Economic Multipliers (166) Do you know what these are? They help CREATE wealth in systems. Horoscopes can be an odd sort of economic multiplier. ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ I tend to read horoscopes when I run across them. I never believe that one-twelfth of the world’s population is having the same day I am yet when an inspiring one comes along … something like … ‘Every interaction you have today will be great.’ … I hope it comes true … for everyone. Recently a horoscope noted that I needed to spend less time with judgmental people. I pondered that. It occurred to me that I would have to spend less time with myself. I’m pretty sure that I’m getting more judgmental as I grow older. In the past several years, I’ve been thinking up all sorts of new laws that I think the United States needs and you can’t get more judgmental than that. As an example, identity theft is becoming more common in the United States. I’ve had instances where people I didn’t know have mistaken me for other people. I’ve worked in and been many places but you can’t be someone if you’ve never been to that city and state. I’ve also run into some confusion in the health care system. If you’ve never been to some clinic and/or don’t have children and anyone thinks otherwise, you start to wonder. It’s quite unnerving to think that someone could be or could ever have been in the health care system using your identity. Their presence there could jeopardize your life if you ever needed any care. Given that, I would like to see a law passed that stated that, in the future, if anyone used someone else’s identity to get health care, they could be prosecuted for attempted murder (even if the other person’s health was not impacted). If someone used your identity in the past, you’ve got a mess. They may have done so in desperation. None-the-less, they wouldn’t have the right to potentially jeopardize your life. Given that, I would like to see a law passed that stated that if, in the past, someone had used someone else’s identity to get health care, they could be prosecuted for attempted murder (once again, regardless of health impacts) if they did not notify the facility personally or via a lawyer anonymously that medical records under a particular name for a particular time period / medical service did not belong to the individual listed. AND, to avoid the potential for future criminal charges, they would have to somehow verify that the person who was impacted by the identity theft was notified. Sometimes you don’t want to be mistaken for other people or have people thinking odd things about you. For instance, I explained to someone one time that I have never knowingly and willingly been in an ‘intimate’ relationship with ANYONE while in the state of Wisconsin. You’d also be hard-pressed to find any guy I dated anywhere who didn’t think I thought intimate relationships and kids were for intimate married lives. You’d never find any married men (or any women) ‘in the mix’ of my few relationships. Being heterosexual, being respectful of other people’s marriages and spouses and being respectful of the responsibility that goes along with intimate relationships don’t seem to be particularly popular choices in today’s world. You don’t need to know these things. Just appreciate that when people make choices for themselves, other people can sometimes feel like they are being judged. As an example, I believe being gay is genetic AND believe in vitro fertilization (based on selection criteria) increases the percentage of gay people in the population. Of course, the mere statement that being gay is genetic throws many people into a fit. Since I don’t understand what it’s like to be gay, I doubt that anyone who’s not does either. Historical records do confirm though that gay people have been part of mankind’s mix for thousands of years. If I had gotten married, I would have aspired to a lifetime relationship and would have wanted a chance at a relationship whereby my spouse had wanted the same thing. Is it ‘judgmental’ to support gay marriage because you believe that, on the whole, heterosexual relationships will be stronger and more kids will have consistent, lifelong support? If you don’t believe people can teach kids or adults to be gay (different than individuals who prey on kids of any gender because of their own problems) and read about gay couples who provide more loving and stable homes for kids than many heterosexual couples do, is it ‘judgmental’ to just want kids to have the opportunity to live in loving and stable homes? I don’t tend to participate in ‘rumor mills’ but recently told someone a rumor I heard about something they did. The ‘rumor’ seemed unlikely and I thought they should be able to confront the individual. Chatting with people with excellent social support networks is really nice. They thanked me for the ‘heads up’ and even seemed to find a bit of humor in the ‘source,’ the ‘content’ and the fact that I took the time to let them know. Most people don’t like to notify others of rumors. Unless posted somewhere durable (like the Internet), many rumors come down to ‘he said, she said, you misunderstood what was said, etc.’ Likewise, many people like ‘juicy gossip’ … truthful or not. How can they participate if they are unreliable when it comes to ‘keeping secrets’ within the ‘gossip network?’ Nurses tend to ask how much people drink when taking medical histories. As luck would have it, I never got involved in youthful ‘drinking networks’ and now have some adult years where I’ve drunk no alcohol at all. I like it when younger adults drink VERY moderately, always have designated drivers, feel comfortable not drinking and like to browse grocery stores and farmer’s markets for the healthiest foods and drinks they can find. When you drink little, it can seem like a ‘judgment’ when others drink more. If you think things about people, it’s worthwhile to check. I fell down on a cobblestone sidewalk alongside an office building in Maine one day when a heel got caught between the stones. No one was on the street but I’m sure it would have looked odd and it took a minute or two to extract the shoe and collect myself. If someone had been glancing out a window, they could have thought all sorts of things. I’m glad that happened in the years before phones with cameras. I wouldn’t mind seeing a law that required written notification within a week (with certified delivery) for any ‘photo’ postings of other people on the Internet and elsewhere that somehow implied that they were doing anything odd or inappropriate. Notification would simply give any person the right and ability to defend themselves and certainly any person who has time to post something also has time to provide notification. Since ‘drugging’ and ‘invasion of privacy’ issues have popped up rather recently as significant problems, I would like to see some new laws enacted to give young people in particular greater protection. I never thought about all the things people might be willing to do when I was staying in corporate apartments and motel rooms years ago (sometimes for months at a time). Young people today have a lot more things they must consider. And, they may be dealing with a lot more people who lack appropriate bounds on behavior. I haven’t passed all my ‘judgments’ and am still pondering all the new laws I’d like to see. In the meantime, I’d love to see 14-45 year-olds start debating much more actively within and without the political system the protections they need to ensure their and their community’s good futures. The protections young people need may very well require many new laws. Let’s start addressing a lot of RELEVANT areas: For sex offenders and people who provide and/or give drugs to people for anything other than that person’s own health … (perhaps the reason so many young women are showing up at hospitals pregnant and with drug addictions):
Do kids need new laws to protect them from their parents and do we need national dialogue on what it means to be a loving, caring and nurturing parent? The nation of France has recognized that parents do not have the right to exploit their children and has started to pass laws regarding posting photos of children online. It’s not just about ‘money’ or ‘embarrassment’ or ‘fame’ or even the ‘proud parent syndrome.’ Think about it:
Unless you can afford ‘Secret Service’ protection for your child, YOU owe them a rather high level of privacy and security. And, what about this issue of privacy? If an individual gets convicted of placing cameras in or inappropriately (i.e. illegally) recording videos or audio in places where people would have an expectation of privacy, would society have a right to perhaps require that they wear a headband which monitored everything they did, heard and looked at? If so, how would you protect the privacy (and possibly safety) of people they came into contact with daily? Would you think about the privacy laws differently if it was only an ‘audio’ issue? Could the ‘punishment’ be the ‘crime’ and if so, would you want it to be? Once again, how would you protect the privacy and safety of others? Likewise, would your thoughts about privacy be different if someone was trying to ‘get at’ a crime … versus trying to create one … and what privacy rights might be needed for that? Yes … I’m quite sure I’m getting more judgmental as I get older. I’m quite sure we need some new laws. And I’m quite sure we need young people to weigh in … and quite quickly. ¤¤¤¤¤ If you wonder about what kinds of things are appropriate to post of children online, pay attention to the things that parents post when their children do have ‘Secret Service’ protection. Your children need more protection than theirs. A nation’s children aren’t ‘fodder’ for the world of adult media. Take cute pictures of dogs and cats and yourself (clothed). (Judgmental?) A nation’s children are: … a nation’s children. … a nation’s hopes and dreams. … a nation’s future. |
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