Tag: overmanwarrior

Being Good and Being Right

One thing you’ll find, whether it’s Arnold Engle of Fairfield, or Jennifer Miller from Mason, if you speak out against a school levy, you will be labeled and ridiculed to no end. This is exclusively due to a process of manipulation invented by Saul Alinsky’s Delphi Technique which is used by large organizations such as teachers unions to manipulate a community’s desire to the goals of the union leadership. They may not call it The Delphi Technique officially, but may only be some variation of it. But the strategy is just the same.
Now most people, such as Tony ‘Ambrosio and Leslie Renneker who addressed me in the Pulse Journal directly, are obviously only concerned about their individual situations. People like them want naturally what’s best for their children, and their neighborhood. They don’t look too deeply into things and are quiet happy to keep it that way.

When this Levy started at Lakota, I had no real intention of saying much. I do have my value system, and I think the public education system doesn’t do enough. I see it as vastly insufficient to producing American citizens. But I generally leave it to the public to make up their own minds in the election. However, I was reading the forums on The Pulse Journal web site, and noticed that a “facilitator” or “change agent” was working the board on behalf of the Pro Levy Campaign, as far back as August. When I left a comment that I thought was thoughtful and constructive the facilitator called  directly attacked me calling me pathetic for my comment.  Now I didn’t bring up the car issue.  Somone else did.  People never use their real names for these things, so who knows.  I do, but for some reason people feel they can only have courage when their discreet.  Anyway, all I did was point out that people were sensitive, and that the pro side should take that into consideration.    I highlighted my comments in bold.

It was on that day that I decided to call up Mark and the rest of the people from the last campaign and join forces with them. Because I realized that if there were people like “think” working these forums, they were doing the same thing to voters in other ways as well. And that sent my blood boiling. It was the very next day after my last comment on this forum that The No Lakota Levy group was officially formed. And it was one month later that we went on WLW with the wage release information.

So as far as me looking for a fight, this fight found me. And when a fight comes to me, and I see clearly that there are people being hurt, and manipulated, and lied to, I will stand up to meet that fight.
I already had my commercial activities with bullwhips, books, and a few film projects here and there before any of this started. And this activity has been distracting from my usual passions. But the more you dig into it, the more wrong you find.

Read below how the Pro Levy Group was working in August, and if left unchecked, they would have continued with the intimidation and name calling because that is the way The Delphi Technique works. Pay particular attention to the posts left by “THINK.” There are other “professional” facilitator’s on these posts and they are obvious as well.  Their goal is to control the flow of the discussion.  If you speak against them, they resort to name calling in an attempt to keep those opinions off the board.  It’s that simple. 

11:35 PM, 8/18/2010
NO-VEMBER. Vote no on tax levy issue. NO-VEMBER. For those who want a private education, go pay for one. Lakota is a fine public school being run like a university. Go back to the basics and regroup. Lakota needs to cut like many families are doing throughout the country. Cuts always smart, but today requires it.
Daniel Moorman

2:07 PM, 8/27/2010
Still looking for a good deal on a house. Mark or Carlos are too busy with all the foreclosures that they are getting to fool with a peon like me. They want to deal with “professional” types. Don’t they know that they are the ones losing their homes and crying over 700 extra a year in taxes. Mark and Carlos are going to be making big money again….it is just a lucrative cycle for them.
HouseHunter

9:41 PM, 8/28/2010
I noticed the girls golf coach at LE driving aroung in a nice red Jag. Must be nice!

But the all one 

2:54 PM, 8/29/2010

Are you really worrying about what car teachers/coaches are driving? LOL…is your life that pathetic and full of jealousy? What is her thermostat set on in her house? Does she shop at Wal-mart or Macy’s? Please go ahead and vote no, but stop showing how ignorant your thoughts are!
Are you kidding?

3:03 PM, 8/29/2010
Is the jealousy so rampant in West Chester that they are looking at what kind of car teachers drive? I think that is so typical of the snooty people that are in reality just getting by in the “Chester.” Maybe they should cut back on their own spending and then they wouldn’t be so jealous when they see others doing OKAY. For the record I know a teacher that drives a ten year old Jag that is worth about 4 grand….What should she drive?
Wow….

6:24 PM, 8/29/2010
Of course people are looking at what kind of cars teachers are driving. Most people have been on a wage freeze for over a year now. And many would love to average 51K a year. Tenured teachers are pretty secure in their jobs, unlike many of the voters out there, people will be jealous….of course.

Shame the kids suffer because of politics. Out of space, read more here:

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com…
Rich Hoffman

 
9:24 PM, 8/29/2010
Hey Rich, I was going to eat at Wendy’s and guess what I saw? I saw a teacher going in to eat at APPLEBEE’S! Can you believe that? I think they were driving a 2010 Chevy. I could not believe it. How many of us out here in West Chester would love to be able to eat at Applebee’s? Teacher’s should be ashamed for flaunting their wealth in our faces. Some think you are pathetic Rich, but I admire you for standing up for us beaten down West Chesters!
Lakotian

12:27 PM, 8/31/2010
What parking lot have you been stalking today Rich? You see any expensive cars in the lot? Did they belong to teachers, administrators or parents? Let us know what you find out. I thought Bob was pathetic but I think you might give him a run for the title.
Where you at Rich?

1:05 PM, 8/31/2010
Pathetic…..there’s that word again. Name calling? Intimidation?
4:00 PM, 9/1/2010

All I did was point out that it was logical that people would draw conclusions about the type of car people drive. If you can’t handle that, you are out of touch. No wonder things cost so much money if you can’t understand that basic concept.

I can see what we are dealing with. Bad move on your part……..

I was very happy to have a civil debate and let the public decide. You decided to make it personal.
Rich Hoffman

7:19 PM, 8/31/2010
And to those of you that think calling someone pathetic will somehow make money magically appear from thin air, and maintain the status quo, I prepared this little blog just for you.

https://overmanwarrior.wordpress.com…

Look at your own life and then consider if you have a right to call anyone names because they don’t agree with you, or simply brought up a valid point.

Pathetic……..????? That’s cute.
Rich Hoffman

Rich, I don’t think pathetic was a proper term to call someone, but I think it is sad if you think it is “mature” to bring up what kind of car a teacher/coach drives. What does that have to do with anything? Pathetic? No! Sad? Yes! Just my opinion, but everyone has their own likes, and I don’t give a hoot what someone drives. Not sure why is would bother you. Oh and Rich I am not a teacher, but I do drive an Audi TT, hope that is alright and acceptable.
Maria

11:28 PM, 9/1/2010

Went to the “manwarrior” site and wasn’t too imressed…lol. My two cents would be that if you think it is appropiate to make commments about what type of car a teachers drives then I would have to agree that you have a big problem. It seems pretty silly with all the problems going on in the world. Hey what would I know though, because I am not a “manwarrior”? Whatever that is?…..Vote your conscience and if it is NO, then so be it….life will go on.
Lakotian

Stinks,

You have very slow reaction time since my note to Brenda was sent a long time ago. You must be getting old…go back to your rocking chair on the porch and stop yelling at the kids for walking across your yard.
Think

9:16 AM, 9/2/2010
Stinks,

First of all, many would argue that SS and Medicare are not American. I’m not in that camp: yet, I think it is arrogant to suggest you shouldn’t have to pay taxes to support the kids because your kids are no longer participating and out of the other side of your mouth say pay for my SS and medicare.

Do your part! Own up to your responsibilities. If you can’t afford it, get a job!
Think
9:11 AM, 9/2/2010

1:19 PM, 9/2/2010
Stinks,

What poor Brenda doesn’t get is that it’s not the government that will give her the 3% increase in her SS check, it’s not her too low past contributions either, it’s me!

She want’s everything for herself; but, somehow thinks its unfair that she has to pay into school taxes. If she can’t afford it, she needs to get a job to make up for her poor planning.
Think
4:37 PM, 9/4/2010
Avg,

Would it be right to say, “I never call the fire department…set a user fee up for that. I never drive on Tylersville road…set up a toll booth”?

What do you think? I don’t believe there are any state mandates for local roads or fire departments. Let’s go back to the old days…if you want to buy fire department insurance so be it. If you don’t so be it.

Geeze you guys are stupid
Think

11:00 AM, 9/5/2010
Most people already have their minds made up and some have been made up my lies that were told on blogs like this. That is okay because that is why this country is so great. Freedom! So let’s get the vote on and if it is no, that is fine, because the majority will decide. I will continue to call out liars as I see them.
Minds Made up!

10:39 AM, 9/7/2010

My dear “Making Stuff Up”….

My view of government’s purpose and yours are vastly different.

You try to draw a comparason between basic government services…. roads(infrastructure), police & fire, etc…. and having the property owners pay for extra-cirricular activities for little Johnny.

That assinine approach is why your side is behind 75% – 25% .(based on your side’s own polling)

10:41 AM, 9/7/2010
Dear below average,

Your view of basic government services that we should “all” pay for encompasses services that “you” use. As a society we’ve greatly expanded the services you consider “basic”. You don’t have to look that far back into our history to find that these services were considered private responsibility.
Think

2:16 PM, 9/7/2010

Dear below average,

Our country/community has a long tradition of considering sports programs as a part of the education system. Only now those such as yourself who’ve squandered your savings and haven’t planned for your future are crying poor. You are rejects from the 60’s me gen. who only think of yourselves. You might wish to change your name to “below average loser”.

Why should we eliminate these basic services that encourage kids development now? Because you are a loser? NO.
Think

4:55 PM, 9/7/2010
Below average,

That’s how you end up with a below average community filled with below average people.

Who wants to move to a backward place like what we’ll likely end up being? Answer…you and your loser family/friends.

I’m embarrassed for our community. How is it that Mason seems to be able to support their kids? The difference is in the make up of the community. We have too many losers here.
Think

Avg Taxpayer
8:07 PM, 9/7/2010
Thinky Boy….
My company told the workforce…15% are going to be laid of (fired), the remainder of you, in order for you to keep your job and for us to stay in business, have to work harder for less money.
I have yet to hear that from ANYONE at Lakota. All I hear is that the teachers have have bigger classroom rosters…

Translated… they need to work harder and they don’t like it. And before you hand me that “it’s all about education” garbage…….

If it was really about educating the kids, no teacher would ever consider walking a picket line.

75-25……

Signed,

Your favorite Loser…..

P.S. when you are out of facts, always call your opponent names… works every time….

It may seem like a small comment to send the word “pathetic” in my direction, but I know it means more than just a name.
And that’s the problem with the people that end up standing against school levies, like Engle, Mrs. Miller and Sharon Poe. They get labeled as radical because they bring up a valid point. And because they may in their private lives be history buffs, or avid readers of various subjects, they are aware that something isn’t right, and they fight back.
Here’s my buddy Jennifer from Mason. I like her fighting attitude.


When a person tries to help, and they get involved, they are singled out as a threat. It happens in every organization. Think of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer if it helps. Only people like Mr. Engle, and Mrs. Miller along with myself don’t require peer acceptance, so peer pressure doesn’t work, much to the frustration of those that wish to keep the status quo in line.
Here’s Jennifer again after she had been ridiculed by teachers and other members of the board trying to defend herself.

The reason for me that peer pressure doesn’t work is that my best friends in the whole world are my wife, my kids and my books, in that order. As long as I can read, I could care less what the rest of the world thinks of me. And that leaves me free to think about a subject without caring of whether people will judge me poorly.

Here’s my other buddy Sharon Poe also from Mason


It isn’t my fault if people like Mr. D’Ambrosio can’t understand the larger game going on. They just want their home values to stay stable, and for their kids to have decent lives. Before I ever became involved in Lakota’s issues, my research had led me to a place of understanding that many people would feel uncomfortable with. But without question, there are elements to public education that are undesirable for the proper assistance of teaching American boys and girls to become American men and women. And much of this happened because people like D’Ambrosio are too busy paying attention to the values of society instead of thinking about the world around them.

Most people like D’Ambrosio wouldn’t think much about these videos. I see this as radical. But to most, this is normal.


I like the song, but if that was my daughter in that crowd there’d be big trouble for her. Again, this is considered in our society as normal.

My wife and I have been to Cancun. I see this kind of thing and I simply don’t get it. I felt like I was from some other planet. But again, to many people, this is normal behavior.

This is how I spend my time with my family. And this is what is “normal” to me. All the videos below were done by my daughters. Because as a parent, you are judged by the kids you raise. And I’m proud of them. They have brains, and tons of guts.


This is my oldest daughter, and her then fiancé, along with her younger sister an best friend as I drug them all over the United States going to whip shows.

This is my family stuck at home during a heavy snow storm.

And here was a ghost hunt in the rugged hills of Ohio and West Virginia.

Becoming a pilot, at 16.

And this is from my youngest daughter

We spend a lot of time talking about paranormal stuff. But she has never lost her perspective on reality. Science is always first.

The reason I put all these videos up here are because I have never left it to a teacher, or an institution to do what is my responsibility as a parent. And I do look at people who do so with sad contempt at what they are missing. I leave it to society to make decisions in life for themselves. But don’t ask me to pay extraordinary amounts of money for a social experiment that doesn’t live up to my personal standards, which I admit are very high, too high for most people to be comfortable with. Just don’t try and scam me with smoke screens, and intimidation. That will make me very angry, very, very angry.
Because whether you want to admit it or not, this is what has happened in public education.




So before you guys try to paint me as some radical have a look in the mirror and the life you’re living. I’m living my life and I love every day of it. And that love of life gets passed on to the people around me especially my children. I have no sympathy to most of the parents that are using public education as a day care, and wanting the public to help foot the bill, because you’re not trying to teach your child. You’re hiring a teacher to do what you should be doing while you pursue a selfish agenda of your own. So judge me, and you’ll get it right back. If you ask me for money, you’re going to get the wrath of my questions and judgment.


Get used to it.
Rich Hoffman

www.NoLakotaLevy.com

Red Dead Redemption: The Best Western in over Twenty Years

There are some things that established thinking in politics will never understand, because their culture is relative to their emotional states established before their 15th birthdays. It is well known that many people don’t evolve much emotionally beyond their middle to late teen years. That means that the values established in those years become the final touches of a psyche that will travel with that person all their lives.

And that is where a major gap exists between those adults that grew up prior to the computer revolution, and the adults that grew up after. And the teens that are now spending much of their development participating in online games, such as Medal of Honor, World of WarCraft, Gears of War, Halo, and Madden Football are having a different emotional experience than those that currently sit in the halls of power. And that is why those who analyze the Tea Party movement are completely lost, because there are elements emerging that defy the old powers that have controlled the human mind for thousands of years.

Well, I’m a man that grew up after this computer revolution. But what I’ve done personally is that I did not stop my development at age 15. I have continued a youthful mindset well into my adulthood. So as the computer age has emerged, I have enjoyed the benefit of the interactive gaming industry, and how they have now moved into a marketplace that rivals Hollywood movies. And I enjoy playing them and with each new game I find the experience beneficial.

With that said, my top game experience of 2010 was Red Dead Redemption.

Red Dead is a spaghetti western style game that allows you to do anything anytime, and anywhere in a vast western era style environment. It is the best western produced since Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider back in the 80’s, but what this western has going for it is that you get to play the part of the lead character. And that is a dramatic new element that I find infinitely fascinating.

The music is the best western style soundtrack since Ennio Morricone’s soundtracks for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, A Fistful of Dollars, and For a Few Dollars More. The style of direction is undeniably Sergio Leone, which again is a very welcome site.

The story of the game is about the evils of politics, which has particular appeal to me. Younger players may not get so much out of that story line, but I found it particularly potent. It’s about the encroachment of civilized, European style government over the rugged individualism of the western settler. But the story also deals with the deception of those same individuals that resort to the pack mentality of cattle rustlers, and Mexican revolutionaries.

One of the greatest thrills in the game are the one on one duals that you get to be in, where you have to quick drawl another gunman like we’ve all seen in hundreds of westerns. It is quite an experience to do it through the character of the game.

The game for me was a great relief from the reality of modern life where people have evolved into very soft and fragile versions of European ideology. I found the characters surviving the Wild West to be refreshing versions of the overly padded people we all have to deal with on a daily basis. In Red Dead, people get shot, they die, they fight with boldness and honor, and they don’t do a whole lot of complaining.

And that was the best part of the game.

The established portion of society hasn’t picked up on it yet, but the story to games like Red Dead Redemption is very sophisticated and politically significant if not entirely successful of recreating history both accurately and mythically. And it was a great pleasure to play.

And for Halloween, they released this! What great fun!


Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

The Day After

It’s hardly a victory to have defeated the Lakota School Levy. It’s more like surviving a round of chemotherapy.

Lakota is drowning in the weight of its collective bargaining agreement from the OEA, and the policies started by these large PAC organizations across the county is putting the United States in this position.

There was a lot of emotion prior to the election.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6dDsK9kkIs

http://www.fox19.com/Global/story.asp?S=13425745

http://www.wlwt.com/politics/25624583/detail.html

http://www.journal-news.com/news/election/lakota-local-schools-levy-rejected-993007.html

Lakota spent more than $20,000 on this campaign, and they gained approximately 10% of the vote to the just over $7000 that we spent.  I am very disappointed that it ended up so close, because that will be an indication to the school system to bring it to the tax payers again.  You can see that the strategy is to gradually wear out the voters till they say yes.   I suppose that’s not too bad considering all the avenues Lakota has to get their message out.   

It is hardly an occasion to celebrate, when you find out that you get to keep the tax money you started the day with at the end of the day.  Yet, because the advocates of such a tax that we had to endure with this Lakota Tax Levy overspent their budget, then hid the crime behind our children, it is a great relief to see that voters saw through the smoke to the true facts and stood their ground in the face of the unpopular position of standing against a school levy.

Those of us on the No Lakota Levy Campaign have already been hard at work on the next Lakota Levy attempt for weeks now, and we are ready for action when the school board makes the announcement that will inevitably come.  The school districts next move will be to cut valued services to the community, such as busing, so to twist the arm of the tax payers that voted with their hearts in this election, and force them to vote with their wallet in the next attempt.  And it is my position that such a strategy, in the face of this second attempt is a travesty to the trust of the residents in the Lakota School District.   

It would be hoped that the teachers union would volunteer on their own, to come to the table and meet with the school board, and work diligently with them to reduce the costs to Lakota so not to force layoffs, and the other cuts, but as we’ve stated, this levy was about money, and they will now embark on a strategy against those of us that denied the funds they requested. 

This issue is far from over. 

The real trouble starts with their teacher’s contract. Hear the high points of the contract here.

And now we must prepare more than ever for the onslaught of organized labor that will use it’s tactics against the Lakota School System and our kids.

So get ready everyone for another fight, and this one will be much more brutal than the previous one was.

Stay tuned………………………….

Rich Hoffman

www.NoLakotaLevy.com

Bullwhip Economics: Pubic versus Private Sector (The Lakota School System)

It has been an interesting debate over this last month regarding the Lakota School Levy, and what has emerged is a philosophic difference. There is a portion of the population that is either working for the public sector in some form or another, or there are people who don’t. Among those that don’t there are some that wish they did, because the benefits are so good.

For a guy like me though I would never want a public sector job. The idea of being paid by the tax payer is an abomination that cuts to my core beliefs of self-reliance.

When my Whip Trick to Save America did so well at the start of the No Levy Campaign, I received a lot of requests to make another video using my bullwhips to explain some of the complicated budget issues that center around public versus private sector jobs.

Most of the video my wife and lovely assistant holds targets in her mouth while I cut them out explaining how it relates to the economics of public versus private sector jobs.

At the end of the video I do more whip work in slow motion while Scott Sloan of WLW Radio reads the Lakota Teachers Contract to a member of the Pro Levy Group. The discussion is valuable because it helps put the mindset of public sector sympathizers into the proper framework.

They are a fascinating species these public sector oriented employees. The bottom line is it’s easy to spend money that isn’t yours. Public officials have been over spending for a long time, which has made public jobs too lucrative, actually putting our country on the verge of bankruptcy. So now we have to fix it. And fixing it starts with local issues like school levies, and city government. I hope this video inspires everyone to pay attention to the small stuff, and to vote on November 2nd, 2010.

Rich Hoffman

www.NoLakotaLevy.com

An Answer to the Dust Under my Feet, (critics)

 

The elemental issue, and ultimate tragedy of a life lived poorly, where one finds themselves cleaving to a measly income distributed from the public sector, is that they shatter when they discover how insignificant many of the beliefs they hold dear, truly are when they witness those living outside of their accepted parameters. 

As the Cincinnati Enquirer did the piece on me, featuring my work with bullwhips and the metaphors the whips have in politics it is only natural that all my interests come together in my explanation of the crises at hand, I can anticipate the indolent comments that will emerge.

I recently received a comment from one of my many, many, many critics referring to me as wearing a tin hat, because one of my interests is in paranormal investigation.  And of course the same fringe thinking will look at my 30 years of whip work in much the same discrediting fashion.  The word they have for it is a kook.

This is because these small minded people have allowed their minds to rot, and their bodies have taken the shape of such thinking.  The new rulers of these bodies are cellulite and they control the brain function without rebellion of original thinking.  And to such cumbersome contemplation, my interests will seem foreign and even freighting to their standard patterns of accepted behavior.

And the reason this is a tragedy, is because they are content to be only a fraction of themselves.  They are content to color in the lines that someone else drew for them, and will never have the satisfaction of creating anything original, or preserving a tradition that is rooted in truth.  The cowboy arts are just such a thing, where Buffalo Bill, and Annie Oakley routinely reflected the politics of their times within the context of their shows.  And such people I admire greatly. 

But this is the age of progressivism.  And in that age, individual achievement is frowned upon.  Personal conduct is shared, and these feeble minds that have perpetuated this philosophy truly believe they are rooted in intellect.  And it is in this thinking that any individual achievements, or any science that is not endorsed by these established minds, will become the subject of ridicule. 

So it is with great pride that I listen and read the quips of my detractors.  For when the politics is done, and the lights dim around our lives, I would not want to reflect upon the lives they lead, where they traded their very souls for a half baked idea, and a half-life reflected in their broken bodies. 

Truth is sometimes revealed within established ideas, and facts sometimes come from places where established science has not yet been scouted by intelligent minds.  And truth is also in tradition, which progressivism has sought to diminish any way possible.  So to see anger from those factions, it rests my mind at ease that I am doing what is correct and true in the larger battlefield of human ideology. Even a cancer cell wants to live, even though they do so by consuming the body.  And it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference.  And such clarification allows me to see the cancer cells for what they are. 

And for the cancer to take over our society, they have to minimize the immune system of our collective body in order to take command.  So that means to encourage people to be weak, like Homer Simpson.  Let people know that it’s ok, even endorsed to be like that beloved cartoon character, that being human is laced with fault, and that is actually an enchanting quality. 

http://blip.tv/play/hJNRgfykLAI%2Em4v

To become a bit more like Homer Simpson is a good thing. It’s what they are comfortable with.

http://blip.tv/play/hJNRgfykJAI%2Em4v

It is not surprising that similar personalities as the tricksters featured in these videos will look to anyone that displays talent or a hunger for knowledge outside of the orthodox because such types are a serious threat to their ideology.  And that ideology is an immature and shallow field of endeavor much coveted by those great equalizers dressed in sheep’s clothing yet finding it difficult to conceal their canine teeth.

  http://blip.tv/play/hJNRgf3_bgI%2Em4v

So it’s fine for those demagogues to cast assertions of despair in my direction.  For to them, everyone that is not a Homer Simpson is someone that must be brought down by any means available.

But it won’t be enough………………………because I’m not a Homer.

Such thoughts are dust under my boots.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com

What is an Overmanwarrior and the Train Metaphor?

Sometimes, when a question is asked, the answer can involve many complicated interconnected themes. Such an answer may involve digging deep. So here it goes:

The term overmanwarrior has certainly created interest of many who hear it? The overman is a concept used in my novel, The Symposium of Justice, where a young woman describes her admiration for a freedom fighter roaming the streets at night in her neighborhood. Being a fan of Friedrich Nietzsche, she learned about the concept of an overman in school by that philosopher which best described her feelings for the controversial vigilante doing the work of a warrior fighting for justice when all others have seemed to have fallen to corruption.

A warrior does not always constitute a person that takes up arms against another human being. Some wars don’t even involve weapons or direct conflict. They are wars of ideas, and such a war is where America currently finds itself. There are hundreds of groups dedicated to the purpose of advancing or repealing current government positions. But, groups are never the answer, because groups are always subject to corruption.

The initial problem with human culture is that although at a core somewhere deep in our unconsciousness, we crave independence; our conscious behavior is still very group oriented. The reason for this is that it is safe, and all humans that breath air, and have a heart beat considers safety as a dominate thought, so self preservation is at the front of everyone’s minds.

The below graph is an example from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance a very fine book by Robert M. Pirsig of quality, of what makes a quality person or great leader. What is featured below is a diagram of a train traveling down a train track. The track, ahead of the train branches off in many directions. And the decisions for turning the train down one of those tracks is at the front.

Click to view:
Quality display

Now the train itself represents the organization. And the leaders of that train you would think would be at the front of the train. But most of the time, what happens, is that the leadership is at the back, because in the back, it is safe. In the back, if the train crashes, the people at the front of the train are the first to feel it. The one’s in the back can jump off to save themselves, if need be. Also, if it is discovered that the train is on the wrong track, the ones in the back can cast blame on the direction chosen.

What any employee realizes, unless you are fortunate enough to work for a company where the leadership is at the front of the train, is that unless you join the leadership at the back of the train, you are vulnerable. In short, we all know people who do this. We call them ass-kissers.

Organizations that I would most attribute to having leaders that spend their time at the front of their institutional train are Microsoft, when Bill Gates was heading the company. George Lucas and all his satellite companies like Industrial Light and Magic, THX, and Lucasfilm. Richard Branson and his many companies, but those are leaders that are very short in supply.

To illustrate the point here, let’s use Star Wars as an example, one of my favorite films, and sources of literary entertainment. That is one of the most popular films in history, and the original trilogy of films is over thirty years old, and is still beloved by fans.

Now consider, that film making institutions have had thirty years to produce similar film makers as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Yet they have been unsuccessful to do it. Film Schools have had thousands upon thousands of hungry enrolments, yet there is nobody, and I mean nobody capable to produce at the level of George Lucas. And when I say that I’m talking not just about making a great movie, many critics would say that Star Wars is not a good movie. What I’m talking about in a good movie is a film that is recognizable to most anyone in the world, and characters that have become part of the human fabric and is almost as recognizable as the members of most people’s family.

Walt Disney was a high school drop out. Lucas was a man that had his life change after a near fatal car crash, and Spielberg snuck onto the Universal Studios lot and pretended to be important until he talked his way into a position. What all those men have in common is they didn’t follow the rules, and stayed close to the front of their individual trains so they could quickly direct themselves.

Oh, you were about to mention Jim Cameron, director of blockbusters like Avatar, Terminator, and Titanic. He was a truck driver for a while, until he became possessed with the hunger to make movies. And he has a long history of pushing rules to their absolute limits. He certainly doesn’t play it safe.

Now I use film makers as an example because I know quite a bit about the industry and it’s always been interesting to me, of how a film will dismantle their teams at the end of production, and re-assemble at the start of a new. It’s a perpetual state of starting a new company with each film, which presents a whole sector of problems of their own. But the point is, no institution under countless millions of collective hours of study, have been able to duplicate the success of the men mentioned above. Not even with any of the great technological leaps. It still requires a great leader with vision way out ahead of everyone else to bring a film like Star Wars to being.

There is a reason some individuals are so good that all others around them fail in comparison, and often fail miserably. And Pirsig’s chart about quality is the place to start in defining what it is.

This is why schools fail, because schools teach institutionalism. In schools, there are dominate factions of groups that emerge, and they often collect in the back of the train where it’s socially safe. And anyone that dares to head to the front of the train, are ridiculed to no end. Because there is a fear among those in the back of the train that the individuals at the front might appear more important, because innately, it is understood that it is very possible that such a thing may occur. So peer pressure forces the leaders to the back of the train. Only the boldest of the bold stay in the front of the train, and can withstand the ridicule coming from the back by the masses of their peers.

I have sat across the table from mayors, state representatives both state and federal, powerful industry tycoons, party bosses, actors, stunt men, pro athletes, company heads, powerful drug cartel leaders, and in some cases worse and more powerful criminal elements, and in all those circumstances I have never met a man, or woman that I was so in awe over that I would cast celebrity worship in their direction which they fully expect. I have enjoyed the company of some of those people, but I’ve never considered them superior in any way to my thoughts, or strategies, and this is a recipe for disaster, because in deep investigation to the motives of individuals and their quests for power, are deep seated needs for honor given by title.

Titles are a very old, European idea, where they somehow elevate a man or woman to a position of respect. I have seen people that have clawed their way into positions of power, who get so lost in this infantile idea, that they can see nothing in front of their faces. The title they’ve acquired they fully expect to deem them respect because they worked hard to obtain it.

But, it’s in the value system of titles that many fail to understand the merit of the United States Constitution. In that brief moment where the truly brave, and truly intelligent gathered together in a small group of colonies in the late 1700’s, far from political influence, they rejected that structure because of the corrupt nature of man, mankind having a tendency to be corrupt, because of their love of titles.

On more than one occasion I have seen these men in high places reward those around them for displaying tendencies of weakness. When men show weakness, they show that they are willing to get in line for the fight for peeking order mentality. They will bide their time till they get to head a company, or a be a powerful politician. So weakness is encouraged in their subordinates.

More importantly, such weak personalities love to sit in the back of the train together where they can huddle against the exit door. The focus of their energy is in preparing to cast blame instead of solving problems. That’s why they sit so close to the exit, at the back of the train.

The bold ones, the ones at the front of the train will always be responsible for success, because it is their hands that guide the train down the correct track. But if they choose unwisely, they are the first to be blamed for taking the whole train down the wrong track.

Now the leaders in the back of the train call out commands, on which track to take. But because they are in the back, by the time the information gets to the front, the front of the train has already passed the point on the track where they could change course. This is not an accident. This is by design, because the leaders in the back are only concerned about the appearance of control. They don’t actually want to be in control. They would rather claim later that they assigned the people at the front to steer the train successfully. And if the people at the front steer onto the wrong track, then the leaders can claim that the visionaries did not follow their directions. It’s the old blame game, and it is the heart of everything that is wrong with the world.

Communism won’t save society because it requires leaders who will gather at the back of the train. Democracy certainly won’t, because the votes take place in the back of the train. Religion won’t work because it’s focus is on the next life, and not the one in front of us, a republic won’t unless there are strong individuals behind it willing to meet in the front of the train. No system of government will ever save society. People have to save themselves at the individual level, and if everyone does this, then society will reap the benefits and become saved.

I was raised a Christian, and learned very young that Jesus Christ was killed because he stirred up trouble at the Temple. What he was teaching was something the organized religions and local governors couldn’t control, and Jesus was a threat to that order. Now I don’t say that to mess up anybodies religious ideas. The motives of why Jesus sacrificed himself can still be debated and embraced. But at the heart of the social problem with the crucifixion of Jesus, he was a threat to political and religious power, and he had to go in order to maintain that order.

Another great revelation for me came after reading the book Forbidden Archeology The Hidden History of the Human Race. In that great book, years of undocumented archeology was reported stacked up in museums and universities because the research done at those universities were published in text books as facts, and would make that information obsolete with the new information. This is not a book of conspiracy, just a catalog of undocumented finds, undocumented because orthodox science does not understand how to document the finds. In this way, science becomes equal to religion and politics, where they hold to ideologies for the sole purpose of maintaining some level of control.

For instance, a university that does work on evolution and publishes those findings may advertise themselves as a leader in the field of science, and use that information to recruit new students. But if information comes out that makes the previous information obsolete, then that information would be dangerous to the university recruiting efforts.

So the university is less concerned about pushing the boundaries of understanding, then it is in growth as an institution, because the leaders are in the back of their train. There are of course parts of the university, scientist, teachers, etc, that are boldly in the front of the train, and the university loves to take credit for those personalities. But they will distance themselves quickly if something goes wrong, because the over-all goal is to maintain power.

I could literally go on and on for hundreds of thousands of pages with such examples. But the bottom line is that the very nature of quests for power prohibits making correct decisions in a timely manner, and all institutions are prone to fail because they are built by the architecture of psychological deficiencies.

So back to the overmanwarrior idea, an overman is a person wishing to creatively, and intellectually move beyond the planes of reality accepted by the current masses. They crave to, metaphorically speaking, be at the front of the train. And given the nature of power, it takes a special person to function without a desire for power. And it takes a warrior of sorts to combat those that will attack any threat to that power base. As shown, it takes a special type of person to be outstanding which should go without saying. But nobody will ever become outstanding, standing with the cowards in the back of the metaphorical train.

So an overmanwarrior is standing against the peer pressure of group institutionalism to uncover the truth of our past, and the fate of our future, while making firm decisions in the present. And they can do this because they are beyond the infintile yearning for power and control of others, because they are masters of themselves.

Rich Hoffman

www.overmanwarrior.com