What impressed me the most about the film was my ability to relate to it. I can relate to witnessing the “fat cats” take more and more while the middle class gets less and less. I can relate to the middle class having to work harder while having their wages remain flat. I can relate to the destructive effects of high unemployment, plummeting home values, foreclosures, budget deficits, and greed. What amazes me the most is that the combined net worth of the top 1% is greater than the combined net worth of the bottom 95%. That is a massive amount of wealth and it literally isn’t possible to spend that much in a single lifetime.

How do we live in a country where a tiny sliver of people can have more money than they know what to do with while everybody else has to struggle to find work and provide for their families? At one point during this film, I was nearly in tears watching a couple lose the home that had been in their family for generations. That is wrong on every level. It is a sin of the worst kind. It is one thing to lose your home because you legitimately default on your obligations and another to lose your home because your mortgage was designed to make you default so your house could be stolen. How is that legal?

You know, if I won the lottery today, I wouldn’t change one thing about my lifestyle. I don’t need or want more stuff. I don’t want a plane, a boat, a better house, another house, a better car, another car, or a bunch of fancy and shiny things. Those are things. Things have no value to me. People do. If I had millions at my disposal, I would buy that house those good people lost and give it right back to them, debt free. I’d start a foundation dedicated to giving hard working people a boost when they need it while only asking them to pay it forward in return. I would camp outside the offices of Senators and Representatives in Washington, DC until they passed laws protecting the middle class.

Other aspects of the film bothered me. It bothers me that companies can take life insurance policies out on their employees and profit off their deaths. How is that legal? How can an employee’s family be left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills while the employer gets millions? Disgusting. Even more disgusting is that we, the insured, are referred to as “peasants”.

Even still, I was inspired. I think people are reaching their breaking point. I think people have finally had enough. People can take and take, but there comes a time when they take too much. That is what has happened in our country. The top 1% have taken too much and now they are taking our jobs, our homes, our towns, and the identity of our country. No more.

I believe in democracy. I believe in our country. But, I don’t believe in capitalism as it exists in America today. The accumulation of wealth over all else is a sin. As Moore pointed out, if Jesus were alive today, he would reject capitalism. He would say it is wrong. He would say it is a sin. We should be of service to each other. We should help the poor. We should build things, not wealth. Rich should have a different meaning. It should be rich in one’s family, rich in one’s work, and rich in one’s worldly contributions. (And, well, it is clear to me that is God’s definition.)

I encourage anyone reading this to watch Moore’s film. Our country is at stake. What would happen if the top 1% got all the money? How many communities would go bankrupt? How many cities would look like Detroit? What would our country be like with no jobs and no commerce? We all need to take action to stop that from happening. We can and must stop this. However, until we stop thinking as individuals and start thinking as Americans, nothing will change and eventually, America will be bankrupt.

To be clear, I don’t have a concern with anyone being gay. I don’t believe that we, as individuals, choose our sexual orientation. Although genetics may play a role, I believe it is spiritually derived. I think it comes from each of us having a soulmate, a person that we will naturally seek out regardless of sex. No matter what though, gay doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is who you are and what is in your heart. If you are a good person, you will shine like a Christmas tree on a dark night. Straight or gay, black or white, man or woman, it doesn’t matter. I believe or better yet, I know, God feels the same way.

So why behave this way? Why do people like Craig, Ashburn, and Haggard preach hate against people who are just like them? I don’t understand that. Wouldn’t that be like a group of women saying women shouldn’t have the right to vote? Come on. I believe people should be who they are. I believe people should be loved for who they are, not for who they are not. I know acceptance is a huge part of the human condition. It is hard when people don’t like you. However, ultimately, acceptance is too high a price to pay if it means you can’t be you.

Honestly, I am really tired of hatred. I don’t care if it is hatred toward Christians, Gays, Blacks, or Women. Hatred is hatred and it is plain wrong. What makes me sick is that some people use God as a platform to spread hatred. I’ve heard people say God hates gays. I’ve heard people say God wants women to be subservient to men. That is extremely arrogant. How would they know? They are not God. In my lifetime, I have experienced a very loving God. Although I haven’t seen him, I have felt him. He doesn’t hate me because I am a Christian, because I believe in equal rights for women, because I believe in equal rights for gays, or because I have friends that are gay. He doesn’t hate me. He loves me. That tells me that I am right or at least on the right track.

I believe, as a society, we should change the way we interact with each other. We should respect each other for who we are because it takes an extreme amount of courage to tell others who you are. I admire that. I respect that. I salute that. I wish others felt the same. For if so, we would repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, Women would receive equal pay for equal work, Blacks and Hispanics would have the same opportunities as Whites, and people would be free to worship without ridicule. A utopia? Perhaps. But if we could merely lean toward being true to ourselves, we would be better for it.

Wrong. Our addiction to technology has made making today’s applications operational no simple task. Think about it. What would happen if Facebook went down? What about Twitter? How about E*Trade? People would be none too happy. When systems are down, even for upgrades, consumers and businesses alike lose money. To prevent this from happening, we have designed our applications to run on multiple servers and across multiple geographies with a mix of clustering, load balancing, and other fault tolerant systems. This has lead to extreme complexity and along with it, environment drift.

What is environmental drift? It is when the environments, where an application is developed, tested, staged, and operationalized, change from one another due to normal application evolution. Over time, the drift grows to a point where the application becomes next to impossible to deploy successfully or, at the very least, deploy without significant pain. This is because the environment where the application will run is different from where it was developed and tested. Environmental drift, in my opinion, is tantamount to developing a car for the snow and cold and, instead, using it in the sand and heat. Not good.

So what do we do about it? How do we prevent environmental drift so that upgrades are straightforward? The answer isn’t simple, but I believe it starts at the beginning of the SDL. “Deployability” should be a master requirement of any project and cascade to all sub-requirements. Installers should be developed to not only install an application from scratch but upgrade it from a previous release as well. Network designs should be the same. The diagrams and instructions shouldn’t just show the current design, but also how to go from the previous generation to the next generation. Yes, deployability should be front-ended in the SDL. If it is, it naturally cascades to other cycles such as QA. During testing, the application has to be upgraded from the previous release to the current release in order to test it. If deployability is a requirement, QA will reject any build that cannot be successfully installed in the environment. After all, it would be a bug. Development would have to fix their designs, code, or installers to make it work. All too often developers will “massage” a QA environment to get their application working instead of QA creating an MR and addressing the root cause.

A number of configuration management technologies are emerging to handle environmental drift as well. These technologies can configure hardware, operating systems, application servers, routers, firewalls, and more. In the next five years, these technologies will ultimately become standards. However, no one piece of technology will ever do it all. Humans will always be a factor. That is why environmental drift will continue to be a problem for companies developing service-based software unless deployability becomes a requirement. Each environment must remain the same. While small differences such as IP addresses are acceptable, operating systems must have the same patch levels and the same software versions, firewalls must have the same rules, and the hardware should be identical.

Overall, environmental drift is a real problem. As consumers and businesses alike continue to demand high availability in our applications, deployability must become a key requirement. We should be able to deploy applications just like in the old days when a single server hosted an entire enterprise application. Yet until deployability becomes a requirement, it will continue to be a significant cost in the SDL. It is clear, from my experience, that embedding deployability across every stage of the SDL costs less than by trying to address it at the end.

Lately, one of the things I have wanted to do the most was upgrade the wheels. After all, I bought a Yellow Jeep. With the exception of the wheels, everything is yellow and black. As my buddy says, “go for the hornet color scheme”. (Words on a blog don’t do that line justice!) I agree. Well, I took the Jeep over to Discount Tire Company and had 20″ G-FX black wheels installed with new 32″ BF Goodrich A/T’s. Oh they are so awesome! Now the Jeep doesn’t have a trace of silver; everything is yellow and black, just like a hornet. The paint is yellow, the decals are black, the handles are black, the windows are black, and the top is black. It is sweet. Pimp works too. HA!

John's Hornet Wrangler

20" Black Wheels

Now that the wheels are done, I have more I want to do. I want to upgrade the front bumper, install a winch, add Bluetooth and iPod Integration, and upgrade the sound system. I also want a soft top for the summer, an upgraded exhaust system, and a CB radio. Yep. I figure I have another $10K worth of stuff to do. It’s fun because I take every upgrade a little at a time. It is really cool to see it go from “stock” to “one-of-a-kind”. That “one-of-a-kind” thing carries a lot of weight to me because I will never sell it. Ever. Of course, I will be more than happy to pass it on to my son or daughter with the caveat that they never sell it either.

So how much longer until summer?! It can’t come fast enough. I want to hit the trails (treading lightly, of course!) with the top down, a winch at the bow, a gal at my side (or heck, she can drive!), and nothing but mother nature surrounding us. Then, when we get to the end of the trail, hike up to the top. Is that asking too much?! Nah! Bring it on.

Given what has happened in my life thus far, I have concluded that no good deed goes unpunished. It is clear that if I help someone, they will benefit and I will get hurt. They will benefit by taking my ideas, my advice, and my friendship. Then, once they’ve gotten all that they need, I will be kicked as hard as possible and told to get lost. Sometimes, it will be done with a smile as if some kind of perverse pleasure was to be had.

Because of all that has happened to me, I am done helping people. All I get for my efforts is malevolence. Well, no more. In some ways, it is sad because not everyone is like that. However, I have been abused too much to put myself in that position again. I won’t let myself be hurt. I won’t let one more person steal my ideas, use me to climb higher, or know anything about me beyond the basics. Enough. If someone needs help, they’ll need to help themselves. I believe that is how God wants it. The angels he has sent to protect and guide me have said, countless times, that “God helps those who help themselves”. It took a while, but I get it.

It’ll be interesting to see how this change affects me going forward. Will it turn me into a user? Absolutely not. I have been hurt too much to turn into that. Instead, the change will allow me to focus on myself and, as a result, I will be much happier. Focusing on my dreams and enjoying the fruits of my labor will be awesome. No matter what though, the good person in me won’t be going away. And I know I am a good person because God has said so. That is all that matters. What gives me comfort is knowing that Jesus couldn’t make a go of it here either. If he couldn’t do it, I certainly don’t have a chance. And, in a world as lost as this one, it isn’t worth hurting myself for what is a lost cause. In the meantime, I can only feel sorry for those that use and abuse because they will have to atone for it one day.

I believe it is time for the filibuster rule to be repealed in the U.S. Senate. Simple majority rules must prevail. Passage on legislation should only require 51 senators for approval, or 50 plus the tie-breaking vote from the Vice President. The same should apply to confirmations. It shouldn’t be possible for a party or a group to block passage of a bill or confirmation of a nominee that has the votes to pass or confirm. The way the Senate works today runs counter to everything democracy is supposed to be about. After all, elections have winners and losers; why can’t things in the U.S. Senate?

If the filibuster rule disappeared, all deadlocks would be removed. Things would get done. What would be interesting is how our elections would change. After all, if things get done, the majority would be held accountable. If the changes were positive, people would be apt to re-elect their Senators, Representatives, and President. But, if the changes were negative, “throw ‘em out” would ring from sea to shining sea. That is how it is supposed to work. We, the People, elect Senators, Representatives, and President to conduct our business. If they do a good job, we ask them to stay. If they do a bad job, we fire them.

For the sake of the country, for the sake of democracy, for the sake of millions of people who are tired of watching their country in deadlock, JETTISON THE FILIBUSTER… AND DO IT RIGHT NOW.

Today, Taekwondo has become nothing but a “commercialized sport”. It is all about kicking and punching, fighting and destroying, cheating and manipulating, and rising to the top at any cost. Gone are the tenets. Gone is the spirituality. Gone is character building. Courtesy, Integrity, Indomitable Spirit (“Courage”), Self Control, and Perseverance no longer mean anything. Today’s students have no respect for their seniors or for each other, they put in only the minimum effort, and expect nothing more than a “good workout”. It makes me sad.

I grew up with Taekwondo. It made me who I am today, and who I continue to be. My instructors tore me down and built me up into my own best self. They screamed at me. They told me I was a wuss. They told me I sucked. They demanded to know who I was. They did this in front of everyone and no more than an inch from my face. It was embarrassing, but it taught me to try harder, push further, and learn about myself. And then it happened. Slowly but surely, I gained their respect. I became a leader, not a follower. I became a teacher and a student. I won sparring matches. I busted through wood. I learned who I was. I became, because of Taekwondo, John Swanagon. Before, I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t believe in myself. I didn’t challenge myself. I was scared of my own shadow.

Days like today make me wonder who I would have become had I grown up with what Taekwondo has become. Would I have got myself into stellar shape with those six pack abs and bulging biceps? Probably. But I wouldn’t have learned who I was. I wouldn’t have learned that I had the strength inside me to overcome anything. I wouldn’t have become a winner. I wouldn’t have become a leader. I wouldn’t be practicing or teaching Taekwondo today. Without those things under my belt, I wouldn’t have accomplished what I have, both in and outside Taekwondo.

Overall, I believe the art of Taekwondo has been lost. There are still a few pockets of it here and there. However, because money is the name of the game, those pockets are being drowned out. Just today, I was criticized by a fellow student, who hasn’t put in even half the time I have into Taekwondo, for daring to say I was displeased by a promotion test where nobody cared, and basic respect was non-existent. I guess that is the state of Taekwondo today. I never, not now or ever, would talk to my seniors like that. Right or wrong doesn’t matter.

For me, however, the art of Taekwondo lives on. I hope moving to a new state will allow me to open my own school, so that I can teach Taekwondo the way it is meant to be taught. Of course, the way I teach isn’t for everybody. It takes a lot of courage to explore yourself, confront your weaknesses, and challenge yourself to become the best you can be. And it is for that reason that Taekwondo has drifted sport versus art. People don’t want to pay someone to hear they suck even though it is a worthwhile journey. No, these days, everyone thinks they are entitled, that it should just be given to them, and that they are perfect. I’m sorry, but that is dead wrong. No one is entitled, no one should have it given to them, and no one is perfect. You have to earn it. You don’t become the best overnight. It is gradual and sometimes lifelong. For me, I continue to practice, teach, and compete in Taekwondo despite an cruel injury that hurts non-stop and prevents my body from working just right. But I continue; I continue because it is how I was taught. I learned it on the road to discovering who I was. I will always be eternally grateful to Master Cutright for teaching me that. Someday, I hope someone will write that about me.

This past weekend, I flew out to Las Vegas to help my brother pick out a new place to live as well as to just catch up and goof around. As he showed me around the city, I kept pointing out how “in your face” the city was. In the midst of the plushest of surroundings, food aplenty, and money galore, the homelessness was staggering, sex and prostitution was wildly rampant, and the “anything goes” attitude was off the charts. The most telling of all, however, was K-LOVE’s signal strength. The static was pervasive. I felt it was a direct reflection of how God feels about Vegas. I mean, his light is trying to penetrate the greed, the lust, the lack of values, and the evil, but it just can’t quite get through it all. It speaks volumes of his love because despite it all, he stills get through.

So there I was, steering my brother out of the darkness. It was awesome because he finally got what I was trying to tell him two years ago. He just kept saying “you’re right, you’re right”. It wasn’t sarcastic, but authentic. Once I heard that, I felt all proud of myself. I, John Swanagon, was right and I helped my bro at the same time. I remember thinking to myself, does it get any better than that?

Oh but I love how God said “not so fast”. It happened when my brother took me to his new Church, Cornerstone Christian Fellowship. I got to meet a number of people, including Pastor Greg. This guy was awesome. Everything about him said “genuine article”. I loved the sign he had in his office; it read “life is too short to take it seriously“. What struck me the most, however, was how the place felt. With a damaged spinal cord as a result of a martial arts injury, my body is in constant, excruciating pain. It is the kind of pain you have to experience to understand. At his Church though, I was pain free. That only happens when God’s light and warmth is so present that there isn’t room for anything else. (For those who don’t believe God heals, I’m here to tell you that he does.) It was profound. I can’t begin to describe what it is like to have pain that can sometimes make it difficult to move or standstill, just go away. It is indescribable. I just wish it wouldn’t have been temporary.

So, there I was in Las Vegas of all places, and I learn that God is just as present in the city of sin as he is in Denver or Dallas. I even found good people in Vegas. I used to think there was only one. LOL. (That is brotherly bias in case you missed it.) It is a constant reminder, to me, of how I shouldn’t make assumptions. I made the assumption that God wasn’t in Vegas. It was an arrogant assumption. Yes, it was. It reminds me of what one of my angels said to me while I was in Brazil. He said, “God is here too”. I didn’t understand why he said that to me at the time. I felt God there. But I now understand why he said that to me. I get it.

Overall, I believe that the world I live in is, for the most part, cruel, mean, and evil. It doesn’t help that I live in Highlands Ranch. The people here are shallow, self-centered, cruel, and above all, phony. It why I am moving and moving out of state. I refuse to live with people like that. I want to live in a place where God’s light shines bright and deep and where people are good, kind, and descent. Not only will I be spiritually fulfilled, I might even lose some of this pain at the same time. I know places like that exist, especially after finding it, at least in part, in Las Vegas. Although I won’t be moving to Vegas, the place I want to call “home” is around. When I find it, it’ll jive with my career, my house will sell, and I will simply move there. But until that happens, I will continue to try to be a beacon of light in the darkness that surrounds me. What gives me strength is knowing that God is here too, just like my angel said. (And speaking of angels, you haven’t lived until one of them becomes your best friend and you end up helping him as much as he helps you.)

Generically speaking, I believe people handle adversity in two ways. They either let it beat them, or they use it to make a comeback. Obama appears to be tacking into the latter. Last night, Obama acknowledged his mistakes and said he deservedly paid the political price. Shortly thereafter, he called everyone out and put them on notice. He told the Democrats that they have a responsibility to the American citizens and that they can’t “run for the hills” with the largest Democratic majorities in decades. Then he turned to the Republicans. He told them that saying “no” to everything and requiring a “super majority” to get anything done in the Senate is not leadership. He further said that if that continues to be their strategy, they will be responsible for governing too. What struck me the most was when he said “We don’t quit. I don’t quit”.

What I found most interesting last night was the smug attitude of the Republicans. They looked like the super rich that have been harming our country for the last decade. They looked like the greedy bankers, lobbyists, and investors that created the second Great Depression. With unemployment at 20%, they showed up in expensive suits and wearing watches that cost more than most people’s annual salaries. But what was most striking was their lack of respect for the President. The expressions on John Boehner and Eric Cantor were priceless. It bordered on racism, in my opinion. Even worse, they looked bored and many of them tinkered with their Blackberry devices instead of respectfully listening. That is outrageous. Even despite this lack of respect and smug attitude, President Obama got them to their feet quite a bit in the second half of his speech.

Although I begin 2010 with continued skepticism toward President Obama, I do have reasons to hope. It seems like he has learned from the failures of the past year and is ready for a fight. I hope that the conviction he showed in last night’s speech translates into action because ordinary Americans like me are hurting. We need help and quite frankly, we deserve it. Mr. President, you have afforded yourself a second chance. I hope and I pray that you take it. Not for me, not for any one American, but for us all. John Swanagon loves the United States of America and is tired of a handful of greedy, ruthless people trying to destroy her.

I am livid. According to Aetna they can now charge me more for prescriptions based upon my recent claims. Folks, you have to experience this crap to believe it. It doesn’t matter what the claim, the cost goes up. Can you imagine if something catastrophic happened to me? I bet that miracle drug would be $1,000.

The worst part about all this nonsense is that the recently defeated healthcare legislation wouldn’t have fixed this. Instead, it probably would have encouraged it. Healthcare companies like Aetna would have continued to “sock it” to their customers just like their greedy bank counterparts. In my opinion, that kind of approach is bad business. Isolating customers and increasing prices to make a quick buck is a formula for bankruptcy.

As for me, I won’t pay $100 per month for a drug that only costs them $30. I may be able to afford it, thanks be to God, but I refuse. As a result, I will probably have to see my doctor every couple of months because a preventable condition will no longer be treated. As a result, Aetna will go from making money with a prescription treatment to losing money with a poor standard of care. Please, for the love of the laws of business, tell me where that makes good business sense?

It is days like this that I really worry about people who can’t afford to have their prescription costs doubled. What if the medication they are taking is saving their life? What if it is making their quality of life better? Should people have to mortgage their lives to survive? To these healthcare companies, they don’t care because their greed has no bounds. No, they want their new boat, vacation home, third new car, or new gadget. They don’t care if it is bad business. To me, this sort of thing is unconscionable. In a way, I take pity on those perpetrating this evil. They will ultimately have to answer to God for it.

Today, democracy in America died. OK, perhaps I am being overly dramatic. However, I am of the opinion that money equals speech. The more money you have, the more speech you have. The less money, the less speech. The data to back that up is substantial. So, assuming that for a moment, how would somebody like me ever compete against a corporation that has millions upon millions at their disposal?

To put this in perspective, assume I wanted to fight a company or special interest. Further assume that I wanted to get my message out on TV, Radio, and the Internet. After all, my adversary would be doing the same things and possibly more. However, even if I leveraged all my assets and available credit, I wouldn’t have even 1% of the funds my adversary would. Not even 1%. Let me put it another way; for every dollar I could possibly spend, they could spend $1,000,000 or more. That is a $1,000,000 to $1 advantage, minimum.

The plain and simple fact is that no individual, unless independently wealthy like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet, could ever fight a company or special interest. They would lose before they even got started. And, today, the United States Supreme Court just made that legal. Their ruling said, in essence, that the liberty a person has in this country is equal only to the size of their wallet. That is disgusting. What would the founding fathers say? And, how do true conservatives really feel about that?

You know, I feel like I am living through a nightmare. Sometimes, I like to think that if I could only wake up, it would be December of 2000 and Al Gore would be President-Elect. Speaking of the Bush v. Gore debacle, I remember when George W. Bush was sworn in like it was yesterday. I couldn’t sleep the night before. I had a terrible feeling that made me physically ill. It was the same feeling before and after we invaded Iraq. And now, I am getting it again. At what point are we, as Americans, not going to tolerate a handful of corrupt individuals ruining our country? The Republican Supreme Court Justices sold out in order to buy the 2010 election; and, a mere day after the voters in Massachusetts gave them a shot. That is outrageous. I hope and I pray that my fellow Americans will finally say enough is enough. I fear, however, that our apathy will once again stop us from doing that. Tonight, I weep for America.

Can you help me out? Can you let me in?
It’s safe to say that I’m stuck again
Trapped between this life and the light
I just can’t figure out how to make it right

A thousand times before
I’ve wondered if there’s something more, something more

I feel it’s gonna rain like this for days
So let it rain down and wash everything away
I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine
With every tomorrow comes another life
I feel it’s gonna rain
For days and days
I feel it’s gonna rain

I tried to figure out
I can’t understand what it means to be whole again
Trapped between the truth and the consequence
Nothing’s real, nothing’s making sense

A thousand times before
I’ve wondered if there’s something more, something more

I feel it’s gonna rain like this for days
So let it rain down and wash everything away
I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine
I feel it’s gonna rain like this, rain like this, rain like this

Fall down
Wash away my yesterdays
Fall down
So let the rain fall down on me

I feel it’s gonna rain like this for days
Let it rain down and wash everything away
I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine
I feel it’s gonna rain like this, rain like this
(So let the rain fall down)
I feel it’s gonna rain like this, rain like this
(So let the rain fall down)
I feel it’s gonna rain like this
I feel it’s gonna rain…

Simply put, this race is referendum on President Obama’s healthcare reform. (It is ironic that the one vote the Democrats could count on for healthcare is now in jeopardy.) My fellow Americans are tired of the same old Washington parlor tricks. Then-candidate Obama promised to put an end to that, but his promise was hollow. He let the Senate markup his own healthcare reform legislation until it was so twisted and stuffed full of kickbacks that no one could see straight. In the end, the legislation ended up being an enormous windfall for insurance companies. That isn’t change. Instead, it is the Washington of old.

Although I loathe what the Republican party has become, I believe a Brown win would be the best thing for our nation. It would cause the healthcare legislation to be blocked by the GOP, causing this horrible bill to be thrown out. On top of that, it would restore checks and balances. We didn’t have them under Bush, and as of right now, we don’t have them under Obama. Ask yourself why we had a balanced budget near the end of President Clinton’s second term. It was because a GOP-controlled Congress and a Democratic-controlled White House made for natural checks and balances. It was a strenuous political relationship, but it worked.

Although I want the current legislation to be sent to the nearest shredder, that does not mean I don’t want reform. Not at all. In fact, I want reform and I want reform now. I don’t want to wait until 2013, 2012, or 2011. Healthcare should be a basic right of American citizenship, not a privilege. In no way, shape, or form should someone’s financial status dictate an American’s ability to live a healthy life. Not while I am alive.

Every American should have the right to see a doctor and receive prescribed treatment to get well when sick or injured. To that end, any reform should be focused on three key things. First, healthcare access for all Americans. Second, an industry change from illness to wellness. Third, a fix to our nation’s food supply. Think about it. Our foods are poisonous and are a key reason why we keep getting fatter and sicker. The use of HgH, antibiotics, and pesticides? Genetic manipulation of our fruits and vegetables? Portion sizes out of this world? It is no wonder. But the good news is that it is fixable and everyone can win, even insurance companies.

No matter what, at this point, I see the GOP picking up the seat in Massachusetts. The only thing that could save this seat and really, the Democrats, is a Presidential veto. Seriously. If President Obama vetoed his own legislation, he would become an overnight hero. It would signal to Congress that the days of old are over. No more pork. No more special lobbies. No more backroom deals. The party is over. The Democrats would be sweep in 2010 and 2012. Furthermore, his courage would force the Congress to pass real reform for real Americans, not for companies that only exist on paper. Of course, none of that will ever happen. Instead, the GOP will take the seat and the American people will lose — again. The only difference will be that the loss will be less than if the legislation had passed. I guess that is a quasi win, but it is not what we deserve.

In the not too distant future, I believe a global calamity, the likes of which we have never seen, will occur. It will be the event that changes everything and it will be the event that brings people together in a common cause. And in doing so, will trigger changes in us that are long overdue.

So what is this calamity? I’m not sure, but I know it is forthcoming; I can feel it. Cheesy as it may sound, I’ve been feeling a “tremor in the force”. Others feel it too as family, friends, and co-workers have said things “don’t feel right”. Personally, I believe it will be an economic event that will occur sometime between 2011 and 2012. Imagine a scenario whereby America defaulted on its debt. Such a default would cascade through the world economy in a matter of days and would cause the entire system to collapse in on itself. (This is due to technology enabling us to create economic interdependencies between nations.) As a result, trade would be suspended, money would be worthless, and civil unrest would ensue. And, because we’ve ceded so much of our manufacturing to China and Taiwan, we’d burn through our supplies in a matter of weeks. It wouldn’t be pretty.

But…it would bring people together in an unprecedented way. We’d have to. Besides, Americans haven’t forgot how to pull together. There were sparks after 9/11. Unfortunately, we had the wrong leader to reach critical mass. The good news though is that everything we need to light the spark and fuel the flame is right here. One might even go as far to say it is bred into the DNA of every American. By pulling together, we’d re-tool and spin-up closed manufacturing plants, we’d reorganize our government to make it a super efficient machine, we’d leverage the latest in farming technology to meet our food supply demands, we’d solve pollution once and for all, we’d build strong communities where neighbors help neighbors, and we’d enrich our spiritual lives (some people may even get immersed for the first time).

Some who read this will think “there is no way that could happen”. For those of you who think that, ask yourself if you thought our country would be broke and busted just ten years after the new millennium. I’d be willing to bet nobody thought that. Yet, here we are, in critical condition. At the turn of the century, our currency and economy were strong, we had a balanced budget, our debt was $5 trillion and shrinking, unemployment was at all time lows, and our nation was at peace. Ten years later, we have a $1.4 trillion deficit and growing, our debt has more than doubled and is growing, our currency is weak and weakening, we are prosecuting two wars and considering a third, and unemployment is approaching 20%. Given the state of our economy and our nation’s ever growing debt, our nation’s credit could hit the ceiling. This would cause the Fed to push interest rates to unprecedented levels in order to get investors to buy more of our debt. This would lead to a cataclysmic depression. Loans would be too expensive. Businesses would shutter. Jobs would be gone. Bankruptcies would go through the roof. Most homes would be foreclosed upon. And on, and on, and on.

Still, I don’t see this as a completely bad thing. Sure, it would be extremely challenging. However, we could, and should I be right, would rise to meet the challenge. Even in the midst of horrific events, blessings and miracles can be found. I’ve personally witnessed and experienced it. Just two years ago, I couldn’t and wouldn’t have said that.

As an American citizen, I hope for, pray for, and fully support America. I don’t want anything bad to happen. America’s my country; it is where I was born and hopefully where I leave from when I go home. Having said that, I know America is in trouble. Unfortunately, no one is doing anything about it. Not the Republicans or Democrats in Congress and not the Obama Administration. Citizens have become apathetic and disenfranchised. Eventually something must give. In many ways, it would be the best thing that happened to us. We’d be stronger. We’d be leaner. We’d be better people. Wouldn’t that be a good thing, in the end?

I am not like that nor do I think every American is like that either. I believe in respect, even and most especially when I don’t like the other guy. That is how I was taught. I believe it is a cardinal rule for any diplomat. And yes, Gen. Petraeus was acting as a diplomat on behalf of our country when he met with Yemen’s head of state. But for many, respect equals weakness. It doesn’t matter if it is a foreign custom. I will never understand that. It is one thing to ask a visiting diplomat to observe our customs, but another to be visiting and demand they observe ours.

I believe it is the height of arrogance to think that we can treat others like garbage simply because we don’t like them. Arrogance is a slippery slope. What do you think brought Rome down? And the British Empire? That’s right, arrogance. If we aren’t careful, it will be our downfall too. I’m not saying we need to be subservient. I’m not saying that all. I’m just saying that we should be respectful. Meeting a head of state in fatigues is not respectful. That’d be like President Obama meeting with a head of state wearing a t-shirt (and I’m not making a direct comparison).

Ultimately, it likely wasn’t General Petraeus’ idea to show up in fatigues. As a soldier, he knows that isn’t right. My guess is he was ordered to, simply as a way of  asserting our power. I believe we need to abandon that kind of thinking. I’m likely not in the majority on this — sadly — but respect would go a long way to changing how the world views us. Let’s quit giving people a reason to hate us. America is better than that.