Our choice to obey or disobey God’s standard of morality will largely determine our happiness in life. Some years ago, my father, an attorney, was trying a lawsuit. For his authority, he cited only one case issued many years before. His opponent cited a numbers of lower-court decisions of more recent vintage. The honorable judge said to my father, “Mr. Harris, do you not have a more recent case than this?” My father looked at the judge and replied, “Your Honor, may I remind you what when the supreme court speaks on a matter, it only needs to speak once.” The judge nodded with approval. He was reminded that the supreme court trumps all lower-court decisions, however numerous or recent they may be. So it is with God our Father—He needs to speak only once on the issue of morality, and that one declaration trumps all the opinions of the lower courts, whether uttered by psychologist, managers, counselors, politicians, friends, parents, or would-be moralists of the day. It is almost unbelievable to think that God has given to His children the power that is most prized and sacred to Him—the power to create life. Because God gave us this power, He, and He alone, has the right to prescribe how it should be used. Contrary to much public sentiment, there is nothing negative or restraining about God’s moral standards. Rather, they are all beneficial and optimistic, uplifting and liberating. They build relationships of trust, they enhance self-esteem, they foster a clear conscience, and they invite the Spirit of the Lord to bless individual lives. They are the proven standards for happy marriages and stable communities. #RandolphHarris 1 of 25
We arrive thus at a morality of evolution, in which the criterion for what we cultivate or reject in ourselves lies in the question: is a particular attitude or drive inducive or obstructive to my human growth? As the frequency of neuroses shows, all kinds of pressure can easily divert our constructive energies into unconstructive or destructive channels. However, with such a belief in an autonomous striving toward self-realization, we do not need an inner strait jacket with which to shackle our spontaneity, nor the whip of inner dictates to drive us to perfection. There is no doubt that such disciplinary methods can succeed in suppressing undesirable factors, but there is also no doubt that they are injurious to our growth. We do not need them because we see a better possibility of dealing with destructive forces in ourselves: that of actually outgrowing them. The way toward this goal is an ever-increasing awareness and understanding of ourselves. Self-knowledge, then, is not an aim in itself, but a means of liberating the forces of spontaneous growth. In this sense, to work at ourselves becomes not only the prime moral obligation, but at the same time, in a very real sense, the prime moral privilege. To the extent that we take our growth seriously, it will be because of our own desire do to so. And as we lose the neurotic obsession with self, as we become free to grow ourselves, we also free ourselves to love and to feel concern for other people. We will then want to give them the opportunity for unhampered growth when they are young, and to help them in whatever way possible to find and realize themselves when they are blocked in their development. At any rate, whether for ourselves or for others, the ideal is the liberation and cultivations of the forces which lead to self-realization. #RandolphHarris 2 of 25
If not mentally defective, whatever the conditions under which a child grows up, he will learn to cope with others in one way or another and he will probably acquire some skills. However, there are also forces in him which he cannot acquire or even develop by learning. You need not, and in fact cannot, teach an seed to grow into a Monterey Ever Green Cypress tree, but when given a chance, its intrinsic potentialities will develop. Similarly, the human individual, given a chance, tends to develop his particular human potentialities. He will develop then the unique alive forces of his real self: the clarity and depth of his own resources, the strength of his will power; the special capacities or gifts he may have; the faculty to express himself, and to relate himself to others with this spontaneous feelings. All this will in time enable him to find his set of values and his aims in life. He will grow, substantially undiverted, toward self-relation. Thus, this is why the real self is that central inner force, common to all human beings and yet unique in each, which is the deep source of growth. (When in the future a reference is made to growth, it is always meant in the sense presented here—that of free, healthy development in accordance with the potentials of one’s generic and individual nature.) Only the individual himself can develop his given potentialities. However, like any other living organism, the human individuum needs favourable conditions for his growth “from seed into Monterey cypress evergreen tree”; he needs an atmosphere of warmth to give him both a feeling of inner security and the inner freedom enabling him to have his own feelings and thoughts and to express himself. #RandolphHarris 3 of 25
A man needs the good will of others, not only to help him in his many needs but to guide and encourage him to becomes a mature and fulfilled individual. He also needs healthy friction with the wishes and wills of others. If he can thus grow with others, in love and in friction, he will also grow in accordance with his real self. However, through a variety of adverse influences, a child may not be permitted to grow according to his individual needs and possibilities. Such unfavourable conditions are too manifold to list here. However, some include the fact that people in the environment are too wrapped up in their own neuroses to be able to love the child, or even to conceive of him as the particular individual he is; their attitudes toward him are determined by their own neurotic needs and responses. Essentially, they may be dominating, overprotective, intimidating, irritable, overexacting, overindulgent, erratic, partial to other siblings, hypocritical, indifferent, et cetera. It is never a matter of just a single factor, but always the whole constellation that exerts the untoward influence on a child’s growth. As a result, the child does not develop a feeling of belonging, of “we,” but instead a profound insecurity and vague apprehensiveness, for which I use the term basic anxiety. It is his feeling of being isolated and helpless in a World conceived of as potentially hostile. The cramping pressure of his basic anxiety prevents the child from relating himself to others with the spontaneity of his real feelings, and forces him to find ways to cope with them. #RandolphHarris 4 of 25
The child must (unconsciously) deal with them in ways which do not arouse, or increase, but rather alley his basic anxiety. The particular attitudes resulting from such unconscious strategical necessities are determined both by the child’s given temperament and by the contingencies of the environment. Briefly, he may try to cling to the most powerful person around him; he may try to rebel and fight; he may try to shut others out in his inner life and withdraw emotionally from them. In principle, this means that he can move toward, against, or away from others. Manifestations of childhood-onset schizophrenia are usually similar to those in adolescents and adults, but delusions and visual hallucinations (which may be more common among children) may be less elaborate. My guess is that psychotic hallucinations and hypnogogic experiences are related but not identical. Hallucinations are stronger, more durable, and more consistently organized. They are often more alien and negative too. It may be that these are one process made different by the patient’s poorer insight and greater struggle against l’autre moi. For instance, one child had loud voices shouting at him all day so that he killed one person, broke windows, et cetera. Nothing abated the voices so I helped him to meet and deal with them. As he came to accept what they suggested, they quietened, became less negative, and eventually merged into his thoughts. It would appear that the intensity of most schizophrenic hallucinations, as contrasted with the faint delicacy of hypnogogic experiences, is a function of the patient’s struggle against l’autre moi. #RandolphHarris 5 of 25
It looks as though hallucinations are generated by the patient’s rigid alienation from his other side, making it more attacking, fiercer, and alien in its aspects. There are less common beneficial, supportive hallucinations which are also alien and archetypal in nature. One man had a spirited female hallucination who was gay, humorous, and quite wise in matters of ancient symbols in marked contrast to the patient’s disinterest and lack of ability in the matter of symbols. In fact, this lady hallucination was the most gifted and sensitive person I have ever met! Hallucinations seem either lower than the patient (meaner, more involving of pleasures of the flesh, more limited and tormenting) or higher, but either way alien. They may be either higher or lower because they are the rejected, unused aspects of the person. A dream is a normal and common message from l’autre moi having less interference from consciousness in its creation than any of the phenomena (except hallucinations) touched upon this far. An example will remind the reader of its strange language and strange frame of reference. Most night I dreamt I saw a little something sticking out of my chest over to heart. To my horror it moved, making me feel that something alien was alive in me. I pulled it out, fearing it may mean there are more in me. It looked like an ancient creature one inch long, vaguely like a cobra in shape. It has a tail webbed like a duck’s foot. It moved and seemed very ancient. #RandolphHarris 6 of 25
At first, the dream meant almost nothing. Then it came to me. “Out of my chest, from the region of my heart,” I associated with this essay. I pulled something out of my heart. It is more living than I wanted it to be. Like the cobra, it is lovely (my association to my cobra—yours is a different creature), rhythmic and yet deadly in its possibilities. The deadly aspect of this paper will not be apparent yet, but it has to do with ego’s limited scope, being servant to an inner master. What I pull out of me is ancient, before man. It is conceivable that this inner World was latent before man and probably the first World known by man. It wiggles and frightens—this ancient knowledge I pull out of my chest—fearsome for there is more there that I have not yet met and understood. The dream images my feelings today. It was written in an ancient language I am only coming to understand. Emanuel Swedenborg, in the mid-18th century, aptly called this the language of representations. It was given from the region of mind that represents itself, endlessly. Mr. Swedenborg appears to have presented the most detailed study of this language ever attempted. As shown in his Spiritual Diary, most of his work was done in a state similar to hypnogogic. It is his contention, backed by much evidence, that this inner language of representations has as its reference innermost subjective qualities, and is the language of much of the Christian Bible. His material is so extensive that scholars have taken a lifetime to fully comprehend it. Seen in this light, much that seems obscure and archaic in the Christian Bible takes on great meaning. #RandolphHarris 7 of 25
One of the Ten Commandments in the Christian Bible state, “Thou shalt not kill.” Man may take whatever defensive preparations he pleases, but he must stop short at the point of killing other men. The refusal to slaughter would then evoke powerful spiritual forces, and if enough persons evoke them the end of war would be assured. However it is unlikely that such an idealistic course would appeal to more than a small minority of mankind, so that if the end of war is to be brought about in another way, it can be by the political method of an international policing army operated by a World federation of peoples. Since such a federation does not exist today, its only possibility of coming into existence is through the hard lessons learnt out of the appalling destructiveness of an atomic war. There is no other alternative to such a war than the renunciation of the right to kill. Philosophy is essentially realizable hence practical. It uses the idea of nonviolence only under the governance of wisdom. If violent punishment or causing pain will be better in the end than refraining, it would not hesitate. They have their place. However, because philosophy combines and balances its wisdom with compassion, with mercy and, if advisable, forgiveness, its violence operates side by side with nonviolence. To meet the assaults of vicious human beasts with sympathetic nonviolence in the optimistic belief that this attitude is not only morally correct but may also change the attacker’s character, is to deceive oneself. #RandolphHarris 8 of 25
Such passivity invites the continuance of attack and promotes further crime. It persuades the criminal individual to turn potential victims into actual ones. It actually contributes to the other man’s delinquency by encouraging him to adventure father into wrong-doing. Himan interaction is nothing more than a continuous string of contact and withdrawal, contact and withdrawal. And for all the variations in the ways humans interact, there are only two kinds of contact and two kinds of withdrawal. The two kinds of contact are: Peripheral contact. This involves people “touching” each other at the edges of the self, normally through what each is saying or doing. It is essentially an impersonal or nonintimate form of communication. Examples: “Fill ‘er up.” “I will meet you for lunch Thursday.” “How is business?” Core-to-core contact. This involves people coming together at their innermost selves. As a result of this contact, they are moved or touched. Some examples: “I really enjoy being with you.” “You are a good boss—and you are also a good man.” Core-to-Core contact can also be unspoken, as with a look that says, “I love you.” Note that, to be core-to-core, contact does not have to be intimate or sexual, but must be deeply emotional. The two kinds of withdrawal are: Manipulative. The person withdrawing attempts to isolate himself or herself from another. Examples: “You are a big boy now; you should not talk that way.” “Do not call us, we will call you.” Healthy. Here, the person who breaks off contact does it out of a position of self-respect. He moves toward something, but just away. Examples: “I am really tired right now and I have to end this conversation because of that.” “Thanks, but I have heard that story before. I do not need to hear it again.” #RandolphHarris 9 of 25
Doesn’t Everybody? The thesis of this approach of life is: “it is all right to have measles, since everybody has it.” Of course it is not all right, since measles can be a dangerous disease. The classical example of “Doesn’t Everybody?” occurred when a woman who was addicted to colonic irrigations came into a therapy group. She began to talk about her adventures at the colonic-irrigation parlour and everybody listened tolerantly until someone asked “What is a colonic irrigation?” The woman seemed surprised to learn that there could be so many people in one room who did not take colonic irrigations. “Doesn’t everybody?” Both her parents did, and most of her friendships were made at the irrigation parlour. The chief topic of conversation at her bridge club was comparing one irrigation parlour with another. If it is reinforced by parents at home or teachers in the classroom, the “Doesn’t Everybody?” sweatshirt, which is a favourite at high school, especially among cheerleaders, drum majorettes, and boys on the make, even at that age, it may have sinister connotations. It is also good for business, where it is heavily exploited by undertakers, and in a lighter way by insurance salesmen. Interestingly enough, many stock salesman, who are almost as conservative as undertakers, are wary of it. The key word, and the one that gives it its explosive political quality, is “Everybody.” Who is Everybody? For the wearers of this sweatshirt, Everybody is “The people I say are O.K., including me, I hope.” For this reason, they usually have two other sweatshirts that they wear on appropriate occasions. They put on “Doesn’t Everybody?” when they go out among strangers. #RandolphHarris 10 of 24
However, when they are with the people they admire, they wear either “How Am I Doing?” or “I know Prominent People.” They are devotees of what Sinclair Lewis made into Babbittry and what Alan Harrington satirically called “Centralism,” the doctrine that the safest place to be is in dead center; Mr. Harrington’s hero became such a thorough Centralist that he was able to sell an insurance policy every thirty second or so. The wearer of this sweatshirt has, for his favourite pastime, “Me Too,” and his favourite game is “Come To Find Out” that actually “everybody” does not, as he knew all along. Thus his favourite feeling is being taken by (phony) surprise. His nickname is Creepy and his hero is someone who keeps everybody in line. In the front room he does what he thinks the O.K. people are doing and conspicuously avoids the not-O.K. ones, while in the back room he performs outlandish deeds, or even horrors. He lives in a World where he is misunderstood except by his cronies, and his script calls for him to be done in for one of his secret misdeeds. When the end comes, he does not protest much because he feels he really deserves it according to his own slogan: “He who breaks the rules of everybody must suffer.” And that is the kicker on the back of his sweatshirt: “He is Different—Must be a Kook or a Communist or Something.” Closely allied to the sweatshirt is the tombstone. #RandolphHarris 11 of 25
The fury of annihilation, appropriate to every rebel, then assumes its most common form. The apocalypse of crime—as conceived by Mr. Rimbaud in the person of the prince who insatiably slaughters his subjects—and endless licentiousness are rebellious themes that will be taken up again by the surrealists. However, finally, even with Mr. Rimbaud, nihilist dejection prevailed; the struggle, the crime itself, proved too exacting for his exhausted mind. If we may venture to says so, the seer who drank in order not to forget ended by finding in drunkenness the heavy sleep so well known to our contemporaries. One can sleep on the beach, or at Aden. Even if the order is degrading, and one consents, no longer actively, but passively, to accept the order of the World. Mr. Rimbaud’s silence is also a preparation for the silence of authority, which hovers over minds resigned to everything save to the necessity of putting up a fight. Mr. Rimbaud’s great intellect, suddenly subordinated to money, proclaims the advent of other demands, which are at first excessive and which will later be put to use by the police. To be nothing—that is the cry of the mind exhausted by its own rebellion. This leads to the problem of suicide of the mind, which, after all, is less respectable than the surrealists’ suicide, and more fraught with consequences. Surrealism itself, coming at the end of this great act of rebellion, is only significant because it attempted to perpetuate that aspect of Mr. Rimbaud which alone evokes our sympathy. Deriving the rules for a rebellious asceticism for the letter about the seer and the system it implies, he illustrates the struggle between the will to be and the desire for annihilation, between the yes and the no, which we have discovered again and again at every stage of rebellion. For all these reasons, rather than repeat the endless commentaries that surround Mr. Rimbaud’s work, it seemed preferable to rediscover him and to follow him among his successors. #RandolphHarris 12 of 25
Absolute rebellion, total insubordination, sabotage on principle, the humour and cult of the absurd—such is the nature of surrealism, which defines itself, in its primary intent, as the incessant examination of all values. The refusal to draw any conclusions is flat, decisive, and provocative. “We are specialists in rebellion.” Surrealism, which according to Aragon, is a machine for capsizing the mind, was first conjured up by the Dadaist movement, whose romantic origins and anemic dandyism must be noted. Non-signification and contradiction are therefore cultivated for their own sakes. “The real Dadaists are against Dad. Everyone is a director of Sada.” Or again: “What is good? What is ugly? What is hreat, strong, weak…? Do not know! Do not know!” These parlour nihilists were obviously threatened with having to act as slaves to the strictest orthodoxies. However, there is something more surrealism than standard nonconformism, the legacy left by Mr. Rimbaud, which, in fact, Mr. Breton recapitulates as follows: “Must we abandon all hope at that particular point?” A glance at the notorious sake reminds us that the Human Race is literally a mobility-contest in which small gene pools race to keep ahead of the engulfing wave of insectoid collectivism. The Human Race is exactly a competition of speed. Small gene pools being squirted ahead by swarming pressures into empty ecological niches where new realities—plan-its—can be created. The Human Race is a run to the West. The Contest is between the collective and the individual. Cn the individual freedom-gene pools accelerate fast enough to leave the planet before being overrun by Eastern hivism? #RandolphHarris 13 of 25
Mobility is the key to increased intelligence. The issue is, however, never in doubt. The swarming pressure of the primitive-past lapping at the outskirts of the frontier is simply a signal to speed up. At exactly that moment when the forces of homogenous unity, oneness, socialist-equality, cultural-determinism seem to become strict and rigid doctrines—exactly at that moment genetic-elitism reappears among the outpost—outcastes and new gene pools assemble on the frontier outposts. Everyone on the frontier is self-selected for frontier behaviour. The new ecological niche is always filled by those who are robot-templated for mobility, independence and change. An important caste to any species. Everyone on the frontier is self-selected for frontier behaviour—mobility, independence and change. The ascent of gene pools up the Atlantic in the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries was a genetic-selection process of gigantic significance. It must be recalled that immigration to North America involved an amazing seed blossoming of gene pools. Very few immigrants made the climb alone. Typically, each European gene pool sent its best fertile stock. Once a beachhead had been established in the new ecological niche, more settled members of the gene pools could follow. In most cases, however, new gene pools were formed by mutated-migrants of former Old World gene pools. The human race is a run to the West. The high-road North was a ladder, a series of ledges to be scaled. #RandolphHarris 14 of 25
The dimensions of healthy personality are interrelated. The capacity to experience a broad range of emotion, and to control its expression, is most likely to be found in persons who have been competent at satisfying their basic needs, who have retained a firm grasp on reality, who have achieved a healthy “self-structure,” and whose relationships with other people are secure and authentic. If persons repress their emotions or experience troubling emotional responses (such as irrational fears and manias), this suggest that they should endavour to improve their competence, their relationships with others, or their view of themselves. On the other hand, the work of behaviour therapists has shown that people who complain of excessive anxiety or a specific phobia can be aided to live more fully by a direct attack upon the symptom itself. The techniques of “extinguishing” unwanted emotional responses do work, and they can make life more livable for a person who has been thwarted by hitherto uncontrollable fear or rage. We have helped patients of ours to overcome a fear of the opposite gender, to accept their God-given gender, of public speaking, of authority figures, by methods of classical conditioning and behaviour modification, as well as through interviews aimed at encouraging patients to learn new skills, alter their self-concepts or self-ideals, and change their relationships with others in the direction of greater authenticity Patients who have been helped in these ways attest that there is great joy and enlivenment in overcoming the repression of feelings, so that one is free to feel and to express such feelings; and there is comparable joy in being free of a hitherto uncontrolled emotional response that rendered life unendurable. #RandolphHarris 15 of 25
Sometimes people do not realize the seriousness of a transgression or, in some cases, rationalize it away. No nation can safely trust its martial honour to leaders who do not maintain the universal code which distinguishes between those things that are right and those things that are wrong. Honour provides a moral compass for character and personal conduct in the Sacramento Fire Department. It means that you live by words and actions consistent with high ideals. Honour is the glue that holds the Sacramento Fire Department together. How you conduct yourself and meet obligations defines you as a person and a leader. As a Sacramento Firefighter or EMT you are a leader with integrity and act consistently according to clear principles, not just what works now. The Sacramento Fire Department riles on leaders of integrity who possess high moral standards and who are honest in word and deed. You are honest to others by not presenting yourself or your actions as anything other than what they are, remaining committed to the trust. If a mission cannot be accomplished, your integrity requires you to inform the chain of command. If your unit’s operational readiness rate is truly 70 percent, despite the senior commander’s required standard of 9- percent, you will not instruct team members to adjust numbers. It is your duty to report the truth and develop solutions to meet the standard with honour and integrity. Identifying the underlying maintenance issues and raising the quality bar could ultimately save lives. #RandolphHarris 16 of 25
If you inadvertently pass on bad information, you should correct it as soon as you discover the error. Do the right thing not because it is convenient or because you have no other choice. Choose the path of truth because your character permits nothing less. You should always be able to separate right from wrong in every situation. Just as important, you should do what is right, even at personal cost. As a Sacramento Firefighter or EMT, you cannot hide what you do, so you must carefully decide how to act. Sacramento Firefighters and EMTs are always on display. To instill the Sacramento Fire Department’s Values in others, you must demonstrate them personally. It is known that you always resolve conflicts between personal and Sacramento Fire Department’s Values, and that you are morally complete leaders. If you have doubts, please consult a mentor whose values and judgment you respect. Face fear, danger, or adversity (physical and moral). Personal courage is not the absence of fear. It is the ability to put fear aside and do what is necessary. Personal courage takes two forms: physical and moral. As a member of the Sacramento Fire Department, it has been noted that you demonstrate both. Your physical courage has allowed you to overcome fears of bodily harm and do your duty. It triggers bravery that allows has allowed you to take risks in firefighting and/or medical services in spite of the fear of wounds or even death. One lieutenant serving in Afghanistan displayed such courage despite serving in a time when he and his fellow African-American Soldiers were not fully recognized for their actions. #RandolphHarris 17 of 25
When you take full responsibility for your decisions and actions, even when things go wrong, you display moral courage. “I got married when I was going to school at Santa Clara University. My first wife, as I call her, and I have had three children—two boys and a girl, in that order. My two sons are both firefighters in Los Angeles. One is just about to be promoted to captain, and the other is in the process of taking the engineer’s exam. So they are starting to go through the system. My wife has always been concerned about the danger. I think most wives are. She was a registered nurse and worked in the emergency department and intensive care, so she understood the physical consequences of firefighting. But she has also understood its attraction for me. She says she has lived with “the other woman” for thirty years—the Sacramento Fire Department. Women who are able to maintain their profession both as a vocation and an avocation are basically saints. Which is the way that I would describe her. Just a super human being. Firefighters pay a unique price in the duty schedules, the danger, and the dedicated. And during the first twenty years in the service, I was working at least two jobs, sometimes three. I was going to school, I was teaching school. I got my bachelor’s degree in political science, and my master’s in public administration. I was head of the Fire Science Department. I taught three of four fire science classes for ten or twelve years. #RandolphHarris 18 of 25
“So there was my wife, bundling me up to go to work, or getting me ready to go to school, or ready to teach. Between all those activities, she was having babies. With all this, the time you spend together is very important, it is high-quality time. It is interesting that after your kids have gone through all that and have seen all of it, and their activities have had to take second place to yours, that you discover one day that they have joined the fire department. In a sense, my kids were raised by firefighters. It’s all they have ever seen, so it’s probably a very natural thing for these really first-class people to be comfortable figures and role models for my sons. And in my own case, I think of all the education I’ve gotten and realized that the really important education was from the guys who raised me in the fire department. You appreciate the support the whole things has given you, and you hope you’ll give some of it back to the service. I never said anything to my sons, I think they decided for themselves. They both came on the department, the first exam they took. They both have been active firefighters, and I am proud of that. They are not dire scholars, they are attracted to the firefighting part of it, the service delivery part. They are big, tough kids, and they like fire operations, and I like to think that I see some of myself in hat process. So I get to kind of relive all of that.” #RandolphHarris 19 of 25
Citizens, give the right-of-way to any law enforcement vehicle, fire engine, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle using a siren and red lights. Failure to pull over may result in a ticket. Drive to the right edge of the road and stop until the emergency vehicles(s) have passed. When approaching a stationary emergency vehicle with flashing emergency signal lights (hazard lights), move over and slow down. If you are in an intersection when you see an emergency vehicle, continue through the intersection. Drive to the right as soon as it is safe and stop. Obey any direction, order, or signal given by a law enforcement officer, or a firefighter. Even if they conflict with existing signs, signals, or laws, follow their orders. When their siren or flashing lights are on, it is against the law to follow within 300 feet of any fire engine, law enforcement vehicle, ambulance, or other emergency vehicle. If you drive to the scene of a fire, collision, or other disaster, you can be arrested. When you do this, you are getting in the way of firefighters, ambulance crews, or other rescue and emergency personnel. Moral courage is the willingness to stand firm on values, principles, and convictions. It enables you to stand up for what you believe is right, regardless of the consequences. The concept of professional courage does not always mean being as tough as nails, either. It also suggests a willingness to listen to other peoples’ problems, to go to bat for them in a tough situation and it means knowing just how far they can go. It also means being willing to tell the boss when he or she is wrong. #RandolphHarris 20 of 25
The Sacramento Fire Department is older than the City of Sacramento. On 5 February 2025, the Sacramento Fire Department will be celebrating their 175th birthday. This is a very important milestone. Understanding the expectations and applying the attributes and competencies prepares the Sacramento Fire Department for situations they are likely to encounter. Fire fighters who gain expertise through operational assignments, institutional learning, and self-development will be versatile enough to adapt to most situations and grow into greater responsibilities. All members of the Sacramento Fire Department are loyal, dedicated to duty, respectful, selfless, honourable, possess a great deal of integrity and display personal courage in the face of danger and adversity. You can save lives by making a donation to the Sacramento Fire Department. The proud members of the Sacramento Fire Department are committed to providing the highest quality and highest level of courteous and responsive services to the residents, businesses, and visitors of Sacramento. This is accomplished by implementing comprehensive strategies and training in fire prevention, fire suppression, emergency medical services, and all risk mitigation, including human-caused and natural disasters, emergency preparedness, emergency cervices and community-based fire services. The Sacramento Fire Department physical requirements for the firefighters and EMTs state that you must be medically and physically fit, and able to pass the Occupational Physical Assessment Test. Therefore, physical and mental toughness are just the basic requirements. You achieve excellence when you habitually show discipline and commitment to the department’s values. Individuals and organizations pursue excellence to improve. #RandolphHarris 21 of 25
As a reminder, parents, pleasure teach your children love America and be patriotic citizens and to buy goods and services made in America. It is also important to respect law and order and treat your elders with respect. Having the Southern American boarder open and not having American farmland protected, not producing beef, poultry, fish, fruit, produce and dairy in America, and without American goods and services being our number one manufactured and selling items, America has created a dangerous and significantly elevated risks to national security, national economic security, and national public health. Some people may believe that these claims are overstated, but by not routinely monitoring Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CEVs) or other security relevant alerts, such as end-of-life of machinery is how the Oroville Dam Crisis occurred in 2017. Other crises that have occurred due to neglect of critical infrastructure is the 2025 Palisades fires because Southern California ran out of water, when they are located next to an ocean and they could have simply created desalinating plants to help with the water shortage. The water is so plentiful that it is currently eroding land and causing homes to fall into the sea. American government should know all exploitable vulnerabilities and fix them prior to the situation becoming a crisis. Failure to take such mitigating actions is dangerous and significantly elevates risk to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. The American government must understand that significant time and resources must be invested in America. They must also encourage corporations to plan for both mitigating safety vulnerabilities in the short term and eliminating them in the long term. For instance, a company might begin by reaching out to the federal, state or local government and requesting tax incentives to provide security to dangerous communities, to help the government repair bridges and potholes. #RandolphHarris 22 of 25
America needs an approach to eliminate safety vulnerabilities in American cities. There needs to be a road map by the end of 2025, outlining a prioritized approach to eliminate crisis situations in America. There is enough money to send aid to foreign nations, but the American government does not have enough money to care their infrastructure, provide adequate resources, nor end the affordable housing crisis. Nor is there enough money to fund other national critical functions (NCFs). These bad practices of putting America and Americans last is considered exceptionally risky, particularly to national security, national economic security, and national public healthy and safety. In 2024, Americans spent $100 billion on Japanese cars. In an effort to help America pull through the massive national deficit, please buy American made cars. American made cars used to be the envy of the World and because American car brands are offering a wide range of options, from family SUVs to electric vehicles and luxury sedans, we are now seeing a resurging interest. American made cars are equal or superior to those made overseas. The Chevrolet Trax, for instance, is a well-designed, fuel efficient, and safe SUV. And as you know, there is no better car on Earth than 1950-1970s American Muscle Car. Americans make sure superior product, but we are buying things from other nations. American food imports have risen by 300 percent since 1999. American farmland declined by nearly 20 million acres between 2017 and 2022. As of 2022, there were 880.1 million acres of land dedicated to farming, compared to 900.1 million in 2017. The data shows there are now little more than 1.9 million farms in the country. Americans and American corporations spent $136 billion on food and beverages from other countries. It is a national security risk to lose American Farms and farmers. If there is a war, and most of our meat, produce, poultry, dairy, and fruit is coming from foreign counties, we stand the risk of starving. #RandolphHarris 23 of 25
With war breaking out all over the World, in these uncertain times, it is very important to bring American farms back. Las Vegas is running out of buildable land and is expected to reach its maximum number of homes in 2032. So, home prices are expected to rise dramatically. Much like the land crisis in Las Vegas, we could also run out of land to farm and will not be able to grow or cultivate our own food. We can protect American farmland and support American farmers by buying American made beef, poultry, dairy, and produce. Also, country of origin labeling is very important so Americans can know where their food is coming from and have the ability to support American farmers and ranchers. As money flows, it influences further investment. Save the land that sustains us by protecting American farmland. Once the land is built on, we lose it forever. And in the future, there may be food wars. Also, to ensure that we have farmland and buildable land for future use, we need to start limiting the number of people allowed to immigrant to America. Perhaps with the immigrants we do allow into America, there needs to be a diversity program to make sure we have a population that equally represents all races of people. If Americans continue to spend money on American products, then more need to be made to keep up the inventory. When investors notice these goods are selling, it gives them the confidence to pour more money into that local business. It shows that people want these goods made in America and pressures investors to keep these goods and services in America. The jobs stay here, the business stays in American, wages naturally increase, and more money is invested to keep up with demand. This reduces the burden on the taxpayer. When you support American businesses, that money stays in our economy and can help to reduce the national debt. The government creates debt by borrowing from businesses in the private sector or from foreign countries. It also increases the national debt by spending more than it gains in tax revenue in a fiscal year. When people shop locally, more tax money stays in the economy and goes to the government. This way, it keeps more money in our national economy and keeps more jobs located in American which also sends more taxes to the government, which can again help to reduce the national debt. #RandolphHarris 24 of 25
When you buy foreign goods, these companies usually have lighter tax loads or exemptions, meaning less money for the nation debt, plus you are helping to strengthen these foreign nations by send more money overseas. Buying American made products is also better for the environment and helps to reduce the carbon footprint because these products do not have to travel nearly as far. Furthermore, American companies and manufacturers are held to much higher standards in regard to pollution. American companies have to be more careful about air, land, and water pollution and have proper ways to dispose of waste. Moreover, please remember to respect law and order and treat your elders with the utmost dignity and kindness possible. And take your education seriously so that you will be successful in life and make your family proud. It is inborn in the human minds to wish to know. If this begins with the endless surface questions of a child’s curiosity, if it continues into deeper questions of a scientist’s probing investigation, it cannot and does not stop there. For the higher part of the mind will eventually come into unfoldment, that union of abstract reflective thought with mystical intuition, which is true intelligence, which needs and sees a view of the whole of things. And so, the knowing faculty enters the realm of philosophy. As a reminder, parents, pleasure teach your children love America and be patriotic citizens and to buy goods and services made in America. It is also important to respect law and order and treat your elders with respect. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. #RandolphHarris 25 of 25
The Winchester Mystery House
The Winchester Mystery House is full of surprises. What was your favorite, “Oooh!” moment during your visit at the mansion? (And for those of you who still have to check it off your bucket list… we will hopefully see you soon.)
Experience an unforgettable journey back to the time of kings and queens with this entry ticket for The Winchester Mansion in Santa Clara, California which was the residence of Sarah L. Winchester. Take advantage of this fascinating experience. After tour, there will be time enjoy the mansion’s splendor at your own pace. You might even discover secret passages.
Please come and enjoy a delicious meal in Sarah’s Café, stroll along the paths of the beautiful Victorian gardens, and wonder through the miles of hallways in the World’s most mysterious mansion.
For further information about tours, including group tours, weddings, school events, birthday party packages, facility rentals, and special events please visit the website: https://winchestermysteryhouse.com/
Please visit the online giftshop, and purchase a gift for friends and relatives as well as a special memento of The Winchester Mystery House. A variety of souvenirs and gifts are available to purchase. https://shopwinchestermysteryhouse.com/
Ever wish you could go behind the ropes and explore the mansion freely?
You can with our virtual 360 tour! This online tour lets you wander through the home at your own pace and admire every intricate detail up close ✨Only $8.99. Link in bio to purchase. https://360tourwmh.com/
BMW’s M series is legendary among car enthusiasts. Launched in the 1970s, the M series was originally designed for racing but quickly became a favorite for everyday driving due to its unparalleled performance. Models like the M3 and M5 are considered benchmarks in the world of high-performance cars.
Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP
L. Randolph Harris
Partner
San Francisco
d. 415.984.9658
f. 877.597.8584
L. Randolph Harris is a partner in JMBM’s San Francisco office who works with a broad array of privately held companies and their owners on business and tax matters. Randy advises clients with regard to business transition, taxable and tax deferred mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructuring, integrated tax planning, federal and state tax controversy resolution, and real estate transactions. Randy’s experience includes counseling mature companies on operations, business transactions and mergers and acquisitions and counseling emerging and growth companies on business organization, financing and operations. He advises on income tax planning for individuals, partnerships and corporations and also advises clients on estate and gift tax planning, including business transition planning. Representative Merger and Acquisition Transactions
- Represented electronic game developer Respawn Entertainment LLC, as tax counsel, in its $450 million sale to Electronic Arts
- Represented the Polymer Technology Group in its approximately $200 million sale to DSM N.V.
- Represented seller in the sale of a ready mix concrete company for approximately $30 million
- Represented sellers and buyers in the sale and acquisition of electronic discovery companies ranging from approximately $3 million – $30 million
- Represented buyer in the acquisition of private mortgage brokerage company
- Represented seller in the sale of credit card service company
- Represented seller in the sale of building materials company
- Represented buyer of specialty architectural product manufacturing company
- Represented sellers and buyers in the sale and purchase of general building contractors
- Represented sellers and buyers in the sale and purchase of sub-contractors in various trades including plumbing, underground, electrical, landscaping and tile
- Represented seller in the sale of surgical centers
- Represented sellers and buyers in the sale and purchase of medical and dental practices
- Represented seller of fire protection companies
- Randy is certified by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization as a Specialist in Taxation Law. He has authored materials for the California Continuing Education of the Bar on Partnership Taxation, published in the tax, legal and business fields and has lectured on tax and business matters for the California Continuing Education of the Bar, the National Business Institute and national trade groups.
Services: Taxation, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate, International Tax Group, Real Estate, Family Office, Opportunity Zone Group
Randolph Harris II International 