People Of The Perfect World

Perfect World story (The ILLUMINATION)

I'm going to start this post by sharing with you the most pertinent detail to developing the kind of society we can all be proud of. Usually writers reveal things like this near the end to build up expectations, but I'm not a tease; so go ahead... take the milk for free.

The secret to creating a Perfect World is... raising Perfect World people.

Shocking, huh? I know. I'll give you a moment to pick yourselves up. Dum dee dum...

Okay, all brushed off?

We know that only some of us current Earth dwellers are PW material-- too many of us have been badly baked, to use a cooking metaphor. Only our future generations, correctly raised and educated, will be a match for the Perfect World habitat. The simple fact is, most of us are too fucked up to function well in that kind of environment-- our phobias and esteem issues would hinder our reach for inner peace, as well as messing up the enjoyment of others. Why is that?

Many people, smart people, believe that humans are born with certain near-autonomous behaviors which cannot be overruled during moments of urgency. Our survival instinct is a good example. But many of those behaviors aren't instinctual, and instead are taught to us from infancy by 'defective' teachers (the 'nurture' experience), making it impossible to find people without 'defects' until infant training is handled by experienced parental units.

No, I'm not talking about robotic parents-- I mean well-coached parents. To exemplify, let's use psychiatry. Would you prefer a doctor or a trainee to run your therapy sessions? I'm sure most of you chose the doctor. I did too. That's because when it comes to yourself, you want the best help available, and that is far more likely to come from someone with a lot more training and knowledge.

With that in mind, wouldn't it be sensible that the people who raise babies should be the best trained for the job? And to that end, wouldn't it make sense that, if you are planning to have a baby yourself, you should take exhaustive classes to prepare yourself to be an excellent parent? I'll answer for you... YES IT WOULD.

And yet in our world, ANYONE can have a baby, raising it ANY way they want. No classes, no oversight. The only time there is any intercession at all is when there have been complaints of potential physical abuse (which only occurs if the behavior is observed... which doesn't often happen in remote locations, or behind closed doors). Then the child is often ripped from its home life and thrust into a strange environment called foster care, often run by people who are doing it only because they want the monthly government check... hardly a better situation. Once they achieve adulthood they join the rest of the world, scratching and fighting and competing against others to earn decent enough money to live a comfortable life. Is there any question WHY our society is so screwed up?

In order to attain a Perfect World, we have to respect its future citizenry. Those would be today's toddlers. Raise a nation of better babies, and when they are old enough to run things, they will change society for us. To that end I present a story of two couples living during the hundred-year Perfect World changeover. They are in the middle of an intentional population decline, or PopDrop, a guideline to bring about a 1 billion person world, which is put into effect following implementation of Podschools and Parenting Permits.

Mandi and Seth Corell are a prime couple for parenting-- they are patient, selfless and mature and have a wide streak of empathy running through their daily lives. They are on the fast track to receiving parental permission and having their implanted birth control removed.

Fora and Briaan Talell are another matter. Their potential is undisputed, but they are still young and as such are still somewhat self-centered and erratic, immature and impulsive. They would like to have a baby, but are having trouble passing the tests for the Parenting Permit:

Mandi Corell exited the clinic office, smiling broadly. It was confirmed! She couldn't wait to tell Seth the good news-- he had been waiting and hoping for such a long time! There had been so many tests and classes, such stiff tryouts and eliminations, and then the waiting... and that was just to find out if they would be among the finalists! Then they were chosen, and yet another battery of tests followed that... only this time they were medical. All together, over two years had passed since that first discussion, and now it was finally coming to pass!

She dialed him again, but he still didn't answer. Probably absorbed in another experiment, she thought, frowning. Then she caught herself-- his work was important, because what he was doing would allow matter to travel almost as quickly as communications do, when it was finished. But it was still in the testing stage and Seth was essential to the project's success, so she needed to be patient.

After the third try, she switched and called her mother. "Mandi, did it happen?" her mother began breathlessly, before even issuing a 'hello' to her only child. "Are you...?"

"YES!" Mandi screamed, at roughly the pitch of a dog whistle. Her mother echoed her across the city, both clapping and hopping joyously. "But Seth doesn't know! I can't reach him!"

"Too bad for him... he should have been with you. That job of his..."

"Mom, it's the most important project on the planet now! And he's the lead designer... it's just a very busy time right now."

"I thought Perfect World eliminated the need for crazy work hours."

"You know it does, mom. Like I said, he's the go-to guy on this project. It's his design, his idea and he's been there for every major test. I have been, too... it's not like I don't see him-- we have an apartment on the Cityship and I'm there all the time!"

"And that's another thing, honey... you shouldn't be flyfloating in your condition!"

Mandi laughed, then scolded her mother with mock ferocity. "Anya Mettan! I've only been in this 'condition' for an hour!"

"Still..."

"Oh, come with me, mom! You know you love the Cityship."

"Well... okay. I'll be at your door in... 3 seconds."

Mandi heard a knock at the door and laughed. "You called me from the skycab, didn't you?" She opened the door and there was her mother, sheepish grin planted on her face.

"What can I say? I LOVE the Cityship! Now let's go... the skycab is waiting!"

•--0•0--•

Floating off the coast of South Carolina, the Cityship was conceptualized after war ended and nations suddenly found themselves with armadas of floating scrap metal formerly called warships. No longer one to waste, America put out the call for a new concept, and the answer was the Cityship. Binding scrapped warships and aircraft carriers together as a foundation for a floating city where deep ocean exploration could be conducted safely, regardless of weather or water conditions was a challenge, but unique nanomaterials enabled the entire city deck to flex safely with the waves beneath them. The tall buildings above experienced an interesting rising and sinking effect, but there was no longer any left-to-right swaying, a near- disastrous effect discovered on the earlier, smaller Cityship.

Now the ever-expanding Cityship was an impressive 22 square miles, a floating postage stamp on the Atlantic equal in yardage to almost 11,000 football fields, or about the size of Manhattan, leading to the ironic moniker 'Manhattan Project Island'. Drinking water was distilled directly from the ocean, power was generated from never-ending ocean currents, and first two floors below street level were dedicated entirely to farming. The waste supply of the Cityship, home to half a million inhabitants, was converted or recycled. The ocean remained unpolluted by the enormous metal leaf floating upon it.

Mandi and Anya descended calmly onto the Cityship's airfield and were tractored to ground transportation. "Take me to my man!" Mandi excitedly told computer controlling their vehicle, a magnetically powered two-seater Bubble, which darted off towards Seth's lab.

•--0•0--•

Seth Corell was poring over the latest modifications to his plan when a younger man burst in without knocking. "Say, Seth, whaddaya say?" he quipped, taking a running jump toward the long glass table and sliding its length on his rump, slipping past the edge and dropping ingloriously to the floor.

Seth looked up from his work, mildly amused. "I suddenly remember why you work here, Briaan... comic relief! You should be more careful... you could squash your brain, landing on it that way. How about some coffee?"

"Love some!"

"For ME."

"Oh, right." Briaan dusted off his ass and poured two cups, adding five sugars to one and noisily slurping it, leaving the other by the pot. Seth shot him a withering glance, then walked over and took his coffee. Briaan continued, "Have you heard from Mandi? What's the good word? Is there a Seth Junior or Mini-Mandi in your future?"

"I turned my phone off. Can't think about that now. I have to calculate the correct V-Post Trajectory or the receiver platform's gonna be covered with a lumpy and immature goo that was once called my gofer Briaan."

"THAT would suck."

"For you, most certainly. But I'm almost done with the calculations, and then we can try another biomatter test." He switched gears. "What's going on with you and Fora's parent permit? Have you gotten to Stage 10 yet?"

Briaan pursed his lips, forming a raspberry. "We can't get past the Stage 1- Compatibility test. I blame Fora. She blames me."

"Keep trying... you're bound to be accepted sooner or later," Seth continued under his breath, "whenever you grow up, that is..."

"What was that? Did you just mumble something...?"

"You two just need to get on the same page, Briaan, and stop having a clash of egos over every aspect of child raising. She'd make a wonderful mother, and you'd make a great... clown!" Seth dodged a well-aimed beaker, chuckling. "Kidding, kidding! Just watch Mandi and I, and do what we do... we're getting close to completion. It's just dotting the t's and crossing the i's now, so to speak."

Briaan laughed. "So to speak indeed, Seth... by the way, what happens when you dot your t's, anyway?" He noticed movement by the door and glanced over. "Hey, Mandi! Hey look, it's Mandi!" He gave Seth's wife a little hug, then saw another figure behind her and warned cleverly, "And look! It's Anya, too!"

Seth whirled around, nearly knocking over his diminutive mother-in-law. "Oops! Hey mom!" He hugged her and pecked her cheek, then turned to his wife. "Mmm, c'mere, you! What a nice surprise!" and hugged her narrow waist, warmly kissing her soft, inviting lips.

"Not half the surprise I have," Mandi replied, a coy smile forming. "Guess what? I'm..."

Anya pushed in and shouted, "WE'RE PREGNANT!" completely stealing her daughter's thunder.

Mandi laughed, surprised. "MOM!"

Seth looked stunned. "You mean, finally, we're...?"

"Yes! We've passed Stage 10! We're going to have a baby!" Tears were in Mandi's eyes.

Sadly, Briaan said, "Fora and I can't pass the compatibility test."

"Parenting is about swallowing your ego, Briaan," Anya said, squeezing his arm.

Seth hugged his wife tightly. "A baby..." he breathed softly into her chestnut hair, and nuzzled her neck for a long sweet moment. Then he remembered what he was about to attempt and gestured to his work. "I was just about to try what I hope is the final inert biotest." He placed another tray of biomatter under the sphere. He asked Mandi, "Here sweetheart, you can start it, if you like."

"What's going to happen?" she asked, absorbed in his excitement.

"This little tray of cheese, grapes and other biomatter will hopefully disappear from here, and reappear on the far side of the lab looking exactly like it does now, and not like smoking, bubbling plasma."

"Really! How will it do that?" his mother-in-law asked.

"Think of the Universe as being..." Seth began, looking for a prop and finding one, "as being all around us, like this coat. Attached closely to the Universe but invisible to us is something called Null Space. Imagine it is like this coat's liner. Null Space doesn't follow the same laws of physics as ordinary space. If we enter it, we can exit anywhere else in ordinary space. Anywhere! Well, I found a way to enter Null space, and control where matter exits by using two syncronized platforms, which find each other in Null Space. Hit the button on three, my love. One...two... THREE!"

Mandi pressed the button and, hanging in the air, the clear crystalline bubble about the size of a Volkswagen began crackling. A swirling blue charge formed around it, coalescing into a shimmering cloud which drizzled from the orb, down onto the platform below, enveloping the biomatter. The very air around the device was buzzing and humming as pigtail sparks shot through the interior. On the far end of the lab, barely visible some thousand feet away, a matching device was similarly crackling. With a sharp vacuum-slapping pop, the cloudlike field collapsed in, then sprayed outward in all directions, like a bucket of water turned to steam. Everyone blinked as the cloud burst outward, enveloping them. It cleared almost immediately and they turned their eyes back to the platform which held the biomatter test plate. It was gone! Seth ran over to the wall transport, the others hot on his heels, and shot to the other end of the lab. There, beneath the glass orb's twin, was the plate of food, a wisp of cool steam gently escaping!

Nobody spoke for a long moment, then Briaan breathed quietly, "Did it...?"

Seth replied nervously, "I'll check..." and ran his tester, sweeping it over the plate, eyes round. The others held their breaths-- Seth had been working on this new technology for five years as one of 15 labs around the world that had all been given the data of Seth's initial discovery, trying to make a working prototype. He finished the sweep and gingerly poked the cube of cheese with his finger. It reacted like cheese. He turned to them, broad smile on his face. "I think it worked!"

The group cheered. Briaan popped the cork on a conveniently available magnum of champagne and toasted, "To Seth Corell, inventor of the 'go anywhere in a flash, Null Space... transportation... thingee'?"

"We've got to do better than that," piped Anya. "How about the 'Flash Drive'?

Seth said, "A 'flash drive' is a hundred year old technology, mom. We might as well call it the 'Null Space Cable Car'!"

"I got it!" Mandy chirped. "The Null Drive!"

Seth rolled it over his tongue. "Null Drive, Null Drive... I love it!"

Mandi sank into her husband, planting a warm wet kiss on his mouth. "Looks like we have two reasons to celebrate, my love," she whispered, pressing her belly against his.

•--0•0--•

Word of his success spread quickly. He made his most recent calculations available to the other teams, and confirmation came back-- this was the breakthrough they'd all been searching for. Now all that was left was the rigorous testing that would ensure everyone's safety, before it gained wide use and retired all other methods of travel.

With his part of the project over, Seth was able to devote full attention to his flourishing wife and their coming child. It was an exciting time for them, as the number of applicants for surrogate parents were truly staggering-- it seemed every qualified person within reach wanted to help raise the child of Seth Corell, inventor of Null Drive, and ironically, thanks to Null Drive, every person in the world was now instantly in reach!

They reduced the number of applicants by Data Weeding, refining and stiffening the requirements each time, until there were only a thousand which fit their desires most closely; those they interviewed simultaneously in a local 3D chamber, asking each question to all of them at once, then compu-sorting the answers. The top hundred they met personally, and chose seventeen, with eight alternates so that no assistant worked more than ten hours a week, according to Perfect World Guidelines.

They moved themselves and their surrogates to an infant care facility, which was like a large hotel designed for babies; each family had a wing where the whole entourage lived. The building itself was dedicated to raising infants and keeping the caregivers comfortable and rested. They would remain until the child was ready to emerge into their next stage of development; at that time they could leave and try new experiences, or settle nearby to remain in the child's life.

A couple of months following their successful biotest at the Cityship lab Seth and Briaan, as project leaders, were invited to an unveiling of the first Null Drive Transit System. There were stations in New Angeles, Aden and West New York and more were being built in every other major city around the globe.

Another team had built on Seth's findings and made a refining discovery-- they found a way to keep the rift open, like a doorway. Exactly like a doorway, as Seth came to learn. Gone was the blue smoke and lightning arcs-- one simply approached a dark doorway and entered their destination, and with a shiver the doorway developed a picture of the other side. Only it wasn't a picture... it WAS the other side, and could be walked through as easily as one enters a room!

At the reception they were treated to pomp and circumstance, 2120 style, and were asked to create the first imprint in the Honors Room. In lieu of money or other recompense, a person's full life of accomplishments was readily available for viewing in the Honors Room. Every contributor was in this three-dimensional holographic suite, and could easily be found and their story watched; it was a continuous tribute to the accomplishments of the Perfect World people.

Seth created his imprint, and as he passed the imprinter to Briaan, his friend whispered, "Good news! Fora and I listened to your advice, and now we're approaching the final parenting test!"

"Great, Briaan! I knew you could do it! Now my daughter-to-be will have a little friend to play with."

Briaan's eyes went wide as pancakes. "You're having a girl?"

Seth smiled broadly. "Just found out this morning. Seems we both have good news!"

Things are going well for the two couples, AND for Perfect World. Being certain that you want a baby, preparing for it, and having help when it arrives seems to be a winning combination for producing well-adjusted adults, and well adjusted adults are essential for the next step in our evolution.

Ask yourself what is the matter with today's people. Why are we so... yuchy? Okay, not all of us... some of us who are alive today are the inspiration for my Perfect World ideals. If you think that marching down the narrow path of goodness as dictated by your bible will make a Perfect World person, think again. Though you may try to live your life as Jesus might've, you face the same problems. You are in the midst of a society which holds other ideals to a much higher regard, a society where kindness is pushed away to make room for greed, where respect is bested by selfishness, where the goodness of person yields to a person's goods. We all do it. I do it. We fall into lockstep with the rest of society because it's the only way to flourish... too bad flourishing happens at the expense of happiness.. or goodness.

Someone has suggested to me that perhaps we shouldn't bother trying to change a corrupt society, but instead modify one which is already well on its way to becoming a Perfect World. Perhaps they are right, but I think there are enough of us who would like to see America change for the better, to make it actually happen. Iceland, Sweden and other socialist countries are not the bogeymen our politicians suggest-- their fearmongering about too much government just isn't panning out. While we may feel, at least on a subconscious level, that the citizens of those countries present a 'holier than thou' face when speaking of their political success, there is no doubt that there is actually some success to speak of.

Single-minded purpose is what gets things done in those countries. In the United States we encourage broad political thinking, which is reflected in the wide diversity between our two largest schools of thought-- the liberals and the conservatives. Because we offer 'freedom of speech', the ability to say whatever is on your mind without criminal punishment, certain underhanded leaders see that as a method to sway political viewpoint, and feel free to espouse philosophies which are not only backward, but are even factually inaccurate. They are 'spreading lies' and painting them as truth, hoping that loudness and numbers will convince others they are correct.

They are not.

Follow the guidelines that accompany every post here on the 'Finding The Perfect World' blog. They are located near the top, on the right, in the blue box entitled 'Perfect World Primary Guidelines'. If you find that your behaviors fly in the face of one or more of those guidelines, you are probably not behaving an a manner conducive to bringing about a Perfect World.

But if your conduct reflects Perfect World Guidelines in every way, I beg of you (and I mean this from the bottom of my heart)... HAVE MANY CHILDREN! Raise them well. Teach them the guidelines. And have them have many children, too.

And if you are a lawmaker who believes in, and follows, the Perfect World Guidelines... try to pass a law which PAYS the BAD parents to NOT have children. Doesn't seem fair? Wait 30 years and see how much better our country becomes, and you'll see how fair it was.

Every time I see the movie 'Idiocracy' I fear that, on America's current path, we are headed directly into it. That scares the crap out of me, because I don't want to see our farmers watering their crops with Gatorade!

Copyright 2009 Bruce Ian Friedman

The End Of Lies

Perfect World story (The NOW) The Professor chapter 1

Morehouse: Hello! I'm John Morehouse, Internet billionaire, and I'm the host of 'Science Detective' here at the History Channel. It's my job to suss out and gain evidence of new technology being designed, wherever it may be. That's not always easy-- scientists working on the next big invention are usually a closed-mouth bunch, but I use a secret weapon to pry their jaws open-- money. If they can show me that their pride and joy actually works as predicted, I'm prepared to take it to market and make that inventor a wealthy man!

I'm standing in front of a creaky old farmhouse in Kansas, half a mile from the nearest neighbor. This is the home of Professor Len Thackery, and I've heard from my sources that he's supposed to have created an earth-shattering invention. I made the trip out to the middle of nowhere because I'm certain this is something you'll want to see-- I surely do.

Morehouse (VO): He has no idea I'm coming-- it'll be interesting to see how he reacts to my proposal! I knock on the door and am immediately greeted by a middle-aged man in a rumpled white lab coat who obviously hasn't had a haircut in quite some time. I start to make my introductions, but he shushes me.

Thackery: Hello-- I've been expecting you! Don't ask how-- it'll be made clear enough soon enough. Well, are you coming in, or do I have to bring it out to you? That'll be difficult because it happens to be immobile. Ahh, good! Walking! You DO know how! Come, come... up the stairs and into my lab. Well, it's actually my bedroom, but my wife is on extended vacation and, well, it's just easier this way. Don't stand on ceremony... just crowd around. Yes, you can sit on the bed... but take your shoes off, yes? Those are cornfields outside, corn which grows out of cow crap.

"I've got something to show you-- and here it is. I know it just looks like a computer-- that's because it IS, but it's just the vehicle for this incredible device. I mean, the hardware on the tower is what's incredible, and the software I designed that makes the calculations is epic, but that's mostly because of what it does! What you're looking at is... wait for it... is a time machine!

Morehouse: A time machine... really? There have been many inventors who have tried to find a way to beat time, professor. All have failed. And it seems likely that time travel will never be possible, because we've never been able to prove that anyone who claims to be a visitor from the future, actually IS. I don't mean to cast doubt, sir, but my audience deserves to know all the facts.

Thackery: Of course, of course... I understand. I have no desire to be labeled a crackpot. Remember, I said it was a TIME machine, not a time TRAVEL machine. We can't actually walk around in history-- that's not possible right now, not with our present level of technology. But we CAN observe. That's right... with this Time TV we can watch any location on the planet at any period in history as if there there were a cameraman there, capturing events firsthand. Now you have to admit, watching a TV documentary of any time in history using actual footage is a very good thing, eh? We can dial in a particular date and time and relative position on the globe and, once it has zeroed in, we can watch it on the screen, in full color and stereophonic sound!

Morehouse: Now THAT'S an original twist! Time Television, huh? It has a nice ring to it. I should be bowled over, but I'm a real skeptic, so I'll wait on the hysterics until you can prove it to me, okay?

Thackery: Sure, sure! But don't worry... you'll be in control of the device, calling out all the dates from your own personal life, so you'll be deciding if it works or not. For example, I certainly wouldn't know the date of your first kiss, or with whom you had it, right?

Morehouse: Umm, that's right... though this is a G-rated show, so let ME pick the events, okay professor? Can I choose ANY date?

Thackery: Not ANY date. Okay, ANY date, but not at ANY time. Actually, ANY time as well, but there is a catch. Half the dates are not available at any given time. However, twelve hours later the Earth will drift into position so we will be able to see anything from the far side of the Earth. We can calculate those times too, and set up viewing for when our Earth comes into position relative to OLD Earth. Would you care for some tea, John?

Morehouse: Yes, thank you. So what do you envision it will be used for, Doc?

Thackery: I know it can be used for a lot of things! The one use that springs to mind would be a fact-checker. Whatever we know about distant past events comes from eyewitnesses, and people are notorious for inaccuracy. More recently, video cameras have been used, but most don't have sound and usually, they are not shot at the best angle. This device, though, picks up sound clearly, and can be positioned for any angle you want, and any TIME you want. We could find out who first discovered FIRE!

Additionally, it can be used to follow any person, forward or backward in time, to watch their actions and travels, helping to corroborate innocence... or to guarantee guilt. I bet it'll be used to get the real story about famous events in our history-- the Boston Tea Party, the grassy knoll, even the crucifixion of Jesus Christ!

Morehouse: The possibilities seem endless, Doc! We could install one of these in every courthouse to eliminate trials. Innocence and guilt as quick as watching your favorite TV show-- now THAT'S justice! How does it work?

Thackery: It's actually pretty easy. When we look in the night sky, we're seeing light coming from each star that is millions or billions of years old. Get a powerful enough telescope to view the surface of a planet circling that star, and you're watching something that happened on that planet millions or billions of years ago.

Now, the Earth turns on its axis, and also revolves around the Sun. Those are two movements.
But the Sun in turn revolves around an arm of the Galaxy. The Galaxy has its own movement, and at some point every particle in the Universe is moving away from the Big Bang. Those smokin' hot calculations I mentioned earlier are used to calculate exactly where Earth was at any particular moment in time. I call that Earth's Universal Path. Then we focus NASA's VDA telescope on that spot and adjust for temporal shift. That's it.

Morehouse: (amused sarcasm) That's it... nothing more? How simple! It's so very very elementary, Doc. Why, a grade school student could've puzzled it out!

Thackery: (seriously) You're right, John. It was in grade school when I first calculated Earth's Universal Path.

Morehouse: HA!

Thackery: Then I wrangled the software in that ancient arcade game Asteroids to work in four dimensions while taking into account mass and gravitational pull. It's taken until now for NASA's hardware to catch up with my end of things.

Time for a demonstration. Pick a day in your life you have a question about, John... let's see if we can answer it for you once and for all.

Morehouse: Okay, I think I've got one. Back in college, I was pledging a fraternity that all of my friends were at. I was practically a legacy, guaranteed to get in. But come vote night, I got a black ball and never got in.

Thackery: Too bad. So what did you want to know?

Morehouse: I'd like to know who blackballed me!

Thackery: Why not? Here we go... Watch the screen. I enter the date and time in one set of boxes, and the address, city and state in another set; then I press 'Enter'. This should only take a few moments.

Morehouse (VO): Just like a computer-- there's the spinning beach ball. But that only lasts for about 10 seconds, and then a blurry image coalesces. As it clears we see that it is moving quickly, and the planet Earth is pretty far away. But it rushes towards us quickly, then we drop into the atmosphere and past clouds at sizzling speeds. I recognize land and water features and can tell we are near my college.

As fast as it was moving before, now the screen is progressing quite slowly, down fraternity row the way a police car might patrol the street. We get to Delta, the frat house I was rushing, and the professor fiddles some dials; the scene moves up the walkway and into the house. I can see all the pledges sitting nervously in the front room, and as each pledge takes their turn in the voting chair, I see the voting marbles roll down a chute coming out of the wall. It is usually just a formality... by the time pledges get to that room they have long been approved for admittance.

But when it is my turn to sit in that chair, the black marble just stares out against the background of white marbles in that tray, and after that I was quite literally drummed out! A member wearing a hood and a snare drum leads me out of the house and down the street.

Thackery: Ooh! Tough break!

Morehouse: Yeah, especially since my father had donated a wing to their house... it was the wing we were in when I got 'drummed' out. He wanted to sue the fraternity, but it would have been a suicidal business move since many of his clients are Deek alums.

Thackery: Well, let's go into the vote room and see who the culprit is.

Morehouse (VO): The vote room is strictly off limits during the voting process, but the camera moves right in without an invitation, or even a protest. Right now I feel like a ghost haunting the event. It moves past the 'college' me, through the wall and into the vote room. One by one I see my friends approaching the vote tray with two marbles; one black, and one white. They would place one in the tray and the other in the can; the one in the tray rolled out front and became the vote. Their backs to the others, one after the other my friends placed a white marble and voted for me. Then came the legendary black marble. Suddenly it all became clear when I saw the face of my executioner.

Thackery: So who was it, John? Don't keep me waiting, for goodness' sake!

Morehouse: It was the friend I always beat in chess.

Thackery: Well, THAT's a shitty reason to blackball you.

Morehouse: AND, I wouldn't let him cheat off me during our Biology final. I was ethical that way in college.

Thackery: Still... not good enough.

Morehouse: Err... AND I slept with his girlfriend.

Thackery: BINGO!

Morehouse: AND his sister.

Thackery: Ouch!

Morehouse: AND his mother. I was unethical that way in college.

Thackery: You hit the Trifecta, John. With that record, you really didn't know who blackballed you?

Morehouse: Well, I didn't think he knew! After all, none of the other guys did.

Thackery: Hold the phone! You mean you...?

Morehouse: Yep. All of 'em. I was a shameless sex addict, Doc. I mowed through Sorority Row like a farm implement.

Thackery: I guess SO. (pause) Ahem! Well... so what do you think of my invention, John?

Morehouse: Astonishing! I am absolutely sold! I can't believe how clear the quality of the pictures from the past are! Are there any limitations to the machine, Doc?

Thackery: At some point the Earth's Universal Path becomes too far away to get a clear picture. That will change as telescopes get even more powerful. Right now I can only see about a million years into Earth's past. That's not long enough to see the planetoid strike that created the moon, I'm afraid, but all of human history is available to view, so that's a plus.

Morehouse: How close to the present can you see?

Thackery: Pretty close... depending on a variety of factors, no closer than a day, usually.

Morehouse: The more I think about it, Doc, the more I realize that, like nuclear energy, this Time TV has the power to be devastating. After all, it effectively brings about the end of lying as we know it. Nothing which is said cannot be easily verified with your invention. Even with that one-day lag, the potential for abuse with type-A businessmen is staggering. Speaking of staggering, I've got to sit down... I'm suddenly very dizzy.

Thackery: That's true on both comments, John. The potential for business abuse is tremendous... and you ARE very dizzy. I made sure of that when I drugged your tea. By the way, you ARE seated. You see, when I said I knew you were coming at the beginning of the interview, I wasn't kidding. I used the device to investigate YOU, John. I know where much of your wealth comes from... how you conned those would-be inventors out of their life's work and used them for your own selfish desires. And I heard that conversation you had with your 'security' guy before planning the trip out here, and I knew what he had planned for me. Did you know that I have a series of tunnels dug under the fields around my house? Some of the richest growing soil came from those tunnels-- you should try my radishes... oh! I forget... you will. You AND your security guy will be put in a cell down in the tunnel, and for quite a long time, I would imagine.

Yes, I have big plans for the Time TV. With it, I can finally determine who is calling the shots on planet Earth and affect their decisions in a way that will benefit the planet and the people instead of the wealthy few. If they won't be swayed, well, I have plenty of empty cells. There's really no reason we can't turn things around in short order once the selfish and greedy are taken out of control and placed like rats in cages underground... a fitting end, wouldn't you say? Oh, of course you wouldn't... you've been paralyzed this whole time. Well, better roll you over to the slide. Down you go-- hey, good for you! You landed right in the cart so I don't have to drag you to your cell. That's the way to be a model prisoner. Depending on how long it takes me to rid the world of the scourge called greed, I could have you out of here in as little as three or four... decades, I would think. I'll get you a book.

Copyright 2009 Bruce Ian Friedman

Another Astute Observation

essay

Okay, I admit... this is getting a little old. Either I have to stop doing it altogether or find myself some new sources.

What I'm talking about is gathering astute commentary from our televised comedy newsmen and presenting it here, unedited, so they might unknowingly expand the parameters of Perfect World philosophy.

I've done it before in this blog, and while I try to remain original with my own material, some of the shit said by others just makes me LAUGH. Plus, they exemplify my point. Today's wise words are no different. Once again uttered by Bill Maher on Real Time, this time he shines the comedy spotlight on our society by comparing us to one of our fallen superstars:

Bill Maher:

Michael Jackson [died last week]... the most famous white lady since Princess Diana. And one question gnawed at me the whole time [I was on vacation]... why, why, why did America lose its collective shit over Michael Jackson? And then, like Michael's father Joe, it hit me... Michael Jackson IS America!

We love him so much because he reflects our nation perfectly. Fragile, overindulgent, childish, in debt, on drugs and over the hill. Now let me state clearly, I don't wish my country was all of these bad things. I just don't want to be like one of those people Michael Jackson had around him. the ones who just tell you you're great and that your destructive behavior is totally normal, and they give you whatever you want... you know, doctors.

So let's go down the list and see if I'm crazy, or if indeed America is unfortunately all of the things Michael Jackson was:

Is America fragile? Well what do you think would happen if there was another terrorist attack here? I'll tell you what would happen-- we'd repeal the rest of the Bill Of Rights, forget about health care, elect Toby Keith president, and fire ME again! Are we fragile? The stock ticker in Times Square yesterday said "What the fuck are YOU looking at?"

Overindulgent? I defy anyone to watch ten minutes of My Super Sweet Sixteen on MTV and not want to strap on a vest and blow up that little snot's birthday party! Did you know that a third of CHILDREN in America are overweight? Michael Jackson didn't have a heart attack-- his playdate rolled over on him!

Childish? Well, we think Harry Potter is literature and Batman movies are profound meditations on the human condition. Our morning coffee has become a milkshake with whipped cream, and 64% of the people believe Noah's ark actually happened. And what could be more childish than what our news media chooses to cover? My God, since this Michael Jackson thing happened I have no idea what's going on with Jon and Kate!

In debt? Please! Please, this week the deficit-- that's just what we run up for the year-- went over one trillion dollars. To give you an idea of how much that is, take what your home is now worth, and add one trillion dollars.

On drugs? If you don't think America has got a drug problem, you must be high. Children are on Prozac. Athletes are on steroids. The pharmaceutical industry sold 291 billion dollars worth of pills last year. Mostly to Michael Jackson, okay, but still... and that's not counting the potheads and the drinkers. Yes, America is on drugs. And by the way, people do just as much coke as they ever did... they just don't share it anymore.And finally, is America over the hill? I hope not. But, Monday is the 4oth anniversary of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon and I can't think of any ambitious goal we've reached since then. It's sad when your peak was a moonwalk that occurred decades ago. So, America faces a choice-- we can go the Michael route, and keep living in debt and the world's affection for our early work, or we can get our shit together like Britney Spears, put on our circus costume, and go out there and show the world we still got it!

Thanks, Bill. You're an inspiration.

Ahh, but showing the world we still got it is gonna take some time, isn't it? Nobody changes overnight, and least of all the fat 'n' happy, those who are content to sit in a mess of their own making as long as they can get HBO and pizza delivery.

At least if they get HBO they can watch Bill Maher.

Tough change takes time. Belt tightening sucks, and is made even tougher when generation after generation of privileged, snotnosed adults BELIEVE they deserve whatever their income can afford, good of the country be damned. It seems a shame that people will only take the high road when marched at gunpoint.

Correction: TODAY'S people. Remember the Greatest Generation-- you know, your folks and grandfolks, the ones who who lived through World War I, the Depression and World War II? Now THAT generation knew how to 'do without'! Sadly, after surviving those events the unfortunate seed was sown in their minds-- the desire to make a life for their children that is better than their own.

Such a noble concept!

Such a magnanimous outpouring!

Such a screwed-up idea!

See where it's gotten us? The Greatest Generation has unknowingly sired a world full of people that could be tagged 'The Gropiest Generation'-- whose battle cry is "Gimmee gimmee gimmee more more more!" Truly a generation that is, as Bill Maher decried, fragile, overindulgent, childish, in debt, on drugs and over the hill. He thinks we can change them. He's fooling himself. We're not gonna change them-- we ARE them.

But our kids can. We can begin to raise them differently. We can have real expectations for our children; we can condition them to be tougher than us, wiser than us and, well, BETTER than us. You know, that might be where that kernel of desire went wrong-- it should have been the desire to make children that are better than ourselves! Wow! Can you imagine what a wonderful place we would be living in today if the forefathers had done THAT?

Okay, maybe it's too late for those of us here, now. But actually not, because if we start the plan now, those better babies will be running the place in 30 or 40 years, and many of us will still be here to reap the benefits.

And what is the plan of which I speak? Think twice before asking, dear reader... after all, you are here, reading the most positive of all blogs on the Webernets... 'Finding The Perfect World'!

Actually, I'll be covering the subject in my next post, Perfect World People: Making The Perfect Person. And that is the plan-- we begin to make perfect people.

How the fuck do you do that?

Language, LANGUAGE! There may be balloon people reading this blog, and could burst if exposed to prickly language. How we do it is, we scrap two long-established systems, rebuild 'em from the ground up, and use them on America's most precious resource--

Illegal aliens?

No! Shaddup! I'm talking about our children! Our progeny! The wee ones! Somebody get that wiseass out of here.

Security: I'm sorry... I can't. He's part of your own brain.

Oh.

Well, never mind. Just be quiet, you! And those two systems that we scrap are...

Checks and balances?

No.

Rights and wrongs?

No!

The old 'in out'?

NO! (BANG!) There, I've shot you dead. Now you can't say any more crap. Take him away.

Security: You killed him! Now I'm gonna have to put you under arrest.

How? You're also in my brain. I could kill you, too, and no one would be the wiser. I could have dead wiseasses stacked like cordwood in the deep recesses of my brain! Did you ever think of that, dick?

Security: I'll go away now...

Wise choice. What was I saying? Oh, right! And those two systems are... drumroll, please! (no drumroll) Ah, well... The education system, and the child-rearing system!

We have a child rearing system?

Hey! I thought I killed you!

Security: That's someone else.

Oh. (BANG!) No, we don't have a child-rearing system. But we will... and so much more. Read the next blog and you'll get all the details. It's not up yet, so you'll have to wait.

Umm, actually, that depends on when you're reading this. For all I know, you could be reading it in the far future, when Perfect World concept has firmly taken hold, and you live in a world garden of perfection where the biggest problem you face is deciding which fruit to have for breakfast! In that case, you not only have read it, but have implemented it as well. Congratulations. How did it work out? Wait, don't answer that... I want to be surprised.

Anyway... bravo, Mr Maher, for regurgitating America's ugly breakfast onto our TV screens. We are in a world of hurt and won't hear the real truth on regular news programming anymore-- some 'brilliant' bigwigs decided it was too 'upsetting' and didn't 'skew' well, so relegated the worst truth to the comedy shows, where it could be sweetened up with laughter.

It's gotten to the point that if I want to know what's REALLY happening in the United States of America... I have to listen to the BBC World News. Pathetic.

I want to ask the head honchos: What is so frightening about telling the truth to the general public? Are you afraid of panic in the streets if the whole truth were spilled? Or is your reasoning more selfish-- do you fear reprisal and retribution for your despicable acts which led to the present mess we're in?

Why do we have to get the real stuff from a comedian?

Well, that's the subject for yet ANOTHER post. Damn, this blog is keeping me busy!

Copyright 2009 Bruce Ian Friedman

Making Sense of the World Family

essay

In this fantastic modern society of ours, we have everything-- plentiful food, ample clothing, comfortable housing, rampant entertainment and unfettered extravagance. We also have a full supply of incapacitating sorrow, crushing poverty, stifling depression, blind rage and unfettered violence. It seems impossible that a society so full of the best things in life is also host to a full cadre of the worst; and yet it is so.

It is a time-worn expression that 'you can't have the good without the bad,' and to observe humanity throughout time, you might assume the same. There is always good to be found, and there will always be bad to be wary of.

I wonder, though, if we're all not suffering from the same affliction. We look around and make judgement calls based on human interaction, then proclaim 'thus be it so!' never stopping to realize we are missing a huge part of the equation.

We can't see the forest for the trees.

All of our judgments are viewed through the same oily cloth: We're defining insanity from within the insane asylum.

In order to accurately determine what is actually going on with the human race, we need to observe from the outside, as an alien from space might... we need to observe ourselves as though we've only just come upon us for the first time, saying. "Ho! What's this? A society of some kind? I think I'll just watch and see how they work!"

I think I'll pretend to be that alien for awhile. Heck, there have been times when I've felt like that alien, after watching some of the more bizarre human behavior.

Okay, now I'm a nifty 17-eyed purple alien with elephant trunks for arms, sitting above Earth in my cool invisible spaceship, observing the TV screen-looking device on my console that can pick up images and sound from anywhere on the planet. I've been watching for one alien year, which is about 6000 human years, and I have completed my initial investigation, so here's my report to the High Council of Flegnon on the behavior of Species: Human, from Galaxy- Milky Way; Star- Sol; Planet- Earth:

"Humans are nuts.

"I don't make this observation lightly. Consider this: Humans live on a planet which is ideal for them. It supplies them with food and raw materials, temperate climates and lush beauty.

Despite this perfection, humans have managed to screw it up by reproducing themselves to the point of overflow, overtaxing their nonrenewable resources, nearly extinguishing their wild animal life and poisoning their environment.

"They were able to overpopulate the planet by creating societies that put humans at the top of the animal kingdom. All their resources were directed toward survival, and they ultimately created a planetwide distribution network of goods and services.

"They were able to create a cooperative worldwide network by using a tool they called 'money', which placed a specific value on each product or service, creating an easily transferable medium. In that way a farmer who had corn for trade could receive meat from a butcher who was allergic and had no use for corn-- the farmer could sell the corn to a third party and receive money for it; then give the butcher money for the meat, who then used the money for antihistamines.

"All went well for awhile until the concept of greed took hold, which caused individuals to hoard items until they became sought after, and then sell them for more money than they were worth. The additional money allowed the person to live a finer life than his neighbors, which caused them jealousy and envy. That finer life of greater luxury and reduced work caused laziness and gluttony for the wealthy and they got fat, even as the large majority grew thin and hungry. The majority solved the dilemma by killing the wealthy and stealing their wealth. Now humans steal and kill each other over material items.

"So yes, humans are nuts.

"Perhaps more to the point, humans have been made nuts. They aren't born that way. From what I can observe they are trained into nuthood by a long string of nutbags, starting with their parents, their siblings, their priests (see chapters 6 thru 12 on priests!), their teachers (see chapters 13-19 on teachers!). Even their friends, people chosen by them to be their closest associates, are nuts!

"And how did those people become nuts? According to my research, the problem stems from their social system, which demands a level of behavior that is unsustainable for humans; it is that conflict they fight every day which makes them nuts. Down to an individual, they live their lives with an undercurrent of fear permeating every nuance of their lives: Will we have enough money? Will I stay healthy? Will my children survive? How do I stop the thieves? Where can I get a gun? Will there be enough to eat? Will I die painfully? If I get sick who will heal me?

"These questions and many others like them run through the mind of every human daily. The most interesting part is that the society is capable of, and designed to, take care of everyone, but greed and selfishness at the highest levels of bureaucracy tweak the system so that surplus falls directly into the pockets of the least deserving. At this point in human evolution, it seems as though they are about to re-enter a system in which the few remaining mega-rich control all of society, leaving the bulk of humanity with little to live on.

"Ironically enough, this unfettered greed is causing a reaction quite opposite to the desires of the greedy. They wish to parade their wealth and afford the best on all strata of life, but the net result will actually be a shutting down of all things luxury. The rich will have all the money, it is true... but there will be nothing left to spend it on.

"A few alternate social plans have been attempted over time, and most have utterly failed. The main reason seems to be the power of leadership. Power molds personality, and rarely for the better. The better systems spread power over larger groups of people, as well as engaging a series of watchdog groups to be wary of changes in behavior or policy.

"Capitalism has had the most financial and power success, but at the cost of world opinion, which views Capitalist countries as bossy and self-righteous. Plus, regulations are necessary to prevent greed from tearing apart the monetary system; regulations which have slowly been eroded to the point that the monetary system is now all but destroyed, taking the country and its status down with it.

"The most successful operating social system seems to be Socialism, which guarantees its people food, housing and healthcare. Unfortunately, without any incentive plan, many people rarely struggle to better their position and prefer to remain unemployed for decades, straining the already shaky tax system. This leaves the country vulnerable.

"Other systems have been implemented. Communism's big appeal was eliminating money, but it kept the same old power structure, which of course created a rift between the majority (who were largely hungry, cold and unemployed) and the politicos, who yielded all the power and of course had all the food and luxury at their disposal. That system was doomed to implode, and implode it did. The largest Communist country which still exists has modified the system, and it is now an odd mix of Capitalism and Communism, which lets the people compete for success at the local level, yet leaves complete control of the country to the iron fist of a ruling few.

"Other systems have also been proposed but never implemented. It should be interesting to note that our current Flegnite social system has been mimicked in an unpublished treatise called Perfect World! If they only knew how close they were-- Flegnon has used an eerily similar system for over 3oo million Earth years!

"In closing, I recommend immediate dominance over the planet, at least to keep the Earthers from destroying themselves, again. You would think they would have learned the first time around, after destroying Venus with runaway global warming!"I am awaiting your approval to fly my ship inside the brains of all the world's leaders and force them to do our bidding... quite without their knowledge, of course! It's good to be microscopic!"

Okay, maybe I got a little creative there at the end. I should have stopped with the elephant trunk arms.

But I hope I've made my point. The teeny little alien pinpointed the problem, right? We all suffer as a society from problems allied with greed, power, unrealistic laws and the inherent inequality of money. And to live in a greed-free, power-free, struggle-free society it'll be necessary to think like and act like those more enlightened future humans we all hope to become.

Okay, now we can begin (yes, that was only the introduction)! Fortunately, the rest of this is cake by comparison. The title of this post is 'Making Sense of the World Family', so the question is obvious:

How will we do that?

Simple-- with rules. Look to your right (you may have to scroll to the top). What is it am I calling that box up there? Oh, yeah...

Perfect World Primary Guidelines.

I have 10 at this writing, so I guess we can think of them as the 10 Commandments. Except, I'm not the kind of person who wants to 'command' anything. Hence the word 'guidelines'. I'm going to reproduce them here so you don't have to keep scrolling up and back.

Perfect World Primary Guidelines

• Treat each person as you would like to be treated yourself.

• Believe... in FACT.

• Learn throughout life, then teach what you know.

• Strive to be your best and help each person do the same.

• Cooperate; don't compete.

• Respect the planet; minimize pollution.

• Do not exceed one billion souls.

• Express your joy and sorrow.

• Share freely with all.

• Show all children kindness and teach them to spread love.

Notice one important difference between the Guidelines and the Commandments? There are ten instructions for life, and not one of them talks about a deity. In the future World Family, how you believe we came about and how you honor those who came before you is personal and is not to be shared or spread; the mania associated with honoring the invisible must be allowed to fade from human consciousness, much the way witch trials or human sacrifice have (I hope!). Instead the Guidelines offer instructions for peacefully living on the planet amid your brothers and sisters. Taking them one at a time,

• Treat each person as you would like to be treated yourself.

We have called this the Golden Rule for many thousands of years, and it comes first exactly because it is so important. No itemizing of good behavior here, as in the Commandments "do not kill, do not steal, do not covet, etc, etc." Itemizing leaves room for any behavior not listed.

Instead, regard every act you make and its impact on others as if it was them doing it to you. If you don't like it, it's probably wrong. This guideline should be forefront in your own awareness, preceding every one of your actions. If you observe someone behaving selfishly, ask them if they would like that behavior expressed toward themselves. The Golden Rule works when we all observe it.

• Believe... in FACT.

Wars have been fought over misinterpretations. Fact is the basis of an enlightened society. In a fact-based society people do not take action based on some story passed down through time from their great-to-the-twelfth-power grandparents. They don't want to hear how the water parted, or how the bush burned, or how the water changed into Gatorade. They want freakin' fact, dammit! Nobody put the dinosaur bones there! The world isn't 5000 years old! There are no magic underpants! What the hell is a soul?

And the things which cannot be proven must not be guessed. We don't know what happens to our awareness once we die. It's likely our awareness dies with us, but it has not been proven yet, so take a chill pill, people-- leave the discovery to the scientists, who have learned tried-and-true methods of guaranteeing fact.

• Learn throughout life, then teach what you know.

This is how we grow as a race-- we pass our FACTS onto our children. I remember being a kid in 4th grade and asking the teacher why the sky was blue. She explained about light refraction using a prism, and how the main ingredient in our atmosphere, nitrogen, bounced blue our way (or something like that... it was a long time ago). Another day a student asked where heaven was. To her credit, she said that nobody knew where heaven was, or if it even existed. She mentioned how different religions believed different things, but none of them knew the facts about life after death, so passed on their speculations to their congregations as fact. This teacher was a perfect candidate for the Perfect World due to her uncompromising honesty and willingness to share her facts.

Differentiate between facts and speculation and make that clear whenever you pass knowledge onto someone else. Until my astronomy class in junior high school, I believed that the sun took a tunnel to the east after every sunset, because an older kid I respected told me so. Thank goodness he didn't tell me that bullets pass right through people without harming them or I'd be writing this blog from prison!

• Strive to be your best and help each person do the same.

A similar guideline which differs in one important respect-- it deals with behavior, not learning. If you break things when you are frustrated, your children could very easily pick that bad habit up from you. When you experience strong negative feelings, bring them to someone wiser to help you deal with them-- a parent, a teacher, a mentor... or even me. I'll be happy to help create the Perfect World, even one person at a time.

• Cooperate; don't compete.

We have bullied and pushed our way to the status of superpower, and along the way, congratulated ourselves on 'winning the game'. Capitalism is a financial system which uses competition as an engine of change for the country, but it is a very violent engine, crushing the loser and elevating the winner stratospherically. Great for games, but bad for societies. Though we are on top (if we are on top...), many of our players have been pushed out of the game, leaving relatively few people make the decisions for the whole nation. It can also be argued that the remaining decision makers are also among the most vicious and selfish of people. That is an insubstantial foundation upon which to build a society of kindness and trust. Cooperation leads to openness, kindness and care, and is a required element in the World Family.

• Respect the planet; minimize pollution.

This rule is for us, not Earth, although it sounds otherwise. Our planet will survive whatever we throw at it; it does not care if it becomes another Venus (800 degree surface temperatures, sulfuric acid rains, runaway greenhouse effect) or Pluto (a frozen ball of rock). But we do! Our very survival depends on this perfectly designed environment. Allowing money and not logic to dictate policies on Earth has resulted in very dangerous thinking, along the lines of "I earned the money... if I want to drive an air polluting gas guzzler, I deserve it!"

What science knows about the universe indicates that our very existence is extraordinary-- the number of random events coming together to produce a stable environment in which humans can thrive is staggering. Also, the potential for obliteration from without is equally huge-- which makes our own efforts at self-immolation completely senseless. The length of time humanity has been in our universe compared to its total age is brief indeed: If the universe were one calendar day old, humanity has been around for not quite the last second of that day. Predictions based on our current rate of growth and learning has us self-terminating before the end of that second, unless we develop that all-important enlightenment.

• Do not exceed one billion souls.

But don't mass exterminate to get there, either. Over a relatively short time we can make this happen; and it must, for our own good. A concentrated planet-wide effort over several generations will be a good start. Reducing population through attrition is not only kind, it is practical. Future generations have no more than two kids per family and are encouraged to have one, or none. First the population stabilizes, then drops. One billion people is much better than 7 in terms of worldwide food production and room to live. Imagine that wherever you live, your city will have one seventh the number of people: One seventh the number of cars on the highways, one seventh the number of mouths to feed, one seventh the amount of pollution created. No more overcrowded theaters; no more long waits in restaurants, an end to assembly line schooling. The Earth takes a big sigh of relief.

• Express your joy and sorrow.

Or more accurately, don't hide your emotions. When you do, you are practicing deceit. Plus, you are depriving those around you of an immensely valuable experience, because each of us is trapped in our own minds for life, and unless you share them, others will not realize that you even HAVE emotions. You are also depriving yourself of the healing which comes from the shared emotional experience. Humans as a culture grow when emotions are shared, and they stifle when emotions are bottled up.

• Share freely with all.

To live as a World Family, nobody goes hungry, nobody suffers exposure. Whatever stranger is observed in discomfort will be assisted. It is our duty as stewards of this planet to reduce pain and suffering, and seek to find a balance. Hoarding helps yourself only; sharing helps us all as a species. We seek to become better than we are; smarter, wiser, kinder... and extending your care outwards, beyond yourself, beyond your family and friends and neighbors, is our first valuable lesson.

• Show all children kindness and teach them to spread love.

Take a page from your own history books. Remember your youth and the people who influenced you during that time. What were you thinking as an adult shouted their thoughts at you? Most children are in a heightened state of awareness and are severely affected by whatever adults choose to share with them.

Many adulthood problems can be traced to short moments of intense emotion being thrown at children by adults, left undiscussed and unresolved, to fester and grow into lifelong trauma. In the 60's rock opera Tommy by The Who, a young boy witnesses his mother having an affair with a man, who shook him and shouted at him that "he never heard it, never saw it, and would never say a word about it." This caused the young boy to suffer years of blindness, deafness and the inability to speak. Though it is a fictional story, it is based on factual evidence; the condition is called a 'hysterical' response to massive stimuli, and is like a disease in that it spreads throughout a population-- the afflicted child's own emotional responses are forever altered, and similarly affect others in much the same way. Result: A population of injured, mistrustful people.

•---0•0---•

When I looked at the 10 Commandments as a child, I was confused about a lot of them. I guess I always hoped the Commandments would be a list of things you should do, not those you shouldn't. Putting a positive spin on them, like "Be good" instead of "don't be bad".

Let's look at them and I can explain what I mean:

1 I am the Lord your God- You shall have no other gods before me.

I remember thinking, There are other Gods!? Is there a God planet where all the Gods live? Is our God the boss of all those other Gods? I was confused right at the get-go! I ended up assuming that each religion prayed to a different God and I should only pray to mine.

2 You shall not make for yourself an idol.

I remembered the story of Moses coming down from the mountain and seeing that his flock had already lost faith in him and God, and had cast a statue of an animal to pray to. I thought that since they were wandering in the desert at that time, why would they be carrying a smelting oven with them? Logistics aside, I couldn't understand making something and then praying to it-- it would be like me praying to the ashtray I made in arts and crafts.

3 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God.

Don't use the Lord's name in vain... I remembered that. But I thought if I smashed my finger with a hammer, God could supply the revenge, which is why I told him to 'damn it!' I never thought I had the power to make God do anything... it was just a suggestion. But just in case I could make him listen, I never damned a person-- I didn't want to be responsible for sending somebody to hell forever.

4 Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

My parents always remembered the Sabbath for me, and made me dress for it. That happened Saturday morning, right after I had spent a week dressing up for school. I was itching to go out and play, so I always found that commandment particularly cruel. About the same time I remember thinking to myself that there are only 10 commandments, and the first four were all about honoring the invisible guy in space-- how insecure he must be!

5 Honor your father and mother.

That was easy to do, and not because of the threat of God's retribution. No, I was far more worried about my FATHER'S retribution-- his came with welts. I always thought 'honor' was a bit strong, also-- I would listen to them, I'd obey them, I'd even respect them-- but 'honor'? That always reminded me of bowing, and fruit baskets, and being smacked in the face with a wet flounder. I always preferred the idea of mutual respect between people, especially between parents and children.

6 You shall not murder.

This was the first rule that made sense to me. I burned my share of ants with a magnifying glass before I was told by a mean older kid that the rule applied to every living thing. I think I hid in the basement and peed myself until it was explained to me by somebody a little older that the rule just meant other people. I was always on board with not killing anyone... until right before my first divorce. THAT'S when I realized how important it was to have a mystical set of rules to guide me. Otherwise my ex and I would be burning in Hell together.

7 You shall not commit adultery.

At first I didn't even know what that meant. Then someone told me and I said "EWWWW!" Remember, I was young. When I got a little older I realized that was the one rule I was probably going to break, over and over. At some point one furious husband reminded me, repeatedly, that it is humans who exact the VERY PAINFUL penalty for breaking that one, not God. After that I followed it pretty rigorously, citing the 'lots of fish in the sea' defense.

8 You shall not steal.

I understood that one and followed it for years, but when something was stolen from me I didn't see a problem with stealing it BACK. For some odd reason, the cops did. A bill of sale helped the judge see the light, but not before he spake a serious commandment of his own, warning me not to take the law into my own hands any more. Frustration followed, but was ultimately resolved with the acquisition of a safe deposit box.

9 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Don't lie? Sure, that makes sense. Until you take into account that in this society, telling the truth often gets you into more trouble than keeping your mouth shut. And the punishments humans dispense often feel worse than the potential fate mentioned in the bible. I felt like I had a weighty decision to make each time-- was this lie worth the penalty? Should I tell the truth for that one? No, just telling the truth rarely helped the truth-teller, I learned. Saying nothing seemed to be the way to go.

10 You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

I understand the wife part, EVEN though MY neighbor's wife likes to walk around naked with the shades up in her house-- it's the adultery thing all over again. But if my neighbor just bought himself a fancy new riding mower, I'm not supposed to like it? If I bought one like it for myself... would that be considered coveting? And why are several commandments about my neighbor... could he be... is it possible that...

Wait... IS HE GOD? What a drag... that's like living next door to a cop!

To recap:

Human civilization is now closer to achieving World Family than we have ever been. But we are standing at a crossroads, all of us: Will we continue as a victory-seeking, power-lusting bully of a country? Or will we take the higher road of cooperation, kindness and selflessness? To the selfish greedy powerlusters, there can't be a more foolhardy path to travel-- in their eyes it spells disaster, plain and simple. It's not their fault they think this way-- they've been bred into it, after all. They cannot see another way for humans to coexist-- someone has to run them, right?

Well thanks to the ability of competition to shake out the 'losers', there are now only a tiny group of powerlusters (albeit a powerful one) remaining, while at the same time there's a much larger group of us-- the reasonable. Exerting our right to make our own decisions as a majority is all it takes. We could begin World Family with the next voting cycle.

Now all we need is a bill.

Copyright 2009 Bruce Ian Friedman