https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript

6

7

27

GRASP

Simply put

Three numbers: 6, 7 and 27  

The pneumonic: GRASP

are all it takes to become articulate in understanding and describing our Constitution—->

The document that is the foundation and protector of our rights and freedoms.

If you like your

• Rights
• Freedoms

Here’s a chance to show gratitude to the people, principles and sacrifice that have given you a life in an imperfect country with a nearly perfect constitution.

If asked to describe the Constitutions:

• Purpose
• Organization
• Structure

Every American would benefit from being able to articulate an answer!

6 Primary Purposes

7 Articles

27 Amendments

Six primary purposes as outlined in the Preamble

 [Under Jacks Tree Does Water Lie]

In Order to

1. Form a more perfect Union
2. Establish Justice
3. Insure domestic Tranquility
4. Provide for the common Defense
5. Promote the general Welfare
6. Secure the blessings of Liberty

Seven articles

1. Legislative Branch
2. Executive Branch
3. Judicial Branch
4. States, Citizenship, New States
5. Amendment Process
6. Debts, Supremacy, Oaths, Religious Tests
7. Ratification

Twenty-seven amendments

The first 10 of which are the

Bill of Rights https://billofrightsinstitute.org/primary-sources/bill-of-rights

GRASP the 1st Amendment

The 1st amendment rights

G grievances no law abridging the freedom to petition the government for redress of grievances

R religion no law made re establishment or prohibiting the free exercise of religion

A assembly no law abridging the right to peaceably assemble

S speech no law abridging the freedom of

P press no law abridging the freedom of 

Precious: Of Great Value or High Price

There was once a place that people, downtrodden by their oppressive and ineffective  governments, looked up to.

They dreamed of this place… They heard stories of its beauty.

Its majestic lakes, mountains and fields of farmland as far as the eye could see

Of its bustling, energized cities with buildings that touched the sky

Of its people with a driven, warm, humorous and charitable spirit

Of its wealth.

Of its safety and security

Its citizen rights of protection from an oppressive government…..

But like most fantasies or stories they did not know about all the shortcomings of this place.

Perhaps it didn’t matter much to them, for they understood in their wisdom that no place is Utopia.

That all countries have their dark side.

That what mattered was the system of fair governance

Based on individual rights

Protected by a cherished constitution.

They knew its history of independence based on this powerful, world changing declaration:

That all men are created equal.

They understood this is not a reality…. but an ideal.

IDEAL: EXISTING AS A MENTAL IMAGE OR IN FANCY OR IMAGINATION ONLY

An ideal that is in the process of being pursued and realized.

And as the words state: the equality is in the sense of all “men” being endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights:

• Life
• Liberty
• Pursuit of Happiness

How attractive is that!!!

Of course, they knew of our history of practicing and then resolving the dreaded institution of  slavery. But most understood a few things about slavery.

Its has existed everywhere in the world.

THEN AMERICA CHANGED

We fought a Civil War that ultimately held our country together

And

We the People…Ended Slavery [for each soldier killed in battle 6 slaves gained their freedom and the union was preserved]

We amended our constitution to give

Constitutionally abolish Slavery

Grant full citizenship to former slaves.

Codify Voting rights

But the South persisted in their practice of superiority and supremacy over the former slaves… defying a complacent federal government and denying these legal rights to millions of black Americans

For Generations

And then, nearly a century later, our government lost much of its moral authority by the revelation of many facts including:

1. The way it conducted the war in Vietnam and the truth of Americas arrogance in Vietnam

2. The revelation of its persistent tolerance of  social and institutional oppression of blacks nationally but most intense in the South..

THEN AMERICA CHANGED AGAIN

Our federal and state governments legislated numerous laws,  acts and policies to aggressively correct its moral deficiencies [There are thousands of federal laws addressing civil rights, equal opportunity, equal justice, etc.  [ ]

We have expanded the IDEAL of the founding to include not just “men” as stated in the Declaration of Independence.

NOW THE ENDOWMENT INCLUDES ALL CITIZENS!

This National redirection has resulted in the unending collective national pursuit of:

1. Human Rights

2. Civil Rights

Such that now we have a country where black Americans hold positions of

POWER AND AUTHORITY IN:

1. Corporations

2. Politics

3. Law

4. Education

5. Commerce

6. Business

QUESTION:

Are we continuing to pursue the ideal of delivering on the promise of our founders?

ANSWER:

Yes

QUESTION:

Are there AMERICAN CORPORATE, INSTITUTIONAL,  AND POLITICAL FORCES aligned to undermine and discredit the Founders and the legitimacy of OUR American Project?

ANSWER:

Yes

QUESTION:

WHY???????????????????

Why do Those from other countries

who still dream of living in a place like America

Continue to risk their lives to be a part of our Project..

They see the beauty

The Promise

The Hope

The Truth

America is Great because it faces its Weakness

And strives to enhance our union

Our Promise

Our Ideals

By Changing Course

to find

Solid Ground

A Place of Strength

Diversity has Value

But our greatest strength and our saving grace is

A Spirit of Unity and Pride

Where that which is Precious

and Imperfect

Can retain its

Value and Beauty

A Search for the following Keywords

• Discrimination
• Hate
• Opportunity
• Empowerment
• Justice
• Civil Rights

Revealed

11,958 matches

https://uscode.house.gov/about_code.xhtml

The Code of Laws of the USA is the official compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal statutes of the US.

The United States Code [USC] is prepared and published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (“OLRC”) of the U.S. House of Representatives pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 285b.

The Code contains the general and permanent laws of the United States, organized into titles based on subject matter. The Code currently consists of 54 titles and five appendices.

Searching the following keywords in the USC reveals the following totals:

Discrimination: 781

Hate: 31

Opportunity: 5643

Empowerment: 98

Justice: 3353

Civil Rights: 2052

Race topics are frequently charged with emotion and intense positions.

Expressions of positions are sometimes strongly delivered.

Civil Discourse Involves the following principles and concepts:

• the polite exchange of thoughts and ideas relating to public affairs.
• It’s about striving to talk politely and listen w the intent of understanding
• rather than the intent of replying w ridicule, venom and anger.

Topics:

1. The statistically proven solution to poverty

—-Finish High School
—-Get a Job
—-Avoid having a child until HS graduation and marriage

[see Brookings Institute]

2. The prosperity and well being of the at risk Black Community [~9 million on welfare]

What do you see as the greater threat to the prosperity of the Black Community?

Or Which poses a greater obstacle to full development of individuals and healthy families in the at risk black communities?

Systemic racism
White privilege
Biased Justice System

or

Issues internal to those communities such as
low HS graduation rates
Low academic testing results
Single parent homes
Gang affiliations and violence

3.The taboos of racial correctness:

Can whites openly discuss their grievances toward the black community…Without being told they’re blaming the victim?

Or being called a racist?

4. Dr. Shelby Steele:

ON WHITE AMERICAS TRANSFORMATION
“One of the most remarkable things in all of human history is the degree of moral evolutions, of moral evolution, that white Americans have made from the mid-60s to this day. No group of people in history have morally evolved away from a social evil that quickly and to that degree in this sort of short span of time. And very often, in our calculations in thinking about race, we don’t give whites credit for that.”

ON THE GOOD WILL OF WHITES

“My feeling is, again, that the real fact is–and I think if you talk to many blacks, their experience would sort of verify this. What I’ve encountered in my life, most often in the white world, is good will, is people who have wanted to help me. When I was younger and starting a career, people who mentored me, who really felt it was important to give me the best opportunity to pursue my dreams. And my sense is that that’s really been an experience for most blacks who have tried to venture out and develop themselves.”

1960s
White supremacy was deligitimized
White supremacy has been defeated
America acknowledged that it was wrong about how it treated others
Now and for decades whites are being put into a cultural
Dead end that they have to prove the negative..”I am not a racist” This approach is counter to the supreme principle of American jurisprudence that the burden of proof lies with the accuser NOT the accused.

Blacks: Goals and Understandings:
1. Thrive in our new freedom
2. Develop our individual Cultural Capital
3. Understand and act on the reality that strong families make strong and healthy individuals which leads to healthy communities and society
4. Opportunity is everywhere
5. Whites and blacks should be proud of the moral advancement we’ve made in the 60s and beyond
6. Remember Brookings institutes formula for poverty avoidance

MA Sociology, Southern Illinois University

PhD English, University of Utah

Currently Senior Fellow Hoover Institution, Stanford University

America offers tremendous opportunity for personal development

The Freedom gained with the success of the Civil Rights movement says this:

”You are free now, you cant use oppression as an excuse for your underdevelopment. If you’re not doing well its not because of oppression…its on you”

[What follows are a mixture of statements and ideas originating with Dr Steele with my occasional added commentary]

”Where are you being stopped?”

You want to be president.. OK

You want to be a CEO..OK

You want to be a lawyer or doctor? … Ok

President Johnson:

“Equal Opportunity is essential but not enough”

But the programs for black development have not reduced the achievement gap OR social turmoil for blacks.

“Perhaps its because these programs $20 trillion over ~60 years, sent the message that your fate remains in our hands.. in us [the Government] providing you with the programs to improve yourself. “

The failure of these programs re-proves what is already a universal truth.

Self development and improvement starts with self

And “self” is only fully developed in an intact home where there is love, health, nurturing.

In a community that strives to model these principles of wholeness:

• Accountability
• Responsibility
• Reliability
• Perseverance
• Family
• Self Discipline

Taking hold of opportunity requires a dedication to Certain Principles

These principles were what my generation of black men and women lived by!

Merit

Excellence

Hard work

Delayed gratification

Individual achievement

Personal responsibility

What is the formula for success in a free society?

I’m being redundant because the answer is redundant

As Shelby Steele and many others articulate the answer is inherently obvious:

• Personal responsibility
• Personal initiative
• Family values
• Conservatism is the perfect antidote to underdevelopment.
• CONSERVATISM REPRESENTS THE CONSERVATION and PROMOTION OF VALUES AND PRINCIPLES ASSOCIATED WITH PROSPERITY OF BODY MIND AND SPIRIT

STEELE:

Conservatism’s  commitment to individual responsibility, education, hard work, personal initiative, traditional family values and free markets is a universal formula for success in a free society.

Freedom says you are free now

Nothing holds you back

That means if you dont succeed in pursuit of your dreams …. you cant blame an oppressor

Remember you are free …. there is no oppressor

Remember: Racism in America is the quickest and easiest way for a white leader to self destruct. If you’re seen as a racist 

YOU ARE RUINED

So understand that racism is mostly defeated as a powerful force holding blacks from progress

Black progress is thus in the hands of Blacks

And BLACKS [THAT SEGMENT OF THE BLACK POPULATION {20%}THAT SUFFERS SIGNIFICANT DISPARITIES]  have not done well with this responsibility

In 2019, the share of Blacks in poverty was 1.8 times greater than their share among the general population. Blacks represented 13.2% of the total population in the United States, but 23.8% of the poverty population.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2020/09/poverty-rates-for-blacks-and-hispanics-reached-historic-lows-in-2019.html

Blacks in America

• 43 million total

• 9 million live in poverty

• 53% [76 million] earn less than $50,000 

Poverty defined:

The Census Bureau assigns each person or family one out of 48 possible poverty thresholds.

There are thus 48 income levels [threshold] below which the census assigns poverty

One example for a family of 5:  two children, one mother, one father, and one great-aunt.

The family’s 2019 poverty threshold (below) is $31,275.

https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html

And today, more than ever, we’re blaming our failure on Racism: Systemic, Structural and Institutional

So, Here’s the  obvious reality:

There is an unending motherload of political power in blaming the SYSTEM for persistent underachievement in the black community

White guilt: the gift that keeps on giving

Its not a genuine feeling of guilt

It is the terror of being seen as a racist

Johnson said I cant have you call me or this country a racist

So the programs were just throwing money at the problems to say to America and the World: “Look! we’re doing this for blacks in America”

These programs were what our black leaders ie Whitney Young, MLK etc in the 60’s fought for:

Head Start https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_Start_(program)?wprov=sfti1

Jobs Corps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_Corps?wprov=sfti1

The reasons for the disparities is not racism

It’s way down the list

We’ve become fixed on a delusion that we live in a society that is intent on keeping blacks down

We need to face ourselves more frankly

70% of kids are born out of wedlock

How in the world do you think the government will solve that??

It’s not a system problem due to white oppression

It’s a character problem due to an unwillingness of black males to not make babies if they cant take care of their babies

At one point we had that pride

Self reliance

More responsibility

These things determine our fate

The original oppression caused this deficit

Now that oppression is over

We have to take up that mantle

What passes for blackness is a mindless mimicry of

• Anger
• Pathos

Affirmative action says whats important about you is the color of your skin.. the very thing that was important when you were oppressed

When do we get to compete on our own merit

When the government says we’re ready?

When do we get to be human beings and not some pigmentized political object

to be cajoled, paternalized

Taken care of with programs after program

The answer is we get to be human when we’re  treated as human and when we take our cross and walk head up with it

Not looking to blame others for our plight

If America is so bad why do thousands journey and risk their lives to illegally cross our borders?

• Because America is the land of opportunity for all
• Black White and Brown
• In other words for everyone
• It’s a color blind land of opportunity

Those blacks who remained so focused on race have and will continue to struggle in this land of opportunity.

• Because their eye is not so much on the prize
• It’s on their color and how they suffer because of racism.

The Delusion of Race:

http://aspade13.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/403F009D-831E-49DD-9EC1-7D20D51FAD6A-1.mov

Racism/Tribalism exists but at a level and of such power that it is NON SIGNIFICANT.

It existed in Rawanda when Hutus slaughtered the more prosperous Tutsi… fellow Rawandans

It existed in Nigeria when the Ibos were resented for their hard earned prosperity and were slaughtered by their fellow Nigerians

It exist in America but we have laws and a watchdog press that will destroy you your family and your business if you just come close to being a racist, having ever made or about to make a racist statement

Like the vile bigoted verbal racist assaults I heard aimed at white people when I grew up in black Los Angeles

And momma always said two wrongs dont make a right

So dont tell me that some kinds of hatred and bigotry are OK

Steele: “the longing for a black identity grounded in victimization is a longing for an excuse to not accept the challenge of freedom It’s a way to escape that challenge”

What damaged the traditional black family?

[The Legacy of the Welfare state or the Leagcy of the Slavery?]

Centuries of slavery and generations of Jim Crow did not destroy the black family

But One generation of the welfare state did..

Lower incomes and higher racial barriers: the family stuck together

Newer conditions in which incomes were higher and racial barriers lower

the Onset of fatherless homes progressed.. the breakdown of the family structure endsued

The structure that had survived slavery eroded under the setting of the welfare state.

”The value of my faith is in knowing and practicing this truth:
My ultimate peace and comfort ..my serenity.. is not dictated by tragic events and circumstances. It’s determined by me utilizing a spiritual connection w myself and my God.. the higher power .. Knowing that I do not have power over events but in this weakness find strength in humbly seeking power …. from a Higher Power.

Life’s ups and downs, twists and turns, can be overwhelming… beyond earthly remedies … That’s when I need   Supernatural Intervention”

EV

My Faith

My Father, on saying goodbye after a short phone conversation or a visit, would usually say: Keep the Faith Son.

Or he’d mix it up and alternate that with: Keep Your Hand in The Hand of the Man..  of course referring to the Man from Galilee. JC

I often pondered what Faith he was referring to. I wasn’t really into overthinking this repartee. Its just that as he moved into his 80s  I found his every word more significant. What was the not so hidden underlying message?

Im convinced the unspoken deeper significance was:

1. Faith is important [duh]

2. You better try to keep it

3. Son I love you and want to share a powerful truth..Here is my legacy to you

“KEEP THE FAITH”

JC and His Hand

Now as far as Keeping my Hand in The Hand of the Man… well that was his special, clever way of preaching Christ

without saying the word Christ.

Again he was referring to three ideas:

1. Keeping something.. holding onto something that is true and good for me: My Hand in His Hand

2. Needing a Helper to show me the way as I “keep”walking down the paths of my life…. with my helper, hand in hand.

3. I need a guide, a scout and a leader to follow… Humility

OVER 20 YEARS AGO

Long Ago I Learned [was taught] that:

We are spiritual beings

Created be in relationship.

Not merely to survive in key relationships but to live FULLY.

To live fully in relationship

• with ourselves

• with others

• and with a God of our understanding.

We refer to ourselves as Human Beings.

SO…How are we spiritual beings?

We are obviously part Physical and part Spiritual

But the ultimate question is this:

Are we primarily Spiritual Beings living in our Physical Bodies

Or

Are we Physical Beings having the occasional Spiritual experience.

I BELIEVE WE ARE PRIMARILY SPIRITUAL BEINGS

If this is true perhaps we must go to the “gym” and exercise our spirits on a regular basis

I propose that the health of our spiritual lives directly influences

The quality of our relationships

Think of our Hearts … The age old idea of “put your heart into it”

Heart = Spirit

Consider that the heart consist of the following

Longings : The deep motivation that is spiritually connected to fulfill our soulful wish for REST PEACE JUSTICE HOME

Hope : The inextinguishable flame. The God given inability to stop wishing for life to be like it was made to be

Needs : SECURITY SAFETY TOUCH BELONGING SIGNIFICANCE GRIEVING ATTENTION SEXUALITY GUIDANCE ACCOMPLISHMENT SUPPORT NURTURING FREEDOM LISTENING TRUST

Desires : The energy that moves us toward fulfillment and expression

Feelings : GLADNESS LONELINESS ANGER SHAME SADNESS HURT FEAR GUILT

8 pure feelings that have been woven into the fabric of our hearts… [what is woven cannot be removed]

They are written on the doorway of our heart.

To enter the Heart, You must go thru the DOOR. You must know the feelings that are written there.  All Humans have these feelings so they are Mutually Understood. How well they’ll be heard, appreciated, empathized, accepted or rejected is a complex phenomenon.

Yet, They are our truth.. they do not control us but to deny our feelings is to deny our hearts..

We have emotions and to deny their power is foolish…

SO, ARE THEY REALLY JUST ‘feelings’?????

Consider these sayings:

I was so angry I felt my head was going to EXPLODE

I was so hurt I felt my heart was CRUSHED

I was so embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a hole and DIE

IF FEELINGS ARE JUST FEELINGS HOW IS IT THEY CAN TAKE ON SUCH POWERFUL PROPORTIONS??

Perhaps they exist from a functional core spiritual beginning to help MOVE US toward getting our heart’s needs

met?

Its about seeking an internal balance between what I feel and how it influences my conscious experience of life.

• Angry
• Glad
• Sadness
• Hurt
• Guilt
• Shame
• Fear
• Loneliness

Other “Feelings” like frustrated, excited, confused etc has some element of these 8 PURE feelings at their core.

To be connected to myself is to be connected to my heart.. You then possess a higher level of emotional physical integration. You will have not just a certain IQ… but possess a more functional EQ Emotional Quotient

To know the truth about how I feel and to, on occasion, be vulnerable enough to share it..

So what about the beauty of Relationships??

How is it conceivable to optimize and answer the paradox of Spiritual and Emotional

Independence

Interdependence

Connection

Think of this:

Your Needs and the Spiritual Root System

We’re all currently on a trajectory to live a certain number of years.

How can we engineer a way to enhance that trajectory and optimize the quality and number of  years.

This popular lecture at MIT by Peter Attia MD covers the topic

Longevity

The interplay of

1. Lifespan
2. Healthspan

• Objectives.. Longevity and quality of life
• Tactics..what you can control to achieve goals
• Strategy..

Can we live better AND longer??

Healthspan.. 4 features

1. MIND..COGNITION!

Executive Function..

Processing speed

Short term memory

2. BODY

Maintenance of Muscle Mass

Functional movement: ability to Squat and Rise[hip hinge]

Freedom from Pain

3. Methods to Enhance distress tolerance..tools to cope w emotional and physical pain

4. Sense of Purpose and Social support