Alive Inside (2014) is the stirring account of Dan Cohen, founder of the non-profit organization Music & Memory, struggling against a broken healthcare system. Along with independent documentary film-maker Michael Rossato-Bennett, they demonstrate music’s ability to reverse memory loss– restoring dignity & sense of self. [all pics google]
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is characterized by cognitive impairment. Agitation is a symptom in 70%-90% of those afflicted with advanced stage ADRDs. This interferes with care delivery and social interaction, ultimately destroying their quality of life. It is a huge problem facing human society, and like most other issues facing humanity, it’s growing worse daily– as illustrated by the graph below:
It should come as no surprise that geriatric healthcare providers suffer some of the highest rates of career burnout. Burnout is a multi-factorial phenomenon, involving environmental, personality, and profession-related factors. Research shows risk for burnout in geriatric healthcare to be between 25-75%, depending on the study– with a likely overall average near 50%. [1]
The problem of elderly care is fundamentally capitalist. As explained in the film, “A doctor can write a prescription for a $1000/month anti-psychotic drug, and it’s no problem. But a patient getting reimbursed for a $40 iPod, as medical therapy, is next-to-impossible…nursing homes have become a shotgun marriage of poorhouses & hospitals.”
This is an accurate description and explains their motivation to over-medicate. It pays-off the big pharmaceuticals, while turning those afflicted with ADRDs into vegetated zombies. These sedated ‘living dead’ are easier for staff to manage, and easier for corporations to milk for insurance profits. Half the patients in U.S. nursing homes receive no visitors.
The WebMD tagline is “Better information. Better health.” Their recommended therapies for ADRDs are: anti-psychotics (major tranquilizers), benzodiazepines (psychoactive hypnotics) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (anti-depressants); all of which are highly toxic, with serious side-effects. These drugs were never meant for use on geriatric patients, and yet today they are the standard-of-care for Alzheimer’s and dementia.
WebMD covers its ass with this blurb (& qualifier) at the end of its ringing pharmaceutical endorsement, “The FDA has placed a ‘black box’ warning on these drugs describing these problems. They can be helpful for many people, though.”
Such is the cruel logic of healthcare under capitalism.
Individualized music as an alternative therapy for agitation in ADRD, involves carefully selected music, based on the person’s lifetime preferences. The easiest way to do this with anyone is to determine their years in high-school. The popular music from that era will usually be their favorite, or at least an excellent starting point.
Watch what familiar music does to 94-year old “Henry” in this clip from Alive Inside:
For this therapy to be effective, it needs to be individualized music. Research shows “a significant reduction in agitation during and following individualized music, compared to classical music. This study expands science by testing and supporting a theoretically based intervention for agitation in persons with ADRD.” [2]
Why does individualized music work? Because music evokes emotions that bring back memories. Any time we remember something, we are actually recalling where we were when we learned it. When we hear a favorite song from the past, we are instantly transported back to that time & place in our minds. No other medium has that power, and PET scans prove it scientifically.
The musicality within all of us is innately human, as chimpanzees don’t have this primal need to connect with other chimps through music. Our musicality remains one of the last areas of the brain affected by ADRDs. Music is a portal to reach people who have slipped into vegetative states, who are otherwise unreachable.
Artists & songwriters understand this better than anyone. They create music for people to enjoy, because it connects them with others. Their music IS the culture, and it’s power to communicate & heal will remain as long as human society exists.
These covers were learned (mostly) from pre-Internet music magazines, guitar tablature songbooks & online tabs.
Other songs were transcribed using a revolutionary method called the Think System.
If you think the Pixies in A– then you can play the Pixies in A.
This completes a project, whose purpose was to define influences for fans while highlighting (mostly) under-represented artists. It is obviously also an attempt to tap into their fan bases. This is approximately 20% of my cover-list.
Both of us at Infinitelink & Last Minute Records wish everyone a Happy Holidays!!
These are acoustic solo covers, which you never hear in coffee houses. Infinitelink Records doesn’t own the rights to any of these songs, so they are distributed as videos on our ILR YouTube Channel, for your personal enjoyment.
Thanks to all of you who have downloaded, enjoyed & shared the mp3s from Electrified! At this point we have still received ZERO press, and have not been offered any venue in which to perform. We’re hopeful this will change soon, but we are not holding our breath.
It is YOU, the fans who truly make it happen. The early response to Electrified! has been sensational, as the number of visits to the site (and downloads!) has jumped dramatically. Anytime you share the songs or direct someone to our site, it helps. If you really love the music & the message– then keep doing this!!
We have just uploaded the entire album onto Spotify, iTunes, Rhapsody, I Heart Radio, etc…. and it should proliferate completely within a week. We don’t expect fans to pay for it (especially when we already have it FREE on this site), but it does help us with distribution & promotion. This is how most people (kids) find new music these days, as the Internet is new radio. Superfans will add us to their playlists, share on social media, forums & blogs, etc…
At this point, as artists, we have done (and will continue to do) all we can to distribute this music as widely as possible. The anti-capitalist themes of this art will continue to keep us blacklisted from corporate-owned media & venues. We leave it up to music lovers everywhere to decide the merits of this art. If you are among those who passionately love this music, then become part of its success. This revolution doesn’t happen without your participation!
Twin-cam sixteen valve FI
Sunroof down with the crankin’ hi-fi
Out on the road up on I-95
No room to pass only two lanes wide
With the air-bags off no cruise control
Carburetor’s blown check the manifold
Rain pourin’ down at twelve at night
Battery’s dead got no headlights
With my baby by my side it’s such a relief
We’ve got wind in our hair we’ve got bugs in our teeth
At 110 I’m losing my nerve
Suspension is shot and we’re starting to swerve
Six hours on the road and I’m starting to freak
Pull over for gas and to take a leak
Need and oil change the cylinder’s stuck
It’s been fifty thousand miles and we’re pushin’ our luck
Call AAA and get the tow truck here
Brake line’s gone can’t power steer
With three flat tires and a spare in the trunk
Oughta strip it for parts and sell it as junk
That’s my fuel-injected hotrod driving fast around Deadman’s Curve
Road rage behind don’t tailgate me
Rearview check another SUV
Those US cars look sick I note
Guzzle too much gas and drives like a boat
Loaded with gadgets they’ve got all the toys
Expensive options make too much noise
Japanese cars are better for me
Reliably built for efficiency
My Toyota Tacoma she’s a haulin’ machine
My Honda Accord runs super clean
My Toyota Corolla she’s a mini-jet rocket
When she gets up to speed you just can’t stop it
That’s my fuel-injected hotrod driving fast around Deadman’s Curve
MORE LIKE US?
Are there more like us?
Someone you trust
To show you some guts
Are there more like us?
Song of youth, make it rhyme, rock & roll music right in time
Contagious joy infects my soul, I’m in love with rock and roll
Are there more like us?
Show us your stuff
We’re calling your bluff
Do you have enough?
For when things get rough
KARARAK
July 1, 2002
Out of the night their gunships flew
Fifty women and children mowed down that day
By Uncle Sam and his Green Berets
In God We Trust defend our cause
On Eagle’s wings and imperialist claws
Who pulls the strings? We cannot say
Of our Special Forces and CIA
Johnny’s remains were laid to rest
They pinned a medal where he had a chest
How many more must die this way
For the Stars & Stripes of the USA?
OLD FRIENDS
Today is a good day for and old friend to slip away
Promises that we keep, promises we just make
An instinct hard to find a habit that’s hard to break
Today is a good day for an old friend to slip away
An old friend calls me up asks me who I was
Someone he once knew someone she once loved
A dream lost in the past a forgotten point of view
Someone who holds on someone I outgrew
On what I rely it’s just a crutch
If less is more then I’m too much
Who I am is hard to know
This cool facade is just a show
That stays too long when it should go
Living high means sinking low
RIDICULOUS
The ridiculous nature of US life
For most of the people it’s hardship and strife
This hourly grind for our daily bread
We keep falling behind we can’t get ahead
With bumper to bumper everyday
It’s hard to believe we’re living this way
Rush hour crunch in sweltering heat
Drizzling rain freezing cold sleet
This constant rat race is unpaid labor
Why doesn’t it count as work in your favor?
And when you get home there’s a TV to face
To reinforce values put you in your place
That it’s money and power and beauty and fame
And if you don’t have this then you’re not in the game
Creativity and talent they don’t want any here
Too hard to control it’s hype that they cheer
So the new season’s line-up is more pabulum for you
Some really weak stuff it’s the best they could do
So sit with your Friends, Seinfeld and Ed
American Idol live it all in your head
Because you don’t have a life and you’re going nowhere
And you forgot how to think so you don’t even care
Ridiculous/Quit
In central Florida I’m tellin’ y’all
Doc River’s team could not get a call
Heart & Hustle did not mean a thing
It’s size and strength that gets the ring
So the bigger you are the harder you hit
The more that you win well that’s about it
Shaquille O’Neal bull-rush to the hoop
Lacking the skill to set up and shoot
At the charity stripe even money he’ll brick it
Painful to watch for c-notes a ticket!
It’s a wrestling match down in the paint
Grabbing and holding pretty it ain’t
Unwritten rules just part of the game
It’s one of those things no one can explain
How veteran players use all the tricks
To maintain advantage the whole league’s a fix
Bills pile up so you can’t pay the rent
You’re throw in the street to live in a tent
Credit card balance stuffed to the limit
Twenty five percent well who can afford it?
So pawn all the chairs and rummage the table
US economy is highly unstable
The American Dream has bitten the dust
It’s all a big lie In God We Trust
When pension funds and retirement savings
Are stolen and looted for capitalist cravings
A shrug of the shoulders it’s out of our hands
The invisible market a shift of the sands
The working people get only contempt from above
The ruling elite incapable of love
It’s time to organize the laboring classes
An independent perspective of militant masses
To end the corruption in this critical hour
With socialist goals of seizing the power
Because the whole capitalistic system is…
BROTHERS
Two boys from the same home
Raised in the country where the sweet corn’s grown
With baseball games and snowball fights
And flashlight tag of summer nights
So long ago as brothers and friends
In our tree fort and on our bikes
From joy and laughter two brothers start
How did it happen we grew apart?
We had a father with a bottle of gin
Became addiction killed the man within
And all that was left became bitterness and shame
And the roles we played in a twisted game
I played the hero because I came first
Born to succeed with obsessive thirst
But all that guilt became such a cost
For trying to save a family lost
As the scapegoat you took the blame
For an affliction we could not name
That hurt and anger which pushed you away
Remains deep inside up to this day
November wind blows through the trees
These naked branches have lost their leaves
Oh how I long for the boughs of June
And the robin’s nest and iris bloom
Our childhood lost still lives inside
Beneath the loneliness and compulsive pride
It’s not too late if we try hard
We can reclaim who we are
TIP OF THE CAP
This train ride’s a tip of the cap
American music all across the map
So climb aboard we’re moving fast
To show our love celebrate the past
Now modern rock is NYC
And country time Nashville Opry
I’ve got a ticket for that Memphis soul
Stax/Volt/Sun Records rock and roll
It’s a northbound ride for electric blues
Windy shoulders and stockyard crews
Where guitars sting and mouth harps blow
That urban vibe of Chicago
This Mystery Train rolls southbound too
Jambalaya and crawfish stew
Jazz& blues is what it means
Mississippi delta and New Orleans
I’m on that train I’m westward bound
for LA punk and that surf-rock sound
but I’ll jump rail for the riffs I dig
Those lightnin’ leads flash Texas big
Train, train roll down the line
Tune your ear and you will find
that the sound you hear at every destination
is the folk-rock-soul of a heartbeat nation
JUST BECAUSE
Shake
Slither slide snake
No need to fake
Don’t be a flake
Just because
You feel the buzz
Don’t call the fuzz
Act like you was
Get up and dance
Step from stance
This could be your last chance
To snap out of that trance
Hey beautiful– smile
It never goes out of style
Haven’t seen it in a while
Why impose self denial?
Feelin’ kinda groovy
Starring in a crazy movie
Well this flick should have some nudie
With myself and a cutie
SCHOOLDAZE
I think back to schooldaze I think back to fifth grade
My first love a deep crush, how it felt how it stayed
To notice the first time the features in her face
I can’t help to just stare and daydream into space
Her eyes and her lips and her hair are so pleasing
Does she feel the same way or is she just teasing?
In high school a dull day perfume note thrown my way
Such boldness and fashion and humor on display
A quick sketch endowed with a caption that’s asking
Why is it your true love is afraid of unmasking?
I turn to her blue eyes and my nerve is unsteady
A flower in full bloom I don’t think I’m ready
Cute girl I don’t know asked her friend to meet you
Why is it so hard for emotion to break through
Words of confusion advice that is all wrong
Frustration is the rule peer pressure is so strong
Athletic young lady I don’t know your name
Weak stomach and no spine were always my shame
I buried my feelings of true love down inside
With dumb stuff like jealousy machismo and false pride
Music is my love that never was spoken
This song is a gift to the hearts that I’ve broken
What means love is yourself the essence of being
Expression whose life force is vital and breathing
A love that extends through the cosmos and all time
A passion so pure it transcends sublime
ATHEIST PSALM
For bedtime stories of ancient belief
An atheist psalm is welcome relief
A revolutionary theory the Church will dismiss
Made for today we’re ready for this
It’s a vision of God with 20/20 sight
From an unholy roller; Oh I’m feeling it tonight
The power to heal is back in my hands
And control of my fate is in my command
I rely on myself and what is around me
It’s removed all the doubts that used to confound me
It’s cleared the confusion of a head that was reeling
To believe there’s no God is a cleansing feeling
It’s cleared the confusion of a head that was reeling
To say there’s no God is a cleansing feeling
There is no God
Just a theistic clan
Superstitious fraud
Do you understand me man?
Jesus and Allah and Buddha and Yahweh
Tall tales of old help little today
So on guard defense spine up straight
For hysterical attacks of right-wing hate
From an invalid pope in a flowing cape
And a Vatican that harbors bishops who rape
Little boys molested silenced to tears
Intimidated to protect orthodox careers
Priests hide in the closet as pious pretenders
It’s the Holy Roman Church and its sex offenders
They don’t believe what they preach and neither should you
These hypocrites and liars teach little that’s true
So clear the confusion of a head that was reeling
To declare there’s no God is a cleansing feeling
So clear the confusion of a head that was reeling
To yell there’s no God is a cleansing feeling
Because of different faiths
We must kill each other
Doesn’t this seem stupid?
Can I get an “Amen” brother?
Will my life matter to humanity?
How long can I live and fight off insanity?
On the vigor of youth works the grit and the sweat
It weathers my face so I don’t forget
That the strong and the brave with the weak and the measly
Can live just as long and die just as easily
So I keep no illusions concerning mortality
Death is the end the spiritual finality
When I look in the mirror I see the wisdom is there
In the lines in my skin and the strength of my stare
It’s cleared the confusion of a head that was reeling
To know there’s no God is a cleansing feeling
It’s cleared the confusion of a head that was reeling
To scream there’s no God is a cleansing feeling
ANNA REX
Anna Rex what happened to you what makes you see yourself this way?
That beautiful girl, not much left on that skin and skeleton frame
It’s not fair what men expect I wish we all could feel the same
Distorted view is food for thought while the body wastes away
Video killed the brain that’s how it goes it’s such a shame
Supermodels on TV dream of fortune, desire fame
The message to us all: what’s life without sex appeal?
Just illusions of ourselves in a world we can’t see what’s real
Anna Rex how can I help?
I wish I knew just how you felt
Obsession in the mirror reveals the ghost that was your face
Your self-denial robs youthful glow and leaves a husk in its place
The conflict over want and need rages in your mind
Always yearning ever searching for satisfaction it won’t find
MONEYBUG
In America we’re mostly the same
In our cities the pace is insane
In our leisure we must be entertained
That’s why drugs numb all the pain
TV Billy stays up late
In school he can’t concentrate
But there’s a pill to keep him calm and sedate
That his parents feed him twice a day
Moneybug– the cure is a new drug
Moneybug– always with the… / the cost of these… / the side-effects of these… new drugs
Doc, I got a tooth that hurts
If you touch it just makes it worse
Can you give me a prescription first?
Narcotics are what I prefer
Pedro young and gay
He’s sick dying of AIDS
The cost of treatment is beyond his means
With healthcare run by insurance schemes
So he can’t afford the….
Martha disabled and old
Wasting away in a nursing home
With a dozen meds side effects unknown
Would you want this life to be your own?
More research is to find a cure
But it’s a business that’s for sure
Profit & loss is how they keep score
We forgot what we’re fighting for…
LISTEN TO THE WOMAN
The words I say to you will always be true it’s a promise I won’t betray
Kiss me on the lips with a look and a smile, I forget how to play
I love you so much somewhere in my heart for reasons I can’t explain
I listen to the woman even if she’s wrong, there’s something in her way
A toast to our love it will conquer all take away the pain
Believe it in your heart feel it in your soul sear it in your brain
When I became strong I wrote this song it put me on a plain
Stretched me to the limit then I went beyond I’ll never be the same
When I say “I love you”
She knows that I do
What else matters if that’s true?
With infinite patience always in her nature to be warm and kind
A sensing intuition knowing what to say and when to change her mind
She knows herself well, measures all her words in what & how to say
Listen to the woman even if she’s wrong there’s something in her way
Electrified! is a documentary film about the evolution of a practicing family dentist into musical artist & filmmaker.
This practice no longer exists; as it was shuttered in early 2014.
The staff & patients featured in this film are a fair representation of what went on during its 18 years of existence.
The film was shot & edited from June 2012 through December 2013. Electrified! still needs money, in order to be truly finished.
It is being released as is on YouTube, because its creators desire the widest viewing audience.
Written & Directed by Ric Size
Edited by Susan Cameron
Produced by Susan Cameron & Ric Size
Directors of Photography: Susan Cameron & Bruce Marcho
Uploaded to YouTube by TomP
Film Cast:
Eric Meeker………….DDS & Ric Size
Tom Pearce………….Drummer & Watch Repairman
Cynthia Lancaster….RDH
Jennifer Jusino………Receptionist
Lidia Barrera………….Dental Assistant
Allan Marsh……………Featured Patient
Elijah Salhani………….Cafe Owner
Art Rich…………………Auto Repair Shop Manager
Bill Warden…………….Tai Chi Sifu
Jay Stanley……………Recording Engineer & Studio Owner
Carol Gray…………….Denture Lab Technician
Mitchell Jim…………..Crown & Bridge Lab Technician
Becca Pearce……….Monopoly Game Contestant
Adrian Pearce……….Monopoly Game Contestant
Brighton Pearce…….Monopoly Game Contestant
Maya Pearce………..Monopoly Game Contestant
“Talented” Crew:
Camera/Editor: Bruce Marcho
Production: WildZebra Media
Lighting: Matt Sowers
Sound Op: Allan Marsh
Basketball scene shot on location at Pat Burke Hoops, in Mount Dora, FL – June 24, 2012.
Challenge Player: Corey Sutherland
Janitor: Pat Burke
Office party and outdoor scenes shot at Belton Bail Bonds in Tavares, FL – July 27, 2012.
Beautiful Woman #1: Angelica-Naia Gabor
Beautiful Woman #2: Jenay Nadine
Beautiful Woman #3: Amber Sym
Beautiful Woman #4: Amber English
Cop: Mitch Bromwell
Gay Guy: Sherwood Heineman
Straight Guy: Allan Marsh
Lady Justice: Ali Camp
Rich Businessman: Robby Camp
Secretary: Stephanie Sherman
Waiter: Tom Pearce
Young Kid #1: Ross Hackney
Young Kid #2: Jamison Moore
Young Kid #3: Katie Hohman
Young Kid #4: Victoria Strawbridge
Young Kid #5: Hunter
Young Kid #6: Jeffy
* In the historical discussion section; German imperialism is shown in green, not purple
Electrified! film Copyrighted by Infinitelink Records/ WildZebra Media
Kararak RS: vocal, guitar, bass; TomP: percussion & production
Plutocracy is defined as a government by, and for the wealthy– which is the United States of America in 2015. It has actually always been this way, since its Constitution was first enforced in 1789, as wealthy landowners wrote the rules. But the point was, the Constitution had ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, which offered certain protections for individual & legal liberties, placing restrictions on governmental power.
Today, the U.S. Constitution is a dead letter, obvious to anyone who thinks; and the horrible truth is none of us are actually free. We are all held prisoner by the fetters of capitalism, which bind us in all forms– visible & invisible.
The American Heritage dictionary definition of free is– to not be bound or constrained; at liberty.
Constraints are all-too-real to ignore for those with limited means, as they include: money debt, re-occurring bills that become harder to pay, and the threat of unemployment with no pension or retirement savings.
Those with a job they dislike are the lucky ones among today’s U.S. proletariat (working class), as the unlucky ones face an inability to obtain a workable job at a liveable wage, homelessness, being the target of police violence, imprisonment, and premature death.
The hooligans of the working class are defined in Marxist terms as lumpen-proletariat; a mixture of criminals, provocateurs, and bigoted ignorance. They are a relatively small (but dangerous) portion of the working class, that needs to be recognized & ruthlessly crushed by an educated proletariat, for any progress to occur. Otherwise our society ends up with fascism, followed by obliteration.
The petty bourgeoisie (formerly the middle, now upper-middle class), are financially stable, but certainly not free. The petty bourgeoisie are full of disorders, mostly stemming from their insecurity in not being rich enough (and therefore not good enough), by capitalist standards. They are (like the U.S. proletariat) equally divided among Democrats & Republicans in their illusions, usually focusing passionately on a single issue or two. Those who remain apolitical, become pawns in the grand chessboard of politics.
Petty bourgeois politicians always miss (avoid) the big picture. Trotsky correctly summarized liberalism as “half-thinkers with half-baked ideas, pronouncing half-truths they half-heartedly support, all to justify their political half-lives.”
V.I. Lenin once remarked, “The power of Marxism is that it is true.”
The petty bourgeoisie are the professional class of doctors, lawyers, engineers, and other vital problem-solving intelligentsia. They also run the universities & the mass media, and their conformity to the plutocracy is critical; as all capitalist ideology rewards them, in return for their services & obedience. It’s a Faustian deal one makes.
Capitalism must be understood dialectically, as a global system that is constantly evolving. The only source of wealth is human labor, and capitalism extracts it at below actual cost, more efficiently than feudalism or chattel slavery. This extracted wealth is defined as capital.
Marxism is the only scientific method of studying economics, as money is created through commodity production by human labor. It’s philosophy is dialectical materialism. Dialectics is the study of change and revolutions. Materialism is the insistence that all thinking be rational– based on actual matter.
Marxism rejects all forms of idealism, which always leads back to god; insisting on a rational scientific method in all questions of political economy.
At an earlier stage, say the pre-Industrial Revolution era, capitalism was a spur to creative development and free thinking; in other words, capitalism of that time could (at least in some sense) honestly claim it was progressive– because it was founded on Enlightenment principles.
Today, understood dialectically, capitalism is in its death throes– an impediment & mortal threat to our future. Human civilization needs an international socialist revolution in permanence, as capitalism is pushing its ruling class towards nuclear extinction.
The truth is: the ruling class isn’t even in charge, as the combined forces of a global political economy under the irrationality of capitalism are determining what each nation’s political leaders must do. Their marching orders come directly from the global economic powerhouses, such as the IMF, ECB, Downing Street, and Wall Street; who are ruled by the logic that profits always come first.
This completely dehumanizes the leaders of these institutions, which of course makes them thoughtless, self-serving slaves of the capitalist system; and thus, by definition, not free. The bourgeoisie which controls the world’s wealth is the sickest, and most decadent class in human history. Even the most gluttonous of Roman emperors, medieval pontiffs, and royalty would surely envy the level of luxury & destructive waste among today’s richest of the rich.
Their disorders are among us everywhere, most conspicuously in the never-ending glorification of their celebrity & money. This can be seen as an ideological offensive by the bourgeoisie, in insisting that brains & real work have little value in comparison, in order to justify their pathologies & parasitic existence.
Official bourgeois ideology is called post-modernism, which simply states: there is no truth, except what is in your mind– so therefore anything can be true. Post-modernism is a convenient ideology for a class with all the money. The bourgeoisie monopolize all the levers of power, allowing corporate fascism to broadcast nationalist consumerism 24/7, while marginalizing any expression of free thought.
All this leads to a pathological need to own & control everything, hence domestic spying operations by the FBI, CIA, & NSA. Every bit of electronic data from every American, is stored in vast intelligence databases; for analysis, profiling, and the marketing interests of the ruling class. The police & military are increasingly the favored tools of the bourgeoisie for mass enforcement of undemocratic policies, at home & abroad.
Domestic spying never includes sharing with the public of high-level, closed-door meetings concerning major economic, political or social policies. Disclosure is always made to flow in the same direction as the money & power. Presidential and top administration emails, texts, & phone conversations over policy are always ‘national secrets’, and if revealed, becomes their paranoid nightmare ‘threat to national security.’ All this is simply couched language to justify concealment of bourgeois criminality.
Therefore, secret discussions of nuclear war with Russia & China, by top U.S. government officials & military commanders of all the armed forces, are never honestly revealed or discussed with the working people. [1] This Orwellian logic keeps us ‘safe’ we are told.
Instead of mindlessly consuming the Great American Holiday, step outside of the jingoism and notice this mad parade we’re all made a part of. When the fireworks dazzle the crowd, eliciting reflexive “oohs” and “aahs”– think about what they represent.
They represent shock & awe, which began on March 19, 2003; and since then has claimed over a million Iraqi lives. The most advanced society in the Middle East was destroyed, by insatiable capitalist greed for oil. It is precisely this impulse that will kill us all, if we don’t stop it.
Today is the 239th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress, which declared the United States of America a sovereign nation.
True nationhood wasn’t that simple, as Great Britain was the mightiest Great Power of its time; but through determination, the richness of its resources, and bitter struggle– the newly-born United States prevailed.
In today’s epoch, our struggle is different, as the leaders of all nations– the U.S. foremost– are war criminals. Here in the U.S., its proletariat is faced with the task of having to disarm the mightiest and most sophisticated military/intelligence apparatus in human history, in order to head-off mutually assured destruction.
Any help from the petty bourgeoisie is appreciated, but not expected. It is now the task of the working people of all nations to unite, and overthrow its capitalist paymasters.
The alternative is to go on as if none of this matters, as human civilization eventually becomes consumed by a nuclear fire-storm, through the inexorable logic of capitalism; which prefers that outcome over socialism.
To those of us who think homo sapiens are better than that, we must truly begin to reflect on what these days really mean; and what needs to be done; as the time for action is coming soon.
We objectify what rejects us.
Therefore men see women as sex objects, and women see men as wallets.
It is easier to be rejected by this, than by a thoughtful and caring person.
Reflexive male-protector role
Men as a group take the most dangerous jobs, work the longest hours at their career, and die 7 years younger.
For men: obligation, sacrifice, and powerlessness is called “power.”
This is the myth of male power.
Power is actually the ability to control one’s life.
Both sexes have roles, which is not power.
To achieve true power, one must move past survival into self-fulfilment.
Stage 1: Survival Stage 2: Self-fulfilment
What is functional for Stage 1 survival, is often dysfunctional for Stage 2 self-fulfilment.
That’s why 97% of us come from dysfunctional families, as our parents came from the survival stage.
Our parents worked and freed us to be able to ask & explore a whole set of questions, which they never had a chance to address.
For that, they deserve our gratitude & understanding.
Many middle-class women have moved beyond survival into self-fulfilment, because they have been given the opportunity for self-examination, by men who sacrificed for them.
Men largely still struggle to survive, as they don’t understand their feelings or what the problem is.
This is because they completely sacrificed themselves to their career, and don’t know how to love at home.
Women head-of-households have 141% greater net-worth, as compared to male head-of-households, as of 1994.
Most of the improvement between the sexes is that women now have more options.
Men are still largely programmed into a 1950’s male-protector role.
The change towards true gender equality & transformation can start in any place: with the man or the woman; high and low.
Women expect economic responsibility to be taken care of by men.
Men fear taking on the extra economic responsibility.
ALL heterosexual men are addicted to young, beautiful women.
ALL women covet the economic security & freedom provided by the rich, successful male.
Work is defined as: sacrificing oneself to the workplace, so one can have a better life outside of it.
Work is fulfilling, but can’t be just self-fulfilment; otherwise we would pay to go to work, instead of the other way around.
The pressure on ALL men, is the pressure to succeed.
Men must ignore intimacy to succeed.
Men don’t talk intimately with other men, because it exposes vulnerabilities, which hurts his chances of career success.
Therefore men put all their emotional eggs into the basket of women.
Blacks came from slavery, making their white owners wealthy– that is their unique heritage.
Native American males were destroyed.
Embracing diversity means empathizing, listening and feeling.
Women can’t hear what men don’t say.
Women must provide a safe atmosphere for sharing, otherwise men won’t share.
Men as wallets, women as sex objects, minorities as servants, etc… is a failed paradigm.
The adversarial relationship paradigm, between male patriarchy & female matriarchy, is unhealthy & destructive.
We need gender-transition equality, which embraces diversity and seeks to understand.
When the man has to pay for a gorgeous date, he’s paying for the difference between what he’s worth and what she’s worth.
Men pay for dates 95-97% of the time, at the best restaurants, (minus anniversaries and birthdays) according to maîtres d’hôtel & servers.
Men generally take the expectation of asking out, paying, and the sexual initiative.
The selection of men as protectors by women, with nuclear technology, has to potential to kill us all.
The most successful man at work, learns skills which are inversely proportional to loving at home.
The selection of the beautiful young doll by men, reinforces women as objects who don’t: carry their own, communicate effectively, or value inner beauty.
Our genetic heritage is in conflict with our genetic future.
Our challenge as a species is to adapt to Stage 2– self-fulfilment.
Species that don’t adapt, go extinct.
Socially codified prostitution isn’t working for either sex. Feminism has freed 3-5% of women, who have learned to carry their own & understand men, by listening. 95-97% of females, still expect men to meet their economic needs. In other words, they still expect men to pay for sex & love; the difference being now– this woman is her own pimp. That’s her ’empowerment.’
A real woman, carries her own responsibilities; happily sharing in the work & love. Men need to have realistic expectations & limits, in regards to the age and level of beauty of their prospective mate. Men over-rate their attractiveness, as a survival reflex to protect their ego and obtain the most sex, with the most-beautiful women. All of us need to get past survival thinking, which means men must stop lying about themselves; and women need to stop lying to protect others, in exchange for economic security.
Men: Seek a comparably attractive woman, with who you are compatible. Ideal ‘types’ will be your age & level of attractiveness, who listen and seek to understand you. Improve your own health & beauty (as well as hers!), through the healing power of love. It’s all quite scientific. [link]
Women: This world we live in, has been built by men. Men do the dangerous & dirty work (except for prostitution), and work longer hours– that’s why they are better paid. All of this is to provide protection & comfort– to women & their children. Virtually all the great art was made by men, inspired by and made for, women. The same is true with literature, science, technology, and most of the physical marvels that have benefited human existence. Women owe men their love & gratitude for ALL their sacrifices through the ages, and know they can depend on men to get it done in the future.
Women are correct when they object to being treated as prized-property. Men object to be treated as disposable property. When both men & women learn to listen, respect, and assist each other; that becomes mutual conditional love, which is what homo sapiens must adapt to, in order to survive.
The reason we lie is because a it bridges the gap between who we want to be, and who we actually are.
Lie-spotting is not about, “Gotcha!”
Lie-spotters are armed with scientific methods to spot deception.
They use it to get to the truth, and ultimately build trust.
Truth #1: Lying is a cooperative act.
A lie’s power is not in its utterance, but in when someone else agrees to believe it.
We are most likely to be deceived over what we desire most.
If you don’t want to be deceived, you need to know what you’re hungry for.
On a given day, the average person is lied to 10-200 times.
Many of those are white lies, used to maintain the dignity of others & social norms, and can be seen as relatively harmless.
However, strangers lie to each other (on average) 3 times within the first 10 minutes of meeting.
Men lie more about themselves.
Women lie to protect others.
Married couples lie to each other in 1 out of 10 interactions.
Non-married couples lie to each other in 1 out of 3 interactions.
Truth #2: We are against lying… but are covertly for it.
It’s part of our history & genetic heritage– ex. Shakespeare, the Bible, the Nightly News, etc…
The larger the neocortex, the more likely it is to be deceptive.
Lying is a survival instinct.
We live in a post-truth society.
Trained lie-spotters get to the truth 90% of the time; the rest, only 54% of the time.
Some people are better at lying than others.
There are no original liars, we all use the same methods and make the same mistakes.
Pattern #1: Verbal Dodging
Non-contracted denial– people who are determined to lie will resort to formal, instead of informal language (Bill Clinton, “I DID NOT have sex with that woman”, etc).
Distancing language– liars will unconsciously distance themselves from the subject, using language as their tool (Bill Clinton again, “…that woman“).
Qualifying language– (“in all honesty”, “to tell you the truth”, etc…) further discredits the subject towards deception.
Repeating the question in its entirety– ditto above.
Testimony with too much detail– ditto ditto.
Pattern #2: Body Language Tells
We all chatter with our fingertips.
Liars are known to freeze their upper bodies while being deceptive.
Liars will look you in the eye, a little too much, overcompensating for the myth that they won’t look at you.
A true smile is in the eyes.
You can consciously contract the muscles around your mouth, but not your eyes.
Look for the ‘hot spots’ to find the discrepancies between words and actions.
Attitude is the biggest tell of all; are they being cooperative?
An honest person will be on your side, enthusiastically helping to solve the problem.
An honest person will be infuriated, during the entire interview (not just in flashes), if they are accused of deception.
An honest person is more likely to recommend strict, not lenient punishment.
Conversely, a deceptive person will pause, look down, and lower their voice during an interview.
They will add extraneous details and tell their story in strict chronological order.
Professional lie-spotters will ask them to repeat their story backwards, then observe the red flags for deception in their gestures.
Red flag indicators include:
1) Saying “Yes,” while shaking our heads “No.”
2) Telling a convincing story, then shrugging our shoulders.
3) Duping delight.
Anger can be healthy; but when it turns to contempt, you’ve been dismissed.
It’s associated with moral superiority, and is very hard to recover from.
Contempt is marked by one lip corner pulled up & in, and is the only asymmetrical facial expression.
In the presence of contempt, say “No,” and leave the room ASAP.
Contempt looks like this:
These behaviors by themselves don’t always indicate deception, but if red flags appear in clusters, then suspicion of lying must be aroused.
These cues must be followed up, with further questioning & lie-spotting to determine the truth.
Look, listen, probe; ask hard questions.
Leave that comfortable mode of ‘knowing’ and walk into curiosity.
Have dignity and establish rapport.
Don’t interrogate aggressively–it doesn’t work.
Character is who you are in the dark.
We live in a much noisier world than our parents; with blogs, social media, texting, etc…
Over-sharing is not honesty.
The subtleties of human decency, character & honesty, are what truly matter.
In this noisier world, it makes sense to be more explicit about our moral code.
The science of lie-spotting, combined with the art of looking & listening, exempts us from collaborating in a lie.
This leads to a shift towards recognizing truth and marginalizing falsehood, which strengthens our world around us.
That’s the truth.
