Tag: minority rights

Opinion, Politics

Make Individualism Great Again
Josh Hughes | United States

Individuality is one of the greatest gifts a person can possess. The ability to be yourself and become whomever and whatever you want to be is a privilege so great, yet so often wasted and taken for granted. The time that we live in now undoubtedly favors collectivism over individualism. In fact, many will persecute you for trying to be yourself and “march to the beat of your own drum” rather than follow a crowd. The loss of individuality from society will stand to gain nothing but negative effects.

Mainstream Collectivism

Collectivism is being heavily pushed in many facets, most notably in schools, corporations, and the media. In places of learning all over the country, individuality is becoming frowned upon and slowly moved away from. In a theme which is common to every area listed, collectivism is being rebranded with nicer sounding synonyms such as “collaboration.” This is not to say that somethings cannot be done better in a group setting, but when it reaches the point that schoolchildren are conditioned to always work in a team rather than reach a solution on their own, there is an issue. As a current student, I can personally attest to the fact that “group work” has become more and more prevalent. Again, working as a team is not inherently the problem; rather, it’s the idea that solutions are always reached better or more efficiently in a group setting rather than individually.

Another area that collectivism is commonly seen is in the workforce. This idea is often seen in many major corporations, specifically. Think of the last Google or Apple ad that you saw. There’s a good chance the ad was, in some form or another, stressing the idea of “teamwork” or “collaboration.” Much of the new technology being developed now is made with a focus for collaboration and working together with other users. Regardless of their intentions, advertisements that consistently promote collectivism and intentionally ignore individualism give the millions of viewers a very clear idea of what’s accepted.

In a way that coincides with the point about advertising, the media almost always tends to shun individualism. Rather, they resort to grouping and profiling individuals into specific groups. Instead of focusing on a person’s events, they will focus on their sex, race, religion, or other affiliations. It does not matter if someone is a straight white male or a gay black woman or anything in between, it cannot be denied that the smallest minority is the individual. Every person is totally unique from everyone else and should be viewed as such.

What Have These Actions Led To?

With every major influencer in America focusing on these ideas, identities for the common man have been stripped. Rather than being an individual, every person is a part of some group and is esteemed based off of the group’s actions. This has led to people becoming shadows and parrots of their idols and influencers. We live in an age of NPC’s, where no one really exists.

Think of the possibilities of a society full of people that thought and acted for themselves rather than following a mainstream. The creative and innovative explosion would be something to marvel at. Not to mention, a society that thinks is a society that is free. A nation full of independent thinkers would surely lead to increased liberty.

The age of listening to and following celebrities and those that are in charge should be behind us. Rather, we should heed the words of philosophers such as Ayn Rand, who promoted total individuality in an era of Communism where collectivity reigned supreme. The current era is moving closer and closer towards this, with collectivism having a direct correlation to socialism. The scarce free minds that are left need to resist this trend and continue to think for themselves. However, if you’re one of that group, you don’t need me to tell you that.

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Politics

Think Differently – Jarvis for NH Governor

By John Keller | United States

Jilletta Jarvis is a proud mother from Sandown, NH and is running for governor to, as stated on her website, “Work with experts, find the best solutions possible for the people she represents, and do everything in her power to cut costs and come in under budget.” She is running under the campaign slogan “Think Differently. Vote Differently.”

Keller: You’re running for governor. What inspired you to pursue the office and begin a career in politics?

Jarvis: I am honestly tired of the elitism and political status quo practiced by the typical politician.  The practice that we continue to do that that have failed, but throw more money at them as a way to fix a problem has not been working, we need outsiders of the political process – people who have to live with the consequences of bad laws, people who have had to budget, who are willing to look for new solutions, to evolve political process and look to solutions that work.  People who are willing to work for the people instead of simply blaming failures on the opponent party.  I was raised with the philosophy that if you can see the solution and you can be the solution then you step up and do it.  So I am stepping up to be part of the solution. 

Keller: You are running as a libertarian. The media often portrays it as anarchy and no government. What is libertarianism to you?

Jarvis: Every party has members that interpret the Party’s Platform in different ways. This diversity is helpful to the general population, though not entirely so to a political party as a Political Party is supposed to be a brand so that voters can understand better what they will be getting if they vote for a member of that party. While there most certainly are anarchists in our party, mostly the party is about minarchism – or those who support small government that is dedicated to providing certain services/protections.  These includes the protection of life, property, and the equal pursuit of happiness.  Libertarians do not believe that government should bail out failing business regardless of how big they are. The one thing that every member of the Libertarian Party agrees on is that no one has the right to use violence against another in order to get what they want and that your rights do not entitle you to infringe upon another person’s rights.  

Keller: Branching off of that last question; what attracted you, and what should attract voters, the message of libertarianism?

Jarvis: In NH, we tend to be individualists.  We want to live simple lives free of the interference of others.  This is a very libertarian philosophy.  We want you to have the right to be who you are, keep government out of your bedroom, allow you to keep more of your money in your pocket, and we believe the government should be protecting those rights, being responsible when budgeting with the money they have been allowed by the people, and that they should always be responsible to you – not the other way around.  I think a lot of people in NH are attracted to this idea.

Keller: What is the first thing you want to see accomplished should you be elected the next Governor of New Hampshire?

Jarvis: Transparency.  I want every person in NH to have the ability to know what’s going on in the state without having to fill in a form in triplicate to get the information.  I would also appoint a group to oversee public employee complaints and act on them as if a person is being paid by tax dollars they should be held to a higher standard.  I also would appoint a commission of educational professionals and real people to start working on the educational funding issue in NH and how to incorporate school choice without raising taxes.  I would start putting together a balanced budget that takes into account future spending as well as fiscal year and find ways to reduce that spending with as little negative impact to people as possible.  Such as working on fixing the welfare system in NH.  It rewards people for being out of work instead of helping them get back to work.  This is backwards thinking and needs to be fixed.

Keller: Minimum wage is becoming a growing issue in America, but notably in New Hampshire where business on the border with Massachusetts, where the minimum wage is $11/hr, is struggling to compete. What do you plan to do, as governor, to help struggling businesses and what are your plans with the minimum wage?

Jarvis: I would not institute a minimum wage.  It has already been proven that in order to compete with Massachusetts employers, NH employers are voluntarily raising their own wages.  This is exactly what the Libertarian Party suggested would happen and it has.

Keller: A campaign is defined by its planks. What three planks define your platform? In other words, what three policies are most important to you?

Jarvis: Economy

  • Each year the state budget has gone up which increases the cost to do business in the state and raises property taxes.
  • Lowering the State Budget so that less money is required from individuals and businesses would allow individuals and businesses to grow and succeed with-out having to leave the state to do so.
  • The wealthy should not be the only people to be entrepreneurs in New Hampshire. By reforming our Occupational Licensing requirements we would be allowing fair and equal opportunity for entrepreneurship to all people in the state.

Drug Policy

Your health and well being is important to Jilletta. It has been proven that cannabis is an effective treatment in many ailments including type 2 diabetes and obesity. It has also been proven that it is not a gateway drug and the possibility of overdosing on it are so small that it could be said to be impossible. Jilletta would support the legalization of this drug and promote its use in the treatment of those addicted to opioids as it has proven affective to end addiction of those drugs that can lead to death. Jilletta would also invite the lawmakers from Portugal to come and speak with the legislature regarding their success at cutting their drug addiction rates in half in just 10 years. It’s time to start using proven successful methods instead of the failed “drug war” which has seen violence and death due to drugs increase, not decrease.

  • The Law Enforcement Action Partnership cites the War on Drugs as the root of the problems in today’s society and that drug abuse is a health problem, not a law enforcement matter.(https://lawenforcementactionpartnership.org/our-issues/drug-policy/)
  • Drug abuse and related violence across the globe grow and flourish under prohibition.
  • There has been proven success in decreasing the number of drug deaths and addiction rates in other countries.
  • Reforming our policies and practices to those with proven success would serve not just those addicted, but all of our communities.

Accountability

Government belongs to the people. The only way they can know if their representatives are fulfilling their campaign promises is through government transparency.

  • This means data should be easy to access and to understand (including the budget)
  • Elected officials are not the only government employees and while the voters are able to hold them accountable on election day, other employees should also be held to high standards. NH Courts, Departments heads, and other areas paid for with tax payer money should be held to the highest standards possible.

Keller: Branching off of the last question, how are these things accomplished? What would that legislation or that action look like?

Jarvis: Economic Change is about fixing some regulations – such as the energy regulations that prevent businesses from thriving in NH and the Occupational Licensing requirements that sometimes require a person get a degree in something that has nothing to do with the business they are trying to get into, thus preventing lower income people from bettering their lives for no benefit to the occupation.  This will take working with the legislature in order to review and fix the regulations already in place.  It also means working on our property tax issues (thus education funding) as if business grows, the property taxes need to go down so that employees have some place to live.  I would also veto any law that stifles economic growth in NH.

Drug Reform – Again, working with the legislators on a clear law that identifies Cannabis legalization, age requirements, sale/distribution rights, home cultivation rights, pardons for non-violent offenders already in the system, and relocation of funds from the criminal system to the medical system for treatment.

Accountability – An executive order to form an oversight committee would be my first executive order as governor.  Then I would work with employees to make website changes for ease of access and searchability for anyone looking to find public information, required forms, business requirements, etc.  Also the Weekly FaceBook Live events that I hold every Thursday at 7pm would continue so that every person continued to have the opportunity to speak to their governor and ask me questions or tell me about issues without having to set up an appointment or come to Concord.

Keller: What sets you apart from the incumbent governor, Chris Sununu, and the potential democratic nominees?

Jarvis: People know where I stand.  I do not say I will do one thing and then do another.  I don’t blame the other parties for things I have not done, nor will I.  If people want a candidate who will allow them to keep all of their rights, including their right to purchase a firearm for protection like my Republican opponent promises and also want a candidate who will give them legalized cannabis and fight for equal rights for all citizens like my Democratic opponents promise – there is only one option – me.  Add to this that I want to find ways to lower their tax burden and that I am a political outsider – unlike any of my opponents and you have only one candidate who is truly fighting for the people of NH.

Keller If people want to get involved with your campaign, where can they get in contact with you?

Jarvis: People can reach out to me on my FaceBook page www.facebook.com/Jarvis4Gov, through twitter @Jarvis4Gov, through email at [email protected].  To volunteer, they can fill in a form on my website at https://JillettaJarvis4NH.com/volunteer. To donate to the campaign https://JillettaJarvis4NH.com/Donate or to request interviews/media appearances/etc. via email at [email protected]

Keller: Do you have any final remarks for the readers?

Jarvis: Do not let the others convince you to vote out of fear.  It is time to think differently and vote differently.

I would like to thank Mrs. Jarvis for her time in conducting this interview, and be sure to get involved if interested.

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Police Brutality and Minority Struggle: Ending the Blame Game

By Greg Stephan | USA

Minorities are, in modern times, facing a lot of problems right here in the good ol’ United States of America.  From drugs to being shot by police to financial instability, these issues are racking many, however not all, minority communities in America.  Children are coming home to see their father on TV, shot dead by police.  People are dying left and right from drug overdoses and gun violence.  These issues are pretty much undisputed in existence, however, the real controversy lies in what the objective root problem is of this issue.  Many people may believe this would be systemic racism within America, others may believe it’s the race of the minorities; however, under further scrutiny, neither example is the case at all.

One issue used to back up the belief that racism of both blatant and subtle forms within our government is the core problem would be minority-dominated school districts getting less funding, thus setting up students in America’s predominantly minority districts to be more likely to fail in life and underachieve.  Racism within government and donating businesses is typically where the blame is placed, however, many fail to regard that most school districts get funding in accordance to the district’s own tax income, determined by the tax collected by the population within the district.  In other words, it’s the fact that most predominantly minority communities are poorer and more crime-ridden than predominantly white communities that causes the low school funding.  Now that we can knock racism out of the way for this issue, we can now dismantle the other extreme, for the true blame is no more on systemic racism than it is on minority races themselves.

The reason for the cause of the school district issue is not racism, nor it is the colors of the dominant races in a community.  What it is, however, is the culture and popular (yet masochistic in the long-term) choices individuals are pressured to make.  Poorer, crime-riddled, minority-dominated communities are more often than not filled to the brim with “ghetto culture”.  This subculture heavily promotes the use of drugs, gangs, street violence, black-on-black crime, and disregard of individual responsibility through various forms of media and action.  Because these drugs and gangs and other forms of street culture, individuals are showing to choose lives of crime, drugs, fraternization, and irresponsibility.  Choosing getting high off of lean and having unprotected sex with your friend’s significant other over finishing college and having a career outside of crime is considered cool and has been normalized by these cultures.  Making these decisions are what make people poor and put families in jeopardy.  Now, whites typically don’t engage as much in these cultures and are, more often than not, not stuck in ghettos and in failing school systems, however some do in fact choose to go down the route of ghetto culture and become irresponsible and, in turn, poor; in conclusion it is not racism nor race that is the cause of this issue, moreover the culture of the individuals claiming to be oppressed.

This trend of the more commonly brought up issues to back a more progressive standpoint on the topic of minority struggle always connecting back to ghetto culture’s influence on minority individuals is seemingly getting more apparent as time passes.  To name just a couple, the high rate of minority crime compared to white crime?  Ghetto culture (which is more popular amongst minority communities) glorifies, normalizes, and popularizes crime not just in the form of art, but also in reality.  High drug consumption/production/selling?  Ghetto culture realizes glorified, normalized drug use, not to mention glorification of gang violence and gangs selling and producing drugs for profit.  Poorer communities constantly on welfare?  Ghetto culture promotes throwing individual responsibility out the window in favor of constantly living life as a hardass teenager who goes to parties instead of class (which coincidentally is also promoted through ghetto culture).

The most socially significant issue minorities are facing, one that simply cannot be left unaddressed is the problem of police brutality against minorities.  Is the reason for cops shooting blacks and other minorities to their deaths always, without a doubt, racism?  Well, no (and I will get to that part in a bit), however, there’s no arguing that a few of these incidents were, in fact, hate crimes.  Dealing in absolutes, however, and saying that every officer-on-minority attack is unjustified or simply racism, would be factually inaccurate as not every police officer that has had to use his or her gun on a minority is inherently racist.  The reason why we see so much “racist” police brutality on the media is because the media can easily make money off of tragedy and hot talking points; police brutality is one issue that is both.  Blowing these issues out of the water and putting a political media spin on the entire deal is exactly what has gotten the majority of progressives to believe that racist police brutality is something that is seen 24/7 pretty much everywhere when in reality it really isn’t.

Why, one may ask, then would the rates of police brutality acted upon minorities significant in comparison to the total American racial minority population?  Well, a good answer for that would be that minorities simply have more run-ins with the police, thus upping the chances of violence and/or brutality.  If for instance black Americans, only make up 13% of the population yet commit 50% of America’s violent crime, then this is a far higher crime rate than white America, thus resulting in more run-ins with police by black folk and in turn, resulting in a higher likelihood of police brutality.  This, in statistics, is called “The Law of Large Numbers”; a vague description of LLN would be that the more times an experiment or event occurs (in this case, minorities running in with police and committing crimes) the higher the probability of a certain outcome becomes (in this case police brutality against minorities).

The reason for such high crime rates resulting in higher likelihood of police brutality?

Ghetto culture.

Ghetto culture promotes committing violent, self-destructive crime against not only other minority individuals but police officers as well, as previously stated several times.  In conclusion, ghetto culture can be linked back to almost every issue currently facing minority communes.  It’s a lot easier to blame others for your own failures to be up-to-par with individual responsibility, especially when your culture romanticizes and falsely justifies it.  Minority communities in America need to focus on independently fixing themselves and reforming the mass amounts of toxic street culture that has become self-evident, not blaming whites for all of their issues.  In the end, the real problem is not racism, nor is it inferiority in race, as we are all individuals with our own unique abilities and disabilities, most of whom being completely capable of fulfilling personal responsibilities.  For an able individual can only be helpless in success and rehabilitation when a society around it blindly claims it’s “cool” and “normal” the way it is.