A Brief History of Money

[Some of these links were not properly transferred to this page. I will be updating this article with fresh links very soon... As well, I'm taking an anthropology course that deals with our origins so I will likely write an entirely new essay. (April 2016)]

            Based upon modern understanding of the Neolithic Age, during the period of approximately 12,000- to 5,000-years ago, Humans lived in mostly egalitarian societies with no stratification or hierarchy at all. Archaeological evidence dating from this time suggests that Humans had developed a profound respect for the Earth, the Sun, and the stars. To show this respect for these various objects, our ancient ancestors began creating many different forms of art including paintings, pottery, statues, elaborate burial chambers and even structures that were utilized to observe astronomical phenomena throughout the solar cycle, such as Stonehenge and the pyramids in and around Egypt. In order to explain these phenomena, a series of allegorical myths were created to anthropomorphize, or personify, the apparent movements of the Sun, the Moon and the stars through the sky. This expansion of literary and artistic expression corresponded with and was perhaps directly influenced by a steady increase in technical understanding and capabilities. Before this new Age, hunter-gathers used predominately stone tools. This was known as the “old” Stone Age, or Paleolithic Age. Thus, the term Neolithic can be broken into ‘neo-‘ from the Greek neos, meaning “new” or “recent”, and ‘lithic’ from the Greek lithikos, meaning “stone”. ‘The Neolithic Age’ translates to ‘the New Stone Age’ and represents the third and most recent prehistoric phase of the Stone Age—a period that began approximately 2.5-million years ago. When the Neolithic Age began, Earth was transitioning out of what is known as the Pleistocene Epoch and running its natural cycle of global temperature shifts; the warmer of which we are still in to this day. However, not only was the Earth transitioning to a new geological epoch—the Holocene Era—Humans, too, were evolving both physically and intellectually. Genetically-proven migration evidence from anthropologists, such as Dr. Spencer Wells, suggests that the Neolithic Age represents a monumental shift in the evolutionary processes of the Human species. Not only was this highly influential to the ancients’ ways of thinking, but also proved critical from a biological standpoint. 

Around 40,000 years after the first group of Humans migrated out of South Africa, where Paleolithic to Mesolithic hunter-gatherers subsisted on a diet of mainly wild animal proteins with some vegetation, the new agricultural methods being developed through advancements in technology enabled Neolithic communities to produce and distribute an abundance of an increasing range of domesticated plants and animals; thus, leading to a new diet largely consisting of vegetation with far fewer animal proteins. Then, around 7,000 years ago the climatic change mentioned earlier occurred and specifically turned most of Egypt into desert, except for the area lining the River Nile. It was along this river where agricultural methods were honed and a relatively rapid expansion occurred in the development of Egyptian artistry, architecture, language, technology, mathematics and science. Ultimately, due to the newly realized ability to create abundance of agriculture, hierarchical social structures began to flourish, laying the foundation for the Bronze Age. As technical capabilities and understanding increased rapidly, a system of exchange eventually manifested known as bartering. (It is important to quickly note that practically all of the information regarding the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and some of the Neolithic Ages has been interpolated due to the lack of written historical records. However, nearly all of this information can be firmly supported by the many archaeological, biological and geological studies conducted over the past century as well as by comparisons of modern hunter-gatherer tribes around the world.) Now, you may be thinking, ‘Hey, thanks for the Anthropology 101 lesson, but what does all this have to do with money?’ Well, before we get into money, let’s talk about barter.

            Barter is the “direct exchange of goods or services without the use of money or any other intervening medium of exchange.” Early bartering consisted of the exchange of various forms of livestock; all of which were generally known as “chattel”. Although bartering still exists all over the world, as the Bronze Age progressed and metallurgy became more refined, the third major transitional phase in Human understanding of technology eventually cultivated the Iron Age in and around 1,200 B.C.E., and bartering essentially became outmoded. The first coins are attributed to Croesus of Lydia whom reigned from around 560-545 B.C.E., conquered the Greeks and was later overthrown by the Persians. This single development of coinage planted the seed that would eventually grow into one of the most corrupt systems ever created by our species—one that has literally been subjugating the Human population for the past two millennia. Of course, many other institutions materialized during this climatic and culturally evolutionary period of time including the fifteen astro-theological religions predating the Judeo-Christian/Pagan belief system, as well as the master/slave political, societal and governmental ideologies that had a profound influence on Humankind’s progression ever since. However, the number of topics pertaining to this particular period of time are far too numerous for a single blog entry. But, it should be noted that from the conception of coinage up until the 1600s, a large portion of written history indicates only minor changes in the coinage process other than the fact that counterfeiting had been replete ever since and that the decimations of entire populations almost always were ‘justified’ by at least three rationalizations: 1. Religious expansion through mass indoctrination; 2. Resource extraction; and, 3. Slavery. Furthermore, these topics would take an extraordinary amount of time to expound and would more than likely constitute an entirely new series of books for each. Therefore, we will jump ahead from this period of the mid-6^th Century B.C.E. in Anatolia to the early-17^th Century C.E in what was considered one of the largest and most prosperous cities in all of Europe—Amsterdam.

With goals to constrict taxation powers of mints, to adequately cope with the massive influx of foreign coinage, and also to safeguard depositors against currency debasement, the city of Amsterdam established the Amsterdamshe Wisselbank (Bank of Amsterdam). The bank essentially provided a center for currency exchange and replaced the private cashiers that were issuing currency with no guarantee of coin quality or value. Bank Money, as it was called, was then created by the bank through bookkeeping alone. This Bank Money was represented by a simple credit (deposit) receipt, guaranteed by the bank in silver, and, in turn, was “traded” with depositors for their physical coin currency. The bank became very popular around Europe because, as the nominal values on the many different coins coming into the bank varied immensely, the value of the Bank Money remained fixed in accordance with minting standards and was actually worth more than physical coinage. Furthermore, the city banned cashiers while the bank offered free giro, or free transfer payments from one account (the payer) to another (the payee), and also required debtors to settle all bills worth 600 guilders through the Bank of Amsterdam. While the bank profited solely from withdrawal and money changing fees, it successfully created a municipal monopoly of banking and served as merely a catalyst for what was soon to come.

            In the century before the Bank of Amsterdam, goldsmith-bankers had begun trading receipts for gold deposits, loans and transfer funds. This was perhaps the basis for the bank established by the city of Amsterdam. These receipts, known as “running cash notes”, were filled out in the name of the depositor and had a payment on demand promise just like the Bank Money. However, in the 80 years after the establishment of this institution, many problems, such as debasement of coin currency, were actually created and compounded by the fact that two different coins, the rixdollar₂ and the patagon₂, were essentially battling for dominance of value  between ‘the market’ outside the bank, and the deposits within the bank itself. In 1638, the rixdollar became obsolete and in 1645, the city allowed the bank to lower the value of the patagon. This, however, did not alleviate the problem because there were still two different values maintained—the market value and the bank deposit value. Then, in 1659, the patagon was replaced by the dukaat and by 1681 two new coins, the daalder and the guilder, were introduced to the Republic. Two years later, a new receipt system was put into practice. A receipt represented an option to withdrawal the particular type of coin associated with the receipt; however, soon after, this method was used as a divisionary tool to be used to pry the coins of real value out of the peoples’ hands and create a barrier so that coins could no longer be extracted from the bank without a receipt. This idea was the precursor for the founding of the most pervasive system of money creation the world has ever known.

            Throughout the 1600s, England was engaged in a number of different wars with the French, Spanish and Dutch. In addition to wealth and power, these wars seem to have revolved around a central issue—religion. But, we will focus on the financial aspect.  (As an aside, however, it is worth mentioning that in 1606 King James I of England granted the Jamestown Charter to the Virginia Company. This charter would establish a municipal corporation in the Chesapeake area in North America and in 1607 the first group of Virginia Company explorers, led by the famous Captain John Smith, landed on Jamestown Island. Later, in 1624, the King declared Jamestown, and thus Virginia, a crown colony due to the settlers’ “failures of security from the Natives.” In around 1650, the money changers had profited so much due to funding Oliver Cromwell’s rebellion against King Charles I, a portion of land known as the ‘City of London’ was incorporated. And finally, Isaac Newton, the famed founder of Classical Mechanics and co-founder of Calculus, became Master of the Royal Mint in 1699. In this role, Newton implemented an idea to quell counterfeiting; a method which is still used today when minting coins: milled edges.) Now—by 1693, with wars still raging on and the government owing around £3-million, England was in a state of financial turmoil. English merchants were finding it nearly impossible to transport goods without their ships being raided or destroyed. Unwilling to resort to heavy taxation, King William III of England decided to search for another way to satisfy his and all future debts. A permanent ‘National Debt’ was created in 1693 when a man named William Paterson proposed a plan for private investors to essentially become incorporated as the Bank of England and loan the government whatever money it needed. This plan was approved by King William III in July of 1694 by the Royal Charter and within a matter of weeks the first loan of £1.2-million was made. Functioning as both a commercial bank and a new loan agency that would finance the government, the Bank of England quickly grew and soon after began issuing bank notes, much like the Bank Money in Amsterdam, in exchange for any deposits. As a for-profit corporation, from the outset this bank utilized a method of loaning out more promissory notes than could be satisfied by the deposits it held in its vaults. Known as Fractional Reserve Banking, this process would not be detailed in any publication until over two and a half centuries later.

            During the 18^th Century, this Fractional Reserve process expanded rapidly as the government of England continued to borrow more and more money from the bank. Meanwhile, in 1743 at Frankfurt, Germany, a counting house was opened by a goldsmith whose family would grow to become the wealthiest, most powerful family on Earth: Amshall Moses Bower. Above the door of his coin shop, Bower hung a red shield with a Roman eagle. The business became known as the ‘Red Shield Firm’, or ‘Rothschild’ in German. After inheriting the business, Bower’s son Mayer Amshel changed his last name to Rothschild. Soon after, Rothschild realized that while money changing fees and loaning to the public was quite profitable, loaning to kings and governments proved much more lucrative. Back in England, the national debt was soaring into the hundreds of millions of pounds while Parliament began passing a number of acts geared at taxing the British colonies in the New World. And, when asked by the Bank of England in 1763 how the North American Colonies could account for such prosperity, Benjamin Franklin replied,

“That is simple. In the Colonies we issue our own money. It is called Colonial Scrip. We issue it in proper proportion to the demands of trade and industry to make the products pass easily from the producers to the consumers. In this manner, creating for ourselves our own paper money, we control its purchasing power, and we have no interest to pay no one."

            The Colonial Scrip had no gold or silver to back the value and was only printed to regulate trade; not to generate profit. As this was not the plan or prerogative of the Bank of England, Parliament passed the Currency Act in 1764 which banned all forms of paper currency as legal tender in the Colonies. Later that same year, the Sugar Act was passed and was used exclusively for revenue accumulation by expanding the list of taxable imports. (Another extremely important aspect of this Act was the fact that it shifted smuggling cases from courts of Common Law to Admiralty courts—which would essentially lay the groundwork for our present-day Birth Certificate Bond that is traded on the stock exchange. But, don’t take my word for it. Do the research.)

Back to the 18^th Century: Along with the various Parliamentary Acts making their way to the colonies in 1764, a brand new edition of John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government was released there as well. This book, published originally in 1690, laid the foundation for modern ‘capitalism’—whatever that means—and set the stage for the corruption-generating ideology known as private property. Basically, Locke stated three requirements for this system to function properly, 1. There must enough resources left over for everyone else; 2. We must not let the resources spoil; and 3. Labor must mix with the resources in order to establish value. Interestingly, Two Treatises on Government was widely read throughout the colonies on the eve of the Revolution and was the basis for the famous phrase coined by protestors of Parliament at the time, “No taxation without representation.”  A year later, in 1765, The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament in another attempt to relieve some of the debt building from the many wars England had been and was still engaged in. The colonies responded with mass protests and refusals by shopkeepers to sell British imports; igniting a fury within the colonists that eventually led to the founding of a group that is virtually synonymous with the Revolution: The Sons of Liberty. Lasting only a year, Parliament repealed The Stamp Act in 1766 in response to both the violent protests as well as the many newspaper articles written by proponents of The Sons of Liberty; most of which owned the very same newspaper, stamp, book and document printing companies that were being heavily taxed. However, Parliament immediately responded by passing The Declaratory Act, which announced the continued authority of Parliament and the Crown over the Colonies. Just one year later, after King George III of Hanover took the throne, Parliament began passing a new series of acts that would burden the British colonies with even more taxes from across the ocean. The Townshend Acts, as they were known, were initiated by The Revenue Act in 1767, which granted any British authority, operating under the crown, the right to enter any private residence, break locks and doors, search anywhere and seize any ‘prohibited’ or ‘uncustomed’ goods or merchandise. This, of course, resulted in another Non-importation agreement in 1768. An article written by the founder of The Sons of Liberty, Samuel Adams, known as the Circular Letter was distributed throughout the Colonies in order to raise awareness of the over-reaching hand of Parliament. And as tensions grew over the next two years between Parliament and the Colonies, the fuel finally ignited in what would become known as The Boston Massacre—where British troops opened fire on a crowd of Colonists, killing five. This incident has been cited as the catalyst for the American Revolution; however, if we take an objective step back and examine the overall causes for the Revolution, we will see that the financial aspect is surely the most prominent.

Following the Boston Tea Party in 1773, the First Continental Congress in 1774 and the beginning of Second Continental Congress in 1775, it became strikingly clear to the Colonists that the only viable option to break the stranglehold Parliament and the Crown had on them was to officially declare independence—even if it meant going to war. Unfortunately, no one seemed to notice those that were profiting most from this constant shift of currency—the banks; specifically, the Bank of England. Then, in February of 1776, Thomas Paine, an unwritten Founding Father of the United States, published a book that sparked in the minds of the Colonists a sense of urgent necessity to end the tyrannical control of Great Britain. The very next month, Adam Smith published the nearly thousand-page critique on government intervention of economics, entitled The Wealth of Nations. Essentially, Smith expanded upon John Locke’s idea of economics by introducing the famous ‘Invisible Hand’ theory. (I can’t help but chuckle every single time I say that phrase: ‘Invisible Hand of the Market’.) In any case, one thing is clear: neither of these political/economic philosophers took into account the fact that we live on a finite planet with finite resources. Instead, an infinite growth paradigm was created which did not stop Thomas Jefferson from basing almost the entire Declaration of Independence on Lockean ideology. Hence, bringing all of this information together, we can see once again that it seems as though financial attributes—specifically, taxes—had the greatest influence on what sparked the Revolution. So, finally, on July 4^th, 1776, a month after Richard Henry Lee proposed a Resolution in Congress that called for independence, Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was unanimously enacted by the Second Continental Congress at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia.  In November of 1777, Congress enacted the Articles of Confederation, which established a loose union of the several sovereign States. Meanwhile in England, amidst the political turmoil, the first Industrial Revolution was in full swing as technical advancements had begun a trend of exponential growth—initiated by such ubiquitous figures as James Watt and Eli Whitney. This is an important aspect of this period of time to point out; as it is during this Industrial Revolution that, if those in the financial and/or technical fields would have taken a giant step back and taken an objective look at the trends, we as a species could have begun the process of replacing Human labor with machine automation to create a higher standard of living for everyone on the planet. Obviously, this was not the case and ever since, along with an exponential expansion in technological advancements, abuse of technological advancements has also grown exponentially…

Over the course of the next 10 years, the experimental confederacy was evaluated heavily and in 1787 delegates attending the Constitutional Convention wrote and proposed a Constitution for the United States of America. Essentially, this document is corporate in nature and quite literally lays out the structure of the new corporation that would take on the epithet ‘Government’. If you read through the various terminology presented throughout, keeping in mind that most of the men who outlined the provisions of this new union were slave-owning businessmen and/or lawyers educated mostly in English Law, it will soon become apparent that indeed, this document was in fact written for the sole purpose of establishing a structure for an entity to function as a parent corporation to all other corporations. In order to rally support from the general population for the new Constitution, and thus new Federal Government, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and James Madison began publishing a series of papers under the name “Publius” in October 1787 that explained the influences, necessity and details of the new Constitution. Known as The Federalist Papers, these publications contributed greatly over the next seven months to bringing mass awareness to the colonies and in June of 1788, 9 states ratified the Constitution; a sufficient majority for it to officially become the ‘Law of the Land.’

A Word of Advice

    Once again, a few weeks ago I found myself sifting through the nonsense people love to regurgitate on Facebook fan pages, or anywhere on the Internet for that matter. This particular post was in response to another wonderful discussion on the United States of America Facebook Fan Page entitled “What makes America so shit?” which garnered more responses than nearly every other post on the entire page. Taking that into account, it really needs no further introduction:

     All of you should consider actually learning the English language and utilizing it appropriately in your arguments. Perhaps then those arguments would have some proportionable weight in structure and content to the level of grammar used. It is hysterical at first to see not a single person grammatically correct in his or her writing. In the end, however, it is really just sad to realize that exactly what we are all doing here and now is the very culprit in practically dismantling entirely the fundamental building blocks of credible argumentative essays--a strong thesis, verifiable supporting data, proper sentence structure and appropriate punctuation. When the age of 'Internet-Ready Everything' dawned nearly a decade ago, texting and instant messaging immediately grew to become the ultimate source of acronyms and laziness in writing. But that is alright because here in the United States, you can go and get a star-spangled quality education at an affordable cost. There's just one little catch--you can't. Unless you are rich the cost of that quality education is so far out of your income range that it is just easier to stay stupid. And if anybody wants to get a loan, it becomes nearly impossible. Instead of basing the qualification to receive loans for education on the desire alone to attend school, it has become subject to the ever-changing, little, imaginary number called a credit score--a number which changes at the whim of credit card companies; the same ones that charge you 30% or more interest on your balance. Not a problem because that is what the purpose of life is: to focus all of our time and energy to the embellishment of the monetary system. (I hope that none of you agreed with that last sentence because it was clearly sarcasm.) But, it's okay because you still have a great Health plan. Oh, that's right--you don't. Unless you are rich or in government, good luck getting approval from an insurance company for a surgical procedure that could save your life because your illness is deemed "pre-existing" or some other invidious circumstance in place to maximize profits by saving money. Don't worry; at least you will still have a house to live in until you do die--uh oh.

     It was asked in the title of this post, "Why is America so shit?" I don't think that the United States is shit; yet. Slowly but surely, however, morons like G.W., Sarah Palin, the tea baggers and many, many more ignorant, arrogant douches are proudly wadding this country up in Charmin and flushing it down the toilet. George W. Bush is a sinker, along with the rest of the Sesame Street Administration; Palin is a floater just like the ice up there in Alaska; and the tea party is just a bunch of inbetweeners--you know, the ones that touch the bottom yet stick out of the water a little. All of this is happening, though, because people love so much to have opinions in this country, even if those opinions are unfounded, incredible or just plain ignorant. (Granted, this is a very opinionated post, but these opinions are based on obvious facts, research and observation of the painful truths here in the U.S. and are mostly intended in this particular as dry humor.) My favorite incredible claim is that the United States is the best damn country in the whole wide world. But, that's just fine because you can always start a reality show about how great your life is. There's just one problem: it’s not. Anyways, you won't because you are too lazy and will not stop spouting about how great this country is one instant, then just as obstacles arise the next, what a piece of shit this country is. The Constitution of the United States of America, however twisted and backward the government has become, guarantees you the freedoms to say and do what you want and grants you the privilege/right to be a citizen. And even that has changed a bit due to the Patriot Act. But, as I am sure there are only a few of you that have actually read the Constitution (four pages is just so much to have to read, I know), I am almost certain that none of you have read the 342-page Patriot Act which actually does abridge some of your rights and freedoms, especially those in Amendment V.

     Honestly, I could go on all day. But that is not my purpose in posting here today. What I am doing is challenging each and every one of you to better yourself; better your understanding of the world; and to learn how to write effectively. Don’t just act like your opinion is supposed to be of such prominent importance and strong subject matter when in fact the only place you are probably posting your grammatically incorrect discourse is here; on a Facebook fan page. Do some type of research and learn how to spell. And to those who will undoubtedly rebuttal with some sort of “I’m so patriotic!” garbage or "You're an asshole!"—you are exactly who I am talking about so get over yourself. Grow up people and do something beneficial to the whole of society. Life does not revolve around being a citizen of the United States of America. Don’t just sit here and whine about things because you can; that just makes things worse. If you want to truly get involved, learn about your government and ways to interact with that government before deciding to boast about your wonderful opinions. Then, actually do something. Bitching about anything and everything, neglecting to advance ideas on the betterment of anything and everything, is exactly what makes people all around the world look at the U.S. and laugh. (Do not twist my words with some sad excuse for a remark against what I just wrote. I did not say that everyone around the world laughs at us. Many people love the United States and move here because of our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms that so many of us take for granted on a daily basis; but, many people also despise the United States because of narrow-mindedness as well as arrogance and want us gone.) Perhaps I will be proven correct within a few of the following posts…

Freedom and Security

     Benjamin Franklin, in 1755, wrote, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” These powerful words resonate deafeningly 254 years later as we find ourselves at the discretion of Legislature alarmingly paralleled to that which Franklin was writing of. We remain, as if by choice, completely oblivious to the fact that the USA Patriot Act—you know, that wonderful, surreptitious document which was passed without a hint of scrutiny—practically nullified the First Amendment Rights, which are guaranteed to Citizens in the Constitution of the United States, on the grounds of what are known as “suspected terrorist activities.” In fact, it is well known and documented that the National Security Agency conducted illegal operations that included warrantless searches, neglect of habeas corpus as well as the entire Constitution, and even went so far as to torture suspected terrorists, United States Citizens included, for information regarding terrorist organizations these alleged “terrorists” may or may not have known. The worst part of all is we, the U.S. Citizens, seem totally uninterested in repealing this bill that cracks the very foundation on which our Government was built: the Constitution of the United States. Instead, the center of focus has gone through a paradigm shift from unwavering scrutiny of the Government, as the Founders believed, to blatant disregard of Government, as modernization of society takes a subliminal turn for the worse.

   Propaganda, introduced to the general public by corporate conglomerations monopolizing practically all media outlets, makes it virtually impossible to sift through the mound of monetarily-influenced, biased news to find facts about these issues. Thanks to deregulation, corporations are in a virtual free-for-all with regards to mergers and takeovers. Ever wonder why different news stations in the United States cover the same stories at the same time; taking commercial breaks at almost the same time; playing the same commercials geared toward the same groups of people? We have become so numb by the massive influx of Everything Inc. that we will stand by and convert to slaves of an economic system bound for a state of perpetual disenfranchisement rather than take responsibility and exercise our Civic duties as Citizens to influence public policy for the common good; the public good—not for the good of only a select few. Wealth and Power of that magnitude always has and inevitably always will journey to the threshold of despotism. The United States is proudly holding the keys with hand on the doorknob; turning. The door opens and…

Irons in the Fire

     I envision a future in which the terms classified and top secret have no meaning; one in which unwavering social relations exist worldwide in the form of a United Federation that governs globally in a strictly non-classified fashion, and wars between separate nations are known only in history books. The United Federation umbrellas the once-separate nations (States) with a purpose that serves to promote unbiased education for absolutely every single person worldwide; to provide global services such as communication networks, green transportation, green energy, water, and emergency relief; to ensure the finest health care is provided to every single Citizen worldwide, unconditionally and to secure Human and Civil Rights and Liberties, Animal Rights and environmental protection in addition to overall well-being through positive intellectual and technological progression.

     The Federation Code Alliance (FCA)—elected officials from each state—comprises the Federation Code making (Legislative) body of the Federation. To form a government that truly represents the interests of all Citizens, every party has a seat guaranteed by Federation Code. There are no presidents or prime ministers because, logically, no single person should be granted power to make decisions on behalf of the entire world. Instead, through a global public election, a Federation Council will be the established Authority of the Executive branch, consiting of one representative from each populated continent, but shall not be limited to already-elected officials of the FCA. Nor shall limits with regard to race, creed, color or political party be placed on Citizens' rights to candidacy. The only restrictions require Citizens running for a Council position to have attained the age of thirty, have a two-thirds majority consent of FCA members, and must procure a fifty-one percent approval by a global vote. Maintained as a measure to prevent corruption, this gives Citizens immediate access to being a critical part of government. As for the Judicial branch, the Global Prevailing Court (GPC) takes precedence in the United Federation. A State Prevailing Court (SPC) will have jurisdiction in each State, unless the GPC finds that any SPC acts against Federation Code. In such a case, the GPC takes full authority and holds a hearing to determine whether any actions taken by SPCs were in violation of Federation Code.

     The United Federation Peace Corps (UFPC) takes the place of military and establishes an umbrella Department of Code Enforcement (DCE) that promotes peace through logical reasoning under the direct supervision of the Federation Council. Under the DCE umbrella, states retain strictly provisioned autonomy through a States’ Council congruent with Federation Code and provide Code interpretation designed to be an effective crime-prevention system. State autonomy is also for census and other limited purposes that include residency and drivers’ licenses. Code enforcement at States’ level is the duty of UFPC officers stationed at DEC locations throughout each State. These Departments are dutied with training and promoting County and City UFPC officers.

     The monetary system, which is probably the largest inhibitor of worldwide unification, is abolished, eliminating greed, power and class structure, and a system of reasoning that accelerates the advancement of society through logic and creative encouragement is adopted. It is understood that there is no separation of class; for, we all belong to the Human class. The Human class no longer views employment as a means for monetary gain. Jobs such as bankers, loan agents, real-estate agents, other powerhouse corporate structures, etc., no longer exist in the way that we once knew. People work simply for the collective benefit of society. With no monetary system or class structure, “success” is briefly measured by how beneficial a person has been to the positive progression of society. Encouragement prevails in terms of success. People worldwide become inevitably beneficial due to constant encouragement of others to become more beneficial. As a result, eventually every person in the world becomes a success and the term is no longer used as a staple of society. (But even if the monetary system is not altogether dissolved, which will probably be the case, all of the separate monetary systems of our world will have to coalesce into a singular unit. Implementing this solitary idea quite possibly could be the end-all to wars, separation of nations, and the notion that "money makes the world go around." It could perhaps sound the beginning of this proposed future of unity and advancement.)

     The educational system becomes the cornerstone of society. Teachers are the societal backbone in that they provide detailed understanding through specialized curriculum geared at encouragement by means of a totally constructive support system. This system administers a carefully designed balance of recreational activities, such as athletics that promote critical thinking, exercise and overall well-being, and an intellectually intensive, positively reinforced system of teaching that is an integration of state-of-the-art technology and Human instructors. Students are urged to perform at a pace they find most comfortable while setting goals to constantly improve. Curriculum is based on creative encouragement, music, language, science, mathematics, technology, communication and history and provides a clear understanding of Federation Code. Religions, and the histories, interpretations and applications of, are taught unambiguously and objectively, not portrayed as conformities to which we must subject ourselves in order to fulfill conflicting ideas of creation, life, death and afterlife.

     Technology is no longer abused for destructive purposes or control. We strive for the most discerning understanding of the fundamental structures of the universe; from quantum mechanics, the study of sub-atomic particles, to cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole; from preventive medicine to the most state-of-the-art life-saving medical technology; from sustainable energy to environmental protection and beyond. This allows us to provide evidence for, or disprove, the existence of other forms of life elsewhere in the universe, improve health and life expectancy of Humans, and enables us to advance intellectually as a societal whole with absolute regard for the environment. It might even permit our contacting other life forms if they just so happen to be intelligent, as we so arrogantly define ourselves as. Technology inevitably leads us to answers for questions concerning existence, hyperspace, time travel, intergalactic travel and parallel universes with experimental data to confirm theories on such matters. With this framework in place, both technological and intellectual progressions happen simultaneously. Technological progression now takes place for global societal benefits only, now that money is no longer a factor.

     Is it possible to coordinate such a vast undertaking? Can people really let go of the concept of money without failing economically? Why not? The power of togetherness has proven to be quite influential in terms of making realizations out of dreams. Such challenges should be met with optimistic envisioning and conviction. An extremely comprehensive undertaking is required to present such large, drastic economic and governmental revisions to a population of nearly seven billion. It begins with global assimilation under the FCA. This will introduce technological and intellectual opportunities to impoverished areas of the world that UFPC officers systematically free from the influence of tyranny, oppression and human trafficking. The FCA will build a clearly understandable foundation of logical guidelines through reasoning and constructive debate. It will provide assistance to the immediate facilitation of teachers and doctors, in addition to all necessary supplies, to less advanced parts of the globe. Environmental protection and sustainability also become top priority, as a plan to eliminate usage of at least fifty percent of all fossil fuels by 2015 is implemented. With such a large number of proven and proposed “alternative” energy sources already at our disposal, what is stopping us from a full integration into the power grid? Imagine the carbon emission savings within only the first year. Virtually all possible environmental crises can be diverted simply by taking advantage of these shrinking windows of opportunity. The technologies to harness nearly free energy already exist and innovations can only mean that more energy is on its way. So what exactly are we waiting for?

     The bottom line is that we have the means and ability to look beyond race, creed, color and even government, if necessary, and Unite as a societal whole for the Cause of Global Advancement. No matter how much we say that there is not enough time in one day; no matter how wrapped up in the distractions of modernization we become, one thing must never be forgotten--that we must have the time to stop and think about life and how fortunate we are in comparison to a large portion of people around the globe that literally starve to death, are forced into slavery, and stripped of all Civil Rights and Liberties by tyrants. These are Human Beings. Can anyone really say that they do not have time to think about the influence that we all could have if we could truly become Unified? When I look into the mirror, what I see is a product of an incomprehensibly long chain of cosmic events that somehow led to me standing there looking at myself, wondering, "Why am I standing here?" My mind sort of soars off to journey through the Realm of Possiblities. Then I realize something: the very reason that I am able to comprehend or even establish that insight is Education and that all too often taken for granted, easy access to information called the Internet. The action necessary to achieve such a visionary future rests with Education through either one of these means and is in no way limited to only the two. For it is Education, in any positive form, that will put an end to tyranny and oppresion; Education that will give people the ability to have a voice; Education that will propel us into a future of Unity, Freedom and Peace; and Education that ensures this future is both attained and retained by our Posterity. It is critical for the Human race to come together in Unity for advancement. So let us rise together and settle for nothing less.

On the Government and Health of Citizens

     It has become deeply unsettling to be in an age of such exponential, technological advancement; yet bear witness to the failures of the United States government—one of the world’s "superpowers", nonetheless—to uphold the distinct responsibilities explicitly established in the preamble of its Constitution—and I quote, “provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare….” Somehow this has been severely misconstrued into what seems to be only, “provide for defense.” Currently, not one, but two wars are raging on draining literally trillions of tax payer dollars into campaigns—which began with former President G.W. Bush in what can only be described as an apparent attempt at world domination of the oil industry—that are highly ridiculed and globally disapproved of; wars that, if President Barak Obama is truly deserving of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, he will surely pull American forces out of by the end of 2009, not send in tens of thousands more. In the midst of these wars, the climate crisis, an economic meltdown, and a spiraling-out-of-control, private health care sector, President Obama has yet to take an unyielding stand for the latter; something which was one of his campaign’s fundamental bases—universal health care.

     Today, the American people anxiously await as Congress “debates” what the best health care plan action is, which apparently has yet to be named, that should be implemented in our modern, industrialized, and highly disproportionate, capitalist economy. Meanwhile, the outcomes of millions of lives that could benefit and possibly be saved hang in the balance. By the passage of collectively composed legislature, in this case meaning by the consent of Congress and the general public, we would more than likely reach a resolution to enact some form of “Universal” health care—essentially free health care provided to citizens that cannot pay, by the government, at the not necessarily large expense of tax payers; the same tax payers that in the end could benefit from such implementation. Strangely enough, President Obama even said that there would be a new era of openness between Government and the general public. “Transparency and the rule of Law will be the touchstones of this presidency…,” he stated in his White House staff address on January 21st, 2009. After all, the citizens that comprise the general public are the ones affected by such legislature and should have an equal say in and, at the very least, have access to witness policy making decisions that affect the general welfare of the general public. Yet, Congress continues unabated to write legislation behind closed doors, undermining the authority of people to be the ultimate decision makers in the way a republican democracy is run. The United States government apparently has interpreted its responsibility of promoting the general welfare to mean that it will undoubtedly have all of the answers to health care concerns without consideration of public opinion or even its consent. The bottom line is this: if a government of any kind shall neglect to acknowledge the importance of and provide for the well-being, health and education of its citizens—allowing the denial of life saving treatments for profit and cutting funding for schools across the country—it becomes the epitome of failure. And of course, history would tell us that all signs point to the seeds of tyranny.

     So what exactly is it that dissuades our government from opening these doors of secrecy? We know that the Founders had little faith in the general public being a part of the new government and distrusted them with governmental responsibilities; hence, they established the Electoral College to be the deciding body in the presidential election. They even distrusted government itself and so established a system of checks and balances to prevent one section of government from interfering with the affairs of others. But it is 2009, and we now find ourselves at the whim of another two-sided distrust in our government—one that shrouds itself in concealment with smoke and mirrors! Trying to get a congressional representative or even a presidential candidate to answer a simple yes or no question these days leads to a seemingly endless tangent of topics that have no relevance, leaving us confused and scratching our heads about the wild goose chase we had just part taken in only to come up empty-handed. And if statistics are presented then the most common response is, “Well, I don’t think I would trust those particular figures,” or something to that extent. The fact that the health care bill is being forged behind closed doors not with the general public, but with private insurance representatives, should be the ultimate wake-up call to the American people. The problem is that it could spell disaster for private insurance companies that profit millions of dollars for the denial of potentially life-saving treatments on the grounds of what they call, “pre-existing illnesses.” Since when did profit take precedence over people? And can anything really be blamed on the media?

    Unbiased news is seemingly a thing of the past, which makes it difficult to make informed decisions based on the information we receive from the most popular so-called news organizations. Somewhere along the way, objective reporting has taken a backseat to presenting it first, with total disregard of source credibility. However, we can take information from many different sources with the global reach of the Internet, gaining knowledge and becoming “informed” along the way, and make decisions based on our own fact-checking and source credibility. A good start would be The Constitution of the United States. Blaming the media is one thing, but trying to silence any media of any kind no matter what the allegations before publishing and distributing news is unconstitutional. Remember that Amendment I ensures our right to freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion. That being said, we the people can take a look at and learn from the history of the health care industry (along with many, many others) and find in it the faults that led to this far-too-drawn-out legislative ordeal. From this data we can, and this is constitutionally protected in Article V, collectively organize an assembly to write our own amendment that guarantees health care. “Whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution….” But that is not the only case which amendments can be proposed. The Constitution continues with, “or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments….” If three-fourths of the several states or three-fourths of the, “Conventions in three-fourths thereof,” concur then the amendment, again I quote, “shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution.” If this has to come down to the states proposing a new amendment to the Constitution to protect the health of more than 40 million uninsured Citizens, then what faith should we possibly have in our national government to listen up when we speak out.
     Slowly but surely our First Amendment rights are being slyly taken away from us in an attempt to “protect us”, as the government would want us to believe; and if that ever happens—a government becoming destructive of its ends—then it is the right of the people to “throw off such a government,” as Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. So why then, did we let such an insidious bill as the Patriot Act pass? If any of the people who were delusively scared into voting this plague of uncontested infringement into law would have bothered to read the Constitution, maybe they wouldn’t have been so quick to enact a law that totally undermines the very structure of our government outlined explicitly in the Articles and Amendments. We handed our rights over without even thinking about it. The question that you need to ask yourself is: was it unconstitutional? Get it. Read it. And you shall know the answer to that without equivocation.
     It may sound like a daunting task but we must find it in ourselves to become a globally unified society. All around the world stories of death, destruction, corruption and tyranny flood the airwaves and television stations alike. Where does this hostility originate from? When will it end? Is it from a lack of education? If so, then why does our government continue to cut educational funding? Maybe it is simply greed taking rank over charity. Whatever the case, it has become strikingly evident that we are at a turning point in Human Civilization. We have been around long enough to begin putting every aspect of Humankind into a global context; to see what the true power of togetherness can achieve. It is quite clear what waging war against each other results in—separation of nations and ultimately separation of society. Why not try something new, something innovative? Set an example. Why not live up to the hope that was instilled in the American people during the 2008 presidential elections? What happened to that hope, President Obama? You asked us to stand up and believe in ourselves; to believe in change. You told us to have hope. Well here we are still hoping for change only to be rewarded with the same bureaucratic nonsense that was indisputably one of the main causes of this whole economic disaster—political negligence of capitalism gone horribly awry. Earn that prize, Mr. President, and stand with us as we have stood for you. It is through you that we have channeled this hope for a better future for not only America, but global society as a whole. Do not abuse this power as so many have before you. We believe in you and deserve the same in return. Now is the time for us to build the foundation of our future together—Mr. President, Congress, Citizens of the United States and ultimately, the Citizens of Earth. Now is the time for us to stand unified in a global effort and not only promote, but sustain unwavering social relations. As John Lennon once wrote, “You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one; I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.” It is my dream that in my lifetime, we will truly dissolve our differences; blind ourselves to race, color and creed, and build a future together, globally that will insure well-being, technological and intellectual advancement for all generations to come. Together we can do this. Together we shall stand.