A big debate in the United States of America right now is whether or not the United States government should reimburse all African-Americans for the slavery of their ancestors. How would this be done? Very simply actually anyone who had an ancestor who was a slave would receive money.

Unfortunately in doing as we would find that many African-Americans had multiple ancestors were slaves and if they were pure African American they might have as many as 256 grandparents who were slaves.

This means if they were given $30,000 each with interest we would have to give every African-American $100 million. I do not think the US treasury can afford that. So it obviously cannot be done and how would you determine the percentage of each person who may have had slavery in our ancestry?

And come to think of it I bet I have some Roman ancestry, which may have been slaves, perhaps I also have some ancient Egyptian ancestry. And just think of all the interest I am owed? As a matter of fact you may as well just give me the Pyramids now. With a little extra investment I could make a lot of money on the tourist trade.

It is absolutely ludicrous to consider reimbursing all the African-Americans for slavery. Although philosophically it is an interesting thing to talk about and something to consider when studying American history, it simply cannot be done.

We should however review our past and understand what we went through as to not repeat it in the future. However, reimbursing present period African-Americans for the plight of their ancestors is utterly preposterous.

When we dip into the rich variety of novels, poems, and plays which constitute English Literature we are reading works which have lasted for generations, or centuries, and they have lasted because they are good. These works say something worth saying, and say it with artistry strong enough to survive while lesser works drop into obscurity.

Literature is part of our cultural heritage which is freely available to everyone, and which can enrich our lives in all kinds of ways. Once we have broken the barriers that make studying literature seem daunting, we find that literary works can be entertaining, beautiful, funny, or tragic. They can convey profundity of thought, richness of emotion, and insight into character. They take us beyond our limited experience of life to show us the lives of other people at other times. They stir us intellectually and emotionally, and deepen our understanding of our history, our society, and our own individual lives.

In great writing from the past we find the England of our ancestors, and we not only see the country and the people as they were, but we also soak up the climate of the times through the language itself, its vocabulary, grammar, and tone. We would only have to consider the writing of Chaucer, Shakespeare, Boswell, Dickens, and Samuel Beckett side by side to see how the way writers use language embodies the cultural atmosphere of their time.

Literature can also give us glimpses of much earlier ages. Glimpses of Celtic Ireland in the poetry of W. B. Yeats, or of the Romans in Shakespeare’s plays, for example, can take us in our imaginations back to the roots of our culture, and the sense of continuity and change we get from surveying our history enhances our understanding of our modern world.

Literature can enrich our experience in other ways too. London, for example, is all the more interesting a city when behind what we see today we see the London known to Dickens, Boswell and Johnson, or Shakespeare. And our feeling for nature can be deepened when a landscape calls to mind images from, say, Wordsworth, Thomas Hardy, or Ted Hughes.

The world of English literature consists, apart from anything else, of an astonishing array of characters, from the noble to the despicable - representations of people from all walks of life engaged in all kinds of activities. Through their characters great authors convey their insights into human nature, and we might find that we can better understand people we know if we recognise in them characteristics we have encountered in literature. Perhaps we see that a certain man's behaviour resembles that of Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, or a certain woman is rather like The Wife of Bath in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Seeing such similarities can help us to understand and accept other people.

Good works of literature are not museum pieces, preserved and studied only for historical interest. They last because they remain fresh, transcending as well as embodying the era in which they were written. Each reader reading each work is a new and unique event and the works speak to us now, telling us truths about human life which are relevant to all times.

We don’t have to read far before we find that a writer has portrayed a character who is in some way like us, confronting life-experiences in some way like our own and when we find ourselves caught up with the struggles of a character perhaps we are rehearsing the struggles to come in our own lives. And when we are moved by a poem it can enrich us by putting words to feelings which had lain dormant for lack of a way of expressing them, or been long-forgotten in the daily round of the workplace, the supermarket, the traffic jam, and the TV News.

We can gain a lot from literature in many ways, but the most rewarding experiences can come in those moments when we feel the author has communicated something personally to us, one individual to another. Such moments can help validate our personal experience at a depth which is rarely reached by everyday life or the mass media.

So why do we need to study English Literature, instead of just reading it? Well, we don't need to, but when visiting a country for the first time it can help to have books by people who have been there before by our side.

When we start to read literature, particularly older works, we have to accept that we are not going to get the instant gratification that we have become used to from popular entertainment. We have to make an effort to accommodate to the writer’s use of language, and to appreciate the ideas he is offering. Critics can help us make that transition, and can help fill out our understanding by telling us something about the social climate in which a work was written, or about the personal circumstances of the author while he was writing it.

We are not going to enjoy every literary work, and there may be times when we find reading a critic is more interesting than reading the actual work. Reading the work of a good critic can be edifying in itself. Making the effort to shape our own thoughts into an essay is also an edifying experience, and just as good literature lasts, so do the personal benefits that we gain from studying and writing about it.

Believe it or not there are actually some people in the world who do not believe that the United States is the greatest nation in human history. In fact, the other day I was challenged on this issue in an online debate. The nice Arab lady who lives in Michigan said the United States was not the greatest nation and that there are greater nations in the Middle East. Well, it is nice to see that people who have come from other nations to live the United States of America see positive attributes of those places where they were born.

However, the United States of America is the greatest nation in human history and that cannot be debated. When asked to explain this to the nice Arab lady who was busy criticizing the Bush administration and our nation I stated;

Well, our GDP is over 5 times second thru fifth place nations combined. Our Military is 10 times second place. Our middle class is 20 times second place. Our water is one of the cleanest. We have the most abundant resources, cleanest environment. Best chances for opportunity and upward mobility, etc.

There seems to be a big debate going on right now regarding African American slavery and possible restitution and reimbursement to all those people living today who have ancestors in America who were slaves. There can be no doubt that it is a dark stain on the American way of life and history.

Recently I was in a coffee shop and I listened to a couple of white gentleman discussed this with a black gentleman. The black African American said that restitution for slavery may not be possible, but the idea is intriguing and worthy of discussion. He also stated he would not mind receiving $50,000 for the disadvantages that he had been through in life.

This sparked a pretty argumentative debate although it was interesting they were able to keep it within reason and without a fistfight. Another white male entering the conversation, who was a little bit of a bigot himself stated;

Did you hear about the African American Fresno Football Players who raped the 11-year old girl? Isn't society already paying enough for the issues of slavery still. I am sick and tired of paying the taxes for more police, courts and prisons. I don't steal anything. And statistically this is one of those "10 Things You Cannot Say In America" by Larry Elders, but statistically the jails are filled with a higher percentage of Black Americans based on their population contribution than any other race. And we cannot blame it all on Slavery.

One thing I find very interesting is that most Christians say that God is so much smarter than humans that the human mind cannot comprehend all that God knows or understands. Personally I believe these Christians should speak for themselves. Secondly, I believe that there is nothing that is beyond comprehension if it is simply explained.

It seems that the Bible does not explain things properly and is purposely ambiguous because it does not have the answer and it knows it does not have the answer. Why do I say this? Because obviously the Bible was written by men who wish to control other men by way of religion and they indoctrinated all the people starting at a very young age to believe this line of malarkey.

If God is so much smarter then why not explain to mankind all this information. The Christians want us to believe that there is no sense in doing this because they would never understand. Oh really, well why not try them. Why not explain it to omit see if they understand rather than hiding it in secrecy. The reason is there is no God or secret and the only secret is there is no secret.

The notion that the reason they do not explain all this information is because no one would understand is a bunch of baloney. And if Christians believe they could not understand it they need to speak for themselves and not the rest of us. Besides if you believe you cannot understand something then you are right.

Many religious followers say that the reason God does not always answer our prayers is because he knows what's best for us, each one of us. But if this is true then the individual has no freedom and that is not the type of world I care to live in. Freedom is more important than God or the concept of God.

If God is so smart and has made us in his image then obviously mankind is not a very good copy and got screwed up. Such a mistake would not indicate that God is so intelligent after all. When people say that God and the concepts are beyond human intelligence, I say speak for your selves.

The following is my opinion about this thing call Compassion. It is not a definitive article though.

Compassion, in my view, is a very crucial element for sustainability. This is even more relevant to the current volatile world of ours.

The very fabric of the Universe is infused with compassion. It is the binding force that harmonizes and sustains Existence. It prevents the self-destruction and implosion of the universe. It is the allowance and acceptance of aspects of Source toward other aspects of itself. Without it, part of All That Is will harm Itself.

Everything is a reflection of the Source and is the Source. The Source must love parts of Itself. This love serves to prevent the taking of advantage of others.

The universe and world at large cannot be sustained without compassion. The lack of compassion is the lack of the capacity to maintain ‘unity in separation.’ Without Unity, harmony can only be maintained in an unstable manner. This is because without kindness and compassion, there can be no assurance from bullying, harming and or any other forms of advantage taking.

Without compassion we will not understand the suffering of others. Without this understanding, one can inflict hurt without conscience. Therefore a lack of compassion is a form of great ignorance. This great ignorance has produced much harm and suffering. War is often the direct result of a lack of compassion on the part of the perpetuators. Why do I say so? Because the perpetuator has traded the pain of others for some other kind of goals. Unless one is without compassion, one can see just how must suffering this can cause. Without compassion, we will be indifferent and not feel sad for the suffering of others

Many people lump together the scientology church, and the scientology philosophy Hubbard created. Then bag the church for it and its adherents strange behaviour. But isn’t that like throwing out the baby with the bath water?

The scientology church and some of its high profile adherents, Tom Cruise springs into mind here, seem at odds with the stated aims and purposes which the founder, now deceased, set out.

The tenets of the church proclaim, quite rightly, freedom of speech and freedom of expression as regards religion. This can be seen by anyone who reads the Creed of the Church which can be found at creed of the church of scientology.

However continued attacks on the scientology Freezone, that area of scientology where people practice the scientology religion outside of the official church, demonstrate a lip service given to the creed rather than firm belief. In addition subsequent changes in the basic texts of the philosophy have alienated the true aficionado of the original working philosophy.

This basic philosophy is found in the many books he wrote and the many thousands of lectures he gave which are available on audio tapes and CDs

The application of the technology includes Auditors (practitioners) applying certain auditing techniques and procedures (exercises) with PreClears (Clients) to produce an exactly defined benefit for that client.

It includes the understanding of life, it's composition and potentialities. The application part of the philosophy includes activities which one can embark upon to improve one's life both in the spiritual sense as well as the physical.

Such benefits can include:
An increased spiritual awareness
An improvement in lifestyle
An acquired or improved ability of a clearly defined nature

In fact, the philosophy and working technology which Hubbard researched and developed is well known by many thousands of people who have found it to be beneficial for them in their lives and has assisted them to become more aware and capable.

This is distinctly different to the practices of the church, much more in the public eye, and which is much more perceived by the media and critics. Which leads one to wonder what is it that is actually being criticized here?

Perhaps it is not the religion after all but the current management of the church, once held in high regard but now perceived somewhat less favourably.

Sacred Geometry is the theory of dimensional evolution which assumes the universe is a living system kept together by the existence of a sacred geometry that encompasses the entire cosmos and makes for the blueprint for the manifestation of what we know as our material universe and in addition organizes the context through which all love evolves.

Our universe was designed to be highly efficient and is capable of performing a wide range of multiple functions at the same time. The very same geometry which provides structure to physical reality also allows for the perceptual environments that people and civilizations must move through as part of a systematic learning process on the path towards evolution.

Each dimension of this sacred geometry holds a unique place of perceptual space and a context of learning both for personal and social evolution. As each new dimension appears a new set of perceptions and potentials is awakened which we are free to accept and actualize or ignore. It is in understanding the dimensional structure which exists all around us that allows us to be able to understand the path and direction of personal and social evolution.

Even though our modern science generally believes there is nothing of deeper meaning to the dimensional geometry of the universe other than the actual physical aspects, there is a view that is almost diametrically opposed to this that began with the Greek philosopher Pythagoras in 500 B.C. Pythagoras believed and taught the theory or belief that all of the mathematical patterns in the universe were actually expressions of divine intelligence and signified a divine intention.

According to Pythagoras, we are surrounded by organizational intelligence that is shown in its purest from through mathematical formulas and musical harmonies and allowing ourselves to be at the center of our experience; we can know and share the organizing patterns and principles that pervade the universe. This is a thought that was even held by Albert Einstein, who stated that he received his greatest breakthroughs after praying and sleeping. The answers to the questions he was seeking came to him from the Universe while he slept! This is also the way that it can be explained for someone who is blind to be able to sculpt and for a deaf person, such as Beethoven to be able to compose intricate musical scores.

Plato, who taught over a hundred years after Pythagoras, continued in the teachings of Pythagorean thought in espousing that the universe or cosmos as Pythagoras termed it was a place of "harmonious and beautiful order" and placed such a high regard on geometry that he placed a sign above the door to his academy stating, "Let no one unacquainted with geometry enter here."