Randolph Harris II International Institute

It seems to me that if we are going to live sanely, then we must respect and be sensitive to differences, realizing that no two individuals are alike, and that if we really understand someone, we understand how they differ from us. In these impressionable years, we are witnessing the impact of an economic depression and recovery, and as the nation recovers, we are seeing how the recession affected the lives of humans, and how it changed some people. This does not mean that people are people are destructive, savage, or anti-social, but they became realist, who lost their rose-tinted glasses a long time ago and many of them never want to find them again. However, not everyone is a cynic.

For some, these rough economic times have made people carry away a spirit of boundless enthusiasm, and elasticity of mind, and a soaring joy for life. For some, no matter if they are driving an old beat up truck, or a brand new Mercedes-Benz, they are happy just to be able to cook a meal, in their own kitchen, in their own home.

While talking with a visitor, in the front of the picture window, in the living-room, my energy never flags. I have always been interested in political and sociological things, but keep many of my ideas online, as the general public is not interested in discussing anything that might shake up the routine gossip, most people exchange; ideas, thoughts, and concepts are sometimes best left at home. My writing principals are simple, and I try to make it interesting, and, if I can, make it funny. While readers laugh, they think. And every writer wants to make people think.

As the nation is recovering, some people are experiencing social issues with others, and these people do not seem to grasp the things you are saying and totally miss the point. However, anyone who wants to understand adults may consider studying child psychology because it also will shed light onto what some of your friends, family members, and co-workers are going through, and it is possible that some of them, even if they are older than you, may not be as mature as you are. It is sometimes terrifyingly difficult to find that right words, and that is why sometimes people turn to sarcasm.

Sarcasm gives people a safety net, if they say something that offends you, they can just laugh and play it off by saying they were kidding. I even caught myself, the other night, about to use sarcasm with this lady in the supermarket, who was buying a gallon of Gin. Then I stopped myself, and thought…that is unlike me and something I would have said as a child, but I am growing up and I strongly dislike sarcasm. Sarcasm, is also sometimes a tool for people, who are looked at as complete outsiders, to feel their way into the group. Nonetheless, some will find that conforming might be a great idea.

Books also make great companions, and a nice solitary walk helps you discover the pleasures in nature. One does not expect to talk to anyone, but a nice citizen might surprise you with a compliment or a nice conversation, so there are ways to make friends without joking around or spending money, but be careful, I always feel the need to say that.

Taking up hobbies is also a great way to meet people; one can become a non-competitive runner, or something. Not everything has to be about winning or being the best. And when you feel energetic, you can go to the river and run, just for evening’s entertainment. Just do not stay out too late, as you could be attacked by a back-street or park prowler. However, the good thing is if you are good at running, you can easily ditch the prowler.

Now, it may be hard for some to find jobs, and I know some of you might think if the former head mistress of your college saw her one-time star student working, unashamedly, but even gaily, at a lowly job that she might be perplexed. However, she would probably be proud to see that you are employed and trying, and knows that you will move up the career ladder. The future will be interesting and we have all learned to be more economical.

Some days, for company, there is a rendezvous, for young men, with nowhere much to go in the evenings, and once a year, if that often, you might see my face. Nonetheless, my friends do not approve of those meetings as they fear that something could happen or it might appear that I am lurking unobtrusively somewhere I do not belong, and that I have nothing better to do. So I listen to their talk and store it away in my memory.

Many will expect you to behave in a respectable middle-class manner, instead of in the manner of the vagabond, who is broke. Still, everyone wants company and I guess that is why dogs are so popular—those shaggy dogs are so cute after all.

Meanwhile, others day dream about meeting the right love of their life and dream about how much influence that individual will exert on their lives, but never store all of your hopes in dreams in once person, or else you may find yourself needing a chicken farm. There are thousands of people, who you are potentially a perfect match for, and they are also living as best they can, taking any casual work that is offered, or your mate may be well-off, who knows? Nonetheless, if you are trying to get someone’s attention, find out the things they like.

The social strata is strictly defined, and sometimes those who earn more are at the bottom, those who earn less could be a step up, and those struggling may turn out at the top. However, if you travel and hang out with the right people, they will talk to you and teach you how to master life and may even help you with some career choices. Still, it all makes for good firsthand experience for your novel about life (even if it is just a mental one or told through pictures). Each of us is part of several groups that vary in size, importance, and other ways.

Culture is verbal and nonverbal ways of behavior in a given society: language, food, beliefs, values, music, literature, marriage and kinship patterns, and virtually everything covering human group life. Perhaps you have heard the phrase, he or she “is a very cultured person.” This phrase often has overtones of elitism or snobbishness, but it may also imply that the individual meets certain criteria of being an acceptable member of the society to which we belong. This process is often called socialization or enculturation. And that is by far better than being known as the village idiot.

An American has to make a place for himself or herself. Just as we have some inherited status and roles and some that are acquired. It would, however, be ideal if society could become flexible enough to allow individuals increasing latitude in playing out the expectations of the culture. In other words, the socialization process needs to be much more geared toward helping each individual develop his or her own humanness.

We must also recognize our own needs for self-expression, uniqueness, novelty, and creative experience, even when these values conflict with the society’s needs as some see them. This will mean some radical changes in the social institutions, which for too long have demanded conformity to an external system, and denied the validity of individual experience. Honor is a creature of the World’s making, and the World hath the power of a creator over it, and may govern and direct it as they please. I can only be dishonored by perpetrating an unjust action.

Ebola is a violent killer. An Ebola outbreak, confirmed 22 March 2014, which started in early February, in 2014 Southern Guinea. The capital in Guinea has a population of 2 million and an international airport. Southern Guinea government banned public funerals, for people who died from the Ebola virus, as they do not want this serious and deadly virus and disease to spread. Cases of the Ebola virus has also appeared in several neighboring countries in West Africa. If infected with Ebola, people get a fever and bleed internally and externally and it is very painful, it feels like the organs are being crushed, and usually within days, they are dead, as there is a 90 percent fatality rate. Ebola starts off like a common cold, and takes about 21 days to be full blown. The European Union pledged $690,000 to fight the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease and the World Bank and UNICEF have sent more than $1 million worth of supplies to the region.

The extremely deadly Ebola Virus Disease is having a major outbreak, in West Africa, and it is considered unprecedented, as people are dying in epic numbers, and there is no cure or treatment. There were 567 cases and 350 deaths as the epidemic began in March of 2014. However, currently, as of 23 September 2014, there have been 5,800 reported cases of Ebola, and 2,800 deaths, and by the end of October 2014, it is expected that there will be 21,000 cases of Ebola, and that number is expected to jump to 1.4 million cases of Ebola by 15 January 2015. So this plague is serious. In contrast, the Bubonic Plague in the 1330s the bubonic plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas transmitted the disease to people. The Plague caused fever and painful swelling of the lymph glands called buboes, which is how it gets its name. The disease also causes spots on the skin that start off red at and then turn black. After five years, 25 million people were dead, which was 33 percent of the population in Europe.

Now, focusing on the Ebola outbreak, it is thought to be caused by consumption of “bush meat” from wild animals. To prevent Ebola, wash your body daily, do not dig in the trash, do not have unprotected sex, stay away from the anus, and do not eat wild bush meat like dogs, squirrels, mice, rats, skunks, pigs, and monkeys or apes. 1 June 2014, Sierra Leone closed its borders with Guinea and Liberian, and also a number of schools, theaters, and nightclubs have also closed. Authorities are setting up checkpoints to ensure sick people are not entering the country. As of 2 April 2014, Senegal closed its border with Guinea to prevent the spread of the virus and will keep it closed until further notice! The United Nation is asking for no discrimination. Guinea’s health ministry stopped naming areas where potential cases occur due to fear among citizens. So anyone can get it. Medical professional, in some countries, are examining individuals arriving at the airport.

The Ebola Virus Disease is so serious because it kills 90 percent of the individuals, who come in contact with it. Ebola Virus Disease can be contracted by unprotected contact with the bodily fluids (sweat, saliva, seamen, urine, and feces) or by coming in contact with tissues of infected people or corpses. Symptoms of Ebola virus disease (EVD) often characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache sore throat, diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding. Other symptom of EVD vomiting, diarrhea, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding. Laboratory findings show that EVD include low white blood cell and platelet counts and elevated liver enzymes. The incubation period, that is, the time interval from infection with the Ebola virus to onset of symptoms, is 2 to 21 days, then death usually sets in.

Individuals, who have Ebola Virus Disease, are infectious as long as their blood and secretions contain the virus, and once they get it, there is no cure, and death is almost eminent. Prevention and control of Ebola: Avoid anal sex, mouth contact with the anus, or fingers in the anus. Routine cleaning and disinfection of pig or monkey farms (with sodium hypochlorite or other detergents) should be effective killing EVD. If an Ebola outbreak is suspected, the premises should be quarantined immediately, if not sooner!!!!!!!!! There is NO cure or treatment for Ebola! Raising awareness, of the risk factors, for Ebola infection, and the protective measures are the only way to keep individuals from dying. Reducing the risk of wildlife-to-human transmission from contact with infected fruit bats, monkeys and apes, the consumption of their raw meat, is important in preventing Ebola Virus Disease.

Reducing the risk of human-to-human transmission in the community arising from direct or close contact with infected patients– particularly avoid contact with their bodily fluids. Pig farms in Africa can play a role in the amplification of infection because of the presence of fruit bats on these farms. And that is why your unseasoned meat is considered foul and not on our menu. The symptoms impersonate the flu: headache, fever, fatigue then there is significant diarrhea (some people’s intestines have fallen out) and vomiting (bloody vomit is common), and the virus shuts off the blood’s ability to clot. Health care workers dealing with the Ebola Virus Disease basically have to wear two protective suits, latex gloves, goggles, and rubber boots. Therefore, be thankful that you are healthy and do what you can to stay that way.

We cannot calculate on any corresponding advance in the individual’s intellectual or physical powers which shall be set-off against the far greater development which seems in store for the machines. Some people may say that human moral influence will suffice to rule them; but I cannot think it will ever be safe to repose much trust in the moral sense of any machines. Some good and some bad goes to all callings; a sense of ineffable joy, attainable at will, and equal in intensity and duration to, let us say, an attack of sciatica, would go far to equalize the sorrowful, one-sided conditions under which we live. When one turns a blessing from ones door, it falls to them as take it in. Nature has provided in the distress and inconvenience of the maternal function a sufficient check upon its abuses, just as she has in regard to all the other natural functions. It is a pleasant thing to reflect upon, and furnishes a complete answer to those who content for the gradual degeneration of the human species, that every baby born into the World is a finer one than the last.

Nonetheless, it has been reported that in the year 2014, 66 percent of parents are supporting their adult children, in some way; typically with housing, transportation, education and medical. However, you remember when you were a child, and could not wait to move out and get a job, but now that reality hits, many adults run to their parents for protection and support. How hypercritical is that? In the age range of 18-34, 33 percent of adults live at home with their parents. When adults moved back home, it cost the community because new homes are not being created, and your parents may not tell you, but if they are still married, more than likely they do not want their children moving back home. Nonetheless, some single parents do not mind their children moving back home and helping them pay the bills. Still, when you are an adult, you want to be as mature and independent as possible so your parent can feel like they did their job. As a young adult, having no money for entertainment is not an excuse to move back home, deal with it, struggling builds character and will empower you to do more. Also, if you can pay for college with scholarships, loans and grants, do so. You parents need their money for retirement, it is estimated that Social Security will run out in 2034, and no one is going to loan your parents money for retirement, so do not hold them responsible for your education, you are a grown individual, not a child. Over the unborn, our power and responsibility is toward ourselves.

There is a hierarchy of human needs. However, because physiological needs are dominant over higher needs, not everyone will reach their full potential. Physiological needs are: air, food, water, sleep, and sex. These are all the requirements a person on the bottom of the pyramid needs to get by. After the physiological needs are met, and a person is willing to elevate, then they can move up the pyramid. Nonetheless, some will choose not to go any further because they are comfortable with their basic needs being met and fear going outside of their comfort zone. On the other hand, people who like a challenge and want more out of like will move on to the next level of the list, which is stability; an individual needs to feel safe and secure, they need to be independent, pay their bills on time and have gainful employment, this will make them feel good about themselves, and it will also elevate their mentality. When people feel good about themselves and are stable, then they can love and respect others. When people love and respect others, they are going to focus on the good in life and be happy to see those around them doing well.

Stability is an indication that a person feels included in the community, they feel like they belong, and this will increase their self-esteem. As an individual’s self-esteem grows, then they have reached the top of the pyramid of basic needs, and they are ready to be on top on the pyramid. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization, this is when a person feels whole, perfect, and complete. They know that they are beautiful and that there is justice, richness, good, truth, and meaning in life. When individuals are inspired, they more likely express creativity, and their quality of work is essentially linked to core values like personal interest, self-regard, and advice. Working cannot all be about money, you have to love what you do to do it every day. When an individual is encouraged, trials, revelations, and multifaceted situations become rewarding and enriching experiences because they help one develop the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in life. This process is also called self-actualization. Self-actualization is the development of your full potential.

When we are stuck at without reason, we should strike back again very hard. I see life as gorgeous, beautiful and happy, but sometimes we all suffer a little chaos, this chaos can actually be a good thing because it can make us stronger individuals and we will learn what not to accept, in the future. Mental health is extremely valuable. From the day we are born, to the point we are mature, we are working to develop our minds and grow. Most of us take great care of our bodies, but to not try to develop our minds and emotions to keep them healthy. Some people figure they are grown and know everything they need to know, and they figure they are perfect. However, much like your body, you have to exercise your mind and keep it active, so that you can learn new things and become a better person. To be a fully functioning human, one must take what you know and are involved in and make it deeper and richer, and the experiences will be more rewarding. Everyone who is mentally healthy has a sense of well-being and is happy to be alive, they look forward to each succeeding day, and that is how they get the most out of life.

Some corporations feel that people may be working too much, so they are shortening the workday and work week, so people can spend more time enjoying life and their families. 70 percent of people employed say they hate their jobs, and this is a way to give them more free time. Four day work weeks, with ten hours a day makes some people happy, while others prefer, four day work weeks, with eight hours per day. With the advances in technology, employees no longer need to be in the office every day. While some corporations will not allow you do work from home, they may provide you with a flexible schedule, to meet your needs. Machines are able to do a lot of the work that was performed by humans and some corporations are shortening the work week as a means of getting new life into their corporation. There is so much competition in the career field, and if people are under preforming and unhappy with their jobs, they can be replaced in a heartbeat.

The national unemployment rate is 7.1 percent and the national debt is $17.6 Trillion, so employers are looking for people, who are thankful for the opportunities that they are given, instead of complaining and griping about their jobs. It hurts an employer’s image and feelings when you are abusing their clients, or your co-workers. In the emerging new career World, questions relating to the obsolescence of skills, security, vacations, leisure, and profit-sharing dominating the relationship, and the psychic well-being of millions of relatively secure, but potentially the aimless workers are becoming a growing problem. There are a lot of young, energetic prospects, ready to work as hard as they can for as long as they need, without complaining. Some people, who feel they have job security, and are not experiencing optimal performance, may be in for a big surprise, if and when they are replaced. They talk about the dignity of work, but their dignity is in just getting by and leisure time.

Most Americans work not only for what they get out of their career—satisfaction, experience, knowledge, pleasure, money, networking and security, but because they feel it is good to work. This comes for a good work ethic, great training, and from great family values. These people believe that work is a privilege, not a right. Productivity is a virtue, and idleness or non-work is a sin. When you are on the job, you are expected to be as professional as possible and extremely productive. There are many people lined up, ready to replace you, and they will do a far superior job. Some people are literally looking like they suffer from some form of mental illness at work, they do not see it, but others can. They wiggle in their chairs, lie, and make absurd and rude comments. These people have to learn to let go of whatever they are holding on to and focus on their work. You have to remember, you job is not a right, but a privilege. With scrupulous exactness the good and bad are ever balanced.

It is human habit to be always on the move, as we mature, drifting into new constrictions; every liberating perspective imposes its own rigidities—we flee from one half-truth through a wide-open door that turns out to lead us to another half-truth. We run from the hyper-genteel homes of our parents to the self-assured vulgar adult World, which is full of unmentionables we like to hide from others. As these adults grow up and produce their own families, much like their parents, they tiptoe over the surface of life to make the World a paradise for the young ones. We want out children to grow up with instinct for safety, but we do not articulate this, and we should not, it is simply a devotion of a loving parent to bring their child up in a World where everything is perfect and righteous. Each cell of a new generation must receive the required hereditary instructions (in the form of parental DNA) to start up their new operation of life. Under the best of all possible conditions, an adult is able to balance work, life and children, without being mean, dramatic or abusive.

Just a few generations ago, parents did not worry all that much about their children’s social lives. Lack of guidance and parental leniency forces adolescents to seek support and stability somewhere else. Many of them go to senior high school, colleges, and the public with little faith in and no respect for adults. Receiving little if any moral guidance, being brought up without restraint, and having received inadequate encouragement for self-restraint, some contemporary American adolescents perpetuate the pattern of selfishness and instrumentalism. Unable or unwilling to transmit whatever cultural and moral values they possess, many contemporary parents passively watch the erosion of the cultural heritage of the Judeo-Christian tradition and continue paying their children’s bills in silent resignation or subdued anger. As a result, there are many instances of affluent teenagers, who are part of a leisure-class culture in which the social role and maturation and adulthood is representative of prolonged adolescence—forever 16. One of the main values and status symbols of this leisure class is living in their parent’s lavish homes (making believe it is there’s) and the possession of a nice car. It is almost a prerequisite for popularity, a necessity for dating, and a sign of distinction, in the adolescent crowd.

Parents and children do not spend a great deal of time together anymore. It is a familiar story. In culture were more women than ever are working, more are remaining in the workforce after having children, and more are single parents—and in which both mothers and fathers are working longer hours than ever and they simply do not see as much of their children. Family members can indeed feel like ships that pass in the night. In a competitive World, parents want their children to keep pace with their peers. However, parents perceive the social World their children live in as being fraught with difficulties, even dangers, they themselves never had to face when they were in school. The World is more complicated, dealing with youth is like greeting a foreign culture, for many adults. Some contemporary teenagers are interested in sports, automobiles, bikes, clothing, music, computers, reading, movies, dating, news, sex and drugs. Drug abuse has become a favorite enjoyment at any age, and some parents punish their children for stealing, selling and using drugs. Lack of guidance, sexual interest and economic parasitism are essential ingredients of the youth culture. However, not all youth are bad. Some are honest, not having sex, nor using drugs and getting good great.

Many of the things that used to cause children problems are now fixable. Orthodontists, dermatologist, Math, English and reading tutors and a myriad of other specialists are ready to help us turn out the perfect child. A good parent keeps tabs on their children and believes that they can help their child solve all of their problems. Today’s parents are aware of the social problems are they are taking on the admirable tasks of attending to their children’s emotional and psychological well-being, at the very moment that they seem most vulnerable to powerful forces beyond our control. Youth groups with their own activities, practices, and standards often look to their peers for approval and support, and to the mass media (controlled by adults) for solutions to their problems. However, the traditional task of education—preparation for the responsibilities of adult life—has lost its prime importance because no one is paying attention. Many of the youth want to be celebrities and famous, but they do not want to put in the hard work it takes. School is so important, and I cannot stress that enough. If you are young and do nothing else, at least finish high school, and please consider going to college, even if you just take a few classes to see if it is something that you like or not.

Wayne Allen Huntsman is accused of causing the King’s Fire, burning near Pollock Pines, which has consumed more than 76,000 acres and is costing $5 Million a day to fight. As it stands, Wayne Allen Huntsman was simply accused, we are not even sure that he started this fire. However, Americans have a tendency to assume one is guilty of a crime just because they were arrested. The public gets to hear the accusations from the prosecutors, public commentary, and slander, but we never get to hear the accused defend themselves to the public, as that is the way the system is set up. When a crime happens, the public does have a right to know. However, because the defendant cannot defend themselves to the public, without compromising their case, then the prosecution needs to keep the identity of the accused private also. People get fired, simply for being arrested because that is not the image a corporation wants. Because of that fact, people try to set those up that they do not like to take them down and ruin their lives. That is why I would love to hear what Wayne Allen Huntsman has to say because he just was almost done building a house, and a reasonable person would not jeopardize such a huge investment.

Meanwhile, there is another case that has caught my attention. Adrian Peterson, an NFL football player, for the Vikings is a successful young man and a multimillionaire. He was recently accused of child abuse because he spanked his 4 year old son with a switch, which is a very small and limp stick, from a tree. It is flexible, like a belt. A lot of African Americans, from the old school, use switches to spank their children, when these kids get out of control, to ensure they know the pain that comes along with doing something that is considered deviant. The purpose of spanking your kids is so they grow up and respect authority and the law. Adrian Peterson was also spanked as a child, and he grew up to be very successful. Nonetheless, it is clear it is hunting season on African American men and always will be. You guys complain about how bad African American youth are, but try to arrest their parents for disciplining their own child. However, you will notice that African American children know better than to go up to the schoolhouse with a pistol, ending thousands of innocent lives. The double standard that is directed toward African Americans, in America is horrible.

Now, let us reflect on Wayne Allen Huntsman and Adrian Peterson so I can show you how simple words can end a career a ruin a life. Gary Ramona lost his marriage and his $400,000.00 a year career, as a business executive, when his daughter Holly alleged that he molested her throughout her childhood. Gary Ramona, it turns out, he was the victim. At the time this case was going on, there was an epidemic of recovered memories going on. Nevertheless, it was later found out that Holly’s memories of abuse were false claims, planted by her misguided therapists. Gary Ramona sued Holly’s therapists, claiming that they had been irresponsible. To prove to Holly that her memories were true, the therapists have her drug sodium amytal, and told her that it was a truth drug. (Sodium amytal is a hypnotic drug that induces a twilight state of consciousness. People do not automatically tell the truth while under its influence.) After reviewing the evidence for two months, a jury awarded Gary Ramona $500,000.00 in damages in 1994. However, that settlement did not clear his reputation or the damages to his career.

There is a sort of refuge which always comes with the prostration of thought under an overpowering passion. Only 75 percent of Americans trust the media–I honestly wonder why? In this case, the media is defined at newspapers, TV news, and magazines, as well as online sources. It has nothing to do with the reports, from the news; the distrust comes from voters just feeling hopeless with the government. Reporters cover the governor and mayors, often, and these political leaders sometimes lie or have half-baked ideas. So it is not the journalist who are misleading you, it is your representatives being unclear about their true objective, some are simply motivated by greed and will only make popular decisions or decisions that will earn them a profit.

It seems that more TV news stations are trying to distinguish themselves with longer, exploratory and interpretive stories. However, special interest tries to squelch stories or insist on self-serving angles. Usually, these attempts are made quietly, even tacitly, among executives—country club decision-making. Sometimes the pressure is exerted on media advertising people, who quietly exert influence on the newsroom. Most news organizations place allegiance to their audiences ahead of pleasing their advertisers. However, controversial news usually boosts ratings, which means your advertisements are getting more views, which should increase revenues and sales of your products. Meanwhile, Americans’ trust in the media will likely recover slightly in 2015, with the absence of political campaigns. We hope to live to sense, as long as sense can relish, and purpose to reform when we can sin no longer.