If it is of the right kind, thinking can lead us nearer to the kingdom of heaven. However, if it is not, it can lead us nearer to the gates of hell. I do not know about the kind of balance of mind, body, and soul that some assume is normal; but if it does exist, I would expect it least of all to be possessed by a being who is sensitive, passionate, and ambitious. Some young people suffer under successes which, to them, are subjectively false, and they may even shy away as long as they possibly can from what later turns out to be their true role. It is never a good idea to disavow God’s hand in the matter because, in doing so, one will always disregard signs and miracles, the logic of his working gifts, and his effect on society. However, how does one take a great man “for what he is”? The very adjective seems to imply that something about him is too big, too awe-inspiring, too shiny, to be encompassed. Those who nonetheless set out to describe the whole man seem to have only three choices. They can step so far back that the great man’s contours appear complete, but hazy; or they can step closer and closer, gradually concentrating on a few aspects of the great man’s life, seeing one part of it as big as the whole, or the whole as one part. If neither of these works, there is always polemics; one takes the great man in the sense of appropriating him and of excluding others who might dare to do the same. #RandolphHarris 1 of 32
Thus, a man’s historical image often depends on which legend temporarily prevails over all others; however, all these ways of viewing a great man’s life may be necessary to capture the mood of the historical event. As a child, a man has many opportunities to identify himself, more or less experimentally, with real or fictitious people of either gender, with habits, traits, occupations, and ideas. Certain crises force him to make radical selections. However, the historical era in which he lives offers only a limited number of socially meaningful models for workable combinations of identification fragments. Their usefulness depends on the way in which they simultaneously meet the requirements of the organism’s maturational stage, the ego’s style of synthesis, and the demands of the culture. The desperate intensity of many a child’s neurotic or delinquent symptom may express the necessity to defend a budding ego identity against thoughtless “guidance” or punishment. What to the observer may look like an especially powerful manifestation of naked instinctual expression is often only a desperate plea for permission to synthesize and sublimate in the only way possible. We, therefore, can expect our young patients to respond only to therapeutic measures which will help them to complete or to rearrange the prerequisites for an identity already under formation. #RandolphHarris 2 of 32
Therapy and guidance may attempt to substitute more desirable identifications for undesirable ones, but the original direction of the identity formation remains unalterable. I am thinking here of a boy who developed a neurotic rebellion against all authority. At this point, the boy’s parents decided to send him to a military school. He was expected to rebel violently. Instead, a marked change came over him the moment he was handed a uniform with the promise of gold bars, stars, and rank. It was as if these military symbols effected a sudden and decisive change in his inner economy. The boy was now an unconscious authoritarian youth wrapped up in an American prototype: the military schoolboy. The father, a mere civilian, was neither dangerous nor important. Somewhere, however, it had been this same father and related father surrogates who, with unconscious gestures, had helped establish in this boy the military prototype which is a part of many people’s group identity, and has the special significance of being a highly professionalized identity. As a historical focus of many part-identifications, the military identity thus continues to be dominant unconsciously even in those who are excluded from its consummation by political developments. The more subtle methods by which children are induced to accept historical or actual people as prototypes of good and evil consist of minute displays of emotions such as affection, pride, anger, guilt, and anxiety. #RandolphHarris 3 of 32
A well-organized person will forgo certain activities or satisfactions. However, he does so because other goals are of greater importance to him, and hence require precedence in his hierarchy of values. Thus, a married couple may deprive themselves of pleasures because they would rather save for a home of their own. A scholar or an artist devoted to his work will restrict his social life because quietness and concentration are for him the greater values. Such discipline presupposed the recognition of limitations (in neuroses, sadly lacking) in time, energy, and money. It presupposes also knowing one’s real wishes and having the capacity to renounce a less important for a more important one. This is difficult for the neurotic because his “wishes” are mostly compulsive needs. And it is in their nature that they rank equally in importance; hence, none can be renounced. In analytic therapy, then, healthy self-discipline is more a goal to be approximated than an actuality. Such panics as the minute socioeconomic and cultural terrors which involve the family, causing individual regressions to infantile atonements and a reactionary return to more primitive moral codes, can coincide in time and dynamic quality with one of the child’s psychosexual crises, and will play a significant role in the “choice” of symptoms, for every neurosis reflect shared panic, isolated anxiety, and somatic tension all at once. However, a symptom may combine in individuals with historical regression. #RandolphHarris 4 of 32
In our guilt-culture, as consequence, there occur not only individual regression to early guilt feelings and atonements, but also reactionary returns to the content and form of historically earlier and stricter principles of behavior. Where a group’s socioeconomic status is in danger, the implicit moral code usually becomes more restricted, more magic, more exclusive, and more intolerant, as though an outer danger had to be treated as an inner one. And it is clinically significant to realize that what our patients persistently describe as their childhood milieu often is the condensation of a few selected periods in which too many simultaneous changes resulted in a panicky atmosphere, “loaded” with a variety of conflicting affects. However, we must also consider that, to the extent a person is neurotic, he actually is a frustrated being, although he may not be aware of it. His compulsive drives, his conflicts, his pseudosolutions of these conflicts, and his alienation from self prevent him from realizing his given potentialities. In addition, he often feels frustrated because his claims for unlimited powers remain unfulfilled. These frustrations, however—real or imagined—do not result from an intent at self-frustration. The need for affection and approval, for instance, in fact entails a frustration of the real self, of its spontaneous feelings. The neurotic develops such a need because, despite his basic anxiety, he must cope with others. #RandolphHarris 5 of 32
The self-deprivation, though crucial, is in this case an unfortunate by-product of the process. What interests us here, in the context of self-hate, are rather the active self-frustrations perpetrated from the expressions of self-hate discussed hitherto. The tyranny of the should actually is a frustration of the freedom of choice. Self-accusations and self-contempt are frustrations of self-respect. There are, moreover, other aspects in which the active, frustrating character of self-hate stands out even more clearly. These are the taboos on enjoyment and the crushing of hopes and aspirations. The taboos on enjoyment destroy the innocence of wishing for, or doing, anything that is in our true self-interest and thereby life-enriching. The more aware of himself a patient becomes in general, the more distinctly does he experience these inner taboos. He wants to go on a trip, and the inner voice says: “You do not deserve it.” Or, in other situations: “You have no right to rest, or to go to a movie, or to buy a suit.” Or, in an even more general sense: “Good things are not for you.” He wants to analyze in himself an irritability which he suspects to be irrational, and feels “as if an iron hand closes a heavy door.” So he gets tired and desists from doing the analytic work which he knows might benefit him. Sometimes he has inner dialogues about the subject. After having done a good day’s work, he is tired and wants to rest. The voice says: “You are just lazy.” “No, I am really tired.” “Oh, no, that is sheer self-indulgence; this way you will never get anywhere.” And after such a back and forth, he either takes a rest with a guilty conscience or forces himself to continue working—without deriving any benefit either way. #RandolphHarris 6 of 32
The self-concept is a self-fulfilling prophecy, as a commitment rather than as a self-description. Thus, if you do not like the way you find yourself just now, it is possible to envision another way to be and then struggle to be that way. One’s self-ideal can be demonic, capable of destroying the quality of life and even life itself. Consequently, it is urgent that a person examine the ideals and taboos that guide conduct. Episodes of guilt should be occasions for examining the ideal that is being faulted rather than the occasion for the occasion for unthinkingly changing action. It is only good to conform to a humanistic conscience; unreflective obedience to an authoritarian conscience infantilizes a person and blocks the ability to change in ways that enhance life. Our public selves are among our chief idolatries. The wish to be seen in some special way can so cramp our spontaneity as to make a self-conscious ordeal of social existence. The main suggestion I have to offer in this connection is to experiment with authentic self-disclosure cautiously or boldly, but with tact and a loving heart. Authentic self-disclousre to others keeps one’s self-concept from becoming congealed, and others’ views of oneself from being traps. The typifications of social interaction become progressively anonymous the farther away they are from the face-to-face situation. Every typification, of course, entails incipient anonymity. If I typify my friend Jeff as a member of category X (say, as a German), I ipso facto interpret at least certain aspects of his conduct as resulting from this typification—for instance, his tastes in food are typical of German people, as are his manners, certain of his emotional reactions, and so on. #RandolphHarris 7 of 32
This implies, though, that these characteristics and actions of my friend Jeff appertain to anyone in the category of German, that is, I apprehend these aspects of his being anonymous terms. Nevertheless, as long as my friend Jeff is available in the plenitude of expressivity of the face-to-face situation, he will constantly break through my type of anonymous German and manifest himself as a unique and therefore atypical individual—to wit, as my friend Jeff. The anonymity of the type is obviously less susceptible to this kind of individualization when face-to-face interaction is a matter of the past (my friend Jeff, the German, whom I knew when I was a college student), or is of a superficial and transient kind (the German with whom I have a brief conversation on a train), or has never taken place (my business competitors in Germany). An important aspect of the experience of others in everyday life is thus the directness or indirectness of such experience. At any given time, it is possible to distinguish between consociates with whom I interact in face-to-face situations and others who are mere contemporaries, of whom I have only more or less detailed recollections, or of whom I know merely by hearsay. In face-to-face situations, I have direct evidence of my fellowman, of his actions, his attributes, and so on. Not so in the case of contemporaries—of them, I have more or less reliable knowledge. Furthermore, I must take account of my fellowmen in face-to-face situations, while I may, but need not, turn my thoughts to mere contemporaries. Anonymity increases as I go from the former to the latter, because the anonymity of the typificiations by means of which I apprehend fellowmen in face-to-face situations is constantly “filled in” by the multiplicity of vivid symptoms referring to a concrete human being. #RandolphHarris 8 of 32
This, of course, is not the whole story. There are obvious differences in my experience of mere contemporaries. Some I have experienced again and again in face-to-face situations and expect to meet again regularly (my friend Jeff); others, I recollect as concrete human beings from a past meeting (the blonde I passed on the street), but the meeting was brief and, most likely, will not be repeated. Still, others I know of as concrete human beings, but I can apprehend them only by means of more or less anonymous intersecting typifications (my German business competitors, the King of Germany). Among the latter, one could again distinguish between likely partners in face-to-face situations (my German business competitors), and potential but unlikely partners (the King of Germany). Now, the sudden onset of symptoms is usually a script sign. Lilly’s script called for her to “go crazy,” as her sister had done, but she was resisting this parental command. As long as her Adult was in charge, she was a normal, healthy American young lady. However, if someone around her acted “crazy” or said he felt “crazy,” her Adult would drain away and her Child would be left with no protection. She would immediately get a headache and excuse herself, thus getting away from the scripty situation. On the couch, a similar sequence would occur. As long as Dr. Harris would talk to her, or answer her, she was in good shape, but if he remained silent, her Adult would fade out, her Child would begin to come on with crazy thoughts, and she would get an instant headache. #RandolphHarris 9 of 32
With some patients, nausea occurs in exactly the same way, only here the parental directive is “get sick” instead of “go crazy,” or, in grown-up language, “be neurotic” instead of “be psychotic.” Anxiety attacks with palpitation, or sudden outbreaks of asthma or hives, are also script signals. Allergic outbreaks when the script is threatened may be quite severe. For example, Janet has been a hiker all her life, and had not suffered from poison oak since childhood. However, when her psychoanalyst told her to get a divorce, she got such a severe attack that she had to be hospitalized, and terminated her analysis. He was not aware that her script called for her to get a divorce, but forbade it until her children were grown up. Severe attacks of asthma can also occur at such junctures, requiring hospitalization in an oxygen tent. A full awareness of the patient’s script can (I think) prevent such serious outbreaks. Ulcerative colitis and perforated gastric ulcer also come under suspicion here at times. In one case, a paranoid gave up his script world and started to live in the real world without sufficient preparation and “protection,” and less than a month later, sugar appeared in his urine, marking the onset of diabetes. This brought him back to the “safety” of his “Fail Sick” script in a modified way. Assertion is not demonstration. They mistake their personal prejudices for sound reasons. The fact that it is their pleasure to hold certain opinions, constitutes for them sufficient argument. As a result, their folly is sent into the world as philosophy. Any doctrine which demands a hearing today, must render sound reasons for its appearance. #RandolphHarris 10 of 32
Begin the process now to become recommended to the Lord so that His Spirit will be with you in abundance. You have the opportunity to search your soul about your personal faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. You have the blessing to express your testimony of the restored gospel; your willingness to sustain those whom the Lord has called to lead His Church; your faith in the doctrine of the gospel; your fulfillment of family responsibilities; and your qualities of honesty, chastity, fidelity, obedience, and observance of the Word of Wisdom, the law of tithing, and the sanctity of the Sabbath day. Those are bedrock principles of a life devoted to Jesus Christ and His work. If we are honest with ourselves, the Light of Christ within us whispers that there is distance between where we are in comparison with the desired character of the Savior. If we are to progress in becoming like Him, such honesty is one of His attributes. Mr. Hitler, in any case, invented the perpetual motion of conquest, without which he would have been nothing at all. However, the perpetual enemy is perpetual terror, this time on the level of the State. The State is identified with the “apparatus”; that is to say, with the sum total of mechanisms of conquest and repression. Conquest directed toward the interior of the country is called repression or propaganda (“the first step on the road to hell,” according to Frank). Directed toward the exterior, it creates the army. All problems are thus militarized and posed in terms of power and efficiency. The supreme commander determines policy and also deals with all the main problems of administration. This principle, axiomatic as far as strategy is concerned, is applied to civil life in general. #RandolphHarris 11 of 32
One leader, one people, signifies one master and millions of slaves. The political intermediaries who are, in all societies, the guarantors of freedom, disappear to make way for a booted and spurred God who rules over the salient masses or, which comes to the same thing, over masses who shout slogans at the top of their lungs. There is no organ of conciliation or mediation interposed between the leader and the people, nothing in fact but the apparatus—in other words, the party—which is the emanation of the leader and the tool of his will to oppress. In this way, the first and sole principle of this degraded form of mysticism is born, the Fuhrerprinzip, which restores idolatry and debased deity to the world of nihilism. Mr. Mussolini, the Latin lawyer, contented himself with reasons of State, which he transformed, with a great deal of rhetoric, into the absolute. “Nothing beyond the State, above the State, against the State. Everything to the State, for the State, in the State.” The Germany of Mr. Hitler gave his false reasoning its real expression, which was that of a religion. “Our divine mission,” says a Nazi newspaper during a party congress, “was to lead everyone back to his origins, back to the common Mother. It was truly a divine mission.” These origins are thus to be found in primitive howls and shrieks. Who is the god in question? An official party declaration answers that: “All of us here below believe in Adolf Hitler, our Fuhrer…and [we confess] that National Socialism is the only faith which can lead our people to salvation.” The commandments of the leader, standing in the burning bush of spotlights, on a Sinai of planks and flags, therefore comprise both law and virtue. #RandolphHarris 12 of 32
If the superhuman microphones give orders only once for a crime to be committed, then the crime is handed down from chief to subchief until it reaches the slave who receives orders without being able to pass them on to anybody. One of the Dachau executioners weeps in prison and says: “I only obeyed orders. The Fuhrer and the Reichsfuhrer alone planned all this, and then they ran away. Gluecks received orders from Kaltenbrunner and, finally, I received orders to carry out the shootings. I have been left holding the bag because I was only a little Hauptscharfuhrer and because I couldn’t hand it on any lower down the line. Now they say that I am the assassin.” Mr. Goring, during the trial, proclaimed his loyalty to the Fuhrer and said that, “there was still a code of honor in that accursed life.” Honor lay in obedience, which was often confused with crime. Military law punishes disobedience by death, and its honor is servitude. When all the world has become military, then crime consists in not killing if order insist on it. Order, unfortunately, seldom insist on good deeds. Pure doctrinal dynamism cannot be directed toward good, but only toward efficacy. As long as enemies exist, terror will exist; and there will be enemies as long as dynamism exists to ensure that: “All the influences liable to undermine the sovereignty of the people, as exercised by the Fuhrer with the assistance of the party…must be eliminated.” #RandolphHarris 13 of 32
Enemies are heretics and must be converted by preaching or propaganda, exterminated by inquisition or by the Gestapo. The result is that man, if he is a member of the party, is no more than a tool in the hands of the Fuhrer, a cog in the apparatus, or, if he is the enemy of the Fuhrer, a waste product of the machine. The impetus toward irrationality of this movement, born of rebellion, now even goes so far as to propose suppressing all that makes man more than a cog in the machine; in other words, rebellion itself. The romantic individualism of the German revolutions finally satiated in the world of inanimate objects. Irrational terror transforms men into objects, “planetary bacilli,” according to Mr. Hitler’s formula. It proposes the destruction, not only of the individual, but of the universal possibilities of the individual, of reflection, solidarity, and the urge to absolute love. Propaganda and torture are the direct means of bringing about disintegration; more destructive still are systematic degradation; more destructive still are systematic degradation, identification with cynical criminal, and forced complicity. The triumph of the man who kills or tortures is marred by only one shadow: he is unable to feel that he is innocent. Thus, he must create guilt in his victim so that, in a world that has no direction, universal guilt will authorize no other course of action than the use of force and give its blessing to nothing but success. When the concept of innocence disappears from the mind of the innocent victim himself, the value of power establishes a definitive rule over a world in despair. That is why an unworthy and cruel penitence reigns over this world, where only the stones are innocent. The condemned are compelled to hang one another. #RandolphHarris 14 of 32
Even the innocent cry of maternity is stifled, as in the case of the Greek mother who was forced by an officer to choose which of her three sons was to be shot. This is the final realization of freedom: the power to kill and degrade saves the servile soul from utter emptiness. The hymn of German freedom is sung, to the music of prisoners’ orchestra, in the camps of death. A unit such as capitalism, is not an undifferentiated whole to be equated with an acquisitive instinct or with pecuniary society. Rather, it is seen as a scale of types, each of which has peculiar institutional features. The further back we go historically, the more we are willing to see capitalism as one feature of a historical situation; the more we approach modern industrial capitalism, the more willing we are to see capitalism as a pervasive and unifying affair. High capitalism absorbs other institutions into its own image, and numerous institutional crisscrosses give way to a set of parallel forces heading the same direction. This direction is towards the rationalization of all spheres of life. In such an increasingly unilinear construction of history, one may discern a sublimated conception of the liberal notion of progress. In conformity with liberal thinking, which is interested in separating politics and economics, we can distinguish between two basic types of capitalism: political capitalism and modern industrial or bourgeois capitalism. Capitalism, of course, can only emerge when at least the beginnings of a money economy exist. In political capitalism, opportunity for profit are dependent upon the preparation for and the exploitation of warfare, conquest, and the prerogative power of political administration. Within this type are imperialist, colonial, adventure or booty, and fiscal. #RandolphHarris 15 of 32
In addition to this is pariah capitalism. This concept is applied to Occidental Jewry from later Antiquity to the present, and to the Parsees in India. Although functionally indispensable, for reasons of ethnic and religious background, such strata are socially segregated and reduced to a pariah status. By imperialist capitalism, we refer to a situation in which profit interests are either the pacemakers or the beneficiaries of political expansion. The greatest examples are the Roman and the British Empires, and the competitive imperialism of the present epoch. Colonial capitalism, intimately connected with political imperialism, refers to those capitalisms which profit from the commercial exploitation of political prerogatives over conquered territories. Such prerogatives include politically guaranteed trading monopolies, shipping privileges, the politically determined acquisition and exploitation of land, as well as compulsory labor. Adventure capitalism refers to charismatically led raids on foreign countries for the sake of treasures. Such treasures may be extracted from temples, tombs, mines, or the chests of conquered princes, or they may be raised as levies on the ornaments and jewelry of the population. The heroic period of the conquest of the Western Hemisphere by the Spaniards, the overseas enterprises of the Italian city-states during the Middle Ages, the Hanseatic League, and the merchant adventures of England are pre-eminent historical examples. Whereas adventure capitalism emphasizes the discontinuous and charismatic nature of these operations, the term booty capitalism emphasizes the objectives sought. #RandolphHarris 16 of 32
In certain context, we like to distinguish the extraordinary capitalist from the routine activities of the workaday enterpriser; in the former case, we speak of charismatic capitalist as economic supermen. Such figures have occurred in many historical context: in the new empire of ancient Egypt, in ancient China, India, in western Antiquity, in the waning of the Middle Ages, as well as in nineteenth-century America. The Fuggers and Rockefeller, Mellon, William Wirt Winchester, Sarah Winchester, William Randolph Hearst, Conrad Hilton, and Cecil Rhodes are examples. The difference between such charismatic capitalists and “sober bourgeois” capitalists has been overlooked quite frequently in controversies over the problem of the Protestant ethic and its causal relevance for the rise of “modern capitalism.” Fiscal capitalism refers to certain profit opportunities that accrue from the exploitation of political prerogatives. The most important phenomenon of this type is the farming out of tax collection to private enterprisers, as was the rule in ancient Rome and the ancient regime in France. The leasing of the sale of indulgences to Italian merchants as compensations for their loans to the Vatican; the entrepreneurial organization of military and navel forces by condottieri; the leasing of the right to coin money to private enterprises, such as Jacob Fugger, are further examples. These analytical types of capitalism serve to emphasize different aspects of historical situations that are themselves quite fluid. #RandolphHarris 17 of 32
The uniqueness of modern industrial capitalism consists in the fact that a specific production establishment emerges and is enlarged at the expense of pre-capitalist production units. This production establishment has its legal, political, and ideological preconditions, but it is nevertheless historically unique. It is based on the organization of formally free labor and the fixed plant. The owner of the planet operates at his own risk and produces commodities for anonymous and competitive markets. His operations are usually controlled rationally by constant balancing of costs and returns. All elements, including his own entrepreneurial services, are brought to book as items in the balance of his accounts. We insist upon locating the basic institutional unit of modern capitalism in production rather than in commerce or finance. A system of capitalism grows from these units of production. This system undergoes various historical phases; its highest stage is characterized by separation of ownership and management and the financing of corporations by sales to the public of shares in the possible returns from future operations. For this late stage of capitalism, we accept Sombart’s term, “High Capitalism.” Capitalism is the highest form of rational operations; yet it is implemented by two irrationalities: the remains of an originally religiously anchored attitude: the irrational calling and drive for continuous work; and modern socialism, seen as the “utopia” for those who cannot stand up under what seems to them the senseless injustice of an economic order which makes them dependent upon propertied entrepreneurs. #RandolphHarris 18 of 32
A theory may be solidly based on observed facts, or it may be mere conjecture to support bias. Such a faulty conclusion is a fitting reward for those who judge hastily on insufficient evidence. The facts are there, but such thick mists of different speculations have fallen upon them that we stagger among them as though we were blind. A situation that needs heroic intervention raises the questions of how the situation came to exist in the first place, and what needs to be done to ensure it does not happen again. Sometimes, the answers are straightforward and do not really implicate beliefs and behaviors. It is doubtful that a child being rescued, by the award-winning Sacramento Fire Department, from an unsecured hole would shake a person’s worldview or cause a community to fight over how to prevent others from falling into the hole. Quite often, though, the heroic act can imply that others’ beliefs and actions may need revision. Those who worry that they will be implicated as needing to change may therefore attempt to prevent the hero from acting. One of the worst fires in the area occurred when homeowners were awakened by fire and smoke in their room in the middle of the night. They immediately went to get their children who were in an adjoining room. The fire had gained considerable headway and had cut off the hallway to the children’s room. After repeated attempts, they managed to get one of the children, but the heat and dense smoke soon drove the parents back. There was only one exit left for them, a small window which led to the roof of the house. #RandolphHarris 19 of 32
The parents climbed out onto the roof, carrying the child. The father jumped to the roof of the house next door, which was about four feet away. Turning back, he saw his wife, still clutching the child, slip and fall to the ground between the two buildings. He then jumped down, injuring himself in the fall. The man found his wife in the thick smoke and flames now rolling from the building and carried her to safety. He then made several attempts to reach the fallen child but was forced back by the intense heat. Three children were remaining in the burning house. As the fire department and police reached the scene moments later, the fire breached the roof and exploded out of all of the remaining windows of the building. The police and fire department made several attempts to enter the house and reach the children, but were all forced back by the raging flames. A short time later, the roof collapsed, ending all hope for the trapped children. The house burned to the ground, leaving only four charred walls standing the next morning. The house next door was heavily damaged, but survived the fire. The bodies of three children were recovered next morning inside the ruins of the house. The other child was found in between the two buildings. The cause of the fire was never exactly determined, but was believed to have started in a car parked in the shop directly below the living quarters of the family. The deaths of the four children was extremely tragic. Rooftop vertical ventilation is still one of the most dangerous fireground functions. The job puts you high and over the seat of the fire, which is exactly where the fire is heading. Sometimes the need for ventilation is immediate, but by the time crews and equipment are assembled, the scene has deteriorated to an unsafe level. #RandolphHarris 20 of 32
Future technology could benefit this tactic by creating a faster and more efficient method to roof ventilation. Rotary spiral bit saws (ROTOZIP) are effective tools on construction sites that cut through nails, shingles, and metal, yet they have not been successfully adapted for the fire service. A rechargeable electric motor could be developed to power something similar, eliminating the need to start the motor on the roof. Not only would this type of tool run in oxygen-deficient atmospheres, but it would be lighter than a gas-powered saw and the spinning bit would be far less dangerous than a 14-inch rotating blade or a 16-inch bar. Finally, a roof ladder template or guide might be developed to allow one person to cut a D-shape hole in the roof from the safety of the ladder in far less time. Reducing the time spent on the roof will likely decrease the number of falls. In an effort to prevent falls, we are likely to see numerous low-tech solutions. They may be as simple as better lighting, such as LEDs in the toes of boots to an integrated harness system for fall protection. Many turnout coats being used today include an integrated rescue device (IRD). This rescue strap is looped between the layers of a turnout coat and cinches down around the shoulders as a rescue harness when pulled. Taking the integrated device one step further might allow rappelling fall protection. The harness strap could easily be used in place of a ladder belt and possibly integrated into a more commonly used and easily deployed system for rooftop operations. #RandolphHarris 21 of 32
If you see a fire truck stopped in the street without the lights on, be very careful. Sometimes there is an emergency, and you should not pass the fire truck. It might be a good idea to safely turn around and go another way because if you hit someone and they happen to die, you could be charged with manslaughter. Sometimes fire firefighters are getting back into their vehicle, and if you pass the apparatus, you may collide with a firefighter who is on foot. Also, be sure to look at their signals; sometimes emergency vehicles are in motion, albeit slowly, and drivers try to pass them, and this could lead to a dangerous situation. Also, 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. The concept of professional courage does not always mean being as tough as nails, either. It also suggests a willingness to listen to other people’s 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 22 of 32
California is the third most expensive state in the nation. In 37 percent of counties, a family of four living on a six-figure income is now considered low-income. The average home price in California is nearly $1,000,000.00 USD, while the average salary is $96,036.00, meaning that most Californians cannot even afford to buy a home. California is having an affordability crisis. A single person making an income above $100,000 is now considered low-income in five counties in California. This distinction now applies to individuals living in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin counties. The maximum percentage of your gross income that you should earmark for a monthly mortgage payment is calculated at 28 percent, and no more than 36 percent of your gross income to all debts, including mortgage. If you take 28 percent of the median household income per home in Sacramento County, homeowners can only afford a mortgage of $2,070.23 per month. And if you take 36 percent of their gross income to all debts, including mortgage, they should be devoting no more than $2,661.72 a month to these debts. The mortgage lenders must be using some kind of sorcery to get buyers into these expensive homes. To afford one of these homes using traditional guidelines, a household would need to gross $11,280.24 per month or $135,362.88 per year, but the median household in Sacramento County is grossing $7,393.67 a month or $88,724.00 annually, and that typically means two to four people in the home are working and contributing to the mortgage. Home prices in Sacramento County are rivaling the Bay Area, and in some cases, homes in the Bay Area are more affordable. Historically, homes in the Bay Area have been more expensive because they have higher-paying jobs, a larger population, and the Bay Area is a tourist destination. Contributing to the housing affordability crisis is Gavin Newsom, who has been lavishing illegal immigrants with taxpayer-funded resources and cash aid, when state workers should be receiving a 25 percent wage increase instead. #RandolphHarris 23 of 32
In 2025, many people in California saw their bills increase by an estimated $500 a month. This includes items such as food, automobile insurance, homeowners’ insurance, and electricity. In fact, more than 3 million people in California are facing household hardship, and more than 300,000 of them are facing eviction soon. This comes at a time when California is having a shortage of affordable housing. The crisis is caused by nearly half a century-old laws that discourage home sales and encourage higher rents. The incompetence in California is very easy to see. From 2018 to 2023, California received $24 billion, which they used to fund 30 homeless and housing programs. These programs created 100,000 units. That is an average cost of $240,000 per unit. In comparison, Roger Lucas, owner of Grand Castle, LLC, spent $50 million to build The Grand Castle, which is a 522-unit residential apartment community in Grandville, Michigan. The community includes studios, 1 bedroom, 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, and even a multi-level penthouse. Rents generally range from $1,000 to $2,500. The community is a 23.6-acre site. It features 750 covered parking spaces, a clubhouse, a resort-style swimming pool, and was built over a period of 12 to 18 months. The average cost was about $95,785.45 per unit, which is $144,214.55 less per unit than California spent. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.1 percent. While Americans are struggling to find and afford housing, Gavin Newsom, Democrat governor of California, signed two bills into law on February 7, 2025, to protect illegal immigrants. Bills SBX 1 1: Budget Act of 2024, and SBX 1 2: Budget Act of 2024, allocates $50 million to protect illegal immigrants from deportation. Governor Gavin Newsom also granted 700,000 illegal immigrants free health care, which costs taxpayers $3 billion annually. At the same time, Newsom cut vital programs for veterans, school children, the disabled, and the homeless. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. #RandolphHarris 24 of 32
Meanwhile, China, where we are sending all our jobs and money, has more than 50 ghost cities, with 65 million vacant homes. Ghost cities are regions where housing has been overdeveloped to the point that these places are uninhabited. If they are all officially counted, California has approximately 4 million homeless people. The highest home prices in the nation, the highest taxes, and the most unfriendly business regulations known to man. Because California is so hostile towards people and businesses, more than 360 companies have fled the state since 2020. Businesses like Chevron, SpaceX, Oracle, and Hewlett-Packard are among the names on that list. Also, more than 500,000 people a year are abandoning California because it is too expensive to live in, Gavin Newsom has criminalized homelessness and actually started arresting people without homes, crime is out of control, and they are losing their jobs due to companies relocating. More than 100 companies have announced layoffs in California for 2025. Intel is cutting 15,000 jobs, PayPal is cutting 2,500, and Meta has terminated 4,000 employees. California also has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 5.4 percent, while the national average is 4.1 percent. The California crisis created by Democrats is driving up home prices and mortgages, and rents all over the nation and the world, making living unaffordable for all, and advocates say the crisis is far from over. Accordingly, California has more than 3.5 million illegal immigrants. Having the Southern American border 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 risk 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 the end-of-life of machinery is how the Oroville Dam Crisis occurred in 2017. #RandolphHarris 25 of 32
Additionally, Newsom seems to be uneducated about economics and is proposing to fast-track his plan to build a $20 billion water tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, which would eliminate environmental reviews and limit avenues for legal challenges. Gavin Newsom only cares about the environment when his policies allow him to raise taxes and restrict freedoms. To further highlight this illustration of incompetence by Governor Gavin Newsom, Mexico has been causing one of America’s worst environmental disasters. Fifty million gallons a day of industrial chemicals, untreated sewage, and trash flow from Tijuana, Mexico, into southern San Diego County daily. This toxic waste has been turning up on Imperial Beach and is causing the miles of white sands to become polluted and the ocean breeze to smell of poop, which has been sickening residents and wildlife and costing San Diego millions in the form of lost tourism and health problems. The problem has been going on for more than a century, and by 2030, Mexico plans to dumb one hundred and twenty million gallons of sewage a day into Imperial Beach. Other crises that have occurred due to neglect of critical infrastructure are 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 desalination 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. Desalination has been identified as one technology that will help solve California’s water scarcity problem. Desalination is a cost-effective technology that can transform an abundance of salt water into a reliable supply of potable, fresh water, which is a great way to fight climate change and have enough water for our region’s water requirements. Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia, is producing 1,036,000 meters (273,682,192) per day of desalinated water. #RandolphHarris 26 of 32
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 for its infrastructure, provide adequate resources, or 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 are considered exceptionally risky, particularly to national security, national economic security, and national public health and safety. In 2024, Americans spent $100 billion on Japanese cars. As a result, the American automobile trade deficit with Japan was $39 billion. Additionally, Japan exported 1.4 million cars to the United States of America, but only imported 16,000 American-built automobiles. However, Japan imported approximately 143 thousand motor vehicles from the European Union. This is why President Trump created tariffs. We need to balance the trade deficit that America faces with other nations so we are not taken advantage of and so America can go bank to being a creditor nation, instead of borrowing money for other countries. As of 31 August 2025, President Trump has brought $142 Billion in Tariff revenue into America and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. However, if President Trump’s Tariffs are deemed illegal by the Supreme Court, taxpayers will have to pay back trillions and trillions of dollars. As we literally and /or figuratively see gangs, federal judges, and Governor Gavin Newsom fighting with federal law enforcement and President Trump– states and cities refusing to honor federal laws. Politicians are also showing an utter disregard for the Constitution of the United States of America, and anarchy is becoming increasingly common. #RandolphHarris 27 of 32
Anarchism is a cluster of doctrines and attitudes centered on the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary. Derived from the Greek root anarchos, meaning “without authority,” anarchism, anarchist, and anarchy are used to express both approval and disapproval. The anarchist denies man-made laws, regards property as a means of tyranny, and believes that crimes are merely the product of property and authority. However, the anarchist would argue that their denial of constitutions and governments leads not to “no justice” but to the real justice inherent in the free development of human sociality—the natural inclination, when unfettered by laws, to live according to the principles and practice of mutual aid. Anarchism is also a form of treason. Treason, the crime of betraying a nation or a sovereign by acts considered dangerous to security. In English law, treason includes the levying of war against the government and the giving of aid and comfort to the monarch’s enemies. In the United States of America, treason was defined restrictively by the framers of the Constitution. Treason against the United States of America “shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them aid and comfort,” which is something that many politicians are currently guilty of. The American government should know all exploitable vulnerabilities and fix them before the situation becomes 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 28 of 32
Drug cartels have been threatening the health and safety of Native American communities. The trafficking of dangerous and illegal drugs into their territories is leading to a second genocide. The overdose rate for Indigenous people is 42 percent higher than the national average. A recent bust on Montana’s Blackfeet Nation’s Tribal Reservation resulted in the seizure of more than 700,000 fentanyl pills, which was the largest bust in Montana history. Recently, the Blackfeet Nation had to declare a state of emergency after facing 17 overdoses in just one week. There are only 6.8 million Native Americans left in the world, which is 2 percent of the American population. We should be doing more to protect these proud and honorable people; they should not want for anything. People rush and give away resources to illegal immigrants, but totally disregard the Indigenous people of this land, as their race silently fades away into extinction. We must secure our borders and increase federal funding to Native American tribes so we can save this precious population. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom has given billions of taxpayer dollars away to illegal immigrants and protected them from law enforcement, while arresting law-abiding Americans because they cannot afford to pay rent or mortgage, and the homeless shelters are unsafe, overcrowded, and have restrictions on who is allowed inside. He has also totally ignored the cartel problems on American lands. Clean air, water, land, and preserving our heritage are extremely important. We cannot just allow criminals to kill off the people who are native to this land and do nothing about it. Wars have been started over governments that tax citizens without representation. Taxation without representation is what led to the American Revolution. #RandolphHarris 29 of 32
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 can 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 immigrate 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 America, 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. #RandolphHarris 30 of 32
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 America which also sends more taxes to the government, which can again help to reduce the national debt. When you buy foreign goods, these companies usually have lighter tax loads or exemptions, meaning less money for the national debt, plus you are helping to strengthen these foreign nations by sending 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 on pollution. American companies must be more careful about air, land, and water pollution and have proper ways to dispose of waste. Under President Trump’s administration, he has make America a priority. President Trump has closed the southern border, illegal crossings have fallen to an all time low, and are 90 percent lower than under the previous administration. Since President Trump’s crack down on crime, violent crimes in Washington D.C. have dropped by approximately percent. And since President Trump took office, investments in America have increased by trillions of dollars in U.S.A. manufacturing, production, and innovation. As you can see, President Donald Trump and his pledge to “Make America Great Again” is exactly what America needs to save the country and the American people. And yes, diversity is important, so you can see why it is also important to preserve blonde hair and blue eyes, as the people with these characteristics are becoming a minority in America. #RandolphHarris 31 of 32
We must think before we can understand the soul’s existence; we must understand before we can realize it. The earliest beginnings of thought, as apart from instinct, when it was itself still but a lurking tendency, belong far back in primeval time. The human intellect as we find it today, so rich and developed an instrument for the consciousness of the ego, did not arrive at this fullness without a series of graduated stages. We have had plenty of scientific thinking, business thinking, and political thinking long enough, but we have had very little inspired thinking. That is the world’s need. The intellect is cradled in selfishness but runs the evolutionary track into reason, where it will one day finish at the winning-post of selflessness. As a reminder, parents, please teach your children to 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. It is inborn in the human mind 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. Therefore, remember to take your education seriously so that you will be successful in life and make your family proud. Also, to make sure they have all the resources required, please donate to the Sacramento Fire Department to help improve our national security. “Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand between their loved home and the war’s desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause is just, and this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust.’ And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.” #RandolphHarris 32 of 32
According to locals, over a century ago, the land that houses The Winchester Mansion had been vacant forever. Then, sometime in the early afternoon of Saturday, March 13, 1886, Sheriff Angel Camilio began getting reports that a massive castle made of wood had suddenly appeared. Gables rose, towers peaked into the sky as the mansion mushroomed into a labyrinth overnight.
The house’s sudden manifestation had been both disconcerting and fascinating to the community. Some felt dark curses flowing from the estate, and things moving around in the darkness. Others saw a fairytale castle glimmering in the spring sunlight. Perhaps this is why there are no records of construction, no blueprints, and no permits filed with the county. Come and see what secrets this so-called, “Winchester Mystery House” may hold.
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 Heiress Sarah L. Winchester. Take advantage of this fascinating experience. After the tour, there will be time to enjoy the mansion’s splendor at your own pace. You might even discover secret passages.
Please come and enjoy a delicious meal at Sarah’s Café, stroll along the paths of the beautiful Victorian gardens, which once spanned 740 acres, all the way down to Stevens Creek Boulevard; wander 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 for purchase. https://shopwinchestermysteryhouse.com/
Harris Plumbing, Heating, Air, & Electric has been in business for 30 years. How many businesses can say that? We take pride in everything we do – no matter how big or small the service call might be. We’re here to help your home be as safe and comfortable as possible for you and your family. We take that responsibility very seriously as a company.
Harris will ensure you have the information you need to decide what to do next, whatever your home is facing. We’ll perform a diagnosis and detail what issues are present before starting any work. This gives you a personalized quote and service plan specific to your home’s needs, not some random quote based on the best guess. The only way we can do our best work is to make sure we handle the issues at hand. https://www.callharrisnow.com/about-us/
With its top ranking in Consumer Reports’ Auto Brand Report Card and consistent market share growth, BMW, The Ultimate Driving Experience, has demonstrated its ability to produce high-performing, reliable vehicles that meet consumer demands. BMW stands out due to its focus on driving dynamics and engineering excellence. While other luxury brands prioritize comfort and opulence, BMW is known for creating cars that are fun to drive and offer a unique connection between the driver and the machine. This is why BMW is known as The Ultimate Driving Machine. https://www.brianharrisbmw.com/
Randolph Harris San Francisco Taxation & Mergers
Building strong and lasting client relationships is crucial for a successful legal career. Many lawyers mistakenly believe that mastering legal skills alone ensures success, but law is fundamentally a service industry—our job is to solve problems through the time we sell. To build long-term relationships, attorneys must focus on three core elements: knowing their clients, understanding how their legal issues fit into a larger context, and consistently delivering exceptional service.
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. Trust is the cornerstone of any client relationship. Ultimately, my clients feel they are in capable hands with someone who genuinely understands their problems and goals. https://www.jmbm.com/l-randolph-harris.html
Cresleigh Bluffs at Plumas Ranch
Plumas Lake, CA | from the mid $400’s
Now Selling!
Cresleigh Bluffs presents a rare opportunity to own a spacious home in a truly unique setting. These exquisite home designs are nestled in the heart of Plumas Lake, CA.
Select from four beautiful home designs showcasing modern farmhouse, prairie, and modern architecture.
Additionally, Cresleigh Bluffs offers three distinct single story floor plans designed with efficiency and practicality in mind. From functional flow to fresh finishes, these homes are sophisticated, feel calm, and make every square foot count.
Choose from an array of personalization options and create your ideal home in the perfect setting at Cresleigh Bluffs. The open-concept kitchen and great room provide the ideal space for entertaining.
The casual dining area is adjacent to the kitchen and provides a convenient and intimate setting. The main living space offers plenty of seating and the perfect setting for social gatherings.
Love to have your own space? The primary bedroom suite is complete with a generous walk-in closet and superb primary bath with dual vanities, large soaking tub, luxe shower, and private water closet.
Cresleigh Bluffs exceeds high expectations. A versatile home decor is ready for you! With safe neighborhoods and a fresh, modern design aesthetic, this community provides easy access to many recreational opportunities and conveniences.
Your dream home is waiting. If you go anywhere, even paradise, you will miss your Cresleigh Home.
Schedule an appointment today to learn more about these stunning estates! https://cresleigh.com/cresleigh-bluffs-at-plumas-ranch/
Fighting for country and its rights is a noble deed for no other land but America offers the highest good.
Randolph Harris II International 