Hiatus

For my few loyal readers, I am going on a planned hiatus from this blog. I have quite a bit going on in my life at the moment, and maintaining a blog is indeed something I can do without. The blog as an archive will still exist. Before I go, I have a few observations that could be their own blog posts, but I'll touch on them briefly.

A lot of responsibilities and priorities have entered my life, and it's fascinating how much time you actually have if you maintain a schedule. I used to tend to focus on a single task or project, and not do anything else until complete. This had a tendency to burn me out and not be as efficient as I should be. Now I still watch due dates, so something due the next day will grab my entire attention; however, the urgency of getting it done on time reduces the chances of me procrastinating.

I think it's too easy to simply tell someone to have more discipline. The trick is to find a strategy to create more discipline. I wish I could simply have the will to make all of my dreams become reality, but many of my dreams are very big and would take a lot of time, resources, and man power to accomplish. There is no way I could focus on such a task or tasks and ignore everything else. This may not be a grand revelation to some, but working on one of my bigger goals -for say an hour- and then accomplishing one of my smaller goals helps give me a relief and satisfaction of accomplishment.

Now I don't have anything very formal planned like a day planner or anything. I just keep a mental list of tasks that need accomplishing and devote certain nights as a focus to a larger task. For example, Monday night may be for my classes and Tuesday night for family. Also pay note that I treat leisure as a task. This was another trick that I developed. Now I don't feel guilty if I have other tasks to accomplish because I know I have designated time for those other tasks. Of course, time seems to fly when I'm having fun, but I digress.

A special note for those transitioning from active duty military service

Today also signifies the completion of my 8 year service obligation to the military. I served a little over 7 years of active duty and the rest on the inactive ready reserve (IRR). While I had some issues with the military, it was overall a very positive experience for me. It helped shape me become the man that I am today. Ultimately, I left the service because I had goals outside of the military I wanted to accomplish, and quite frankly, I wasn't sure how much longer my body could handle the physical stress. Taking that into consideration, leaving the military was a very difficult choice. Despite any issues, I knew the Army would always take care of me.

The Army has a whole transition program which may be a little bloated, but I may only think that because I may have more life experience than a lot of soldiers - particularly the ones who never went to college. I also had a plan when I got out whereas some are just anxious to get out, so that they don't have to wake up for morning formation. Regardless, it's amazing to me how much all of my plans failed when I got out. I had two jobs lined up, and both of them didn't pan out. I still had a house, but my revenue stream wouldn't last me for very long.

The Power of Online Search Tools

Confirming my political beliefs, don't ever rely on government programs. While I did inevitably get my unemployment benefits, I never received them until just before I started my job.

The Army was very big on promoting networking sites like LinkedIn, but sites like ZipRecruiter did a much better job in finding me employment. I never really gave these search sites much credit until I left the service. In about a month, I found a job that I have been very happy with. To my brothers and sisters transitioning out of the military, I highly recommend uploading your resume (which hopefully you made in ACAP) to one of these sites.

One last note: Expand your mind 
 

I still enjoy listening to various podcasts. Always learning and listening to our modern philosophers. Ever since I completed those blog posts about the filibuster for my class, the purpose of this blog has been about me writing down the various thoughts that engrossed me over the years. I've cited various podcasts throughout my articles, and it's amazing to me how much this medium has expanded my world view. My faith has been tested so many times, and somehow it perseveres. One thing that I have learned over the years: never deny the possibility of the impossibility.

Investing

Investing is not this complicated

Since high school, I've had lectures on financial planning, savings, investments, and the big word: retirement. Some people will work until they die (whether willingly or tragically unwillingly), but most of us I'm sure would like to stop having to work at some point. There are two forces stopping that: inflation and debts.

Most adults have some sort of revenue which helps pay the bills. Hopefully, your bills do not exceed that revenue. If they do, then you shouldn't waste any more time reading this blog and seek help from an actual financial professional. What I am trying to do is explain the different ways I've discovered to handle your extra money after your bills have been paid after each pay period. I am by no means a financial professional, but I hope I expose new ways to make smart decisions with your money.

Why not just put my extra money under the mattress?

A whole new light on learning the value of a dollar

 Inflation. Whether you realize it or not, the value of the dollar is not constant. I won't get into the details of how inflation works or why it happens, but the bottom line is that the value of the dollar depreciates over time.

The illustration to the left shows the purchasing power of a $20 bill in just the past three decades. I presume that most of my readers may need to work - at least - another three decades until they reach the age to qualify for their social security benefits. If you just store your money under the mattress, in a safe, or some other secure place; it will lose its value. Of course, spending your paycheck until it's gone every time is also not prudent since there are always emergencies or you want to live off more than just social security (assuming it still even exists). Essentially you need to turn your currency into something that can at least retain its value over the years or preferably increase its value over the years.

Option 1: Buy valuable stuff!

Before banks became as prevalent as they are now, people would buy works of art, jewelry, precious metals, or any intrinsic item(s) that many would conclude are valuable. The problem is determining value and do you even have enough money to even invest? I have quite a bit of money, but I can't get a loan to buy a $1 million painting nor do I have $1 million to spend on a painting. Now there are cheaper paintings, but unless you're a collector, there's a good chance you're not going to know how valuable anything intrinsic will be. You never really know how valuable an issue #1 comic book or some toy will become. There's also the issue that these items are much easier to steal, and you still have to convert them into currency to buy anything you need.

A slight caveat to this is precious metals. Gold has been a currency standard for thousands of years. Thievery is still an issue, but now you can buy certificates of gold (like a stock). Basically, a company will hold onto the gold and secure it while making money on the transactions. You can't pay bills directly with gold, so you still need a way to convert it. Unlike art and other collectibles, economists closely monitor the price of gold and generally agree that the price of gold is closely related to inflation. Gold may not be the best investment regarding increasing value, but it is often seen as a hedge against recessions meaning that it won't lose its value.

Be careful of scams when investing in gold!

Option 2: Get a savings account

This may be what most people are thinking about when savings come to mind. You can get a normal savings account which has some stricter restrictions than a checking account, but the amount of interest it earns is typically pitiful. I personally maintain a savings account with about six months worth of wages. This is strictly my emergency liquid (I can spend it immediately) cash. I don't use this as an actual savings vehicle, nor would I recommend it as such.

The inflation rate for 2017 was 2.1%

The current inflation rate of the US hovers around 2 %. The goal is to get an interesting account that exceeds the inflation rate. My rule of thumb is to get interests rates of 2% or higher. While a typical savings account won't get you anywhere close to 2%, banks and credit unions do offer another type of savings called a certificate of deposit (CD).

A CD generally will yearn higher interest rates, but you won't be able to access your money for a period of time. Banks in my area offer 4 year CDs for 2.5% interest. This may change due to the improving economy, so this is the risk you have to consider; however, CD's are arguably the safest investments that increase in value.

Option 3: Bonds

Closely related to a CD is a bond. Essentially an IOU, the creditor is obligated to pay back the bond at a specified interest value. Government bonds are the most common. Since the government is unlikely to default (you'll have worse problems than savings if that's the case), these can be seen as better than CDs. Bonds are much riskier with companies because if the company or fund goes bankrupt, then bondholders may lose their entire investment.

I never appreciated it as a kid, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn when going through my finances that my grandpa bought several bonds. Some of which have an interest rate over 4%! Keep in mind that's a guaranteed rate!

Option 4: Stocks

The stock market can be intimidating, but fortunately, modern technology and stock brokers make this option much more feasible. There are two approaches to investing in the stock market: stock portfolios and index funds.

Stock portfolios referring to buying individual stocks in the anticipating that they will grow in value. Like Option 1, determining what stocks to buy is very challenging. You could get lucky and initially buy stocks for a company such as Apple and be worth millions of dollars or buy stocks in companies like Enron and lose all of your money. Of course, stocks aren't intrinsic and represent a percentage of a company. This fact is how Mark Zuckerberg could become a billionaire overnight. He doesn't actually have a billion dollars in his bank account. His Facebook shares are just worth a billion dollars. Needless to say, this has the highest possible rate of return while also having the greatest risk.

Stock market value tends to rise.

When watching any news report on the stock market or even the economy in general, you may have heard terms like "Dow Jones" and "S&P 500". These are stock indexes. To put it simply, they represent a total of the stock market. It is actually possible to invest your money in an index fund. The basic idea behind this can be seen in the image to the right. Even though the stock market has volatility, it still grows in value over time.

It should also be pointed out that the selling of stocks at a profit is subject to capital gains tax. Remember that the next time people want to raise capital gains tax. It's not just rich people that pay it.

Option 5: IRAs

IRA's use CD's and bonds, but they have tax benefits. CD's and bonds are great, but you will have to pay taxes on any interest earned. Traditional IRA's allow all of the interest accrued to be tax-free until withdrawn. This is great because this allows your money to grow the maximum possible rate through conventional methods. Roth IRA's will pre-tax your investments, but you won't pay taxes on the interest earned. Being taxed before your money can grow may not be pleasant, but there is a tendency for taxes to increase, so it's possible that Roth IRA's may be protected from future tax increases. Both IRA's can't be withdrawn until the person reaches 60 (technically 59 1/2) years of age. Since there is such a long time span, this is ideal for retirement accounts.

I haven't seen this outside of the military, but the government offers an IRA called the thrift savings plan (TSP). This program takes advantage of mutual funds and IRA tax benefits. I'm currently getting the returns of a mutual fund without any taxes being taken out. The problem is that since I am no longer on active duty, I cannot make any further contributions. As of January 2018, TSP replaced the typical pension program that made the military very attractive as a career option. Personally, I hope the government expands using TSP-like programs and get rid of pensions. A guaranteed paycheck is great, but it is becoming quite a burden on our taxes.

Option 6: Life Insurance

Like my bonds, I was also pleasantly surprised at my life insurance policy purchased for me when I was 1 year old. Obviously, life insurance is more valuable to your beneficiaries, but it is possible to cash out your life insurance policy. This is where life insurance can be an investment vehicle. I won't name the company, but they have taken advantage of this fact and created new policies that serve as retirement policies. Basically, if you die early, your dependents still get a life insurance payout, but if you live until retirement, you can start withdrawing the value of the life insurance policy. 

This carries the same risks as a bond, but I currently have an interest rate exceeding 7%! I don't know how common this is, but I strongly recommend talking to an insurance agent about this. It may not be as lucrative in the future as it becomes more popular.


Option 7: Real Estate 

Property is the classic investment and why the 2008 recession was especially tragic. Real estate is a lot like option 1 in that it's intrinsic, but it is a great way to store your money and possibly increase it. If HGTV is any indicator, real estate is quite a lucrative industry. Aside from the investment vehicle, I personally think there's a point of pride in owning a home that separates it from other investment options.

Another key difference from other investment options is that you can affect the value of your investment by maintaining your home and improving it. You can increase your home's value by thousands of dollars with a few hundred dollars worth of fiber! Plus you can actually enjoy your investment as it grows in value.

 
Option 8: Pay someone else to save your money!

Most banks and credit unions have some sort of investment center. There are investment firms that you can look into as well, but they may need you to contribute at least above $50k in order for you to make any real returns to cover their overhead. What they will most likely offer you is something called a mutual fund. The basic idea is that you pool your money together with everyone else in the fund, and a fund manager "plays" with your money with the intent to gain the maximum return possible.

401K's and other retirement packages use this option frequently. The military is now adopting this approach through their TSP program in lieu of pensions. The company I currently work for uses an investment firm to manage our retirement. Yes there are overhead costs, but the fact that you can still get high returns while paying someone speaks to the power of the stock market.

My advice would be to take advantage of this option if you can especially if your company will match your contributions. Again, I don't recommend this for small savings accounts, but if you do have a savings account with over $50k, you would be financially irresponsible to not use this option. Ultimately, there's no need to have a large amount of liquid cash. If you have more than six month's salary in your checking account, then you are throwing money away. Assets such as the above investment options provide you the ability to store your money for retirement while also increasing the money you've already earned.

Taxation is NOT Theft

Back in March, I tried to best articulate my political philosophy. In that blog post, I also alluded to my criticism of the extreme libertarian position that "taxation is theft". Part of my problem with arguing against people who are more extreme than me is simply the fact that we agree on just about all points. The other part of the problem which I find frustrating in just about every discussion is that the shortest argument tends to win even if it is devoid of context or nuance.

It does seem like a double standard

For those who have never heard of "taxation is theft" or don't understand it, I think the image to the right does a pretty decent job illustrating the philosophy. I first heard of the concept with the story of a robber about to be executed by none other than Alexander the Great. The story was slightly different since Alexander was a conqueror, but the questioned remained. Why is it ok -or perhaps even right- when the forceful taking of property is done en masse versus on an individual level?

I don't think people actually think of taxes as a use of force although I'm sure people pay their taxes because they do not want to deal with the consequences of failing to pay. I highly doubt people pay their taxes simply thinking about what they get out of it. Regardless, failure to pay will inevitably lead to loss of freedom.

Is this a good rebuttal?

The meme to the left seems to be the most common rebuttal I've found to "taxation is theft". It's short. It's witty. It seems to totally debunk the entire notion. But is it good enough?

While simplistic, it addresses Hobbes' notion of the social contract. To put it simply, without the state, humanity would exist in a "state of nature" or anarchy where rape and plunder would be rampant. By submitting to a contract with society, men gain security. Now this society could be ruled by a sovereign (one person) or some assembly of men, but the point is that a social contract is a voluntary submission to a government even if the government uses force to establish itself. Of course, I'm curious how many people read this meme and fully grasp all of the philosophical underpinnings behind it?

Why is this a decent rebuttal? Because a contract implies a choice. You are ultimately choosing to pay taxes. How can taxes be theft if you are inevitably choosing to pay them? After all you could simply leave civilization if you didn't want to pay taxes.

The main point of the Communist Manifesto

While the social contract is a compelling argument, I think the bigger issue is false equivalency and confirmation bias. To the right is essentially the Left's critique of capitalism. Perhaps on the surface they are correct in calling capitalism a form of slavery, but if you think about it, you can easily see the flaws. I think the problem with these short arguments all are a result of confirmation bias. A person on the Left is more likely to believe the slavery meme because it reinforces their view of the world. Likewise, a person on the Right, is more likely to believe in the mantra of "taxation is theft" without thinking critically of it.

The slavery meme is wrong because people inclined to believe in it are not taking into account the initial risk of starting a company and then running it. Plus a worker is not being forced to work in a factory which is antithetical to the definition of slavery. Likewise, libertarians don't like paying taxes (who does?), and seeing "taxation is theft" helps reinforce their disdain for taxes.


The truth is that libertarians and others who spout "taxation is theft" are playing a word game with themselves. Many prominent libertarians such as Congressman Ron Paul advocate for flat taxes and making them as small as possible. Not because they are trying to strike a balance between order and chaos, but because they find the current tax system immoral. It's not theft because the government has legitimacy in the social contract that we all knowingly or unknowingly agree to, but that doesn't mean we don't find it to be wrong. Progressive taxes (specifically ones that target rich people) are immoral -and perhaps even the closest to stealing- because you are taking money away from somebody in order to fund a social program that benefits another person with no benefit towards the person paying for it. With a flat tax and a smaller government, more people would be happy with their government and actually get more out of their taxes versus a tool for redistributing wealth. Of course this is a separate complaint from the complaint "taxation is theft".

In short, taxation is NOT theft because it is drawing a false equivalency between a thief selfishly taking another's property for their own sake and a government taking another's property in fulfillment of a social contract. The argument should really be about how do we fine tune the social contract to maximize freedom while not succumbing to anarchy and our "state of nature". As with any other political discussion, the problem is figuring out the balance versus going towards an extreme.

Innatism

In the Matrix, Neo just knew something was wrong.

For quite some time, I've been rattling around the three main questions in philosophy: God, reality, and freewill. While I've already touched on these questions in previous blogs and have nothing major to add to them, I can't help but step back and think why I am so determined to logically prove that God is real, reality is real, and freewill is real rather than accept what most philosophers advocate.


If you were to believe most philosophers, you would come to the conclusion that God isn't real, reality is an illusion, and freewill is an illusion. With that being said, I am certain that most -if not all- people would disagree with at least one of those conclusions. Even if you are very knowledgeable on philosophy like I try to be, you are almost guaranteed to disagree with at least one of those conclusions. There could be several reasons for this. For one, I think the implications for these conclusions go places that most people wouldn't accept even including the advocates of those conclusions. It's very telling seeing philosophers such as Sam Harris defend notions against freewill while also saying that you should still teach your children that they have freewill. Even in the video (I linked the whole discussion for context and because it is a very interesting discussion), Eric Weinstein hints at the point I am trying to make for this blog post which is the concept of Innatism.

 

I feel that most people including myself believe in certain things not for any particular logical reason but rather something innate. I struggle everyday in trying to articulate my thoughts. In fact, the main purpose of this blog anymore is for me to write down these thoughts so that I do not forget them and have easier access to them. Yes, I can be clever and explain why reality could just be another illusion in your mind, but deep down we know that this is "real" and not just another dream. We could debate various reasons why the screen you are reading this blog post on is real and why those reasons may be invalid, but we still believe that this screen is "real". 

It would seem that the wiser we get, the dumber we may apparently seem to be. Bringing up God and freewill may not seem as apparent, but what if someone tried telling you that the screen in front of you isn't really there. In the context of philosophy, it may be a very deep discussion, but outside of that context, it would be patently absurd. 

Now innatism is not a coherent logical argument. Just because something seems true, doesn't necessarily make it true. I want that point to be abundantly clear. With that said, it would seem that there are some aspects to reality that seem inherently, universally, and innately true. Not to keep picking on Sam Harris (he's the most noted atheist that I frequently listen to), but even as an atheist, he still yearns for some spiritual fulfillment (I and over a billion people call that faith in God). I already touched on reality, and freewill is in a similar vein (our entire justice system depends on it). We simply lack the articulation and the origin of these innate issues.

Philosophy of Innatism

Sorry, I'm a sucker for math jokes.

I never bothered looking up innatism until I was looking for a picture for this blog post. Heck, even the name was purely serendipitous. Coincidentally, a concept that I thought was purely some clever observation I made is -of course- a longstanding philosophical debate. Particularly between Descartes and John Locke's blank slate concept. You can read the wikipedia article about innatism, but I covered it quite well in the previous section. I just didn't use some of the fancier imagery and philosophical references. Many times when I write these blog posts, I like to write down my ideas and then do more research on them. Sometimes I'll retroactively change my written ideas to the new ideas from said research. In this blog post, I am using that research to further reinforce my point.  

Some of the scientific research on innateness is very interesting, but the last point I want to make in this blog post is that this isn't the first time this has happened to me. For various reasons, when I was much younger, I pondered if I was the only real person in the world and everyone else were simply actors in my reality (I think this was before I watched The Matrix too). This idea is known as solipsism. There are sillier examples such as fan theories for fiction and the like. I'm sure you have probably had really brilliant thoughts that turned out to have secretly (to you) been well thought out debates. I've had plenty of arguments with friends where they came up with a seemingly brilliant deduction only for me to point out to them that it already has name.

Innatism may not be a coherent argument, but it is interesting that despite evidence to the contrary, we may still firmly believe in God, reality, and freewill. Our current logic may point to all of them being illusions, but most -if not all- of us will at least believe that one of the three is true. The fact that these mass commonly held beliefs exist at all shouldn't be simply dismissed. To suggest that we all have been brainwashed into believing these matters is just absurd. Regardless, even though we may firmly believe in these things, some of us still strive to link logic with our innate beliefs thus continuing our quest for the Logos. 

Federalism

Ever since I became active in politics, I struggled with defining my own political philosophy. The 2004 presidential election was the first time I truly paid attention to politics. To those who know me currently, they may be surprised to learn that I identified as a Democrat in 2004. Of course, I supported Joseph Lieberman at the time who was perhaps the most moderate out of all of the Democratic candidates. Even then though, I was choosing my candidate on an issue by issue basis. I never really considered a coherent political philosophy until the 2008 election which introduced me to Libertarianism.

Before the 2008 election, I struggled with choosing a political party. While I agreed with Democrats on a lot of issues, I also agreed with Republicans on a lot of issues. Ron Paul may be the most influential political icon in my life. He may have ran as a Republican, but he has often identified as a Libertarian. It seemed like the answer to me. Libertarians basically believe that the government should be much smaller and ideally focus on solely creating laws and enforcing them. Libertarians couldn't agree on abortion (but it's worth mentioning I'm pro-life), but generally all controversial issues were dealt with by asking the question, "Is it worth shooting someone over it?"

Libertarians acknowledge that no matter the law failure to abide by said law could inevitably result in death depending on how much someone is willing to resist such a law. A speeding ticket may cost a small fine, but if you fail to pay that fine and resist being arrested, it's possible a police officer may have to shoot you. Marijuana and gay marriage become legal because it's not worth shooting someone over; however, schools and infrastructure should be privatized because they are not worth shooting someone over. I never believed in the concept of "taxation is theft" (perhaps a future blog), but I do acknowledge that taxes are taken by force. If taxes were volunteer, I'm sure very few people would pay them although I'm sure those people would still demand government services. I may agree with Libertarians on a many number of issues, but I still can't deny the benefit to society that governmental programs such as public schools have provided.

There is this little thing called Federalism

Of course, I didn't invent Federalism. This concept has been inherent in the United States since its inception. Basically, what I propose is that the federal (national) government be as libertarian as possible, and state and local governments can be more liberal with the latter being the most liberal. This idea of mine became more solid after listening to former FEMA director Michael Brown on the Rubin Report.

The main takeaways that I got from the interview was that the newly created Department of Homeland Security made the response to Hurricane Katrina very catastrophic and why should people in non hurricane prone areas have their tax dollars spent on hurricane preparation. The latter could be expanded to why should anyone pay for something that doesn't affect them?

While I don't know if there is a word for describing my political philosophy at the moment, let me defend this idea. The national government is responsible for foreign policy, national defense, the environment, national taxes, ensuring the rights guaranteed in the constitution, and anything else that makes sense for solely the national government to assume responsibility. The fewer bureaucracies needed to manage those responsibilities, the better. Anything else should be handled at the state and even better at the local level. The main reason for this is because if there is an issue with any government program, it would be much easier to either fix the problem or move away. Plus I still believe that programs at the smallest level are better managed and cost much less. Hurricane Katrina could've been better handled if the response was solely from Louisiana and not dependent on the federal government. Citizens of Louisiana (or maybe New Orleans) may have to pay higher taxes for living in a higher risk area, but that's the cost for living there likewise with Indiana and tornadoes. Controversial issues can be handled in a similar manner. If people really want gay marriages, let states recognize them. Most people agree that fire fighting has been an invaluable government service everywhere, yet -unless I am mistaken- there is no such thing as a national fire department (although FEMA does have some power in this area, it's mostly in the form of grants and research).

One issue I have regarding the 2016 election is the concept of qualifications for the presidency. Many people still argue that President Trump is unqualified for the office. The truth is that I question if anyone is qualified for the office. The executive branch of the United States government has so many responsibilities, I doubt if there's anybody who knows all of them from memory let alone be an expert in all of them. Trump may be very knowledgeable in areas such as trade, but I seriously doubt he is an expert on education or national defense. Essentially the President has to be able to trust his subordinates to fix a problem. We all may recognize that the Department of Veteran's Affairs has its issues, but it takes research to actually figure out the problem and even then it's hard to say whether that research is correct because the President only has so much direct oversight. He cannot for example prove that an entire section is working to maximum efficiency. If the Department of Veteran's Affairs were at the local level, it may be easier to deduce whether the issue is inefficiency or some sort of policy.

Black Panther

While I will avoid any major spoilers, I will discuss major themes throughout the recent Marvel movie Black Panther. If you wish to be avoid any spoilers, I recommend skipping this section.

I gave this movie 4 out of 5 stars.

Even though I felt like Federalism may be the key to helping me develop a coherent political ideology, the recent Marvel blockbuster Black Panther made me question even this notion. Some considered the movie to be very anti-Trump, but the truth is that the movie had a very balanced view on issues of nationalism vs globalism and immigration. The underlying motivation for one of the villains of the movie is the oppression of black people throughout the world - particularly the descendants of African American slaves. The Black Panther is the king of the fictional African nation of Wakanda which is secretly the most technologically advanced country in the world. The driving question that fuels a lot of the conflict in the movie is whether such an advanced nation should do more in world.

It's very easy to extrapolate Wakanda to be a metaphor for the United States and its role in the world. While the technology gap between the US and the rest of world is no where near Wakanda's, the same cannot be said of our wealth. If we let people into our nation, we bring in their problems (a much better characterization of Trump's "Mexicans are rapists" speech). Should we help those who are oppressed to rise up and defeat their oppressors? Should we try and right the "bigger" wrongs in the world while perhaps ignoring problems at home? These are questions that I am unfortunately still unable to answer with confidence, and I don't think the concept of federalism can simply handle it either.

End of Black Panther discussion

Isolationism may be a tempting philosophy whether it be at the local, state, national, or global level; but it has demonstrably proven to lead to problems as well. World War 2 may not have been such a disaster if the Allied powers came to the defense of countries conquered by Nazi Germany much sooner. Richer nations may not have any vested interest in the plights of poorer nations, but those poorer nations will inevitably resent the richer nations and may one day escalate to violence. This lack of cooperation could explain why most wars happen in the first place. Federalism may answer a lot of political questions, but without cooperation with other people outside of our communities, we are doomed to inevitable conflict.

I've mentioned the concept of "nationalism vs globalism" before many times on this blog as the underlying debate under the current political climate. While Federalism may help define the roles of our government, it really doesn't apply outside of our borders. With that said, I do think that if Federalism were better implemented inside of our borders, a lot of problems would go away. Ideally I would like to see more volunteer outreach like many churches and other charities do, but they can do very little to prevent other nations from shooting at each other. It's too easy to say only have the federal government respond if our borders are attacked, but it's not too easy to say if we should attack another country because it attacked another country. Perhaps someone smarter than me will inevitably come up with a solution to this problem, but regardless, I still think adopting federalism that's more libertarian at the top and becomes more liberal towards the local level is a fairly coherent political philosophy that I think most people would find agreeable and does solve most issues.

Of course making our government behave this way is another matter entirely. The reason why it would be very difficult is because most people will often act outside of their purview in order to obtain power whether for good or for evil, and of course power corrupts.

ASMR

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) can best be described as a tingling sensation that one feels emanating from the base of your skull and down your spine. I have experienced this sensation throughout my life, but it is only fairly recently that I have been actively trying to cause this sensation. This sensation helps me relax and just plain feel good. Some have even described the sensation as "low-grade euphoria" - a sentiment I agree with.

Interestingly, very little is known about this sensation. Aside from my own personal account, there really isn't much from the scientific community about this phenomenon. The first peer-reviewed article about ASMR is from 2013 indicating just how groundbreaking this is. Science has yet to explain what biologically causes the sensation nor can it even confirm that it's real although I promise you that it is very real. There's also no consensus if ASMR is harmful or beneficial. While I will argue that it is beneficial, I can understand the concerns although I certainly am not dependent on ASMR to fall asleep. The concerns are more for those suffering from chronic insomnia. Regardless, this is something I have felt throughout my years, and I was really fascinated when I came to realize that I have been experiencing this phenomenon all my life.

 

I first noticed this feeling when I was very young (younger than 10) commonly while I urinated. I remember it best soothing headaches and amplifying that "relief" feeling. Later in my life, I fell in love with the movie, Hook. While it is certainly one of my favorite movies from my childhood, I recall looking forward to a particular scene in the movie which never failed to cause the tingles.

It was the scene where Robin Williams as an adult Pan is first accepted by the Lost Boys as being their lost leader. Between the music and the little kid moving Robin William's face around, an ASMR response was practically guaranteed. Of course finding this clip was fairly easy by simply searching for "Hook ASMR" in YouTube.

Over two decades later, while I have experienced the feeling from a variety of sources, my intrigue into ASMR began when I watched a YouTube video titled, "Top 10 Weird Parts of YouTube". Despite the negative tone of the video, I embarked down the rabbit hole of ASMR. I must say that there are quite a variety of them. Keep in mind that I was still in the military at this time, and finding any source of relieving stress (preferably not through alcohol) was very valuable to me. I found watching videos of ASMR massages to be very relaxing and helped me sleep. This expanded into the ridiculously out-of-context videos such as a person tapping on a microphone beanie to the use of Buddhist singing bowls. When I learned that listening to these videos through headphones enhanced the experience immensely, I became truly addicted to these videos. Anymore if I have a headache or trouble sleeping, I will put on some headphones and listen to one of my favorite ASMRtists. I have also found these videos to be able to elevate my mood whenever I feel depressed because the ASMR sensation can help clear my mind.

As mentioned before, videos exhibiting Buddhist singing bowls got me very intrigued into Eastern philosophy and practices although prayer and going to church have created the ASMR sensation as well. Obviously, ASMR isn't going to change my religious beliefs, but it taught me the importance of meditation. I started treating prayer as meditation and controlled my breath to help clear my mind. I believe that doing this helps me be closer with God. I haven't really explored the implications of this association, but I do find it interesting. I can't promise that you'll have a religious experience with this, but I do think that being able to clear one's mind is very healthy. ASMR has the capability of doing this and has been a very positive force in my life.

Recommendations

I will caution that I think a lot of ASMR videos are potentially really dumb. Granted a lot of these videos seem very ridiculous unless you have the context that these videos are trying to merely create the sensation. I don't think people just enjoy watching a cute young woman brushing a pillow or tapping on a box. While researching this topic for this blog, I was intrigued to learn that some people think this may have some sort of sexual arousal element involved because a lot of ASMRtists are very pretty young women talking softly to you. For the record, I have not had that experience. In fact, my favorite ASMRtist currently is this young man named Jojo.

And I found a video using the Buddhist (Tibetan) singing bowls I mentioned earlier. Of course the idea that someone seeking enlightenment through this technique decided to make an ASMR video of it makes me laugh a little.

You may notice that many of these ASMR videos can be very long (sometimes hours long!). The obvious intent is to make that sweet Google ad revenue, and more importantly people will "watch" these really long videos when in actuality they've fallen asleep. Because of this, it is fairly easy for ASMRtists to become very successful YouTube. I have no intention of pursuing this, but it serves as a warning that because these videos are relatively easy to make, finding the good videos may be harder to discover.

Other Resources:

ASMR Subverse
ASMR Subreddit

Home

There's no place like home.

Between college and serving in the military, having a steady home has felt like a luxury. It seemed like I had to change my dwelling every year. Thanks to some great advice from my father, I put aside quite a bit of my money to own a little home in Indiana. Unfortunately, I only stayed in my home about two weeks twice a year.

My residence in Indiana housed all of my nice stuff. While in the Army and in college, I merely only possessed items that I would be able to easily part. Fortunately, that still didn't mean I couldn't have nice things. I was surprised to learn just how nice I could make my residences look as well as enjoy a very comfortable lifestyle using gourmet utensils and even high-end electronics. Regardless, I still kept most of prized possessions in my actual home. No matter how nice I made my rooms in college and in the Army, they still lacked the sentimentality that my "true" home possessed.

Me at the Grand Canyon. See, I get around.

Beyond my actual residence itself, I grew to appreciate my environment and perhaps the culture of Indiana as well. I indeed loved Washington. I still have some really good friends there, and I did have a great time exploring Washington from Seattle to Leavenworth. I even explored a good portion of Oregon - a state I truly fell in love with. Both states were very fun, very beautiful, and there was just so much to see; however, they lacked something. When the Army stationed me in Fort Bliss, I experienced the same dilemma. I had so much fun exploring West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona; yet, there was still something inexplicably missing.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know what would necessarily draw someone from the Pacific Northwest or the Southwest to Indiana. While I certainly enjoyed visiting those places, I just couldn't call any of those places home. Maybe it's my past in Indiana. Maybe it's just some intrinsic property about Indiana that I can't quite describe. There is a beauty with the sunsets, the fields, and even the air in Indiana that I wouldn't trade for anything. I don't see as many stars in the sky or as colorful sunsets like in the Southwest, but there is still something very special with what stars I am able to see and how the colors reflect off of the clouds on an Indiana sunset. There certainly isn't as much to do in Indiana as there was in Washington, but I enjoy what I can do in Indiana just as much. Perhaps that just makes having fun in Indiana just that much special. Still, as silly as I may sound, I am being completely serious.

Ironically, when I was younger, I couldn't wait to leave where I grew up. I envisioned a dream that took me away from my home. I'm sure many of you who read this blog post probably have had similar feelings for where you call home even if it is not Indiana. Now as I've grown older, I've envisioned a new dream that keeps me home. Even though I struggle to make my dream into reality, I still feel it is worth it as long as I can call home "home".