Connectedness

What is the Universe doing? Among other things, it is transforming matter into mind.

Will the mind, which is a product of our Universe, cause our self-destruction?

Whether our mind operates by instinct or by conscious use of knowledge in any form, the consequences of our actions become part of the evolutionary process. Space exploration and its accompanying challenges, for instance, are a part of the evolutionary process.

We most often act—individually or collectively—according to the way we feel rather than according to the way we think.

Thinking is> a process which begins by exploring the connectedness which applies to everything in our Universe both physical and non-physical. It can influence the way we feel.

Connecting the Mind

Connectedness with all its implications — known and unknown — should be the engine that drives our mind, guiding our education (formal as well as self-induced) from the day we are born to the day we die. It should govern our actions whether they are directed toward ourselves, toward others, or toward our Universe.

In all our endeavors, we need to ask for and to seek divine guidance in order to understand and use the rapidly accelerating flood of new knowledge made available each day. We should be alert for those rare moments when some of the pieces of our puzzle fall into place. Let's call that creative inspiration.

Religion, education, (both formal and informal) and communication by every means (oral, written, symbolic) should have as its purpose our understanding of how all things are connected.

If we feel that future. generations are entitled to enjoy the same or a better life than ourselves, then we must begin now to do all can to alter our present course—toward the destruction of our Earth and all of its inhabitants. We must not allow ourselves the sinful luxury of passing on to future generations the costs we incur now. To behave otherwise is Unthinkable.

The Healing of the Earth

While we may not agree on what to do and how to do it, we should all share a common purpose, that is, the healing of our Earth and its non-destructive occupation by all life.

In human relationships, each individual (doctors, preachers, teachers, garbage collectors, merchants, students, mechanics, or whatever) should be respected for what he or she does. Each of us has to feel that he or she is important. Each life needs this sense of achievement and pride in what it is contributing to society as a whole. We help ourselves by helping each other.

If we feel that democracy holds the key to sustaining and improving all life, then, of necessity, we must take democracy seriously—not take it for granted as many of us are doing in established democracies. We must realize that each of us is important and, therefore, use our minds to work together, recognizing that differences of opinion and conclusion are essential parts of our decision-making process whether in the home or in the larger divisions of our human family. Connectedness requires all of us to contribute to the common success of the human family but does not require a monetary or material measure of individual contribution.

To feel that what we are and what we do has worth only in self-gratification leads to parasitic existence and ultimate self-destruction.

...Howard B. Anderson...
Hancock, Michigan
January 21, 1990

The Big Lemon

The first fruit of deregulation of the transportation is a lemon. With the acquisition of Trailways, the Greyhound Bus Company has become the only interstate bus line. Deregulation was supposed to promote competition. Instead it is promoting monopoly. The same trends are everywhere apparent in the airline industry and that industry is being thrown into ever greater confusion by unrestrained, mindless competition over main trunk lines while the lesser branches wither with those remaining demanding fares in excess of the cost to travel coast to coast. The nonsense of deregulation has to be arrested. Healthy competition is fine but competition destructive of industries is foolish.

Striking a Monopoly

The Greyhound Bus Company and its union are at loggerheads over a contract and the drivers are out on strike. In a non-monopoly industry the strike would not last long because competing companies would be there to take up the slack. In a competitive industry Greyhound could lose market share to its competitors in a prolonged strike. It might even lose routes.

The Company says the issue is money, the union says the issue is working conditions. Look at what each side has to gain or lose over a prolonged strike.

They Can't Afford to Take the Train

The union has competition, that is to say other drivers can be recruited to drive Greyhound buses. In a prolonged strike the union membership at Greyhound could be replaced with non-union drivers and the union broken. For Greyhound it is only a matter of money. With the system operating at half capacity they are losing money. Not as much as if they were completely shut down, but they are losing money. But what else is there to lose for Greyhound? They have no competitors. They are not obliged to offer their services and they are completely free to abandon their passengers at whatever stage they may be in their travels. Greyhound does not have competition from the trains or the airlines. Their passengers are riding Greyhound because they can not afford to take the train or fly. Since there are no competitors, Greyhound if it can afford it can simply replace the drivers at their leisure and go about their business as usual. This is not the free enterprise touted at the hallmark of our economy and way of life and it is the worst aspect of a market economy since it is not one.

Monopoly is the Enemy of Free Trade

Why does our government tolerate monopoly? Why has our government abandoned the national purpose of free markets and free enterprise? More importantly, why has the government abandoned the, consumer cum citizensovereign? Business and trade laws are the rules of the game. Monopoly is the enemy of free trade and free enterprise. Why has our government abandoned the principles that have made this nation great?

In the absence of competition from the private sector, the Greyhound Company should have competition from a government run bus company. The government bus company can provide the competition necessary to provide the best and lowest cost service to the consumer. The government receives its just consent from the governed not the Greyhound Bus Company. The government is obligated to protect consumers from monopolists. When other companies have been induced to enter the market and the market for interstate bus travel is thriving, the government can sell the bits company to form yet another competitor.

Losing Our Way on the Little Ones

If we as a nation lose our way on the little problems like running an interstate bus service, is it any wonder we don't know how to deal with the trade deficit?

...Ted Sudia...

© Copyright 1990
Institute for domestic Tranquility