Between the Amens

By W.A. Brunson

In a fictional, dark, avenging, and foreboding kind of way, this book could remind one of the Batman series of comics. Except, the caped crusader responded to situations that needed his attention when summoned by the commissioner of police, and this book leans more to the preemptive and could be perceived as a call to action when directed to an issue by an individual or collective conscience. Both perspectives are routes to a corrective activity that must deal with the sometimes hidden agendas of egotistical entities that are operating outside of the best interests of the public. Were we pursue the Batman analogy, his gadgetry and our technology play a very important part in successfully resolving many of the issues that confront either the fictional or the real world. Personnel assistance in the form of Robin and Batgirl—Batman being a superhero only needs two helpers—would be balanced with help in the real world by entire societies. But whether we are dealing with a Batman story line or a Between the Amens topic, the success of our endeavors will depend on the efforts extended, the skills employed, and an ability to sort right from wrong. It is VERY IMPORTANT to note that the contents of this book were written relative to what was happening and thought about some years ago. But, many of these issues still persist and are relative today. This may mean that well-meaning citizens among us still don't believe that the power of the vote really is POWER. It may also very well mean that the best time and place to have those thoughts - that then become actions - that I've expressed here - still need attention of a more personal nature. Maybe, my thoughts here will resurrect these same issues that you've once had. Maybe, now is the time to actually give these issues more thought and then action. Maybe, the "boomers" among us will think about what we've been through in our lifetimes that could have been avoided or turned out better. Maybe, future generations can take such thoughts, issues and actions to fruition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645847113

Book preview

On Portable Phones

For those non-cave dwellers over the last thirty years or so, your mind must still be spinning over the exponential development of the car phone. Remember those compact black bags containing a telephone that could be plugged into your car’s cigarette lighter? Then there was the cell phone that looked more like a brick, and a few months later, we had the first handheld phones with the flip-top that looked more like that communicator used by Captain James B. Kirk of Star Trek fame.

I can recall asking about why charges were being assessed for incoming calls as well as those I made to call out and being told that as soon as there were more of these cell phones in operation, the charges would be just like those for landlines—billing just for calls I make. Well, that time is here now, but it took fifteen years for this to happen (or not).

Back then was about the same time that the government finally settled their ten-year battle with AT&T over their monopoly of the telecommunications industry and all those baby bells began to pop up. Remember how that governmental move was supposed to save the consumer money because then there would be all this competition in the marketplace that would serve to hold prices in check?

The internet was being found by the average person during this time period as well as digital transmissions that would take the place of the old analog way of doing things.

Now go back a little further to about the time that the telephone monopoly lawsuits were being filed. A few little conveniences called call waiting, call forwarding, and three-way dialing began appearing. It was just a short hop forward then to the arrival of voice mail. And then, caller ID was with us.

Today, try to remember the last time you heard a busy signal. A busy signal used to be an indication that the person you were trying to call on the telephone was on that line talking to someone else. You had to call back. There was no connection. Thus, there was no charge. Today, you are virtually assured of making some kind of connection when you dial another telephone number for which you will be billed and billed and billed.

All those telephone conveniences cited above are devious ways that the telephone companies employ not to help you but to take your money by establishing a connection that you may not even want. When you call someone, you want that person, not their voice mail, their answering service, nor to be put on hold while they finish their conversation with someone else on their other line.

The telephone companies and cell phone providers make their money on the connections that they provide, not on the hardware you must use. That’s why they can afford to virtually give the handsets away as long as you sign a contract, which is just another way for them to recover their handset costs.

Again, why do you think that there are so many model changeovers from month to month—not to provide any better telephone service but to provide new connections to new sources, e-mail, radio, television, video capabilities, picture taking ability, and computer compatibilities? All these connections are simply a means to an end whereby the phone company can charge you for not just the connection but for the potentiality of a connection.

Sometime, probably late at night, you may be able to tune in to an old television show and see a character using a telephone, maybe even using a telephone in a telephone booth. What became so all-fired important in the way we now do things that warrant constant, incessant hookups to communication devices at our instantaneous beck and call?

I submit that greed is at the bottom of this telephonic plot, and a boycott of all telephonic services on a single weekend, say Mother’s Day weekend, will send those companies a signal to think about reining in those hundreds of dollars per month we are now expected to pay for a contrived convenience. Give Hallmark a break and send your mother a greeting card, or better yet, take her out to dinner.

On a Professional Sports Community Contribution

Professional baseball, football, basketball, and hockey at the major league level should be taxed by the major league town whose name they bear (or the town in which they have their home stadium) the sum of $10,000,000 yearly and the money—all of it—used for the homeless and destitute of that city. If ever there existed an extreme polarity between the haves and the have-nots, this is it. It hasn’t been that long ago when across the bargaining table sat billionaires negotiating a contract with their millionaire employees. Where else and when else has there ever been such a ludicrous sight and fight over dollars that 99% of us will never see.

The only ownership that a town has in one of these major league teams is in name only—okay, except Green Bay. But even in Green Bay, the owners, players, and coaches don’t necessarily reside in town much like teachers, policemen, and firefighters often have to. The players are hired to do a job, come into town to do it (or not), and then leave at the end of the season. And if the town doesn’t show sufficient support as in attendance, new stadiums, etc., then the team is free to move on to another market where they can make more money.

How different it would be if the owners had to be citizens of the town that bore the team name. And the players and coaches could all reside in town as well during the length of their contract. And the only ones that could be signed to such contracts would be preexisting citizens of that town or say, those that live within a fifty-mile radius of that town. We don’t allow professional politicians to represent us that don’t live in our district. Why should professional athletes that work in our name be any different?

So let’s make it worthwhile for those teams to bear our town name by having them do something of real significance for that town—a $10,000,000 tax for the not-so-well-to-do.

Given that these four leagues represent team sports, perhaps the participants therein could be compensated accordingly. There would be a salary range for each position. The league could set a maximum for each position, and the individual teams could set their own ranges—within the maximum—based upon that particular position’s need for expertise above and beyond the skills that may be needed at another team position.

A separate fund pool—contributed to equally by all the league teams—containing a really large amount of money would be set aside for distribution to those teams and the players on those teams the further they got to the championship game. The winners of that season’s championship game would receive the highest monetary amounts—these would be equal shares, as now—which would be bonuses in addition to their contracted salary. This method of paying professional team performers is fairer than the current method since it’s yet to be proven that giving huge sums of money to individual players guarantees a championship, or that the team with the highest payroll is even going to make it to the finals.

Why should a player on a losing team make more money playing his sport than a player whose team actually won the championship? The better players—by position—would probably still get the best endorsement deals. And there could still be other bonuses for making the all-star team, setting league records, significant personal performance over the previous year, and any other unique personal accomplishment.

Paying the players this way also provides sufficient latitude financially to allow the $10,000,000 donation, reduce all fan-related expenses—such as tickets, parking, and concessions—and charge less for TV/radio commercial time and thus the products that are advertised.

On Sportsmanlike Conduct

While on the subject of sports, basketball deserves some special attention. While every sport has rules to play by, it seems that basketball is alone in promoting rule breaking as a strategy for beating your opponent. Let’s stop calling these infractions fouls—the term has become too cliché within the sport—and instead spend the time citing the seriousness of the specific rule violation.

In some states, three moving violations could cause your driver’s license to be revoked. In some states, the commission of three crimes could cause life imprisonment as a habitual offender. Let’s be consistent and only allow three rule infractions before a player is ejected from a game. Let’s go one step further and set a limit on the number of games from which a player may be expelled—or a total number of rule infractions—before he is suspended from his team for the rest of the season.

If sportsmanlike conduct is something we sincerely want to teach our children, then we must demand it from their role models and from the adults they choose to emulate.

On the Pinpointing of Sanctions

Legislating against conduct that we believe may cause a problem to someone else or society is not the same as creating a law that emphatically encourages such a behavior modification. Instead of making the use of