of transparency. The same goes for the stock market and all trades that take place on the public market.

I disagree with the idea of finance as fiat or "by decree" or "because I said so". Personally, I believe currency should be based on energy and what is possible. It should be based on what is objectively beneficial for people rather than some abstract numeric figure placed on something because people collectively agree upon it. Energy is a unit of measure and if things were based on what's possible rather than "because I said so", it would produce a completely different type of economy based on the true physics and nature of reality rather than the disaster of a financial system we have today.

Healthcare

With as much money citizens pay into the tax system and that is expensed in the many places it gets disbursed, I don't see an issue with having a single-payer system where you can pick your doc, find an expert who can help you with your needs and when they render services, they are taken care of by the tax system rather than paying some insurance company. Personally, I believe that insurance is the biggest scam against humanity and provides zero practical benefit to society. However, it does have some purpose which is why we created it and it does seem to serve some function of society.

However, I disagree with the idea of taking money from people, stuffing it in the stock market and using the compound interest from the T-Bills and gains made from those investments to pay for the claims against that insurance company. This is just another lead into how the finances of today are just a mess that needs to be cleaned up. This leads to many cases of embezzlement, money laundering and other nefarious practices that have led insurance to become the corporate behemouth it has become that has completely disingenuized(?) the industry. If I could, I'd convert health-based insurance to health care centers so they can directly help the patient rather than the exec running the show, car based insurance to subsidize mechanical repairs, life insurance could be used to make funeral services more affordable and so on for each of the insurance coverages provided. Once the prices and services normalize and all the insurance companies have been liquidated, train and convert all the talent to other humanity-sustaining jobs and careers that will actually serve society rather than bleed those who are doing the work for the sake of making some old white billionaire more millions.

Remember, I hate complaining about something without coming with a solution. So I will rarely be at odds with something unless I see a better way or am actively investigating a more efficient or productive way of reaching an end-goal.

Conclusion

Look, I get it -- this is a lot to take in, there's a lot more to research. There needs to be an additional installment to this as more data is collected and more things are actually done in these areas. I cannot do this alone, but I also cannot scour for every resource on this alone either. Let's see if we can turn some gears in this direction. I am willing to put a company behind it and stand behind that company for this.

My conslusion from all of this is it stems from the hatred of the self and the pain of the self that we all endure. We don't cultivate environments where it's easy to love the self, let alone take care of it. I speak these terms from the stance of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." or more specifically: Be reasonable with yourself and others. We are all trying to do our best in society and our laws, policies, practices, teachings and preachings should consider this when laying down the rules of the land. Personally, I call them guidelines rather than rules. I like to honour guidelines and show strength in being able to make a decision on the spot even if some of the ideals conflict with each other. It shows flexibility rather than rigidity in the thinking to allow for exception cases. Rules seem very ridgid in their design, therefore, they would do better served as a result of a pattern being set rather than an enclosed idealism that must be strictly adhered or else negative reinforcement would be applied. In short, I reserve the right to think for myself and you should as well. Just because I claim to be part of a tribe does not mean I blindly accept everything the tribe has to offer. This is also why I hate the two-party system because, honestly, there are things from nearly every governance system out there that has merit and benefit and we could use a leaf from all their books rather than just one of them. I am not a fan of any one-size-fits-all approach.

If you are vibing with this, then maybe you want to embark upon a journey with me. I am trying to learn about the different styles of governance out there and put my critical mind to the task of thinking thru them myself and not just accepting everying my Tribe says I need to accept.

In this post, I post questions about the different governance structures and how they can help, harm; what's their function, what are some examples and how they can be exploited in various ways. It's quite the mind-chore, but honestly, I believe its worth it to think about it and you should too. We could all benefit from more intelligence.

Will you join me on this journey?