September 3, 2020
Franklin Graham is organizing a national prayer march in Washington DC on Saturday September 26th. The prayer march begins at the Lincoln Memorial at Noon and travels to the Capitol Building.
Tag Archives: Virtue
We All Act in Our Self-Interest
Armstrong Economics Blog/Basic Concepts
RePosted Aug 24, 2020 by Martin Armstrong
COMMENT: IS MARTIN ARMSTRONG AND SOCRATES THE MOST HUMANE BEINGS ON THE PLANET?
Dear Martin and Socrates,
I have been following you two for many years, often with a byrds eye view. What happens here on earth is in conformity with never failing cosmic laws. Things MUST happen even if we don’t like it. Dark,evil times must come wherefrom good prosperous times can emerge and thus push evolution forward – only to be followed by darker times and then even better and more prosperous times than before that, and so it goes on and on in never ending, never failing cycles. Understanding this can make us live WITH inescapable, inevitable changes we must face, not AGAINST them.
Socrates is telling us what has happened and he tells us what will happen so we can act accordingly, even giving precise dates. Never a harsh word, never favoring anyone, never keeping secrets to himself he just informs us. He’s there for everybody: traders, dealers, bankers, real estaters, climatists, farmers, governments, ordinary folks for whatever reason.
He is a guiding beacon. His motives are only for the best of mankind. He speaks nothing but the truth. This is very thoughtful and kind. Isn’t this the most humane one can do?
Of course Socrates is nothing without his maker. What has been said above is about Martin Armstrong. He is the beacon. He is the one who is thoughtful and kind. He must care immensly for next door neighbor and humankind. (Isn’t this the greatest of all commands?)
A very humane human indeed!
Thank you, guys!
TA
REPLY: Thank you very much for your comment. Keep in mind that we all act out of our own self-interest. We are all in this together. Many people see this as evil. But by acting in our own self-interest, we make the entire system work.
The famous speech that “Greed is Good” delivered by Michael Douglas in “Wall Street” has a lot of truth to it, for it is not just greed with respect to money. Greed to make money is also the mother of all invention. Communism failed because it removed all creation from the individual and centralized that in government, which is removed from the people. Watch the movie “Mr. Jones.” Stalin’s communism failed. They went from a productive society to collapse. To hide that truth, he stole the food from Ukraine and killed more than 7 million people. Stalin’s self-interest was to cover-up the failure of Communism. Countless people died to pretend communism worked.
My personal self-interest is the desire to live in peace and to have a nice future for my family. What I do, I am compelled to do. It is not for money, or I would be selling advertising on the sites or go back to funds management. I have been fortunate enough not to need the money, and that has given me the freedom to explore what I envisioned. This is what governments cannot do despite believing they are all-powerful. They cannot use imagination to create something new since they have no actual mind.
Consequently, we are always confronted by the left, which insists upon controlling everything. In the process, they destroy the best of humanity — our imagination and creativity. They pursue unrealistic goals that always denigrate human individuality. This is why I do not see how a one-world government is even feasible because no matter what body of people you bring together, there is always a division who sees the glass half-full or half-empty. This is what drives the left mad. They demand conformity.
What motivates me, I would say, boils down to two aspects. First, my desire for freedom and to be left alone. Second, I have witnessed the markets do not move on actual fundamental news as much as they move on perception and anticipation. It was the lack of news that led to the 1987 Crash when nobody could understand what was happening and wild rumors emerged that Europe was invaded by Russia to rumors that the president was shot with a bullet dipped in poison. It was simply capital flows, and people feared the dollar would fall another 40%.
I have always been interested in Artificial Intelligence and have witnessed countless times how governments make decisions without researching if those actions have been successful in the past. I wanted to create Socrates to offer us guidance that was totally unbiased and would provide a road map for the future. Perhaps if we listened to such a system, we would not be creating madness and chaos, which will only lead to the inevitable crash. We cannot alter the cycles, but I believe we can help smooth out the extreme moves and seek a new age of better management for all. This is in my self-interest, for my family and their future, long after I am gone.
Part Six of “X”, Supporting the “1776 Unites Campaign”…
August 20, 2020
As we enter the crucial 2020 campaign stretch, CTH will endeavor to draw attention to groups and liberty inspired resources who are assembled to make a difference. Today we introduce the “1776 Unites” campaign. [Main Page Link]
“1776” is an assembly of independent voices who uphold our country’s authentic founding virtues and values and challenge those who assert America is forever defined by its past failures, such as slavery. We seek to offer alternative perspectives that celebrate the progress America has made on delivering its promise of equality and opportunity and highlight the resilience of its people. Our focus is on solving problems.
We do this in the spirit of 1776, the date of America’s true founding.”
Liberty is Inherent – The Removal of Liberty Requires Consent…
August 15, 2020
..”If the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them.”.. ~Sam Adams
The power of government comes from the people; or as we say in the U.S. “from the consent of the governed.” When people lead, the politicians are forced to follow. Without implied consent the municipal or state government has no power. None.
The power of the local, regional or state authority comes from the expressed consent of the people. As soon as the majority of people deny that consent, those officials and state authoritarians lose all of their power. Yes, it really is that simple.
Those who construct the systems of control need to weaponize fear. Fear of arrest; fear of losing a business; fear of losing liberty or financial security. Local, regional and state officials rely on fear. As soon as We The People are no longer fearful, the control ends.
The overwhelming majority of dictates around COVID-19 mitigation are not laws. There was no debate; no input from representative government; and no option for the public to weigh-in on the decisions.
All unilateral rules are arbitrary, and despite many proclamations to the contrary, they rely upon voluntary compliance. As soon as citizens no longer voluntarily comply, the term of the rules has expired. Liberty is inherent. The removal of liberty requires consent.
REMINDER – When I share the message “live your best life”, it is not without purpose. Every moment that we allow the COVID and leftist onslaught to deter us from living our dreams, is a moment those who oppose our nation view as us taking a knee.
Do not allow this effort to succeed.
You might ask yourself how can I, one person, a flea looking into a furnace, retain an optimistic disposition while all around me seems chaotic and mad.
That’s the point; it ‘seems’ chaotic and mad because it has been created to appear that way. There are more of us than them; they just control the systems that allow us to connect, share messages, and recognize the scale of our assembly.
Every second that you live your life with thankfulness for the abundance within it; every moment that we CHOOSE to engage with fellowship; every day that we accept guidance from God – however you define him to be; and every moment we cherish this time to be a beacon of optimism; is a moment that we withstand that barrage and hold the flag in place. It is a genuinely patriotic position not to succumb to the attack.
If you allow yourself to be drawn into crisis and despair, you allow them to win. If your center of normal is based around this overwhelming onslaught, you will eventually concede liberty in favor of peace. Once we stop living in liberty, we no longer have peace.
It took me a while to fully understand just how damaging empty streets, soulless eyes, the lack of smiles, shuttered businesses, and the absence of joy would become. But as I travel around trying to deliver a very specific message to a very specific audience, I recognize just how much damage is being done; not just to our nation as a whole, but also to every individual within it – personally.
We must shake this mindset. We must withstand this onslaught and rally to the origin of our true national spirit. We must rally to a standard of Americanism and accept this is not that. In essence, we must individually take a stand. Purposefully, deliberately and with forethought, we must engage those around us to get rid of this sense of foreboding.
This approach is how we win the larger battle.
All around us, in every tribe and region, there are people who need you to show them the strength that you have. Strength of spirit. Strength of fellowship that you will not relent from expressing. No matter what noise is shouting from the loudspeakers, we must withstand it; we must make eye contact and remain joyful. We cannot allow despair to be the status quo.
Our nation needs more people like you, right now. Don’t wait… engage life, get optimistic, however you need to do it. Then, let that part of you shine right now… This is how we fight. Hold up that flag; give the starter smile… rally to the standard you create and spread fellowship again. God knows we need it.
Lift your spirits. I cannot tell you how much of a difference it makes right now; not only to this internet community, but to our nation as a whole. Choose to be optimistic. Live your best life, RIGHT NOW, there are people working furiously and with great purpose. Remember, this is the only life we have – so seize this day, and then the next, and then keep going.
We live in the greatest nation on the face of the earth. We are the people of that nation, with boundless opportunities most of the world can only dream of. Our opposition has nothing but false witness, fear and lies. Push on them, they are weak and shallow.
We are Americans…. Those who are working against our interests thrive in an atmosphere of despair and disenfranchisement – do not give it to them. Carry an optimistic spirit, regardless of how challenging. I cannot explain it, but that makes success more certain.
Do not fuel our opposition with the power of fear. Be strong right now; be happy right now; demand action, you are worth it. Do not give evil elements an inch of space within your heart. Expect and demand accountability. Do not worry about being perceived as an a**hole about it.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
Quit listening to those who say “can’t” and “won’t”…
If some feel comfortable sitting in their socially distant box and bitching about all things that are not right, or might be not be right…. Or, if they prefer to allow themselves to be overcome with dark imaginings simply because what cannot be done is more comfortable than the effort to oversee what needs to be done…. well, that’s okay.
They can do that.
And when they are done doing that, they’ll still be in the same place. However, you can choose to be positive and take action.
Rally your spirits to a standard of worthiness; because you are worth so much more. We are on the right side of history. We are being guided. It is rather remarkable.
Again, thanks for your support. Every prayer is felt, and I really believe those prayers are making a difference. I’m seriously humbled. Prayerfully so… But remember, failure has never been in our national lexicon. Life is good…. now, get to livin’ it.
Hopefully, I’ll see you soon…
“Walk Toward The Fire”…
July 9, 2020
“Walk toward the fire. Don’t worry about what they call you. All those things are said against you because they want to stop you in your tracks. But if you keep going, you’re sending a message to people who are rooting for you, who are agreeing with you. The message is that they can do it, too.”
Now Or Never: Yorktown Campaign of 1781
George Washington Reads The Declaration of Independence
Inflection Points….
July 5, 2020
I have long felt that life is like a series of links in a chain. You might be driving down the road and you hear a song on the radio, or see a picture, and you feel a memory…. Something that reminds you of a different time and place than where you are right now.
You reflect.
The memories remind you of a totally different time in your life. Perhaps you lived in a different place. Perhaps you were surrounded by different people. Perhaps a different job or completely different friends.
Our reflection recognizes those memories like frozen moments in time. They become individual links in the chain in our life.
We never actually realize, in the immediate moment, when one link closes and another link begins. But when we look back, we can clearly see distinct points where things changed, the link closed, and a new link began. The links are only visible in reflection.
As we reflect we find parts of the chain in our life where each link closes and connects with the other. Yes, a beginning and an end.
At the point where the links are joined we carry parts of the previous link forward to the next. For many people those connections are bonded by family, or very strong life long relationships. Connections which continue beyond our geographic moments, jobs or temporary acquaintances.
But for everyone, the primary bonding agent brought forward from one link to the next is ourselves, our center, our values and core principles. Our beliefs.
The strength of the steel which comprises the links of our life is determined by forging in the fire of adversity, weakness, challenge, pain, loss, and painful growth. The steel is then cooled with the tears of triumph, hurdles overcome and resolve.
The forging makes the steel stronger and able to withstand the pressures that accompany the additional length. Slowly the chain becomes wiser as it lengthens. Able to reach further, form more significant benefits and become more useful.
Hope replaces fear. Love replaces loneliness. Success replaces adversity. These are successful links began and finished while contributing to the whole.
At times we may manipulate the links with avoidance. We hide from -or choose to avoid- an issue in our effort to begin a new link before the old one was naturally, and spiritually, prepared to be closed. Eventually as life continues, and the chain lengthens, the weak link can fracture and we are forced to revisit/repair what we originally chose to avoid.
You see, in life we cannot control the universal laws that guide us. So if we manipulate circumstances to avoid confronting our own weakness, we cannot fully strengthen our life of links. Eventually, the weakness of our past will impact our future.
So what do we carry from link to link? What core values and beliefs stay with us throughout the journey of our lives? The answers to these questions are what makes us human spiritual beings.
We possess freewill able to make choices about what we do, and how we define our individual humanity; but can we then define ’right’ and ‘wrong’ according to our individual principles? Or are there principles that exceed our influence and definition?
Are there natural laws of right and wrong, good and bad, that cannot be subjected to the determination of man? These are the bigger questions, perhaps the more important questions, and yet perhaps the ones we reflect upon the least.
Consider the example of the ‘Law of the Farm’ vs. the ‘Law of the School’. Natural principles vs. those made by man.
A student can skip class, take few notes, pay only half attention, then stay up all night cramming for a test and manage a decent grade. It depends on the students goal: grades or learning.
The student can choose to manipulate the education by avoiding the learning and capturing the grade. This is possible in the ‘Law of the School’.
However, a farmer cannot take short cuts. A farmer cannot avoid tending to the soil, preparing the seed, fertilizing and nurturing the crop, and still gain benefit of an abundant harvest. The farmer must necessarily do all of the appropriate work in order to benefit from it. Such is the ‘Law of the Farm’, the natural law.
When one considers the weakness remaining within a poorly constructed and manipulated link, perhaps established by selfish choices and driven by avoidance and fear, one can be faithfully be assured those who have dealt dishonestly with us will have to visit the issues of their association again. Conversely, no amount of manipulation or avoidance on our own behalf is going to improve the frailty of any link without first resolving the lack of character which created the weakness.
So we have choices in our lives. Decisions we each make regarding how we interact, and participate in the lives and links of others; as well as how we choose to construct the links that compromise our own lives. Do we base our sense of purpose around natural principles? Principles based on natural laws of right and wrong, good and bad, truth and lies.
Do we forge strong links based on following our heart, our values? If we can interact with others absent of a prideful self-driven agenda, or manipulative intent, we can then apply such principles and strength to our endeavors.
If we protect the integrity of the soil upon which we build the foundation of our lives, we can live without regret.
If we fertilize and cherish our crop, and the crop of our neighbor, with honesty and sincere appreciation for the souls we meet along our chosen path, we will live a life of abundance.
If we tend carefully to the consideration of everyone, yet holding true to our values and principles, we can strengthen ourselves amid the face of adversity and disenchantment.
If we do not hide from, nor ignore, our individual and collective faults, we can build the chain of our life with strength, humility, and purpose.
I wish for each of you the very best of life. A long chain of bold, strong, beautiful links, polished with the reflective brilliance of Love.
~ Sundance
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Independence Day Reflections
July 4, 2020
A suggestion for this post came a few days ago from one of our Treepers. I think it is a wonderful idea, especially for today, and during these times.
I will just copy here a portion of her letter to me.
My friend, Jack is the father of four sons… and at the end of an email about his sadness over the dismantling of the statues of Washington and Lincoln, he mentioned that he and his boys had just been listening to “The Ballad of Davy Crockett,” and then he commented that “pretty soon, they’ll come for that, too.”
They very well could.
It made me think….what if they come for it all—all of our stories and poems and songs and books and movies, but each one of us could save something….what would it be? (Like Dolly Madison saved the portrait of Washington from the burning White House).
So, I wonder if Treepers would contribute to an “American cultural treasure chest” by suggesting the title of a poem, story, book, movie, song, or even of a photo or painting that was an important part of his or her own growing up. I’d be glad to collect all the suggestions together into something Jack and other parents and grandparents could share with their children and grandchildren as a way of connecting them to American history and culture—through the eyes of ordinary American people.
I was just reading …“Casey at the bat,” and I would definitely save that. It was the first poem that ever made me cry. And the book my mother read to me over and over again when I was very little, “The Little Engine that Could.” And Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” And all of the Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. And “Gone With the Wind.”
I wonder what bits of your own cultural history you would save?
If people are planning to be with friends and family this 4th of July weekend, the question might be a great conversation starter.
So, I pass on this idea, and a few thoughts.
If it is worth saving, it is worth sharing, teaching, discussing, promoting. Lots of us are feeling that we should do something to stop the insanity going on in this country right now, but not sure exactly where to start or what to do.
At 62, with no real talents except cooking and pissing people off left and right, I have now reached the Don’t Give a Red Hot Damn stage in my life, and I feel I do not have a lot to lose in the battles to come, which for me have mostly been fought on social media. Should things escalate I would imagine that there are more than a few cantankerous old people who are also at that stage.
But I do have one other talent and ability, perhaps the most important of my life. I can teach, and I love to, although I am not a professional and have no degree in teaching. I have tutored my own and other kids along the way, and now I have grandchildren.
Those grandchildren will learn things from me. It is time I gave more thought to what exactly I want to spend time teaching them. Of course I have always had books here for them, and my eight year old granddaughter, who loves to read, just asked me to get some longer books to keep here for her. I bought Heidi and Swiss Family Robinson a few months ago. I also keep children’s religious stories and books, and since she had her First Holy Communion recently, a Bible for her, and some more advanced books dealing with her studies to prepare her for the Sacrament.
So, my point is this. Education and knowledge and influence are weapons and we have the ability to use them. I have a lot of time with my grandchildren, and today is the day to make a little more time for important things, and I don’t just mean books.
I’ve taught some of the kids some cooking basics, as well as started teaching them to bake breads. My husband is a genius at fixing any and everything, and a very good mechanic. He has always taken the time to answer the kids’ questions and let them help him with his projects, and fixing their own broken things.
What talents, skills, and knowledge can you pass on? I might even think about volunteering as a tutor in inner city schools. There are lots of places that people with good intent can pass on what we have to share.
Happy 4th of July Treepers!
Added note: Please read the post. There is a reason for it. It isn’t another post for political rage, sarcasm, anger, and insults. The Treeper who suggested this is going to compose a listing of all your ideas that might be shared. Do we have to make her sort through rants?
Happy 4th of July
Armstrong Economics Blog/Opinion
Re-Posted Jul 4, 2020 by Martin Armstrong
Centinel2012 