Death, Near and After

The older I become. The greater is my interest in this issue of Death, Near, and Thereafter. Not long ago, I read a piece on what they called after-death experiences. The trouble is that they defined “after-death” as a period after a person’s heart had stopped beating. That was their definition of “death”—the heart had stopped beating. Now to be fair, should the heart cease, never to return, death seems a likely event. Yet, I think of death slightly differently. However necessary is the heart, which causes blood to flow throughout the body, it is the brain that for me defines Life and Death. That is, should the brain cease to function, that event signals Death.  I am not informed or perhaps intelligent enough to know whether the brain might cease, but other organs, the heart say, could continue. I assume they work together as integrated mechanisms. I take it the brain needs routine flow of blood which brings oxygen, keeping the brain operational.

I understand that some people actually have had their hearts cease for some time, but then they come back. Often they report on their thoughts during that time of heart cessation, sometimes referred to as a death or after-death experience, using the heart as the defining point of life or death.  So, there are many “after-death” tales told by folks who underwent this awful experience.

Now we seem to have two kinds of “after-death” experiences. The first is that relatively brief stage where the person’s heart ceases to operate, but then comes back around and begins beating anew. During that shaky period, the brain may continue operating, even if it ceases what we might call “normal” operation. And those folks might or might not remember anything during the heart shut-down stage.  I think that many people experience thoughts during this heart shutdown, which signals to me that the brain has never completely shut down, and so, technically, the person is not “dead”, regardless of the heart malfunction.

See, I regard brain-death as the real definition of “death”. Should the brain literally cease operating, the person is (in my limited viewpoint) technically dead. And if the brain does not recover and begin operating again, the person will become permanently dead.  That makes me wonder whether there has ever been a case in which a person’s heart stopped, causing the brain to cease, and then the heart began beating again, but the brain would not begin operating? But then, I guess, how would one know the brain was not operating? Oh via electronic monitoring, huh?  Apparently, once the heart ceases to flood the body with blood, carrying oxygen, the lack of blood flow may begin causing problems, damage to various parts of the body. So, restoring blood flow as quickly as possible is key to a healthy restart of the body’s various functions.  But the real key is restoring blood flow to the brain, because the brain is the key to life.

But now we come to perhaps the main point—once the brain ceases to operate permanently, we enter that state known as “death”.  That is the period in which the person loses all awareness of life, and the rest of the body’s organs begin deteriorating.  Remember, the brain, is what defines LIFE in my view. So, without any brain, there is no LIFE.  But now we encounter this other strange phenomenon. Remember, there is no brain, ergo no awareness of anything. And that is perhaps the awful truth. Being DEAD, means you no longer are aware of anything. And, because you have no brain, you do not even know that simple fact. YOU are now gone. But, excuse me, not, you are not “GONE”.  You simple no longer exist. You, that physical entity, remains in place, but now that physical entity is as a piece of wood from a tree, a branch perhaps. 

See we adopt this fairy tale of humans taking a trip, after that brain cessation. Yeah, we move on up into the hills of heavenly clouds, so we can look down and observe our earthly friends and relatives.  But have we any evidence of such a conversion? Hmmm, well no. To my knowledge, there has never been any evidence of a person returning to life with an awareness of having looked down from the heavenly regions of outer space. So far as we know, once the brain ceases, and we cease living, there is nothing further that occurs. And we do not know that, because we no longer exist.

But because that phenomenon is so disturbing, we humans created an entire after-life existence called Heaven, oh and Hell (for the naughty amongst us).  And we created God(s) that rule over that place called Heaven (oh and let’s not forget Satan ruling over his Hell).  

Now, I have always wondered about this amazing place we invented. Just think; it gave rise to actual humans who theoretically act as the Earthly representatives of the Gods above (I guess Satan has no Earthly Buds representing him).  So, popes, priests, nuns, et al were all invented by relatively ignorant humans to provide a control system on Earth for the humans who continue to reside here as living, breathing creatures. Now, however ignorant were those folks who invented that Earthly representative system known as RELIGION, I have to admit its ultimate cleverness. I mean they invented an entire global employment system that had its own financial system (humans give them money so that they can live in peace) and a very large measure of control over those humans who continue remaining alive.  See, they retain the power to bless you, or to threaten you with that Hell place. In olden times, they could do you even more damage.

But think of it. Even now, in the 21^st Century, humans all over the globe pay respect and obeisance to the religious hierarchy of the world, as those folks continue to pretend that they KNOW God and KNOW what happens to you after you die. That afterlife thingie, you know.

Now, suppose (however unlikely) the world of humans slowly began to understand the actual likelihood of NO AFTERLIFE. That is, you die because your brain ceases operation and then it is over. NOTHING FOLLOWS. NOTHING.  If we were to actually and finally, understand that simple fact, would we simply walk away from Organized Religion?  There really would be no point any longer. And then, what would we do, having understood that simple fact of Life and Death?  Morality itself would need to be re-examined, because it would no longer have any relationship to the likelihood of an afterlife, good or bad. If we decided to be good to other humans, that decision would have to be based on simply making us feel better about ourselves. So many concepts would have to be re-examined because we would need to decide how to live based on what was good for us, while we are here. Now surely that would cause some humans to act badly to other humans (think Donald Trump) just because it might enhance their own power over other humans.  But I wonder whether we earthlings might decide to treat people well. Just because we might all like to be treated well. Who knows? I suppose there might be a slow movement of human thinking and acting in one direction or another—either towards Peace and Love and Decency, or towards the opposite. I suppose we need to think hard about that shift. Which way are humans inclined if there are no Gods and no afterlife of any kind? Hmmm, think hard and long on that proposition, folks. Our World awaits your decision.

Anger in America

I guess the central issue about Trump supporters is now resolved. I have been scratching my head, in wonderment, trying to understand why, in view of his mounting legal issues, they continue to support him. And not merely support him. They are adamant. No one else will do. As awful as he is, I thought maybe they would cotton to the Floridian, DeSantis. But no, so long as Trump is openly running for their love and adoration, they will continue heaping it upon him.

And apparently, policy issues do not enter into this equation.  Until, that is, you convert the policy issue into a Rage Factory. For example, one could understand immigration being a contentious issue, with Republicans and Democrats taking at least modestly different positions. I mean, all Americans are a product of immigrants entering America, right? So, we might all understand that immigration is a desirable fact of life in our world, but that it needs to be controlled.  But, No, it isn’t that simple. Turns out, if you talk to a Trumpie, Immigrants from the South (you know, different languages, maybe even different skin color) are invading our poor country, raping our young women, and committing most of the violent crime we experience.  Yeah, you didn’t know that did you? So the Trumpies are pissed and want us to install razor wire at our border, shove them all back into the water, and shoot them if they insist on trying to come in.  And it’s all the fault of the Dems and their senile old leader, you know, Joe the Elder.

And then there is that nasty inflation thingie. We apparently had no inflation until Biden came into office.  And then, the price of beer doubled. And gasoline??? Well, who can afford to drive their car any longer? And we know, it’s all those stupid Dems. Prices are always stable under republicans and Trump simply refuses to let those cranky businessmen raise their prices.

So, then the Dems rigged the last election, using fake ballots, and stole the Presidency from The Donald. I mean, everyone knows Trump actually won, RIGHT??? But those GD Dems subverted the entire election to get Trump out of office. But then, even worse, they “siced” all their legal lapdogs on him, and began bringing fake charges against him, to keep him from regaining his rightful office claims. So, now he faces dozens of fake indictments, and tons of financial charges by women who made up stories about him.

And that January 6^th Thingie at the Capitol?? Well, we had a bunch of innocent folks who came to Washington to applaud Trump and to encourage him to stay on. They visited the Capitol quite peacefully, like good tourists, but again the Dems turned it into a small War, by using their own rioters to pretend to be Trumpies. That whole thing was like a fake movie plot made up by the Dems.

And the crap goes on. We good, honest, republican supporters just want to get on with our lives and go to work to support our families. But those Dems don’t work like that. They are trying to steal yet another election. Only this time, we will not let that happen. Trump is our MAN and we want him to regain authority and return this Nation back into its rightful status as a home for good Christian-Republican values. 

So, there it is folks. Yep, that’s why they’re angry, and they ain’t gonna take it any longer. And we (the rest of America) need to understand that America is going to change, one way or another after this next election.  And we need to think about how it should change. So ready yourselves folks. There’s an election coming up soon. Prepare yourselves.  And remember, You the People are the ones who determine what will happen. And kindly remember also, that however much we blame Trump for awful things, he could do none of those things if the American People were not supporting him. HE is a reflection of the America people. So, vote your consciences, but always be aware of who you are supporting.

The Games Begin

 And so, Let the Games Begin. Ahhh Iowa, we hardly knew ye.

But How . . . Why???

I know, I know, they don’t like Joe Biden. He’s too old. They hate current inflation rates.  And so, they will vote for Donald Trump??? Not Ron DeSantis??? Not Nikki Haley???  I know, I know, I really do not like either of them either. What about Christie??? Oh, he dropped out, huh? Still, Donald Trump??? And it wasn’t even very close. I mean, he got 51% of the vote.  And the 91 indictments?? You hate inflation, but you don’t mind a dude who has been criminally indicted??? So, if he took out a gun, walked onto Fifth Avenue, and shot and killed someone, you would still prefer Donald Trump??? Really??

I do not any longer understand Americans. I mean, is this really just Stupidity??? Can it be that simple? Nah, there must be other explanations. Religion??? But how could a belief in God affect anyone’s thinking about voting for someone as bizarre as Donald Trump? I mean, he is as far from Jesus as it is possible to get.  More likely, Trump would have been one of the dudes stringing him up to that cross, and then banging in the nails, before heading off to the local pub for a couple of brews.

What is there to like about the man? Oh, he hates people trying to cross into our country, especially if they are of a slightly different color, and maybe speak a different language.  And so, I assume every racist in America prefers Donald Trump to almost anyone else. And he makes fun of women every chance he gets. “Grab’m by the pussy . . .they love it”. Really? And so, ladies, tell me again why you prefer Donald Trump? You mean, you really do love it when someone like him grabs you by the pussy??

And they seem not to mind the fact that he fails at almost everything he tries? I mean, six bankruptcies??? And three failed marriages???  So, he’s lousy in business, and worse at the marriage thing.  Really, has there ever been anyone as bad at so many things as Donald Trump?

But, you say, he was a great president! Really?  Well, they loved his hawkish foreign affairs talk. And, more, they loved his gibberish about our Border policies.  Yeah, he’s a flaming racist at our borders, and they love that. He’s going to build a Wall, and they love that, even though he failed at that when he was President.  They claim that the economy was better under Trump. Well, yeah, inflation has been nasty, but Biden has brought it under control—note that none of the Trumpies are paying attention to Biden’s successes. Well, he is a Democrat, after all. And, actually, our economy is doing well. Low unemployment, investments in public sector, sort of like Ike. Remember him?  But, Trump is obviously preferred to Ike, right??? Well, not to anyone with a functional brain.

So, I think it doesn’t matter what Biden does. He’s an old dude (as is their Dude, actually) who refuses to gun down migrants at our Southern border. I imagine also that Biden gets hit because of Bibi’s killing ways in Gaza. I mean, Trump was a fairly strong Israeli supporter, but the mess being created by Bibi at the moment, is blamed by MAGAHeads on Biden.

And so, the Republican games have now moved onto New Hampshire, where the MAGAheads hope to repeat Iowa and maybe kick both DeSantis and Haley out of the race altogether.  I mean, how much losing can their financial backers continue to support?  If you are going to continue forking out bribe money to POLs to back their candidacy, they better show themselves to be winners.  And so, let’s see whether New Hampshire MAGAHeads rule up there. So, New Hampshire, what will you be saying to America? Do you too want America to be over??? Tune in folks. The best is yet to come.