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The Hypocrisy Of The American Dream

Updated Jul 25, 2015.

The American dream [1] promises opportunities for success for anyone willing to work hard for it. It's rooted in the 1776 Declaration of Independence, which states, "... all men are created equal ..." Equal to do what? Equal to engage in aggressive competition where people seek to be greater than others? This isn't equality, it's hypocrisy.

How can you on the one hand say "all men are created equal", yet on the other hand expect them to engage in aggressive competition where everyone is seeking to be better than others, thereby creating inequality?

Here are my notes:

1. Societies Built On Selfishness:
• Today, we're all immersed in selfishness, seeking to benefit ourselves with no regard for others. The European societies of old were also built on the quality of selfishness. 
• Emigrants left Europe for America fleeing poverty, oppression and the injustices of aristocratic governments that sought to benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else. Money, power and authority was consolidated in the hands of a few.
• New American immigrants set out to create a country where "all men are created equal". However, the people didn't change, meaning their selfish nature didn't change, so the USA was also built on the quality of selfishness, where everyone was (and still is) seeking to benefit themselves at the expense of everyone else. The result? Poverty, oppression, and the injustices of the division of wealth (the huge gap between the rich and poor). Money, power and influence is consolidated in the hands of a few - those with the ability to best acquire it. Have the Americans created the country they originally set out to create? No. The USA is identical to the Europe that early immigrants originally fled.
• Every time mankind has tried to be better than others, to dominate others, to control others, to subjugate others etc., it's failed. Why? Because such systems don't work. The discrepancies created by such systems leads to tension and conflict, which ultimately results in its demise.
• The only solution is connection. We have to change from selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to bestowal (seeking to benefit others and Nature).
2. Aggressive Competition & The Aristocratic Mentality:
• Aggressive competition creates an aristocratic mentality. People who engage in aggressive competition seek to be better than others, to be greater than others, to be more important than others, to be richer than others etc. This is the same aristocratic mentality that existed in Europe, that early emigrants originally fled. 
• The USA is built on aggressive competition:
• In business, people are expected to engage in aggressive competition in order to be greater than others. This isn't equality. How can you be equal to others when you're trying to be better than them?
• It brings out a type of business aristocracy - the aristocratic rich and everyone else.
• Are "all men created equal"? No, not when everyone is trying to be better than others. Not when there's a huge gap between the rich and the poor.
• In sports (baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, tennis etc.), athletes are expected to engage in aggressive competition in order to be greater than others. This isn't equality. How can you be equal to others when you're trying to be better than them?
• It brings out a type of sports aristocracy - the aristocratic winner and everyone else.
• Are "all men created equal"? No, not when everyone is trying to be better than others. Not when there's one winner and a whole bunch of losers.
• In foreign affairs, Americans engage in aggressive competition with other nations in order to be greater than them. This isn't equality. How can you be equal to others when you're trying to be better than them?
• It brings out a type of country aristocracy - the aristocratic Americans and everyone else.
• Are "all men created equal"? No, not when the USA thinks it's better than everyone else.
• Some people justify aggressive competition as a motivator that brings out the best in us. It doesn't, it only brings out our most egoistic side. Also:
• When people seek to benefit themselves, their potential is limited because they're only thinking about themselves; however, when people seek to benefit others/Nature, their potential is unlimited because they're thinking of others and all of Nature.
• Love is an even greater motivator. A mother, who is motivated by love, will do anything for her children, to ensure they're well taken care of. Even when she's sick, she still performs her motherly duties.
• Cooperation and collaboration is better than aggressive competition. Nature is an integral system that's interconnected and interdependent. Nature is pushing us to connect and we must do so through mutual cooperation and collaboration.
3. Equality:
• "All men are created equal" in that we all have the same basic needs, including food, water, clothing, shelter etc.
• We need to simply our lives and focus only on meeting our basic needs. We need to ensure that the basic needs of everyone on earth are met.
• All men are not created equal in terms of our abilities and talents. Different people have different talents, strengths, abilities, ambition, etc. We're different and we have different roles to play in society. In the USA (and around the world), those with the greatest talents, skills, abilities, ambition, connections, prestigious family heritage etc., are the ones most likely to succeed. This isn't equality, it's people taking advantage of their God-given potential, attributes and station in life to benefit themselves at the expense of others.
• We all have different God-given potential. If John's God-given potential output is 100 and Peter's God-given potential output is 10, it would be extremely unfair to expect John to aggressively compete against Peter because John would win every time. In his frustration, Peter may resort to undesirable practices to compete with John. However, if both John and Peter used their God-given potential to benefit others/Nature, they'd be equal because they'd both be working at their full potential, John at 100 and Peter at 10. Even though John's output (of 100) is greater than Peter's output (of 10), it doesn't mean John is working any harder, it comes to him naturally because it's his God-given potential. Since they're both working at their full potential, they're both equal, even though they're different, and they have different roles to play. With love as a motivator, John would use his full potential to benefit others/Nature and Peter would use his full potential to benefit others/Nature.
• Equality means one thing in selfishness and it means something else in bestowal:
• In selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves), the phrase, "all men are created equal" means all men have the equal opportunity to engage in aggressive competition, to selfishly seek to benefit themselves (even at the expense of others), to use their God-given potential and attributes to benefit themselves (for their own selfish profit and gain), to try and be better than others etc. The result is inequality.
• In bestowal (seeking to benefit others and Nature), the phrase, "all men are created equal" means all men have the equal opportunity to do good to others, to benefit others/Nature in a positive and constructive way, to use their God-given potential and attributes to benefit others/Nature etc. The result is TRUE equality, with everyone using his/her potential to benefit others/Nature.
• We have to change from selfishness to bestowal.

The American dream, where "all men are created equal", is hypocritical because the American society is rooted in selfishness, driven by aggressive competition where people are seeking to exploit others for their own personal profit and gain. The result is inequality - poverty, oppression, winners and losers, and a huge gap between the rich and the poor.

The only way the USA can realize its dream, where "all men are created equal", is if people change from selfishness to bestowal and seek to benefit others/Nature instead of themselves. This will result in TRUE equality.

The USA has a big influence on the entire world. If positive and constructive change comes to the USA, the entire world will be positively affected. It's not just the USA that has to change, the entire world has to change from selfishness to bestowal, from aggressive competition to cooperation and collaboration.

It's time to leave the old, archaic, aristocratic mentality behind, the mentality of engaging in aggressive competition and trying to be better than others. It's time to unite in mutual bestowal, in a mentality of benevolence, cooperation, collaboration, compassion and empathy, where everyone is seeking to benefit others/Nature instead of themselves. If we all did this, we'd all be truly equal.

We're different and we have different roles to play, but we're all one family. In everything we do, we should use our God-given potential to seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves.

___________

References:

1. American Dream. www.en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved Jul 13, 2015.
2. Declaration Of Independence. www.archives.gov. Retrieved Jul 13, 2015.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Why Are We Obsessed With Being Better Than Others?

Updated July 12, 2015.

We're obsessed with being better than others because we're immersed in the quality of selfishness, seeking to benefit ourselves with no regard for others or Nature. The quality of selfishness wants to be greater than, better than and important than others.

Some people justify this behaviour by saying aggressive competitive brings out the best in us. It doesn't. It brings out our most egoistic side, which is negative and destructive.

It's better to cooperate and collaborate than to engage in aggressive competition.

Here are my notes:

1. Money & Wealth:
• Businesses - Today, businesses are driven by aggressive competition. Most companies seek to make as much money as possible - to be the richest, to be the biggest, to have the highest market share, to have the highest profits etc. They pursue their I'm Better Than Others title at the expense of others, exploiting other businesses, employees and customers to achieve their selfish goals.
• Individuals - Today, individuals are driven to make as much money as possible - to have the biggest house, the nicest car, the most expensive possessions etc. They pursue their I'm Better Than Others title in order to feel greater than others. However, these pleasures are fleeting and they're left feeling even more empty than before.
2. Sports:
• Today, sports is driven by aggressive competition. Most sporting organization (and individual athletes) want to be the champion. They're also motivated by money because winners get prizes and endorsements. The problem in sports is that there is only one winner and a whole bunch of losers. Athletes pursue their I'm Better Than Others title at the expense of others, hoping others will lose, so they can win.
3. Countries:
• Today, countries are driven by aggressive competition. Some countries seek to gain the most power, control and wealth. Countries pursue their I'm Better Than Others title at the expense of others countries.

In the story of Snow White [1], a wicked queen constantly asks her mirror, "Who's the fairest one of all?" and expects her mirror to reply, "You're the fairest one of all". This is where we are today - we're the wicked queen, obsessed with being better than others.

The wicked queen represents the quality of selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) and Snow White represents the quality of bestowal (seeking to benefit others and Nature). We have to change from selfishness to bestowal, from the wicked queen to Snow White.

Instead of being motivated by aggressive competition, we should be motivated by love. E.g., a mother, motivated by love, works tirelessly to provide for her children.

We're all one family and we should treat each other as one family. Competing aggressively with other family members and exploiting them for our own personal profit and gain seems inappropriate and out of place. It's more appropriate to see ourselves as having different roles to play in our worldwide global family.

Instead of seeking to benefit ourselves and being obsessed with being better than others, we should seek to do good to others, to benefit them in a positive and constructive way.

Cooperation and collaboration is better than aggressive competition. In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves.

________

References:

1. Snow White: www.en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved July 9, 2015.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Living In A World Without Money

We don't need money, we just need each other.

If all the money in the world disappeared, what would happen to us? Would we all cease to exist? Not at all. It's possible to live in a world without money, but we have to change from selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) to bestowal (seeking to benefit others/Nature).

So then how would we live?

• Volunteer: We'd all volunteer our services. Instead of working for money, we'd work to benefit others and Nature. When we contribute to society in a positive and constructive way, society would in turn take care of us. If you look around you, there are people with a wide variety of skills, talents, abilities and traits. If everyone volunteered their services to society, together, we have what it takes to create a great society without money.
• Basic Needs: We need to simply our lives. We need to focus only on meeting our basic needs - food, water, clothing, shelter etc. If our basic needs are met, what else do we need? We don't need anything else to live. Imagine living in a world where food, water, clothing, shelter is all free. It would simplify our lives tremendously. We could have community kitchens/dining rooms, clothing facilities, simple dwellings etc. It's possible.
• Education: We need to learn about bestowal, how to benefit others and Nature. There are so many ways that we can benefit each other and Nature. Education will be a big part of the transformation.
• Motivated By Love: How can we ensure fairness in such a system, to ensure some people don't take advantage of others? We'd be motivated by love. When you love others, you give everything of yourself to them without any calculations and without expecting anything in return. If we all did this, it would work.
• Bestowal is the key. Instead of seeking to benefit ourselves, we should seek to benefit others/Nature. If we all lived to benefit others/Nature, we'd become connected in mutual bestowal. Our focus would be on our connection, and connection makes us happy.

It is possible to live in a world without money. All we need is each other. In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves.

Don't be afraid. God is with us.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.

Connection - Changing From Selfishness To Bestowal

This YouTube video [1] shows how today, we're all immersed in selfishness (seeking to benefit ourselves) and how we have to change from selfishness to bestowal, and seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves.

________
References:

1. Cogwheels. www.youtube.com. Retrieved Jul 2, 2015.

Countries And The Internal States They Represent

Updated Jul 2, 2015.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

This post is a work in progress and is subject to changes, revisions, edits and deletions.

The United States of America, The United Kingdom, The United Arab Emirates and other countries must support Israel because of the internal qualities that these countries represent.

Different physical countries represent different states within our internal qualities. For example:

• The United States of America, with its 50 united states, represents a specific state of bestowal within our internal qualities.
• The United Kingdom represents a specific state of bestowal within our internal qualities.
• The United Arab Emirates represents a specific state of bestowal within our internal qualities.
• Israel (Ysrael) comes from two Hebrew words Yashar El, which means "straight to God". A person who seeks to benefit others/Nature to bring contentment to The Creator is called Israel.
• The internal state of Israel creates these other internal states - The United States, The United Kingdom and The United Arab Emirates. These internal states can't exist without the internal state of Israel. 
• Israel is the key to salvation, as Jesus himself said, "... salvation is from the Jews." (John 4:22, NIV)
• (Other countries shouldn't feel left out as these are but a few examples.)

There are two things to note:

1. The actual physical countries - Israel, The United States, The United Kingdom, The United Arab Emirates etc.
• Which are considered 'the branch', the result.
2. The internal qualities that these countries represent.
• Which are considered 'the root', the cause.
• The ability to connect one's internal qualities with the actual physical countries is connected to The Mirror Effect - what you see on the outside is a reflection of who you are on the inside, which is connected to perception of reality.

The physical countries represent states of bestowal that we haven't yet attained. At the moment, we're all immersed in selfishness, seeking to benefit ourselves. We have to change from selfishness to bestowal and seek to benefit others/Nature instead of ourselves. When we enter into bestowal, we'll become aligned with the countries that represent the various states of bestowal. (At the moment, we're in selfishness living in countries that represent bestowal. This discrepancy has to be rectified.)

Israel is the key. Some people think that Jesus nullified the role of the Jews and Israel; however, Jesus himself said, "... salvation is from the Jews." (John 4:22, NIV) Meaning, the Jews and Israel had a role to play in the past and they'll have a role to play again in the near future. They are God's chosen people, chosen to serve The Creator, to benefit others/Nature in order to bring contentment to The Creator, to set an example to the whole world and to teach the whole world about bestowal.

Without the internal state called Israel, salvation can't be attained, unity can't be achieved and the connect with The Creator can't be realized.

While I'm talking about our internal qualities, there are implications for the actual physical countries that represent these internal qualities. Meaning, The actual physical countries of the United States, The United Kingdom, The United Arab Emirates and other countries must support the country of Israel because of the internal qualities that all these countries represent. In doing so, the root becomes aligned with the branch. Meaning, our internal qualities become aligned with what we see manifested in reality.

May The God of Israel guide us, may He lead us and may He show us the way.
God is with us and to Him we shall all return.

Copyright © 2015, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.