Combat Medic - Men with a Destiny - A Red Cross of Valor

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War was not Hell, Hell was Hell and War was War

War was not Hell, Hell was Hell and War was War 

The Vietnam War has been called the forgotten war for many different reasons. One reason was the political aspect of its unpopularity and how we fought inside a country torn in Civil War. War was indeed hell for our fighting men giving their all for a cause that was so foggy and unclear to the many of us in battle – a medic – my dual role as a fighter and a healer was most difficult but events dictated whether I carried my M-16 or if I worked my magic out of my first aid bag to save my fellow soldier’s lives. Either way, it was a delicate balance. 

When not out in the field during search and destroy missions or in support of a large offensive force, the medic served multipurpose night and day and traveled often between the units, the first aid station and the surgical hospitals they were all assigned to, directly or indirectly. Their job was never done.  

The year, 1967 saw a high increase of civilian casualties and the military had prepared a larger civic action plan (CAP) to engage the South Vietnamese villagers or civilians with a strategy to interact with them and provide them additional healthcare and first aid due to illness, injuries or diseases incurred on a daily basis. 

Medical corpsmen were valuable commodities in war – they were essential for every mission planed or undertaken. There were no exceptions and when not active in the field, they were ordered to conduct regular MEDCAP (medical visits) to designated civilian populations to help create a better common bond between the military and civilians in the area.

It was a difficult task as we had many occasions where we had language barriers and if it were not for our interpreters, we could have never done the job so efficiently and thoroughly. The corpsmen, always known as Doc, provided medical care for the civilians as well as the soldiers’ fighting in the immediate area and assigned to protect us during such activities. Taking the time to carry and load bushels and bags of food, milk, water and other nutrients, the challenge was to make sure every kids was fed and every child was treated for illnesses, disease or wounds. 

MEDCAP was an entirely different task and duty for the medic – it involved a wide range of odd jobs that may entail digging for water wells, water purification methods, building schools or churches that could be made into make shift hospitals if the wounded became too much to handle at the usual places and much more.  It was a total departure of war, and the spirit was voluntarily brought to the front as nobody there objected to helping others get better or live longer. 

Medical supplies were scarce at times and under tight controls – syringes, inoculation vaccines, penicillin and other antibiotics, pain killers and other controlled substances were handled by medics only under the close eye of a sergeant or E-5 who was in charge of these details.  MEDCAP personnel dedicated their roles, expertise, energy and knowledge to save lives, to treat infant to elderly and to ensure disease and other communicable issues were controlled and life preserved. There were times when we treated animals as well ranging from dogs, pigs and water buffaloes.

It was rare such MEDCAP teams came under hostile fire but there were several occasions the treatment had to be stopped until the fighting was under control. The biggest fear were snipers and since the containment circle was a wide circle of the village, it was easy to penetrate the perimeter and find a target if one wanted to do so randomly or silently with their sniper rifles. 

In this war, soldiers were caretakers and caregivers to the civilians of the South Vietnamese Republic. Not much has ever been said about this role the United States took as part of the responsibility to interact with the locals and understand their customs, so that the job could be done safely and effectively.  Locally, it provided a sense of pride that medics were saving lives of infants and children, adults and elderly regardless whether they were friend or foe at the end of the night.

Crocodile tears for Arizona

Honorable Legislators, guests,

For his first eight months, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has tried to become a prominent and influential leader but has failed in doing so with his obvious crocodile tears showing. Only a fool would think he has done any good since he was sworn in as our governor. One can pick up on his lack of sensitivity of his office and his agenda, by the way he puts out waxed lyrical rhetoric about the need for better educational and economic conditions and then slam the budget to give more money to the prison system while denying those vital funds for healthcare, children safety and other topics discussed during his campaign.

The past eight months has failed to show anyone, the presence of real prominent and genuine leaders from our legislative body or even non-government entities who have succumbed to the political will of those elected to office. It is time for all politicians to review their own personal conscious awakening and decide whether they want to lead or follow.

Our state is suffering more lows than highs in many areas. Perhaps their stint of office should be based on their performance rather than their financial contributions to their respective political parties.  Corporations refuse to re-locate to Arizona because of the poor emphasis on education for kids or extended families and the high tuition for those seeking post secondary educational opportunities.  Their lackluster performance, dedication to public needs and their insensitivity to government lucidity and accountability seems to escape the attention of many when they show their dark side.

This is not and does not in any way denote or reflect a lack of respect to those who have led from the front and who have broken their silence on these important issues. They have shown their commitment to our future and the terms of governance of the state in a most appropriate and rightful manner. It is pleasing that some still believe in government for the people and not against the people.

This means that the rest of these so-called leaders either have crocodile tears or want to appear the pleasing of those who greatly benefited from dark money and contributions that harm our future more than inaction itself. There is no doubt, Governor Ducey, leads the pack with crocodile tears as he pretends to care about education, our kids and our future but continues to make decisions that benefit the rich and denies progress to the middle class and the poor.

Politicians should avoid treating the masses with disrespect and insincerity. Their talk of change only benefits those who contributed to their election coffers and in all actual sense, they are planning their own future rather than that of the state and the people who live there.

Regards,
Carl ToersBijns
Mesa, Arizona

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Metaphors Motivate Movements -

One of the most difficult tasks for a supervisor or manager is to find the right combination to motivate an employee to perform better, to be more capable and to help them along to find better skills and improve their abilities. Motivation is and can be the instrument that invokes conviction to do better.
Since motivating someone takes a mind conscious atmosphere, it must also be addressed to the subconscious in order to circumvent critical thinking and make the impulse more instantaneously available to move them along. Thus we have to focus on emotional drivers and key words that trigger such a desired response.
Metaphors or the use of metaphors as motivational tools has been done for centuries. One can recall “We are Spartans” as a battle cry that allowed 300 battle ready warrior to face an enormously outnumbered enemy and fight with the kind of spirit and courage that put the enemy at awe of their opponents.
Battle cries are often motivating metaphors. There are no photographs, no long stories, scripts or plays yet a single word can do what no book could ever imagine doing. One must only be certain these metaphors do not create false convictions and thus key on the positive provocation of such actions desired.
Provocative, motivating metaphors do not deal with statistics or facts. It has no relativity whatsoever to evidentiary or truth based notion. It is pure emotional provocation power that drives the mind to a higher level. It is called creating branded content that each and every one involved understands instantaneously and readily without more than a few words spoken.
There are no preludes, no foreplay or preparation for the mind to rise up from the unconscious into action. It must have the impact of a sudden adrenaline rush and cause the body to quiver and tense up to know they are ready to face the need and challenges given. Because of such tenacity and sudden strengths, it is important to take notice and advice that such potentially insidiously inflicted device [metaphors] it can spread the energy across a contagion of legions and become a powerful force to reckon with at that moment.
Motivational metaphors are exclusively designed to do battle, as they can be refined and orchestrated into softer toned responses with such emotions as kindness, compassion or empathy. The learned trick is to know which words stimulate the subconscious mind into action without the critical thinking process kicking in. It has to be a direct infused trigger with momentary impulses that create the desired thought or stimulation.
Eloquently spoken words can trigger softer and more symbolic uplifting of the mind and soul. One such motivator was Dr. Martin Luther King, a man who knew how to use words for his civil disobedience actions and unification of many races of people around the country. His mere word, “I have a Dream” has changed the lives of many people and continues to do so every day.
Thus we are all hard wired in the mind to use and accept metaphors as trigger impulses to change our behaviors or thinking patterns. How we create these changes depends on how creative we are. The more creative, the more effective metaphorical thinking is. Think of the brain as a grid of electricity and how it blends these impulses through the brain that has a lattice like pattern of nerve fibers.
There is less cross-wiring of the mind and this condition allows better synthesis with our sensory preceptors. You can see how creativity is instrumental in the mind when the word is pictorial or transformed into a thought, concept, idea and then, an eventual action. The more creativity, the more overlapping of the senses thus the better the stimuli to act upon it with clarity and understanding without saying a whole lot of words.
This bridging of our senses is created inside the mind because the mind itself is a metaphor. It contains all our thoughts, feelings, ideas and processes them as a direct result to the environment and comprehension of the message given. Remember some messages are or can be provocative or evocative in the form of a tangible or intangible communication.
The knowledge how to use these and not allow the translation to get lost is an art and designed to trigger an automatically generated emotion or emotions. Using metaphors to motivate is all about the meaningful innovative method of introducing the right words and phrases and make them meaningful to the mind to stimulate thoughts, ideas, feelings and actions.

Honorable Legislators, the eleventh hour on the Kingman report

Months from now, when our elected public officials, the media and the public, evaluate the prison management style of Charles L. Ryan, what will they find and what will they say? Did the man who came from Abu Ghraib do a good job or did he sell the state prison system down the river in the name of private prison expansion and exploitation? Was it worth the hundreds of lives lost for neglecting the mentally ill, the chronic and acute medically dependent prison population and was it worth the millions paid out in litigation settlements?

Will he claim victory in giving the governor and the governor before, as well as all the elected conspirators, their share of the profits in selling human beings for labor and slavery camps? Will he secure a place in Arizona’s Hall of Shame or worse, was he the prelude to far greater horrors yet to come? The eleventh hour for the report has a great impact on the future. Whether the truth be told or hidden, will only be disclosed if you scrutinize the entire report carefully.

My hope, your hope, should be the fact that history would instead view this riot at Kingman was a catalyst; a second calling if you want or an awakening of the human mind and conscience.  This madness has to stop somewhere and now is the time for good men and women to stand up with courage and ask, no demand, the truth.

It should be your hope that this Kingman report makes you all stronger, wiser and more vigilant in the end. It is my hope it fully prepares you for future disturbances to come, if things don’t change. Don’t be afraid to ask difficult and tough questions. The report deserves nothing less and must stand on its own merits.

After all is said, what good is struggle if there is no change? What good deed  or purpose does a riot serve,  if those responsible for public safety and government integrity are not made stronger? Don’t let the means justify the end. There is more than is ever told and it’s your job to protect the public, your constituents and your government from further harm.

Sitting on a rock, wasting time

Sitting on a rock, wasting time

I have walked all the railroad tracks between here and yesteryear while looking for tomorrow

I have felt the vibrations of the train as it passes by taking my breath away

I can feel the breeze and see the trees swaying with the coming storm and darkened clouds

I hate the life I am living, just walking along, headed for nowhere

And listening to nature’s sounds, it all comes together as life goes by

Just so the world know who I am and where I’ve been in my time

I have traveled the oceans, climbed some mountains and sowed some wild oats and seeds

A bit of love was all I ever needed, a little inspiration brought me to my knees

But no matter how deep the pain or broken spirited I might have felt

I never cared for the inspiration of weed or the needle in my vein as the devil never dwelt

Inside my soul where I would sell it to the lowest bidder, for even those evils couldn’t get rid

Of the hurt and pain in life that I most distained

But through it all, I took the fall, and got back up, with pain and despair following close behind me,

I closed my eyes and kept on walking, until the sun went down and shadows no longer followed me

I can hear the owls in the woods shrieking their calls, the moon is rising, the cold air falls

As the lonely country road came to an end and the dirt road get nearer

I looked for a spot with a rock, so I could clear my mind ever clearer

Resting my weary bones, just sitting here wasting my time

Listening to a song in my head with words that always rhymes

A little bit of love was all I ever needed, but it seemed to escape me well

And on the misery of love, my broken heart continues to swell

I know why my girl left me, I know it too well

It was because I couldn’t give up my passion from hell so here I dwell

I was selfish, materialistic and difficult to please in my persistent mind

It seemed so simple but my girl left me, saying I was not what she needs

So I am sitting here thinking on a rock, wasting time

In my pocket you will be lucky to find a dollar or even a dime

But just sitting here thinking, wasting time

I can free up my soul, my heart and free my mind

Never a tough guy, never a fighter or a warrior for duty and country never came

I am free to do what I want and sitting on this rock is making me insane

A pawn I life, I don’t guess I have much more left to do

As I tie my laces on my well traveled shoes

So I didn’t think too much about the pain I brought to others

And last night, when the stars were bright, I even had a pleasant thought

I don’t have much to say anymore, I kind of like it that way

But when I sit here wasting my time on this rock,

My life seems worth something, just sitting here wasting time

The moon is full, the meteors are falling to earth

As I sit here meditating , and woke up to beat the clock

Perhaps after tomorrow’s sunrise, it is time for me to rise and yawn

And find another road, another rock and stop wasting my time

And put some money in my pocket so I can ease my mind

I think I can make it better, for all I really needed was some free time

To make my heart well again, mend it solid and make it whole

For my spirit and inspiration has recaptured my soul

A basic understanding of a simulacra or simulation of the truth

A basic understanding of a simulacra or simulation of the truth

In an attempt to seek the relationship between reality and symbols in our society, we have to understand what simulacra is and how it works as a means to simulate or copy the reality and transforms into a truth when in fact, it has no truth but rather conceals the truth. The only reality is this act of simulacra or simulating what was never original to begin with and is a mere imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system.

Basically, if you don’t attempt to seek the truth, you will chase these simulacra or a simulation that basically leads you on a wild goose chase as you will never find the truth you are looking for. Symbols are easily created by creative minds. It’s a means to demonstrate, illustrate or show something the illusionist wants you to see and accept. Charts are symbols or figures of identity and can be easily created without any reality of substance attached to them. One has to be cautious when viewing and interpreting a chart or symbol of any kind and ask, where did it come from and how was it created.

For the purpose of human experience, simulations of reality are deceptive tools for those who want to hoodwink or lull you into a stage of contentment of satisfaction. They are simply used to hide the reality and conceal the truth. The basis or backgrounds for such illusions are culture and media. If you can explain the culture and manipulate the media, you have the ability to acquire a simulacra which constructs a meaning with no real basis but offers a make believe solution to a proposed problem.

Most political reports are saturated with such simulacra and merely cast shadows on the truth. It is the saturation of these simulacra that projects the meaningless meaning but serve the purposes to fool the reader into believing whatever is read or printed before them. Other examples are photographs that are Photoshopped, and illusions of realities type of movies such as the Matrix that create dimensional existences of substances involving time and space.

There are four stages to simulacra or simulation:

The first stage is the faithful saturation of an image, or a copy of an image we believe may be a reflection of the profound reality.
The second stage is the perversion of reality where we become to believe this copy is an unfaithful copy of the reality but through saturation is made into a believable copy rather than a false reality.
The third stage is the absence of a profound reality, where the perverted image or simulacrum pretends to be the faithful copy but is in fact, not an copy of the original symbol or sign.
The fourth stage is pure simulation, in which the simulacra has no relationship to any reality whatsoever and is merely a reflected sign or claim to reality on the part of the images or symbols presented in the order of such claims.
The transition from signs which dissimulate something to signs which dissimulate that there is nothing, marks the decisive turning point.